Listening to: Office banter

The missus forwarded me another
example of work by Toyko Plastic:

Listening to: Apply Some Pressure - Maximo Park

I found this statement this morning in an article about
religion and social health:

He said that most Western nations would become more religious only if the theory
of evolution could be overturned and the existence of God scientifically proven. Likewise,
the theory of evolution would not enjoy majority support in the US unless there was
a marked decline in religious belief, Mr Paul said.

I have a question…In the case science can prove the existence of God who wins? Science
or God? I guess it’s a little ‘chicken and egg’.

Listening to: BBC Radio 1

E Ink have released a dev
kit! Must save my pennies.

Listening to: Office burble

Found this over
at BoingBoing… Untranslatable words.

bakku-shan: a girl who appears pretty from behind but not from the front. (Japanese)

Backpfeifengesicht: a face that cries out for a fist in it. (German)

uitwaaien: walking in windy weather for fun. (Dutch)

I love it!

Listening to: Take it Easy - Fugees

I am a big fan of the Fugees… they introduced me to the world of hip hop. While
each of them has had mixed success (Jean and Hill have created some great songs…
but only a handful) since The
Score none
of them have replicated the elements that made The Score so special.

Apparently this
is a new track…

src: Suicide Girls (usual
warnings apply)

Listening to: BBC Radio 1

Voyager 1 has now
entered the heliosheath:

“We have confirmed, for the first time, that Voyager 1 crossed the termination
shock on Dec. 16, 2004,” said Frank McDonald , a senior research scientist at the
university’s Institute for Physical Science and Technology, and a coauthor on two
of four Voyager 1 papers published in the Sept. 23 issue of Science. The termination
shock marks the beginning of a transition region at the edge of the solar system that
is known as the heliosheath.

Please excuse me while I recover from having my mind blown. I think it is very sad
that we don’t live in a society where this isn’t celebrated more. Not only is this
spaceship really old but it is also a long long long way away (but no… Britney spawn
is far more consumable). It is a huge achievement and wonderfully mind expanding.

Listening to: BBC Radio 1

Nokia have announced the 3250…
another Transformer (more than mets the eye etc. etc.) phone. This time you twist
the key pad around to turn it into a music player:

I have to say that this approach to designing functionality into a single device is
very exciting… it feels a lot more robust than restricting designers to using
the key pad (that way you just end up with a dancing
bear (no I really don’t like the iTunes phone)).

src: Gizmodo

Listening to: BBC Radio 1

Gizmodo has an article by
David Merkoski (frog design) on the Nintendo
controller and how it might have the same impact that the D-pad has had:

Since becoming the first toy maker to include electronics in its products (the
light-beam gun of 1963) Nintendo has been directly involved in the design of modern-day
game controllers. The invention that stands out most is the directional cross-pad,
or D-pad. This 4-way controller, originally released on a Game & Watch series
Donkey Kong device in 1982, eliminated the need for those bulky joysticks more appropriate
for flying airplanes than saving a princess. And for the last 20 years the D-pad has
been the dominant interactive control paradigm, taking root in cell phones, remote
controls and yes, even the competition.

Well worth a read.

Listening to: A melange of Dire Straits and Office Burble

The Wall Street Journal has a
very interesting article on what drove MS to change Longhorn and the internal
structure of the company itself. As drastic as the move MS made when it woke up to
the Web? We can only hope so!

I have a lot of respect for companies that are willing to question some of the fundamental
rules of how they run…

My recent experiences (which I look forward to writing about when I am allowed to…
because it is a rip snorter of a story) provide me with a lot of faith in the new
development techniques that they describe in the article.

I have to say that I am now very excited about Vista… very excited (I just need
to take the step and install the beast on my ‘Word’ computer).

UPDATE: Paul Thurrott provides an interesting
commentary.

Listening to: Office burble

I am a big fan of microgrids… they feel
like a really robust way of handling consumer level power supplies… BBC World
as an article on
microgrid work in the UK.