The FN Black Box:

detects/discriminates/counts shots
measures burst rates and burst lengths
records firing sequences
detects stoppages due to failures to cycle

The armorer can therefore anticipate necessary maintenance actions and consult all previous maintenance operations when and as required.

Interesting. The same concept is often applied to industrial machines.

Also, via insty, comes the iPhone v. Droid smackdown.

I’ve never had an iPhone though I have played with a few. So, I can’t really say one is better than the other in terms of the interface. But Droid has a few key tangible things that I like better:

It can run multiple apps.
I can change the battery.
Comes w 16gb SD card.
And Verizon, unlike AT&T, doesn’t suck.

Past Droid posts here.

Android forums is a handy resource. Particularly, this thread.

Specs and a round up of handy tips and tools.

A blog with tips

2- Microsoft is pimping Windows 7 for netbooks. Anyone try this?

And while you’re at it, make an atlatl. You know, for when you’re out of fireballs.

A robot blob

A couple of physicists have theorized (and I am not making this up) that the universe really doesn’t want us smashing up protons in a collider. Seems that they think the universe finds this act abhorrent to nature and so God or time-travelers are trying to stop us from doing that. Because it could kill us all. Such an action could create the Higgs boson, which using my own highly technical physics terms may be either a big ass thing (which it might not be since it’s apparently going to be small) or one of those mathematical concepts that can kill us all. And we know how much I hate those. Anyway, either God or time travelers may be thwarting our attempts at this and I think it’s amusing when physicists talk about God and time travelers.

And the author of the article, Dennis Overbye, writes:

Dr. Nielsen and Dr. Ninomiya have proposed a kind of test: that CERN engage in a game of chance, a “card-drawing” exercise using perhaps a random-number generator, in order to discern bad luck from the future. If the outcome was sufficiently unlikely, say drawing the one spade in a deck with 100 million hearts, the machine would either not run at all, or only at low energies unlikely to find the Higgs.

Sure, it’s crazy, and CERN should not and is not about to mortgage its investment to a coin toss.

He calls odds of 99,999,999:1 a coin flip? I want to gamble with this guy.

That said, I’m looking at TeeVee options. Charter has decent cable and on demand things. We used to have Directv but dumped them once they dumped TiVo. I’ve even been pondering getting one of those Windows Media Center PCs. Anyone have any experience with the Media Center set up? And experience with Charter? And does Directv do TiVo again?

I’d appreciate any input.

update: Looks like TiVo and Directv kissed and made up.

I guess I could move the modem to the TeeVee and get wireless for my desktop computer. But that would probably cause me networked printers to not work.

What do you use?

I’ve often wondered why no one has come up with an IPSC or IDPA game for the Wii.

Also, Google Voice looks to be pretty cool.

One idea involves the use of radio frequency tags that would allow officers to pinpoint where other cops are in the city, Browne said. Another involves tags that would work gun-to-gun and use an infrared sensor: When a weapon is pulled from an officer’s holster it would trigger a signal that would be sent to the gun of a nearby officer. The signal may be seen or heard.

Using technology to solve problems that are better solved through other means tends to create more problems. There is no magic switch or button for every thing.

Boys who carry a particular variation of the gene Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), sometimes called the “warrior gene,” are more likely not only to join gangs but also to be among the most violent members and to use weapons, according to a new study from The Florida State University that is the first to confirm an MAOA link specifically to gangs and guns.

Findings apply only to males. Girls with the same variant of the MAOA gene seem resistant to its potentially violent effects on gang membership and weapon use.

I find the tie in to guns odd as opposed to weapons in general. I imagine that using a weapon is part of being in a gang as a tool of being a gangster as opposed to a gene dictating gun ownership over, say, a stick.

A US clinic has sparked controversy by offering would-be parents the chance to select traits like the eye and hair colour of their offspring.

Via Chuck, who says Gay people, Your days are numbered.

What say you?

The answer is: It got paid.

Rocket surgeon Sarah explains why and she has math.

Note: The French theme today was not planned but sometimes it happens.

No one is galaxy-hopping, or even beaming people around, but for the first time, information has been teleported between two separate atoms across a distance of a meter — about a yard.

Stupid science.

Oh, and I seem to recall a TeeVee show that said the Baghdad batteries were probably used to gold plate things.

Via gauv’s place.

Instead of filling out the required ATF paperwork by hand, gun buyers and dealers will now be able to complete what officials say is a fail-safe electronic version of the document, known as Form 4473.

Speaking at a gun shop in Upper Marlboro where he announced the change, acting ATF Director Michael J. Sullivan said the new option would cut down on illegible answers and incomplete answers — the most common causes of violations.

In other news, is this an admission that all those supposedly willful violations they used to shut down federal firearms license holders weren’t, err, actually willful?

Update: More from David who wonders if this is the same software that ATF was accused of stealing.

Can’t find video, though. Probably be here soon.

I have recently became disconnected from pop culture for a very different reason. I got TiVo. See, now I only watch what I want, when I want to watch it, and without commercials. I’m not exposed to what’s hot. Generally, I have no idea what movies are out (this week is the exception in that I know Madagascar 2 is out because the kids at Junior’s school are into that). I generally have no idea who any of the people are that are mentioned in the Yahoo! entertainment blurb that pops up on the home page. I have no idea who the people on the cover of any magazine at the supermarket are. Marko suffered a disconnect from getting disconnected. I suffered the disconnect by upgrading technology.

I don’t miss it. Most TeeVee sucks. I watch very few shows. A list would include Mythbusters, Battlestar Galactica, Family Guy, The Daily Show (occasionally), My Name Is Earl, Mail Call, Southpark and The Simpsons. That’s really it, except the occasional sporting/poker event. Southpark and The Simpsons are probably coming off the list because lately they suck. Now, I also manage to watch a whole lot of Blues Clues, Spongebob, Dora, Diego, Back at the Barnyard, and Fairly Odd Parents as a function of having kids. But they’re not exactly piping pop culture into the house. Of course, I’ve mentioned before Junior’s utter shock at the discovery of commercials.

Another interesting trend is that, once again because of technology, I can’t name a Top 40 song. No idea. But, then, I’ve never been a big Top 40 guy either. I download my music and pick only what I want to listen to.

I guess you can disconnect or plug in more heavily and become disconnected from pop culture.

They need one for the crackberry.

Ya know, I still have one. Initially, it was for two reasons. We have a fax machine and a fancy alarm system. Now, the fax machine can be replaced with a wide variety of software or online services. The one we can’t seem to find an online replacement for is the alarm system. It communicates with our service, police, and fire all through the land line. Were it not for that, I would not have a home phone. That’s $70 month could be spent on ammo!

Speaking of Joe, I don’t know that I’ve ever mentioned he created Modern Ballistics, the world’s most sophisticated small arms exterior ballistics program for the personal computer.

In equally scary but also equally kinda cool news, scientists are on the verge of creating life. And I, for one, welcome our new protocells built from fatty molecules overlords.

See you tomorrow. . . maybe.

The good: It’s fast, clean and neat.

It also lets you use the hotkeys in wordpress (i.e., alt+A for hyperlink) this never worked in Firefox.

The bad (or Firefox ruined me): I want it to open items from a bookmark in a new tab. It doesn’t do that.

I also like to store my bookmarks in folders and opening all items in a folder at once. Can’t do that with Chrome, that I’ve found.

When you close the last tab, it closes the application. Not a fan.

I wish new tabs would be opened at the end and not behind the current tab.

Other: Not tried downloading yet so I dunno if it has a download manager or not.

Update: Also cool that I can resize text boxes in the browser. I do wish it would remember the size and keep it the same when I come back to the site.

I looks like the future will hold more Macs

And I was kinda hoping for the glove/headset/eye goggles gizmo that Keanu Reeves had in Johnny Mnemonic.

I opted for the Crackberry Curve.

Update: Another case against the iPhone.

Note: I swore I’d never have an iPhone but Chris changed my mind from Hell No to Hmmm, maybe.

How’s AT&T service in East TN?

Update: In a bit of irony, it seems AT&T’s webpage only supports Internet Exploder. Yes, AT&T sole provider of Apple’s iPhone will only let you use a Microsoft product to check service.

But wait, there’s more.

It’s a sad day when you cannot trust a religious man like Al.

Technology: Stop it before it kills someone!!!

There is one thing gun lovers won’t understand. It is very simple. The word that sums it up is: Technology.

Really? Have you seen some of the gun stuff today? Like red dot sights, guns that shoot around corners, etc. Seems we understand it fine.

And:

You can go on and on ad nauseam about mental health, drugs, depression, revenge, etc. But when push comes to shove, if there were no guns on this planet (and I mean all guns ) military, civilian — all) how would they respond to their dilemma?

Like they did before guns brought us civilization: pure brute force.

Technology: Stop it before it kills someone.

Via Squeaky.

Things like this are why.

Via KAG.

Just curious.

Update: That was fast. Answer in comments.

Alrighty, then.

The UN has just released a “major report”. The fourth Global Environmental Outlook since 1997. It contains dire warnings. It seems there are too many people on Planet Earth. We are actually killing the Planet.

Now before you consider the source and scoff, know this, 388 experts and scientists describe this as “the final wake-up call to the international community.”

“Life would be easier if we didn’t have the kind of population growth rates that we have at the moment,” Steiner said. “But to force people to stop having children would be a simplistic answer. The more realistic, ethical and practical issue is to accelerate human well-being and make more rational use of the resources we have on this planet.”

What does that mean? It means that the 388 scientists theorize that you eat too much, require too much land, too much energy, and too many resources. So stop having children, eating meat, and driving your fat ass around in that SUV, you damn Planet killer.

All kidding aside, is there a purpose to this continual fear mongering from the United Nations? An endgame so to speak.

Could it be a World Wide tax administered by the United Nations?

Atlanta has only 81 days of water left. If you were to say they had it coming for their suburban sprawl from Hell, you would be overlooking another reason, the Government of course.

The water supply for Atlanta is Lake Lanier. Every single day millions of gallons of Georgia water are pumped to Florida to keep water brackish for oysters and shrimp.

Whose bright idea was this? The Government of course.

Now people in Florida are telling people in Georgia they can’t build so many homes because of the water shortage. Guess where the people of Georgia plan to get some water from? Just guess. The friendly people of Tennessee of course. We have a nice big river and they want us to share. Even the Government is thinking what a swell idea this is.

Can the Government do anything else to screw up your life? Of course. You see we have this Global Warming crisis and if we don’t do something about it the Earth will be destroyed. So what is the Governments bright idea. Ethanol. Grow corn and make ethanol to cut down on foreign oil. More jobs, better national security, and were saving the Planet people. Could it get any better?

Actually, this is the single most stupid idea from the Government yet. Even dumber than changing the date for Daylights saving time.

One gallon of ethanol requires 1,700 gallons of water according to Cornell ecology professor David Pimentel. Do you think the Government should have thought of that?

In Mexico there are food riots because of corn shortages. Corn is a basic food staple in Mexico. Food prices worldwide are rising because of a shortage of corn for food. Remember the good old days when we just ate corn, instead of putting it in our gas tank?

Are we seeing the “law of unintended consequences” yet?

Want to do something to help? Boycott ethanol. You be saving the Planet. And a whole lot of water. And that’s a good thing.

Go to Control Panel
Choose Admistrative tools
Choose Services
scroll to Print spooler and double click
stop

This will close spooler compleatly.
Ok back out and then go back to same page and click start
Spooler comes back to life empty!!

All spelling errors property of the original author.

NEVADA, Iowa (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson acknowledged Wednesday that he’s reversed his position on ethanol subsidies, saying his new stand is based on changes in energy prices and security issues.

Thompson spoke about the issue after touring an ethanol plant, one of dozens in Iowa, which leads the nation in ethanol production. The actor and former Tennessee senator was finishing a five-day trip to the state, where precinct caucuses begin the presidential nominating process.

Meeting with reporters, Thompson acknowledged that he had switched his position on subsidies for ethanol.

“I have voted against subsidies in the Senate,” said Thompson. “But I think it’s a matter now of national security and we’ve got to avail ourselves of a lot of different resources, and I think renewable has to be a part of that picture.”

Maybe this can help some gunnys in protecting 2nd Amendment Rights?

From today’s NiT post that Adam linked on VV.:

You want to see that local politicians have no choice but to represent the citizens? Then shine the light of day on them, ten minutes at a time.

YouTube is the newest tool for people that wish to make those who represent them accountable. In this revolution more eyes make for better government.

Do you wish that when a local politico gives a variance to a developer that the people could see it? It isn’t possible for the newspapers and television news programs to cover every aspect of public meetings. In fact most public meetings receive little coverage or commentary. And they are as interesting as watching paint dry. But there is a way you can shine the light.

When politicos try to erode our 2nd Amendment Rights put them on YouTube for everyone to see.

CALL Gov’s Sac number (916-445-2841)

Press 1 – for English
Press 2 – for Voice your opinion on Assembly Bills
Press 1 – for Micro Stamping Bill (AB1471)
Press 2 to OPPOSE the gun control bill.

Via RuffRidr, who says:

You don’t have to speak to anyone. This takes 20 seconds. That’s it! I repeat, you do not need to speak to anyone

In other news, there’s now an automated system to support or oppose legislation?

Once again we have a mineshaft gap.

This is one seriously big bomb. Kills everything within three miles and causes deafness within four miles.

On sale day, about half way through the day, the police show up. They inform my neighbor that there is a fee and permit required to have a garage sale. And you’re limited to two sales per year (my neighbor was in no trouble of violating that one). Officer friendly let just told him to remember that next time. No harm, no foul. I did some research (i.e., talked to some people who would know) to find out why the limit; why there’s a fee; and why there’s a form to fill out. Turns out, it’s a law that has been on the books for a long time but it was never enforced. Until Ebay. Seems a lot of folks run Ebay based businesses out of their homes. Whenever stuff wasn’t selling on Ebay, they’d have garage sales. And, apparently, people started complaining that certain other people were having garage sales every couple of weeks and were basically operating a trafficked business from their homes. And these sales caused traffic problems and, generally, made life hard on their fellow subdivision denizens.

Anyway, the garage sale was a success. So much so that the Mrs. wants to have one in our yard because we’ve found all sorts of other stuff that, at one time, we absolutely had to have but we now no longer need. Like my robot (looks like this). So, being the law-abiding sorts we are, she wants to pay the fee and get the permit. She called. Turns out, there is no fee. But there is an application and it is designed just to ensure you limit your sales to two per year.

Also, she was googling up yard sales and fees and Maryville and her first result was Les Jones. Small internet.

A MIRACLE material for the 21st century could protect your home against bomb blasts, mop up oil spillages and even help man to fly to Mars.

Aerogel, one of the world’s lightest solids, can withstand a direct blast of 1kg of dynamite and protect against heat from a blowtorch at more than 1,300C.

Scientists are working to discover new applications for the substance, ranging from the next generation of tennis rackets to super-insulated space suits for a manned mission to Mars.

The company has successfully converted a Mini into an electric vehicle (EV) with four direct-drive wheels, each with an electronic hub motor of 160 break-horse-power. This combined 640 bhp allows for an acceleration of 0-60mph in 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 150 mph (240 kph).

A small 250cc petrol engine charges the car’s battery while the car is being driven. In this mode it will run for up to 900 miles before needing to re-fuel, while in pure EV mode it will run for 200 miles. Previous electric models barely managed 60 mph (100kph) and had a range of less than 100 miles.

There are no good guys in this story. Misguided and incompetent regulation combined with utilities that found ways to game the system resulted in what had been the best communication system in the world becoming just so-so, though very profitable. We as consumers were consistently sold ideas that were impractical only to have those be replaced later by less-ambitious technologies that, in turn, were still under-delivered. Congress set mandates then provided little or no oversight. The FCC was (and probably still is) managed for the benefit of the companies and their lobbyists, not for you and me. And the upshot is that I could move to Japan and pay $14 per month for 100-megabit-per-second Internet service but I can’t do that here and will probably never be able to.

In case you haven’t been reading Crigley’s blog (and you should be), Part 1 and Part 2.

Until now. Like most great inventions this was an accident discovered when a former broadcast executive tried to discover a cure for cancer.

Meet John Kanzius.

Via Xavier.