Tweeting – My forray into the World of Twitter

I started tweeting not but a day or two ago, and since Ed McMahon has been gracing the front of my blog for weeks now, i figured i may as well write this bite-sized first impression.

Ok, the basics:

What is Twitter?

Twitter is sort of like a social networking site on cocaine. Websites like Facebook and Myspace allow many people to communicate, but Twitter narrows down all communications to a 140 character limit. The point? Add people you like to your twitter, and get moment-by-moment tweets they send out about their lives and whats happening right now.

Subsequently, you can also tweet all you like. I tweet rather excessively, a common symptom of early tweeters I imagine.

You can tweet from your computer, or you can use a mobile device to send your tweets via text-message or application.

So, does it work?

In a word.. Yes. Signup is simple, and finding ways to embed your tweets is easy using their pre-designed flash and HTML tweet widgets.  Some websites include twitter widgets, like WordPress and Facebook. A twitter account might be the one thing missing from your blog, since not everything you notice or have to say is worth a multi-paragraph article.  Sometimes just a tweet is enough.

I am a little annoyed with some of Twitter.com’s flaws, however.  None are crippling, but they do seem trivial for such a popular website. Things like spam-followers who follow your account just so you will check their page and have a typical spam ad thrown at you in the form of a tweet. Now, none of the Spam followers have an impact on your main page or updates, but they do appear in your follower list and gunk it up. Also, the Following (who i’m following) list still has Weird Al Yankovic as my only subscription. Which, of course, is not true. Twitter claims they will be fixing this issue with page updates, i guess we’ll have to see.

Long story short:

Twitter is a great way to kill time, read interesting material from friends and figures you enjoy (i got some great advice from Trent Reznor the other day) and its simple. I highly recommend the experience.

I’ve reached 100 tweets, i’ll get back to you when i hit a higher value. We’ll see then what i think of twitter.

If you’d like to follow me on twitter, just click here -> Joe Schell on Twitter

Ed McMahon is Reported Dead Early Morning June 23rd

Ed McMahon has been reported as dead by MSNBC as of around 7am this morning. 

McMahon died just past midnight at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, according to agent Howard Bragman.

Health issues began in 2002 for the star when a water pipe burst in his home, causing a dangerous mold infestation. Ed’s dog was killed by the infection, and complications of that incident may have contributed to his admission to the hospital and his subsequent deterioration of health. A 2008 accident left him with a broken neck and a lawsuit with the hospital involved. His condition had been listed as serious for several months now.

Live Video Feed from NASA’s LCROSS Satellite Orbiting the Moon

The LCROSS launch (LCROSS and LRO launched Thursday, June 18 @ 5:32pm Eastern Time.) went without a hitch, and now the satellite is orbiting the moon. The final objective of this mission is to crash a rocket into the surface of the moon which will raise a debris cloud intended to be studied by a satellite trailing four minutes behind. (Projected Impact at the lunar South Pole: Oct 9, 11:30 UT, 7:30 EDT, 4:30 PDT) For now, you can check out the live steaming video from orbit, along with the telemetry animation.

Check out the live NASA streams here. You can also check out the official LCROSS Fact Sheet here.

There is no doubt that this represents a new generation of space exploration which is now accessible to the public in a very intimate way. I can’t wait for the Mars webcam or the live satellite feed from any number of flying missions.

In the mean time, enjoy the live video from the moon.

Details about LCROSS from its website:

Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS)

The Mission Objectives of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) include confirming the presence or absence of water ice in a permanently shadowed crater at the Moon’s South Pole. The identification of water is very important to the future of human activities on the Moon. LCROSS will excavate the permanently dark floor of one of the Moon’s polar craters with two heavy impactors in 2009 to test the theory that ancient ice lies buried there. The impact will eject material from the crater’s surface to create a plume that specialized instruments will be able to analyze for the presence of water (ice and vapor), hydrocarbons and hydrated materials.

LCROSS will also provide technologies and modular, reconfigurable subsystems that can be used to support future mission architectures.

Ames Research Center (ARC) is managing the mission, conducting mission operations, and has developed the payload instruments, while Northrop Grumman designed and built the spacecraft for this innovative mission. Ames mission scientists will spearhead the data analysis. This is a fast-paced, low-cost, mission that will leverage some existing NASA systems, Northrop-Grumman spacecraft expertise, and Ames’ Lunar Prospector experience.

Nazi Zombies Map 3 – Basic Shi No Numa Strategy

Shi No Numa represents a brand new style of Zombies strategy. With the random perk machines spawning at each hut, there is no guarantee that your favorite perk will be there when you arrive. So how do you develop a strategy that works for you? How can you start improving your score?

First, all of the basic Nazi Zombies strategies should be employed. The things to remember for any map:

1. Keep moving. Even a little bit of dancing around in place will keep you from dying when that first zombie swipe hits you. The second swipe will take you down, so keeping yourself mobile will more than likely avoid the second swipe.
2. Reload! Even if there is a zombie sauntering towards you, reload. Your gun only takes a few seconds to reload, and short of the heavy weapons you should be able to reload in less time than it takes for the undead to cross the room. With the trench gun, remember to reload after every shot if you can. The trench gun’s reload time gets longer the longer you wait, and simply popping in one shell after a shot will keep you alive for when you really need to unload all of your ammo quickly.
3. Communicate. Tell people what you’re up to, where you’re headed. While this held true in older maps, it is especially true in Shi No Numa; With four branches to explore, its very easy to end up far apart when you lose track of one another.
4. Save the last zombie. Every time you can, make sure you leave the last zombie and take a moment to look around. Now is also a good time to find or use the random weapons crate, open doors, and grab perks. In Shi No Numa, the last zombie(s) will become runners eventually, so this time period is not endless. Also, note that opening doors to the outside will spawn a few zombies into the swamp.
5. Go for headshots. It might seem difficult and frustrating if you aren’t used to going for the head, but later levels will require it as the zombies become stronger. Headshots also yield more points, faster kills, and hone your aim. I recommend using the bolt action rifle available in all of the starting rooms. It may seem tough, but they all pack a punch and may even kill a zombie with a shot to the neck or high chest. If you can master the bolt-action headshot, weapons like the Type 100 and the heavy machine guns will become headshot hoses. Always remember to shoot in short controlled bursts and not full-auto, 80% of your bullets will bury themselves in the wall.

Shi No Numa Specifics are not too different, but there are a few key things to remember and employ while surviving in the swamp.

Hell Hounds. They are the gate keepers, if you can’t survive them you’ll never get past round six. Here are two key tips for defending against the hounds.

1. Fire in short bursts like always, but adapt the technique for non-freakbag enemies. After a burst or two, the dog will be on you. Knife it, and keep on shooting. You’ll die quick if you start to reload while a dog is coming; they will get to you before you’re done.
2. Hunker down, then get moving. For the first few dogs, find a nice tight spot to defend your back. If you’re playing with people, make sure some of you are crouched or laying down. The dogs will have less erratic attacks when they have lower targets, and it makes for easier shooting. Once the dogs start to overwhelm your position, run! After a sprint, turn around and kill the dogs chasing you. You and the dogs move at a similar pace, so you should be able to take them out while backpedaling. The dogs are not so bad if you calmly and decisively deal with them. Make sure you and your buddies keep each other in your line of sight, saving a buddy from a dog will keep him alive to save you.

The next thing to deal with is deciding which hut to approach. All four huts have advantages and disadvantages, and you’ll need to explore each one to find the one that suits you best. Here is the time time to develop your strategy. I’ve seen a few different ones so far, and rather than explain a point-by-point strategy, i’m going to explain what you should consider while developing your own.

Check out each hut. You might not make it to all of them in a single session, but you should make a point to get to each one and scout it out. One of these huts will fit your playing style, and you should travel to it as your first destination in zombies. I recommend getting to the hut by level six or seven at the latest, but you can work with whatever time frame is good for you.

Learn a quick path to the next hut. Once you’re comfortable with your first hut, work on heading back to the center and opening a door to a new hut. Here, your strategy may shift. This hut may not be your favorite hut, but you’ve got to defend it for a single round most likely. Defend it, get your perk, and move back to the hut you want to defend, or on to the next hut. Its best to move to a new hut when the zombie stream is low but not down to just one zombie, you want to give yourself time to traverse the map. Repeat this step until you’ve developed a schedule and plan for moving

When the game gets tough, take risks. Every plan is great until the shit hits the fan. So, be prepared to improvise. This does not mean you should run around like a madman when you get overwhelmed, you need to cut a path and keep moving forward. If you find yourself close to surrounded, run and gun down zombies right in front of you. Once you get some distance, there will be a nice group of zombies behind you. Turn around, and lay into them. Or, head for a trap and activate it. The traps are extremely useful, and when used right they can make all the difference in later rounds.

One other thing i will mention briefly, but i don’t want to ruin the experience for anyone completely. Keep an eye out for radios, starting in the first room. You can turn them on by using the activation/action button, simply target the radio at close range and hold it down. Hint: There are a few in the first room, so keep an eye out. You’ll need to activate all of them.

Some say the radios hint at a full version of Nazi Zombies. Could treyarch pull that off? The 5th Blog explains how its possible.

Montanna – Bozeman City Application Requires Passwords and Logins for your Social Networking Accounts

“Please list any and all, current personal or business websites, web pages or memberships on any Internet-based chat rooms, social clubs or forums, to include, but not limited to: Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube.com, MySpace, etc.,”

This excerpt is from the Bozeman City application for employment. The city requires you to hand over all of your passwords and login info for your social-networking websites, among other things. They reason that this info is necessary to “make sure the people that we hire have the highest moral character and are a good fit for the City” according to attorney Greg Sullivan.

Article 2, Section 10 of the Montana Constitution states “the right of individual privacy is essential to the well-being of a free society and shall not be infringed without the showing of a compelling state interest.”

Apparently, the state is interested in your moral fibre. I find it quite intriguing that the state apparently retains the knowledge of good and evil, and its poised to accurately judge your job application based on what you put in your “random things about me” note.

This application is absolutely ludicrous. There is no way on this earth i would hand out the passwords for my internet based endeavours. I may as well hand over my cell phone and house key while i’m at it. The details of my private life and relationships are the only things you’ll find in that set of data-sources, and unless you’re going to give me all of your passwords, there’s no way you’re getting in. Its bad enough that they cite judging your moral character as a legitimate reason to raid your life, but asking me to hand over info that gives access to sensitive “me” resources in order to do that is pushing it.

Just like the separation of church and state (which doesn’t exist, by the way) there should be a distinct separation between personal life and work. I do not work so that i can go to work. I don’t leave my job so i can continue to operate as though i were at work. And i certainly don’t have a Facebook account so that my job can monitor me, or even just so they can peek around and make sure they like the way i complete my “find out what kind of ____ you are” tests.

“I’m sorry Mr. Schell, but we must decline your application for employment. We are not currently hiring individuals who got “Unicorn” as their power animal”

Endeavour Grounded until July 11th Due to Gas Leak

The next major space shuttle launch meant to rendezvous with the International Space Station has been postponed after a problematic hydrogen leak sprung up again. This is one of several attempts to fix what is apparently a pen sized hole which continues to purge hydrogen close to the launch pad. The cause of the leak is still unknown, despite its successful (and temporary) repair in march. The leak was discovered during fueling and attempts to repair it went on for an hour before the launch was called.

 ”I sure wish we could have rewarded them and the astronauts and everybody else with a launch this morning,” assistant launch director Mike Leinbach said. “But the leak was way out of spec again, and so we were just not comfortable pressing on.”

This launch of the Endeavour was supposed to bring Japan’s new “Space Deck” into orbit to be attached to the ISS, essentially a platform for open-space based projects and experiments. This is Japan’s first major contribution to the ISS and has been in the works for years.

The launch of the shuttle was scheduled for today postponing the launch of a separate mission headed to the moon, NASA’s first in some time. The moon-based mission is slated to crash a rocket engine into the moon’s surface, causing a massive explosion which may reveal the presence of water in deep-black craters. Some of these craters have not seen sunlight for millions of years.

The postponement of the launch has got to be a nerve-thinning moment for the astronauts involved, who must wait another few weeks before launching off into space on what will be the most complex ISS mission to date. This mission represents the first time 13 humans will be in space simultaneously, all working on the same project. NASA must also be annoyed, as reported losses as a result of the feuling of the ship amount to $1 million. NASA states officially that each shuttle launch can cost $450 million dollars.

Net Neutrality – Censorship is coming to a country near you.

Surfing the internet news consortium, i have come to realize (like many others of you) that internet censorship is not only very real, but its spreading. Recently Germany became the next country caught in the death knells of internet censorship. Take into account the middle east who have been at the forefront of internet censorship along with china, and a massive chunk of the earths populace is now subject to the moral and political whims of their nation’s leaders. I find it particularly disturbing that Germany is now in the pot, since they are far from third world and represent a large and extremely intelligent community of internet users.

We can see from recent events in Tehran that the internet might be the only way for the masses to bring a crisis to the attention of the world. In a recent cnn article on the subject (the Tehran link above) it was noted that Facebook and Twitter are the only sources of info on the election upheaval currently going on. All foreign journalists are being prevented from covering the events unfolding.

We are entering an age where the internet, a diverse combination of the collective thoughts of all of the individuals involved with it, is becoming a carefully tailored and edited experience. Now, i realize that there is a wide range of moral quality housed in this series of tubes, and one could probably point out a wide range of websites and content that is arguably negative to the overall populace, but do your government to control what is morally sound and what is not?

What is in an E-Cigarette? What you’re smoking, and why its better.

E-Cigarettes, or Electronic Cigarettes, are slowly becoming the looming replacement for standard tobacco smokes. While i’m sure we are a few years away from the total abolishing of burning cigarettes, there is a huge market for cheap nicotine. The problem with normal nicotine substitutes is the distinct lack of ritualistic connection to the ingestion of the nicotine. Smokers tend to prefer smoking to gum, patches, or chewing tobacco because of the unique experience smoking a cigarette entails. The simple act of raising a cigarette to one’s lips causes a chain reaction of conditioned response in the brain, a conditioned response that is burned in by repetition. While a smoker can get his nicotine fix by simply chewing some gum, the ritual of smoking a cigarette offers more than nicotine. Inhaling smoke in a deep breath and releasing it in a slow plume is a large factor in the calming, relaxing quality of smoking. Every smoker enjoys their smokes in their own way, but i think we can all agree there is nothing like smoking a cigarette.

Until now. E-Cigarettes like the Blu Electronic Cigarette are changing the way we look at smoking. By retaining the basic ritual of smoking we leave more of the original feel intact. The pull, the exhale, and the swing of the arm all contribute to a genuine smoking experience. The vapor an e-cig produces is thick and behaves like regular smoke, but without any of the carcinogens involved with combustion smoking. But what exactly are you inhaling when you toke the vapor?

E-cigarettes are refillable, and in this way they by design last longer than regular smokes. A cartridge which you would buy in packs like regular cigarettes is attached to the end of the e-cigarette and provides the liquid which is vaporized. Blu Brand e-cigs sell their cartridges in packs of five, with each cartridge lasting about as long as 15 regular smokes.

Each cartridge contains a liquid which is made up of water, propylene glycol, nicotine, and whichever flavor is added (if any). The propylene glycol is an organic compound (a diol alcohol) which makes the vapor appear more opaque to emulate typical cigarette smoke.

The very basic reason why an e-cigarette is superior to a standard cigarette is obvious. By leaving behind the treated, burning tobacco and paper and by narrowing down the experience to nicotine and flavor we have no carcinogenic smoke to inhale. By far the largest risk in smoking lies in the smoke, the actual combustion. With a vapor there is no carcinogenic smoke, only the intended ingredients.

I could mention the price difference, or the lack of a need for a lighter, ashtray, open windows, or even a designated smoking area, but i think the point is simple. Technology is evolving, and while we’re still depending on the chemical nicotine and and can not escape that, we have eliminated the primitive method of smoking that has existed since its inception. Will it catch on? I have a feeling it will.

Tyler Hayes Weinman is Charged With 19 Cat Murders: Serial killer in the making, anyone?

Tyler Hayes Weinmanwas recently charged with the mutilation of 19 cats in the Miami area which started around May 13th. One woman reported her cat as having been partially skinned and posed on the front door step. Since Tyler is 18, he can be tried as an adult. This means he could get more than 150 years in prison, based on the current charges.

Besides being intimately horrible, this is also a ginormous warning sign. As it turns out, the methodical slaughter of animals is one of the strongest signs of a serial killer’s development. Add 19 instances of cat-mutilation with obvious public display intended, and we have a cookie-cutter psycho on our hands. Now, i know its a stretch calling an 18 year old kid who has beef with cats a serial killer, but i can’t help but make the leap. Thats what i do, leap, and here i am leaping right into the politically incorrect zone of accusing this fellow of being a socially deviant murderer.

I love cats, so of course i hate this guy right off the bat. But besides that, i hate when the super-powerful control the defenseless. This is a pretty classic instance.

I could dance around and try to make this some poetic note about life and whatnot, but instead i’m going to make a crude, pointed, personal attack on the twatbox that thinks slashing a cat is a jolly pastime.

 

So, Tyler, fuck you.

Blu E-Cigs: Electronic Cigarettes for a New Generation. Prices, and a look at how they work.

If you smoke, you probably already know about the new involvement of the FDA in cigarettes. According to the New York Times (You can read the article on cigarette regulation here.) the FDA will be regulating a few very key things, not the least of which are directed at how cigarettes are marketed and reducing or completely eliminating flavored cigarettes. One can also imagine prices raising (even more) and the taste of their cigs changing.

So, what’s the alternative? How exactly do the smokers of the world enjoy a tasty break now from the monotony of life now and again? I know my late-night get togethers wouldn’t be the same without the periodic stand-up and go outside cigarette break. We all love it, and it keeps the environment moving and the social landscape changing.

Believe me when I say I was more than a little interested when I found out there is a nicotine-and-flavor delivery system which dodged all of the FDA issues and was also cheaper than regular smokes. Combine that with some electronic savvy and you’ve got a techy smoker salivating at the idea.

Blu Cigs, E-cigs or Electronic cigarettes are the new wave of smoking technology. Well, smoke is the wrong word for it. Blu cigs are actually small atomizers which deliver a nictotine and flavor vapor instead of carcinogenic smoke. Vapor, you ask? Yes, this is simply a vaporized form of nicotine and flavor which provide a new way to enjoy your cig and take a break.

What about the FDA? Aren’t they going to ban nicotine eventually? Turns out, no. According to the New York Times article:

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, as it is called, stops short of empowering the F.D.A. to outlaw smoking or ban nicotine — strictures that even most antismoking advocates acknowledged were not politically feasible and might drive people addicted to nicotine into a criminal black market.

Since they seem to see a need to continue delivering nicotine to the masses, this e-cigarette technology will inevitably become the only socially acceptable method of delivery. Bear in mind a few key points of e-cigarettes and inhaling vapor instead of smoke:

• No second hand smoke. You can smoke around anyone, anytime.
• No carcinogens, which are created during the burning and combustion of traditional tobacco.
• Cheaper “packs” of smokes; just $5 for a pack of 5 cartridges, with each individual cartridge (cigarette) lasting the length of 15 traditional cigarettes.
• Flavors are available and now can be delivered with more authenticity due to the vapor-creating process.
• Electronic cigarettes don’t need to be lit, won’t go out, and don’t require you to casually steal lighters from unsuspecting friends.

Blu Electronic Cigarettes represent an evolution in smoking. The setup is based on normal habits which are already supported by the modern smoker. By combing a few things we do every day, the e-cigarette experience is easy to integrate and obviously next-gen. The e-cig smoker will pull out his or her e-cig from the pack, and take a drag. No lighting, no on or off switches, the cigarette is always on. The Blu pack holds a charge, and will charge up your e-cig while it sits in your pocket. If you charge your pack whenever you charge your cell-phone (using the included USB or wall charger) you’ll always have access to your smokes. You can charge the e-cig individually as well, without the pack using the same wall or USB charger. When the e-cig runs out of liquid to vaporize, just toss the cartridge you finished and click on another one. The e-cig even blinks at you to grab your attention and let you know you’ve been smoking a lot recently (although this does not change the vapor in any way, you can keep right on smoking, damnit).

So what is a Blu E-Cig made of really? And how does it work?

First, the e-cig uses power from the battery (which makes up the shaft of the e-cigarette) to assist the flow of liquid into the atomizer as you take a pull. The act of pulling on the e-cig will cause a blue LED at the end of the device to glow softly and then more brightly, the same as the cherry on the end of a regular cigarette. The glow will fade as the drag is finished, during which time the atomizer was releasing the nicotine-and-flavor vapor. (NOTE: You do not need to have nicotine in the vapor. Blu-cigs sell non-nicotine versions of the flavors so anyone can try them without any problems.)

The vapor behaves just like smoke, is inhaled the same way, using the same method, and is exhaled the same way. It even looks the same as it is exhaled. The difference? The vapor dissipates quickly, leaves no odor in the air, and will not dose standers-by with chemicals and nicotine. Awesome? Yes. Futuristic? Yes. Socially conscious? Yes. I dig it.

You can also watch the Blu-Cig official what-and-how video on their website.

Now, I am a smoker. And I smoke Djarum Blacks, which are arguably flavored cigarettes, and I am not pleased with the FDA being involved with them. Yes, regulation would be great in the health area, but come one, taking away flavors? Perhaps enforcing a more subtle form of advertisement for flavors would make sense, but if I’m paying for my vice, let me have it in the flavor I want. Since when do they regulate the flavor and advertisement of alcohol, the most abused substance in the US? Funny how its not ever an issue when compared to cigarettes, even though alcohol abuse by teenagers is at a near 100% rate and is attributed to massive amounts of murder, suicide, unwanted pregnancy, medical issues, and developmental anomalies. But, since great grand-daddy drank it, it’s ok for us too!

As a smoker, I know I will find myself attempting to ash my e-cig, but I suppose new habits must evolve with the new generation of devices. Will I stop smoking regular cigarettes? Hell no. I love Djarum, I will smoke Djarum until they rip the last carcinogenic pack from my cold, dead hand. But even I can hear the death knells of traditional cigarettes, and I am prepared to move to the next place. My Djarum packs cost me just under $9 here in PA, and i can imagine they run much higher in other states. E-Cigarette prices vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, but Blu has set its blu Starter Kit (The Blu cigarette, charging pack, five packs of cartridges, USB and wall adapters, and a spare battery) at $60, which is pretty good considering some packages cost as much as $150. Refill packs cost $5.

To check out Blu cigs, click this nifty link: