Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Why do Republicans keep voting against their own best interests?

America`s new radio-controlled smart bullets


A new type of weapon is on the battlefield and it is hailed as a game changer. 




 The DailyMail has an interesting article about a new weapons technology the Americans are deploying on the battlefield in Afghanistan.



The U.S. army is to begin using a futuristic rifle that fires radio-controlled 'smart' bullets in Afghanistan for the first time, it has emerged.
The XM25 rifle uses bullets that be programmed to explode when they have travelled a set distance, allowing enemies to be targeted no matter where they are hiding.
The rifle also has a range of 2,300 feet making it possible to hit target which are well out of the reach of conventional rifles.
The XM25 is being developed specially for the U.S. army and will be deployed with troops from later this month, it was revealed today.
The rifle's gunsight uses a laser rangefinder to determine the exact distance to the obstruction, after which the soldier can add or subtract up to 3 metres from that distance to enable the bullets to clear the barrier and explode above or beside the target.
Soldiers will be able to use them to target snipers hidden in trenches rather than calling in air strikes.
The 25-millimetre round contains a chip that receives a radio signal from the gunsight as to the precise distance to the target.
Lt. Col. Christopher Lehner, project manager for the system, described the weapon as a ‘game-changer’ that other nations will try and copy.

Read more about this amazing weapon at the DailyMail website.

Inflatable Packet Monster Art

Great street art by Joshua Allen Harris. He makes air packet monsters from trash and refuse bags and turns them into amazing works of art.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Largest man made lake in the world

What is the largest man made lake in the world? Well it seems this question needs some clarity and more Google love. When you search for the largest man made lake in the world you seem to get a lot of different answers.

I have seen a variety of answers but very few of them seem right. So using the powers of interstellar divination and um Google I can with some authority state that the biggest man made lake in the world is Lake Kariba on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia.

To quote Wikipedia:
By volume, Lake Kariba is the largest artificial lake and reservoir in the world. It is located on the Zambezi river, about halfway between the river's source and mouth, about 1300 kilometers upstream from the Indian Ocean, and lies along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Lake Kariba was filled between 1958 and 1963 following the completion of the Kariba Dam at its northeastern end, flooding the Kariba Gorge on the Zambezi River.
Sauce: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Kariba

Obviously when you are working out the biggest you would use volume. However if you were perhaps judging the largest not by volume but by surface area then Lake Volta in Ghana comes first. Some quick figures for you.

List of lakes/reservoirs by volume

1. Lake Kariba (180 km3 or 43 cu mi; Zimbabwe, Zambia)
2. Bratsk Reservoir (169 km3 or 41 cu mi; Russia)
3. Lake Nasser (157 km3 or 38 cu mi; Egypt, Sudan)
4. Lake Volta (148 km3 or 36 cu mi; Ghana)
5. Manicouagan Reservoir (142 km3 or 34 cu mi; Canada)
6. Lake Guri (135 km3 or 32 cu mi; Venezuela)
7. Williston Lake (74 km3 or 18 cu mi; Canada)
8. Krasnoyarsk Reservoir (73 km3 or 18 cu mi; Russia)
9. Zeya Reservoir (68 km3 or 16 cu mi; Russia)

The following are the world's ten largest lakes/reservoirs by surface area:

1. Lake Volta (8,482 km2 or 3,275 sq mi; Ghana)
2. Smallwood Reservoir (6,527 km2 or 2,520 sq mi; Canada)
3. Kuybyshev Reservoir (6,450 km2 or 2,490 sq mi; Russia)
4. Lake Kariba (5,580 km2 or 2,150 sq mi; Zimbabwe, Zambia)
5. Bukhtarma Reservoir (5,490 km2 or 2,120 sq mi; Kazakhstan)
6. Bratsk Reservoir (5,426 km2 or 2,095 sq mi; Russia)
7. Lake Nasser (5,248 km2 or 2,026 sq mi; Egypt, Sudan)
8. Rybinsk Reservoir (4,580 km2 or 1,770 sq mi; Russia)
9. Caniapiscau Reservoir (4,318 km2 or 1,667 sq mi; Canada)
10. Lake Guri (4,250 km2 or 1,640 sq mi; Venezuela)

Hope you found this information useful!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

8 Year old Angelo 'lil demon' shows the older boys how to dance

Angelo 'Lil Demon' Baligad is only 8 years old, but he's already pitting his incredible break dancing skills against much more experienced. Below is the video from Bboy City Hawaii, of Lil Demon dancing off against Joshua Lee 'Milky' Ayers, a great dancer himself.

Brad Pitt on Religion

Ever what some famous stars and actors have to say about religion? Have a look at this Bill Mahr interview with Brad Pitt. It is great to see he is a rationalist.


Saturday, November 27, 2010

Main difference between Liberals and Conservatives

Online Alarm Clock

Ever needed an alarm clock when you where out and about and did not have one handy? Do not worry any more. The Swiss have come up with a solution for you. Check out the KuKu Klok if you ever need an online alarm clock.

Even pigs are cute

Religious do not have monopoly on virtue, Queen tells synod



The Guardian has an interesting article on the Queen and her perspective on Atheism, Theism and morality.


People of faith do not have a monopoly on virtue as British society was now "more diverse and secular", the Queen told the Church of England today in an address to its governing body.
Speaking at Church House, central London, she told members of General Synod that believers and atheists were equally able to contribute to the prosperity and wellbeing of the country.
The Queen, who is supreme governor of the Church of England, said: "In our more diverse and secular society, the place of religion has come to be a matter of lively discussion. It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue and that the wellbeing and prosperity of the nation depend on the contribution of individuals and groups of all faiths and none."

Pretty interesting words coming from the Queen of England who is technically head of the Church of England. More information and background can be read up at the Guardian.

If Jesus was a Republican

What would Jesus be like if he was a Republican?

A look at America in Color from 1939-1943

The Denver Post has some amazing color pictures of America from 1939-1943. Definitly a link worth sharing to get perspective for years gone by. 








View the full color catalog at Denverpost.com.


Friday, November 26, 2010

Most realistic CGI graphics ever?

Came across this little gem today. Its getting harder and harder to tell what is real and what is not real with CGI rendered graphics. I thought this video highlights the great strides forward that we have achieved in CGI development.



Friday, November 12, 2010

CellC and gaming

I work at and run a decent sized ISP when I am not gaming, and one of the perks of running an Internet Service Provider is I get to test a lot of the latest Internet connections. So it was with some excitement and interest that I opened my CellC package that I received from Internet Solutions.

The first thing I did was connect the mobile internet modem to my PC and head over to speedtest.net. Below are the results I got:


The most interesting stat from this is the upload speed. 2.95Mb/s! Thats a hellava lot faster than anything in Telkom`s ADSL world. Telkom intentionally nerf their upload speeds so you can not run services on your Internet connection. Cheap bastards. 

Anyways, I tested the latency on two games. The first and most important was obviously World of Warcraft. Latency in game was pretty good. On a normal Telkom semi-shaped account you would get around 800ms lag to Blizzard`s EU server. With the CellC Huawei 4G modem I got a latency of around 500ms. 


The next game I tested the latency on was the DOTA clone known as Heroes of Newerth... or HON. I generally only play with South Africans so that none of our team has excess latency, and the in-game latency I was getting was 131ms. The gaming experience with CellC`s connection was decent. 

My conclusion of my experience with CellC and gaming, is that all in all its an above average service at the moment. Its not the best, I still feel that 10mbs unshaped service is a better product but this product range from CellC is far more affordable and allows you mobile connectivity. 


My favorite World of Warcraft Music Videos

This is basically a collection of the best World of Warcraft videos that I enjoy (and that I have found). If there is anything I have missed please feel free to let me know and if they rock, I will add them here.

So lets start with what I feel is top of the list.

1 - Ulduar: Cranius



Fantastic clip uploaded by Cranius. The song is parody of Justin Timberlake`s - I'm bringing sexy back. The production quality, lyrics and in-game acting is fantastic! The video is almost enough for me to take my gnome mage across to Horde, as they look like they have so much fun! Almost enough - as currently nothing can compete with the satisfaction and delight I have whenever my gnome frost mage eats a Tauren for breakfast.

2 - Jace Hall - I Play W.O.W


The best original work out of all the WOW video`s I was viewing. Big up to Jace Hall for this great work. After showing this around the office several colleagues of mine instantly showed an interest in getting involved in World of Warcraft. You cant help but singing the lyrics out loud after hearing this song.

3 - Don't Make Me Get My Main: Cranius



Another great track from Cranius. I like this song because it reminds me so much of the hours I spent in GanklethornVale (Stranglethorn Vale). For those of you that do not know I play a frost mage as my main. Its a gnome frost mage and the gnomes doing the chorus in this music video had me laughing with tears in my eyes. Well done Cranius, another great work!

4 - The Internet is for Porn



One of the older videos I have come across. While the track is taken from another album it was the first time I saw a music video made using in-game WOW acting. A golden oldie but loads of fun still. Again Horde seems to have all the fun with the music videos. 

Whats up Alliance? Why you all so boring! Lets get some class video`s out there so we can show Horde what quality is.

5 - The Guild - Do You Wanna Date My Avatar


This is a late update, but I thought it deserved a spot on this blog post.

There was a 6th movie I wanted to put here, but due to the limitations imposed by College Humour.com they do not allow me to embed their video in my blog, but you can go to their site to watch their music video.