Clipmarks | ericskiff's clips

Fun with a laser cutter: Tinysaur is Tiny

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:48:55 GMT

clipped by: ericskiff
clipper's remarks: This was cut using our new epilog laser at NYCResistor. Look at how little and awesome he is! I wonder how the heck Kelly put it together.

Clip Source: www.nycresistor.com

Martin sent us a dino pattern to celebrate our laser. I made a regular size dinosaur, but Kelly made a tiny tinysaur!

Where do you hide all the best object files on the internet? We want to play with them!

The tinysaur has been spotted again! - Link

Tags: dinosaur, tiny, laser, nycresistor

Create your own Simpsons Avatar

Sun, 01 Jul 2007 21:25:15 GMT

clipped by: ericskiff
clipper's remarks: A bunch of my friends on twitter started showing up with Simpsons avatars yesterday. Scott Beale solved the mystery of where they were all getting them - the Simpsons Movie website has a great flash avatar creator.

Clip Source: laughingsquid.com

The Simpsons Movie website has a really cool avatar creator. What’s yours look like?

Tags: simpons, avatar, fun, game, creator

So Bob, where's that 8 inches you promised me last night?

Tue, 03 Jul 2007 10:34:52 GMT

clipped by: fukengruvin

Clip Source: www.thehumorarchives.com

So Bob, where's that 8 inches you promised me last night?

← previous next →

This had most of the state of Michigan laughing for 2 days and a very embarrassed female news anchor who will, in the future, likely think before she speaks. What happens when you predict snow but don't get any.... true story...

A female news anchor who, the day after it was supposed to have snowed and didn't, turned to the weatherman and asked....

"So Bob, where's that 8 inches you promised me last night?" Not only did HE have to leave the set, but half the crew did too they were laughing so hard

← previous next →

A female news anchor

Tags: news, michigan, funny

Tasty tasty electronics

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:25:46 GMT

clipped by: ericskiff
clipper's remarks: Some of the folks I collaborate with at NYCResistor have been making some awesome electronic inspired pastries. We had cupcakes the other day and now there was a full sized cake. Awesome!

Clip Source: www.nycresistor.com

My friend Becky made me an Arduino birthday cake this year! There was a fight over the AVR chip (dark chocolate) which involved memory loss and a cake knife. Candles became wire sticking out of the pins. Seriously awesome. Next task: to make LED candles that you have to short out instead of blow out.

Tags: nycresistor, food, awesome, cake

Home prices drop 15.3% year over year

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:41:09 GMT

clipped by: ericskiff
clipper's remarks: I began watching this whole mess play out in about 2004, and was aghast as prices continued to fly out of control. By the end of 2005, the housing fever was breaking and the "housing boom" was being seen for the bubble it was.

Now, to look at the chart of prices even for the so-far relatively insulated New York, there's no mistaking which direction prices are headed. Not only that, it's heading ever faster in that direction.

This "record" of 15.3% year over year drop won't stand very long. I'd be very surprised if we don't break it next month.

Clip Source: money.cnn.com

Prices in 20 cities fall for 21st month in a row. One sign of hope: Pace of decline eased in many areas.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. home prices posted record declines in April, extending a painful losing streak for U.S. home prices.

"In the bubble markets, we continue to see very rapid rates of price declines," said Baker. "If anything, it may be accelerating."

Clip Source: www.flickr.com

Tags: economy, home prices, housing, bubble, chart, money

NYTimes Skewers "The Love Guru"

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 05:30:38 GMT

clipped by: ericskiff
clipper's remarks: Wow - this is one of the most damning reviews of a popular movie I've ever read.

Everything I've seen of "The Love Guru" looks like complete dreck, and I'm a pretty big Mike Meyers fan, dating back to the "So I Married and Ax Murderer" days.

The Times really gives it to him here - I'm surprised to see them go so far in panning it, it must be even worse than I expected.

Clip Source: movies.nytimes.com

Movie Review

The Love Guru (2008)

To say that the movie is not funny is merely to affirm the obvious. The word “unfunny” surely applies to Mr. Myers’s obnoxious attempts to find mirth in physical and cultural differences but does not quite capture the strenuous unpleasantness of his performance. No, “The Love Guru” is downright antifunny, an experience that makes you wonder if you will ever laugh again.

Tags: the love guru, movies, movie review

Favre reinstatement letter

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:10:55 GMT

clipped by: ericskiff
clipper's remarks: Finally a good move by Favre

Clip Source: sports.espn.go.com

Brett Favre followed through on his statements that he wanted to come out of retirement by faxing his reinstatement letter to the NFL on Tuesday.

Favre sent the letter to the league office late Tuesday afternoon and also spoke by phone with commissioner Roger Goodell, who indicated he will not act on Tuesday in hopes the Packers and Favre can reach a resolution during the next 24 hours, the sources said.

"It's obviously the first step in Brett coming back, but we'll deal with that when Brett is reinstated and have a plan for that when he comes back," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said, adding that the team is still committed to Aaron Rodgers as its starting quarterback.

Tags: favre, nfl

Personal nuclear reactors? These things are hot!

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 05:50:54 GMT

clipped by: ericskiff
clipper's remarks: I'm still not sure if these things are real or not - I'm going to have to do a bit more research.

If they are safe, economical, and at least environmentally justifiable, it could make for an interesting few decades.

Clip Source: www.news.com

I enjoy reading the personal blogs of Scott Adams (the creator of Dilbert) and John Dvorak (PC Magazine columnist and host of Cranky Geeks),

I was surprised to see these two gentlemen linking to the same story on Next Energy News covering Toshiba's announcement of a "200 kilowatt" nuclear reactor

With maintenance-free operation and the price of the generated energy estimated at 5 cents per kilowatt-hour, this announcement appeared to undermine the usual arguments against nuclear power.

According to some information I found on the Encyclopedia of Earth, the reactor in question is called the Rapid-L, and the 200-kilowatt electrical output is just a small part of the reactor's thermal power production of 5 megawatts.

So even if your McMansion is filled with enough electronic gizmos to use up that 200-kilowatt power rating, there's no way it can dissipate 5 megawatts of thermal power. That's enough to heat over 200 homes during a 27° F (-3° C) cold snap. You'll just have to share.

Housing Price data

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 20:18:52 GMT

clipped by: ericskiff
clipper's remarks: I didn't realize this data was made publicly available. Very interesting to see exactly how the market is performing in various cities.

Clip Source: www2.standardandpoors.com

S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices

Home Price Values

March 2008 (published May 27)
February 2008 (published Apr. 29)
January 2008 (published Mar. 25)
December 2007 (published Feb. 26)
November 2007 (published Jan. 29)
October 2007 (published Dec. 26)
September 2007 (published Nov. 27)

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices are calculated monthly using a three-month moving average and published with a two month lag.

Tags: housing, market, bubble, data, economy

Washy Ad Jeffy - Presidential mnemonic song

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:59:22 GMT

clipped by: ericskiff
clipper's remarks: Jonathan Coulton just put up another great song - aside from being a great mnemonic device, it's also a catchy little tune. I've never learned the Presidents, I'm going to use this to finally memorize them

Clip Source: www.jonathancoulton.com

When I was a wee lad my father taught me the greatest mnemonic device in the history of mnemonic devices. It’s called “Washy Ad Jeffy” and it’s a little jingle/rhyme thingie that helps you remember the order of all the US presidents and how many terms (or partial terms) they served - the number of syllables in the nickname is the number of terms. My father learned it from Mrs. Govan, his 8th grade history teacher at Memorial Junior High School in Ohio. He believes she made it up, but he’s not entirely sure. At the time he learned it, and of course when he taught it to me, it only went up to Eisenhower. I have added to it over the years, so really it’s a collaboration between Mrs. Govan (maybe?) and me.

[Video]

I’ve made an mp3 as well:

You can get it for free or else pay for it, your choice.

Clip Source: www.jonathancoulton.com

Len sent in this Washy Ad Jeffy poster - Coolidge kind of looks like Hodgman, don’t you think? And check out the X’s in Harrison’s eyes…

Tags: joco, jonathan coulton, mnemonic, learning, president, presidents, song

Jonathan Coulton plays the Brooklyn Ikea opening

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:19:19 GMT

clipped by: ericskiff
clipper's remarks: If you don't already know Jonathan Coulton, go take a listen at http://jonathancoulton.com

His song "Ikea" is a fantastic parody / send up / love letter to the swedish flat-pack furniture giant, and apparently they had him play it at the opening of the store in Red Hook! Awesome.

Clip Source: twitter.com

Playing the Brooklyn ikea opening. 6:30 am this morning. Dream come true. Not really.

Jonathan Coulton

Tags: jonathan coulton, ikea, awesome, music, funny

Man caught climbing NYTimes building

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 23:35:52 GMT

clipped by: ericskiff
clipper's remarks: I've got friends who work in that building, I wonder if they saw him!

All things considered, with the ladder-like bars that go in front of the windows there, I don't know if this was that much of a challenge.

Clip Source: www.foxnews.com

NEW YORK — The thrill-seeking skyscraper climber known as the "French Spider-Man" was trapped by police Thursday after successfully scaling The New York Times building in Manhattan.

Alain Robert was handcuffed and taken into custody shortly before 12:30 p.m. EDT after he deftly inched up the side of the Times Square high-rise, which houses the newspaper's relatively new digs.

"I am climbing with my bare hands, as a PEACEFUL way to create support for far greater and urgent action from world leaders on global warming," Robert said in a press release he issued in advance. "Greenhouse gas emissions are still climbing. So am I!!!"

• Click here to visit Robert's Web site.

The Times reported the incident on its "City Room" blog.

Tags: climbing, nytimes, news, funny, environment

Unemployment jumps the most since 1986

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:02:29 GMT

clipped by: ericskiff
clipper's remarks: I was wondering what sent the market tumbling.

The bigger news for me is that oil is up almost $10 in two days. That's huge! I woke up this morning and said "what's going on?!"

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

The unemployment rate skyrocketed in May, the government said today, as employers cut more jobs.

The jobless rate for the month was 5.5 percent, up from 5 percent in April, the Labor Department said. That was the largest swing in a single month since 1986. The result stunned economists, who had expected the rate to rise only to 5.1 percent. The report also said the number of jobs on employers' payrolls fell by 49,000.

Tags: unemployment, economy, oil, us

Bill Clinton calling it quits?

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:32:25 GMT

clipped by: ericskiff
clipper's remarks: Wow, a little early for Bill to be throwing in the towel, unless he knows something we don't?

Clip Source: blogs.abcnews.com

"I want to say also that this may be the last day I'm ever involved in a campaign of this kind. I thought I was out of politics, 'til Hillary decided to run. But it has been, one of the greatest honors of my life to go around and campaign for her for president," said Clinton as he began his speech.

Tags: politics, clinton, bill clinton, election, primary

We just avoided a financial "Chernobyl"... so far

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 19:17:18 GMT

clipped by: ericskiff
clipper's remarks: The fed caught this egg before it hit the floor, but how many can they catch? If they shoulder too much debt and risk directly, wouldn't that be devastating for the dollar?

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

When the Federal Reserve stepped in to save Bear Stearns, most people had no idea what was at stake, writes Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

We may never know for sure whether the Federal Reserve's rescue of Bear Stearns averted a seizure of the $516 trillion derivatives system, the ultimate Chernobyl for global finance.

"There was the risk of a total meltdown at the beginning of last week. I don't think most people have any idea how bad this chain could have been, and I am still not sure the Fed can maintain the solvency of the US banking system."

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Under the rescue deal, JP Morgan Chase will take over Bear Stearns' $13.4 trillion contracts - lock, stock, and barrel.

But JP Morgan is already up to its neck in this soup, with $77 trillion of contracts.