Nemesis, the star?

Wikipedia entries:  When astronomers (from the IAU) declared that Pluto was no longer a planet, but had been demoted to a “dwarf planet;” it sounded like the IAU realized no one cared that they existed so they re-wrote the history books to further frustrate elementary teachers all over the earth.

And then it was revealed that since 1992, over one thousand objects in the Kuiper Belt have been documented.  In fact, Pluto isn’t even the largest dwarf planet; Eris is 27% (roughly) larger than Pluto and resides even further out than Pluto.

and this is where it all gets interesting:

Beyond the Kuiper Belt astronomers postulate (and can partly prove) that there are at least two other phenomena.  The scattered disc, where Eris resides, is thought to be objects that have been scattered by Neptune’s orbit and gravity.   Beyond the scattered disc is an even more mysterious and ethereal location, the Oort cloud.  Sedna, which lies outside the scattered disc and on the inner reaches of the Oort cloud, has an amazing orbit which seems to be influenced by a large (earth-size or maybe Jupiter-sized) planetoid within the Oort cloud.

Oh, yeah.  Then there’s Nemesis, the theoretical star beyond the Oort cloud that is the cause of the comets.  Amazing.

p.s.  Did you know that many consider Pluto to be a binary system?  Yeah, I find that fascinating too. 

where to next

via the Zeldman blog:  It’s true.  What happens when you’ve aim’d, blogged, myspace’d, facebook’d, and tweet’d?

“Got book?”

Trilogies

So, I was thinking the other day, what is your favorite recent film trilogy?  (qualifiers:  at least one of the movies must have been released since 1990 and all have had to be theatrical releases.)

Some hints (I’ve marked which movies I’ve seen in parenthesis):  Bourne (3), Mission Impossible (3), Shrek (1, 2), the Fast & the Furious (3), Ocean’s (3), X-Men (3), Spiderman (3), Star Wars (3), Lord of the Ring (3), the Matrix (3), Terminator (3), Underworld (3), the Mummy (3), Pirates (3), etc.

I enjoyed the Bourne series, the Matrix trilogy, and the Ocean’s series the most; and I will be least likely to watch any of the Spiderman and the Mummy movies again.

Goofy Movie

We watched National Treasure:  Book of Secrets last night which was a very good movie (but very similar to the original National Treasure).  Disney has a short film (similar to what Pixar has done with their major releases) about Goofy and his new purchase of a high-definition entertainment system.  Just hilarious.

I haven’t found it on Youtube.

Yahoo’s 10 worst IT products

Yahoo article via TUAW:  I agree with putting the Apple TV on a “under-achiever” list, but is it really as bad as Vista?  Apple TV does what it is supposed to do, and even if you wanted it to do more at least it lives up to its description.  Putting the Apple TV on the same list as Vista is akin to saying that an MCSE that can’t find the network settings in Debian is just as much a charlatan as a auto mechanic that can’t change your spark plugs without breaking your oil pan.

Vista is so far from what it is advertised as, it should be the subject of a lawsuit.  The Apple TV?  While I wouldn’t buy it and think that it has little purpose, it is every part the overgrown iPod that it says it is.

Buy•N•Large

via the Pixar blog:  Wether or not his timeline is correct, the Buy•N•Large site is very interesting.

iTunes Movie Rentals

via Financial Times article & NYT article:  I have bought a few shows & movies on iTunes, but not nearly in proportion to the amount of music that I’ve purchased.  Renting movies and TV shows makes so much more sense than music, after all isn’t that why there is a Blockbuster and not a Platinum Album Store?

Transformers II

Hilarious if this were in Transformers Two.

MacWorld Predictions

1.  thin, tiny, subnotebook

2.  new display styles and better resolutions

3.  new macbook or macbook pro form factor (reflecting #1)

4.  show off the dev kit for the iPhone

5.  brand new software package (they already revised ilife, iwork, and the OS)

6.  itunes subscriptions for video

7.  upgraded Apple TV

In a couple of days I will give them a probability of happening.

Why I Love Apple Products…

I was going to just post my predictions for MacWorld, but I thought that I’d better quantify where I stand.

I’m a cultist.  I’m obsessed.  I’m a fanboi.  But not of Apple (necessarily)…   I think that everything that I use should be three things:   consistent, simple, and beautiful.  I crave consistency, I feel that “less is more,” and I think that beauty can be defined.  I also want a product that does what it is supposed to do.

Those four principles are why I use Apple’s hardware and software.  It fits those four qualifications the best.  Apple has made poor products, but I said “the best” not “perfectly.”

So if an obsession with a consistent, simple, and beautiful UI that does what it is supposed to do (and doesn’t get in my way) has made me an Apple ‘fanboi’  …  I’ll take it as a compliment.

And…if in three years, Geindour (a fictional linux distro) can support a better UI, I’ll give it a try.  Because Apple and the Mac OS isn’t perfect.

Mazda Furai

via Autoblog:  So, I don’t normally post photos, but this car just looks way too awesome to not post a photo from this shoot from Autoblog.  I absolutely love those curves!  Amazing. Oh, yeah, it runs Ethanol.

Amazon’s MP3 Store

via DLS:  Amazon’s MP3 store now has added more tracks.  I’m so happy for this; and hopefully it will lead to a more aggressive and competitive Apple.

6 Megapixels

via DF linked list – Article Link:  Basically, if you’re going to buy a point-n-shoot, you’re better off getting a 4 to 6mpxl (you’ll still get great 8×10’s) then getting a 10 to 12mpxl.

This entire discussion reminds me remotely of the CPU wars from 2000 to 2002.  The speed of CPUs was getting so much faster, but that didn’t translate into better performance and sometimes the new CPUs were much worse.  But increasing your Mpxl is almost always terrible.

Why?  The sensor needs a given amount of time to record for each point of light coming through the lense.  The more points of light that you ask to be displayed (mpxl), the longer the camera must be absolutely still.  Have you ever wondered why that old Kodak you had took better indoor pictures than your new Sony?  It has nothing to do with the brand (typically), but it has everything to do with the number of points of light that the photo is trying to display.

My Nikon D50 (6mxpl) is a fantastic camera (and yes, I realize that lenses come into play with dSLRs), and I’m not running out to get that new Nikon D40x (10mpxl) because it records the same image to the same size sensor but chops it up into smaller pixels.

Still Lost?  Think of a pie, or a cheesecake.  Take three of them for example.  Let’s cut one into 4 slices, one into 6 slices and one into 12 slices.  Your twelve guests might be impressed with your cheesecake, but not with their slice…

Experience

via MSN: Political discussions are so dangerous, but I’ll comment anyway. Who in the Presidential races (on either side) has experience? This is one of the worst choices of candidates since I started paying attention (early 90’s). And, no, I don’t think that being First Lady is worth all that much, but it’s probably more than 7 years as a state senator and 3 years as a senator.

What a mess.

Aboard the Swdish Icebreaker Oden

Wired Photos: A fascinating set of photos. I would love to take a trip on an icebreaker sometime; you can get tickets for some Russian ones.

Don’t (Pt. 2)

Here are some photos to go with my previous post Don’t.

Merry Christmas!

Just a little Christmas cheer from our family, Merry Christmas!!!

Don’t

Try this (YouTube Link) at home. For Mark.

the Twelve Days of Christmas

Even better (YouTube Link).

the Hallelujah Chorus

Hilarious (YouTube Link).