It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Quickies 298
It's been a long time coming, so lets start off the quickies with some acts of senseless damage. Old Wolf sent us a link to a bunch of pictures of someone Defrosting a Freezer in the best way ever, and an anonymous reader sent in a site that shows what happens if you put a CD in Microwave. Don't use AOL CDs., send them to this lady who collects them (from gr8fulnded). On to the sex! An anonymous reader submitted a story about the Robot Pet Vibrator which is I guess AIBO gone wrong. elkm discovered Computerized Contraception. And with all this digital doin' it going on, its good know that MITs Erotic Computation Group is here to research it (thanks Chris Moon) The world is full of strangeness, but little of it is as scary as MissNachos's link to the Hello Kitty laptop, srini's link to the Single Pixel Webcam, and aneanti's link to a collection of the strangest canned foods you'll ever see. Finally, since it is the holidays, check out mrv's link to LED Christmas Lights which sure beats the hell out of finding the broken bulb.
Hello Kitty (Score:1)
cooking in the microwave (Score:1)
I stuck foil ketchup packets in a microwave once.. (Score:1, Offtopic)
The ketchup packet looked pretty freakish afterward. As for the oven, I don't know...it was at school, and I never went back to check on it...
Yay :) (Score:1)
LED Christmas Lights (Score:3, Informative)
Re:LED Christmas Lights (Score:2)
Re:LED Christmas Lights (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:LED Christmas Lights (Score:2)
They are Noma "Forever Bright" lights and they're neat because the LEDs have a little plastic sphere molded over them to make them look like bulbs. The 60Hz flicker is annoying though.
Re:LED Christmas Lights (Score:2)
Re:LED Christmas Lights (Score:2)
already a slashdoted the frig defroster??? (Score:1)
AOL CDs (Score:1)
Re:AOL CDs (Score:2)
It's like those blasted music clubs - spend nothing now, but if you sign up you'll pay through the nose later. No matter what, their gonna keep sending you cd's until you wish you'd made a better choice!
Re:AOL CDs (Score:2)
See my reply to your parent for what to do with your AOL CD's to help end the waste.
Nomoreaolcds.com (Score:4, Informative)
May I suggest to you, and all you AOL CD haters, to save up your CD's and ship them to nomoreaolcds.com [nomoreaolcds.com]? They have over 7,000 already, but need alot more to reach their goal of one million!
Re:Nomoreaolcds.com (Score:2)
coupla things (Score:3, Funny)
another thing, always poke holes in your hamsters before microwaving.
Re:coupla things (Score:4, Interesting)
Oh, on an additional note; A friend of mine told me that nuking CD's is the official US gov way of destroying data. Somehow that makes sense...
Re:coupla things (Score:2, Interesting)
Why grapes explode in the microwave (Score:2, Informative)
I can't get it to work, though I did ruin a pretty good plate. I think it sparked but no explosive flames, I'll just have to go try it again...
Re:Why grapes explode in the microwave (Score:2)
I love my AOL cd's (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:I love my AOL cd's (Score:1)
Re:I love my AOL cd's (Score:2)
Re:I love my AOL cd's (Score:2)
Freezer defrosting (Score:5, Informative)
Contrary to that method, the traditional action involves putting a boiling kettle into the empty freezer. This removes the ice quite nicely. If you ever try to de-ice an upright freezer by any method, MAKE SURE you put some sort of vessel in the bottom to catch the water dripping, otherwise you'll turn around and see water flooding out of the freezer and ruining the floor. Yes, this is from experience
;-)
Re:Freezer defrosting (Score:2)
Humph, these days I expect the fridge to be on the Internet so we can watch the temperature and water level rise for ourselves, as well as check the inventory. (Don't use Microsoft IFS unless you install the Code Red patch fix!)
Re:Freezer defrosting (Score:2)
Amusing anecdote from my mostly-not-misspent youth. One day when I was about four or five or so, I was crawling around under the sink in my folks' old house. There were all these valves under the sink; I think I wondered what it felt like to turn them, so I did turn one. And then I forgot about it.
My youthful mind completely didn't connect it with the water that thereupon began streaming out from a copper pipe sticking out of the wall behind the fridge. My Mom had no idea what caused it either, so we just had to put buckets under it and dump them into the sink, until Dad came home and found out what was going on.
I hate to think what our water bill that month must have been.
Re:Freezer defrosting (Score:2)
That's a scary thought... (Score:1)
Re:That's a scary thought... (Score:1)
Re:That's a scary thought... (Score:2)
Re:That's a scary thought... (Score:2, Funny)
Do the CD thing (Score:1)
Why the hiatus? (Score:1, Redundant)
Re:Why the hiatus? (Score:2)
He's answered this before (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Why the hiatus? (off topic, no +1) (Score:2)
Canned food? PORK BRAINS! (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, this little 5.5 oz can has a whopping 3500 calories, and over 1000% (Yes, one THOUSAND) of your RDA intake of cholesterol.
The recipe on the back? Pork Brains and Scrambled Eggs. At least Eggs have alot of the 'good' cholesterol, otherwise you'd have a heart attack halfway through your second can! Yum!
Re:Canned food? PORK BRAINS! (Score:3, Informative)
5.5 oz times 28.4 grams per oz is 156 grams. Pure fat, the highest calorie food available, has 9 calories per gram, so 156 grams times 9 calories per gram is 1406 calories maximum.
According to the USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 14 [usda.gov] Braised Pork brains have 138 calories per 100 grams or 215 calories in our 5.5 oz can.
Yeah, I know, the satirical art by Mom and Pop artist Mandy Warhole makes a better story, but someone has to standup for the pork producers.
Amazingly just last Saturday, I was discussing hog butchering with some of the old-timers and they said that they used to serve Pork Brains and Scrambled Eggs for lunch on Butchering Day. I'm not making this up...
Hidden directory at ecg.media.mit.edu (Score:1)
They have hot Members... hmm [mit.edu]
ChiefArcher
Yeah. (Score:2, Funny)
AIBO... (Score:3, Funny)
I want to be an AIBO in Japan in my next life.
Pop tarts (Score:2) [tamucc.edu]
Quicky Battle Royal (Score:2)
Re:Quicky Battle Royal (Score:2)
Nuke a random Geocities site... (Score:2)
My link to start the game is; Nirvana MIDIs [geocities.com]. Post a reply once it's nuked.
Re:Nuke a random Geocities site... (Score:2)
def bastard: a one man show [geocities.com]
Webcam (Score:2, Funny)
In theory, if the pixel's color were deep enough, you could imagine that it showed a whole scene, just extremely anti-aliased.
anchovies (Score:2)
Pink Hello Kitty Laptop has **Moved** (Score:5, Informative)
Please use the new URL. The owner of the site of the old URL would probably rather not be slashdotted.
Incidentally I know the guy who did this, he's utterly cool. You should check out some of his other stuff at [exonome.com] such as ToriAntiTori and Virginity At Last. (ObDisclaimer: I had a hand in the latter.)
Re:Pink Hello Kitty Laptop has **Moved** (Score:2)
Erotic Computation archive (Score:3, Informative)
-- Yoz
Re:Erotic Computation archive (Score:2)
(Although some of the Media Lab's real projects are frequently just as bonkers)
-- Yoz
Yeah, so I figured (Score:2)
Seriously, with a bit of money and research, modern technology really ought to be able to develop amazing new sex toys. Or for that matter, what about a porno made by the team behind Final Fantasy? That would be obscenely cool.
I guess, when you come right down to it, I just want a holodeck, with "the safeties off," if you know what I mean...
Robot Pet Vibrator? (Score:5, Funny)
So who comes when this thing is called?
Sick girl wants the AOL disks (Score:2, Funny)
Hellllloooo Kitty!! (Score:3, Funny)
I've never looked at Hello Kitty quite the same way...
Yugoslav Microwave Radarjamming (Score:4, Insightful)
It's about how the Yugoslav army used microwave ovens as decoys against NATO troops. Quote: "It was funny listening to NATO claiming to have destroyed some 20-30 MiG-29s when I knew that we have had only 16 of them at the beginning of their attacks."
Re:Yugoslav Microwave Radarjamming (Score:2, Informative)
But mainly, using Venik's Aviation page as a source disqualifies the story. Venik is well-known in Usenet aviation groups as a conspiracy theorist who likes to give events his own spin. Current claim (called a "theory"): AA587, the Airbus that crashed in NYC, may have been shot down by a surface-to-air missile.
Suggested retail price of the LED lights? (Score:2)
Re:Suggested retail price of the LED lights? (Score:2)
Or you could just search Google [google.com].
Quotes from the LED Christmas lights page. (Score:4, Funny)
Sounds like they changed the definition of "forever" while I wasn't paying attention.
And then it goes on to talk about N and P silicon, and so forth. I guess they changed the definition of "easy to understand" too.
Re:Quotes from the LED Christmas lights page. (Score:2, Insightful)
cock testicles (Score:2, Funny)
Measuring the speed of light with marshmallows (Score:5, Informative)
Take a bunch of mini-marshmallows and spread them out evenly on a plastic tray, covering the whole tray with a single layer. Put this inside a microwave, making sure that the tray doesn't rotate. Turn the microwave on for ~30 seconds on low.
Now, take the tray out of the microwave. You'll see a repeating pattern in the marshmallows, going from puffy to flat and back to puffy again in an array. What you're seeing is the standing wave of the microwaves reflecting off of the sides of the microwave.
Now, measure the average distance between peaks in the standing wave. This is the wavelength of the microwaves. Now, here's the cheating part. Look on the back of the microwave for the frequency of the microwaves. It's usually around 2540 MHz. Calculate the speed of light from
c = frequency x wavelength
Heh. Now that I've written that all out, I've found a link. Here's another, very similar method on : bowle's physics [bowlesphysics.com].
Brant
Re:Measuring the speed of light with marshmallows (Score:2)
Re:Measuring the speed of light with marshmallows (Score:2)
Pink Hello Kitty Laptop (Score:3, Funny)
caution (Score:2)
Seriously, I would not want to live next door to someone doing that shit without a dentist's wall of lead in between.
Can you imagine all those messed up things that happen, and yet we eat food that comes out of it?!
Re:caution (Score:2, Informative)
Having said that, it is IMPERATIVE that you NEVER operate a microwave oven with the door open or even suspect that the casing may be damaged in any way. Otherwise, these little tricks are safe.
Re:caution (warning, slightly OT) (Score:2, Interesting)
There are lots of cool science you can do with your microwave, like creating floating plasma balls for instance. They make cool filming/photographing material.
Check here [tripod.com] for more wacky fun with that kitchen appliance. It has even more links to microwave science and stuff you can do with your microwave.
DANGER WILL ROBINSON, DANGER:
If you _do_ one of these experiments, make sure you get all the safety precautions [tripod.com] right, and don't over-experiment. If you go blind and everything looks fuzzy you should stop IMMEDIATELY, since you are busy boiling your cornea and the inner fluids of your eyes solid. This is a sure sign that your microwave is leaking and you are standing too close. Luckily, his is a temporary infliction if you're out of the way quick enough, but certainly not healthy for your eyes. This same thing happened to a bud of mine who was messing with microwave antennaes and signal-amplifiers. He actually took a microwave apart to hook up to his amplifier. And yes, he was standing too close. It took a few months until he had his full vision back.
That's not strange food... (Score:2)
--Jim
Hello Kitty Laptop = Casio FIVA (Score:2, Interesting)
It's got Crusoe processor in it.
And guess what? It dual boots to Linux. There is a switch on the right side, Set it to A and it boots Windows (2k I think) set it to B and it boots a very stripped down Linux that only runs Winamp. (for obvious reasons)
plasma ball in mw (Score:3, Informative)
it is done w/ a pencil led and a microwave-safe glass ball... very cool, must try.
see here [tripod.com] also.
Hello Kitty Segway !! (Score:2, Funny)
BTW, forget the eBay post, the evolution of the "Hello Kitty vibrator " [pleasurebox.ca] is going strong, their new version looks to be quite a bundle of joy, (for the kiddies, I'm sure it just mixes hot coco, oops, sorry for the pun.)
Strange Cans (Score:2)
That reminds me. I'm all out of pickled fish cakes.
Re:Strange Cans (Score:2)
Damn it! Another collectible I missed. (Score:2)
Hmm... (Score:2)
...is it bad if I actually *liked* them?
...is it bad if I actually eat some of them regularly?
...oh my...is my life not sad or what? You know you're in bad shape when the company that makes the stuff you eat can't even afford a product name, so they have to call it exactly what it is, even though nobody, not even them, is really sure of exactly what it is...
DennyK
Why DOES tinfoil spark in a microwave? (Score:2, Interesting)
My only other guess is induced eddy currents. Anyone have a good answer?
Thanks,
Brant
Re:Why DOES tinfoil spark in a microwave? (Score:2, Informative)
Erotic Computation Group a Hoax (Score:3, Informative)
or copy/paste:
Microwave phenonmenon -- a theory (Score:2, Informative)
anything conductive. Here I found a plasuible explanation. Not sure if it makes scientific sense....
Links about Erotic Computation Group (Score:2)
And here [monzy.com] is the website of the grad student behind the hoax.
Damn. I went to grade school with that guy...and I'm nowhere near as...well...creative? (Monzy, if you're reading this, congrats, you crack me up.)
Quickies easily the best part of /. (Score:2)
Erotic Computation- qualifications? (Score:2)
I think I'm gonna be sick.... (Score:2)
Spam spread?
Dear God, who on earth would eat such a thing?!? And I thought Marmite was foul...
PHKL (Score:2)
For the definitive list of places which carry Hello Kitty Stuff, try here [know-where.com].
Hello Kitty, Destroyer Of Worlds
Oldest AOL (floppy) disk (Score:3, Interesting)
Back in the day, AOL was once called AppleLink. I used to beta test for them, and one day they sent me a letter and two new disks for the new renamed service.
"We're renaming AppleLink to America Online..."
Thus, I have two floppys for the Apple ][ that say America Online, and an accompanying letter. I think I even keep it in the original mailing package.
I've figured that I'll keep it around and one day I'll sell it on eBay or something. Just curious what that would draw...
Oh well...
Re:I love the LED xmas light page... (Score:2)
Re:I love the LED xmas light page... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:I love the LED xmas light page... (Score:2)
A series curcuit direct to 120VAC with LEDs would make me nervous -- one good spike and you have a string of Noise Emitting Diodes.
Re:I love the LED xmas light page... (Score:2)
Diodes and LEDs are fundamentally current mode devices... the forward voltage is relatively constant and the output depends on how much current the external circuitry allows. Somewhere, something needs to be in series with the LED(s) to establish the current, since what you get from the power company is (fairly) constant voltage. The most "efficient" thing to use to limit the current is an inductor (or perhaps a capacitor, but high frequency noise and spikes become problematic)... at least outside some EU countries that have power factor regulations.
Perhaps they're using a transformer, but an application like this has no need for voltage isolation (just like normal xmas lights running at about 3 volts each).
There's no need for DC. Don't forget that most LEDs have a very low reverse breakdown voltage, so you'd need to connect them in parallel in criss-crossed pairs so that the forward voltage drop on one "protects" the other from seeing a substantial reverse voltage. This also keeps the current from having a DC bias, which means much smaller magnetic components, if there is undeed a transformer or inductor somewhere in the current loop.
Re:I love the LED xmas light page... (Score:2)
Re:Dave Barry (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Dave Barry (Score:2)
Re:LED Christmas Light Fittings? (Score:2)
I bought the white, which looks fine, I was standing next to a tree covered with the white LED lights when I asked a salesperson where I could see the LED lights, so I could tell if they looked normal or not. They look just fine.
As for the colors, they're pretty damned good too, though the yellow is well... yellow's just a weird color for christmas lights altogether.
Re:LED Christmas Light Fittings? (Score:2)
Re:Strange canned foods? (Score:2)