Uganda’s Space Program Has A Ways To Go

According to the BBC -

For a start, his research centre is based in his back garden where there’s not much evidence of the type of sophisticated tools and machinery I’d imagine you need for this kind of work. When I was there, most of the engineers were equipped with just sandpaper and paint brushes. They haven’t even started work on the shuttle yet, at the moment it’s more of a theoretical project. They have begun to build an aircraft though, apparently to test their engineering skills before they begin work on a shuttle which they hope will send a Ugandan cosmonaut into space. The plane they’ve built is sandwiched tightly, nose-to-tail, between two single-storey buildings which house Chris and his team. It is painted blue and white and has the Ugandan flag proudly displayed on the side of the cockpit. It’s far from complete, there’s still no engine – just a pile of bricks to simulate weight, and a mass of wires hang out underneath. But it still seems like quite an achievement and if this hadn’t been a space programme I’d have been pretty impressed. Chris believes that if his team is successful, this will still be the first aeroplane designed and built in Uganda.

Continue reading HERE.

 

How Hurricanes Are Named [video]

Think The US No Longer Makes Anything? Think Again – Chicago Is The Fake Vomit Maker To The World

CollectorsWeekly reports -

Have you ever stopped to contemplate the existence of rubber barf? It opens up enough philosophical quandaries to make your head spin. Who would ever think of such a thing? Why would he feel the need to manufacture it? Fortunately, Stan and Mardi Timm, the foremost experts on famed novelty company H. Fishlove & Co., have the answers to these vexing questions. The couple even got a personal tour of the factory where “Whoops,” the original fake vomit, is still churned out. Chicago gag kingpin Irving Fishlove, son of the company’s founder, loved nothing more than a good prank—particularly when the prankster gets a laugh at the expense of his unwitting target. So when presented with the first prototype of latex puke in the late 1950s, he howled with laughter and declared that he loved it.
“It is a secret recipe,” Mardi says. “But I think we know what’s in it. It’s got foam pieces cut up, and it’s got latex. But the actual recipe, nobody outside the company knows that.”

View photos and continue reading HERE.

 

 

Was Windows XP Default Wallpaper An Actual Photo?

Yes, it was, according to TheNextWeb -

Have you ever stopped to wonder where the image was taken, or who took it? In fact, the image is so crisp you might have assumed it wasn’t real at all. The man behind the camera  is American photographer Charles O’Rear. Don’t let his name fool you into thinking that the photo was in fact taken in Ireland. Bliss, as it turns out, is in California. In Sonoma County to be exact. The photo was taken in 1996, years before Windows XP launched, and before the area was converted into a vineyard.

Continue reading HERE.

 

Hurricane Irene Tracking Map

Click HERE to view current conditions.

FreeFile Review – Sudoku

I recently took a look at two free Sudoku puzzle applications that are quite different – one is no-frills, the other is packed with options. Both programs are Windows only and require no installation. Also, both allow the player to select the level of difficulty.

The first one, CR-Sudoku is a simple Sudoku game, best for on-screen play. It generates only the standard 9×9 Sudoku grids and has no print function. The on-screen play is aided with ‘Show Errors’ and ‘Next Move’ functions as well as the option to enter small “helper numbers” with a right-click.

The other program, Color Sudoku, is a full-feature game for both on-screen and paper-and-pencil play. It will generate a printable PDF file with multiple games on each page for those who prefer paper-and-pencil. Grids are not limited to the standard 9×9, but can be configured from a simple 6×6 to a 20×20, with 8 different multiple grid layouts. Very large, very difficult games are possible. For on-screen play, ‘Show Errors’ and ‘Hint’ functions are available, but it lacks CR-Sudoku’s “helper numbers” function. One interesting feature is the option to use colors, instead of numbers. Interesting, but I don’t know if I will ever use it.

- – - – The Bottom Line – - – -

As someone who prefers paper-and-pencil Sudoku, Color Sudoku is my first choice, however, if your preference is for on-screen play on 9×9 grids, CR-Sudoku is the way to go. Since both are completely free, grab both.

Download Color Sudoku HERE

Download CR-Sudoku HERE

Visit DanKostecki.com for more FreeFile Reviews

 

Should I Use My Browser’s Do-Not-Track Setting?

Wired reports -

Judging by the frenzied claims of lawmakers like US representative Jackie Speier, enabling the Do Not Track feature ranks up there with locking doors and shredding credit card statements. “People have a right to surf the web without Big Brother watching their every move and announcing it to the world,” Speier said last February,when she introduced a bill to regulate online tracking. But none of that really matters, since the setting has no legal muscle. Websites are free to ignore it. And they do. As of June, only five had pledged to follow it—the Associated Press plus four of the hundreds of behavior-tracking ad networks whose raison d’èAtre is figuring out how you view the web.

So, the bottom line is that the ‘Do Not Track’ setting may make you feel better, but it does does no good – just like the Tea Party.

Continue reading the Wired article HERE.

 

 

How To Pack To Meet With A Hurricane [video]

Most people flee in the opposite direction when a hurricane is approaching, but, Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore’s job is to meet up face to face with hurricanes. In this humorous video, Mr. Cantore explains how he packs for such assignments. What’s most important? A man can never have enough shoes.

Watch the video HERE.

 

Hot Air Balloon Time-Lapse Video

Angry God Forces Pope To Shut Up And Leave

The VancouverSun reports -

MADRID, Aug 20 (Reuters) – A torrential rainstorm forced Pope Benedict to abandon a speech to hundreds of thousands of young people gathered at an aerodrome outside Madrid on Saturday. Driving rain and wind forced the organisers of the event to recommend Benedict halt his address after delivering just a few opening words of welcome. “A massive storm got up and officials halted the programme as it was impossible for the pope to continue battling against the elements,” a witness said.

Read more HERE or HERE.

Facebook ‘Like’ Button Declared Illegal In Germany

TheLocal reports -

Facebook’s ubiquitous ‘like’ button found on countless websites accessible in Germany was declared in violation of the country’s strict privacy laws by a state data protection official on Friday. Thilo Weichert, who works for the data protection centre of the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, said the social network’s application allowing internet users to express their appreciation of something online, illegally cobbled together a profile of their web habits. “Facebook can trace every click on a website, how long I’m on it, what I’m interested in,” he said. According to Weichert, all the information was sent to the US company even if someone was not a Facebook member. Saying this contravened both German and EU privacy laws, Weichert demanded websites in Schleswig-Holstein remove the ‘like’ button from their offerings by the end of September or face a fine of up to €50,000. He said Facebook probably used the data for advertising purposes and provided website operators an analysis of user traffic.

Continue reading HERE.

 

 

Amazing Fact – 2 Grandsons of President John Tyler Are Still Living

President John Tyler was born in 1790 and served as the 10th. US President twenty years before Abraham Lincoln. John Tyler at age 63 , in 1853, had a son Lyon Gardiner Tyler. Lyon Gardiner Tyler had one son, Lyon Gardiner Tyler, Jr., at the age of 71, in 1924. He had another son, Harrison Ruffin Tyler, at the age of 75, in 1928. Both of these men are still living at the ages of 87 and 83.

References HERE and HERE

Update – Jan.28, 2012

New York Magazine just published a short interview with one of the two surviving grandsons, Harrison Tyler.

Go to the interview