Sam's Archive > How to destroy the Earth

A humorous recap of "how to destroy the Earth." It's harder that you might think, and those bad guys on movies who threaten to do so really don't know what they're doing.

Smith's 'Hitch' Still Tops at U.S. Box Office

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing 'Hitch;' the trailers have looked pretty funny. My wife and I probably won't get around to seeing it for a few weeks, though.

I don't know why that freaky-looking Keanu Reeves movie did so well. This article mentiones that 'Constantine' did better in its first weekend than 'The Matrix' did, but that's a stupid comparison. 'The Matrix' was an amazing find, but nobody really knew about it until word spread about how good it was. 'Constantine' seems to be just an over-hyped 'Matrix' with spirits instead of robots.

Feature removed

Due to a request from my wife (who, after all, is the only regular visitor to this blog), I have removed the "My latest bookmarks" section from the left-hand side. My latest bookmarks are still available at http://del.icio.us/herr_theoretiker, albeit unfiltered by the "myblog" tag I was using to keep personal for-reference bookmarks off of this page.

Anyway, she said that she preferred the comments, however short, I make about my various articles and sites of interest to the simple list-of-items format. I've got to keep my readership happy, so here's my new bookmark-free blog!

The Top 100 Gadgets of All Time

This list is awesome! Of these "Top 100 Gadgets of all time," here are my favorites that I've owned (or owned newer models of):

90. MAELZEL METRONOME, 1816
The model pictured still sits on top of the piano at my parents' house, and it was the device that taught me how to keep time from the first time I inquisitively touched the keys. The internal rhythm it developed has served me well, earning me the moniker of "the blackest white guy I know" from one of my African-American friends in high school.

85. HOHNER HARMONICA, 1857
My grandpa got me one of these from one of his various "point-collecting" schemes (he's saved everything from Kool-Aid Points to Frito-Lay Ploids to Marlboro Miles, even though he doesn't smoke) when I was in the eighth grade, and I love knowing how to actually play one of these things.

68. NOKIA 5100 SERIES CELL PHONE, 1998
Awww... my first cellular phone.

65. MATTEL FOOTBALL II, 1978
My parents still have this one! When I was a kid, it kept me occupied in the backseat for many a long car ride. Well, when my sister and I weren't fighting over it, that is.

50. ETCH-A-SKETCH, 1960
I used to play with this thing all the time.

46. TEXAS INSTRUMENTS SPEAK & SPELL, 1978
This could easily be in my personal Top 5 Gadgets. This little computer game thingy taught me so much about spelling (back in the day of whole-language and just before "inventive spelling") that I can credit it, not unduly, with a good portion of the language skills I have today. It had kind of a freaky voice, though...

43. HANDSPRING VISOR, 1999
I actually had the very first model of the Handspring Visor. I am completely attached to mobile computing now, and I love that I can just make notes to myself (or, more likely, play games when I'm bored) wherever I am because of my handheld computer. Of course, I have the much-more-powerful PalmOne Tungsten T2 now...

40. FALCON DUST-OFF, EARLY 1970s
Ha! This stuff is great, but I really don't use it as much as I should.

31. TREK THUMBDRIVE, 1999
The one I have is more advanced than most... instead of containing its own Flash memory chip, it holds SD card media. I use it to transfer files (mostly MP3s) to my handheld, and to carry around important files that I can use on my work and my home computers.

1. APPLE POWERBOOK 100, 1991
I used to swear I'd never turn into an Apple geek, but now I have a G4 Powerbook. I don't care that I've abandoned my roots - OSX is cool!

'Jeopardy' champ Ken Jennings to unveil new trivia game

Awesome! Once this is out, it's definitely going on my Amazon Wish List.

Microsoft to Release New Internet Browser

Whoa!

Finally.

Too bad all the people that care about the security enhancements promised by this upcoming "IE 7.0" are already using Firefox.

Hapland

This little Flash "game" (really more a bizzare interconnection of slightly related events) is really interesting! I've actually found *two* separate ways of solving it. The second way basically skips several of the steps... you can end up blowing up the bell tower and still finish, if you do the right thing before the bombs are shot.

A depiction of myself

note: not a photo

Online Banking Growing Rapidly, Survey Finds

Well, this isn't very surprising. I've been managing all of my finances online for years. Despite the fact that paper bills waste unnecessary paper, who wants to keep track of all of that paperwork? When I was in college, keeping papers in easy-to-find places was near impossible (dorm rooms are notorious for being small, student-sized black holes), so I banked online just to save myself from keeping track of physical objects. Now, I just do it because it's easier. Pretty much the only checks I actually write anymore are for rent. However, if my apartment complex had an easy means to transfer funds online I would do it in a heartbeat.

Services that insert sounds into mobile phone conversations

Apparently there's some software for the Treo Palm OS Smartphone that will insert the sounds of a train station, busy office, bar, or weak connection into your telephone conversation. Kind of rude, but I suppose it might be good for those who are on the phone a lot at work and/or get a lot of necessary calls. (Edit: of course I meant unnecessary calls.)