Thursday, September 15, 2005

Build Your Own PVR :: Why Tivo When you can Freevo?

Great site I found here. I need to build myself one of these... at least if there were more television I wanted to watch, I would. What is a PVR? It is a recording device that records shows for you, often without the commercials, from the TV, so you can watch them at your leisure. The commercial versions are getting more expensive and are restricting features in order to please media companies. But it can be done on your computer.... if you are willing...

Solar can't do it all

I got this from EnergyBulletin.net. It seems that getting solar to replace conventional levels of power looks problematic. One bright point though, was the relative importance of firewood. I can do that.

Tremors may mean 'Big One' on its way

While I think that the inhabitants of New Orleans were living in a precarious situation, it seems that the west coast in not immune to trouble either. The east coast may have hurricanes every year, but we have earthquakes and volcanos.

Not that we have had one yet. They are very hard to predict, if not impossible. It is not at all like watching a hurricane approach. Even a red-neck can point out the co-rotating cloud bands as one comes closer.

But we do have this. A major slip event around Vancouver and a growing bulge next to Bend, Oregon. The first news story I read on this mentioned it was close to Bend an then said, it was just a good thing it wasn't close to any population centers. I remember when I thought Bend was the big city.

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Pulled from Whitley Strieber's Unknown Country

A temporary flight restriction has been issued by the FAA for a major North Pacific air corridor, covering air routes R-222, R-580 and A-590. The restriction covers the dates September 10-15. The cloture of these major routes is highly unusual, is said to be due to a Department of Defense Strategic Defense Initiative, but the nature of that initiative has not been revealed.

Dang, it makes me wish we got the full story from the news. Shoot, I wish the news would have talked about it at all.

More later... it has been busy.

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Thursday, September 01, 2005

regrowing limbs

Just a quick post:
Appearently regrowing entire limbs is not just the providence of lesser lifeforms. Reptiles and amphibians can do it, but the first recorded example of a mammal doing it just happened. In a mouse. Of course getting this to work in humans is a ways off yet. But jumping the hurdle from reptile to mammal is in many ways larger than mouse to man. This could really be great.