Flock Web Browser

I just downloaded the flock web browser and played with it a little.  It looks interesting.  I am posting this from a blog editor in the browser.

Blogged with Flock

Ride Your Bike to Work

With the price of gas above $3.00 per gallon, why not try riding your bicycle to work.  I have been riding mine to work recently and it feels good.  I ride an EZ-1 Super Cruzer LWB Recumbent.

Raising Awareness

The MillionSoulsAware web site ( http://millionsoulsaware.org/ ) has the admirable goal of focusing on one problem and trying to raise awareness of it before moving on to the next problem.  Right now they are focusing on refugee camps until they get 1,000,000 views.  There is a lot of good information there about the problem.

 

 

Introduction to Quantum Computing

In a quantum computer, the fundamental unit of information (called a quantum bit or qubit), is not binary but rather more quaternary in nature.  This qubit property arises as a direct consequence of its adherence to the laws of quantum mechanics which differ radically from the laws of classical physics.  A qubit can exist not only in a state corresponding to the logical state 0 or 1 as in a classical bit, but also in states corresponding to a blend or superposition of these classical states.  In other words, a qubit can exist as a zero, a one, or simultaneously as both 0 and 1, with a numerical coefficient representing the probability for each state.

 

There is a nice introduction to quantum computing at http://www.cs.caltech.edu/~westside/quantum-intro.html.

 

http://digg.com/tech_news/QUANTUM_COMPUTERS_Debuting_Commerically_in_2008

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"QUANTUM COMPUTERS Debuting Commerically in 2008!!"
a silicon chip that houses 16 "qubits," the equivalent of a storage bit in a conventional computer, connected to each other. Each qubit consists of dots of the element niobium surrounded by coils of wire. When electrical current comes down the wire, magnetic fields are generated, which, in turn, causes the change in the state of the qubit

I have just uploaded an video I did for a computer animation class. I put it on YouTube and wanted to see if I could embed the video in my blog here. So, without further ado, I give you the animated short, "Best Friend", by Sean Lane Fuller. It is about an alien that comes to Earth and the intelligent life he finds is a dog playing with a ball on a beach. I got the idea from a dream I had a long time ago.

I bought my third pair of $19 glasses!
I have now bought three pair of eye glasses from Zenni Optical. Every pair has been great. You just enter your prescription, pick from their large selection, enter your credit card number and mailing address, wait about 2 weeks and you get a pair of great glasses for a very low price. The only number that you have to enter that isn't in a prescription is the distance between your pupils. I found this easily by holding up a ruler and looking in the mirror. The web address is http://zennioptical.com/.

Incredible Star Trek Models out of Paper!
When I was a kid, I used to make paper models of trucks and planes. I didn't know anybody else did it. Now, on the Internet, I find out that it is a hobby shared by a lot of people. Paper modeling, also known as card modeling (see the wiki entry) is really taking off now that there are lots of free models on the Internet that can be printed and built. There is a site at http://jleslie48.com/gallery_models_scifi.html where there are a lot of Science Fiction related models that can be downloaded FREE. I really like the model of the Star Trek Enterprise bridge. It just blows my mind what can be built out of paper alone.

Here are a few quotes I found interesting about President Bush's speech. It sounds like the direction is good, I would just like to see a plan for making it happen.

• "A future of hope and opportunity requires that all our citizens have affordable and available health care.... In all we do, we must remember that the best health care decisions are made not by government and insurance companies, but by patients and their doctors."
• "Extending hope and opportunity in our country requires an immigration system worthy of America -- with laws that are fair and borders that are secure."
• "For too long our nation has been dependent on foreign oil. And this dependence leaves us more vulnerable to hostile regimes, and to terrorists -- who could cause huge disruptions of oil shipments, and raise the price of oil, and do great harm to our economy."
• "For all of us in this room, there is no higher responsibility than to protect the people of this country from danger. Five years have come and gone since we saw the scenes and felt the sorrow that the terrorists can cause. We've had time to take stock of our situation. We've added many critical protections to guard the homeland. We know with certainty that the horrors of that September morning were just a glimpse of what the terrorists intend for us -- unless we stop them."
• "We've been through a lot together. We've met challenges and faced dangers, and we know that more lie ahead. Yet we can go forward with confidence -- because the State of our Union is strong, our cause in the world is right, and tonight that cause goes on."