Friday Links: October 7

First thing's first. Steve Jobs, we're gonna miss your influence.
People can argue about how much of the technology you worked with was innovative and how much was lifted from other sources. You didn't invent the mouse or graphic interfaces, but you're the one who brought them to the public. You got computers into the schools. You gave graphic designers their best production tool. Between Apple, NeXT, and Pixar, you encouraged creativity, innovation, quality, and just plain getting the job done. One can argue about some specific business practices, but the truth of the matter is that you wanted to make products that people wanted and that were genuinely better than anyone else's. In these later years you may not have done the programming and development that you did in the early year, but you drove those who did to do their best.
Here's hoping that stepping down from Apple left it in a position to continue the way you'd want more than it did after they kicked you out.


Fermilab's Tevatron is being closed down. Some would claim it's the last super collider in America and this, combined with our now inactive manned space program, is another symbol of our decline. However, science is an international effort and we do participate in the CERN collider. There are some smaller atom smashers in the US, but none on the multi-mile scale of Tevatron. Mostly small things for making medication, not research. And we'll be able to launch people into space again in a few years. [link]

Poor doggie. Padfoot from Harry Potter and another British TV dog are up for adoption. Together only. [link]

You have a dumb name. Proof... [link]

Rick Perry according to lip readers.


An old employee manual from Disney. [link]

One guy's story about an intelligent chat with Jehovah's Witnesses. [link]

I think I need some of these at my place for Halloween decorations. [link]

Speaking of... Here's how to take a skeleton and make it look like a corpse. [link]

From what I've seen of what people are looking for in housing in DC, you could stick a few of these in your back yard and rent them out. Put an outhouse and outdoor shower in the yard and it's luxury housing. [link]
Come to think of it, I could see living in something like that while fixing up a burned out husk in Baltimore or Detroit. Lord knows it's hard to afford a place to live while trying to pay off and fix up a new place.

A potential answer to New York's High Line Park. Low Line Park. [link]

Carved up tires. Ornately carved up. [link]

An explanation of how the German Enigma Machine worked. [link]

"Left to his own devices he couldn’t build a toaster. He could just about make a sandwich and that was it."
Mostly Harmless, Douglas Adams, 1992
Yes, but exactly how hard it is to make a toaster? These videos are showing this guy's quest to find out. He's not quite there yet. [link]

A short Doctor Who episode written by 11 year olds.


Mass storage in 1980 vs today. [link]

SpaceX has plans to get people to Mars. Plans to beat China there. Great. I approve. I'm a fan of private space ventures. But please just get people to the ISS first. Plans are nice, but actual spacecraft are better. [link]

Ooh, brilliant! Right? [link]
Perhaps not. [link]

Portal soundtracks 2 and 3 are available! [link]

A new Twilight Zone movie is coming. Possibly from Michael Bay. [link]

You've seen the video of the seagull stealing crisps. Now check out this pizza stealing bear. [link]

I dig some of this guy's art. [link]
Note to other artists with websites: Most of the time I don't know or care who you are. If I have to go beyond the first page to see something worth looking at then I'm gonna leave.

Jameco explains how the yellow stripe on the football field works. [link]
Also, how to rig up a bluetooth connection from computer to stereo. [link]

Picture: Russell Crowe as Jor-El. [link]

Cassette tapes may be coming back. [link]
Honestly, I know like three people who can still play them. Not including the museum guy who had a doo-dad to convert cassettes to MP3s.

Huge shark sanctuary created. [link]
The sanctuary is huge, not the sharks.

Leonard Nimoy has retired from doing sci-fi conventions. [link]

Man who paints banks on fire questioned by police. [link]

Koch Industries is known for being one of the biggest backers of the Tea Party and supporters of continuing manmade global climate change. They're also trading illegally with Iran, stealing oil, and fudging pretty much every number about anything. [link]

The earthscraper. Like a skyscraper, but going down. [link]

This guy went around the world making balloon hats for people. These are his pictures and a good talk about what he did. 2 minutes and change. [link]

Sarah Palin officially not a presidential candidate, just an attention whore. [link]

The most effective charities in the world. [link]

This 24 year old video shows that Apple's predictions about development of some technology was only about a month off. [link]