tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40539042011-12-14T18:59:16.283-08:00The personal journal of technology journalist and conference speaker Randall S. Newton.Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1441100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-58015458138031277812008-12-02T14:14:00.001-08:002008-12-02T14:17:07.612-08:00

I know they are out there, but in my travels big hotels with good Internet service seem to be few and far between. So far, the quality of service at The Venetian in Las Vegas has been great. I'm using wifi in my room, and have no complaints. I even caught up on my podcast downloading, catching some videos I have been reluctant to download at home. The rooms are huge here, by the way. I have a

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-41909093127964100502008-11-12T08:43:00.001-08:002008-11-12T08:46:04.104-08:00

A Taiwanese researcher has announced a new system on a chip (SOC) design for wireless data transmission that blows away current standards. The UCLA-trained researcher says the chip could be mass produced for less than $1 each. Details at PhysOrg.com. 

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-3770386739785205612008-10-30T11:33:00.000-07:002008-10-30T11:36:40.610-07:00

Drop everything and follow the link below for the funniest photoshop'd moment of the campaign. Trust me, whether you believe Barack Obama is da bomb or are praying for Sarah Palin, you will laugh out loud at this obviously doctored photo on Guy Kawasaki's blog:http://holykaw.com/trust-me-drop-everything-and-lMake a nice pair, don't they?

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-918125646351426622008-09-12T09:27:00.001-07:002008-09-12T09:27:43.509-07:00

I'm in another major city in another large downtown hotel for another day of meetings. The details aren't important. I've reached a tipping point in recognizing a fundamental truth about business travel, one I will arrogantly describe as a law:Newton's Law of Hotel Connectivity: The larger the hotel, the slower the Internet connection.

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-51709361513045293452008-09-09T14:10:00.000-07:002008-09-09T15:12:28.267-07:00

I have noticed that the professional training one gets -- or the summary of life experience that replaces training for a specific profession -- strongly affects a person's outlook.Take a look at the professional training of the men and women on the presidential tickets, both Democratic and Republican, of the last several years and a trend emerges. To make it easy, I have put one particular

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-55254780906346583492008-08-29T12:37:00.000-07:002008-08-29T13:14:34.170-07:00

In naming Gov. Sarah Palin as the Republican nominee for vice-president, John McCain has introduced America to Ronald Reagan 2.0.Whether that is good news or bad depends on the perspective you bring to politics. But the more I look, the stronger the comparison becomes. Conservative, but compassionate. A pragmatic politician, not an ideologue. A natural for TV. Articulate and passionate. A former

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-20720087883869899162008-08-22T10:29:00.000-07:002008-08-22T11:55:31.245-07:00

There is a common phrase in American Christianity: "Love the sinner, hate the sin." Recent events have convinced me many are willing to set aside the phrase when the sinner is a high-profile evangelist.For years Canadian healing evangelist Todd Bentley has been a controversial figure. He is covered with tattoos and piercings, he speaks openly about angel encounters, and he likes to relax by

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-67881673355555717882008-05-16T09:54:00.000-07:002008-05-16T09:58:43.451-07:00

No matter your political opinion of the current US actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, I know all Americans agree that the members of our Armed Forces deserve to be given support and respect. Please follow the link to The Gratitude Campaign and learn a simple hand gesture that lets you communicate your gratitude and support for their willingness to serve their country.http://

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-3270464239282928122008-02-10T22:23:00.000-08:002008-02-10T22:28:16.536-08:00

I didn't know America's first president, George Washington, was a Democrat. But it seems he is, because he has decided to make an endorsement in the Democratic party's race for a presidential candidate.You can check his YouTube coming out at this link. (Warning: Video may offend those over 40.)

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-40967094001750151202008-01-02T11:15:00.000-08:002008-01-02T11:18:51.431-08:00

LifeHacker has a great article on the "Top 10 Obscure Google Search Tricks." Even if you consider yourself a sophisticated Google user, I think you will find some gems in this list. Tips include shortcuts on tracking package shipments, how to get Google to search only faces in an image search, a quick way to get the local time anywhere, and how to convert different forms of measurement (money,

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-84861679929263208232007-12-04T15:20:00.000-08:002007-12-04T15:21:44.878-08:00

Check out "Here Comes Another Bubble," now posted at one of the companies who are making the bubble happen.

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-41146386282181276492007-10-30T09:31:00.000-07:002007-10-30T09:36:35.614-07:00

Francis J. Beckwith, an associate professor of philosophy and church-state studies at Baylor University, has written an op-ed column for the Waco (Tx) Tribune-Herald that is a powerful and remarkably short definition of pro-life. A quote:What then is the pro-life position? It is the view that the membership of the human community includes prenatal human beings, even if excluding them would

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-45488433323942288392007-09-11T09:06:00.000-07:002007-09-11T09:12:50.439-07:00

Former Baylor punter Daniel Sepulveda is the two-time winner of the Ray Guy Award, for best punter in college football. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers and played his first official NFL game last week. The result is explained in a blog called Northbound in their piece "Daniel Sepulveda, Hero of American Youth." Several punting opportunities calling for different skills and high

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-19052808712488172822007-09-10T15:21:00.001-07:002007-09-10T16:48:12.881-07:00

[This is a letter to the Editors of BearMeat, a sharp-tongued and barely lucid blog about Baylor Sports and alt.waco.culture. The three reincarnated fools who run BearMeat appointed me Assistant Editor of Research and Fan Club President recently. I now give them cause to regret their actions.]Dear BearMeat Editors,On the afternoon of Sept. 16 2006 I was struck by a bolt of karmic lightning and

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-72888257896694323032007-09-04T11:00:00.000-07:002007-09-04T11:07:02.897-07:00

As The Guardian reports, arctic ice disappeared this summer at a rate never seen before. Excerpts:Mark Serreze, an Arctic specialist at the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre at Colorado University in Denver, said: "It's amazing. It's simply fallen off a cliff and we're still losing ice." The Arctic has now lost about a third of its ice since satellite measurements began thirty years ago, and

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-39982727693899630252007-08-24T07:55:00.001-07:002007-08-24T07:56:53.469-07:00

It is not often I eagerly await the release of a new movie. But Feb. 2008 is just too long to wait. Take a look at the trailer for Expelled, starring and written by Ben Stein.

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-30638505401598114432007-08-16T16:04:00.000-07:002007-08-16T16:05:15.960-07:00

Watch this very elaborate and clever practical joke:http://view.break.com/350100 - Watch more free videos

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-13672476703968727432007-08-02T12:32:00.000-07:002007-08-02T12:36:27.935-07:00

I've been meaning to write about Barry Bonds for a while, but never made it a priority. (When all one does is write, write, write, every day, doing a little writing "just for fun" isn't a high priority.)Today I came across an eloquent statement about Barry Bonds, steroids, and the culture that brought the two together. It is written by Tony Long, copy chief at WIRED News. In an article for his

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-55654013240686977982007-07-26T00:53:00.000-07:002007-07-26T00:57:57.627-07:00

MSNBC has the story of a companion cat at a hospice center who seems to know when patients are very close to death. Read "Cat Plays Furry Grim Reaper at Nursing Home."Here at Castle Newtonstein, both my mother and my mother-in-law are permanent residents. Our older cat, Kahlil, visits both laps regularly. I doubt we will find a similar predictive value in her behavior.

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-32395048906243287512007-07-05T13:53:00.000-07:002007-07-05T14:42:08.753-07:00

Overheard in a pizza place in Texas by my daughter, Amanda:Speaker 1: "I don't know who he was. Some Indian guy." Speaker 2: "Feather or Dot?"

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-72614292127749793182007-07-02T10:09:00.001-07:002007-07-02T10:09:55.361-07:00

"Take my apartment, take my paintings, only give me back my head."

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-65408467949479484172007-06-29T10:10:00.000-07:002007-06-29T10:14:47.312-07:00

What follows is the last bit of an article mostly about something else, from Forbes Technology columnist Elizabeth Corcoran. (The column is entitled, "Smile, You're Always On Camera," which mostly about a new cheap small camcorder that will be everywhere shortly, and is recommended reading.)Jonathan Schwartz, the pony-tailed chief executive of Sun Microsystems (nasdaq: SUNW -

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-63560531240321798392007-06-17T21:08:00.000-07:002007-06-26T17:58:05.322-07:00

So, I have to get up at 4 a.m. tomorrow to drive to the airport (130 miles) to catch a flight to the Big Apple so I can have meetings with some muckety-mucks from a software company at the Walforf Astoria. (I kid you not; every job has the occasional crappy duty. What really sucks is that I might not even get my free upgrade to first class on my Alaska Airlines flight to Newark.) And even thought

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-18729486584400755722007-06-15T00:24:00.000-07:002007-06-15T00:27:04.395-07:00

... and I mean that in a good way. If you are at all interested in reading insightful commentary on various aspects of the software industry, including the CAD/PLM world I wander through, check out the blog of Sramana Mitra.

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-76606451208252541962007-05-12T20:09:00.001-07:002007-05-12T20:13:04.172-07:00

Video from We Make Money Not Art, as referred by Bruce S. Artist credits at end of video.

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-44119402911979007172007-05-08T19:35:00.000-07:002007-05-08T19:45:40.648-07:00

If I have to edit one more article where the writer puts a close quotation mark BEFORE a period, I will find one of those marshmallow goop guns from Bugsy Malone and do some serious mayhem.Dammit, Americans ALWAYS put a period BEFORE the close quote mark. Brits do whatever Brits do, and I don't care. There are reasons we fought two wars with those mugs.You did WHAT to your sentence, mister?

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-91300125029794823712007-05-01T19:44:00.000-07:002007-05-01T19:47:21.285-07:00

Colleague Ralph Grabowski was so taken with my new bargain sports coat (100% silk, $29 not $25 as reported, bright "melon" in color) that I wore at a Dassault Systemes event earlier this week that he published a photo of it on his blog.

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-15009692543438369132007-04-20T13:34:00.000-07:002007-04-20T13:36:19.491-07:00

The Wittenburg Door, always first with the most imporant news (unless it's something I cover) has the complete scoop: Sanjaya lasted as long as he did on American Idol because he is the Beast, as mentioned in the book of Revelation.Makes as much sense as most of what is taught these days on the subject...

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-28310555269736984802007-03-23T12:59:00.000-07:002007-03-23T13:07:48.692-07:00

Politically, I am an increasingly irate moderate, and I certainly am not ready to take sides in the current mad scramble. But you gotta love the spunk somebody's showing in creating a video mashup of Hilary as the "Big Sister" of the famous Apple 1984 commercial.YouTube's ability to post to Blogger is not working right (and they are both Google properties; go figure). Click on the link for the

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-8670829187412330602007-03-21T22:07:00.000-07:002007-03-21T22:24:18.622-07:00

Since Google Mail is still marking my Google Alerts as Spam, I have to scan my Spam every few hours. I saw this beauty a few minutes ago:Eskimo Crab-Mac-Claw will probably become the new logo of my world wide fairy tale activities. Whatever "Peck D. Christina" (the spam authoress) is selling, I'm buying.Two absolutely meaningful posts to LoomisBoy tonight, and I've still got writing to do for

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-49141215159330416112007-03-21T20:59:00.000-07:002007-03-21T22:27:46.785-07:00

After my first semester at Baylor, I went home for Christmas break. Somewhere in between the traditional tree hunt (in which I would get lost in the woods for a few hours, bloody ax in hand ((yes, the ax my dad hit me with when I was in high school)) (((no, I'm not making this up))) and the Nap on Super Bowl Sunday, a stray dog found our farm. I suggested he be named Rufus. So it was spoken, so

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-84532531014778879152007-03-16T17:24:00.000-07:002007-03-16T17:31:33.544-07:00

Dear Google,I have been using Gmail, your wonderful web-based email service, for over a year now as my only email client. I especially appreciate your spam-filtering capabilities. But therein lies a problem.I occasionally review the contents of the Spam folder before deleting it, just to make sure no "real" mail was being put there by mistake. A few days ago, I noticed that one of my Google Alert

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-27668700676839314062007-03-06T16:47:00.000-08:002007-03-06T16:54:19.417-08:00

On Sunday, we shared at church about Kateen (see previous posts), and described her situation as grave. (At the same time, I know the same thing was going on at a sister church in town, where quite a few people also know Kateen). She had not regained consciousness since being admitted to the hospital, her kidneys were failing, and the doctors were not sure if they could stop the progress of the

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-89474795575710571082007-02-28T11:51:00.000-08:002007-02-28T11:59:03.567-08:00

It seems Kateen (see previous post) is not doing well. I am told that at this writing she is again in surgery for further amputation in a desperate effort to stop the spread of infection. She has not regain consciousness since she went under for the first surgery. Her parents are now at the hospital in Suffolk, UK with her.Kateen is 19. This is her second visit to the UK doing Christian missions

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-39076866367281422342007-02-27T17:35:00.000-08:002007-02-27T17:41:45.652-08:00

My daughter Mackenzie has a very good friend, Kateen, who is on her second tour of duty as a missionary in Suffolk, UK. She is 20 years old.Today after feeling ill for two or three days she went to a doctor, thinking she might have pneumonia. Upon examination, she was rushed into emergency surgery for a fast-moving infection that was based in one leg. The leg was amputated above the knee, and the

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-7832946627783788972007-02-22T16:13:00.000-08:002007-02-22T16:23:10.519-08:00

Laying in bed with the flu (second time this winter -- makes up for years of going flu-free, I guess) I heard a great bit of discussion on NPR's Talk of the Nation today about global warming vs. global poverty. Barry Rabe, professor at The Gerald Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan, and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, argued that the cost of effectively fighting

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-47791164570768537592007-02-19T14:35:00.000-08:002007-02-19T15:30:42.440-08:00

I received some email that makes me think I didn't send the right message with my entry last Thursday (the photo of my cut-up Cyon Research business card). All I'm trying to say is that I am no longer a Cyon Research analyst. No subliminal messages, no bad vibes.Along with a business partner, I bought CADCAMNet recently from Cyon. So, Cyon goes its way and I go mine. The new direction is a

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-55120129128494612772007-02-17T22:39:00.000-08:002007-02-17T22:40:33.578-08:00

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-57165868446849123962007-02-15T17:13:00.000-08:002007-02-15T17:18:56.657-08:00

... then I'll give you the picture and you can come up with your own thousand words. PS: I still love COFES.

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-24733406572320993522007-01-12T15:32:00.000-08:002007-01-12T15:41:09.070-08:00

Recently Time Magazine said that it looks like 2007 will be the Year of the Threepeat in Hollywood. Sequels (and now sequels of sequels) are like the weather; everybody complains but nobody does anything about it. Perhaps the problem is in the ideas Hollywood uses for their sequels. Remember, for every successful sequel, there are two flops (I submit "Dumb and Dumberer : When Harry Met Lloyd"

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-81868011653815677682007-01-10T20:16:00.000-08:002007-01-10T20:17:28.505-08:00

Several months ago, writing about Google Earth for AECnews, I mentioned that I would be using it to identify a good place to buy oceanfront property in the Arctic. Why the Arctic? Because global warming means there will soon (more or less) be a year-around shipping channel connecting Europe to Asia via the Arctic Ocean. Property values will rise. I want in on the action. (You think I'm kidding,

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-37261124171540110652007-01-05T15:18:00.000-08:002007-01-06T15:49:14.440-08:00

It seems there is a "game" weaving its way through the blogosphere called "Tag--Five Things You Don't Know About Me." Adena Schutzberg of All Points Blog called me out, along with two other CAD writers. So here goes.1. I am a blood relative to several card-carrying Native Americans, but I am not eligible to join an Indian tribe.2. I completed all coursework for a masters degree (in education) but

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-75466767713004268782007-01-03T15:38:00.000-08:002007-01-03T15:45:12.017-08:00

It has been way too long since my last eye exam, and I can tell my prescription has changed; I now take my glasses off to read tiny print or to work close-up. So yesterday I made a couple of phone calls, pricing the cost of a standard optical exam. One clinic was in the US, the other in British Columbia, Canada. The two clinics are about the same driving distance, 25 miles. I will be paying cash

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-54262121003284626852006-12-29T09:54:00.000-08:002006-12-29T10:01:27.479-08:00

Now that I'm Time Magazine's Person of the Year (so are you, if you didn't already know), I decided I'd better take the next step in my online destiny and post to YouTube. My older kids have been bugging me for years to record or transcribe the lullaby songs I created for each of them when they were infants. So, in this first YouTube video I sing the two songs I created for Amanda when she was a

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-3858014078170940842006-12-29T09:11:00.000-08:002006-12-29T09:23:46.175-08:00

My grandson Alexander Benjamin Carr took time out from his busy schedule recently to pose for his first annual official Christmas portrait.Both Mom and Dad have red hair, so I guess it should be no surprise that Alex's little fauxhawk is red. But I think we should speak to his dresser and photographer--red shirt, red hair, red eye image and a light red background are a little much.Alex doesn't

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1162752380005917972006-11-05T10:44:00.000-08:002006-12-29T09:22:16.563-08:00

New Grandmother Teresa Newton (my wife) gets her first chance to hold Alex.Alex doing what newborns do best--sleep!Spiderman was one of the many visitors to see the new mom and baby. I think CW, Alex's Dad, had something to do with his visit. I understand they go way back.The new family.

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1162749268767959292006-11-05T09:52:00.000-08:002006-11-05T09:54:28.783-08:00

I’m a grandfather!Alexander Benjamin Carr made his grand debut a little ahead of schedule, sometime around 4 a.m. Central Time November 3, by emergency C-section. He came into the world at 6 pounds 10 ounces and 18 inches. His mother, Amanda Newton Carr, went into labor but Alex’s heart rate dropped too much to allow labor to continue. Mom and son are both doing fine now; we expect they will go

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1161205166640516332006-10-18T13:58:00.000-07:002006-10-18T13:59:26.650-07:00

When you want to offend someone, and the usual swear words and other epithets just don’t seem right, I’ve come up with a new insult. Just call them a “spam reader.” You read it here first.

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1160500555195513232006-10-10T10:15:00.000-07:002006-10-10T10:17:07.996-07:00

The following item came to me from a public relations firm, but don’t let that stop you from reading the insights available here. Robert Maricich has done what many consider to be an impossible task—successfully compete in manufacturing in the age of globalization. Maricich’s 16 principles of leadership (below) are appropriate for all leadership situations. If this guy wrote a book, I’d buy it. -

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1157736530685236332006-09-08T10:25:00.000-07:002006-09-08T10:32:15.703-07:00

I get a lot of press releases in my job as a technology writer/editor, and for some reason many of them have nothing to do with my day job. Here, verbatim, is a press release from Texas Tech University related to the recent death of famed 'Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin.MARINE BIOLOGIST SAYS STINGRAYS NOT AGGRESSIVE, WILL ATTACK WHEN PROVOKEDLubbock, TX (September 7, 2006) Despite the fact that "

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1155241513114794082006-08-10T13:20:00.000-07:002006-08-10T13:25:13.180-07:00

This is (arguably) the finest Bugs Bunny cartoon of them all. And that's saying a lot. This one's like Wagner but with a bunny.

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1153843205396947892006-07-25T08:52:00.000-07:002006-07-25T09:00:05.410-07:00

In February NASA quieted deleted a line from its mission statement; the deletion is just now being noticed.In 2002, early in the current Bush administration, NASA's chief at the time, Sean O'Keefe, created a mission statement which read: “To understand and protect our home planet; to explore the universe and search for life; to inspire the next generation of explorers ... as only NASA can.” It

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1153500203751624522006-07-21T09:37:00.000-07:002006-07-21T10:37:33.643-07:00

There's an interesting report today in GIS Monitor, one of the professional journals I read, about one man's use of satellite imagery to try to understand "an anomoly" on Mt. Ararat in Turkey. The size, shape, and location of the thing roughly matches the dimensions and location given for Noah's Ark in Genesis."One of my ultimate goals," says Taylor, "is simply, using geospatial technology

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1153272326439807222006-07-18T18:22:00.000-07:002006-07-18T18:25:26.456-07:00

India, if you haven't heard, is working on a lunar rover. It plans to send the thing to the moon in 2008, to search for minerals deposits:Chandrayaan-1 would orbit the lunar surface pole-to-pole for two years in a bid to conduct the first comprehensive mineral scanning and record high-resolution, 3D maps of the entire lunar surface.I'm envious; we should be doing that.Chandrayaan-1 is India’s

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1153249242602119912006-07-18T11:56:00.000-07:002006-07-18T18:26:04.026-07:00

If you have a fast connection (dial-up readers, forget it!) check out this great cartoon, "FLATLIFE" (2004) by Jonas Geirnaert. It was his graduation project that turned into a winning entry for Best Short Film at the Cannes Film Festival 2004.

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1150844940009931592006-06-20T16:07:00.000-07:002006-06-20T16:09:00.023-07:00

For one little corner of the world, George Orwell got it right.http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=82755

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1150843488476807142006-06-20T15:39:00.000-07:002006-06-20T15:44:48.486-07:00

For several hours today I have been unable to use Gmail, the email service from Google. A few months ago I moved all my email traffic (several account) to Gmail, so I am effectively shut out from email until Google fixes the problem.Last week I was at Google Headquarters (that's a blog post I need to do), and I noticed little black signs on the walls warning of something on 6-16-06 related to

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1149571881322631862006-06-05T22:29:00.000-07:002006-06-05T22:31:21.330-07:00

This BBC report -- one in a series -- is fascinating. There is no functioning central government in Somalia. The country is ruled by tribal warloards. Yet the three telecom companies there offer great service, quick hookups, cheap rates, and the best Internet Cafe experience in Africa.

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1146585239693850112006-05-02T08:45:00.000-07:002006-05-02T08:53:59.706-07:00

This week my third-grader, Liberty, has to recite a poem from memory in class. I started looking for a suitable poem, and decided, "what the heck, I'll just write one."I have written the occasional poem over the years. A few have been love poems to my wife. Earlier in this blog is a poem I wrote on the occasion of my father's death in 2002. The poem I wrote last night is a nonsense poem; I call

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1143668543473754672006-03-29T13:37:00.000-08:002006-03-29T13:42:23.483-08:00

As of last week, I am a youth soccer coach. So far so good, we've only had one practice.I'm coaching U-10, which means I have kids from 8 to 10. Most have experience, but a few, including my daughter Liberty, are playing organized soccer for the first time.My goals are simple: Learn some fundamentals, learn the basics of athletic self-discipline, and have fun.I love to teach, but it helps when

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1143222136880091122006-03-24T09:33:00.000-08:002006-03-24T09:42:53.170-08:00

OK, I try to be open-minded, but I think a recently unveiled sculpture in Brooklyn is testing me. The sculptor says it is a "Monument to Pro-Life," but I'm really wondering if it isn't an attempt to mock. Not even pop diva Brittany Spears would stoop to birthing naked on a bearskin rug, but that is exactly what the artist has depicted. Yet the showing of the sculpture is supported by local

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1142901612767242922006-03-20T16:33:00.000-08:002006-03-20T16:40:12.786-08:00

The BCC is reporting today on the case of Abdul Rahman, who has been put on trial in Afghanistan, charged with rejecting Islam. Rahman could face the death penalty if convicted, unless he recants.In a statement that stretches the most politically correct definition of tolerance, the judge in the trial is offering to be tolerant: Trial judge Ansarullah Mawlazezadah told the BBC that Mr Rahman, 41,

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1142886684799965452006-03-20T12:28:00.000-08:002006-03-20T12:31:24.836-08:00

It has been a long hiatus, but I want to get started slowly. So for now, check out my new blog Iron Tulips at http://irontulips.blogspot.com. (The headline on this post won't make sense until you visit.)

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1131750031519158852005-11-11T14:42:00.000-08:002005-11-11T15:00:31.530-08:00

Finding odd coincidences in popular media is nothing new. Many in my generation remember all the "clues" in the Abbey Road album that had to be pointing to the secret death of Paul McCartney. A few years ago, midnight toke parties were enhanced (so I'm told) by playing Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" alongside the video of "The Wizard of Oz."The newest form of pop culture shock and awe comes

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1131478317923900532005-11-08T11:31:00.000-08:002005-11-08T11:31:57.970-08:00

Thursday will be the 21st anniversary of my marriage to Teresa. As I was thinking about that this morning, (as in “What shall we do?”) I got to thinking about our years-to-kids ratio. For the first few years of our marriage, our anniversary number and the number of kids were pretty close. It took us seven years of marriage before the number of years were larger than the number of kids. Not many

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1131325831187355452005-11-06T17:10:00.000-08:002005-11-06T19:39:48.736-08:00

A few days ago I posted about the new gourmet-quality chocolates from Cocoa Pete’s of California. Well, the kind folks at Cocoa Pete’s noticed, and founder/owner Pete Slosberg send along his research into gourmet pairings of his chocolates with various beers, wines, ports, and flavors of Jones Soda. Those results are below.Perhaps a bit of background is appropriate. Pete Slosberg is one of many

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1130957127234564542005-11-02T10:45:00.000-08:002005-11-02T10:45:27.276-08:00

From USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-11-02-buck_x.htm?csp=34 "I was standing about like this peeking around the corner when the deer came out of the bedroom," said Goldsberry. The deer ran down the hall and into the master bedroom — "jumping back and forth across the bed."

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1130872344304898772005-11-01T10:55:00.000-08:002005-11-01T11:12:24.316-08:00

Most prepared chocolate bars and candies sold in America are pap. As far as I am concerned, milk ruins good chocolate (never mind that I'm allergic to dairy products). You have to look hard and pay a lot to get good stuff.I'm a fiend for dark chocolate, and I am glad to report there is a new source. Cocoa Pete's (link requires Flash player) is a line of four products, created by the brewmaster

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1130452026323875192005-10-27T15:18:00.000-07:002005-10-27T15:35:12.270-07:00

As a youth, I took my turns milking the family cow. Once my hands were strong enough to do it without resting, I found it a peaceful endeavor. The milk would flow, the cow would much on grain, the barn cats would circle about. It was quiet, peaceful, and relaxing.Milking machines have been around for generations. They are all various interpretations of a vacumn cleaner, re-engineered for the cow

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1130348989172816972005-10-26T10:49:00.000-07:002005-10-26T10:51:39.396-07:00

Power in computing has shifted from proprietary, Microsoft API's to URL's on the web, says Google vice president Adam Bosworth. His comments are in a new InfoWorld article by Paul Krill.Applications used to be built via a "control model," with that weapon of control being leveraged by Microsoft via an API, Bosworth said. "This model was kind of a beautiful thing if you were Microsoft," said

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1130299569914355532005-10-25T21:06:00.000-07:002005-10-26T10:42:49.666-07:00

There’s a buzz reaching critical mass about a concept called “Web 2.0.” In case you aren’t familiar with the term, here is the Wikipedia definition for “Web 2.0”:Web 2.0 is a term often applied to a perceived ongoing transition of the World Wide Web from a collection of websites to a full-fledged computing platform serving web applications to end users. Ultimately Web 2.0 services are expected to

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1130285544417836692005-10-25T17:07:00.000-07:002005-10-25T17:12:24.440-07:00

In my job as Editor-in-Chief of AECnews.com, I daily receive 10-20 press releases that have absolutely nothing to do with technology for design and construction. Usually I scan the headline and press delete. But the ideas in the press release below caught my attention, so I'm sharing it here.--- Listening at Warp Speed for Organizational Adaptation: The Answer is Blowing in the Wind after

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1130177135089939682005-10-24T10:33:00.000-07:002005-10-24T11:29:12.156-07:00

When I was a small child in the late 1950's and 1960's, Trick or Treat on Halloween was an innocent custom with little resistance from the Christian community. Starting in the 1980's, however, many conservative Christians began to teach against Halloween. They claimed that to participate in the customs of Halloween was to participate in a pagan festival, or to give glory to evil and the occult. A

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1129656705110238522005-10-18T10:31:00.000-07:002005-10-18T10:40:20.590-07:00

In Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Commander Scott traded the formula for transparent aluminum to a scientist on 20th Century Earth in exchange for the first few sheets to be produced. While I doubt the U.S. Air Force has time travelers as consultants, it is working on what can realistically be called transparent aluminum.In a press release issued yesterday, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1129229915651689852005-10-13T11:58:00.000-07:002005-10-13T12:51:54.733-07:00

Meebo.com, a new web-based Instant Messaging service, seems to have sprung up in the right place at the right time. Only four weeks old, it has caught the attention of such heavy hitters as the Web 2.0 Conference, CNet, Om Malik’s Broadband Blog, MSNBC, the Wall Street Journal, and Mark Jen’s Plaxoed blog. My first use of the service, still considered an Alpha (early test phase) release by the

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1128834018590495792005-10-08T21:18:00.000-07:002005-10-09T00:21:59.940-07:00

[An expanded version of this item, written for design professionals, will be posted at AECnews.com.]The web, and especially the blogosphere, is filled with rumor and gossip claiming that Google is working on a browser. A recent CNet article, "Clues May Point to Google Browser" is probably the best summary of all the current talk. There's one problem with all the speculation--Google already has a

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1128627074174839442005-10-06T12:31:00.000-07:002005-10-06T12:31:14.213-07:00

Blogging Live from 3D Base CampOver at my online journal AECnews.com, I’m filing regular reports, blog style, from 3D Base Camp, the first users conference for SketchUp, the fast-rising, easy-to-use 3D design software from @Last Software of Boulder, Colorado. I’m writing in-between sessions, and posting photos from the conference to a separate 3D Base Camp photo gallery.Boulder is an interesting

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1126575100049444462005-09-12T18:31:00.000-07:002005-09-13T07:33:37.606-07:00

I have written before, both here and in AECnews.com, about Google Desktop. I use it daily, and appreciate how fast I can find documents with it. But I am also rather frustrated by it. As it indexes my hard drive, it records and remembers all the spam that comes in, and all the email messages I delete. Many items in a Google Desktop search have “Deleted Items” as their source location—and that

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1125622023597740412005-09-01T17:28:00.000-07:002005-09-01T17:47:03.603-07:00

Pandora, a new Internet streaming music service with a novel twist, launched earlier this week. To use the service, you type in the name of an artist/group or song that you like. Pandora then searches through its database to compile a list of songs from other artists/groups that it thinks you will also like.The work of Pandora is an extention of the Music Genome Project, which for the past five

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1123186039976623372005-08-04T12:28:00.000-07:002005-08-04T13:14:11.460-07:00

I haven't been posting very often this summer, and I really do need to get into the swing of things again. So much is going on; let me recap.1. We accepted an verbal offer from our neighbors for the sale of house and farm last week. It wasn't the top-dollar price we were seeking, but it was enough. We are selling "as-is" which gives them a bargain and us the ability to move on without getting

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1121810137273427572005-07-19T14:55:00.000-07:002005-07-19T18:07:03.803-07:00

We have decided to offer our home for sale by owner. This is the Newton Residence, in Loomis, Washington (street address is 1112 Loomis Oroville Road, Tonasket, Washington, 98855). I call it Rams View Farm, since bighorn sheep are part of the scenery. The house sits on 14.4 acres; the land was an apple orchard until 2002, when I removed the trees. There are still several soft fruit trees near the

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1117821558717196232005-06-03T10:51:00.000-07:002005-06-03T11:04:58.096-07:00

Going through old emails as part of moving to a new computer, I came across this unusual message. I am not publishing this person's identity, for obvious reason. I first met him almost 20 years ago, and occasionally we touch bases via email. He is a consulting engineer of unusual brilliance and undeniable eccentricity. Whether this message reveals him as "mad as in angry" or "mad as in crazy" is

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1117604145047694612005-05-31T21:49:00.000-07:002005-05-31T22:35:45.083-07:00

It will be thirty years this August since Richard Nixon resigned in shame, ending one of the darker periods in American history. Today, finally, comes word of the identity of a man who has until now only been known as "Deep Throat." Former FBI executive Mark Felt finally admitted that he was the "confidential White House source" who met with Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward several times,

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1117299891432876742005-05-28T09:51:00.000-07:002005-05-28T10:04:51.436-07:00

Various news sources are reporting this morning about the Gold Star Mothers, an organization of mothers who share in having lost a son or daughter in servive to America in the Armed Forces. It seems that Ligaya Lagman, of Westchester, NY, isn't good enough to join Gold Star Mothers. Her son, Army Staff Sgt. Anthony Lagman, was killed last year in Afghanistan in a firefight with Taliban insurgents

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1116953626090579272005-05-24T09:47:00.000-07:002005-05-24T09:53:46.093-07:00

Why would somebody create an "educational" website that uses a common vulgarity (transitive verb) to describe how an animated bear delivers prime numbers?

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1116869929811792772005-05-23T10:31:00.000-07:002005-05-23T10:38:49.816-07:00

Keith Thompson writes an eloquent good-bye to today's liberalism in The San Francisco Chronicle: Leaving the Left: I Can No Longer Abide the Simpering Voices of Self-Styled Progressives"Key quotes, if you don't have time to read the whole article:A turning point came at a dinner party on the day Ronald Reagan famously described the Soviet Union as the pre-eminent source of evil in the modern

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1116454488836197402005-05-18T14:42:00.000-07:002005-05-18T15:21:57.000-07:00

I discovered TiddlyWiki today. After a minute of poking around, I had yet another one of those jaw-dropping discovery moments ("Oh my, this IS interesting") that seem to be happening more often these days. (Another one of those moments happened last month; I would have posted about Ajax long ago, but I'm still trying to comprehend [insert "woo-woo" music here] the deeper meaning.)TiddlyWiki

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1115310646351008812005-05-05T09:24:00.000-07:002005-05-05T09:30:46.383-07:00

Today Google Labs released another interesting product for beta testing, a web accelerator. It tries to improve surfing by pre-fetching material, caching popular pages on Google's web servers, parallel downloading, and "differential fetching"--trying to determine only what has changed on a page.I've just downloaded the Firefox version (requires 1.x) of the Google Web Accelerator. There's also a

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1115225790875225892005-05-04T08:36:00.000-07:002005-10-03T08:45:49.343-07:00

Ted Leung is a software engineer, Open Source advocate, author, blogger, and, along with his wife Julie, a homeschooling parent. In this post Ted summarizes and expands the concepts of Doc Searls (co-author, "The Cluetrain Manifesto"), Thomas Friedman (New York Times columnist, author of "The Lexus and The Olive Tree," "The World is Flat," among others) and John Taylor Gatto (former Teacher of

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1114363623998306072005-04-24T10:23:00.000-07:002005-04-25T15:31:18.736-07:00

The Financial Times isn’t known as a humor publication, but I couldn’t help but laugh this week at an item in the FT’s Observer column—an item that was not written to be humorous.In “Political no-go” the FT describes former US Senator Bob Kerrey’s brief tryst with the notion of running for mayor of New York City. “It turns out the first hot political story of this year’s New York mayoral race did

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1114104858592747472005-04-21T10:10:00.000-07:002005-04-21T10:37:26.493-07:00

This morning I noticed links in my Hotmail messages, and in message subject lines, that I didn't put there. At first I thought it was something new and unannouced from Microsoft (Hotmail is part of Microsoft's MSN set of Web products). I did a quick Google search and used Icerocket specifically to search blogs on "Hotmail sponsored links" but didn't come up with anything that explained what I was

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1114102681865187482005-04-21T09:31:00.000-07:002005-04-21T10:08:56.546-07:00

I've just returned from a week+ on the road, attending first COFES 2005, then the FIATECH Spring conference. They were both great conferences. I'll be writing this week for AECnews.com and this blog from my notes, as relevent to each forum. But I want to share the following while it is fresh in my mind.Just as I sat down at my desk this morning, I got a call from our neighbor Lisa, across the

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1114005509825123752005-04-20T06:49:00.000-07:002005-04-20T06:59:45.413-07:00

European think tank Demos has just released a report that takes a look at the underlying principles of Open Source – the methods and principles behind the Internet's basic development model. Their results echo what I have been telling anybody who will listen: Other fields have much to learn from open source methods – because they bring principles and working methods which can help to produce

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1113237302918453592005-04-11T09:19:00.000-07:002005-04-11T09:35:02.920-07:00

I really like Google and use it many times a day in my course of work. But it isn't the only search engine out there, and I think it is important (at least for me) to see what other search engines are doing to stay competitive.Recently I've found Icerocket to be the best at searching blogs. Using it to search "LoomisBoy" I discovered that the San Francisco Chronicle, and a Ph.D. researcher in

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1112989443404756782005-04-08T12:05:00.000-07:002005-04-08T14:21:53.813-07:00

A few miles from my home exists an occasional natural wonder. Every Spring we have a period of high water in all the streams, rivers and connected lakes, as the mountain snowpack melts. If conditions are right, a portion of the Similkameen River will run backwards. This happens when the volume of water leaving Palmer Lake, via Palmer Creek, is greater than the volume of river water where creek

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1112980521764532962005-04-08T10:01:00.000-07:002005-04-08T10:15:21.766-07:00

Australian blogger "Credo" is reporting a story told to him by an American Roman Catholic Cardinal. According to the story, the conclave that elected John Paul I originally asked another man to become pope, and this man modestly, humbly did not accept. Then when about a month later, the college of cardinals had to meet again to select a successor to John Paul I, they convinced the first man to

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1112830874165857262005-04-06T15:54:00.000-07:002005-04-06T16:41:14.166-07:00

On Monday, Baylor alumnus Steven Stucky won the Pulitzer Prize for music, for his Second Concerto for Orchestra. Yesterday, the Baylor Lady Bears demolished Michigan State to win the NCAA women's national basketball championship. Today, Baylor announces in an email to prospective students that it will have to stop receiving applications for new freshmen on April 15, sooner than usual. Baylor has

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1112736748996461152005-04-05T14:20:00.000-07:002005-04-05T14:32:28.996-07:00

Google has incorporated satellite images into its location search feature, using technology acquired this spring with the purchase of Keyhole. (You can read what I had to say about that purchase in a commentary for CADwire.net.)Click this link to see the greater Loomis area. Palmer Lake is the kidney-bean shaped body of water a above and left of the image center. That's our favorite lake for

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1112730382318295672005-04-05T12:40:00.000-07:002005-04-05T12:46:22.320-07:00

Dotcom billionnaire Mark Cuban (sold Broadcast.com before the crash) is powerfully explaining the future of popular culture media on his blog ... when he isn't gushing about his basketball team (he owns the NBA Dallas Maverick). In a new post, he starts with the personal and moves to the global perspective to explain why and how CD's will soon be historical artifacts the way LP albums and 45's

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053904.post-1112650517446651722005-04-04T14:28:00.000-07:002005-04-04T14:35:17.446-07:00

The CAD Society has named Ken Versprille, Ph.D., as the winner of its 2005 Lifetime Achievement Award. I note this because he can rightfully be consider the "grandfather" of Blobjects, as described in my blog last month. Versprille is the first computer scientist or mathematician to describe and formalize what we now call NURBS--Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines (splines being a form of curves).

Randall Newtonnoreply@blogger.com0