This is cool. An indoor GPS navigation system (uh, IPS?) for robots. Cheap and invisible, they’ll be able to use it to decipher which room they’re in and in what direction they’re facing. Bring on the robots.
Reminds me of a story I saw a few days ago (forgot where), that said the number of domestic robots will quadruple in the next 3 years. Hooray. We want a roomba, but Patrick will probably get one first. 
October 26, 2004
Find Me
Comments Working Again
Sorry about that. Giles told me the server’s own IP address got added to it’s own list of banned IP’s. Duh. It’s fixed now, so comment away!
Stupid Computer Tricks
Reminds me of those silly stunts PC users do to prove that their computers are not obsolete boat anchors. This story over at slashdot tells the tale of a 25Mhz Centris 650 running Mac OS X Panther. Get this:
“On this approximately 0.05MHz G3 speed emulator, the boot screen has taken 1.5 hours to appear, and the ETA for full boot is almost exactly 1 week! Regular updates are being posted as each milestone in the boot process is reached.”
October 25, 2004
Home Improvement
On Friday the 15th I started putting up a tile backsplash in our kitchen. I couldn’t post about it because I wanted it to be a surprise for Erin. She was in Houston at the time and periodically checking my blog. It took me almost 30 hours over 2 days, and I finally finished on Sunday the 17th at about 4am. I learned a lot from the project and I’m very proud of the results. Cost was minimal compared to what the builder wanted if we had ordered it during construction, and not only did I get the tools required to do any future tiling job (bathrooms and entryway), but I also developed some mad tiling skillz and gained some confidence as well. Hopefully it’ll take less than 30 hours next time.
The microwave was a surprise for Erin. She’s always wanted one because they look great and free up counter space. I decided to get one a few hours into the job because leaving any project halfway finished really bugs me. Oh, once I was done with the tile, grout, and caulk (about midnight on the second night), I decided to install the undercounter lights and tie them into the home automation system. Stylish.
I still have a bit more work to do- a row of tiles behind the fridge, a little bit more grout and grout seal, and some touchup paint, and I have to make some trim in the shop and stain it to match the cabinets (for where the tile meets the underside of the cupboards).
Anyway, some pics are below. Enjoy, and sorry if they’re bandwidth hogs.
Before: Full-View
The Kitchen Sink view (after taking off window trim)
The Mess
How to Hang a Microwave Solo using Repurposed Woodworking Clamps (note the outlet I had to wire in the cabinet)
Final View with Flash
Beauty Shot with Accent Lights
October 24, 2004
Eclipse
A total lunar eclipse is coming on October 27th. It’ll be clearly visible from the U.S. link
That’s a Wrap
Back from the show. It was a good set of performances (about 10,000 audience members). Glad it’s all over. I’ll blog more once I have my laundry done and my life back in order.
October 20, 2004
Rise of the Robots!
Household Robotic use is set to rise sevenfold in the next three years! link
Still in Waco for the show until Sunday.
October 17, 2004
Pigskin
I’ll be out of pocket for the next week or so while I go to direct the show up in Waco. See you next week!
October 16, 2004
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart has an amazingly funny, and amazingly uncooperative interview on Crossfire here. He refuses to play by the host’s rules and instead launches into a diatribe on the failures of American media.
“You go to spin alley [after the debate], the place called spin alley. Now, don’t you think that, for people watching at home, that’s kind of a drag, that you’re literally walking to a place called deception lane?”
He’s right when he compares most political shows to pro wrestling.
October 14, 2004
Pundit
Stephen Green (no, not that one) has some good things to say on his blog today. I have to say that I agree with many of his thoughts. He’s echoing the feelings of many democrat-leaning people I’ve heard recently, including Ron Silver. And speaking of Mr. Silver, even though he’s a self-proclaimed “hollywood liberal”, his fair-minded statements of late have earned him my ear the next time he disagrees with something I hold important.
It’s not that I won’t listen to an opposing view. After all, the ability to change one’s thinking in the face of evidence is the sign of a rational worldview, and I hope I can lay claim to one. It’s just that political debate has become so polarized and strident recently that there is very little moderation being expressed- and I just want November 3rd to get here. If a Ron Silver can stand and say “I disagree with the president on this, and this, and this, but I (horrors!) agree with him on these issues over here, then the next time he says “wait a minute, the president has done something really bad over here”, I’m more inclined to listen and not dismiss it as just more hyperpartisan echoing. I’ve always thought of Ron Silver as sort of sleazy by virtue of some of the characters he’s played. Turns out I may have been wrong. He’s just a good actor (now just watch, next week he’ll be outed as a philanderer of Jacksonian proportions).
Point of self-analysis: do I feel this way just because Mr. Silver happens to agree with me on certain issues? Would I feel this way if it was instead a strong republican who endorsed Kerry? I honestly don’t know, but intellectual honesty requires that I ask myself that question (and the fact that I know most of my Dear Readers will no doubt be doing the same).
Enough navel gazing. Off to the workshop to sharpen my chisels.
October 13, 2004
Onion 2004
The Onion has a funny roundup of its recent election articles here (both “pro-Bush” and “pro-Kerry”). 2 Favorites:
“Bush Arrives At Debate
Wearing Flight Suit”
and
“Kerry Makes Whistle-Stop Tour
From Deck Of Yacht”
You’re Getting Very Sleepy (or not)
Toshiba has announced a new “sleep measuring device” to measure the quality and quantity of your sleep (via blood O2 levels and respiration/pulse rates).
from the website:
“Technically speaking, Toshiba plans for this to be a wristwatch-type device, which is wirelessly connected to your PC. The software can show you your levels of sleep, from “deep” to three different levels of “shallow.” But perhaps even cooler than being able to monitor your sleep is being able to do something about it; Toshiba plans on conjoining this technology with that of air conditioners, lights, and even stereo systems to create a “pleasant sleeping environment.”
As a chronic insomniac, this could gather some very interesting data. I sometimes take up to 3 hours to get to sleep. Average is probably 90 minutes or so, and once or twice a month I’ll get to sleep in a half-hour. It’s VERY uncommon for me to go to sleep in anything like a “normal” amount of time (10-15 minutes). About once a week my body will just refuse to stay asleep and I’ll end up getting two or three hours. It’s weird.
Compound this with the fact that, as a composer/arranger, I listen to music a lot. Actually, I’ll listen to one song over and over every day for hours at a time sometimes. Have you ever had a song stuck in your head? I mean, have you ever had a song stuck in your head so badly you would gladly do the spoon-and-straw routine on your own grey matter to get rid of it? Welcome to my world. And let me tell you, trying to sleep with the dulcet strains of “The Love Boat” in your ear is no easy feat.
Over the years I’ve tried just about every insomnia remedy you can imagine: hot toddies, melatonin suppliments, seratonin suppliments, dietary changes, sleep pattern changes, environmental changes, you name it. The only thing that ever worked for me was a single test Ambien I tried out a few years ago. It worked wonders, giving me the best sleep I’ve had in years, but I don’t want to start depending on any medication- plus it was a little unnerving: I don’t actually remember going to bed that night. I remember sitting at the computing thinking “I have to get to bed soon” and waking up the next morning in bed. It’s acts like a mild amnesia-inducer, and I’m not comfortable with any chemical that has that effect.
I’ve pretty much made peace with it, though and the fact that I work at home helps greatly. I’m always really miserable when I have to do short term jobs (like the film a few months back), that require lots of early mornings.
The most exasperating thing is when concerned friends and family try to fix the problem with suggested remedies- all of which I’ve tried. I mean, hey, if I can’t solve the problem in the 30 years I’ve been aware of it, chances are pretty good it’s not an easy fix, y’know? They mean well, but if I hear another “well, if you didn’t go to bed so late you wouldn’t have this problem” I shall well and truly scream. The problem is not that I go to bed late, that’s the symptom.
Sorry, just cranky. Late night and all…
October 12, 2004
They, Robot
The Robot Hall of Fame, “Because robots are everywhere, and you’re going to want to get to know them”.
[Or Else?]
Space Safety
Glenn Reynolds has a good post over at Tech Central about Congress’s silly attempts to over-regulate the nascent space tourism industry. link
Personally, I think that this approach is silly. People with money are allowed to engage in all sorts of risky activities, ranging from “adventure vacations” in dangerous third-world countries, to sky- and cave-diving, to auto racing. Why should the government go out of its way to ensure “the highest standards of safety” for space tourism when it ignores these activities, and, in fact, doesn’t even insure the “highest standards of safety” for people who ride roller coasters?
Modern Marvel
The History Channel’s “Modern Marvels” is one of the coolest shows on TV. Tonight’s episode: Metals.
Did you know that blacksmiths worked on black metals like iron, while whitesmiths worked on white metals like tin?
Also, as an illustration of how far we’ve come and how technology is transparently changing our lives. A modern car is constructed of as much as 60% from metals and metal alloys that didn’t exist as little as 10 years ago. Weird that my truck is old tech and Erin’s new car is the new tech… and that her car will be old news when the next round of vehicles comes about.
October 11, 2004
Current Reading
Touch the Top of the World: A Blind Man’s Journey to Climb Farther than the Eye Can See. By Erik Weihenmayer. File under Everest: incredible.