Category: Useless knowledge

Information you have no need for. Ever. Usually about me, but possibly about other trivial crap in the world.

Slow times

Between illness, travel, and spending time with the wife and children, I’ve had even less than typical spare time to work on the site.  I have tried to at least get a couple of articles up per day these past few days, but I’ve fallen short.  I’m going to be on travel the next couple of days again, so again posting will be slow.  I expect to have time beginning Sunday to start catching up again.  If this works out, look for 10-20 articles a day as I catch up on my backlog of blog/news/gaming reading.  I am trying my best to resolve these slow times in a way that keeps the site more active.  We shall see over the next few weeks how well I can work this out.

Auto fuel from cow manure

My, what those Germans won’t do to stay ahead of the energy crisis!  In this case, it’s looking to cow manure as a source of energy.  Of course, in this instance, this Modern Mechanix posting shows us the Germans were doing this in 1949.  But maybe the whole technology will make a big come back with these soaring fuel prices we’ve seen of late?

THERE’S an old European proverb which says you can measure the extent of a farmer’s prosperity by the height of his manure pile. That saying is closer to the truth today in Germany than it has ever been before.

A German inventor named Harnisch has developed a simple device which converts manure into fuel. And this fuel is used to drive autos and tractors as well as provide household power.

The idea of using manure as fuel is not a new one. Cow manure has been used for this purpose for thousands of years in India and “Africa. As recently as 1912, many cities were operating gas lanterns on sewage gas.

Skeptical of the value of this technology?  You shouldn’t be.  Check out the supply ratio:

Methane from two cows is enough to heat the average farm house. With 20 head of cattle the farmer can operate a tractor for 120 days!

[tags]Modern Mechanix, energy crisis, alternate energy sources[/tags]

Dollar based shirts

(via MAKE ezine blog)

Money origami is what this is. The directions are a little funky-reading at the important step of adding sleeves to the creation, but the end result is a pretty slick looking folded bill that looks like a shirt. I’ve tried this, and am pleased with the results. I want to add a clarifying point to the original creator’s guide:

Gently unfold the previous two folds, keeping the creases. On the lateral fold furthest from the collar, refold it strait across as shown. (On the flatbed scanner, this made a bit of a mess of it, but it is fairly easy in 3D.)

At this step in the guide, the picture shows a bill with the entire top edge unfolded.  I couldn’t make a sharp fold in the bill and keep the whole thing flat.  After fiddling around a bit and reading the next step, I realized that at this point, the bill didn’t need to be pressed flat while doing the step.  So fold the entire top end of the bill so it is squared off as shown in the creator’s pictures without keeping the paper flat until after the following step.

And that is not clear, either.  Just work through with the pictures and the guide and keep in mind that at the step I’ve highlight, getting the bill squared off is necessary and means the paper won’t be flat until you finish the step that follows it.

[tags]Money origami, origami[/tags]

First US digital computer

More modern marvels from Modern Mechanix.  This time, it’s a nice little write-up on the first digital computer in the U.S.  Originally published in Popular Science in 1944, the write-up now is probably only of interest to really geeky people (like me).  Some interesting facts about the IBM ASCC (Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator) from the site:

  • It cost $250,000 in 1944 dollars.
  • It could calculate using numbers with up to 23 signifigant digits. These were set with an array of 1,440 dials (check out the picture below)
  • It took 3/10 second for add/subtract, 5.8 for multiplication and 14.7 seconds for division.
  • It weighed 35 tons and was powered by a 2 horse-power motor. (With mhz, ghz, mb, gb, tb, dpi, ms, bps, etc don’t you think it’s time hp got back into the computer lexicon?)
  • It contained 500 miles of wire

And some of the article in question:

SOME boy may soon work his way through Harvard University by watching a 51-foot switchboard all night in an air-conditioned basement. Behind its polished panels, electricity will be solving the longest and most difficult mathematical problems ever conceived. It will be doing everything that is known to be mathematically possible with such numbers as 12,743,287,341,045,502,372,098.

Even Commander Howard H. Aiken, U.S.N.R., the professor in charge of this 35-ton calculating machine, says he does not know what you would call a number that long. It is billions of billions.

But the young man running this figure factory will not need to be a mathematician. If anything goes wrong, a red light will flash, he will make a few simple adjustments, and the mountain of machinery will go swiftly on with computations that professors have not lived long enough to complete.

We need to get that flashing red light thing back on computers for when things go wrong, though.  The only flashing red light on my system at home goes on whenever the hard drive lights up.  And the only warning light I get is that bright blue screen that comes up for those special Windows crashes.

[tags]Supercomputers, IBM, ASCC, Modern Mechanix[/tags]

17 mistakes Microsoft made in the XBox security system

Sometimes, I don’t even know why I read these things. First, the XBox is kinda old news to most folks. Second, I don’t know many people in real life who care about security. Third, this write-up of XBox security system problems is old anyway (late 2005). But some how, I still find and read these kinds of articles, almost always finding them fascinating, even when I don’t understand what the heck is being said (far too often for my tastes). And if you are like me, you’ll want to at least peek at it, and see how much you understand about security system design and testing.

Motivation for the Security System

The Xbox being a PC, it should be trivial to install Linux on it in order to have a cheap and, for that time, powerful PC. Even today, a small and silent 733 MHz PC with TV connectivity for 149 USD/EUR is still attractive. But this is not the only thing Microsoft wanted to prevent. There are three uses that should not have been possible:

  • Linux: The hardware is subsidized and money is gained with the games, therefore people should not be able to buy an Xbox without the intent to buy any games. Microsoft apparently feels that allowing the Xbox to be used as a (Linux) computer would be too expensive for them.
  • Homebrew/Unlicensed: Microsoft wants the software monopoly on the Xbox platform. Nobody should be able to publish unlicensed software, because Microsoft wants to gain money with the games to amortize the hardware losses, and because they do not want anyone to release non-Internet Explorer browsers and non-Windows Media Player multimedia software.
  • Copies: Obviously it is important to Microsoft that it is not possible to run copied games on the Xbox.

Microsoft decided to design a single security system that was supposed to make Linux, homebrew/unlicensed software and copies impossible. The idea to accomplish this was by simply locking out all software that is either not on the intended (original) medium or not by Microsoft.

On the one hand, this idea makes the security system easier and there are less possible points off attack. But on the other hand, 3 times more attackers have a single security system to hack: Although Open Source and Linux people, homebrew developers, game companies as well as crackers have little common interests, they could unite in this case and jointly hack the Xbox security system.

Then falls all the gory details of how the XBox boot system works, what security systems were put in place to protect the boot, how the systems *could* fail, how work-arounds were found to take advantage of those failures, and so on.  It’s a great bit insight into how hardware hacking can be done, but it’s also fairly technical at times.

[tags]XBox, Security, Microsoft[/tags]

Today in history – July 7th

Here’s a smattering of information about memorable events which have occurred in years past on this day.

  • A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her death (1456). — Sure, it’s a bit late, but I’ll bet her family was happy to know that she shouldn’t really have been executed…
  • United States begins first military draft; exemptions cost $100 (1863) — Hey, now there’s a good idea.  Sure, having money being the reason you get out of the draft has always been the case – but in this instance, it’s more clearly understandable how someone skipped facing the draft without the need for the cowardly run to another country.
  • In Memphis, Tennessee, WHBQ becomes the first radio station to air an Elvis Presley record. (1954) — If that’s not history, I don’t know what is.  And being that I live in Memphis now, I figure I need to point out the accomplishments of this fine city (aside from the political scandals which seem to keep the FBI coming here a lot recently, that is).
  • Some cowardly maggots blew up bombs on three trains and a bus in London, killing 52 innocent people.

[tags]Today in history[/tags]

Nintendo sends President Bush a DS and Brain Age game for birthday

(via Engadget)

As a “Happy Birthday” gift, Nintendo has sent a Nintendo DS Lite to the President and the game Brain Age.  For those not familiar with the game, Brain Age is a game which supposedly helps improve mental function and delays age related memory loss.  This seems like an attempt at a humorous slap at President given the reputation he has in the media.  A bit bold for Nintendo, though, even if intended as a good-natured jab.
[tags]Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Brain Age[/tags]

Nintendo DS browser missing some “essentials”

(via DS Fanboy)

The latest bit of info from IGN concerning the Nintendo DS browser (based on Opera, by the way), indicates it will be missing some features considered essential by some.  Which essentials?  Well, the browser won’t support Flash media, viewing PDF or video files, nor playing back sound.  Also, you will not be able to save images for later viewing.  But you can save bookmarks.

I have to say, for me, the missing features are nowhere near essential to me.  I install a Flash blocker extension in every Mozilla install I do for myself anyway, and if I want to view PDF files, I’m more likely to try to get them in rocketbook format for viewing on my EBookwise ebook reader or look at them via my PC anyway.  I often browse with sound turned off, so I’ll not miss that, and most videos are not worth viewing anyway, so I doubt I’ll notice that missing, either.  So for me, nothing essential is missing.

[tags]Nintendo DS, Opera browser[/tags]

AOL attemping to remain relevant

(via Ars Technica)

After suffering massive declines in subscription numbers, America Online has changed directions in an attempt to remain relevant. While still charging for dial-up access, the company has announced plans to offer the AOL service for free to broadband users. This effectively changes the company from a subscription based business to a primarily advertising supported business. So some details on how this will pan out:

AOL could give up as much as $2 billion in subscription revenue if a gambit aimed at boosting the Internet service’s advertising revenue goes ahead, the Journal said.

. . .

AOL expects that 8 million of its existing dial-up customers would cancel their subscription to take advantage of the new offer. Nearly one-third of the company’s customer base of 18.6 million in the first quarter already has high-speed access, it said.

AOL is losing subscribers to high-speed Internet providers at a quickening pace, losing about 850,000 in the first quarter, the Journal said. Total U.S. subscribers at the end of 2002 was 26.5 million, the newspaper said.

So there you have it. I’ve never used AOL, but honestly, if the service were free (as in beer) to me, I might at least check it out as, some of the offerings on the service sound potentially useful.

After losing $99 billion in 2002, and while continuing to bleed-out its subscriber base, I think someone at AOL realized that this might be the only way for the once mighty company to remain viable in a broadband based future.

[tags]AOL, America Online[/tags]

How to avoid jail after ruining many peoples’ lives

Well, a round of applause to Ken Lay.  It seems Mr. Lay was able to figure out a way to avoid being indicted for screwing so many people out of so much money.  Yesterday, Ken Lay died of a heart attack while vacationing in Colorado.  He expired just two days shy of the anniversary of his first indictments in the Enron scandal.

But wait, you might say – if he was indicted nearly 2 years ago, how can you say he avoided indictment?  Well, it’s due to the nifty nature of our legal system.  From Lay’s wikipedia page we find the tasty little answer:

Since Lay died prior to exhausting his appeals, his conviction may be considered abated under precedent in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Federal appellate court governing the district where Lay was indicted; therefore, Lay will legally be considered never to have been indicted or convicted of criminal charges.

So there you have it.  Buy yourself a heart attack, die, ????, profit!  I’m not sure about that last step, and I’m not sure what the third step has to be, but I hear you can’t have profit without having a ???? step.

And no, I don’t actually believe Ken Lay arranged his heart attack.  This is just a good natured poke at the deceased, along with a hint of conspiracy theory in acknowledgement of the many who believe he did indeed pay someone to give him something to induce a heart attack rather than face jail and financial penalties.

[tags]Ken Lay, Enron[/tags]

Hero MMORPG free play

(via Joystiq)

Not sure what to say about this one, so I’ll take the lazy method and steal Joystiq’s content tonight:

Martial arts-inspired MMORPG Hero Online has announced that an open beta will begin on June 30 and last for at least a month. For those of you tired of WoW and the others, this is a good chance to get your feet wet in something new. Since it seems there are so many new MMOs coming out, who knows if this thing will last. But hey, can’t argue with free, can you? For those not in the know, the game features the following:

  • Hero is created by martial art novelists.
  • Player characters learn many skills and forms.
  • Hero utilizes a reward system that keeps track of how many monsters a player kills from log in to log out.

Honestly, looking over the site and features, the game seems to be a bit slim in the content department. Has anyone here been playing the closed beta? If so, what are your impressions?

Come on, now! Who wouldn’t want to at least try a martial arts based MMORPG? This could end up the ultimate show of Real Ultimate Power!

That said – I’m signing up for the open beta, and will almost certainly try this game out when its final release comes.

[tags]MMORPG, Real Ultimate Power[/tags]