*sigh*
Were these people taking a nap when Jimmy Carter, Al Gore, Woodrow Wilson, Kofi Anan, Henry Kissinger, Yasir Arafat, and the UN Peacekeeping Forces recieved them? There are probably plenty of people all of those times that made greater sacrifices in the name of peace. Every year a laureate is presented that others disagree with, the detractors point out plenty of examples. Sometimes their criticisms are based on objectivity, sometimes it’s just ignorant political bias.

It’s a prize that frequently goes more often to high-profile people than not. It seems to be a major criteria, possibly because even minimal effort at that level can have wider impact globally than someone sweating in the trenches – even if it’s that grass-roots level work that might have the greatest real impact. Maybe it’s just to encourage people at that level to work for peace maybe because so FEW people at that level take any chances to obtain peace – or maybe it’s just overly politically influenced. Personally if it inspires a few more world leaders to give priority to peace, I’d be happy with pundits (and armchair quarterbacks) griping about it becoming “worthless” – until one of their own “heroes” gets the nod.

I’m not on the panel, the people griping aren’t either, and this isn’t the Science prizes.  Let the guy get his award, and maybe it’ll inspire him to create peace in our time.  Maybe it won’t, and there’ll be another person awarded next year.  Move along.  Or be thankful that your life is apparently so wonderful that you have the time to waste griping.  That’s gotta be worth something.

I might buy my wife noise-cancelling headphones so she can make it through the day without hearing people vent their bitterness on the topic.  :/

Tuesday my wife and I drove to Dayton’s Hara Arena to see Disturbed with Skindred and Sevendust in concert.  It was a blast. There were some odd things that night that did put bumps in the road, however.

On the way there I check my checking balance (so I can see how much merch I can afford) only to find I was over $400 in the red!  Turns out a number of credit card numbers had been “compromised” here locally just recently – and apparently my debit card number was one of them.  Several fraudulent charges to Autotrader.com – all for $110, then a flurry of NSF fees because partway into these charges my checking account had tanked.  Not happy.  Called the bank and got the dispute process started.  I had all of the NSF fees refunded, most of the bad charges reversed, and had the case numbers by the time I was in line at the arena waiting to get checked by security.  Yay, Huntington Bank.

The big disappointment after we arrived was that the show’s linenup was different than what we had thought, and Skindred was on first rather than second – so we missed most of their show.  I like to be early, my wife is rarely early for anything and Skindred was her main reason for going, too. :/

However, the last two and a half songs we DID get to see rocked like few bands I’ve ever seen before.  Benji Webbe moves around the stage like a crazed hyperactive rabbit on crack.  This man does NOT stand still!  All the while belting out the vocals without missing a beat.  The rest of the band is definitely keeping up, they’re definitely no slackers either.   At the end of their set, he stays behind after the rest of the band leaves and plays the crowd for a while, with a fairly entertaining performance with a mini keyboard.  Definitly enjoying playing the ham.  After the set was up, we headed over to the merchandise table where they were greeting the fans, signing autographs and such.  They were very friendly, accessible, and seemed genuinely appreciative when my wife told them they “rocked harder than anyone I’ve ever seen in my life.”  That’s one thing I love in a band.  One that rocks hard, takes their music seriously, really gives their heart to the music and the fans – yet is down to earth, and doesn’t seem to take THEMSELVES too serious.  Benji even referenced Queen’s “Radio Ga Ga” during one of their songs.  More points from me – even if most of the crowd probably didn’t get it.

Before Sevendust’s set we found an ATM that apparently used carrier pigeon or pony express to send everyone’s cash withdrawal requests.

Sevendust was good, but the crew couldn’t seem to quite get the sound right.  Lajon Witherspoon’s usually high-powered vocals were distorted and frequently overpowered by the instrumentals.  When John/Clint/Vincent accompanied on vocals – at least one of them was WAY off key.  Good band, but I think we were a little annoyed (especially my wife) because she had missed Skindred’s slot – so as we simmered down, we kinda missed out on some of it.  Sorry Sevendust, we’ll do better next time. 

After Sevendust’s set was over, we decided to head to the back of the floor area and sit for a bit next to the arena wall.  As luck would have it we had the pleasure of having a drunk guy stumble over near where were, so he could talk to someone on the level above us.  As he was doing so, he was spilling his beer, making new little puddles that were steadily getting closer to where we were sitting.   After trying to speak up to get his attention, I just reach up and tap his elbow.  “Excuse me, could you please watch your beer, you’re spilling it,” I said – trying to be diplomatic about the whole thing.  Metal Concert = stupid drunk people.  It’s normal.

He looked kinda stunned/dumbfounded, but at least moved his beer away from me.  At that point his buddy decides to be helpful by saying, “HEY! CALM DOWN, DUDE!  IT’S FREE BEER!  WHAT’s YOUR PROBLEM?!?”  Yes, like I’m going to lick it off the floor or suck it out of my jeans after he spills it on me.  Dumbass.  He then looks at me and my wife (who’s glaring at him, I just didn’t know it), and I can feel things getting a little tense.  I’m used to this stuff at metal concerts, so I just keep an eye on both of them, not backing down, but not escalating either.  If they’re gonna do something I’ll be ready, but I’m gonna give them the chance to back off, too.  The idiot on the upper level says “Don’t make me come down there!”  *sigh*
Then before I can say anything, my wife – who’s a completly peace-loving hippie – says, “GO AHEAD!  I F’IN DARE YOU!!”

*blink blink* “WTF? Am I in Bizarro World??” goes the voice in my head.    Suddenly I’m going from tense to trying to keep myself from busting out laughing.  I manage to keep a straight face, and either they got tired of the situation or my wife surprised them with her bravado, because they look away quickly and wander/stumble off.  I’m still chuckling that my wife said that.

Anyhow, on to Disturbed’s set.  While it didn’t have the raw hyperactive energy of Skindred, they put on an excellent show.  The audio set-up was excellent, David Draiman’s vocals stayed above the instruments, but didn’t overpower them either.  David could definitely work the room and keeps the energy high.  Everyone was moving, thrusting their fists into the air, and frequently screaming or singing along.  Even my wife, who stayed annoyed through most of Sevendust’s set, was definitely getting a lot of Disturbed’s music.

All in all it was a great show, even with a few bumps (please no “love mail” from Sevendust fans – I just think we were annoyed and they may have had an off night, who knows?).  My wife even logged on the moment we got home (after 1:00 a.m.) and spent at least an hour trying to track down Skindred’s next local show (Benji had said May, but their website has them touring outside the US around that time, maybe it’ll be changed later).  I swear she’s gonna turn into a creepy Skindred groupie or something.  

(click picture to view video on YouTube)

This video appeared on Canada’s G4 TV show Torrent in September of 2008. This video answers the questions, of who I am, what I do, and why I do it.

Oh, http://www.slightlymadscience.com has a new look (still in progress) and I opened a Slightly-Mad Store. Right now it just has a couple basic items, currently sold with no mark-up. Check it out at http://www.cafepress.com/slightlymadsci

Well, a clip of it, anyhow.

There’s a new show on the Science Channel called “Brink”, it’s a show that combines news about cutting-edge science with videos submitted by passionate geeks such as myself. One of my videos was chosen to show up in their first episode – Friday, Nov 28th, at 10:00 PM EST. Check it out!

This is actually my first appearance on US TV, and hopefully not the last!

Want to support Slightly-Mad Science?

1. Go to http://www.slightlymadscience.com and donate!

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Slightly-Mad Science

Brief rant about idiots on and off the road.

First, someone whose driving style shows their idiocy, even while they’re parked!

If you purchase a gigantor vehicle, that does not automatically entitle you to multiple parking spaces wherever you go.  Certainly not in the second row of parking from a busy supermarket.  True, the cart corral does poke somewhat into the third space.  But guess what?  When I left the market, they had left, and those spaces were indeed taken up by 3 other vehicles.  One of which was ALSO a truck.

I’m showing them a kindness by blurring the license plate.

The driver of this truck isn’t necessarily an idiot, but their sign is idiotic.

You can’t quite read it, but the sign says something along the lines of “WARNING: Not responsible for damage due to falling debris.  Stay 200 feet behind vehicle.”  The reason why that’s stupid is two-fold.

Yes, you are responsible if stuff falls out of your truck, the same as I’d be responsible if my fender fell off on the freeway and hit the guy behind me.

Second, unless you drive wearing binoculars (which I wouldn’t recommend), you can’t even READ the sign unless you’re already much closer than 200 feet!

(picture taken from passenger seat, by the way)

Months ago, I was contacted by Eliza Bayne, one of the hosts of Torrent (a TV Show on Canada’s G4techTV).  She said that Slightly-Mad Science was under consideration for a segment on their show, and would like to know if I could film a response to their interview questions.

Needless to say, I was interested and sent a video as soon as I could.  She said it was good, and that it’d air sometime in August/September.  Unfortunately, she also told me later that this was the last season of Torrent.

My request follows: if anyone saw the episode of Torrent with my show in it, let me know what you think.  Anyone that might know of a digital copy floating around on the internet – please let me know so I can check it out.  And if you know anyone that works for Greedy Productions (the producer of Torrent), G4techTV Canada, or Torrent, ask them to please update their darned website!

I don’t LIVE in Canada, so I don’t get G4techTV.   A few people have commented on my videos that they saw me on TV – and they DO live in Canada – so I presume that they saw me on Torrent.  Problem is, with the show being cancelled, I guess they never updated their website with the episode.  So while Canada got to see me on TV, I didn’t.

I’m just really wanting to see it (what they did with my footage and such), and if they ever get around to updating their website, link to it.  Unfortunately, G4 doesn’t podcast that show (as far as I can tell), and with a name like “Torrent” – it’s almost IMPOSSIBLE to find appropriate references to it.  My fellow nerds that use BitTorrent should know why that is.  I COULD just post my video response, but I’d rather point to their end product than what I gave them.

I’m grateful to have my show noticed by G4techTV, and think the whole thing is awesome. BUT I WANNA SEE IT!

Thanks!

Bit of background… there’s TWO channels called G4 that I know of.  Both are owned by G4 Media.  Both are a combination of G4 (gamer’s tv) and TechTV.  The US Version: Missing nearly all of the “Tech” content.  Replaced with a lot of Ninja Warrior and similar shows.  Might as well be called the “Japanese Game Show Channel – with a little gaming/tech stuff.”

The Canadian Version: Still carries a LOT of the old TechTV content, and no Ninja Warrior (but has Unbeatable Banzuke).  Which is probably what a lot of US TechTV fans WISHED the US version was like.  But, we lose out to people that want to see shows like “Hurl.”  Meh.

Cards from the first Expansion: Stab at Relevance from Mightygodking.com.

This is some of the funniest stuff I have seen in quite a while.  Mightygodking.com has a huge number of photoshopped Magic cards that have captured much of our current political climate in a form that (almost) makes me want to play Magic: The Addiction again.

From the “inevitable sequel”: Stab At Relevance 2: The Stabbening

As long as you know at least a little about collectable card games, it should make some sense to you.

Cowlumbus Ahia, spiritual center of the USA. Yeeha!

I’m linking this card since it has my hometown skyline in it.  Much lulz.

All credit to Mightygodking.com, and the other contributors that apparently have more time on their hands than I can currently comprehend.

“I bought my child a cell phone, and next month we had a $800 cell phone bill!” – True story.
“My son lent his cell phone to his friend, and the FRIEND ran the bill through the roof!” – True story.
Most parents want to be able to stay in contact with their kids. Cell phones are great for that. However, they can also become more trouble than they’re worth. However, there are a lot of options to consider. Just like with their first bike, there are varying levels of “training wheels” available.
1. Cell phone “Big-Wheel”: Restricted pre-pay phones. The phone is restricted in that the parents set what phone numbers can be called FROM the phone – and what phone numbers can call TO the phone. And since it’s pre-paid, you decide how much money to put on the phone. Which at least removes the possibility of a $500 bill.
The Firefly ( http://www.fireflymobile.com/) is probably the best example of this type of phone. It is fairly minimal on features, but admirably serves the purpose of allowing your child to keep in touch, as well as giving you the ability to add more people that they can call as they show they can handle the responsibility.
Drawback: It does seem to have a reputation as a “kiddie phone”, so once your child is out of elementary school, they might not be willing to be seen with it – depending on their peers.
2. Cell phone “Training Wheels”: An unrestricted pre-pay phone. You can select many with all sorts of features, texting, games, music, the works. The only restriction is that it has a set allowance of money. So they have a phone that doesn’t look any different from anyone else’s, but they know they have to manage their minutes so they don’t run out. Most carriers offer good rates, as well as package deals regarding texting and minutes – which can make them even cheaper.
Personally, I think Virgin Mobile ( http://www.virginmobileusa.com) has the best prices/plans, as well as a good network (they use the Sprint network). Their phones are good, but not exceptional. Our teen has the Switch Back, and each month we add $20 to the phone – $5 goes to a block of minutes, $5 to a block of internet use, and $5 goes to a block of texting. The remaining $5 kicks in if she goes over on any of the above.
3. Cell phone “Mountain Bike” – Standard Plans.
I would only consider this to be an option if your teen has shown themselves to be responsible when given no limits, your plan allows you to block overages, or your teen is capable of being able to pay you when they go over.
Overall, I’d say it’s best to go with the minimum to get the job done, and leave yourself the possibility of expanding to something better when they show they can handle the responsibility. That way you have room to grow and they feel they’ve accomplished something by getting something better. That’s always a better scenario than giving them an iPhone right out of the gate – and having to deal with a $800 phone bill. You can always get them an iPod touch, and a pre-paid phone.

Click to view on: Revver Metacafe YouTube

Magnesium is one of the most commonly used structural metals, being light and strong. It’s necessary for living cells. And was used in early flash photography. But what you really want to know, is it splodey? Let’s find out!! Oh, and there are also special appearances by “Chris Crocker” and the “Cookie Monster” (both impersonations done badly by me) as they drag you kicking and screaming through a few Internet Memes of 2007.
You can refer to WebElements for more on Magnesium. Or just use Google, silly.

Special thanks goes out to Martyrd for the use of “Blue and Black” in this video, and to Andrew for being an excellent camera-using minion.

This video was a LOT of fun to make. The only drawback was that Andrew and I had a lot of trouble getting our schedule to sync up to finish it. That’s what we both get with having lives, jobs, and other stuff. We’re bastards.

And for your information, I ATE that cookie when I finished filming the parody scene. Dammit, I EARNED it!!

I’ve been cycling on and off for the past 4 years, more for fun and exercise than for practicality. However, rising energy costs and such provides me with a great excuse to ride more often.

I no longer ride a bike, haven’t ridden one for over 2 years.

“What? You just said you’re riding more often, you lying bastard!”

I might be a bastard (sometimes), but I’m not lying. I’m a big guy, so riding on a bike saddle (no matter how much gel padding one uses) is not a comfortable experience. So a couple years ago, I bought a recumbent trike.

Unmodified Sun EZ3-USX

Recumbents don’t have little saddles. They have a SEAT. Heck, it’s an actual chair. I chose a trike instead of a recumbent bike because of the increased stability of three wheels. I chose the Sun EZ3-USX as it’s an “entry level” model. Still not cheap (about $1,000), but much less that other trikes. I paid more for under-seat steering, but I thought that’d be more comfortable. Is it ever. It’s more like pedaling an easy chair instead of a bike. Mind you, with all of the modifications I’ve made, it weighs over 100 lbs. So it’s a little slow on the hills, but once you get used to it, it’s not so bad. You just gotta get your “‘bent legs.” You can’t use your weight like you can on a bike, but you’re braced against the seat back, so you can use your leg muscles more effectively.

Speaking of modifications…

1. Primo Comet Kevlar-belt tires. Yes, I have bullet-proof material in my tires. I can’t recommend them enough if you’re riding on city streets. I had a lot of flats until I upgraded to these. I also use thorn-resistant tubes and tire liners as well, but nothing has yet to get through the belt.

2. Lights! Visibility is a good thing. You sit lower to the ground (about the same as a car) than on a bike, so you want people in cars to see you. So I have headlights on the front, and red blinky lights on the back. During the day, I’m hard to miss since I might be the only person in the city riding a ‘bent trike. It tends to get a lot of attention.

3. Bike computer. It’s nice to know how fast you’re going and to keep track of your distance rode.

4. Electric assist motor. There are days when you’re not feeling up to a 7-mile or more trek, or you’re really getting killed by a hill. That’s where the electric assist comes in. Note I said “assist.” I only use it occasionally, and I pedal when it’s in use. I can maintain 12-15 MPH on the trike by myself, but I can maintain 18-20 easily with the pedal/motor combo. When I get to my destination, I disconnect the battery pack and carry it elsewhere to recharge. It also comes in handy for an acceleration boost when traffic lights turn green, so motorists behind me don’t have to wait for me as long for me to get about 370 lbs (me and trike) moving. I picked Wilderness Energy because they’re inexpensive and reliable.

5. Rain gear (pants, jacket, helmet cover) stowed on the trike, just in case.

6. Toe clips. Allows you to “pull” as well as “push” on the pedals, and makes sure your feet don’t fly off when you hit bumps. Not quite as good as clipless pedals, but far cheaper, and don’t require special shoes.

7. Other than that, the typical bike equipment. Portable tire pump, tool kit, spare tubes, bike bag, pedals with toe clips, etc etc.

8. Modified a cargo carrier to carry my trike. I have a small 4-door sedan – it won’t fit inside or on top, so I added a trailer hitch and did some welding.

I am currently committed to triking to work (about 7 miles each way) at least every other day until weather gets below 40 degrees. With the right gear and attitude, it’s definitely a realistic goal, even in Ohio. There are people that ride in far WORSE weather (for FUN), so I can rely on their tips to advise me.

So, if you like riding, but get a bit saddle-sore… Recumbents (trikes/bikes) are a good way to go.