riddler

Trying to teach my daughters that birthdays are when we receive presents, and Christmas is when we make things for other people, and help others. It's not working that well, since all the grandparents shower them with Christmas gifts anyway . But I'll keep trying, and I hope it'll eventually sink in. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Very cool stuff. Also, check out graphene, which shows significant promise for atomic transistors that we may start to see incorporated into commercial processors in a decade or so. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I agree - the Feds will come, since he's still on their wanted list. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Part of the fun is the naked two-way search for underwear the next morning Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Too many buttons on that one Everyone thinks robotic women will be "easier" than the real thing. I think they will be much more complicated Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

A common misconception. Both Mac OS and iPhone are based on the Mach kernel. Although BSD and Mach are similar, they aren't the same, BSD coming from Berkeley, and Mach coming from Carnegie Mellon. Steve Jobs uses Mach on most of his projects, including the now-defunct Next computer. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Android is the OS created by Google, and iPhone is by Apple - two completely different systems. But yes, they share a lot of common features that all smartphones need these days to stay competitive. Information on the phone is murky. There's no confirmation from Google that they are making their own phone. All we know is that there is a phone built by HTC, it will have an Android OS, and it is basically the same hardware as the Passion (Verizon). Everything else is rumor, even if the mongers are respected agencies like WSJ. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

The word unobtanium has long been used in engineering to describe a theoretical material that does not exist. It helps engineers conceptualize problems, and focus on other aspects of the design, rather than worry about the limit of strengths of materials, or other properties that they want to neglect. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I thought the floaty islands were a rip-off of Firefly. Others have done them before, but that's the first I had seen them in science fiction. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Should've put some wings on that sucker - it would've made it with wings. Of course, it might not have landed right-side-up Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Geez, it's been a while since I laughed that much. What RPGer hasn't had a cat jump on your map and knock over your miniatures? Resurrecting the roast turkey - why did I never try that shit? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Technically, people can be locked up for driving without car insurance. Not very often that it actually happens. I think it'll be a lot less likely that it will happen if people refuse to purchase healthcare. But it's good that everyone is forced to do the right thing, because given the choice, many people will choose to do the wrong thing. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Let's take Denver. Approximate cost of a solar system to power my house: $60,000 Approximate rebates from state, local government (based on percentages, with a cap): ~$30,000 Total cost to homeowner: ~$30,000 These were real (approximate) numbers that reduced my neighbors electricity bill from about $70/month to about $6/month. They chose to install solar, I did not. Someone is marking up cost A LOT. Having China become a solar producer is about the best scenario I can think of for breaking up what I perceive as "green price gouging" (the competition wasn't offering any better price). Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Prophecies of Doom. Both parties hold responsibility for a party-line vote. In any case, where were the prophecies of doom when the Republicans passed Graham-Leach-Bliley, the act that deregulated banking, and caused the huge financial mess we have now? I own a small business, and I'm not afraid. For the last eight years, my coverage has gone up while my benefits have gone down, and I don't expect any different if the government reforms health care. It's true to say that the cost of healthcare will increase, because the cost of everything increases. It's not necessarily true to say that benefits will decrease, if an additional 30 million uninsured people get healthcare they never had. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Is that the one that says the Earth is only 6,000 years old, so dinosaurs and man lived side-by-side, as in The Flintstones? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

That's odd - I read it as "one dead, and dozens sickened." Maybe truth is in the eye of the beholder. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Just got back from 3-D IMAX, and I agree it's a very good movie. Definitely worth watching a few times, the level of detail is incredible. Weakest parts were the story and dialogue, which come across as a highlights hash of a bunch of other films, with cheesy one-liners. But the other world (Pandora) is extremely immersing, and the visuals are simply stunning. The CG characters are much more believable in 3-D IMAX, they don't look as "video game" as they do in the previews. One part that is troubling is watching the main character (a Marine) kill a lot of his fellow soldiers (even though they are employed as contractors, and they were at war with each other). It's unfortunate that the movie had to come in the wake of the recent Fort Hood shootings, and maybe I'm overly sensitive to that. As an aside, one has to wonder how easy it is to generate $300 million dollars in production money. After watching this movie, I'm fairly certain that I'm going to go out and buy a 3-D television just to watch this movie in six months when the Blu-Ray comes out (and hopefully 3-D televisions as well). I wonder if companies like Sony, who make televisions as well as films, contributed to the production cost? I do think this is a groundbreaking movie, and we'll all be seeing a lot more of 3-D films of this type, which will make people want to go out and but a 3-D television. Best movie I've seen in a few years. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Here's an entire 95 minute movie about it, complete with a soundtrack by Moby and narration by Joaquin Phoenix. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Yeah, Titanic did that to me. But it was probably because I had 16-year old girls on every side, and they were so busy crying loudly, I couldn't hear much dialogue. I remember a few friends getting motion-sick at movies when the "shaky camera" thing became popular. A few of my friends actually ran past me, and out of the theater at the beginning of Dancer in the Dark. I imagine less people will be made sick from the 3-D effect. I hope I'm not one - seeing it tonight, 3-D IMAX. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Nice to hear from someone that actually lives life, instead of just playing on computers all day, like us Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I do a lot of things around the house, but after a torsion bar almost killed me, and a 300-pound garage door almost fell on me, I won't screw around with garage doors anymore; I'll call a pro. And yeah, I had a stop on the door, but it busted. Be careful! Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I wasn't that specific All I ask for is at least two different places (one can be Earth, so it's really just one other world, but Star Wars has like 10 worlds they actually go to). One other planet or place, one spaceship, some religious undertone to make the story interesting, and preferably leave out the love story. I don't think that's too much to ask for in Sci-Fi. It's kinda like you gotta have a fast car in an action movie, an old master and a "book of secret styles" in a kung-fu movie, and a wise-cracking supporting actor in a comedy. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I haven't seen the new Solaris, yet, but it's in my Netflix queue. I was referring to the old one. It'll be interesting to see which one is worse Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Sure, but you'll never see a headline like, "man storms into office building, kills dozens of co-workers with sausage!" This one sounds like a perverted sex-game gone wrong. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

The emergency brake - it ain't just for emergencies! Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD