I spotted this courtesy phone set up at the local Red Robin restaurant.
According to the signs, you can use the phone for free to make local calls, toll-free calls, or you can use a calling card.
Of course, you’ll have to provide your own phone….
Category Archives: Assorted Ramblings
Family repellant?
About a week before Christmas I was wandering through Target in search of a last few presents when I spotted this rather unusual product.
At first glance, that bottle looks like it says, “Repel Family.” Interesting product for Christmas time, don’t you think? Evidently someone figured out how to bottle Eau du Fruitcake! 🙂
An honest to goodness superhero
For the past several years, the citizens of Jackson, Michigan have had a real life superhero living in their midst, a hero known only as “Captain Jackson”. Unfortunately, according to a Detroit Free Press article, he’s very much like his comic book counterparts and his alter- ego evidently has a few personal demons to battle. And after he slipped in October, his “secret identity” was revealed.
Captain Jackson is reportedly considering leaving town, which is a shame. His superhero gimmick is definitely corny as all get out (it ranks right up there with dressing in Star Trek costumes when working for a charity), but when you put that aside, his stated goal of trying to deter crime and educate people about working with their local police is really kinda cool.
Whatever he does, hopefully he’ll keep on keeping on.
Dividing by Zero
As it says at the top of pretty much every page, “Division by Zero is not defined.”
Which is to say, I’m not really sure why this is here or what it’s about, but that’s exactly what the world needs, right? One more uninteresting blog about nothing in particular.
The blog’s been here for a few months, but it’s now officially live and linked. Who knows where it’ll be in another month.
Tiny artwork. Very tiny.
As you know, engineers tend to have a unique sense of humor. And the folks who design computer chips are no different.
“The Silicon Zoo” is a collection of animals and other artworks that are etched into the circuitry of any number of chips.
The size of the artwork is generally measured in microns (millionths of a meter) and is thus much too small to see with the unaided eye. You can find everything from Daffy Duck on a RISC processor to Marvin the Martian on an image sensor used by Spirit and Opportunity.
You can even find Waldo!
Welcome to my world
Science Fiction editor Theodore Sturgeon once rather notably said, “Ninety percent of science fiction is crud, but then, ninety percent of everything is crud.” This is known as “Sturgeon’s Law.” Blair’s corollary to Sturgeon’s Law is, “On the Internet, the percentage tends to be higher.”
The greatest strength of the web is that anybody can put up a website about any topic. Favorite sports teams, favorite celebrities, research they wish to share, dissenting political views, and so on.
The greatest weakness of the web is that anybody can put up a website about any topic. There’s no requirement for honesty, fact-checking or even (quite frequently) spell-checking.
Which brings us to this site. I’m not sure which side of Sturgeon’s Law this falls under. But I have my suspicions….