- Introducing Falcon (Storage Engine for MySQL) - intriguing new storage engine. it will be interesting to see its performance...
- The Lego CD Thrower - awesome use of lego mindstorms.
April 2006 Archives
Last night I had a realization when I was on the treadmill...
As part of my training program, I have been doing long runs and bikes on the weekends, and shorter "recovery" runs/bikes during the week. I like to do the shorter runs on the treadmill because I have a problem pacing myself (favoring the sprint and then burning out early). It's also convienent that I do my swimming during the week at the same health club as said treadmill.
Last night it hit me that when I run on the treadmill I know what a gerbil feels like. I think I need to get out of the cage a little more.
As a side note, I missed the online registration deadline for the Chicago Triathlon, but they are still accepting mail in entries. This seems backwards to me. Wouldn't you close mail in entries earlier especially since you have a more accurate, up to date count with the online registrations? I'll be nervous that I actually made it in until I see that the check was cashed. I suppose that's what I get for slacking on it. Worst case there are a few shorter (sprint) distance tris in the area that still have plenty of room that I could race.
Up this weekend: 4 mile run and a 30 mile bike.
- Who Are You Calling "Pirate"? - "The Consumer Electronics Association created this terrific new ad, which will run in two Capitol Hill publications today."
- Spitfire vs Reporter - "Spitfire happens"
- Palm Treo 700w Case with Armband - Apparently they will be coming out with one of these for the 650 in a month or two.
- Tune Belt MP3 - Wonder how this would fit a 650. The dimensions are about the same as an iPod...
- Map Gallery of Religion in the United States - More maps showing the distrobution of specific religions across the US
- Christian Church Distribution - Interesting to see what denominations prevail in different regions of the US
- Sheble Aviation Flight Schools - Accelerated training (IFR, etc) in podunk AZ
- FireBug - "FireBug lets you explore the far corners of the DOM by keyboard or mouse. All of the tools you need to poke, prod, and monitor your JavaScript, CSS, HTML and Ajax are brought together into one seamless experience, including an error console, command line
- The_latest_works3.gif (GIF Image, 809x596 pixels) - The almonds move, but only when your eyes do...
- Cool perspective of a total eclipse - "The International Space Station (ISS) was in position to view the umbral (ground) shadow cast by the Moon as it moved between the Sun and the Earth during the solar eclipse on March 29, 2006."
- Tugboat Trouble - "Ho, hum. Just another day on the river."
- 2006 Underhanded C Contest - We hereby announce our second annual contest to write innocent-looking C code implementing malicious behavior.
- Undercooking Light - "One cup" is the fundamental, atomic unit of shredded cheese
WARNING: This post is a bunch of disjointed thoughts....
I admit, I stayed up to watch the NCAA men's basketball national championship game last night, but mostly to see one shining moment--more on that in a moment.
Early on in the game, it seemed as though the refs, once again, wanted control of the game and missed a lot of major fouls, yet called a lot of ticky-tack. This had an effect on both teams. Florida realized that they had to be more sly about their fouls, and were successful at doing that. UCLA on the other hand couldn't adapt to a game that wasn't called like they were used to. They play a more bruising (some liken it to Big Ten or Big East style) game of basketball, where contact is expected, and seldom called within the league.
Perhaps I'm slightly biased (see the 2005 final, and the 2nd round Illinois/Washington game from 2006), but it seems that the officiating between conferences is so different during the regular season. When it comes tourney time, some teams have a difficult time adapting to a "less bruising" style of play when they are used to getting calls a certain way all season. Perhaps it is the way in which officials are selected for the tourneys--often crews are made of officials from different leagues--that causes the odd calls and non-calls.
I don't want to take anything away from Florida as played their hearts out and deserved the win. However, I do think that the game should have been (and could have been) a lot closer if the officiating was more consistent. You could see the effect the early foul trouble had on a very young UCLA team.
I'm not sure what to do about the officiating, but something needs to change. I don't like seeing good teams made to look silly mainly because the refs took over the game. That's not what college ball is about.
</soapbox>
Did anyone notice that this year's one shining moment didn't seem to include much of the final game at all? I remember much more of the final in years past than this years. The shot of Dee walking off the court dejected from the loss to Washington pretty much summed up a disappointing finish to a great career.
- Guide to Common Home Laundering & Drycleaning Symbols - I had a shirt that just had symbols on it. This should really be printed inside the lid of my washing machine.
- Care Label Symbols - 1 page pdf of laundering symbology.
- Old and Abandoned Airport Terminals - Some great history about some of the old passenger terminals around the country as we moved into the jet age and beyond.
I will be the chief chloroform in a new rose shaped building.
Seriously, what is the fascination with google based april fool's jokes today? I've read 4 blogs now that say they all got a new job at the googleplex. It caught me the first time I saw one, but after reading it over and over, it's getting really old. At least there was one where a y! guy and a goog guy swapped jobs, and swapped blogs as well.
Maybe I'm just jealous because I didn't come up with it first? Dobutful.
