⇒ headline roundup

R.I.P. Arthur C. Clarke
thanks for 2001, satellites and everything in between

http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/29/us-dethroned-as-tech-superpower-hint-not-by-s-korea/
http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/19/stanford-researchers-cram-12-616-tiny-lenses-into-a-3d-camera/
http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/19/build-your-own-street-legal-solar-powered-electric-car/
http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/19/com-bat-swoops-in-to-gather-data-on-reconnaissance-missions/

http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/19/solid-state-microchip-sized-fan-promises-to-cool-laptops/
http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/19/gefens-usb-to-dvi-adapter-handles-uxga/
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/19/zero-punctuation-hunts-turok-and-other-fpss/

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/19/law-of-the-game-on-joystiq-video-game-laws-abort-retry-fail/
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/19/nintendo-still-dead-last-in-greenpeace-electronics-rankings/

http://www.joystiq.com/photos/i-am-8-bit-exhibit/

♥♣♦♠

⇒ ideas and memories

production design and sketches for cinema projects by James Carson: http://www.jamescarsondesign.com/

Sci-Fi
http://io9.com/367603/eight-of-the-oddest-inspirations-for-the-coolest-science-fiction-machines

http://io9.com/368902/two-kickass-giant-robot-movies-we-want-to-see-right-now

http://io9.com/339315/impossible-skyscrapers-and-one-hippodrome
http://io9.com/
http://www.sff.net/people/Geoffrey.Landis/vacuum.html

graphic design www.shinybinary.com/

fond childhood partial-memories: I clearly remember going on a book binge at about 7 or 8 years old and spending a substantial amount of my personal fortune (all $40 or so) in one fell swoop and being chastised for it. Now that I think about it, shouldn't that be a good thing? Kids wanting to read?

Anyhoo, the first real author I can remember who made me want to read was Paul Jennings. I got through Unreal! without too much difficulty continually re-borrowed it from the school library. It was that good.

Eventually, on a school excursion to a book fair, I picked up Unbearable!, Unbelievable! and Uncanny!, in pretty much that order (time difference of seconds). They were $4 each, terrific investment.

I wonder where those books are now? I still remember some of the stories and covers. Unbearable! had a kid wearing a gilted birdcage and was primarily green. There were characters in the background pointing and laughing. Unbelievable! had a punk-ghost on the cover turning stuff inside out. It was a dark cover, mostly an off-black. Uncanny! I don't exactly recall the cover but I do remember that it was the thickest of the three. That and it may or may not have been green.

Down the line, I ended up reading Undone! Unmentionable, Round the Twist, Quirky Tales, The Gizmo and plenty of Jennings' other works, such as Grandad's Gifts. The Cabbage Patch Fib became a class production (which failed miserably)--I provided the prop poop (heh heh).

No idea why the onset of nostalgia suddenly hit me...good times...

♥♣♦♠

⇒ technical writing

Technical writers gather information from existing documentation, and from subject matter experts. A subject matter expert (SME) is any expert on the topic the writer is working on. Technical writers usually are not SMEs themselves—unless they're writing about creating good technical documentation.

Workers at many levels, and in many different fields, have a role in producing and distributing technical communications. A good technical writer needs strong language skills, and must understand the highly evolved conventions of modern technical communications. For technical documents to be useful, readers must understand and act on them without having to decode wordy and ambiguous prose.

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_writing
see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_writer

also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chicago_Manual_of_Style
and http://library.williams.edu/citing/styles/chicago1.php

♥♣♦♠

⇒ four C's of web design

Diamonds are rated by what is called the 4 C's. The 4 C's represent Carat, Color, Clarity and Cut. The rating for these features determines the intrinsic value of the stone. Carat of course is the stone weight, Color is evaluated in terms of its' whiteness, Clarity is the determination of the stone flaws and the Cut is the stones shape. As these ratings go up, so do the values of the stones.

A website has a similar and secret 4 C's ratings system; only the 4 C's values of a website's design are Clarity, Content, Consistency and Credibility. Just like a diamond, the highest score in each of these categories can determine a high website's rating. Search engines usually use the 4C's evaluation to rank your site. They don't tell you about the 4C's. They use terms like Meta Tags and keywords and tell you how important they are for your position. (See how search engines use Meta Tags here). Don't get me wrong: these items are important for the spider robots and should be used. Lets face it, however: to get really a good ranking, the visitors and the number of other sites linking to yours links are the key to a success on the World Wide Web. Search engines secretly track external site linkages and visitors traffic. They use this information to move sites up or down the rating scale. Your Meta Tags and keywords have little to do with your position on a search engines list. If your site is on the 3rd page, or further down the list of a given search result, it is unlikely to be viewed.

That is why the 4C's features are critical component to a good website design. People don't see your Meta Tags and keywords - they see the 4C's. Websites are all about traffic, subsequent visits and viral marketing. (Viral marketing is also called "word of mouth". We all know that if a visitor saw a great site, he would tell his friends, and they would pass the message further on their friends etc.) If your site has a high 4 C's rating, you will have the traffic and encourage other websites to link to yours.

from: http://www.ipages4u.com/How_to_Achieve_A_Top_Search_Engine_Rank.htm

♥♣♦♠

⇒ run like crazy

went to gym today. Ran 5k and did good! Firstly, the weather was something like 32 deg C, so it was hot to begin with. Secondly, consider that on Friday and Saturday (the two preceding days), I ran 5km on both days too. That means I've run 15km in three days, my new best(?)

Having said that, I broke several personal bests and set an all new personal 5km record! I did it in under 40' (about 39'56"). I went crazy and planned it out beforehand, guesstimating about 8' per km or about 3 laps every 8'. That plan sort of worked. My legs hurt from the very first step, but I really really pushed myself today.

I ran the entire first km non-stop (time was about 7'). I was actually on track to run the 5k in about 35' but the pain in my legs and adjustment to the new plan took some getting used to and required slowing down, add to that my profuse sweating and need to rehydrate. Totaled about 370 KCALs and average of 7.3 km/h (up from yesterday's 7.2). Still very happy about that progress. (My legs are killing me!)

Further to that, I stretched before and after the run, did 3 sets of bench, 3 of chest fly and 2 inclined bench. All followed up with a swim.

Slimming down is progressing slowly, but I guess that's expected considering I had an 11 month layoff. Damn, 11 months of damage (excessive salty foods, little exercise, high stress) takes a long time to undo...

I got 6 visits left...

side note: all-time personal best for 20' on treadmill: 3.2km (circa 2003 or 2004) which equals an average of 9.6 km/h

♥♣♦♠