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May 31, 2003
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This guitar was created for Pat Metheny in 1984.
Posted by Guy at 04:35 PM
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May 29, 2003
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Absurd Inventions & Patents
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I ran across this site:
Totally Absurd Inventions & Patents, America's Goofiest Patents
I contains pictures and explanations of real patents that are totally wacky.
Just to name a few:
- Ear Tubes: an apparatus for keeping dogs' ears out of their food
- Fish Bath: a bathtub that is encircled by live fish swimming around a transparent tub
- Gerbil Shirt: a shirt with tubes for you pet gerbils
- Boob Tube: an all weather suit (that make you look like a giant toothpaste tube)
- Dad Saddle: a belt for dad to carrying their kid
- Bumper Dumper: a toilet that attaches to the back bumper of your car
- Extreme Comb Over: there actually is a patent for the way that bald people comb their hair (and can't afford a bad hair piece).
Some of these are really weird but some are just plain cool.
Posted by Guy at 08:19 AM
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This site is a site about learning how to hack legally.
There are 15 security levels and the way to advance to the next level is by hacking the page.
For now I made it to level 13 but since I don't have Java on my machine I can't see the level.
Posted by Guy at 12:02 AM
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May 28, 2003
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PlayStation 2: Sony Unveils New Hardware, the PSX
Sony will release a new hardware platform called the "PSX".
The PSX will feature both a DVD burner (supporting both DVD+/-R and DVD-R) and a 120 GB hard disk.
It will also feature an installed TV/BS tuner and an Internet adapter, and will also support USB2.0 and Memory sticks.
The new unit is scheduled for a Japanese release sometime within 2003.
Posted by Guy at 06:45 PM
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May 26, 2003
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Back To The Future Trilogy
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 A few days ago I got the Back to the Future - The Complete Trilogy DVD that I ordered from Mitos.
I ordered it on 21/4/2003 and got it on 20/5/2003 (not bad for 3-7 day delivery).
Mitos didn't even bother too much to contact me about the delay, when I contacted them they were grateful enough to tell me that they didn't have it in stock and they would get it in a few days (it took them about another two weeks).
I didn't really mind waiting for the DVD, but I would like Mitos to at least notify me that there is a delay with my order.
The special features of the DVDs are the main reason that I bought the movie (which is one of my all time favorites).
Otherwise I wouldn't have gotten it since I don't really believe in owning DVD movies.
Posted by Guy at 07:35 AM
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May 25, 2003
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Due to many requests that I got, I updated the select box JavaScript code again.
Many people asked me how to submit the form, typically how to send the values that were selected (in the right select box).
So I added a form (and a submit button) in order to demonstrate how to submit the values that were selected to the right select box.
Check the code out...
Posted by Guy at 12:18 AM
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May 24, 2003
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Every time you go to StrangeBanana the design of their page is created randomly!
Go to the site and try hitting refresh several times and see what cool designs it spits out.
There is a way to use the page's style in your own website, but if you like a specific design you better save it otherwise it'll be gone forever.
Posted by Guy at 12:18 AM
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May 22, 2003
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 Remember MC Escher's drawing with the eternal upward stairs?
Well, the inventor James Dyson (the dude from the bagless vacuum cleaner) created this garden fountain that creates an optical illusion that shows water perpetually going uphill around the four sides of the fountain.
The way the illusion is created is basically by pumping bubbles under a glass surface that is covered with a thin layer of water.
Very cool
Posted by Guy at 08:05 AM
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May 20, 2003
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Tripper is a portable storage kit that can read (and erase) Compact Flash cards (and there is an adaptor for Memory Sticks, Smartmedia, Secure Digital, and MMC).
There are several similar devices but this one seems cheaper than other alternatives (although I haven't really been following this industry).
The 20GB model costs $240, the 40GB costs $290, and the 60GB costs $360.
It uses USB 2.0 so data transfers should be pretty fast.
Posted by Guy at 08:46 AM
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Remember the Seinfeld episode where they were lost in a parking lot and couldn't find their car?
Well, in order to help people remember where they left their car (since all levels of parking lots usually look exactly the same), at the John Hancock building in downtown Chicago they play a different song on each level of the parking lot.
I wonder how they select the songs to play.
I mean, I'm sure that some people would easily remember classical music whereas others wouldn't be able to distinguish one piece from the other.
I guess it depends on their typical target audience.
Posted by Guy at 08:17 AM
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 Remember that Star Wars Kid?
Well it turns out that the New York Times covered the story of Ghyslain who is Canadian.
He said that the video was part of a school project that he had directed.
He had been acting out some of the moves he had in mind for the actors and had not intended anyone to see the video.
Posted by Guy at 07:36 AM
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May 19, 2003
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I can't believe this: Sony announced a new $199 PS2 package deal that includes a network adaptor, built-in IR receiver, and better DVD capabilities and has reduced the price of the "old" Playstation 2 to only $179!
BTW: Microsoft has also cut the price of its Xbox to $179.
Coincidence?
Posted by Guy at 07:38 AM
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May 18, 2003
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After being featured on several places on the web, I've been getting lots of replies on my Select Box JavaScript Code!
Some people asked me questions, several added some functionality to my code, and many just sent me a mail to let me know that they're using my code.
Keep 'em coming :o)
Posted by Guy at 07:42 AM
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I question I get asked a lot is: "is there a sleep/wait/pause function in JavaScript".
I usually explain how to use setTimeout in order to make your JavaScript sleep for a given amount of time, but it can take a while for people to fully understand how to do it.
I wanted to write an article on how to make JavaScript wait but since I'm lazy I decided to ask the Internet Gods if somebody had already done this.
This page I ran across does a great job of explaining several different alternatives in order to make JavaScript code wait/sleep/pause before continuing.
If you are interested then check out the article:
How to wait/pause/sleep in JavaScript?
Posted by Guy at 06:02 PM
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Sony is coming out with a portable Playstation (called PSP) that is scheduled to come out at the end of 2004.
It's going to come with a wide screen 480 x 272 pixel (16 by 9) TFT
LCD monitor with a backlight, a USB 2.0 port, a memory stick slot, and it will use something called Universal Media Disc (UMD), which
comprises of a 60mm optical disc (1.8 GB) in a cartridge, developed by the
Sony Group.
Sounds interesting....
Posted by Guy at 11:01 AM
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May 13, 2003
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Check the reaction of this dude when he wins on The Price Is Right:
Click here to see video
I wonder how he would react on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire...
Posted by Guy at 04:52 PM
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I updated the code for manipulating select boxes.
I improved the code a bit, added some minor features, and it now work with Mozilla.
A few words about what this code does:
It is some JavaScript code that displays the concepts of some cool things you can do with JavaScript and select boxes.
You can move elements from one select box to another, change the order of elements, select/unselect all options, and remove elements from a select box.
If you're interested in JavaScript coding then check out the select box JavaScript code and tell me what you think.
Posted by Guy at 11:24 AM
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May 08, 2003
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PS2 Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2
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Yesterday I burned several hours on the PS2 playing Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2
As you know, I have Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 for the PC but differences between the PS2 and PC versions are amazing.
Since my PC's video card is over three years old (Voodoo 5 5500) the performance on the PC can't match the PS2's graphics but ignoring than that the two games are entirely different.
The PS2 has some cool features that the PC version doesn't have.
For example: while driving you can look ahead to see what's coming up (with a cool fireball effect) and there's a neat Matrix like 360 effect.
In addition, the cops need to stop you 3 times in order to arrest you (in the PC version it's one time and you're out).
In both versions the gameplay is outstanding, providing hours of fun either racing other opponents, outrunning the cops, or playing a cop trying to stop other racers.
Posted by Guy at 09:47 AM
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May 06, 2003
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GSMTool is a great little tool for using your cellphone with a Palm Pilot.
I use it for communicating between my Nokia 8210 and my Sony Clie PEG-NX70v, via IR.
GSMTool lets me send SMS messages from the Pilot, read SMS messages, backup my cellphone phone numbers, dial the cellphone from a number in my Pilot address book, and many more options.
I installed it a long time ago (on my Palm m100) and would use it just for sending SMS messages (instead of using the annoying cell phone keypad to write SMS messages).
A few days ago I played around with it a bit (on my Clie) and discovered many more features that it has.
Normally, reading SMS messages wouldn't be a big deal (the Nokia display is usually sufficient for reading short SMS messages) but since the display on my Nokia hasn't been working for several months, using GSMTool I can read SMS messages on my Clie.
Dialing a phone number is pretty cool since you can just select a number on the Pilot and have the cellphone dial it.
The two best features (for me at least) are:
Being able to write SMS messages using Graffiti (or the Clie's built in keyboard)
and
Being able to easily backup and restore the numbers on my cellphone (you can also edit the numbers on the Pilot before restoring them, since they are saved in a standard Palm memo file).
Posted by Guy at 05:22 PM
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 The Mythical Man-Month (Essays on Software Engineering, 20th Anniversary Edition) is one of the all time classic books on software engineering.
Even though it was written in 1975, Fredrick Brooks brings up many issues that are still valid and relevant to software development today (even after more than 20 years!).
Since this book is a collection of essays it is very easy to read and get the point of each essay.
The 20th edition of this book offers some comments by the author about the different issues that he discussed 20 years ago.
He goes over the main essays and remarks about the points that he brought up: which ones are valid today, what has changed, and what is no longer relevant to the wild world of software development.
I recommended reading this book, especially the title essay: "The Mythical Man Month".
Posted by Guy at 04:56 PM
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May 05, 2003
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Check out these cool kitchen gadgets of the future.
Some of them are already here while several will take a few years.
There are some cool stuff like a knife that changes shape in order to fit your hand, a cutting board that re-heals any nicks and cuts whenever you wash it, and a cool ice cream scooper that easily creates round balls of ice cream.
Posted by Guy at 11:33 AM
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May 04, 2003
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Paradox 2: Win First Case
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Protagoras was a Greek sophist, who lived in the fifth century B.C.
It is said that Protagoras once agreed with one of his pupils that he could delay payment for his tuition until he had won his first case.
The agreement seemed sound, until the student was sufficiently qualified to start offering his services professionally. He hung a sign outside his office, but no business came his way. Frustrated, Protagoras decided to sue his former pupil.
Can you see the paradox that subsequently arose?
CONTINUE
Protagoras reasoned that he was on to a "sure thing". He reasoned that either he would win the case, in which case his pupil would be required by the courts to pay for his tuition, or he would lose, in which case his former pupil would have won his first case and would therefore be required to pay for his tuition under the terms of their original agreement.
His former pupil disagreed.He reasoned that either he (the former pupil) would lose that case, in which case he would still never have won a case and would therefore not be required to pay under the terms of their original agreement, or he would win the case and the court would rule that he did not have to pay.
Posted by Guy at 08:52 AM
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Paradox 1: In Whose Favor?
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Here's a cool paradox I ran into:
Professor Saunders selects two students at random from his class. He propsed a simple game: Both students put their wallets on the table. The money is to be counted and whoever has the most money of the two has to give it to the other.
The two students are given a little time for consideration.
Mr Straus reasons that, if he loses, he will lose the money that he has in his wallet, but, if he wins, he knows that he will win more than that amount. What he stands to gain is greater that what he stands to lose. As he reasons his chances of winning must be 50%, he decides that he should play the game.
However, Ms Morris, the other student, uses the same reasoning. She believes that her chances of winning are as good as those of Mr Straus and that, if she loses, she only loses the amount of money in her wallet, but that if she wins she wins more than she has in her wallet.
How can the game be to the advantage of both Mr Straus and Ms Morris?
CURIOUS?
It can't.
For the purpose of this paradox one must assume that neither Mr Straus, nor Miss Morris, haditually carries more money than the other. If one has no further information, it can be assumed that the game is fair, ie neither has a greater chance of winning than the other. However, this does not shed any light on the inaccuracy of the players' reasoning.
This paradox was originated by Maurice Kraitchik in his book "Mathematical Recreations." he describes the paradox with neckties instead of wallets. Unfortunately he offers no explanation of what is wrong with the players' reasoning. In Aha! Gotcha, Martin Gardner writes, "We have been unable to make this clear in any simple manner. Kraitchick is no help, and so far as we know, there is no other reference on the game."
Posted by Guy at 08:50 AM
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May 03, 2003
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Since my PC at home has a dynamic IP (every time I restart the cable modem or dial the VPN connection I get a new IP) I need a way to know my PC's current IP (in order to access the machine remotely).
What I used to do up until now was send myself an email (with the current IP) every time I knew my IP had changed and I would like to access the machine from afar.
A few days ago I started looking into dynamic DNS services (free services) in order to automatically update my current IP to a static domain name.
I tried out about 5 different clients and services and none of them seemed to work properly.
Today I installed DirectUpdate which is a dynamic DNS client that you install on your PC, it automatically detects your current IP, and updates one (or several) of the available dynamic DNS services.
During my research I opened an account with No-IP so I decided to try to use DirectUpdate with my No-IP account.
It worked (finally a solution that works).
Now what happens is that DirectUpdate periodically discovers my current IP (it tries several methods in order to determine the IP, like contacting external sites to see what IP I am using), updates the current IP to No-IP, and No-IP assigns a domain name (that I set up there) to the my PC's IP.
That means that I can always use the domain name in order to get to my PC, without having to manually do anything.
Posted by Guy at 12:11 AM
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