Diary of a Techy

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posted by Ben @ 3:37 AM Perma-Link 2 comments

This Blog is not Currently in Use and is outdated

posted by Ben @ 3:27 AM Perma-Link 0 comments

SPRING BREAK!!!

This is me and my friend Brian at Davios which is across Columbus Ave from his restaurant, Smith and Wollensky's in Boston, MA. We hit the lunch at the latter restaurant celebrating WINE WEEK. For $10 (plus a lunch obviously) we got to have (pretty much) unlimited glasses of on average $110-a-bottle wine! The best wine I've ever had.

Then we went across the street to Davios and had a few before we retired to Brians pad where we proceeded to drink an Irish Car Bomb each in celebration of the recent St. Patrick's Day. Brian then "layed down" for a while, while long-time friend Rose and myself hung out. All in all that was my spring break all packed into one day!

posted by Ben @ 1:47 PM Perma-Link 0 comments

Mo-bloggin'!

This entry is being made with my mobile phone! I'm excited anyways.....

posted by Ben @ 9:40 PM Perma-Link 0 comments

Download Google Earth - Mac or PC

Well I've kinda been under a rock as far as updating this website recently so sometime in the past few months GOOGLE WAS RELEASED FOR MAC OSX.

Wonderful news, especially because I recently got an iBook G4. Proud to announce too that Google Earth runs wonderfully on my 1.33ghz iBook G4 with 512mb ram (the bare bones iBook config).

Enjoy the free program for the small price of selling your soul (via Liscense Agreements) to Google forever

PS Just Kidding

PPS I hope.....

Google Earth Homepage

posted by Ben @ 4:28 AM Perma-Link 0 comments

MMMmmm that bookmark is just del.icio.us!

What if you could access your bookmarks everywhere? Share them with others? What about seeing who has bookmarked the same things? Enter Del.icio.us (http://del.icio.us/), the social bookmarking site. Here you can search other peoples bookmarks by their title, or using TAGS ( as mentioned 2 posts back in the flick post ). My favorite thing to do is bookmark an interesting site, see who else has bookmarked it, and see what else they themselves have bookmarked.

posted by Ben @ 4:23 AM Perma-Link 0 comments

Flickr Photo Badge

Newly added is my flickr random photo badge from My Flickr Photostream. Flickr is a cool photosharing website that uses tags and Tag Clouds. Very interesting organzational tools and overall interconnected spider web-like interface/feel of the Flikr site. If you've never seen it check out Gadget Boy's Photos on flicker,
My sets (of pictures) on flicker
Groups I have pics in on flicker:
-Digital Underwater Photography
-3d Art
-Glowsticking

Get your own Flicker

posted by Ben @ 1:23 AM Perma-Link 0 comments

Hurricane Rita Real-Time

Found a really cool Hurricane Tracking KMZ file for Google Earth. Gives windspeed, projected course, and spectral satellite imagery for hurricanes found worldwide.
In conjucntion with the awesome real-time weather tools (scroll to the bottom to find the radar and satellite mosaics for the US) found over at googleearthhacks.com. I really feel like a weatherman with these amazing tools at my disposal.

Here is an image of Hurricane Rita at 5:00 pm on Friday September 23rd:


Google Earth BBS Post: "Hurricanes live positions (v 1.0) worldwide data"
And of course the direct link to theKMZ Download
If you still haven't seen Google Earth then download it now

posted by Ben @ 5:16 PM Perma-Link 1 comments

Back Online!

The gadget boy moved to a new location recently and is now plugged back in. Sorry we've been out of touch for a while but everything should be back in business!!

posted by Ben @ 1:40 AM Perma-Link 0 comments

Next Gen Logitech® Webcam

The Logitech® QuickCam Fusion raises the bar for webcams everywhere. It boasts 1.3 megapixels, a built in microphone that cancels echoes enabling headset-free video conferencing, and face tracking technology that allows you to control a 3d avatar with your facial expressions. $99 US, available now.

The alien's face is being controlled by the man at left.


While Webcams can be found for much cheaper (even from logitech) this camera may spark a new age in chat-rooms and videoconferencing, one in which you can become other people or things in a new way. Gives a new sense to the meaning of Avatar.


Quickcam Fusion Site Available now for $99 US plus shipping.

posted by Ben @ 1:28 AM Perma-Link 0 comments

NOVA - Military Technology being used in Iraq

Recently I saw NOVA - Battle Plan Under Fire on PBS. I like NOVA, I think they provide enough information to interest you, and explain things in a way everyone can understand. The show sparked me to make a post with some highlights and present a little information that I found after looking around on the net a little.




The US military has bombs guided by GPS, UAVs remote controlled via satellite, oh yah and and a secret military internet that keeps everyone in communication. The war in Iraq is a laboratory for a new type of battlefield, where decisions can be made on the fly, and targets can be changed at the last minute. A highly advanced mapping system connected to the military internet keeps track of the locations of friendly units via GPS, and enemy units spotted by ground forces.

The RQ-1 Predator (pictured at left) is a remote controlled drone that has cameras and sensors which send information and live video back across the military internet to the ones making the decision where bombs are dropped, and what shall be done next. Hellfire missiles can even be launched from the Predator. It's been in use since 1995 in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Yemen according to the RQ-1 Predator Wikipedia article.

It can be the eyes and means to target things for a much larger C-130 Hercules(pictured below) residing even higher in the air that can then drop lots of bombs with deadly accuracy.



This is the time of network-centric warfare which facilitates a chat-room style of fighting, communication changes everything. But the enemy does a good job of staying below our radar and they seem to somehow adapt. No matter how much technology we have, they just keep coming. Its pretty amazing really. I really suggest people check out the NOVA program if possible.

NOVA - Battle Plan Under Fire

Predator RQ-1 on PBS website

posted by Ben @ 12:58 AM Perma-Link 0 comments

Fuel Cell Technology, and the ONE-Wheel Concept

Imagine that your next motorcycle is a unicycle, powered by a hydrogen fuel cell! The EMBRIO is a concept transport vehichle from Canadian based Bombardier Recreational Products. It has...well i guess you could call it "landing gear" that deploy when speeds drop below 20kmph (12.4mph), althhough the unit's gyroscopes will balance the vehicle even while motionless. Steering is executed by shifting one's wait (leaning) rather than turning handlebars or a steering wheel. I know I want to be the first guy on my block to have one of these. Unfortunately fuel cells have a few hurdles that need to be overcome before everyone and they're brother will be driving cars powered by the technology. Which brings us to the next section...

Theres alot of buzz about fuel cell cars, but cars will not be the place we'll see fuel cells first. Where will we see them? The answer may be in your pocket, or on your lap:

Micro Fuel Cells
Mobile Phones, PDAs, and Laptops should start to utilize micro fuel cells to power them by the end of the year. That means your next phone, or notebook computer may be using this new technology. At first they'll give us power just as well as batteries, but within a few years our fuel cells will be getting much longer use out of our portable electronics than batteries ever could have. Companies already have prototypes and very soon we'll see working devices on the market.

This new technology will also fight pollution and waste problems on a grand scale. The fuel cell car's only byproduct is water vapor (compared to harmful carbon monixide and much more) and in the micro fuel cell world, batteries are bad for our environment to dispose of improperly (which I'm sure most are). Hopefully the obstacles preventing us from launching large scale fuel cells in the transportation industry will be overcome, saving the earth, our collective conscience, and some money if we're lucky.

Embrio One-Wheel Concept At Gizmag.com

The Fuel Cell Way A great website with lots of info (multiple languages)

posted by Ben @ 5:24 PM Perma-Link 0 comments

Make your MP3s HEARD

I love music, and I believe it should go everywhere I go. Now if you already have some nice speakers for the portable music player of your choice, or maybe even a regular boom box with an input on it then this post isn't for you.

Cambridge SoundWorks PlayDock MP3
This speaker unit will turn your iPod or other mp3 player into a boom box! It boasts a 15 watt powered subwoofer with 4-inch driver and approximately 10 hours of playback time. It'll even recharge "select MP3 players while AC powered". It's $199 on the Cambridge Soundworks website, which appears to be the only place it's available.





JBL OnTour
This next guy is one I can personally vouch for because I own one. It'll just about fit into a nice large cargo pocket, and you can put your mp3 player in another pocket and music will just follow you around. It's great and loud for both the price ($95 at BestBuy.com) and its size. The OnTour takes 4 AAA batteries which last at least a few hours. AC adapter included.

JBL website Has the specs

posted by Ben @ 2:54 PM Perma-Link 1 comments

Track your kids 2

Forget buying the device that I mentioned here in order to spy on your kids location, now if you live in the UK, KidsOK.net will allow you to "Ping" you childs phone and recieve an image back on your phone with a map of their location! Wow guys, too bad parents can't build up, oh maybe trust, instead of cellular and gps networks in order to know where they're kids are. I love the little advisory at the bottom of their page (of course in miniature print) :

" KidsOK is intended to complement, not be a substitute for, normal parental supervision."

posted by Ben @ 5:44 PM Perma-Link 1 comments

Realistic Robotics

A japanese scientist and professor named Ishiguru, has designed what is probably the most beleivable android in history, affectionately named "Repliee Q1". He claims that his robot can fool you for a few minutes, that is, into beleiving that she is real. Although it can only sit in one place, and is not self contained, this is another step towards real waking and talking beleivable andriods.

The BBC article is HERE

posted by Ben @ 5:31 PM Perma-Link 0 comments

Lexi's Art 2

Art by Lexi

posted by Ben @ 6:16 PM Perma-Link 0 comments

De-thawing Dead Dogs

"US scientists have succeeded in reviving the dogs after three hours of clinical death, paving the way for trials on humans within years."

The subject's veins are drained of blood and filled with an ice-cold salt solution. The brain shows no activity, and the heart does not beat, making them scientifically dead. After replacing the blood and applying an electric shock the dogs come back to life "perfectly normal, with no brain damage".

The research I intended to one day allow field medics the ability to transport wounded persons to a proper facility before they are unable to be saved. They predict this technology could start saving lives as soon as 10 years from now. It's called “suspended animation with delayed resuscitation” or “applied emergency hypothermia.”

In my opinion, this could be the first few steps towards developing cryogenic sleep technology, or "Hyper-sleep", where a human could be suspended in an unconcious state for months or even many years without aging one minute.

Official Statement from Sarar Center

posted by Ben @ 4:41 PM Perma-Link 0 comments

Stem Cells FAQ

Stem Cell Researtch is a very hot topic in news right now, and sometimes its hard to grasp because of the advanced medical nature of the whole idea. Not to worry, Wired.com has a great "Crash Course" about stem cells in FAQ format.

posted by Ben @ 1:00 AM Perma-Link 0 comments

Geocaching with Google Earth

Now you can browse geocaches inside Google Earth. If you've never heard of geocaching, hop over to Geocaching.com and check out the GPS-based sport where "you are the search engine".

Andy Fowler has created EarthCache, a kml script that will retrieve the 7 closest geocaches to the center of your view in Google Earth. Clicking on a cache will link you to its web page on geocaching.com. After the camera inside google earth is at rest for 10-15 seconds, the script refreshes the 7 closest caches.

posted by Ben @ 9:51 PM Perma-Link 0 comments

Weather Mapping

Okay so this is one of the things I think will be very cool to watch evolve as more people start to realize and utilize the power of the wonderful mapping systems Google has bestowed onto us.


Meet Google Weather Maps (http://www.weatherstationmaps.info) which uses interesting icons to show temperature and wind direction as well as sunny/rainy/cloudy icons. This view can be exported to Google Earth by clicking "Export current view" to the right of the map, or for radar maps in Google Earth, just select a state click "show".

Now you have a radar map (with transparency) which can be edited to update automatically by right-clicking each overlay (in the my places pane) and selecting "edit". Also you can right-click the overlay and select refresh to manually update. Don't forget the transparency slider for your image, which appears when you select an overlay. I believe this is the evolutionary beginning of the integration of real-time weather satellite/radar imagery maps and Google Earth.

I also found this collection of satellite image overlays (hint: click "download this file" in the center of the page) on GoogleEarthHacks.com. Its a collection of WeatherChannel satellite images imported into Google Earth and overlayed and they should automatically update every hour. The update frequency can be edited as mentioned above. (note the picture 2 posts down under GoogleEarthHacks.com shows one of these overlays in action)

posted by Ben @ 6:35 PM Perma-Link 0 comments