More photos here.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
The Stagea Mini Electone
My son's moving to Yamaha Electone Grade 8, and he needed an electone. After asking around for both second-hand and new Electones, I decided to buy a StageaMini (ELB-01). It's costing me about 2 months pay (8 big smackaroos!), so my son had better buck up and practise....
More photos here.
More photos here.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Is Hell Exothermic or Endothermic (Chemistry Majors only)
The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington Chemistry mid-term.
The answer by one student was so "profound" that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well:
Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?
Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.
One student, however, wrote the following:
First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.
This gives two possibilities:
1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.
2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.
So which is it?
If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, "It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you," and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct......leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting "Oh My God."
THIS STUDENT RECEIVED THE ONLY "A"
The answer by one student was so "profound" that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well:
Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?
Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.
One student, however, wrote the following:
First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.
This gives two possibilities:
1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.
2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.
So which is it?
If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, "It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you," and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct......leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting "Oh My God."
THIS STUDENT RECEIVED THE ONLY "A"
Friday, January 19, 2007
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Fujitsu FACOM
From Digital World Tokyo
A PC with the power of a small desktop calculator!
Here's the article text (so you don't have to click on the above URL):
Just as great oaks come from little acorns, so too do room-sized computers come from humble calculators. In the case of Fujitsu's FACOM series of adding machines, that calculator grew into a computer that is the world's oldest still in use.
The FACOM — or Fujitsu Automatic COMputer — is in the news because the second of its kind, the 128B, is currently receiving a tune-up to give it a few more years' useful life. The company's goal is to push it to 2016, when it will complete 60 years of operation. To that end, retired FACOM experts are returning to Fujitsu to teach the firm's tyros how to make it tick.
The FACOM 128B, which covers 65 square meters of Fujitsu's factory floor, was developed in 1958, growing out of a bona fide calculator in the 128A. Unsurprisingly, the 128B's calculating speed is about as fast as a modern desktop calculator, a fact that underlines the talent of the engineers who used it to design Japan's first passenger plane, the YS-11. Let's see your Casio do that.
Monday, January 8, 2007
Quick Cut
RM12 for 10 min haircut anyone?
Surprisingly a lot of people lining up and waiting for a free slot. Whoever has tried this shop, either in Penang or elsewhere, do comment on the quality, styling and your opinions, thanks.
It's been a while
Was at Queensbay Mall (who wasn't ^_^) last weekend, and came across an interesting thing.
Penang people recycle!
Well, at least that's what I think they try to do...
Was here with the family
Having part of this (Maple Stack - RM7.50, ordered by my son but he couldn't finish)
And this (a portion of the "Treasure Box" - RM16.50)
(note to Paddington's - buy sweeter strawberries wont'cha?)
When I saw a waitress take the jug of "maple" syrup from our table as we were leaving and pass it to another table as the people at that table were starting to eat. Now luckily my kids don't play with their food (good training, thanks to the missus), but I wouldn't be surprised if that jug of syrup had been making the rounds the whole day.
Is there a problem with just getting a new jug of syrup to each customer? I know maple (if it really is the real Canadian stuff, which I doubt) is rather pricy, but hey, you're charging us an arm and a leg for the food, so can't you even practice some basic sanitary skills?
Anyway, that's my rant for today.
Toodles!
Penang people recycle!
Well, at least that's what I think they try to do...
Was here with the family
Having part of this (Maple Stack - RM7.50, ordered by my son but he couldn't finish)
And this (a portion of the "Treasure Box" - RM16.50)(note to Paddington's - buy sweeter strawberries wont'cha?)
When I saw a waitress take the jug of "maple" syrup from our table as we were leaving and pass it to another table as the people at that table were starting to eat. Now luckily my kids don't play with their food (good training, thanks to the missus), but I wouldn't be surprised if that jug of syrup had been making the rounds the whole day.
Is there a problem with just getting a new jug of syrup to each customer? I know maple (if it really is the real Canadian stuff, which I doubt) is rather pricy, but hey, you're charging us an arm and a leg for the food, so can't you even practice some basic sanitary skills?
Anyway, that's my rant for today.
Toodles!
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Early Morning Wake-Up call
Mine colleague called me this morning - overslept and/or alarm didn't trigger. Ironically, I'd just been googling for paintball grenades and came across something called a sonic grenade.
You basically hack a 110db personal alarm, with a simple timer circuit, put it into a suitable container, and voila! Instant piss-off'er. There are websites that do sell these, look nice, but rather pricey.
I'm now seeing whether I hack together a birthday present for my colleague comprising an alarm clock with said 110db personal alarm circuit, be an interesting side project.
You basically hack a 110db personal alarm, with a simple timer circuit, put it into a suitable container, and voila! Instant piss-off'er. There are websites that do sell these, look nice, but rather pricey.
I'm now seeing whether I hack together a birthday present for my colleague comprising an alarm clock with said 110db personal alarm circuit, be an interesting side project.
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