Autoblog Metapost(tm)

Some good news items from Autoblog.

LG Motorsports dynos the Z06
"There’s been some question as to the accuracy of the 505 HP rating for the Corvette Z06, considering that magazine tests have resulted in quarter-mile performance that would usually point to a somewhat higher rating." [After reading how well the Z06 did on the Nurburgring I really, really want one now.]

Shelby GT500 convertible available in 2006
"Ford Motor will roll out the convertible version of its top of the line GT500 in mid-2006. The 450 hp supercharged Shelby soft-top will be the most powerful factory-built Mustang convertible in history." [I'm going to need a bigger garage - I can see that.]

Carjacking thwarted by manual transmission
"An employee of a Kansas software company was approached by someone with a shotgun who was looking to borrow the victim’s Chevy Camaro. Our would-be carjacker fled the scene after finding that his new ride had a third pedal." [I love it.]

Next on Fox: When Kittens Attack

Jade and Sammy are getting to know each other...



No kittens were harmed in the production of this documentary.

CF to MSDuo Adapter for PSP

I hope it's not too expensive - this thing is on my Xmas list.

Read the article at Joystiq.

Best Notes Error Message EVER.

Gaiman and Whedon TIME Interview

TIME magazine has recently published an interview with Neil Gaiman (Sandman) and Joss Whedon (Buffy, etc.) It's a great read - I'm still on the first page and I already have a favorite quote:

"Somebody said that writers are like otters. And otters are really hard to train. Dolphins are easy to train. They do a trick, you give them a fish, they do the trick again, you give them a fish. They will keep doing that trick until the end of time. Otters, if they do a trick and you give them a fish, the next time they'll do a better trick or a different trick because they'd already done that one. And writers tend to be otters. Most of us get pretty bored doing the same trick. We've done it, so let's do something different." -Gaiman

I'm going to try to see Serenity and Mirrormask soon. The trailer for Mirrormask is f-ing insane.

Oh yeah, here's the link to the article on TIME.com.

My Next Phone

I was on the fence about the RAZR before I got my MPx220. The RAZR is extremely cool but I wanted to play around with Windows Mobile for Smartphone so I bought the 220 off of eBay and signed up with Cingular. Windows Mobile is cool too but when we went to get Tami's ROKR I was eyeing the RAZR and thinking that I might not have made the right decision. I'm on a 1-year contract so I have to wait 6 more months before I can get the "nice guy" price on another phone but that should work out about perfect if the next RAZR (RAZR2?) comes out about then. It's just a tad thicker than the current model but it has iTunes and stereo Bluetooth audio support - I'm sold.

Link to AppleInsider article: Next-gen Motorola RAZR to pack iTunes

Airsoft P90 "automatic sentry gun."

I can see the latest force multiplier for our Airsoft games even now... :) Actually we have talked about mounting a cheap mini-electric on a trip wire or even on the back of a RC 4x4 but this is WAY beyond that.



Robotic Sentry Gun @ Hack A Day

MSN Virtual Earth on your PDA or Smartphone!

Warning: this post is full of linky goodness.

I stumbled across this post about how you could load this CAB file on your PocketPC and download the road maps and satellite images from MSN Virtual Earth. Cool (although I would prefer Google Earth) but it got even COOLER when I read the comment that linked to this page showing it working on the Smartphone as well!

As Jack would say... "Sweet."

Man fixes broken landing gear with Jeep

This story is about a guy that managed to "tug" a plane's landing gear down with a 12' pole while riding in a Jeep cruising down the runway underneath the plane. My favorite quote from the article:

"...Perna's father, Tony, aircraft sales manager for Epic Aviation, played down the dramatic events. 'We went through the normal procedures,' he said."

NORMAL PROCEDURES???



Read the article here.

The Mythical "Good Manager"

I'm happy to say that good managers DO exist and if you're very, very lucky you might even have one someday. (I have to give major thanks to Gary for teaching me that.) Unfortunately every other project or department manager I have been involved with just didn't "get it" in some major way. Frequently it boils down to a profound lack of understaing of the things that movitate the manager's staff. I don't pretend to understand it all myself, but I have read some interesting articles about it. A quote from a recent blog entry I have read:

"Too many employees feel that their lives are out of control and out of balance. They don't trust management to take the right decisions. They don't feel the bosses care about them or are truly committed to their development. They often feel they’re being prevented from doing a good job by the carelessness, stupidity, greed or political posturing of the people above them."

It doesn't say it all, but it says a LOT. Read the whole entry (and lots of other good stuff) here.

RIAA SueCalc(tm) 2000

Curious what that hoard of ill-gotten booty you've snarfed down from various Torrents would cost you if the RIAA were to sue? Here's a handy calculator so you can figure it out.

Sam's Archive - The Piracy Calculator

eBay buys Skype

WTF?

eBay buys Skype

iPod nano review

Ok, I want one. Bad. I clearly picked the wrong month to start trying out this new "don't buy everything that seems cool right away when it comes out" thing.

iPod nano review

That one guy that avoided getting "whammies"

I'd always heard this story but I never knew the details until it landed on Digg. This is a detailed account of the guy that beat "Press Your Luck" on CBS. No whammies big bucks big bucks c'mon c'mon! A quote from the article:

"There were difficult, heart-wrenching moments when even Larsen's opponents had concerned looks on their faces. One reached out and touched his elbow. Are you sure you want to keep doing this?"

The Michael Larsen Incident

WebMD on post-Katrina H2O

Brings a whole new meaning to "don't drink the water."

CDC Checks 4 Cases of Waterborne Disease

Adam Savage Interview

I have to say that I love MythBusters - I record it on 2 PVRs so if one of them misses it I still have a backup. Check out this interview with Adam Savage (the non-beret wearing dude) from "The Sneeze."

Part 1
Part 2

New iTrip from Griffin

I have been meaning to buy one of these ever since about a month before the first version came out but I never have gotten around to it. Looks like I may have to finally bite the bullet since this new version looks even cooler than the first one.

New iTrip Page

Of course I mainly listen to news on my XM radio right now so maybe it's not all that sound of an investment.

Creative MP3 player arrives with virus

As if you needed another reason to get an iPod... (Seriously folks - if you love music don't even mess around with any other player - the iPod works for Mac and Windows and not only does it have the absolute best user interface you also get access to the iTunes Music Store.)

Creative MP3 player arrives with virus

Garmin's Edge series of GPS for bikes

Being "on the bike" today this entry piqued my interest - it's about a new bike-specific GPS from our friends at Garmin!

Garmin's Edge series of GPS for bikes