Random Thoughts

Airships Rebooted

Frank La Vigne — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:33:00 GMT

The Mail Online has a story about airships possibly making a comeback, but these aren’t your grandfather’s blimps.

Standing 98ft taller than Canary Wharf, packing 330,000 cubic metres of hydrogen gas and capable of lifting 396 tonnes, the Aircruise concept features penthouse apartments, bars and even dizzying glass viewing floors.
Aircruise was created as the antithesis of a hurried, crowded passenger jet. London-based design and innovation company Seymourpowell wanted to rethink transport - on the premise 'slow is the new fast'. It could ferry 100 people from London to New York in a leisurely 37 hours as opposed to the seven it takes now by airplane.

Penthouse apartments? That sure beats sitting in a fetal position for hours on end.

I want to live in one of these things! :)

Check out this video to get a better idea of what they’ve got planned.

Technorati Tags: Blimp,AirCruise,Cool,Future

Mac Tablet Rumor Round Up

Frank La Vigne — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:34:00 GMT

For years, many have predicted the coming of an Mac-based tablet. (Myself included).

Up until now, the frenzy seemed to have been little more than wishful thinking, leading to the inevitable let down when it turned out to be nothing but Apple fanboy imaginations run wild.

But the tone of the rumors this time around has been more serious.

Has the Mac Tablet’s time finally come?

Mainstream publications like BusinessWeek are convinced that there’s an Apple tablet coming this Spring.

Apple’s stock price also reflects something “paradigm-changing” is waiting in the wings.

Verizon and AT&T are rumored to be slugging it out in eleventh hour negotiations for exclusive rights to the new device.

There’s too much buzz in too many places for this to simply be like the great 2008 disappointment that was the MacBook Air.

After 2008, I’ve become a bit more skeptical, but this time I think there’s something really going on.

It’s one thing when the usual suspects are aglow with crazy rumors and wishful thinking, but this year the mainstream press has climbed aboard the hype train.

Will tomorrow really be the start of something new?

Or will tomorrow start another year of wishing and hoping for a Mac Tablet and crazy rumors?

If you’ve tuned out all the drama and noise up until now, then here’s an exhaustive list of Mac tablet rumors to get up to speed before tomorrow’s announcement.

Technorati Tags: TabletPC,MacTablet,iSlate,iPad

Life Imitates Art?

Frank La Vigne — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 23:56:00 GMT

Our youngest dog, bears an an uncanny resemblance (and behavior) to Marmaduke.

This was too good to wait until St. Patick’s Day to post this.

Technorati Tags: Dogs,Marmaduke

Known Universe Animation

Frank La Vigne — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 23:36:00 GMT

Very cool computer animation of the known universe based on the latest data and observations.

Technorati Tags: Astronomy,Science,YouTube,Visualization

Falling Apples in Honor of Sir Isaac Newton

Frank La Vigne — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 23:07:00 GMT

Today the Google home page has an animated apple is falling as a tribute to Sir Isaac Newton on his 367th birthday .

Sir Isaac Newton’s observations and discoveries laid the foundation for modern physics and the modern world we live in. Something to think about on a cold, January day.

Technorati Tags: Sir Isaac Newton,Science

Deep Thoughts on This New Year’s Eve

Frank La Vigne — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:10:00 GMT

Time magazine calls the time between 2000-2009 the “Decade from Hell.”

I don’t think that’s a totally fair assessment.

To be sure, the last ten years have seen momentous and tumultuous change.

There were terrorist attacks, wars, economic meltdowns, and natural disasters. We also saw people reach out and help those in time of need. Tough times can bring out the best in people.

To be sure, this decade was a tough one, but what doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger.

For me personally, the decade had its challenges and its high points.

I’ve learned countless life lessons over the past ten years-- one of which is: “Change is constant and mandatory. Growth is optional.”

Now, as I sit here reflecting on the last ten years, older and (hopefully) wiser, this Charles Dickens quote makes so much more sense to me now than it did when I read it in high school:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times;
it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness;
it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity;
it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness;
it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair;
we had everything before us, we had nothing before us;
we were all going directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way.

The decade in which my father passed away also saw the birth of my son.

In the same decade that I nearly died on 9/11, I met and married the most wonderful woman in the world.

Prior to this decade, I had lived in or near New York City my entire life. In 2000, I was eager to get out and see the world. Since then, I’ve left my hometown to live in places as varied as Frankfurt, Germany, Richmond, VA , and Washington DC.

The last ten years have been more tragically messy and fantastically awesome than I could have imagined in 1999, proving that making a omlette requires a few broken eggs.

Tonight, on the eve of a new decade, I enter it ten years wiser, now as a husband and a father, and I can’t help but wonder what the future holds.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Technorati Tags: New Years Eve,2010

End-of-the-Decade Technology Quiz

Frank La Vigne — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 13:44:00 GMT

Without getting into the debate on whether or not the decade ends this week, Network World has an online quiz on the technologies introduced in the past ten years.

It's not just the end of the year, it's the end of the first decade of a new millennium. Here is a quiz to highlight some of the biggest, most important or just plain quirky tech stories to hit the front pages over the first 10 years of the 2000s.

[Link]

Technorati Tags: 2010,Decade,Technology,Quiz

Colin Powell's 13 Rules of Leadership

Frank La Vigne — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 13:23:00 GMT

I saw this on someone’s Twitter feed and it’s too good not to share.

Technorati Tags: Leadership,Colin Powell

Windows 7 House Party?

Frank La Vigne — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:14:00 GMT

By now, you have have seen the video that portrays non-geeks preparing to host a Windows 7 Launch Party.

How does the promotion rate:

Creepy: yes

Awkward: most definitely.

Hilarious: yes, in a scary way

Plausible: not so much.

Score another win for the marketing department!

The idea of the average John or Jane Doe hosting a party for an operating system launch sounds silly to me.

Almost as silly as a movie from the 90s. Hey wait a minute!

PhotoChop time!

Maybe Kid ‘n Play will come out of retirement to sing at your local launch party.

Technorati Tags: Windows 7,Launch Party,Funny,Kid 'n Play

Wu Tang + Lego = Awesomeness

Frank La Vigne — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 18:40:00 GMT

A music video of a Wu Tang Clan song performed by Lego toys. Brilliant!

Wu-Tang Lego: Da Mystery of Chessboxin' from davo on Vimeo.

Naturally, as a Wu Tang Clan song, there is some adult language in the song.

Incidentally, when they sing about Shaolin, they actually mean Staten Island. [Silverlight Map]

Technorati Tags: Wu Tang Clan,Lego