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Giant Fresnel lenses power a Stirling heat engine
(April 4, 2010)These huge flat plastic lenses produce a large amount of heat in a small space for just a few hundred dollars, which can run a heat engine, or cook a meal. These Greenpowerscience guys have an awesome series of solar power video clips! I really want to play with some Fresnel lenses, I'll have to make sure I have some safety goggles to protect my eyes from the concentrated glare as well.
Make fruit juice dye solar cells from scratch
(April 4, 2010)Professor Abrams makes a dye sensitised solar cell, uisng conducting glass plates, titanium dioxide, water, stirring rod, tape, hot plate, Isopropanyl, lead pencil, iodine solution, and blackberries.
Climate Change conspiracy emails
(December 8, 2009)This is a nice clear look at the leaked emails, how they've been reported, and what they mean. Try and watch it all the way through, its about 10 minutes, but worth it.
14 public domain Cary Grant movies free to stream or download
(July 3, 2009)![[movies]](http://www.archive.org/images/mediatype_movies.gif) | Penny Serenade Touching romantic comedy starring Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. Find out more about this film at its IMDB page. Keywords: romance; comedy Downloads: 123,454 Average rating:  (7 reviews) |  |
| His Girl Friday iPod - Howard Hawks Hilarious romantic comedy starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. Russell is rough and tumble reporter looking to get out of the news racket by marrying and becoming a house wife after her divorce from newspaper publisher Grant. Just when she is about to leave town with her husband-to-be the still lovesick Grant drafts her to cover one final breaking news sensation. Keywords: romance; comedy Downloads: 11,627 Average rating: (2 reviews) |  |
| The Amazing Adventure - Alfred Zeisler, Robert Garrett, Otto Klement Cary Grant plays Earnest Bliss a rich socialite who makes a bet with his doctor that he can make a living for one year using none of his current wealth. Keywords: Romance; Comedy; Drama Downloads: 25,315 Average rating: (7 reviews) |  |
| His Girl Friday Hilarious romantic comedy starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. Russell is rough and tumble reporter looking to get out of the news racket by marrying and becoming a house wife after her divorce from newspaper publisher Grant. Just when she is about to leave town with her husband-to-be the still lovesick Grant drafts her to cover one final breaking news sensation. Along with plenty of laughs and fast paced dialog this film provides a witty and cynical look at news business... Keywords: romance; comedy Downloads: 230,267 Average rating:  (22 reviews) |  |
| She Done Him Wrong From 1933, this features Mae West and Cary Grant. Nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture, awarded by the National Film Preservation Board in 1996, and one of the films given as a reason for the necessity of the National Legion of Decency. Ms. West is a singer and nightclub owner, while Cary Grant is a member of the local temperance league trying off and on to get her and others to mend their ways... Keywords: Mae West, Cary Grant, Comedy, Best Picture Downloads: 11,981 Average rating:  (6 reviews) |  |
| Love Affair - Leo McCarey Directed by Leo McCarey, this 1939 romantic classic is the first and best version of the old warhorse of a fateful shipboard romance between an aimless playboy and a nightclub singer, both engaged but appearing to be destined to reunite on the top floor of the Empire State Building. The elaborate, shot-for-shot 1957 remake again directed by McCarey with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr is much better known, and Warren Beatty even saw fit to remake it yet again with his wife Annette Bening for a 1994 ... Keywords: Comedy; Drama; Romance; Irene Dunne; Charles Boyer Downloads: 3,086 Average rating:  (0 review) |  |
| Topper From IMDb: The fun-loving Kerbys, stockholders in the bank of which henpecked, stuffy Cosmo Topper (Roland Young) is president, drive recklessly once too often and become ghosts. In limbo because they've never done either good or bad deeds, they decide to try a good one now: rehabilitating Topper. Lovely, flirtatious Marion (Constance Bennett) takes a keen personal interest in the job. Will Topper survive the wrath of jealous ghost George (Cary Grant)? Will Mrs... Keywords: comedy; ghosts Downloads: 12,656 Average rating: (3 reviews) |  |
| Hollywood Without Makeup - Ken Murray A collection of behind the scenes and home movies from the golden age of Hollywood. Hosted by Ken Murray with a Special appearance by Kirk Douglas. Features footage of: Eddie Albert, June Allyson, George K. Arthur, Mary Astor, Lew Ayres, Max Baer, Lucille Ball, Richard Barthelmess, Rex Bell, Edgar Bergen, Sally Blane, Humphrey Bogart, John Boles, Pat Boone, Eddie Borden, Hobart Bosworth, Clara Bow, William Boyd, Fanny Brice, Paul Brooks, Joe E... Keywords: Classic TV; Hollywood; Ken Murray; Movie Stars; TV Special; Home Movies; Behind the Scenes Downloads: 2,215 Average rating:  (2 reviews) |  |
| Howard Hawks' "HIS GIRL FRIDAY" movie trailer (1940) The original movie trailer of the comedy classic inspired by a play by Ben Hecht which was brought to the screen a couple of other times, with far less "panache", to say the least. More info on http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032599/ Keywords: His; girl; friday; howard; hawks; rosalind; russel; Cary; grant; ben; hecht; ralph; bellamy Downloads: 358 |  |
| Designing Woman - trailer Trailer. You can find more information regarding this film on its IMDb page. Downloads: 1,652 Average rating: (2 reviews) |  |
| The Black Rebels (1960) Gang violece and racism among high school kids is the order of the day in this juvenile delinquent film with Rita Moreno making an appearece that Pre-dates her role in "West Side Story". Also known as "This Rebel Breed". Keywords: crime; racism; feature films Downloads: 513 Average rating: (4 reviews) |  |
| Laughing At Life You can find more information regarding this film on its IMDb page. Downloads: 5,986 Average rating: (8 reviews) |  |
| Made for Each Other - David O. Selznick Jimmy Stewart plays John Horace 'Johnny' Mason, a young lawyer who marries Jane Mason (Carole Lombard) after only know her one day. Keywords: Comedy, Drama, Romance Downloads: 20,625 Average rating:  (6 reviews) |  |
| Mysterious Mr. Wong, The - George Yohalem You can find more information regarding this film on its IMDb page. Downloads: 7,990 Average rating: (5 reviews) |
14 public domain Cary Grant movies free to stream or download
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Where's the future we were promised? Just look!
(February 26, 2009)On twitter, @bigyahu said "this is not the future I was promised.
no 1-piece silver suits,
no atomic-powered flying car,
no meals in pill form or robot housekeeper"
So I had a quick look in google and was able to reply:
1 piece gold suit can be found here: http://twurl.nl/ny2sze, 
your flying car is sold here: http://is.gd/kVlM , 
a meal in a pill can be ordered here: http://twurl.nl/5563de, 
and a robot housekeeper is sold here: http://is.gd/kVlg 
The future we were promised is here, you just have to know how to look for it.
"The future is already here, its just not evenly distributed"
Questions for Creationists
(February 9, 2009)Today I found a Christian Theologian attacking Richard Dawkins in the Sydney Morning Herald The article was actually an advertisement for the Creationist's new book. Was it a free ad? Or was he a paid contributor?
It was no surprise that an article entitled "Questions Darwinism cannot answer" was written by a Creationist. "Darwinism" is a word only used by Creationists. Perhaps the article should have been labelled as the advertisement for his book that it surely was?
What are these questions for "Darwinism"? After slogging through a personal attack on Richard Dawkins and implying that every atheist is an evil murdering fascist, it turns out they're Christian Apologetic questions and not scientific questions at all. I'll start with the questions and get to the slog afterwards.
The first question was "When does design become domination?" If the Universe is an artificial artifact as Mr Creationist insists, then it emulates a wild natural environment extremely well and we are living in The Matrix. If we are living in The Matrix, then any "Act of God" like a murderous bush fire is an infringement of free will - which is domination. The administrators of fake reality would be cruel and unethical to impose so much suffering without the consent of the free beings who inhabit the fake world.
This question assumes that that the world we are informed of by our senses, our instruments and each other is fake. If the world is a simulation then its either being run by non-human aliens, or its being run by our post-human descendants as an ancestor simulation. If the persons running the simulation impose suffering and limit choice, then they are dominating.
"Why did God create human beings, lay a good life out before them and then include the capacity to behave otherwise?" he asks. Again this assumes that the evidence of our senses is faked. Evolution and geology and nuclear physics show that life developed through small changes over very long periods of time. They show that the universe is full of things moving around in random ways, except where humans create artifacts. Humans were not created, they evolved from earlier forms of hominid and the hominids from earlier primates, the primates from earlier mammals, all the way back to the earliest self-replicating molecules that weren't properly alive. However, as good theologians we should ignore the evidence. If we didn't have free will we'd be zombies who just reacted to stimulus from a pre-programmed script. That answers your second question. If we live in a simulation as Creationists insist, then the persons who run the simulation didn't want zombies. There's no evidence that we live in The Matrix.
Finally, "Would knowing why there is something rather than nothing make a difference to life?" Darwin's answer is that curiosity is a behaviour that promotes the spread of genes, so it was selected for in the random evolution of our ancestors. Most of us want to know the answers of our origins, and we are not satisfied with silly stories about a stork or a dove.
Mr Creationist claims that evolution cannot explain the origin of life. We have seen self-replicating molecules start replicating from non-living matter. We have found the organic molecules essential for life in distant clouds of interstellar gas. We can scientifically explain the origin of life. He concludes that evolution cannot cast light on life's destiny. Evolution shows us that life doesn't have a destiny, the Watchmaker is blind. Evolutionary processes can build eyes up, or blind them, depending on the environment that animals live and breed in, but the process is random, and the environment changes randomly.
"Evolutionary theory" does NOT require or imply "continuous creation" Mr Creationist. Evolution doesn't require any intervention by magical persons at all, its the inevitable outcome of mutant survivors of disasters breeding their inheritable traits into the next generation. Mutation and sexual recombination produce variation, predators and changing environment provide the random selection. The inevitable outcome is that some variations will breed more than others and species change over very long periods of time.
Mr Creationist, quoting notable people is an Argument from Authority. With your high academic station, you surely know that its a logically invalid argument, so why did you use it? "These lines of reasoning do not prove God's existence". Could it be that you simply don't have a valid argument?
Ad Hominem attacks are not valid arguments, either, but this doesn't stop you from personally attacking Richard Dawkins. Of course the attack is simply a disguise for the same vilification of atheists as mass murdering fascists as used by Toongabbie Anglicans a few weeks ago in their sermon "Does God exist?". Mr Creationist vilifies atheists as supporting "imperialism, genocide, mass deportation, ethnic cleansing, eugenics, forced sterilisations and infanticide." He then admits that reality doesn't match his opinion, because his vilification is false. Instead of apologising and explaining his error, he accuses Richard Dawkins of lacking commitment, courage and philosophical conviction. It looks like a classic case of Freudian projection.
Mr Creationist uses arguments which he admits are invalid, vilification which he admits is invalid, claims of definition which are easily shown to be invalid, and questions which are for his contradictory Creationist cosmology and not validly for Darwin at all. Perhaps Mr Creationist lacks the courage of his own philosophical convictions? Could he have abandoned valid methods of argument and persuasion because he doesn't believe his position can be validly argued? Or is this just the usual request to open your wallet?
Postponing Doomsday
(September 10, 2008)At 5:30pm AEST, the Large Hadron Collider will be switched on and there will be a giant party in Bicentennial Park at the end of Glebe Point Road, to celebrate that we're still alive. However if you check out the source, the time-table for destruction doesn't match what's in the news.
Protons have already been injected into the LHC.
Today is the first time protons will have made a complete circuit.
In October they will switch on the GRID, a super-fast network replacement for the internet.
Some-time un-named, but expected to be before 2009, the LHC will have enough oomph to finally start circulating proton beams in opposite directions to make a collision. Its the collisions that have people worried that micro black holes will be created that will gang up and eat us.
This explains why Dr Karl won't be giving his talk at the Footbridge theatre at Sydney Uni until 7pm.
Here's a video of the black hole from CERN:
Here is an online test of whether the LHC has destroyed the world: http://www.hasthelhcdestroyedtheearth.com/
The Prime Minister Is A Creationist
(September 1, 2008)
"For me, it's ultimately the order of the cosmos or what I describe as the creation.
"You can't simply have, in my own judgement, creation simply being a random event because it is so inherently ordered, and the fact that the natural environment is being ordered where it can properly coexist over time.
"If you were simply reducing that to mathematically probabilities I've got to say it probably wouldn't have happened.
"So I think there is an intelligent mind at work.''
When Rudd says he believes in an ordered created world and not a natural world, he is declaring himself a Creationist. The "intelligent mind" line is a nod to the "intelligent design" literature of the Creation Scientists.
When he says "the fact that the natural environment is being ordered where it can properly coexist over time", he is saying that not only is the world artificial, but that it would break down without intervention from the Creator.
Now "design" is no good without implementation. Its no good designing things unless you can make them. Applied design is technology and manufacture. So there must be factories and technology that can make universes, planets and life. We know that we can discover the nature of anything with science, so we can understand how this was done. Therefore we can build the technology, and make our own universes, planets and life.
Of course the question is who are the "intelligent minds" who used the technology to artificially construct our universe? There are only two options. Either people from Earth did it, or people not from Earth did it. The "intelligent mind" believers all say humans didn't do it. Therefore the only option left is extraterrestrials. This would mean the Raelians are right. If the "intelligent design" crowd are unhappy with that perfectly probable and reasonable conclusion, and insist on a magical conclusion, then we are left with the result that the technology is witchcraft and sorcery. So I for one applaud their attempt to have witchcraft and sorcery made compulsory parts of the school curriculum. Magical sacrifices 101, bring your own goat. The kids will love it! Harry Potter can become a textbook.
For the record, science points to evolution by natural selection from non-life to present day. Not from a starting point of an artificial life-form that appears from nowhere. You can't have artificial creation by natural selection, its a contradiction.
The cosmos is as natural as all the evidence points to, or its constructed with technology by wacky aliens (the Matrix), or its constructed by magic aliens from another universe, using witchcraft that we can learn and use (or else their technology wouldn't work here and no creation).
The mathematical probabilities point overwhelmingly to a natural world.
ABC unveils six-channel internet TV
(July 24, 2008)ABC unveils six-channel internet TV - TV & Radio - Entertainment - theage.com.au
The Age reports that ABC have opened their broadband TV service where you can watch anything from ABC1 or ABC2 from the last 30 days as a stream in your browser for free.
iiNet currently are the only ISP who don't meter your ABC downloads. For iiNet customers, its like getting a free set-top box to watch ABC2, and a free ABC-only DVR - in your browser.
This is going to change the way many people watch and record ABC. Why record, when its waiting for you online?
The service is geographically locked by IP, which means if you're not living in Australia, you'll need to know how to spoof an Aussie IP to watch. Alternatively you could settle for downloading the many shows ABC have made available as video podcasts.
Sweeney Todd performed on Youtube
(February 4, 2008)Someone has digitised the telecast of the Los Angeles production of Sweeney Todd on Youtube:
Here's the complete Youtube videos of the play:
part1
part2
part3
part4
part5
part6
part7
part8
part9
part10
part 11
part 12
part 13
part 14
part 15
Roswell photos
(October 18, 2006)There are some wonderfully suggestive photos with believably mundane explanations on the US Air Foce website. I love that the things that looked like martian spacecraft, really were martian spacecraft!
Air Force News Special Report Roswell Report: Case Closed:
Alderson Laboratories anthropomorphic dummies of the type dropped from balloons.
The aeroshell of a NASA Voyager-Mars space probe just prior to launch.
Following a supersonic test flight in 1972, a Viking space probe awaits recovery at White Sands Missile Range.
Exotic people training
(July 12, 2006)What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage
This is a beautiful validation of some of my basic philosophy of relationships. Humans respond to reward, not punishment - just like other animals. Try this on your family and friends and enjoy the imporvement!
"The central lesson I learned from exotic animal trainers is that I should reward behavior I like and ignore behavior I don't. After all, you don't get a sea lion to balance a ball on the end of its nose by nagging. The same goes for the American husband."
Automated Sudoku
(July 12, 2006)You can automate the solution to any of them:
http://www.instructables.com/id/EJLUBKN48JEPD7QXGR/?ALLSTEPS
No brain required, just an iterated algorithm.
Terror Talk
(June 5, 2006)You can read the notes from my May 2006 talk about the 2005 Australian Terror Laws at the Philorum website. link
"Philorum is a philosophy forum where everyone has an equal opportunity to have their ideas engaged by strangers and friends."
1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month. 18:15 for a 18:30 Start. Finish 21:30
The Members Bar, Floor 1
(Keep winding up to the top of the stairs.)
The Gaelic Club
64 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills
Sydney, Australia
(100 metres from a Central railway station exit.)
Climate scientists gagged
(April 16, 2006)Some link references for the issue covered on 4 corners. Government employed cimate change scientists in Australia and the USA have been ordered to be silent on facts and opinions that contradict government policy:
http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2006/s1568549.htm
http://www.climate.org/topics/climate/climate-censorship.shtml
http://faelnarr.gnn.tv/headlines/7591/GAGGED_Australian_scientists_told_to_shut_up_about_climate_change
http://www.climateark.org/articles/reader.asp?linkid=52308
http://www.climateark.org/articles/reader.asp?linkid=52262
Rocket car day this Sunday
(February 10, 2006)
Sunday 12th February at 1:30pm in Sydney Steele Road behind the Marrickville Metro Shopping Centre. It looks like a lot of fun.
Their website http://www.rocketcarday.com reports:
"You may experience a slight rumbling in your bowels as the week progresses. Do not be alarmed this is the bodies natural reaction to an impending rocketcar day.
Whether or not you’re involved in making a rocketcar, or you’re just turning up to hang out on the street and catch the some rays from the glow of excitement that will be emanating from all around you, the time is soon approaching when we hope the planets will align, people will arrive on time, the street will have no cars on it and security will not call the police. For that will be Rocketcar day 666 – the most evil race on the planet.
RCD666’s location will be: Sydney Steel Lane, Marrickville. The time will be 1pm. Races go till about 4pm probably
Don’t forget our special features this year:
* documentary camera crew
* roving, out of control model helicopter with onboard wireless camera
* tested and untested race categories
* evil race category
* multi-car launches / battle to the death
* trophy presentation
* beer and bbq
Don’t forget to bring beer, money for more beer (and t-shirts), sunburn cream, your kids, someone elses kids, some meat, spare rockets and fuses, 2 or 3 cameras so you can deny my requests for sending me the photos you took.
IF YOU’RE RACING GET THERE AT ONE (1) PLEASE.
OH BABY."
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
Policeman allowed to steal
(February 1, 2006)Exhibit seizure leaves democracy flagging: gallery - National - smh.com.au
Victorian policeman disregards the law and steals a political artwork he finds personally offensive. No charges are likely to be laid.
Negative income tax in the newspaper again!
(January 30, 2006)Work loses its point for low-skilled - National - smh.com.au
John Garnaut is at the Negative Income Tax promotion again! This time he's quoting Professor Mark Wooden, deputy director of the Melbourne Institute, in the Journal of Political Economy.
Finding subversives from library lists
(January 29, 2006)Data Mining 101: Finding Subversives with Amazon Wishlists | Applefritter
Find non-conformists from freely available data and a few shell commands.
Slavery today in the USA
(January 23, 2006)AlterNet: WireTap: Slavery Beneath the Golden Arches?
This must be where Australian farmers got the idea of shipping in Chinese farmhands instead of providing working conditions that attract locals.
Laws against slavery are worthless if they're not rigorously enforced.
Bailed to Mum
(January 22, 2006)Shadow of doubt over Nazi claims - National - smh.com.au
A Tunnel Rat sewer urchin had his car and house searched during the race scares last Sunday. They found a gas mask, a gun is a gunsafe, and evidence that he had visited a "Fightback" website.
If you take the risk of following the link from the Sydney Morning Herald to Fightback, at least you know you'll be bailed to the custody of your Mum.
RFID Inside
(December 30, 2005)VeriChip Corporation
Commercially available implantable radio ID chips. Now we need a tinfoil jumpsuit.
Crikey gets Seditious
(November 29, 2005)Feeling a little seditious...
How to break the sedition laws in one fell swoop.
Foil helmets studied at last
(November 12, 2005)the Effectiveness of Aluminium Foil Helmets: An Empirical Study MIT study shows that they amplify US Government reserved radio frequencies.
The Analogue Hole
(November 8, 2005)Analogue hole discussion draft
MPAA and RIAA trying to ban analogue input devices in the USA
And there were no suspicious circumstances
(November 4, 2005)He didn't run away
No suspicious circumstances when an innocent man is shot to death.
Two wheels Good, two legs bad
(November 3, 2005)Two wheels Good, two legs bad
British woman arrested as Terrorist suspect for walking on bike-path.
Ambiguous t-shirt
(October 27, 2005)
a t-shirt with something offensive on it that turns into something innocuous if anyone comes to complain.
Vampire Domestication talk by Peter Watts
(September 27, 2005)Vampire Domestication talk by Peter Watts
This is a clever teaser for his new novel Blindsight to be released early next year.
I tried to convert the wmv file into a DVD, but all my software cuts off the edges of the slides, which ruins some good jokes.
Science links
(March 9, 2005)Science
Quantum computing
Quantum Computing at UNSWQuantum Computing at Oxford
Quantum Computing at Imperial College
Clare Warwick's Quantum Computing
The Tao of Interaction-Free Interrogations
Quantum Mine Sweeper game
Computing without computing
Quantum Teleportation at IBM
Mind-Brain Quantum role?
Jack Sarfatti's Quantum physics
Biology
The Interactive Frog DissectionThe Interactive Human Dissection
Work Well Together
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Robotics
Real RobotsRobot & Vision Research
Floppy the Robot - build a computer controlled robot from an old floppy disk drive
Space
Solar images at SDACArtemis Project the Lunar Underground
SETI Australia
The SETI League
Mind
UTS Mind Switch!HOT ROD YOUR HEAD!
Transhuman Web Alliance
Experiments to try at home
The T.W.I.N.K.I.E.S. ProjectThe International Society of Mad Scientists
Fun with Grapes - A Case Study
Talk.origins archive for debating with Creationists
Hot AIR: rare and well done tidbits from the Annals of Improbable Research
Fortean Times on line
