Saturday, June 27, 2009
Cool Computer Tricks - Interesting Optical Illusions!
Hey There,
Here's a little something that should be fun for a Saturday: Computer generated optical illusions! Probably everyone who reads this page has had a run in with some sort of optical illusion in their life (on purpose, of course ;) I'm just crossing the middle years of my own existence and I still love these things. And, despite what most everyone has told me to date, even staring at the LCD screen, optical illusions haven't diminished my eyesight. Of course, I'd be hard pressed to stare too long at my old Apple IIc. In fact, just turning that thing on begins to melt my flesh. It's probably a highly dangerous piece of equipment ;) I'll be giving it away soon (to a fellow old-computer aficionado) and (for some masochistic reason) I'll probably really miss it...
I found all of the illusions (and one "neat picture") posted here today over at coolopticalillusions.com . It's a great place to visit and has a huge variety of different illusions and other art and graphics that are just cool (as their site title suggests ;).
Below, I've posted pictures of the standard "spinning circles" illusion (although that's probably not the technical name for it), the Obama Illusion (which is eerily similar to the "Jesus" illusion - and the site has an animated version of it available), the disappearing confetti illusion" (which you should visit their site to check out, since they have three different versions of it which all work slightly differently) and a simple "cool picture" of a snowy grill that looks as though it's a human skull... who can explain why I choose the things I choose? ;)
Hope you enjoy these, and check out coolopticalillusions.com for some serious fun and equally serious eye-strain :)
Cheers,
What happened to Romper Room?
Obama Cures Cancer
Bye Bye
Grillin' Up Skull
, Mike
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Sunday, June 7, 2009
Some Very Strange Accessories
Hey there and a fine Sunday to you,
You may have noticed that today's title specifically doesn't say "Some Very Strange COMPUTER Accessories," since not all of these accouterments are for the home computer. They're all interesting, none the less. How could anyone not be interested in a Rubik's Cube for blind people? ;)
I found this list of oddities (aged, but still bizarre) over at Techeblog.com.
I've included a few pictures of some the interesting stuff over there, but the list is much more extensive and worth, at least, five minutes of your time. Hopefully some of it will make you laugh, even though none of it is a joke :)
Cheers,
Wipe your RSS
Not pretty, but safe
Do not taunt happy fun ball
Cousin of the gas powered transistor radio
, Mike
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Saturday, May 23, 2009
Some Funny Linux/Computer Pictures
Here's wishing you all a wonderful Saturday,
I'm finishing up my on-call week this weekend (which is getting stretched an extra day so I can enjoy the Holiday and experience vague, yet gnawing, anxiety at the same time ;)
Actually, and unfortunately, the above statement is in the neighborhood of the truth. Our company actually has work planned for the Holiday :(
This is a theme I return to over and over again in this blog, because (I suppose) I'm old-fashioned and fear that I will never truly understand my generation's obsession with work as a substitute for virtually everything. I get that it's a lot easier to ignore society while we "get things done," but I'm thoroughly confused about the amount of perceived social anxiety in the world. Maybe all those pharmaceutical commercials are doing "their" job ;)
I say, save your work for when you have to be at work, and relax and enjoy yourself when you have the time off. My philosophy also includes a stipulation that one should go out and buy something (or at least browse) at a store every once in a while, happen upon some real people and maybe even talk to them (if it isn't a totally awkward situation ;) It's no lie that my daughter Instant Messages her closest friend all night (well before curfew) and her closest friend (no joke) lives across the parking lot from us. Her townhome's front door is, literally, 10 or 15 feet from our garage. ??? Am I nuts, or are we (as a people) facing massive global social retardation within a few generations?
Anyway, enough of the serious stuff. Below are a couple of pictures I found over at mahopa.de. They've got a ton more, although some may not be amusing at all. For instance, I don't get the first picture below (the caps-lock picture). Why is it funny? I have no idea. My mother is German (like the site, except human ;) and I still don't understand the joke. Thank God there's no one around for me to have to ask ;)
Cheers,
The caps-lock key. Funny because it's true?
The results of my MRI
, Mike
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Friday, May 22, 2009
Caught On Film: Another Gigantic Computer!
Hey There,
My disastrous posting last week of that really cool gigantic old computer, which turned out to be a fake so well known it's actually listed at snopes.com, I have yet to finish responding to half of the emails I've received. For the first time in my life, I'm considering writing a form letter. But I probably won't, since I hate canned responses.Ex:
Person A: Hi, what's going on?
Person B: Great, thanks!
That's actually a test I use in real life to find out if my son is paying attention to a single word I'm saying ;)
Below is another real picture of another fake computer. This one is slightly more obvious than the last, but I found it was incredibly difficult to find any other fake pictures of old-style gargantuan computers. ...Which makes me feel even more like a goof.
Hope you enjoy this, and be sure to do whatever the dictator on the distinctly Cuban display is commanding you to do (It most likely involves giving up all your material possessions and subjugating your will to the state ;)
This post is a bit self-indulgent, but if I didn't poke fun at myself every once in a while, a lot more people would hate me ;)
Cheers,
, Mike
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Sunday, May 10, 2009
The First Computer Mouse - Circa 1964
Hey There,
Today, the drugs are either starting to kill the flu/virus that's been feasting on my system all week or I'm turning into jello from the inside out ;)
As fair warning, I'm going to write one more "highlight" post (where I showcase other fun stuff I've found wasting away in bed, trawling the net) for Monday and work on getting back to putting up posts with some meat on them, simultaneously, so that, starting Tuesday, we'll be back to normal. By then, either my flu (or I) will be history. I'm rooting for the former, but (applying rational thought) I don't know that I'd necessarily complain after-the-fact if it worked out in the latter's favour. Once you're dead, you no longer have to pay your parking tickets ;)
You may also have noticed that this Sunday's post got published about 4pm CST Saturday. I did this so I would have the option to pass-out-with-no-regrets at any time ;)
Today's interesting little thingy was found over on the Stanford.edu website, which showcases the "first" computer mouse. As you can see, from the pictures below, it doubled nicely as a blunt instrument ;)
Clicking on either of the pictures (or the preceding hyperlink) will take you to the main page, where you can check out the pet-rock/door-stop/computer-mouse for yourself, as well as view the original schematics.
I really wish I could get my hands on one of those; if only for self-defense ;)
Cheers!
, Mike
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Sunday, May 3, 2009
How Well Does Computer Humor Age? Decade Check.
Hello again,
I lost a bit of sleep last night but am slowly realizing (as I type, which is scary) that it's time to write this week's Sunday (bloody Sunday ;) post.
On this week's humor search, I tripped over this piece of work, copywrite 1998, at berro.com. They host more than antiquated humor there, of course, and in more categories than I had time to fully check out. Lots of good stuff, though :)
At first I was going to let this one go, but when I noticed the copywrite date and checked out some of the fake definitions, it dawned on me that it might be worth posting. Even if some of it isn't funny, or relevant, anymore, it makes for an interest sociological experiment in humor over the ages.
The only downside is, I'll never know "for sure" how many of the people who read this post actually remember having to choose between VHS and BetaMax at the video rental store. Hell, in 10 years, many people may not even remember the VHS video tape, much less the "store" ;)
Kind of sad, actually. Hopefully, in 10 years, people will still be leaving their houses every once in a while. You can meet lots of interesting people just by going out to buy a bag of potato chips. You can meet a lot of psycho's, too. And, of course, it's always hard to tell if people are really who they say they are and somewhat difficult to judge the veracity of any of their statements, based solely on their say-so. It's kind of like meeting people online, except you don't have to ask what they look like or what they're wearing ;) ...that last joke was a little perverse. If you're too young to understand it, I apologize :)
Enjoy the trip down memory lane :)
Geek Office Slang: New Office Slang Incorporating Geek
Language
404: Someone who is clueless. From the Web error message, "404
Not Found," which means the document requested couldn't be located. "Don't
bother asking John. He's 404."
Adminisphere: The rarified organizational layers above the
rank and file that makes decisions that are often profoundly inappropriate or
irrelevant.
Alpha Geek: The most knowledgeable, technically proficient
person in an office or work group. "I dunno, ask Rick. He's our alpha geek."
Assmosis: Remember "Osmosis" The process by which some people
seem to absorb success and advancement by kissing up to the boss rather than
working hard.
Batmobiling: putting up emotional shields. Refers to the
retracting armor that covers the Batmobile as in "she started talking marriage
and he started batmobiling"
Beepilepsy: The brief seizure people sometimes suffer when
their beepers go off, especially in vibrator mode. Characterized by physical
spasms, goofy facial expressions, and stopping speech in mid- sentence.
Betamaxed: When a technology is overtaken in the market by
inferior but better marketed competition as in "Microsoft betamaxed Apple right
out of the market"
Blamestorming: A group discussion of why a deadline was missed
or a project failed and who was responsible.
Blowing Your Buffer: Losing one's train of thought. Occurs
when the person you are speaking with won't let you get a word in edgewise or
has just said something so astonishing that your train gets derailed. "Damn, I
just blew my buffer!" (Synonym: "Head Crash")
Body Nazis: Hard-core exercise and weight-lifting fanatics who
look down on anyone who doesn't work out obsessively.
Bookmark: To take note of a person for future reference.
"After seeing his cool demo at Siggraph, I bookmarked him."
Brain Fart: A byproduct of a bloated mind producing
information effortlessly; a burst of useful information. "I know you're busy on
the Microsoft story, but can you give us a brain fart on the Mitnik bust?"
Variation of old hacker slang that had more negative connotations.
CGI Joe: A hard-core CGI script programmer with all the social
skills and charisma of a plastic action figure.
Chainsaw Consultant: An outside expert brought in to reduce
the employee head count, leaving the top brass with clean hands.
Chip Jewelry: Old computers destined to be scrapped or turned
into decoration. "I paid three grand for that Mac and now it's nothing but chip
jewelry."
Chips and Salsa: Chips = hardware, salsa = software. "First we
gotta figure out if the problem's in your chips or your salsa."
CLM (Career Limiting Move)- Used by microserfs to describe an
ill- advised activity. "Trashing your boss while he or she is within earshot is
a serious CLM."
Cobweb: A WWW site that never changes.
Crapplet: A badly written or profoundly useless Java applet.
"I just wasted 30 minutes downloading that crapplet!"
CROP DUSTING: Surreptitiously farting while passing thru a
cube farm, then enjoying the sounds of dismay and disgust; leads to PRAIRIE
DOGGING.....
Cube Farm: An office filled with cubicles.
Dead Tree Edition: The paper version of a publication
available in both paper and electronic forms.
Dilberted: To be exploited and oppressed by your boss, as is
Dilbert, the comic strip character. "Damn, I've been dilberted again! The old
man revised the specs for the fourth time this week."
Dorito Syndrome: The feeling of emptiness and dissatisfaction
triggered by addictive substances that lack nutritional content. "I just spent
six hours surfing the Web, and now I've got a bad case of Dorito Syndrome."
Egosurfing: Scanning the Net, databases, etc., for one's own
name.
Elvis Year: The peak year of popularity as in "1993 was Barney
the dinosaur's Elvis year"
Flight Risk: Used to describe employees who are suspected of
planning to leave a company or department soon.
Generica: Fast food joints, strip malls, sub-divisions as in
"we were so lost in generica that I couldn't remember what city it was"
Glazing: Corporate-speak for sleeping with your eyes open; a
popular pastime at conferences and early-morning meetings. "Didn't he notice
that by the second session half the room was glazing?"
Going Postal: Totally stressed out and losing it like postal
employees who went on shooting rampages
GOOD job: A "Get-Out-Of-Debt" job. A well-paying job people
take in order to pay off their debts, one that they will quit as soon as they
are solvent again.
Gray Matter: Older, experienced business people hired by young
entrepreneurial firms trying to appear more professional and established.
Graybar Land: The place you go while you're staring at a
computer that's processing something very slowly (while you watch the gray bar
creep across the screen). "That CAD rendering put me in graybar land for like an
hour."
High Dome: Egghead, scientist, PhD
Idea Hamsters: People whose idea generators are always
running.
Irritainment: Entertainment and media spectacles that are
annoying, but you find yourself unable to stop watching them. The O.J. trials
were a prime example.
It's a Feature: From the old adage, "It's not a bug, it's a
feature." Used sarcastically to describe an unpleasant problem you wish to gloss
over.
Keyboard Plaque: The disgusting buildup of dirt and crud found
on some people's computer keyboards.
Link Rot: The process by which web page's links become
obsolete as the sites they're connected to change or die.
Meatspace: The physical world (as opposed to the virtual) also
"carbon community" "facetime" "F2F" "RL"
Mouse Potato: The online generation's answer to the couch
potato.
Ohnosecond: That minuscule fraction of time during which you
realize you've just made a terrible error.
Open-Collar Workers: People who work at home or telecommute.
Percussive Maintenance: The fine art of whacking the crap out
of an electronic device to get it to work again.
Perot: To quit unexpectedly. "My cellular phone just
perot'ed."
Plug-and-Play: A new hire who doesn't require training. "That
new guy is totally plug-and-play."
Prairie Dogging: When something loud happens in a cube farm,
causing heads to pop up over the walls trying to see what's going on.
Ribs 'N' Dick: A budget with no fat as in "we've got ribs 'n'
dick and we're supposed to find 20K for memory upgrades"
Salmon Day: The experience of spending an entire day swimming
upstream only to get screwed in the end. "God, today was a total salmon day!"
Seagull Manager: A manager who flies in, makes a lot of noise,
****s over everything and then leaves.
Siliwood: The coming convergence of movies, interactive TV and
computers; also "Hollywired"
SITCOMs: What yuppies turn into when they have children and
one of them stops working to stay home with the kids. "Single Income, Two
Children, Oppressive Mortgage"
Square-Headed Spouse: Computer
Squirt the Bird: To transmit a signal up to a satellite. "Crew
and talent are ready...what time do we squirt the bird?"
Starter Marriage: A short-lived first marriage that ends in
divorce with no kids, no property and no regrets.
Stress Puppy: A person who thrives on being stressed-out and
whiny.
Swiped Out: An ATM or credit card that has been used so much
its magnetic strip is worn away.
Tourists: Those who take training classes just to take a
vacation from their jobs. "There were only three serious students in the class;
the rest were just tourists."
Treeware: Hacker slang for documentation or other printed
material.
Umfriend: One with whom one has a sexual relationship; as in,
"this is Dale, my...um...friend."
Under Mouse Arrest: Getting busted for violating an online
service's rule of conduct. "Sorry I couldn't get back to you. AOL put me under
mouse arrest."
Uninstalled: Euphemism for being fired. Also: decruitment.
Vulcan Nerve Pinch: The taxing hand position required to reach
all the appropriate keys for certain commands. For instance, the warm re- boot
for a Mac II computer involves simultaneously pressing the Control key, the
Command key, the Return key and the Power On key.
WOOFYS: Well Off Older Folks.
World Wide Wait: The real meaning of WWW.
Xerox Subsidy: Euphemism for swiping free photocopies from
one's workplace.
Yuppie Food Coupons: Twenty dollar bills from an ATM
, Mike
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Saturday, May 2, 2009
Just Say No: How Drugs Affect Computer Gaming AI
Happy Saturday to you all :)
Today, I found this great video on YouTube . It doesn't quite rank up there with an older post we ran, called The Web Site Is Down! (check it out if you haven't yet. It's hilarious :), but it's good for a few laughs.
I especially like the artificially intelligent enemy soldier (whom you can't see at the beginning, while the compound not 30 feet away from him is being completely decimated) who appears to be smoking a big fatty while communicating on a walkie talkie; seemingly aware of his fellow soldier standing right in front of him.
On first viewing, I saw him puffing away on a a cigar (just like Sigmund Freud said ;), but near the end, when I witnessed what happened (can't tell ya - it's too short a video too ruin) and his reaction to it, I was fairly certain he was self-medicating ;)
Normally I'd advise those of draft-age to stay away from the Loco Weed if they're going to have to go off to war. On the other hand, if it keeps you cool during a situation like this one, maybe it's not all that bad. Of course, you'd have to be willing to trade your odds of surviving against the possibility of copping of a ripping good buzz... perhaps I'm taking this all too seriously ;)
If you ever find yourself in a situation like "Sir SmokeALot," I have just one piece of advice for you. RUN!!! What the Hell's the matter with you? ;)
Cheers, and enjoy the slaughter :)
[埋込みオブジェクト:http://www.youtube.com/v/OOeL_cOWHa0&hl=en&fs=1]
, Mike
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Posted by Mike Golvach at 12:31 AM
artificial, computer, gaming, intelligence, laughs, linux, stoner, unix
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Obsolete Technology Can Be Yours Today!
EDIT - 4/26/09 - Thanks to ComputerBob at LXer for pointing out that the link to the main picture page was incorrect. It has been fixed :)
Hey There,
It's been a rainy Saturday night and it looks like it'll be a rainy Sunday out here. In other words, it's a perfect time to moon over the cutting edge computers of my youth ;)
I found a great collection of defunct (or antique) home computers at oldcomputers.net, which houses everything from a picture gallery (below) to a great collection of old computer commercials from back in the days when so much of what we take for granted now was considered absolutely amazing :)
There are, literally, over 8 pages of advertisements to check out and even more pictures and other information. It's great fun and either humorous, nostalgic and/or both (viewing experience depends heavily on age and/or computing experience ;)
Just to give you some idea about how inexpensive home computing is today, find the "GRID" home computer below (near the bottom and it has GRID written on the screen ;) and follow that link to the information page. It retailed for 8,150ドル!!! Ouch!
Enjoy and cheers!
NOTE: All picture links below go directory to oldcomputers.net and the respective information page for each of the machines shown.
Click on any image to display more pictures and information.
Once again, appreciate the beauty of your first true love.
, Mike
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