Category: cool stuff

Skype Universal Chat Language Translator and Speaker

testing.OnlyTheRightAnswers.com – Universal Chat Language Translator and Speaker for Skype
It is now possible that Skype users using their own native language of Arabic, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish to be in the same Skype muti-chat and using a common base output language, all communicating with one another and understanding each other. Yet those same people might not be able to communicate had they all met on the corner of some street.

Because of the Speaking ability of the application, Skype users will not only be able to instantly communicate with other Skype users on a WorldWide basis, while learning to read and write a new language, they will be learning to pronounce the words in these new languages, correctly at the same time, if they choose.

Dude, Sweet Airstream

In Gear: Dude, Sweet Airstream – In Gear Online – Automobile Magazine
Sold alongside traditional Airstreams, the BaseCamp doesn’t just look different. The entire rear end opens up for loading, and the interior can be configured for hauling or hanging out. The sixteen-foot BaseCamp weighs about 2000 pounds. Prices that start at less than $20,000 should change the look of buyers as well. Says CEO Bob Wheeler: “We’re determined to change the perception that Airstreams are for your grandparents. I guess Caroline Collier wants to see Santa pulling one of these behind his sleigh, as she sent us this link. Click on the link above for more views.

Political Science for Dummies

DEMOCRATIC

 

You have two cows.
Your neighbor has none.
You feel guilty for being successful.
Barbara Streisand sings for you.

 

REPUBLICAN

 

You have two cows.
Your neighbor has none.
So?

 

SOCIALIST

 

You have two cows.
The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor.
You are forced to join a cooperative to help him manage his cow.

 

COMMUNIST

 

You have two cows.
The government seizes both and sells the milk at a state store.
You wait in line for hours to get it.
It is expensive and sour. Continue reading “Political Science for Dummies”

Decoding the 2,000-year-old Antikythera Mechanism

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/112706widernet.html

The Mechanism is named after the Greek island of Antikythera [antih-KITH-ehra], where in 1900 a sponge diver taking shelter from a storm found an ancient shipwreck 200 feet below the Mediterranean’s surface. Archeologists removed an array of artifacts, but it wasn’t until mid-1902, that one of them noticed that embedded in what was thought to be a lump of broken calcified bronze statuary was a gear wheel.

Since its discovery in 1902, the Antikythera Mechanism — with its intricate and baffling system of about 30 geared wheels — has been an enigma. Our knowledge of its functions has increased as computer-based imaging, analysis and X-ray technologies have evolved. During the last 50 years, researchers have identified various astronomical and calendar functions, including gears that mimic the movement of the sun and moon.

But it has taken some of the most advanced technology of the 21st century to decipher during the past year the most advanced technology of the 1st century B.C. The Antikythera Mechanism Research Project,

From Wired magazine Imaging the Antikythera Computer

The Pigeons are tripping

By Kevin Deutsch Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Tuesday, November 14, 2006 and thanks to Maria Collier for pointing this out.

WEST PALM BEACH— If Marvin the Falcon becomes more picky about his prey, you can blame the hallucinogenic corn.

For 10 years, pest control workers have fed the pesky pigeons that roost on the courthouse roof kernels of corn mixed with a hallucinogenic agent designed to scare them away.

Some courthouse workers are worried the chemical could hurt or even kill Marvin, a pigeon-eating peregrine falcon that has become the “mascot” of the courthouse’s 11th floor. Continue reading “The Pigeons are tripping”

YouTube misdirected

IE7 rejected, YouTube misdirected | InfoWorld | News | November 10, 2006 | By Robert X. Cringely®
In a pickle: YouTube is being sued by the Universal Tube and Rollform Corporation, whose utube.com Web site has been deluged by quasi-literate Netizens looking for video clips but finding rotary welders and de-dimpling machines instead. Apparently utube’s traffic soared from a few thousand to several million hits per month, taking the site offline. Company president Ralph Girkins wants the video site to fork over big bucks to cover his “rebranding” costs. No word yet on whether he also plans to sue Vlasic, makers of sweet gherkins, for borrowing his last name.

Wave-powered ‘ducks’ could purify seawater

Wave-powered ‘ducks’ could purify seawater – tech – 07 November 2006 – New Scientist Tech
Ocean waves could provide an energy-efficient way to desalinate seawater, say UK researchers. While conventional purification plants have high energy demands, the rocking motion of floating buoys could be used to drive a pump system for desalination.

The hollow core of each duck is half-filled with freshwater, to avoid corrosion and act as ballast, with the air above divided by a central section. To start working, the ballast water must be pre-heated to about 100°C but the whole system is insulated so that it only gradually loses heat and only needs to be refilled about once a month.