Keeping the peace

As I was growing up, sunday mornings getting ready for church were always umm Interesting. You see we had 6 ppl in my family and usually only one bathroom. And we aren't the kind of family to walk in on each other.

I was reflecting back on this yesterday and how I, always really wanted to solve this problem. The best thing I had come up with to date involved parabolic mirrors, so it wasnt terribly practical.

I think I might have it licked though...
In a bathroom with this configuration, 3-4 ppl can operate simutaneously without any interference. At least, that is, as long as someone has evacuated before the person in the shower comes out. :P

Google in the Fire

Bellsouth (my service provider...unfortunately) recently hatched this crazy(greedy!) idea to make websites share the cost of bandwidth. Google isnt budging

For those of you that havent heard, the federal government is asking Google to hand over search records to help track sexually explicit content on the web. Google isnt budging, so far.

Google...pick your guns carefully, and stick to them!

Power Idea

So this one is so obivous and simple I should probably hold onto it....

How about a series of power strips that are controlled (on/off, maybe for individual plugs) through Buetooth!!?

Btw, Mpower Systems is looking for a person with electronic fabrication skills. If you can design a good circuit to control two power window motors with a standard analog joystick, between now and breakfast please email me.

Robot Marketplace

The Robot Marketplace

They've got some great parts/kits. I am especially eyeing the pre-slotted axles. :)

Interfacing

Bear with me this is a complex one....

I have been thinking about how to make computers do things alot. In particular I was thinking about whether you could call your own phone, have your computer take the call and then bark commands to your computer over the phone. Well I dont know if it would work but if it did, you would have to somehow control the computer without seeing the screen.

Then I thought about how my friend Ashley is HUGE on using the keyboard for everything, any program he finds without keyboard shortcuts he refuses to use. There often arent shortcuts for everything the program can do...

I myself find it hard to remember more than a few without spending loads of time working on it.

And then theres the CLI (command line interface) crowd. They build software that works solidly (thankfully) if you can string the commands together in the right sequence (doh!).

What if, a program had a single key, Alt, or Ctrl shortcut for EVERY function! And was built where these could be used in the command line. Then in order to give the program a GUI you would just have to map all your buttons to feed the program each key. (which is essntially what the linux guys do except the commands are more grammatic)

Then you could possibly get the phone call control working, the computer would have to work out the focus (for example when a dialog pops up), but you would be that much closer. Scripting would become that much easier as well.

You gotta remember that this is coming from a guy that doesnt really script or program that much.

2 Games

The easiest game ever created:1D- Tetris

and one of the hardest: N

Lunch post

I was thinking as I drove home for lunch about the Matrix™ movies, and why the last two sucked so much more than the first (cause the first one really rocked).

I bet it comes down to the time they had to chew on the concepts and scripts. As in for the first one they probably had the idea years and years before they got the go ahead and funding to make it. So for years and years this movie was being ground down to the smallest details and the concepts and visuals refined, till it was incredibly well developed.

On the other hand the last two were probably on a schedule and there was stress and worry all around to get it out on time. And after it was completed..That was it..Onto making them. I think this happens ALOT in creative endeavors.

I read an article recently that lamented that so many people spend such large amounts of thier life building junk (cant remember where I read it). Junk that gets a little use, or makes us smile a little but quickly degrades and ends up in a landfill. What if those products had just a little more refinement, what if someone had taken a couple more days and thought about its flaws?

What if they had gone into farming and grown some food instead?

So if your reading this and involved in creative endeavors, just take a couple more hard looks at your creation, think about its ultimate end. Will it end up discarded, or an hierloom. Will it still be useful or enjoyable in 5yrs time?

If it isnt, then consider going into farming (we can always use more food).