I wish that all national laws were copyright-free, too. I was looking in to building a replacement brake light for my motorcycle (the stock is dimmer than most cars), but I wanted to make sure it was road-legal. I've got access to all the calibrated equipment I need, but the law references a Society of Automotive Engineers publication, and it wasn't worth $200 to read it - especially since I only need a few pages. It's probably available at some library (so it's just a photocopy charge), but it should be freely available.

I can see why lawmakers do this - they are not professionals in all industries, so they allow SAE or some other professional organization write codes, and the sales of the laws is how they're paid. But, the should do this "for-hire" so the people retain the laws.

Paying to a high fee to read a law is one step away from secret laws - a big step, but still a step.

Some of the best tacos in Chapel Hill were from the taco truck -- you can usually find it most evenings next-door in Carrboro, where they park (with permission) in front of a small grocery store. Ah, good times... un gringo hablando un poco español y comiendo tacos con la salsa verde.

This is an infrared-capable camera: http://www.fujifilmusa.com/JSP/fuji/epartners/PRNewsDetail.jsp?DBID=NEWS_862613

I think Fuji is trying to avoid the fiasco that Sony got in to where their Nightshot camcorders were associated with see-through-clothes pictures. But, it's pointless to try and regulate your customers "bad" use of this camera, especially when most people would rather make beautiful IR photos: http://images.google.com/images?q=ir+photography

I wonder if they have the same EULA for privacy-invading super-telephoto lens?

MRSCIENCE- they use the Orange Ball, of course. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dieCVYpc158

Oh, do I love Ito En teas... glad I located a source in colorado!

Have you heard a kid recount a movie? I head the story of "big momma's house" & it took an hour -- an amazing half the time of the original movie. The storytelling stuck closely to recalling the sequences of events. If you ask a child what happened (without probing) I could see it as reliable, but cross-examination is totally different.

The Apple II had a similar fastener, except it was only mushrooms on both sides. A tool-less case long before they had tool-less cases.

I bought some nice speakers used, and each speaker has separate wiring for the bass and the tweeter. You can run these to two different amplifiers, use two sets of cables to one amplifier, or just connect them together at the speaker and wire them normally. The speakers come with a special gold-plated brass plate for this last option, but I was surprised to see that the original owner had used the heavy-duty staples from the box... still covered in varnish. At least it wasn't going to rust on him.

Maybe the lamp is only for use on planets with a gravity of 3800 m/s^2?

Unstoppable: Here's one for $44 : http://www.newark.com/96F3667/electromechanical-industrial-control/product.us0?sku=IDEC-AXW401-R

I stayed at a hotel in Kyoto that had something similar to the Whole House Light Switch. When you entered the room, you had to put the door keycard in a special socket to turn on power to the room (everything except the refrigerator, which had its own on/off switch). At first I thought it controlled just the lights, but when my laptop didn't charge, I figured it out.

The emergency switch is designed to prevent either fiddling by operators (by using the emergency switch instead of properly powering down stuff), to prevent unauthorized use, or to make sure that management knows about all emergency shutdowns.

Salsaman - Harmonic Drive is a real, and really cool gearing system: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonic_drive
Animation: http://www.harmonicdrive.net/reference/operatingprinciples/movie.php

It's great for hi-gear-ratio reduction and can be built on to the end of a motor, so it's been used in robotic arms that need to be thin & have high-torque.

I liked your earlier comment, too - As a design presentation it's really good. But, the goal was to "come up with new and innovative solutions to address the issues of energy, carbon footprint, health and toxicity, new materials, product lifecycle, and social development."... so, with a 200 year life, they must have been going for product lifecycle & not energy conservation. Of course, most lamps (not bulbs) would last 200 years, too.

I did the math, and it doesn't seem like the physics work -- either the weight is 10 tons, the light only lasts for 35 seconds, or the light is super-dim... not the 50 lbs/4 hours/40-watt equivalent listed.

To calculate the needed weight:
700 lumens @ 90 lm/watt (an efficient LED) = 7.78 watts.
7.78 watts * 4 hours = 31.1 Watt-Hour = 112,000 Joules
Potential energy of 4 feet high weight = mgh = mass * 9.8 m/s^2 * 1.22 meters
112,000 Joules = mass * 9.8 m/s^2 * 1.22 meters
==> mass = 9367 kg = 20650 pounds = 10 tons.

It's still a beautiful light & a cool design. The VT Architecture is awesome (I got an EE degree from there).

Here's the voting record: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00015

Statement of Purpose: To strike the provisions providing immunity from civil liability to electronic communication service providers for certain assistance provided to the Government.

Clinton (D-NY), Not Voting
McCain (R-AZ), Nay
Obama (D-IL), Yea

In '94, I got locked in Heathrow overnight (the IRA was shelling the place). No emergency cots, and no place to lie down. We found some better seats near the windows, but the police wouldn't let us near them for fear that they'd shatter.

This reminds me about BB's post about Gunkanjima -- the once-populous, now deserted japanese island: http://www.boingboing.net/2004/05/22/deserted-japanese-is.html

It's now been about 35 years without human influence. I would love to visit, but it's privately owned and normally off-limits. The closest I got was an exhibit at the Meiji Mura museum.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunkanjima

I'm conflicted. On one hand, I like secret rooms. On the other hand, I really dislike mold. But, I really really like secret rooms...

There's an important distinction to be made, and I just want to make sure everyone's on the same page. Green laser pointers come in two powers: low-power versions (like sold at amazon, usually under $100) are used for sky-pointing. High power versions (like phillip torrone demonstrated) can pop balloons & usually cost from $500-$1500.

MRFITZ - The police are already shining lasers at planes: http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/04/15/laser.warn/

The eye-fi card uses 802.11; the dongle is just a plain sd-reader so you can configure the card. It'll work on encrypted networks, but it won't handle free wireless hotspots that bring up an "i agree" page you have to click on to get service. So, if there's a compatible coffeeshop nearby, it looks like it would work... but I've never used one, so I'm not 100% sure.

http://www.eye.fi/a-wireless-memory-card/#specs

I'm not sure what a forward pixel detector does, but I need one.

I see these skill test questions in British motorcycle magazines I get. Usually the questions are related to the contest... an example would be a Yamaha ad that asks "Who does Valentino Rossi ride for?", with a labeled picture of the guy above the question and Yamaha stickers plastered all over the bike.

I had the 1978 reissue of The Power Shop, which was like this but much tamer. Still very fun & educational in the way a barbie electric car can't be, but I felt limited because it only worked with the balsa wood planks that came with it -- I couldn't use thicker material. But, they achieved their goal of safety -- I still have all my fingers!

Oh, so much better looking than the Apple II version!

I used to work at a small satellite startup. We found out that our (even smaller) competitor was using bamboo as a structural component and we felt pretty good about our design. Where do you buy space-qualfied wood anyway?

One of my favorite bush quotes was just after he was reelected... he promised to "reach out to everyone who shares [his] goals." I don't know if he realizes it, but usually you reach out to people with different viewpoints, not the same ones. I just wish he'd done that in this case -- he could have attended both meetings in ernest and argued his case. But, his negotiation skills seem to consist of ignoring the other side.

What would be the effect of subjecting all travelers to subliminal pictures of terrorist attacks? Perpetual fear. Thanks, DHS, I feel more secure!!

Monopole: You're right - PureDigital is the company behind both this camera and the disposable ones. They've got 90% the same guts inside (at least the non-ultra flip; I haven't looked at this one yet) -- they added more memory, the usb connector, and, of course, unlocked it.