/dev/null/kevin

Firefighters have always been heroes, well before 9/11, but this story just continues to prove the point. Pictured at left is firefighter Alberto Ortega carrying a six month old baby across a river after they were both tossed out of a rescue raft. You can read about it here (it's the second rescue described in the story, not the tragic one), but to really appreciate it, you need to see the video. Sadly, I can't find a video feed on the web, so if anyone else has one, please post it in the comments.

What is impressive about the video is that Ortega manages to hang on to the baby, get upright, and then start walking through very deep, and very fast moving water. He's got both arms around the baby so he's only using he leg strength to keep upright. It's seriously moving stuff.

The baby suffered mild hypothermia (i.e. cold), but is expect to recover.
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January 11, 2005 12:54 PM PST Permalink | |

Wired Magazine has released its annual Vaporware Awards for 2004. It's a pretty funny read.

Duke Nukem (pictured) was given a lifetime "achievement" award for Duke Nukem Forever in 2003, but it's still getting votes. That's true vapor.

Microsoft's Longhorn is #3!
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January 07, 2005 10:51 AM PST Permalink | |

Taken from the Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch annual Wacky Warning Label contest:

A flushable toilet brush that warns users, “Do not use for personal hygiene” has been identified as the nation’s wackiest warning label in an annual contest sponsored by a consumer watchdog group.

If you don't like frivolous lawsuit, then this site is for you. Read on for the other "winners."
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January 06, 2005 08:21 PM PST Permalink | |

eBay has announced its new Rethink Recycling Program. Their intent is to reduce the huge amount of waste created from computer components getting dumped into landfills. I know first hand that it's getting harder and harder to get rid of old computer junk these days. I can't even donate it anymore! While I am fortunate to live very close to Apple Computer's recycling program, not many people are so lucky. eBay's program look good so far. It's collecting links for local recycling and has the "last resort" option of letting eBay sell it for you. Sounds like a good win-win solution as people are just going to dump their crap everywhere if it's too hard, time consuming or expensive to properly dispose of their electronics.
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January 06, 2005 04:14 PM PST Permalink | |

I have 10 gmail accounts to hand out. Post a comment if you want one. The new Roller 1.0 system should obfuscate email addresses to help prevent getting spam, but only if you put it in the MAIN TEXT area. If you put it in the "Email" text field, nothing special happens (so don't do that). I'll post a test comment just to make sure.
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January 06, 2005 03:56 PM PST Permalink | Comments [11] |

Diamonds may soon a boy's best friend, too!

While the Comsumer Electronics Show may be touting the newest plasma TVs, they could all be obsolete if new carbon nanotube TVs make it to market. CNET reports that new "field effect displays" (FED) could produce CRT quality pictures while staying thin like a flat panel plasma TV. The basic idea is create mini CRTs, one per pixel, by firing electrons through tiny diamonds (carbon nanotubes).

Quoting the article:

Like an LCD, an FED is made up of layers. A layer of glass is coated with a cathode and a layer of diamond dust coated with lithium or carbon nanotubes. The negatively charged cathode, organized in a grid, then emits electrons through the diamonds or nanotubes, which focus that energy like a tiny lightening rod. But then, like a CRT, the electrons shoot through a vacuum at a layer of phosphorescent glass covered with pixels. The big difference is that the source of electrons, the carbon, is located only 1 millimeter to 2 millimeters rather than nearly 2 feet from the target glass, and instead of one electron source--the electron gun--there are thousands. The electrons are attracted to the pixilated glass because this layer contains a positively charged anode.

At last, I have a reason to hang on to my 53" rear screen projection TV.
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January 05, 2005 10:32 AM PST Permalink | Comments [1] |

ET: Entertainment Television has hit a new low. I have already blogged how much I dislike this show in a private blog. I could never have dreamed that I could have a lower opinion of this show, but now I do.

ET has managed to exploit the tsunami disaster for their own benefit. First of all, just by covering the story, they are exploiting it. I mean, who finds the tsunami "entertaining" anyway? No one. I could understand if they "just" reported on celebrities' reactions, celebrities who are donating money, or the few celebrities who were really affected by the tsunami - that would be on par with ET's level of "journalism." However, what set me off was a story hyping a CNN show about tsunami survivors. CNN, aware that their own show is exploitive, is airing it without commercials. ET, however, is airing the same clips (lots of them) and still making a buck.

If you've never seen ET, you may be wondering why this would upset me so much, but you have to see ET's soulless style of reporting to understand how offensive it is to see them treating the tsunami disaster like it was the O.J. Simpson trial or Oscars. I half expected to see a "best dressed tsunami survivor" segment or hear "stay tuned to hear what the cast of Survivor has to say to the tsunami survivors!" For all I know, that show already aired.
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January 04, 2005 11:04 AM PST Permalink | Comments [1] |

This Oddly Enough article describes strange elephant behavior prior to the devastating tsunamis. We are constantly hearing tales of animals and their "sixth sense" to detect natural disasters. While a more reasonable theory is that these animals are more sensitive to sounds outside the range of humans, it does bring up the point that there are things to be detected, even the animals' reactions themselves.

There are criticisms over the region not having a proper warning system. It seems to me that while plans for a high tech solution should still move forward, a lower tech solution could also be created. If strange animal behavior could be reported to a central location, just the preponderance of reports could be enough to trigger a warning that caution is warranted in the area.

Just an idea off the top of my head.
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January 03, 2005 12:23 PM PST Permalink | |