Coolest Phone Ever... maybe

If it's shiny and has an Apple logo, I want it. So far the iPhone won't
let me do anything because it's taking a bit longer than the "up to six
hours" that it thought it was going to take to set up.

Seriously though folks, y'all aint never had a phone like this before.
Even if you compare feature for feature against other devices, as Helio
and Sprint are doing at the moment, the actual user experience, the look
and feel of the iPhone is like nothing else out there. Of course I only
know this because Tony's phone activated in about 10 minutes and I got
to play with it.
--thePrisoner

Immigration bill killed: Nation Saved From Uppity Fruit Pickers

Immigration bill killed: "Senate fails to muster votes to keep comprehensive measure alive."

(Via The Orange County Register: Homepage.)

Your thoughts?

thePrisoner's New Place?

Two weeks in an underwater cabin: "Mark Frauenfelder:



As the winner of a £20,000 'Live Your Dream' contest sponsored by the magazine Australian Geographic, 29-year-old Lloyd Godson lived in a 10-foot-long box at the bottom of a lake for 12 days. It doesn't look like the cabin had windows.

The marine biologist used a system of onshore solar panels and a pedal-powered generator to create electricity and recharge his water-proof laptop computer.

He kept an algae garden to absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen for breathing.

A team of divers delivered food and drinking water to the sub through a manhole, including a homemade lasagna and freshly barbecued salmon.

For entertainment, Godson watched videos on his laptop and used a wireless Internet connection to communicate with schoolchildren around the world.

Link (Via Neatorama)

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

Basically, if I can get wifi, I'll take it!

thePrisoner (loves algae gardens)

Blade Runner turns 25: an appreciation by Mythbuster Adam Savage

Many readers of The Smart Patrol are also fans of the TV show Mythbusters (check local listings). It turns out that one of the hosts of Mythbusters is a bit of a geek for a movie that many of us hold dear.

Blade Runner turns 25: an appreciation by Mythbuster Adam Savage: "Xeni Jardin:

Snip:

Twenty-five years ago, the Ridley Scott film Blade Runner became an instant science fiction classic. Set in a sodden, squalid Los Angeles of 2019, the neo-noir masterpiece influenced a generation of filmmakers and video-game designers. Long before I teamed up with Jamie Hyneman to form the MythBusters, I was a special-effects modelmaker, and Scott's cyberpunk gem almost instantly became the most important film in the canon of movies I love.

I'm still such a big Blade Runner fan that I watch it at least once every 18 months. I also own pretty convincing replicas of the 'blade runner blaster' wielded by Harrison Ford's world-weary former cop Rick Deckard. The source material was a Steyr Mannlicher .222 target rifle magazine cover, with a Bulldog .44 carriage underneath. I can't get enough of this prop. Now, I want a working one.

Link to 'Blade Runner at 25: Why the Sci-Fi F/X Are Still Unsurpassed,' at Popular Mechanics, by Adam Savage

Link to the Blade Runner Director's Cut DVD on Amazon, here's a big fat fansite, here's the Wikipedia entry, here's IMDB. (thanks, Matt Sullivan)

Reader comment: Mike says,

To go along with your Blade Runner 25th anniversary story, a replica of Deckard's firearm is currently for sale on ebay with about 1 day left: Link.

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

If you got this far (thanks) I have to add that the film is flawed but nevertheless is a fascinating watch. The upcoming supercool DVD box set promises to be a geeky treat.

thePrisoner (not a skin job, probably)

I'm just saying...

Found on Boing Boing

He could probably hit a curve ball too.


-Mr.DNA (loves you)

It's Loving Day!! What did you get me?

Prior to 1967 certain states had laws that forbade interracial relationships. Yeah, go ahead and read that again.

or read this clipping from Wikipedia

Loving Day is an annual celebration held on June 12, the anniversary of the 1967 United States Supreme Court decision Loving v. Virginia which struck down the miscegenation laws remaining in 16 states. Loving Day is not an officially, government-recognized holiday, but is celebrated by a growing number of people throughout the United States.

Some states (ok, Alabama) still had miscegenation laws on the books (though unenforceable) until 1980.
1980 folks, you were there.

Today we observe the important decision Loving v. Virginia and while it is wonderful and probably should be a national holiday, isn't it a little embarrassing that we ever even had laws like this?

thePrisoner (Prisoner of Love)

Hey Everybody it's HEINO!!

TRANSLATED:
a Mother's Love
a bouquet, which never withers
a gift for the whole year
a decapitated head in that old fridge in the garage.

ORIGINAL TITLE:
10 Songs About Corn Dogs

Cheese Friday™ : Better than paint drying!

Click on the TV to watch the magic!

Journal Gazette
A large block of English cheese has become an unlikely star.

As of today, 1.4 million people had visited www.cheddarvision.tv to watch a 44-pound round of traditional cheddar slowly age online. Very, very slowly.

The round of Westcombe cheddar from the West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers co-operative has caught the public’s attention and attracted viewers from more than 100 countries during the 168 days since it was first put in front of a webcam in December.

Dom Lane, a spokesman for the co-operative, the cheese makers wanted to highlight the difference between a genuine hand-made farm cheddar and a cheese made in a large, commercial creamery. “So we stuck a webcam in front of a cheese.”

Did anybody think they were nuts? “Yes. But I think the great thing was everyone saw the humorous side of it and got the message. I think the simplicity was its appeal, but we didn’t expect it to attract the attention it has.”

For thrill-seekers who prefer more heart-pounding action, there’s a link to a time-lapse video on YouTube that shows the cheddar aging three months in a mere minute.


-Mr. DNA (likes to watch)

Thursday Haiku

Fix me a sandwich
Tuna on whole wheat is good
Make it for here, please

--thePrisoner

Is home schooling for you?

I'm sure he's a really nice kid. Besides, socializing with others is overrated.

-Mr. DNA (is regretting this post already)

More Left Behind In Silicon Valley.

More letters means better, right?



Mr. DNA (can use spell check programs)

Cheese Friday™ : Rolling Cheese

Dozens hurt in cheese roll race


BBC.com
A teenager who knocked himself out while chasing a Double Gloucester cheese down a hill was among 25 people hurt in a Cheese Rolling competition.

Chris Anderson, 18, won one of the five races which make up the annual contest, in which dozens of people race down a 1:2 gradient hill after a large cheese.

Mr Anderson said: "I just ran, fell and hit my head. I feel sore but it was definitely worth it."

One spectator was given treatment after being hit by a runaway cheese.

more

I can think of many things to do with a wheel of Cheese and none of them include running down a steep hill. Call me old fashion, but what ever happened to long walks on the beach? I'm willing to put in the time and get to know the Cheese. With me, it's not a race to the finish, I'm in it for the long haul. The ladies know what I mean.


-Mr. DNA (procrastinates)