Pendulum Propelled Ball Bot

The pendulum propelled ball bot with no apparent name (what about "Rollbot" or something) was created by Rotuntus of Sweden. The site has limited information other than a short information paper and some pics and video. There is no info on the bot's power source. The bot speeds along at up to 15 mph.

Instructions For Downloading The RAM In Your Brain

Kathy Paauw, of OrgCoach.net, has instructions for donwloading the "RAM" (.pdf) in your brain, in order to establish a healthy behavior pattern for more effective organization practices. Warning, I will not be held liable for any damage resulting from these activities! Very nice paper.

Gigapxl - The 4 Gigapixel Camera

Here are 3 extremely scaled-down snapshots from this multi-gigapixel image. The original image captures a "clothing-optional" beach and cliffs high above. Zooming in on the image, one can see anxious observers peering over the cliffs at the bare targets below, telescopes and binoculars in-hand. (wired)

A single image contains enough information to display a print at "10 x 20 feet" at the "sharpness of a 4" x 6" print from a 3 megapixel camera." A roll of film for this camera costs $1200. The camera is constructed from decomissioned equipment, such as the U2 Spy Plane. The camera's creator is Graham Flint, and this is his project.

maps.google.com

Google does maps better than the rest. The app is actually a pleasure to use. It feels unencumbered and just plain intuitive.

Two Tiny Apps

TinyP2P is a Peer to Peer app coded in 15 lines. Coded in Python, TinyP2P uses HTTP and XML-RPC protocols.

And weighing in at 112 KB, the Abyss Web Server is generating lot of noise lately.

DARPATech2004 Proceedings

DARPA has slides and transcripts of its DARPATech2004 proceedings online. Some interesting presentations include talks on GPS-Free Navigation, Laptops in Space, and Beyond Science Fiction: Building a Real Cognitive Assitant.

R&D Resources At MS, Sun, IBM, & GOOG

Microsoft Research
IBM alphaWorks
Research.Sun.com, Sun (experimentalstuff.com)
labs.google.com

Rules For Survival

Bob Parsons, of GoDaddy.com, shares his 16 rules for survival.

"14. Solve your own problems. You’ll find that by coming up with your own solutions, you’ll develop a competitive edge. Masura Ibuka, the co-founder of SONY, said it best: “You never succeed in technology, business, or anything by following the others.” There's also an old Asian saying that I remind myself of frequently. It goes like this: "A wise man keeps his own counsel."

15. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Lighten up. Often, at least half of what we accomplish is due to luck. None of us are in control as much as we like to think we are.

16. There’s always a reason to smile. Find it. After all, you’re really lucky just to be alive. Life is short. More and more, I agree with my little brother. He always reminds me: “We’re not here for a long time; we’re here for a good time.” "

The above is included with the permission of Bob Parsons (http://www.bobparsons.com) and is Copyright 2005 by Bob Parsons. All rights reserved.

Innovation, Ingenuity, Creativity, Invention

Synapses On Fire - my 4th or 5th generation blog - develops. Focus intensifies. Clarity mounts. Synapses are on fire. Driven to recognize, observe, and pursue innovation, ingenuity, creativity, and invention.