Clipmarks | bferman's clips

LivePlace IS the Second Life Killer

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 04:45:50 GMT

clipped by: bferman
clipper's remarks: All I can say is... simply amazing!

LivePlace.com has posted a video displaying a very impressive render of a 3D virtual world called City Space

The other nugget of information found in the video is that the game is running on OTOY, the 3D engine that renders graphics in the cloud. The technology allows relatively weak computers (or even mobile phones) to display incredibly detailed graphics comparable to those seen in Hollywood movies.

[Video]

While there are a number of online games that offer impressive graphics (though none of this caliber), the real potential behind LivePlace and the OTOY engine is the cloud-based rendering engine, which allows games on almost any computer to play without needing a powerful graphics card. OTOY has been developed to work in any browser without a plugin, which makes the barrier for entry into this virtual world much lower than Second Life

The 14 mins of real time rendering in this material is streaming live to a Treo 700 at 240 kpbs

Tags: liveplace.com, second life, 3d, rendering, game

Freedom, not climate, is at risk

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 04:45:17 GMT

clipped by: bferman
clipper's remarks: An amazing article that brings much needed clarity to the subject.

Clip Source: www.ft.com

We are living in strange times. One exceptionally warm winter is enough – irrespective of the fact that in the course of the 20th century the global temperature increased only by 0.6 per cent – for the environmentalists and their followers to suggest radical measures to do something about the weather, and to do it right now.

Rational and freedom-loving people have to respond. The dictates of political correctness are strict and only one permitted truth, not for the first time in human history, is imposed on us. Everything else is denounced

global warming hysteria has become a prime example of the truth versus propaganda problem

The environmentalists ask for immediate political action because they do not believe in the long-term positive impact of economic growth and ignore both the technological progress that future generations will undoubtedly enjoy, and the proven fact that the higher the wealth of society, the higher is the quality of the environment. They are Malthusian pessimists.

Tags: politics, climate change, global warming, environmentalist, communism

Lack of Sun Spots May Lead to New Ice Age

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 04:47:09 GMT

clipped by: bferman
clipper's remarks: I've been reading about the Sun spot problem for years now. The mainstream media need to wake up and realize that the Earth is on the verge of entering a VERY LONG cooling period that could reduce the world food supply substantially.

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

Sun Goes Longer Than Normal Without Producing Sunspots

The sun has been lying low for the past couple of years, producing no sunspots

The scientists said periods of inactivity are normal for the sun, but this period has gone on longer than usual

The last cycle reached its peak in 2001 and is believed to be just ending now, Longcope said. The next cycle is just beginning and is expected to reach its peak sometime around 2012. Today's sun, however, is as inactive as it was two years ago, and scientists aren't sure why.

"It's a dead face," Tsuneta said of the sun's appearance.

In the past, they observed that the sun once went 50 years without producing sunspots. That period, from approximately 1650 to 1700, occurred during the middle of a little ice age on Earth that lasted from as early as the mid-15th century to as late as the mid-19th century

Tsuneta said he doesn't know how long the sun will continue to be inactive

Tags: global warming, climate change, politics, sun spots

CO2 Can’t Be Blamed for Global Warming

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 05:21:40 GMT

clipped by: bferman
clipper's remarks: Yet more evidence to be ignored by the mainstream media.

Clip Source: www.allamericanblogger.com

CO₂ Can’t Be Blamed for Global Warming

Well, for one thing, it hasn’t warmed since 1998, and another thing, there are these laws they can’t break:

According to the laws of thermodynamics, the mid to upper levels of the troposphere should be warming faster then the surface. This is because this is where the CO2 is supposed to be trapped. Co2 absorbs more heat then it reflects. Since it retains its heat, the area in which it is “trapped” has to be warming faster then an area where it is not “trapped.”

This has not happened. According to the data available from NOAA (The National Weather Service) the mid and upper levels of the atmosphere have not seen a dramatic warming

The temperatures have not increased in a manner consistent with the laws of thermodynamics and AGW theory

If you look at the data available from MSU, you can clearly see that in the Northern Hemisphere, troposphere temperatures have fallen since 1979

This is the exact opposite of what should be happening.

John McCain global warming tour?

Sat, 10 May 2008 14:20:02 GMT

clipped by: bferman
clipper's remarks: I just love how McCain embraces the left with such enthusiasm, no matter how absurd their ideas are. I just wish he'd "reach across the aisle" to the Conservatives every once in a while!

Clip Source: hotair.com

John McCain global warming tour?

Why not? After six months of ads and op-eds and radio broadcasts about Bill Ayers and Wright, come Election Day there’ll be nary a conservative left in America who won’t be eager to pull the lever for him no matter how far left he tacks. Amnesty and carbon offsets and campaign finance reform for all!

“John McCain is going to be doing more of these themed tours of America, and one of them is going to be on energy and global climate change. It could get him into trouble with Republicans, of course, and with the base, who don’t think there is much climate change going on, but it is something that he’s very passionate about and he’s going to be talking about it.”

A pander timed to coincide with the general election? Nah, he’s been pushing this for ages. Here’s his radio ad on the subject from last fall, and here’s his position — reminiscent of Pascal’s wager — from that awful GOP debate with Nurse Ratched. Exit quotation: “Way to go, global warming folks!”

Tags: politics, mccain, climate change, global warming

Global Warming Hits Arizona

Sat, 17 May 2008 14:46:15 GMT

clipped by: bferman
clipper's remarks: Is global warming just more liberal hysteria?

Clip Source: www.climate-skeptic.com

Global Warming Hits Arizona

May 13, 2008:

just south of Flagstaff, Arizona (elevation about 6700 ft)

Tags: global warming, climate change

The Environmentalists' Real Agenda

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 01:48:47 GMT

clipped by: bferman
clipper's remarks: As with so many other things, even environmentalism turns out to be all about money and power in the end.

Clip Source: www.ibdeditorials.com

The Environmentalists' Real Agenda

Ideologies: Once in a while the truth accidentally tumbles out on global warming activists' real agenda. That's exactly what happened at the U.N., when Bolivia's leader called for ending capitalism to save the planet.

Delivering the keynote address at the United Nations forum on Indigenous People on Monday, Bolivia's President Evo Morales told the adoring crowd that "if we want to save our planet earth, to save life, to save mankind, we have a duty to put an end to the capitalist system."

More conveniently, he also demanded that trillions of dollars from the West be diverted to places like Bolivia, "to repair the earth."

Seldom has the environmentalist agenda to end the capitalist system been laid out so plainly.

Romanticization of nature to promote state control hasn't had it this good since the days of Rousseau's noble savage. The only problem for environmental radicals, of course, is that sometimes the designated "savages" accidentally reveal the truth.

Tags: optional. separate by commas., global warming, environmentalist, climate change, politics, weather

Obama: I want to be President of all 57 states

Sat, 10 May 2008 14:06:59 GMT

clipped by: bferman
clipper's remarks: Hey Libs, can you name all 57?

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

Obama Claims He's Visited 57 States

[Video]

Tags: politics, comedy, obama

Oil Shock: Back To The '70s?

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 04:43:17 GMT

clipped by: bferman
clipper's remarks: Where is the media on this?

Clip Source: www.ibdeditorials.com

Oil Shock: When it comes to energy policy, Democrats always talk a good game. But look at their actual record while in control of Congress in the last year and a half. It's been nothing short of disastrous.

Wasn't it two years ago that then-Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi vowed, if her party took over Congress, to cut energy prices — especially gasoline?

How's that working for you? As the chart below shows, the cost of energy — measured by the price of West Texas Intermediate crude — is up more than 70%.

Ironically, we have plenty of oil — at least 10 billion barrels in Alaska's National Wildlife Reserve, 30 billion or so offshore and a whopping 1.2 trillion in Rocky Mountain oil-shale. But Democrats' extreme green ideology keeps us from drilling for it.

Democrats have focused instead on an insane global warming plan that would cost $1.2 trillion. Subsidies and other breaks for biofuels have helped send food prices soaring.

For this reason if for no other, none of them deserves re-election.

Al Gore's Glass House

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 04:08:41 GMT

clipped by: bferman
clipper's remarks: This was clipped from Snopes.com. It's true.

Clip Source: www.snopes.com

Glass Houses

HOUSE # 1:

A 20-room mansion (not including 8 bathrooms) heated by natural gas. Add on a pool (and a pool house) and a separate guest house all heated by gas. In ONE MONTH ALONE this mansion consumes more energy than the average American household in an ENTIRE YEAR. The average bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2,400.00 per month.

HOUSE # 2:

Designed by an architecture professor at a leading national university, this house incorporates every "green" feature current home construction can provide. The house contains only 4,000 square feet (4 bedrooms) and is nestled on arid high prairie in the American southwest.

HOUSE # 1 (20 room energy guzzling mansion) is outside of Nashville, Tennessee. It is the abode of that renowned environmentalist (and filmmaker) Al Gore

HOUSE # 2 (model eco-friendly house) is on a ranch near Crawford, Texas. Also known as "the Texas White House," it is the private residence of the President of the United States, George W. Bush

Computer Screen Contact Lenses

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 03:29:10 GMT

clipped by: bferman
clipper's remarks: Simply amazing

Clip Source: www.mobilewhack.com

This kind of stuff only used to be in science fiction. Not anymore. A group of University of Washington engineers is developing contact lenses which can, get this, display the details of whoever is calling you on your mobile phone! The display would be superimposed on the outside world. BUT, that's just the tip of the iceberg. The technology, if and when fully-developed, could be used by drivers to display speed of the vehicle, pilots to view the plane's condition while flying and yes, video game developers for new games which would definitely beat virtual reality as we know it. The developers aim to enable web surfing in through the contact lenses too. The team was already able to develop a prototype although a fully-functioning device would probably not be unveiled anytime soon.

Tags: technology, biomedical, science

How Modern Liberals Think

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 18:12:13 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners
clipper's remarks: This really changed the way I view a lot of the liberal posts here at Clipmarks and elsewhere.

Clip Source: mypetjawa.mu.nu

[Video]

Being a former liberal Democrat, I can vouch for much of this. The general ethos of the leftist mind necessitates that you must resist restraining (conservative) impulses. Logic and reason are restraining impulses. Since modern liberalism is primarily a state of unrestrained emotional turbulence, the liberal must find reasons for excusing his most base emotional instincts and instead embrace the "liberation" that comes from not being able to summon reason to control your impulses. Many consequently fall prey to the tempting natural impulse of letting emotion override logic and reason. The liberal creed dictates that feelings are more important than anything, and that they shall hold court over reason.

Tags: liberal, liberals, liberalism, politics

Download video from any site... Youtube, etc.. Free!

Thu, 05 Apr 2007 03:21:24 GMT

clipped by: bferman
clipper's remarks: This is a pretty cool web 2.0 app

Clip Source: keepvid.com

Download videos DIRECT from most video sites Copy the link of the page with the video on it and paste it here

How to use

1. Choose the site you want to download from.
2. Copy the link of the page with the video on it and paste it in the textbox above.
3. If you download an flv file, you need an FLV player.

Tags: technology, web 2.0, video, download

The Boy With The Incredible Brain

Sat, 03 Mar 2007 03:54:40 GMT

clipped by: taksmaster

Clip Source: video.google.com

[Video]

This is the breathtaking story of Daniel Tammet. A twenty-something with extraordinary mental abilities, Daniel is one of the world’s few ... all » savants. He can do calculations to 100 decimal places in his head, and learn a language in a week. This documentary follows Daniel as he travels to America to meet the scientists who are convinced he may hold the key to unlocking similar abilities in everyone. He also meets the world’s most famous savant, the man who inspired Dustin Hoffman’s character in the Oscar winning film ‘Rain Man’. (2005) «

Tags: pi, savant, autism, neuroscience

Atomic Bombing of Japan 'Couldn't Be Helped'

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 23:17:39 GMT

clipped by: bferman

Clip Source: www.foxnews.com

TOKYO — Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma said the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan by the United States during World War II was an inevitable way to end the war, a news report said Saturday.

"I understand that the bombing ended the war, and I think that it couldn't be helped," Kyodo News agency quoted Kyuma as saying in a speech at a university in Chiba, just east of Tokyo.

On Aug. 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped a bomb nicknamed "Little Boy" on Hiroshima, killing at least 140,000 people in the world's first atomic bomb attack. Three days later, it dropped another atomic bomb, "Fat Man," on Nagasaki. City officials say about 74,000 died.

Japan, which had attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor, surrendered on Aug. 15, 1945.

Kyuma, who is from Nagasaki, said the bombing caused great suffering in the city, but he does not resent the U.S. because it prevented the Soviet Union from entering the war with Japan, Kyodo said.

Tags: politics, war, atomic bomb