Will It Blend? - iPhone

Will It Blend? - iPhone

Two of our favorite products, together!



Blendtec has a vlog with lots "Will it blend?" videos.

Mac vs PC

Mac vs PC



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLbJ8YPHwXM

Commuter Rainbow

Commuter Rainbow

Is there a hint of a second rainbow there?



Taken with my iPhone.

And here is Seongbae's picture of driving to the end of the rainbow...
You can see that I was driving today. :)

OpenSolaris 2008.11 on OS X via VMware Fusion

Today I got OpenSolaris 2008.11 running on OS X with VMware Fusion. (again...simple)



In the picture is my blog about using VirtualBox to host a different version of OpenSolaris and Ubuntu/Linux, so there are 4 operating systems represented here!

jack@opensolaris:~$ uname -a
SunOS opensolaris 5.11 snv_101b i86pc i386 i86pc Solaris

OpenSolaris & Ubuntu/Linux on OS X with VirtualBox

Today I ran 3 Operating Systems on my MacBook Pro at the same time.

I downloaded Sun xVM VirtualBox for OS X and the iso images for OpenSolaris and Ubuntu. After installing VirtualBox I created a virtual machine and installed OpenSolaris. Later I created another virtual machine and installed Ubuntu.

Here is my desktop with all 3 Operating Systems running:


Click the image to enlarge.

You might be able to see the three "uname -a" commands, that look like this:

jack@opensolaris:~$ uname -a
SunOS opensolaris 5.11 snv_86 i86pc Solaris


tom@tom-desktop:~$ uname -a
Linux tom-desktop 3.6.27-7-generic #1 SMP Fri Oct 24 06:42:44 UTC 2008 i686 GNU/Linux


Toms-MacBook-Pro:~ tom$ uname -a
Darwin Toms-MacBook-Pro.local 9.5.0 Darwin Kernel Version 9.5.0: Wed Sep  3 11:29:43 
PDT 2008; root:xnu-1228.7.58~1/RELEASE_I386 i386

["Darwin" is the kernel in OS-X]

Simple. Fun. Cool.

The Mother of All Demos

My father worked at SRI with Doug Engelbart...

The Mother of All Demos is a name given to Douglas Engelbart's December 9, 1968 demonstration at the Convention Center in San Francisco, which included the first public demonstration of the mouse!



On December 9, 2008 at Stanford University's Memorial Auditorium, SRI International will present a commemorative 40th anniversary of this historic event.

Charles R. Kirkley

My sister sent this to the Palo Alto Weekly:

Charles R. Kirkley

Charles R. Kirkley, 70, passed away on November 7, 2008, of cancer. An early researcher in computer science and longtime resident of Palo Alto, Kirkley was born in Staten Island, New York on June 23, 1938. After a stint in the Army, he graduated from Colgate University with a B.S. in mathematics, earned an M.S.E.E. from the University of Washington and an M.S. in computer science from Stanford University. While enrolled in a Ph.D. program at Stanford in the late 1960s, Kirkley worked at Stanford Research Institute (SRI) in artificial intelligence. Later he worked as an instructor at Foothill College. Remembered for his quick wit and sense of humor, Kirkley is survived by his son Tom Kirkley, daughter Sondra Glider, three grandchildren (Michael and Michelle Kirkley, and Emily Glider), his brother John Kirkley, and his companion Susan Edwards.




Today the Palo Alto Weekly printed the following:

Charles R. Kirkley

Charles R. Kirkley, 70, a resident of the Palo Alto and Mountain View area for 45 years, died of cancer Nov. 7.

He was born in Staten Island, N.Y. After a stint in the army, he went on to graduate from Colgate University with a bachelor's degree in mathematics, an master's degree from the University of Washington and an master's degree in computer science from Stanford University.

While enrolled in a doctoral program at Stanford in the late 1960s, he worked at the Stanford Research Institute in artificial intelligence. Later he worked as an instructor at Foothill College.

Loved ones recall his quick wit and sense of humor.

He is survived by his children, Tom Kirkley of San Jose, daughter Sondra Glider of Palo Alto; brother, John Kirkley of Oregon; his companion, Susan Edwards of San Jose; and three grandchildren.

Charles Richard Kirkley

My father, Charles Richard Kirkley, passed away, gently in his sleep, on Friday, November 7, 2008.

SNL MEGA-MAP

At lunch today we were talking about the Saturday Night Live MEGA-MAP which is 1.5 minutes into this 7 minute clip:



I like the line "Check out Michigan,..." :)

Happy 3rd Birthday Gina!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Gina!!!

Today is Gina's 3rd birthday ("anniversary") of her kidney pancreas transplant! (It is actually the 3rd birthday of her 3rd kidney, because, in spite of what you see on Grey's Anatomy, Gina still has her original kidneys and pancreas.)

Gina's transplant saved her life, and changed ours forever. I can't imagine what life would be like without Gina. Every day I can wake up and say "I love you". Every day she brings joy into all of our lives...



Gina and I would like to take this occasion to remind everyone: Please register to be an organ donor at:

http://www.donatelifecalifornia.org/

This site allows you to sign up online to be an organ and tissue donor in California. Your organ donation could save the lives of eight people, and your tissue donation enhance the lives of another 50 people. Right now nearly 20,000 Californians wait for an organ transplant. That's 21 percent of the 94,000 people waiting across our country. Tragically, one third of them will die - waiting.

Some people do not wish to be donors because of incorrect or misleading information they have seen, heard or read. [Here are the] facts behind some of the more common misconceptions about donation.

http://www.donatelifecalifornia.org/about/facts/myths/

Register today and encourage others to register.

Thank you,
Love,

Tom and Gina

Carmen Agra Deedy: Spinning a story of Mama

I had lunch with my mom today, and she was talking about her mom, which reminded me of this TED TALK: Carmen Agra Deedy: Spinning a story of Mama

Kidney in a jar?! Glowing?!

Gina and I like watching Grey's Anatomy but our enjoyment was marred last night by another offensive break with reality.

Wikipedia, ("the fountain of all knowledge", ha!), is WRONG (again) when it labels Grey's Anatomy as a "television medical drama" because the show is really just a prime time soap opera that happens to be set in a hospital. A real medical drama would try to make the "medical" portions of the show have some basis in reality.

This episode revolved around a "domino surgery," -- 12 kidney transplants in six O.R.s at the same time. And a significant plot device was the "kidney in a jar"; supposedly one of the kidneys removed during the transplant...except...most kidney transplantation do NOT remove a kidney! The recipient usually ends up with three kidneys. (Really, really lucky recipients also get an extra pancreas as well!)

Many shows unwittingly perpetuate medical myths, some harmful, which Red Cross First Aid Teachers have to deal with later (no, please, don't slam you fist down on someone's chest like you saw on MacGyver or MacGruber) but most "medical" dramas get the basic "medical" facts right. Fortunately, Grey's Anatomy is a soap opera and is not constrained by fact...they can even make dead tissue glow! :)

Bloodhound SSC 1000+mph car!

Bloodhound SSC 1000+mph car!

The fastest way to work?



Bloodhound SSC is a pencil-shaped car powered by a jet engine and a rocket that will be capable of approximately 1,000 miles per hour (1,609 km/h).[1] If all goes to plan, Bloodhound SSC will break the land speed record by the largest ever margin.

The project was announced on 23 October 2008 at the Science Museum in London by Lord Drayson, the Minister of Science in the UK's Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, who in 2006 first proposed the project to Richard Noble and Andy Green; the two men who between them have held the land speed record for 25 years.

John McCain and Barack Obama roast each other

John McCain and Barack Obama roast themselves and each other!

...update...The Barack YouTube video was pulled for some reason...so...

Here is the YouTube video of Al Smith Dinner 2008 (Full Video).
McCain starts around 7 minutes into the video.
Obama starts around the 23 minute mark.




The Wikipedia article about the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner starts:

The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner is an annual charity fund raiser for Catholic Charities. It is organized by the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation in honor of former New York Governor Al Smith, the first Catholic presidential candidate. The first dinner was in 1945, the year after Al Smith's death. The 2008 dinner raised $3.9 million.[1]

Since 1960 (when Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy were speakers), it has been a stop for the two main presidential candidates during several U.S. election years. In 1976, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter spoke; in 1980, Carter and Ronald Reagan; in 1988, Michael Dukakis and George H.W. Bush; in 2000, Al Gore and George W. Bush; and in 2008, John McCain and Barack Obama. Since 1945 only two presidents have not spoken at the dinner: Harry Truman and Bill Clinton.[2] In recent years the candidates have traditionally given humorous speeches.


...and here is my orig post with the broken video...


John McCain at the Alfred E Smith Memorial Dinner 1




John McCain at the Alfred E Smith Memorial Dinner 2




Obama Roasts McCain at Al Smith Dinner

Tina Fey as Sarah Palin on SNL

Here are links to the Saturday Night Live Video Library collection of Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. Enjoy!

http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/palin-hillary-open/656281/

http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/couric-palin-open/704042/

http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/vp-debate-open-palin-biden/727421/

With Queen Latifah as Gwen Iffil!

Shout-out to Malta

Shout-out to Malta

The Votemaster gave a shout-out to Malta on Electoral-vote.com today when he was comparing voter turnout in different countries:

As you can see, voter turnout in the U.S. [54%] is far less than such beacons of democracy as Malta [94%] and Austria [92%].

But other countries do not have the quality of candidates that we have here in the U.S.

Supreme Court Vacancies Likely in Next Four Years

Supreme Court Vacancies Likely in Next Four Years

One issue that has been totally absent from the campaign is the Supreme Court. Five of the justices are 70 or more. Justice Stevens is 88 and unlikely to want to serve 4 more years. Justice Ginsberg had cancer and was operated on for it. Justice Souter is known to want to retire and return to New Hampshire. These are three of the most liberal justices on the court. If all three retire and are replaced by Obama, the court will retain its even split between liberals and conservatives for many years to come. If all three are replaced by McCain, the conservatives will have a clear majority and surely reverse Roe v. Wade and many other decisions that conservatives think are wrong. It is amazing that the court has gotten so little attention.

SUN and the LHC

Data from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is being stored on Sun products.

Sun Fire X4500 servers with a 400 terabytes storage capacity and Sun tape technology

The Sun System News article has this quote from the LHC Rap by Kate McAlpine:

Twenty-seven kilometers of tunnel under ground;
Designed with mind to send protons around;
A circle that crosses through Switzerland and France;
Sixty nations contribute to scientific advance.

TierneyLab: Obama’s Science Quiz

Chris sent me this link to New York Times TierneyLab blog article Obama’s Science Quiz where Obama responded (but McCain did not respond) to questions about science.

While I was there I took the Astronomy Quiz and got 9/10 right (I should have been perfect! rats!).

Paul Rothemund: The astonishing promise of DNA folding

Paul Rothemund: The astonishing promise of DNA folding

Previously I blogged about Paul Rothemund's "scaffolded DNA origami" and now he talks about how to scale the process using "tiles".