Thursday, June 30, 2011

PIMail: Aerospace news for June 30

Boeing B-17 retakes place at Museum of Flight
Seattle's Museum of Flight put its Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress back on... more »
NLRB judge won't dismiss Boeing complaint
The National Labor Relations Board complaint that Boeing illegally retaliated... more »
American talking with Boeing, Airbus about 250-plane order
American Airlines is negotiating with Airbus and Boeing to buy at least 250... more »
Judge denies Boeing motion to dismiss labor case
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday denied Boeing Co.'s request... more »
KLM powers Boeing 737 flight with cooking oil
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines operated the world's first scheduled airline... more »
LATEST POSTS ON AEROSPACE READER BLOGS
United Airlines takes on United Airways – Can we guess the victor?
Photo Tour of an Airbus A380 at Lufthansa Technik in Frankfurt
An Inside Look at Delta Private Jets: Worlds Above First Class
Nike Hercules Deployment
Short Take: Trip Report of International Flight of Eastern Air Lines DC-7
DAILY DEALS: Featuring amazing deals, the best that Western Washington has to offer, at 50-90% OFF! SIGN UP TODAY!

This newsletter was sent to you on behalf of seattlepi.com. It is available to our newsletter subscribers.

•  Click to unsubscribe sportsdirectcom@gmail.com from this list. Or send your request referencing the specific newsletter to: Opt-Out Request, seattlepi.com, 101 Elliott Ave., Suite 540, Seattle, WA 98119.

•  We are fully compliant with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003

Sports Blog Net

Sports Blog Net


U of L women headed to Canada

Posted: 29 Jun 2011 01:12 PM PDT

Read the full story here

Q&A with Bryant Moniz from the Orlando Sentinel

Posted: 29 Jun 2011 12:08 PM PDT

OS = Orlando SentinelAsked how their team compares to last year, Bryant Moniz said:”We have a lot of raw talent on the team but talent isn’t going to get us to where we were last year. Last year we were so good because we had a year under our belt of working together with the [...]

The Human Cockfighter Blog: Outside the Box

Posted: 29 Jun 2011 12:04 PM PDT

Ya see, I, like most fighters, live outside the box. It takes a certain level of crazy to do what we enjoy doing. That's our union, so to speak. I am confrontational, abrasive and aggressive… Related posts:The Human Cockfighter Blog – Amethyst Walls I spent the past two days painting the room of… The Human [...]

MTV2 delivers its highest rated quarter ever

Posted: 29 Jun 2011 11:04 AM PDT

NEW YORK, NY – June 29, 2011 –MTV2 closed out the second quarter of 2011 as its highest rated in history with P12-34 (+ 11% from 2Q10) and Total Viewers (+14% from 2Q10). Among M12-34, it was MTV2's highest rated second quarter ever, including rating increases with its returning series Sucker Free Countdown (+6% from [...]

Jorge Gurgel vs. Joe Duarte headline Strikeforce Challengers 18 on Aug. 12 in Las Vegas

Posted: 29 Jun 2011 10:20 AM PDT

BJJ black belt Jorge Gurgel will face Joe “Hybrid” Duarte in a lightweight match-up in the Strikeforce Challengers 18 main event on Friday, Aug. 12, from the Pearl at the Palms in Las Vegas. Related posts:Pat Healy-Eric Wisely slated for Strikeforce Challengers 18 Strikeforce Challengers 18 is headed to Las Vegas. Lightweights Pat… Jorge Gurgel [...]

Some GOOD NEWS Today: Pens Re-Sign Asham

Posted: 29 Jun 2011 08:31 AM PDT

The Penguins just announced that they re-signed Arron Asham to a 1-year / $775,000.00I’m actually happy with this signing (aside from Rupper most likely being gone) because I really want Asahm to win a Cup … seeing his face when we lost Game 7 in the first round was devastating … you KNOW with being [...]

Penguins Trade Talbot to Maple Leafs – False Report

Posted: 29 Jun 2011 08:20 AM PDT

Set the become a free agent, Max Talbot was thought to have found a new (temporary) home, but reports now indicate the original news is false. Talbot has not been traded. Read the full story here

Bellator to hold open tryouts July 16 at Daddis Fight Camps in Cherry Hill, New Jersey

Posted: 29 Jun 2011 08:07 AM PDT

How would you like to fight on an upcoming Bellator card in New Jersey? Pro MMA fighters from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware are invited to open tryouts on July 16 in Cherry Hill. Related posts:Bellator to hold open tryouts for MMA fighters October 2 in Philadelphia Bellator Fighting Championships lightweight champion Eddie [...]

Talbot’s Negotiating Rights Traded to Toronto? I’m Not Buying it JUST YET …

Posted: 29 Jun 2011 04:36 AM PDT

CLICK HERE FOR TRIB’S ARTICLEJust as I posted this, the Tribune-Review via Twitter (@JoshYohe) posted this:Talbot’s agent, Pat Brisson: Talbot’s rights have NOT been traded to Toronto, or to anyone, for that matter.This just reported by RDS.ca (rough translation by Google Translate).When translated, the article only reports what Shero said at the Entry Draft (this [...]

UFC middleweight Chris Leben is today’s guest on Afternoon Press Box; listen LIVE at 2 p.m. CT

Posted: 29 Jun 2011 04:05 AM PDT

Chris Leben drops by to discuss his bout against legendary brawler Wanderlei Silva which will take place in Saturday’s UFC 132 co-main event. The guys will also discuss Nate Marquardt and more. Related posts:Jon Fitch is today’s guest on Afternoon Press Box; listen LIVE at 2 p.m. CT One of the UFC’s top welterweight contenders, [...]

PIMail: Business & technology news for June 30

Microsoft to disconnect Hohm
Microsoft today said it will axe its online home-energy monitoring service,... more »
Boeing B-17 retakes place at Museum of Flight
Seattle's Museum of Flight put its Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress back on... more »
Not a shocker: Ballmer says he's not leaving Microsoft anytime soon
Steve Ballmer isn't bending to increasing outside pressure that he step... more »
NLRB judge won't dismiss Boeing complaint
The National Labor Relations Board complaint that Boeing illegally retaliated... more »
'Distressed sales' dragging down home prices
So-called 'distressed sales' account for most of the continued drops in... more »
American talking with Boeing, Airbus about 250-plane order
American Airlines is negotiating with Airbus and Boeing to buy at least 250... more »
KLM powers Boeing 737 flight with cooking oil
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines operated the world's first scheduled airline... more »
Microsoft pockets even more Android licensing money
I should have gone with my gut Wednesday, when Microsoft announced – for... more »
Microsoft's Ballmer: Seattle has an NBA real estate problem
Wednesday we had technical difficulties with our blogging system, so I... more »
Ballmer suggests nice jump in annual Microsoft profit
Wednesday we had technical difficulties with our blogging system, so I... more »
LATEST BUSINESS HEADLINES FROM AP
T-Mobile spent $690,000 to lobby gov't in 1Q
AT&T spent $6.84M lobbying in 1st quarter
AP NewsAlert
Reports say FTC investigating Twitter
Court gives Nortel Networks more time to reoganize
Scripps Networks OKs buyback; sale seen unlikely
Medicare confirms payment for prostate cancer drug
Obama to take on Twitterverse in town hall
Veteran exec Little named CEO of newspaper group
Colo. Ball Aerospace plant to supply F-35 antennas
Jihadist web forum knocked off Internet
Tests show wireless network could harm GPS systems
Euro gains as investors reassured on aid deal
Afghan official: 2 Kabul Bank officials arrested
Fixed mortgage rates hold steady near yearly lows
Greek riots: ritual outlet for frustrated nation
Oil near $95 amid hopes for Greek aid deal
Launch of DC online gambling may be delayed
Larger corn crop could slow food inflation
Unemployment benefit applications stuck above 400K
DAILY DEALS: Featuring amazing deals, the best that Western Washington has to offer, at 50-90% OFF! SIGN UP TODAY!

This newsletter was sent to you on behalf of seattlepi.com. It is available to our newsletter subscribers.

•  Click to unsubscribe sportsdirectcom@gmail.com from this list. Or send your request referencing the specific newsletter to: Opt-Out Request, seattlepi.com, 101 Elliott Ave., Suite 540, Seattle, WA 98119.

•  We are fully compliant with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003

PIMail: Local news for June 30


JOSHUA TRUJILLO
Seattle Pride Parade
FROM THE BIG BLOG
Halo of light seen over Hawaii — what is it?
Want to dress like Don Draper? Banana Republic to launch 'Mad Men' line
Scorpion stings man on Alaska Airlines flight
Naked man strolls into SW Wash burger joint
Is Seattle up for a 'Reading Rainbow' flash mob?
FROM THE TRANSPORTATION BLOG
New state ferry Salish sails into service Friday
Slippery Burke-Gilman rail crossing up for a safety fix
Nevada officially authorizes driverless cars
Study: Seattle among top 'green' cities in North America
Seattle is the fourth "greenest" city in the United States and Canada,... more »
Bachmann Talks About Miscarriage
Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Mi.., has been an anti-abortion crusader in... more »
More reaction to Inslee's pension fund as startup seed $ idea
Jim Brunner at The Seattle Times reports that the Washington State Investment... more »
Thief takes wallet from 87-year-old man
Seattle police say a thief stole an 87-year-old man's wallet, after... more »
New federal judicial nominee
Thomas Owen Rice, a longtime federal prosecutor in Eastern Washington, has... more »
4 stabbed on Lummi Reservation
Four people are in the hospital and a teenager is in custody after a stabbing... more »
What happens if I get caught sneaking food into a movie?
Q: I've often brought outside food into movie theaters, but I've had... more »
Pundit calls Obama 'a dick' on air; gets suspended
Who knew the president's first name was Richard? Maybe that will calm down... more »
UW students to make 11th-hour protest of 20% tuition hike
more »
Ex-UW basketball player pleads not guilty to being pimp
Ex-University of Washington point guard Venoy Overton has pleaded not... more »
Photo
$750,000 fire at Renton apartment complex ruled accidental
The fire that caused $750,000 worth of damage to the Heritage Grove... more »
Poll: GOP unenthused by prez candidates
Republican voters are unenthusiastic about nine officially declared... more »
Fox ratings down, but still ahead
While ratings for Fox News took a dip, and long-suffering CNN showed signs of... more »
State suspends Kent dentist, says he groped female patient
State health officials have suspended a Kent dentist on allegations that... more »
Mercer Island attorney arrested in Seattle arson
A Mercer Island attorney has been arrested for investigation of arson, a... more »

This newsletter was sent to you on behalf of seattlepi.com. It is available to our newsletter subscribers.

•  Click to unsubscribe sportsdirectcom@gmail.com from this list. Or send your request referencing the specific newsletter to: Opt-Out Request, seattlepi.com, 101 Elliott Ave., Suite 540, Seattle, WA 98119.

•  We are fully compliant with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003

PIMail: Mariners news for June 30

In King's Court, anything goes — and that's a very good thing
SECTION 150 — Bill Tidwell was at the Kingdome in 1977 for the first game... more »
Seattle manager Eric Wedge ejected
SEATTLE (AP) — Mariners manager Eric Wedge has been ejected for the second... more »
Mariners put Bedard on DL, recall another catcher
The Mariners placed left-hander Erik Bedard on the 15-day disabled list... more »
Mariners' Bedard to DL with sprained knee
SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Mariners' stellar starting rotation took a hit... more »
Seattle selects Bard from Triple-A; Gimenez to DL
[...] the Seattle Mariners were left without other options on Tuesday night,... more »
Mariners recall Bard, place Gimenez on DL
The Mariners recalled catcher Josh Bard from triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday and... more »

This newsletter was sent to you on behalf of seattlepi.com. It is available to our newsletter subscribers.

•  Click to unsubscribe sportsdirectcom@gmail.com from this list. Or send your request referencing the specific newsletter to: Opt-Out Request, seattlepi.com, 101 Elliott Ave., Suite 540, Seattle, WA 98119.

•  We are fully compliant with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003

DAILY DEALS: Featuring amazing deals, the best that Western Washington has to offer, at 50-90% OFF! SIGN UP TODAY!

Forever Geek

Forever Geek


The Sound of Tau

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 04:30 AM PDT

What Tau Sounds Like 470x251 The Sound of Tau

What Tau Sounds Like

If that title sounds or looks familiar, then it is probably because we had a similar post earlier this year, courtesy of Robin. Around the time we celebrated Pi Day (I am assuming you guys ate your fair share of pie in March), musician Michael John Blake released his interpretation of what pi sounds like musically.

Now we all have heard or read the side of Michael Hartl, the brains behind the Tau Manifesto. Just the other day, people subscribing to the superiority of the constant tau celebrated Tau Day. In spite of the fact that I hold Pi Day in high regard, as I said in my post, I just can’t help but like the idea of celebrating Tau Day with two pies (Ï„=2Ï€)!

Anyhow, Michael John Blake has done it again. Using his initial piece of work, The Sound of Pi, as a basis, he has created new music – his idea of what tau sounds like. “What Tau Sounds Like” – or the sound of tau – has been making the rounds, and its creation is based on the first 126 digits of the constant. (That’s 6.28… instead of 3.14, yes?)

The “rules” are the same – you get a quick orientation at the start of the video. Blake assigns notes to the numbers and plays those notes (with some musical tweaking, of course) at 125.6 beats per minute. And just like with the previous video, he also uses various instruments to create the final piece of work for the sound of tau. The result? Something very pleasant to listen to. Watch the video below and let me know what you think.

I am not sure, but I think I like the sound of tau more than the sound of pi – musically, that is. The sucky thing is that I can’t remember the sound of pi much and the original video has been taken down by YouTube due to a copyright complaint raised by Lars Erickson. Blake sheds some light on this in another video. (You can find tons of offshoot videos on the sound of pi on YouTube, though.)

What do you think about the sound of tau? If you like this music, you can purchase it for $0.99.

What I am wondering about right now is which constant Blake leans toward.


Even the Box Art for Batman: Arkham City is Awesome

Posted: 29 Jun 2011 09:09 PM PDT

batmanarkhamcity ps3 470x577 Even the Box Art for Batman: Arkham City is Awesome

Do you even need me to describe this? Look at that art, man. It speaks for itself.

Get a good, long look. (The other two cover versions are below.) This is the box art you’ll be looking for on October 18th, when Batman: Arkham City finally hits store shelves.

I just love the look of this whole marketing campaign. What do you want in your Batman? You want tough-as-nails, genius married to brute strength and infinite reserves of fearlessness. And this image conveys all of that brilliantly. The little detail of blood on Batman’s knuckles is just perfect. This is a Batman who’s about to get real on some bad guys.

What with the incredible gameplay footage and screenshots we’ve seen so far, this game has got so much going for it… it’s going to have to do something really drastic in order to fail.

Does anybody know who’s creating these black-and-white promotional images for Batman: Arkham City? I have no idea if it was someone on staff at Rocksteady Studios or maybe some hip ad agency. I can’t find any official credit for the images anywhere. DC Comics attributes this comic book cover, done in the same style, to the game’s visual designer, Carlos D’Anda. But more than one cover was made available for that comic book, so it’s inconclusive.

If anyone knows who the artist responsible is, please let us know in the Comments!

batmanarkhamcity x360 470x638 Even the Box Art for Batman: Arkham City is Awesome

batmanarkhamcity pc 470x642 Even the Box Art for Batman: Arkham City is Awesome


12 Homemade Life-Size Transformers

Posted: 29 Jun 2011 03:02 PM PDT

In honor of Transformers: Dark of the Moon opening this week, I present to you 12 life-sized Transformers sculptures and statues. Every one is made to scale (aka, they’re huge) or close to scale, and they’re all made by fans. Prepare to be amazed.

ARCH

arch 470x626 12 Homemade Life Size Transformers

Commissioned to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Pittsburg, the “city of bridges,” this giant robot sculpture is made from parts of bridges, by artist Glenn Kaino. [Image source.]

Bendy Bus Prime

bendybusprime 930x651 12 Homemade Life Size Transformers

I’m a little reluctant to include this one, as it almost looks like a good Photoshop job. But everything I could find said that “Bendy Bus Prime” is the real deal. It’s made from over 100 bus parts, from England’s famous red buses that bend in the middle, and it’s been dubbed “the very first British Transformer.” [Image source.]

Bumblebee (Cartoon Version)

cartoonbumblebee 470x704 12 Homemade Life Size Transformers

Tom Rhoads of Lemoore, California created this 18-foot-tall replica in his front yard, using parts of a real VW Bug. Before you laugh at its cartoony nature, remember that this is serious nostalgia for a whole generation of fans. Without old school Transformers like this, there’d be no Michael Bay movies. More pictures at the link. [Image source.]

Citroen C2 “X2″

citroenx2 12 Homemade Life Size Transformers

Three friends from Nanjing, China spent $8,000 American dollars to turn a Citroen C2 into a Transformer that they’ve named “X2.” This is just the first of many Chinese creations you’ll see on this list… The Chinese really love their Transformers! [Image source.]

Cleveland Transformers

clevelandtransformers 930x673 12 Homemade Life Size Transformers

A family in Cleveland, Ohio displayed these impressive homemade statues on their front lawn for Halloween. [Image source.]

Guan Yu

chineseguanyu 470x702 12 Homemade Life Size Transformers

Guan Yu was a historic general from China’s Three Kingdoms period, who’s become a pop culture icon and hero in modern times. This statue is made to resemble him and his signature bladed staff, from an old Jie Fang model truck. It stands 30 feet tall and weighs 4 tons. [Image source.]

Megatron Tank

megatrontank 12 Homemade Life Size Transformers

Another Chinese fan build, this one a life-sized recreation of Megatron in his Revenge of the Fallen “alien tank” form. If this guy rides your bumper… let him pass. [Image source.]

Optimus Prime

optimusbeijing 12 Homemade Life Size Transformers

I’ve shown you this one before (along with another even bigger one that Noemi pointed out from Shenyang City), but it’s entirely worthy of inclusion here because of it’s awesome location placement: it’s right in front of the infamous “Bird’s Nest” arena from the ’08 Olympics. It’s made from recycled car parts. [Image source.]

Optimus Prime Ice Sculpture

optimusice 470x704 12 Homemade Life Size Transformers

Couldn’t find any details about this one, such as where it was located, but it’s one darn impressive ice sculpture. Tons of detail in this thing. See more photos at the link. [Image source.]

Scrap Metal Original

chineseoriginal 12 Homemade Life Size Transformers

A Chinese original made out of scrap metal from other cars. The builder uses it — and a few others he’s built — as a promotional tool for his scrap metal business. [Image source.]

Studio Re-Creation

studiorecreation 470x705 12 Homemade Life Size Transformers

Art shop “Studio Re-Creation” takes your favorite personal belongings and re-shapes them into something even more special. This one is a human-sized robot statue made from one of the sculptors’ first car, a Lada Samara Diva. [Image source.]

VW Passat

chinesepassat 470x600 12 Homemade Life Size Transformers

One more Chinese creation, a robot sculpture on display, made from a VW Passat. Looks pretty nifty, but where’s its head? [Image source.]


AutoWed. Importance of marriage reduced to some spare money and machine

Posted: 29 Jun 2011 11:16 AM PDT

Marriage Machine AutoWed. Importance of marriage reduced to some spare money and machine

Marriage.  The formal definition of the practice is, “Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship.”  Sounds so special, and it most certainly is, to some.  Unfortunately, nearly 50 percent of all marriages in America end in divorce, and a new, coin-based, method of getting married, Concept Shed's AutoWed Wedding Machine may result in those figures to rise even higher if the marriage method is made more official.

The AutoWed Wedding Machine,  2.5-meter-tall [8-foot], device mimics an actual wedding ceremony, producing a printed, but unofficial, marriage certificate for a dollar or U.K. pound.

After inserting your money, entering the details of you and your “betrothed” using a steampunk-inspired keyboard, a robotic voice reads out your names.  Once complete, the AutoWed dispenses a set of rings in plastic eggs, producing a “perfect” marriage.

AutoWed inventor Sam Lanyon:

"About a year and a half ago we were playing around with an idea about the bastardisation of a traditional wedding by crossing it with a parking meter. We stuck it into the sketchbook and it just sat there as an idea."

 

"We're going to be designing a simplified version. This one looks great but the custom-built keyboard and other details means that it's quite expensive. So we're producing a cut-down version for other bars to appreciate the payback."

While purely for fun at this point, one can envision certain spots on the globe, Las Vegas for example, where AutoWed could be used as an actual method for getting married.

The question is, would you opt to get married using AutoWed, or would you choose a more traditional marriage ceremony?

AutoWed Wedding Vending Machine by Concept Shed from Conceptshed on Vimeo.

 

Wired


Cosmic Jollies, Feeding The Hunger

Posted: 29 Jun 2011 06:49 AM PDT

Thanos 470x727 Cosmic Jollies, Feeding The Hunger

Thanos, in the iconic image of his redemption.

I don’t know about you, but since the demise of the Guardians Of The Galaxy, I have really been missing some truly cosmic space opera. The Annihilators mini-series bridged that gap for a little while, but my space opera addiction is a hungry beast, and needs feeding.

Regular readers will be aware that I am very much a fan of the Legion Of Super-Heroes as well, yet the current relaunch of the original pre-Crisis (or at least pre-Five Years Later) Legion is not filling the gap for me. Maybe I have been burnt too many times with endless reboots. I loved Five Years Later, although the fan base didn’t seem to agree with me. I liked the Reboot Legion, but they were abandoned. I never quite came to terms with the Threeboot.

The current storyline in Legion Of Super-Heroes seems very cosmic, with worlds of wisdom and faith, etc etc. Yet the personalities of the Legionnaires are not shining through for me. Now I knew the pre-Crisis Legion inside and out and I’m struggling to feel the continuity, so Lord knows how new readers are coping. Maybe they are ignorant of the discrepancies?

But the greatest discrepancies for me seem to be the lack of any depth in characterisation. Other than young Glorith (and we all know how that will turn out, eventually), I’m simply not feeling the love. Plus the writer Paul Levitz, who is well known as the Legion King, has disappointed me with his attempts to cope with Mon-El’s election as leader, along side his role as the new Green Lantern. How many Thirtieth Century Green Lantern’s is that now? (Reboots not withstanding of course.)

The only thing that has quelled my thirst from the comic store recently has been Kirby – Genesis, about which I have already enthused at length. If you haven’t picked that up already, do it! Do it now!

I’m missing the days of grand space opera that can be followed easily, and is not spread across fifteen different titles. Remember the promise that the Infinity Gauntlet possessed? Or course, by the third issue we discovered that promise would not be realised; but DnA’s recent work certainly filled that gap, with Annihilation, Annihilation: Conquest and the War Of Kings, culminating in the Thanos Imperative, which was fantastic, but in my mind could have been bigger. Not in scope, certainly, but in content. This was one series that I wanted to see some crossovers for. Or maybe it should have been twelve issues.

Speaking of Thanos, do you not just want to know what he is doing as the embodiment of Death in the Cancerverse? I’m in a quandary with this one. What makes the threat of Thanos such a big deal is that it is infrequent, but all encompassing when it arrives. Such a threat always needs to be handled with delicacy, after all, look at the Reign of the Doomsdays over in the Superman titles. After consistently offering a level of quality, the ‘Doomsdays’ feel manufactured and ill considered. The quality has vanished, in an instant, and the entire effort feels like a stopgap measure until we get to the DCnU. That would be fine, if they were single issue stories such as we saw in the early Eighties, but the Reign seems to drag on and on.

However, I sit satiated currently, as I have found what I needed in fan fiction. Over on the Cosmic Powers fan fiction group (which I have no idea if new material is still being generated for it, but I don’t think so), there is a story called the Twilight War, a twenty-two-chapter epic by a writer called Warren Entros. It’s been up there for years, but I have only just got round to reading it, and I can thoroughly recommend it. This is what the Infinity Trilogy should have been.

So, if you fancy some good old-fashioned Marvel Cosmic Space Opera and have had enough of the Flashpoint and Fear Itself, hop over to their site and get reading. You won’t regret it, and it’s fun.

 


Followers

Blog Archive