Friday, May 13, 2005

The Unicorns say:

'Look at the ants on the floor
They work real hard
lifting three times their mass
and sometimes more'

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

some things are italicized

Elijahsays: now lets change the topic to the usefulness of italics
Allansays: Italics are useful to emphasize single words or to give whole sentences newfound authority.

Also here is a segment on Lactic Acid from our beloved wikipedia:

This lactic acid fermentation occurs in red blood cells since they don't have mitochondria, and in skeletal muscle during intense exertion when sufficient amounts of oxygen cannot be supplied fast enough. This lactate is released into the bloodstream. The typical lactate concentration in the blood is 1-2 mmole/L. The liver takes up about 60% of the lactate and reoxidizes it to pyruvate, which is then reconverted to glucose in a process known as gluconeogenesis. The glucose enters the bloodstream and can be used by the tissues. This glucose → lactate → glucose cycle, originally described by Carl and Gerty Cori, is known as the Cori cycle. About 40% of the lactate is taken up by well oxygenated muscle cells and oxidized to pyruvate, which is then directly used to fuel the citric acid cycle.

Sunday, March 13, 2005

St. Augustine once said:
I know not how I came into this, shall I call it a dying life or a living death?

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Awesomeness

At first glance it is an unremarkable piece of equipment.
Encased in metal, it contains at its heart a microchip no
more complex than the ones found in modern pocket calculators.


link

In other news, I told you so.

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

Tales from the Crypt

This sounds cool:

For those of you who have a car that can be unlocked
by
that remote button on your key ring: If you lock your
keys in the car and the spare keys are home, and you
don't have "OnStar," here's your answer to the
problem:

If someone has access to the spare remote at your
home,
call them on your cell phone (or borrow one from
someone if the cell phone is locked in the car too!)
Hold your (or anyone's) cell phone about a foot from
your car door and have the other person at your home
press the unlock button, holding it near the phone on
their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from
having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no
object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if
you can reach someone who has the other "remote" for
your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk, or
have the "horn" signal go off, or whatever!)

(Editor's Note * It works fine! We tried it out and it
unlocked our car over a cell phone!) Distance doesn't
seem to be a factor.


Thursday, February 03, 2005



René Magritte's
La condition humaine


linked from: National Gallery of Art

Wednesday, February 02, 2005


Okay here are the links http://www.niitholeinthewall.com/

Link The "Hole-in-the-wall" home
Link
PBS Reportage

Here's the idea behind this computer device via PBS:

Mitra has some provocative ideas on the connection between learning and poverty. "Poverty has two different definitions," he tells me. "Poverty of information is one kind of poverty; poverty of materials is another kind of poverty. The same method may not apply to solve the two problems."

Mitra observes that the developed world has spent billions of dollars over decades trying to solve the problem of "material poverty" with little success. He speculates that if the problem of "information poverty" is addressed instead -- by providing poor people with access to information they need and can use -- then the poor "might just figure out how to solve the problem of material poverty by themselves."


Here's how the idea got turned into a computer kiosk:

Like many great ideas, Mitra's was essentially simple. He cut a hole in the boundary wall separating NIIT from the adjacent slum, put a high-speed computer connected to the Internet in the hole, and turned it on.

I'm intrigued by the physical metaphor of a window, in reality a rear window into a tech company, for people who have not had opportunities to be involved in India's ongoing tech boom. I hope it works as planned but I have a feeling that setting someone loose on the internet without guidance is like dumping a lifeboat in the ocean without a compass. I think I'll write about this more after I think on it for a little while.

Rene Magritte is an artist


Corporate Lesson #2:
A priest was driving along and saw a nun on the on the
side of the road. He stopped and offered her a lift,
which she accepted. She got in and crossed her legs,
forcing her gown to open and reveal a lovely leg. The
priest had a look and nearly had an accident.

After regaining control of the car, he stealthily slid
his hand up her leg. The nun looked at him and
immediately said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?" The
priest was flustered and apologized profusely. He
forced himself to remove his hand. Changing gear, he
let his hand slide up her leg again.

The nun once again said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?"
Once again, the priest apologized. "Sorry, Sister,
but the flesh is weak." Arriving at the convent, the
nun got out gave him a meaningful glance and went on
her way.

Upon his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to
retrieve a bible and looked up Psalm 129. It Said "Go
forth and seek, further up, you will find glory."

Moral of the story: If you are not well informed in
your job, you might miss a great opportunity.