Author: Jeff Milner

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Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture

Randy Pausch, gives a wonderful and exuberant “last lecture”. He’s currently struggling with pancreatic cancer but hasn’t let it get him down at all.

Almost all of us have childhood dreams: for example, being an astronaut, or making movies or video games for a living. Sadly, most people don’t achieve theirs, and I think that’s a shame. I had several specific childhood dreams, and I’ve actually achieved most of them. More importantly, I have found ways, in particular the creation (with Don Marinelli), of CMU’s Entertainment Technology Center (etc.cmu.edu), of helping many young people actually *achieve* their childhood dreams. This talk will discuss how I achieved my childhood dreams (being in zero gravity, designing theme park rides for Disney, and a few others), and will contain realistic advice on how *you* can live your life so that you can make your childhood dreams come true, too.

By the way, producer/director J.J. Abrams of Lost,and Mission Impossible III fame (among others) asked Randy if he’d like to be in the new Star Trek movie that he’s directing, sort of fulfilling another of Randy’s dreams to be Captain Kirk (he’s not going to be captain, but it’s still pretty cool).

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Amazing Ant Colony

This remarkable video from the documentary Ants! Nature’s Secret Power shows a glimpse into the fascinating world of the ant. The narrator describes the intricate ant nest as an accomplishment equivalent to the building of the great wall of China.

The structure covers 538 square feet and travels 26 feet into the earth. In it’s construction, the colony moved 40 tons of soil. Billions of ant loads of soil were brought to the surface. Each load weighed four times as much as the worker ant, and in human terms, was carried over 1/2 mile to the surface.

I also recommend the TED talk by Deborah Gordon: How do ants know what to do?

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Viral Marketing

I don’t usually like to send on viral marketing links, it feels like I’m doing someone else’s job for them, but I liked the creativity used in this online store (not sure what language it’s written in). I think they actually sell everything you see. Here’s the link, and just to warn you, there is a bit of audio.

(via)

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Lies, Damn Lies, Statistics, and Conspiracy Theories

I just finished watching the conspiracy theorist documentary, “Zeitgeist”.

Much like the show Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon? by Fox Television, Zeitgeist makes you feel like the lines between truth and fiction are not so black and white, and even though many of the claims made are far-fetched, or even beyond belief, it still makes for compelling viewing.

From the zeitgeistmovie.com site:

Zeitgeist, produced by Peter Joseph, was created as a nonprofit filmiac [sic] expression to inspire people to start looking at the world from a more critical perspective and to understand that very often things are not what the population at large think they are. The information in Zeitgeist was established over a year long period of research and the current Source page on this site lists the basic sources used/referenced and the Interactive Transcript includes exact source references and further information.

Now, it’s important to point out that there is a tendency to simply disbelieve things that are counter to our understanding, without the necessary research performed. For example, some information contained in Part 1 and Part 3, specifically, is not obtained by simple keyword searches on the Internet. You have to dig deeper. For instance, very often people who look up “Horus” or “The Federal Reserve” on the Internet draw their conclusions from very general or biased sources. Online encyclopedias or text book Encyclopedias often do not contain the information contained in Zeitgeist. However, if one takes the time to read the sources provided, they will find that what is being presented is based on documented evidence. Any corrections, clarifications and further points regarding the film are found on the Clarifications page. Non-Profit DVDs / Free Video Downloads are available through the Downloads page.

That being said, it is my hope that people will not take what is said in the film as the truth, but find out for themselves, for truth is not told, it is realized.

From the origins of Christianity to the US government’s involvement in the September 11th attacks to the Rothchild’s attempt to take over the world, this documentary spans most of the conspiracy theories I’ve ever heard about. It even has a take on JFK’s assassination. Surprisingly enough, the moon landing as a hoax didn’t make the final cut.


[Zeitgeist – YouTube]

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Salty Waffles

It’s usually a good thing when someone says they just can’t eat another bite. That is, when you assume it’s because they’re full—not when you accidentally added 6 times too much salt.

So for the record:

Half a teaspoon ? 1 tablespoon

I’m going out for brunch lunch.

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Sweeney Todd

Last night I went to see Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Sweeney Todd Movie Poster

The critics are giving it rave reviews, but don’t be deceived. If you have a sinking suspicion, this movie is not for you, go with your gut.

On the other hand I enjoyed it for what it is, a chance for Tim Burton to do the kind of work he does best. It’s dark, macabre, and stereotypically Burton. What was once the bloodiest musical in stage history is now the bloodiest in film history.

And what a lot of blood! Fans of gore will not be disappointed. Wow.

It should be noted that, if stylized animation and HDR imagery are your thing, the opening credits will please you.

If this movie intrigues you, Brian Sibley’s review, offers the kind of insight that only someone from London who has seen the musical could offer.

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Idea: AJAX Definition in a Toolbar

Most of the tech savy folks of the world are aware of the convenience of AJAX responses in a Google Suggest search. As you type, Google offers suggestions.

This feature is built into the Google Toolbar search that I have installed in Firefox. I love it, but what we really need in addition to the suggestions is a definition of the word as you type.