July 8, 2008
Dungeons & Dragons 4e
Our campaign has started and the party has already participated in the slaughter of a hundred thousand civilians! Off to a good start, no?
You can find more details about the campaign by clicking here and then clicking on “Campaign”. In there you’ll find some details on the characters as well as player blogs.
Posted by Aaron on July 8, 2008, 8:40 am permalink top | general
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June 18, 2008
clockwork desk
This desk would be perfect on the bridge of your time-travelling airship.
Too bad it costs $21,000. Link.
Posted by Aaron on June 18, 2008, 3:46 pm permalink top | general
1 Comment »
June 4, 2008
sunset on mars
NASA released this image of a sunset on Mars, taken by the Spirit rover. It’s amazing what we humans have accomplished, despite all of our faults and frailties.
Posted by Aaron on June 4, 2008, 8:11 am permalink top | general
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May 28, 2008
The smooth criminal
I’m not a Michael Jackson fan by any stretch of the definition, but the video for Smooth Criminal holds a special place in my heart simply for the amazing choreography and themes. So today I found out that Fred Astaire was the inspiration for much of what we see in that video. Check out this mashup that was posted on YouTube:
You learn something new everyday.
Posted by Aaron on May 28, 2008, 11:46 am permalink top | general
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May 15, 2008
required listening
This American Life, a news radio podcast from Chicago Public Radio has recently posted an episode entitled “The Giant Pool of Money”, a co-production with NPR. In their own words:
A special program about the housing crisis. We explain it all to you. What does the housing crisis have to do with the collapse of the investment bank Bear Stearns? Why did banks make half-million dollar loans to people without jobs or income? And why is everyone talking so much about the 1930s? It all comes back to the Giant Pool of Money.
It’s an hour long show that features interviews with home owners, mortgage brokers and Wall Street bankers and does an amazing job at explaining just what the heck happened with that whole “Sub-prime Mortgage Crisis” you may have heard of recently. If you are like me then you know very little about the inner workings of “global economics”, but this report is presented in a way that makes it crystal clear for us plebs.
I highly recommend you give it a listen, even if you thought you had no interest in economics in the past. You’ll be amazed by some of the stuff you hear.
Download it here.
Posted by Aaron on May 15, 2008, 8:54 am permalink top | general
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May 8, 2008
Of monocles and cogs
Saw this posted over on Boing Boing and had to share. The New York Times site has a great article on Steampunk fashion.
It is also the vision of steampunk, a subculture that is the aesthetic expression of a time-traveling fantasy world, one that embraces music, film, design and now fashion, all inspired by the extravagantly inventive age of dirigibles and steam locomotives, brass diving bells and jar-shaped protosubmarines. First appearing in the late 1980s and early ’90s, steampunk has picked up momentum in recent months, making a transition from what used to be mainly a literary taste to a Web-propagated way of life.
I’ve always been fascinated by steampunk culture. I love the fantastically-archaic fashion with its brass buttons, aviator goggles and top hats. There is something about the mix of Victorian era clothing with a a hint of adventure that I can’t get enough of. I imagine elegant social parties where gentlemen in waistcoats and bowlers check their engraved brass pocket watches, and then excuse themselves from polite company for they must board their time-traveling dirigible and fend off some dastardly air pirates.
As the article mentions, steampunk culture has been on the rise lately, and you can see its influence in many films. Anything from Back To The Future III to Hellboy 2 carries a touch of brass. And take a look at these amazing steampunk Star Wars figures! Whenever I get bored I know I can just do a Google Image search for “steampunk” and find all sorts of interesting gadgets and concept art.
Check out the complete article for more info and pictures.
Posted by Aaron on May 8, 2008, 8:59 am permalink top | general
6 Comments »
May 2, 2008
Iranian Oil Bourse
First a little background on the Iranian Oil Bourse, from wikipedia:
The Iranian Oil Bourse is a commodity exchange which opened on February 17, 2008. It was created by cooperation between Iranian ministries and other state and private institutions. The IOB is a Petrobourse for petroleum, petrochemicals and gas in various non-dollar currencies, primarily the Euro and Iranian rial and a basket of other major currencies. The geographical location is at the Persian Gulf island of Kish which is designated by Iran as a free trade zone.
So in short, the IOB is a marketplace for buying and selling petroleum. In the past, this has been an exclusive market of the US dollar, a deal that was brokered with Saudia Arabia in 1971 when the US was no longer able to back its dollar with gold. It is said that this oil-backed-dollar is one of the pillars holding up the American economy, the second pillar being its military supremacy.
There have been some talking points floating around lately about the impact of the IOB, especially since Iran has been asking customers to pay in currencies other than the USD. If others (notably Saudi Arabia) follow suite, this would have a major impact on the American economy as countries would no longer be required to purchase and stockpile US dollars to secure their oil supply.
Some analysts have theorized that it was a similar move by Iraq in 2003 that was the “last straw” which prompted the invasion. This may or may not be plausible, but it can be noted that the coalition forces did revert Iraq’s oil income back to the USD shortly after taking power, and that the original premises for the war — WMD, I’m looking at (for) you — were obviously false.
One thing I found interesting: Remember all of those undsea cable cuts from earlier this year? That just happened to coincide with launch of the IOB. Tinfoil hat territory? I don’t know. Given what we have seen from this administration, and what they are willing to do to protect the American empire, I wouldn’t be too shocked if there was a connection.
I’m very curious to see what is going to happen with this over the next few months, if Saudi Arabia jumps on board, and what kind of impact it will have.
Posted by Aaron on May 2, 2008, 1:51 pm permalink top | general
4 Comments »
April 30, 2008
Wired presents first glimpse at our new overlords
The Wired Gadget Lab has an interesting article up about a new, fourth electronic circuit element, the memristor, which was originally theorized by an engineering student back in 1971.
Thirty-seven years later, a group of scientists from HP Labs has finally built real working memristors, thus adding a fourth basic circuit element to electrical circuit theory, one that will join the three better-known ones: the capacitor, resistor and the inductor.
Researchers believe the discovery will pave the way for instant-on PCs, more energy-efficient computers, and new analog computers that can process and associate information in a manner similar to that of the human brain.
According to R. Stanley Williams, one of four researchers at HP Labs’ Information and Quantum Systems Lab who made the discovery, the most interesting characteristic of a memristor device is that it remembers the amount of charge that flows through it.
Indeed, Chua’s original idea was that the resistance of a memristor would depend upon how much charge has gone through the device. In other words, you can flow the charge in one direction and the resistance will increase. If you push the charge in the opposite direction it will decrease. Put simply, the resistance of the devices at any point in time is a function of history of the device –- or how much charge went through it either forwards or backwards. That simple idea, now that it has been proven, will have profound effect on computing and computer science.
Could this be the first step towards a neural net processor? A learning computer? Sarah Conor?
Posted by Aaron on April 30, 2008, 3:21 pm permalink top | general
2 Comments »
April 23, 2008
What I did on my spring vacation
I just recently came back from La France, the nation where my girlfriend was born and raised. It had been 2 years since we last visited but, with the upcoming move, we could only afford to visit for a week. We flew in to Paris overnight on Zoom Airlines; we’ve flown with them in the past and their prices are usually cheaper than the main carriers.
We arrived at Charles-de-Gaulle’s Terminal 3 and took a train into the city. As exhausted as we were, we wanted nothing more than to sit back, close our eyes and catch a snooze while the RER wound it’s way towards the Gare du Nord where we would jump onto a metro to her brother’s apartment.
Our brief rest was interrupted, however, by a duo whom I have dubbed “Gypsy Lady and Her Son, the Accordionist”. As far as gypsy-singers go, she seemed to have the technique mastered, and her son handled the squeeze-box like a pro. Unfortunately for them, we were not in a generous mood that fine spring morning. Sorry Gypsy Lady, maybe next time.
We met up with her brother and his wife in downtown Paris, and then hopped into the car for a 4 hour drive to the western coast, where the rest of her family lived. I had a few observations as we headed out of the city: To say that Paris is crowded is an understatement. The place is packed. Living space comes at a premium in Paris, with an apartment that would normally go for around 700$ in Montreal clocking in at a hefty 1000 euros in gai Paris. The city also seems to fear right-angled roads as much as the plague.
Parisian motorcyclists follow their own set of laws, which do not include barbaric restrictions such as “You may not drive between lanes when traffic gets heavy.”
One thing that stood out to me (for a bizarre reason I have yet to fathom) was that the trucks in France have their axles opposite to their North American counterparts. Take a look at your basic 18-wheeler. The cab has three axles; one forward, two aft and the trailer has 2 axles at the back. French cabs have 2 axles while the trailer has 3. I assure you it was a fascinating revelation at the time.
After 4 hours on the highway (the quality of which puts Québec roads to shame) we arrived in the beautiful Vendée region. It seems that square blocks is a North American phenomenon, as here as well the streets are as crooked as Québec highway contractors. See what I did there?
The week went by all too fast, fueled by delicious French cuisine served up by Soizic’s mother, who really outdid herself. Rabbit, duck, fondu, Coquilles Saint-Jacques, barbecue, crêpes, and so on and so on. We were filled to bursting and it was all we could do to waddle away from the table, trying to burn as many calories as possible before starting again.
They say that France has it good when it comes to food. This is a gross understatement. The selection and quality of cheeses, wines, breads, pastries, meats, yogurts and other grocery items was astounding. Top it off a fractional price point for one final kick-in-the-balls you filthy Americans!
We had brought some gifts with us, which included a copy of Ruse & Bruise; a delightful card game that everyone seemed to enjoy. I would recommend anyone to give it a try.
While in town we saw Bienvenue Chez Les Ch’tis, a comedy that recently swept the nation. We found it hilarious, but anyone unfamiliar with French culture would likely consider it unremarkable and probably confusing, which is a shame. It’s due to hit theatres in Québec this summer. We also visited the beach, and a zoo, which was worth it just to see a pair of cheetahs doing it ‘like they do on the Discovery channel’.
By the time we had started getting over the jet lag, it was time to head home. We had no problems with the flights and we are now back home safe and sound. The only downside is that we are both deep in the throws of “Time Zone Limbo”, which is a condition I would wish on no man.
Posted by Aaron on April 23, 2008, 8:52 pm permalink top | general
6 Comments »
April 11, 2008
Lenore Skenazy: Why I Let My 9-Year-Old Ride the Subway Alone
Here’s an article about a mother who let her 9-year-old son take the subway home, across New York City. If your first thought was “Oh my god! Is she insane?!”, don’t worry, it’s not your fault. You’ve just been brainwashed by years of “Tragic Event TV”.
The problem with this everything-is-dangerous outlook is that over-protectiveness is a danger in and of itself. A child who thinks he can’t do anything on his own eventually can’t.
I think she has a point though; we only ever hear about the “bad stuff” and not the thousands of time that nothing happens. I think kids these days are losing more and more of their freedoms due to this over-protective trend.
Give it a read.
EDIT: She has a few more comments in this podcast.
Posted by Aaron on April 11, 2008, 3:39 pm permalink top | general
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