Links of the Week (Week #5, 2006)
Published Saturday, February 4th, 2006 at 1:15 am
- Benford’s Law – The great thing about truly random numbers is that, while individually completely random, if you generate enough of them the results are predictable. Flip a coin 200 times it is very certain that you will get nearly 100 heads. What’s more the number of repeats (consecutive tosses turning up the same side) is very predictable. Bedford’s law is related to sequences of numbers and the probability of certain number showing. For example given a seemingly unrelated sets of numbers the number 1 turned up as the first digit about 30 percent of the time.
- DigiHack – Digital Photography projects: Tilt-Shift PC Lens – In last weeks links of the week I linked to a site with several arial photos taken with a with a special camera setup that makes it look like an amazingly detailed model. Well, here are instructions for making your own.
- Edgerton Center: Short Course 2005 – Some very cool snap shots of bullets in flight and some unlucky objects that got in their way.
- GT: 2005 Top 10 Games of the Year – Game Tunnel’s top 10 indie games of 2005. I’m really enjoying Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space. So much so I was contemplating skipping this weeks links.
- How to Know When Unsubscribing Isn’t Safe – Ever receive spam e-mail with the opt out link at the bottom? If their sending unsolicited e-mail in the first place why are they going to stop if you “opt out”? Worse yet by opting out you are now confirming that your e-mail account is valid and you actually read junk mail… making you a bigger target. Here is a discussion of unsafe unsubscribing and hints for dealing with it.
- Learn to install Apache, MySQL, PHP, phpMyAdmin & Zend Optimizer – Server Installation – Webmaster Stop – Switching from the blogger service to running WordPress on my own server has been rewarding in many ways. I’m really enjoying working with WordPress templates and plugins. It has also serves as a push into the world of PHP. So much so I am considering switching my main site from ASP to PHP. To get started I needed to get a PHP server running at home for testing. This page was great at getting WAMP up and running in no time. Also look here if you get a Client does not support authentication protocol requested message.
- MacGyver Tip: Dollar bill ruler – Lifehacker – Ever needed to measure something but were without any measuring device? When I find myself in that situation I usually use either the length of my outstretched arms (approximately equal to my height) or for something smaller the length from tip of my thumb and the first joint (approximately an inch). Well, I now have one more measuring device thanks to the fact that a US dollar bill is exactly 6″ long.
- NOVA | Magnetic Storm | TV Program Description | PBS – Where will you be with the magnetic poles flip? Hopefully not out a sea with only a compass.
- NTFS junction point – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia – Somtimes moving folders around your PC can be a pain. For example if you want to move your “My Documents” folder to your D: drive. You have to make sure that every application that references files in the old my documents folder is updated to the new one. You can try searching through the registry but you’re bound to miss a few. Here is a very powerfull teqnique that, for some reason, MS has deceided was too powerful, or too dangerous, for the common user. If your HD is formatted in NTFS you can create what is called a junction point. That is a folder that is really a link to another folder. Similar to a file shortcut but effectively makes windows (and all other applications) think that the files in one folder exist in another. Use this if you’re computer confident.
- The Wisdom of Parasites. The Loom: A blog about life, past and future – OK, this is freaky. Their is a certain wasp that injects venom into the brains of a roach in order to zombifys him. The wasp then climbs on the roach’s back and steers him to the wasp’s burrow where it will serve as a nest/nourishment for the wasps larva. More proof that the insects will inherent the earth.
* Disclosure: The links presented here are links I recorded during my
web surfing sessions. Often times these links were found on other
sites and are presented here without credit. Those sites include,
but are not limited to, digg.com, Slashdot, Drudge Report, and BoingBoing. *