Government Surplus

Found a site with government surplus items. Cool!

無線給電

I found this term on Yahoo Dictionary, which piqued my interest. Of course Tesla really proved that wireless power was realizable. Well, I thought up an idea on how to monetize it, but we'll see if the Japanese have any better ideas.

無線給電

電気コンセントに給電装置を差し込み、この装置から電波で家庭にある家電に電気を送り込むシステム。これまでは家電を操作するためには乾電池を利用するか、電気の差し込み口にコンセントを差し込まなければならずその場合は電気コードがどうしても必要となり、長いコードが室内中に張り巡らされる場合もある。そこでテレビやパソコン、ビデオ機器などの各種のデジタル家電を電気や通信用のコードなしに利用できるようにする技術の研究が始まった。東芝を中心として約15社が集まり、官民共同で研究開発を行い、2015年の実用化を目指している。家電のネットワーク化が進めば配線は今以上に増えかねないのでコード不要の新技術に対する消費者の期待は大きくなっている。これまで電話の子機など小型機器向けに実用化されているものもあるが、給電できる距離は1センチメートル以下にとどまっている。これを1～2メートルに延ばしてテレビなど大型機器にも無線で電気が送れるようにする研究を進めている。

HDD v. SSD: If v. When

Another link in my Firefox tab stack that I need to clear.... It's been present through about four browser restarts, so it's about time. This article on C|net talks about the reliability issues of SSD, and how they're actually less reliable than HDDs.

The Sagulator

The Sagulator is an interesting calculator that will compute the deflection of shelves depending on the load, material, and dimensions.

What you need for earthquake preparedness

ケーティの友達はフェースブックにこのリンクを貼った。「備えあれば憂いなし」と。

Op-Ed on Obama's First 200 Days

Comment on an opinion piece by Michael Steele.

Mr. Steele hit the nail on the head.

To "bob", there are times when doing "something" is worse than doing "nothing": if the plan is completely wrong. It is very worthwhile to provide feedback to let our representatives know that their constituents aren't happy with the way things are going.

Amnesiac Youth

How quickly the youth forget.

AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL.........
18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con



Right thing 50% 60% 73% 57% 67% 69% 47% 63% 69%
Wrong thing 32 23 13 25 22 20 37 24 13
DK/NA 18 17 14 19 11 11 16 13 18

The pictures are disturbing, but that's war.

Anti-Privacy Article

What a dumb article. My retort:

Ah, how naive. When your plans are widely known, bad people can take advantage of those plans. Going to London? How about a bunch of guys clean out your house for you while you're out? Could be an employee of one of the corporations with access to your data, or maybe they got hacked. Either way, you're screwed. But you'd only have yourself to blame. Ignore the warnings about intrusive surveillance to your peril.

Smarter folks are buying more things with cash to avoid tracking, and even bypassing increasingly worthless Federal Reserve notes with other intermediates, or bartering. The government hates that because then they can't track what you're doing. Suck it, Big Brother!

DIY Home Surveillance

Something I've been thinking about lately, via c|net.

ALS Kaboom

A few weeks ago when I was looking into getting an ALS, I noticed the safety notice on their website that wasn't there before. Turns out that at the FCSA World Match, an ALS fired out of battery, causing serious injury to the shooter. Furthermore, it came out that this was the second incident. The first incident was not widely reported, and the shooter received much more serious injuries, namely the loss of an eye and other bodily harm.

Note to self: When shooting fifty cal, always bring a buddy—he may need to cart you to the hospital.

R.I.P. Gidget

The Taco Bell dog, Gidget, died last week. I didn't realize she was that old, or that she was a she. Yo quiero Taco Bell!

More xkcd

Augh, I can't stop!

Disaster Voyeurism - I like the detour idea...
Outreach - The dangers of being a marine biologist
1337: Part 2 - Don Knuth, the algorithm master

xkcd: Matrix

This xkcd on the Matrix is absolutely hilarious.

You know, every time I see "xkcd", what inevitably comes to mind is a CD player app for the X Window system....

50 Things to Do Now

Not into anarcho-capitalism—anarchy doesn't work any more than communism—but this list on desirable behaviors I found to be rather interesting.

A Logic Named Joe

I need to read this at some point.

Left-Wing Nutjobs

CNN published a piece of shit op-ed piece by perennial dumbass Roland Martin regarding the Obama birth certificate scandal. I say produce it or get the fuck out of office. The dude isn't my president until proof of eligibility is demonstrated.

Revolver Checkout

How to tell if a revolver is any good—a highly useful article.

.50 BMG Price List

I thought I'd put together a fairly complete list of .50 uppers, but it looks like I missed a few. AR15.com has a price list that includes all available firearms chambered in .50 BMG, along with prices.

Comments on Terrorism

A comment on some inane C|net article:

@Brehhah
That's an inaccurate and somewhat racist comment. I don't see a problem with a suicidal attack during wartime. After all, a charge up a hill toward a machinegun nest while under fire could be considered a suicidal attack. It all depends on which side you're on, and of course the victors write the history books. Pearl Harbor was crappy. However, we knew about it and let it happen. Plus, we were embargoing Japan to curb their nationalist expansion, so from their point of view they had no alternative. It was conflict -- there isn't always a right or wrong, just sides.

@Lerianis3
I completely agree that the Founding Fathers of this country were considered terrorists by the British. And as the saying goes, where the government fears the people there is liberty and where the people fear the government there is tyranny. The danger of the "war on terror" is that it invites the thought police to go crazy. Law enforcement has always been about dealing with crimes after the fact. Otherwise how do you know the crime would've actually been committed? Thinking about committing a crime and actually doing it are two different things entirely! Until the act is perpetrated, there's time for redemption. Apparently the government wants to control what people think, hence the push for mandatory public schooling and censorship of people who disagree with their agenda.

As for robots feeding on corpses -- how will they tell that the bodies are really dead? From an ethical standpoint, this is bogus. But who cares about ethics anymore, eh? Apparently not us.

TweetPsych profile based on 388 posts:

Cognitive Content

Feature	Description	Score
Past tense	You tend to talk about the past.	38.29
Future tense	You talk about the future often.	20.24
Negative emotions	You express plenty of negative emotions.	17.53
Insight		11.93
Certainty		11.65
Inhib		9.99
Similes		9.81
Physical references	You often talk about the physical characteristics of things.	9.7
Positive emotions	You express plenty of positive emotions.	7.77

Primordial, Conceptual and Emotional Content

Feature	Description	Score
Aggression		65.19
Abstract thought		48.1
Moral imperative		35.99
Restraint		30.32
Audio sensations		9.89
Constructive behaviors		9.34
Affection		8.05
Order		5.46

Colossal MR Effect

Will the "Colossal Magnetoresistance Effect" be the next big thing for HDDs? I can't say that "CMR" is the greatest acronym ever.

Guide to YouTube

Hmm, I've had this tab open in Firefox for a month now and I'd like to close it.... C|net's An Expert's Guide to YouTube has some interesting tips and tricks that may or may not be useful.

Gun Stores

A couple of shops listed in Shotgun News that caught my eye:

Apex Gun Parts - They have a selection of HK-91 parts. Good, since I'm kind of pissed off at RTG.
The Second Amendment Firearms - Interested because of their ad for stripped LRB Arms AR-15 lowers for $85. Especially since those schmucks at R Guns haven't gotten back to me on the DPMS lowers—which cost more, by the way!

IWB Holsters for Glock

From a GlockTalk thread:

• Bagmaster - CNG, $21.95 (Cordura nylon)
• Kholster - Crescent, $45 (Kydex)
• CrossBreed Holsters - Super-Tuck, $69.75 (Kydex)
• RM Holsters - Low Rider IWB, $49.95 (Kydex)
• Tucker Gun Leather - Silent Thunder, $85.00 (Kydex hybrid)
• Comp-Tac - C-TAC, $80 or MTAC, $80 (Kydex)
• Don Hume - H715-M.S.O., $34.60 or H715-M T.B., $36.80 (leather)
• Aholster - hip IWB, $54.95 (Kydex)
• Garrity's Gunleather - Inconspicuous, $70 (leather)

Still trying to decide....

Airport Security Theater

Another comment about disgusting government bullshit (passenger imaging at airport security) and the disgusting bend-over-and-take-it responses of the left-wing assholes.

I see a lot of comments from wimps here. "Safety, safety, safety." You want a sanitized life experience or what? Sure you can make things safer, but what people as a whole lose in freedom is huge and invariably irreplaceable. Don't forget your helmet!

This kind of invasion of privacy is "no big deal"? That's a sad statement about American society and present culture. Just because YOU have no shame doesn't mean that there aren't people who don't want to be violated. To force that down people's throats is selfish and cowardly. It's just another step in the direction of desensitizing the herd to another government intrusion. Don't buy it!

Reloading Berdan

Apparently it's possible to reload cases with Berdan priming. The hard part might be finding primers of the right size. Apparenly PMC imports them from Russia? RCBS makes a tool for depriming. What's this about a hydraulic method, reforming the case a second time while it's filled with water...?

Berdan v. Boxer
Depriming Berdan Cases

Baby Girls

There's actually a good op-ed piece on CNN, about a mother of two boys who's dreading her 3rd kid being a girl. My comments:

Hey, thanks for writing this article. When my wife and I found out we were pregnant, I immediately assumed it was a boy, because in my family the past two generations had only boys. Before we found out the baby's sex, I said I didn't care which, just as long as he/she was born healthy. When we found out the baby was a girl, I felt a pang of disappointment in not having a son first, then panic in "I don't know how to deal with a girl!" The anxiety persisted until well after our daughter was born. Once she started developing her personality and reacting to me, though, I came to the realization that she's just as much of a blessing as a son, if not more. Actually, seeing friends' boys run about and smash stuff, I'm kind of glad I have a princess to ease me into fatherhood. Odds are she'll be a tomboy like her mother, but even if she's not, she'll still be my little girl. In the end, you'll enjoy having your girl -- she'll push your envelope just like I'm sure your boys did!

Of course, I object to the part about her not allowing toy weapons in the house. My kid will be shooting real guns as soon as she's strong enough to handle the recoil.

Natalie Portman the Gangsta

Toby's Facebook banter led me to this gem of a video clip, Natalie Portman on SNL. How about:

"What do you want, Natalie?" To drink and fight!
"What do you need, Natalie?" To fuck all night!

Now that is what we want to hear.

Fewer Americans Support Stricter Gun Control Laws

Finally, some decent news reporting from CNN!

Pimp-Ass Trucks

Kev sent me a link to an article on a truck that has a WMD-grade sound system. That led me to info on other sports celeb trucks, built on a Ford F-650 base.

And I learned of the "Canyonero", which I was previously unaware of because I gave up on the Simpsons after a couple seasons.