April 2008 Archives

Penn State University has picked up full speed with the end of classes this week and finals next week.  As a result, blog posts will be slowing down during this time.

One of the reasons why I haven't been blogging as much as I would like to is the class project I have been finishing up for IST 210.  In IST 210, I have learned about databases and the class project involved creating a web service using databases.  My team throughout the entire project was awesome and click here to see our website and click
here to view our powerpoint presentation.

I will leave you with this really really sweet poster of The Dark Knight released over the weekend. I can't wait until July 18th!!

Well I would have, but the image seems to be slowing down my blog.  You can click here to see it.

Today is Earth Day!!  This day brings memories of dirt chocolate pudding with gummy worms at the school cafeteria and learning why it is important to take care of our planet.  Not too long ago, I participated in an event called Spring UP that helped beautify and clean up the campus of PSU.  I raked leaves and mulched the gardens outside of the White Building.  Other groups planted trees and strawberries.  While eating yummy earth pudding and listening to people talk about a greener way to live is what is traditionally done on Earth Day, take advantage of this day to go out and do something for the world in which we all live in.

  

That's right.  The next Mortal Kombat video game will feature characters from the DC Universe including the Dark Knight himself.  The video game will not have fatalities and will be released in the fall.  Makes sense that there aren't any fatalities.  After all, Batman doesn't kill and Superman can't be killed.  Check out the sweet preview featuring Batman:

Awesome.

This morning I was checking out the website xkcd.com that my brother turned my attention to.  The website features webcomics of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.  Monday's cartoon was the following:



I was reading my calculus book to review applications of Taylor series, when I discovered that one of the applications of Taylor series involves Gaussian numbers.   I did a web search on Gaussian numbers and found out that a Gaussian integer is an integer that has two parts.  One part is real and the other is imaginary.  A Gaussian integer is often found the in form a + bi, where i is the square root of -1.  Wow, I really feel like a nerd.

The application Google Earth has started a new mission.  In accordance of Google's mission of not being evil and organizing the world's information, Google has announced Google Earth Outreach.  This application places icons across Google Earth indicating various causes from human rights injustices to endangered animals.

Google Earth Outreach will allow non-profit, charity, and service organizations to have a voice in the world and call attention to their cause.  Through associating a cause with a location, each cause becomes more identifiable and personal.  I have never used Google Earth before, but I hope to use to this summer and see Google Earth Outreach in action.

The army's robotic fighter, SWORDS, will not see another battlefield after its most recent incident in Iraq.  Apparently, it started to aim at targets it wasn't supposed to be targeting.  According to the Army's Program Executive Officer for Ground Forces Kevin Fahey, the SWORDS program will be set back another 10-20 years.

In my estimation, this is nothing but good news.  The last thing we need is our technology turning against us.  We need to make Optimus Prime before we create Megatron.

From the infamous shoe phone of the Get Smart series to watch phones?  According to a recent blog post on Crave, a Netherlands company has created watch phone WM2.

In addition to having the keypad on the wrist band, the WM2 also has Bluetooth, 1GB of built-in storage, 300 minutes of talk time, 240 hours on standby, and the ability to play MP3 and video files.  I found the WM2 interesting from my perspective because I don't wear a watch.  I rely on my cell phone to tell me what time it is.  To have it the other way around though.....

The Dark Knight viral campaign has started up again, and some creepy videos against Harvey Dent have surfaced on YouTube.  Take a look:

I was catching up on The Daily Show on the web when I saw the following interview with Simon LeVay author of "When Science Goes Wrong."


In the interview, Jon Stewart mentions the case of Dr. Kirk Langstrom in the Batman universe.  Dr. Langstrom creates a potion that turns him into the Man-Bat in order to take on the Batman!  Besides having Batman in the interview, the interview does bring up the good point that science does go wrong and no one is perfect.  A stupid mistake always gets us in the end, especially if you are the Man-Bat.

In the belated spirit of April Fool's, I have stumbled across a web service developed by the people at Berkley called Jester.  Jester determines what kind of jokes fit your sense of humor through an algorithm called Eigentaste.  I gave it a test drive that this is the joke that fits my sense of humor.

A radio conversation between a US naval ship and Canadian authorities...

Americans: Please divert your course 15 degrees to the North to avoid a collision.

Canadians: Recommend you divert YOUR course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.

Americans: This is the captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course.

Canadians: No. I say again, you divert YOUR course.

Americans: This is the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln, the second largest ship in the United States' Atlantic Fleet. We are accompanied by three destroyers, three cruisers and numerous support vessels. I demand that you change your course 15 degrees North, that's ONE FIVE DEGREES NORTH, or counter-measures will be undertaken to ensure the safety of this ship.

Canadians: This is a lighthouse. Your call.

Tired of using Google?  Try All My Faves.  Just click on the icon, and it will take you to the website.  While you would be able to search for specific information, through All My Faves, you will most likely find a website that will answer your queries.

Have a problem with your computer?  Thinking about going to Geek Squad or Firedog?  You might want to think again.  Often times these companies miss what is really going on with your computer and suggest expensive repairs.  In an undercover story, a local news team investigated these companies by each giving them a laptop that had a simple error which could be fixed within seconds.  However, this error often lead to hardware replacements and other expensive procedures.  So watch out, and if possible, you may want to get a second opinion before dismantling your computer.

According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, Wikipedia has hit 10 million entries.  To me, this is absolutely incredible, considering Wikipedia doesn't make a penny on the information they allow users to view.  For me, Wikipedia is a great starting place and often has better images than Google images.  However, as the Wall Street Journal article points out, the validity of the Wikipedia is often in question.  I often go to the links that Wikipedia articles provide and use them as primary sources in my research.  This issue of the truth and Wikipedia has been a long debate.  I will let the Father of Truthiness, Stephen Colbert, present his views on this issue:

April Fool's Day is often honored through the time honored traditions of telling people their shoes are untied or playing other little pranks.  However, this April Fool's Day, I would like to honor a brave captain who followed the orders of the Clown Prince of Crime to a tee in "The Last Laugh."  What seemed to be a start of a beautiful friendship ended in tragedy in a garbage dumpster.