Holiday Baking

I always get overly ambitious with holiday baking, because while I enjoy doing it my first instinct is towards things like pies (for Thanksgiving) or cut out and decorated sugar cookies (for Christmas) that are yummy but fussy and time consuming. So I need to remember that there are recipes like this out there as well. It’s not as fancy as a pie, but this Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Nut Bread is both easy and delicious. A single recipe really will make three bread loaves so don’t double it up unless you have an insanely large mixing bowl and want to … Continue reading Holiday Baking

Keep those keys in your pocket

I think i love this story about researchers developing a system that can generate copies of keys based on photos because it illustrates how, even after centuries, a classic security technique can fall victim to new hacks. [via Make Magazine] The system, called SNEAKEY does not require a good close-up photo of the key, though they point out that you can find many such photos online at Flickr and other sites. Their front-page example photo is a somewhat blurry image of a set of keys laying on top of a book taken from 195 feet away, but they were still … Continue reading Keep those keys in your pocket

I’d look it up but my hands are covered in stuffing…

I love this, though I suspect that I am more likely to have this used against me than to use it myself: Let me google that for you. The best way to understand what the site does is probably to check out what happens if you follow a link provided by the site that you can send to a friend who has asked for information…. Here’s that info you were looking for! It’s pretty mean and snarky, but it also cracks me up.

Rise of the Machines

Before the election falls entirely out of memory, I wanted to note this interview with Dr. Barbara Simons of the Advisory Board of the Federal Election Assistance Commission about how eVoting went this election cycle. You get a nice summary of the role of the advisory board and the efforts underway to try to ensure reliable voting. Perhaps the most interesting quote was with respect to the composition of the advisory board: I was appointed by Senator Harry Reid to one of the four seats on the Election Assistance – on the Board of Advisors which are designated for technologists. … Continue reading Rise of the Machines

Like websurfing without all that irritating clicking

Are you a dead-tree type of person? Like the idea of Web 2.0 but not all the gadgetry that goes along with it? Or maybe you have a portable device that does better with static pdf documents than dynamic websurfing – say while commuting by public transportation. Then you might like Tabbloid. Give it a set of RSS feeds and the service will create a pdf document for you out of those feeds that you can download or have emailed to you. If you like what you see, you can set Tabbloid to email you an updated pdf of the … Continue reading Like websurfing without all that irritating clicking

I think, therefore it moves

I haven’t watched 60 Minutes in years now, but Lifehacker has a link to the story below from last week on controlling computers with thought and I was blown away. I’ve known there was research going on in this direction, but some of what they show here is amazing. Using just surface-level sensors one device can sense the brain pattern of “recognition”, allowing people to type or select words based as they are flashed onto a computer screen. The interface for that is pretty cool – I expected from the description a series of letters shown one at a time … Continue reading I think, therefore it moves

Star Trek fans might also like the tachyon

If you liked Giant Microbes but are really more of a physicist (or a bit of a hypochondriac) you will love Particle Zoo’s subatomic particle plush toys. These cuddly interpretations of the basic components of matter are filled with different materials to reflect the differences in weight between, say, a top quark and a muon. The proton/neutron pairing is pretty cute, as are the quarks. I like that they have prefab gift packs of the various meaningful sets of particles that you might want to buy together. The “whole zoo” of 33 particles (quick quiz: can you name 33 subatomic … Continue reading Star Trek fans might also like the tachyon

Now I will be able to understand R2-D2!

This is one of those do-it-on-yourself experiments that makes you realize your brain is doing all sorts of processing you have no awareness of. First, listen to this audio clip: Sine Wave Speech. Listen to it until you either make out what is being said or conclude that you will not be able to. Now, go listen to this audio clip: Clear Speech. After you listen to it once, go back and listen to the first clip…. Think that it only worked because you heard the “decoded” audio? Go listen to this second piece of Sine Wave Speech… You can … Continue reading Now I will be able to understand R2-D2!

So much fun I might start doing the off years

As promised, I spent part of Tuesday wandering around my local area taking some photos documenting the election. I’ve put together a representative sample in this year’s election photo collection. It was interesting to note that while I went to many of the same places that I did in 2004, I came across fewer demonstrations or evidence of particular political stances this time around, besides the expected yard signs. The sentiment out there was more one of “make sure you vote”.

But what if it starts swinging independent?

I somehow have the feeling the internet is going to be rife with election-related fun today. I won’t have time for a good websurf until later because I’m trying to get to the polls to vote before class, but this caught my eye: string red and blue lights up around your house for your election party and use this python script to scape CNN’s election results and indicate how the election is trending to change which lights are on so your lightly reflects the trending of the election. Your house will start out purple and end up…. well, slightly less … Continue reading But what if it starts swinging independent?