Ill. Law Would Bypass Electoral College

This is pretty interesting. Aparantly Illinois, Maryland, and New Jersey are contemplating bypassing the electoral college by giving their college votes to the popular vote winner. This is, I think, a great idea politically, but a really bad one if only a few states are working this way. The problem is a shift in the power of the vote in those states. In effect, the votes of everyone outside those states would be counted twice once in their home state, and by the effect it would have on the national popular vote, the electoral votes of the states participating in this "National Popular Vote" plan. Essentially, becuase those states electoral votes would go with the popular vote of the nation, the sheer number of external voters would overpower the local voters. Personally, I think the electoral college is an outdated and detrimental system that needs to be disposed of, but I'm very much unconvinced this is the way to do it. This'll just make the system even wackier.

Down for Renovations

So, I haven't updated this in a long time. I'd like to change the format a bit, and that requires re-writing the software that runs this thing, and that requires time I don't really currently have. I'll get it done eventually, though.

I'm an 8th grade science ninja.

You can Count on it

Article link: You can Count on it



Source: Cectic - The Comic

Man Tasered For Filming Warrantless Police Search

Article link: Man Tasered For Filming Warrantless Police Search

When one woman was told to stop recording, she gave the video camera to Waterhouse. He walked to the edge of the property, climbed up a dirt embankment and continued to record. At one point, he yelled to his friend, "Yes, I got it all on film.
Source: Newsvine - Get Smarter Here

My Racing Simulation Rig

Article link: My Racing Simulation Rig

One advantage of being a geek is that our habits-- as such habits go-- are not terribly expensive. I've written before about my interest in auto racing . Instead of spending $100,000 on a sports car, I've built a nifty racing simulation rig that delivers many of the same thrills at a tiny fraction of the price . It's one of my few indulgences, and I'd like to share how I built it with you.

Here are the ingredients:

Playseats Evolution (black)	$299
Playseats Evolution shifter add-on	$39
Logitech G25 racing wheel	$229
50 watt Aura bass shaker x 2	$80
Generic 100 watt subwoofer amp	$100

It's worth noting that the Playseat Evolution is designed to mate with the G25 wheels, pedal, and shifter . The mounting holes match up perfectly . That was a pleasant surprise, as I had to do quite a bit of drilling on the older, original Playseat to get things mounted in the first version of this rig . With the Evolution and G25 combo, it's almost plug and play, although you still have to do some drilling to get the shifter add-on mounted properly.

The premium leather-and-metal (well, mostly) G25 kit includes some fairly esoteric features from a major brand vendor like Logitech, notably a clutch pedal and full shifter kit .

I know $229 may seem like a lot, but it's actually a great deal considering what you'd have to pay for an aftermarket shifter or clutch. You don't have to use these advanced realism features, of course. You can always ignore the clutch pedal, and the shifter can be switched between simple up/down mode and a full 6 speed + reverse layout.

The other item of interest here is the bass shakers . I split the PC audio between the PC and the 100 watt subwoofer amplifier, which is strategically mounted under the seat via bungee cords. I also tuck most of the wires under there.

The amp is dedicated to driving the two 50 watt Aura shakers, which I've drilled and mounted on each side of the seat platform. The bottom of the aura has a cork backing, so there's no metal-to-metal contact.

The wiring is quite basic, but if you'd like more detail there's a great walkthrough on hooking up bass shakers on Dave's site. The net effect of the bass shakers is pretty wonderful-- all the low-end bass is converted to tactile rumbling you feel in the driver's seat. You'll instantly know when you hit a rumble strip, and when revving a powerful engine you can feel the roar. Bass shakers are a clever, if decidedly low-tech, way to extend the sophisticated force feedback effects of the wheel to the rest of your body. It's no force dynamics simulator , but the bang for the buck is off the charts.

The "brains" behind this simulator is a franken-machine of parts left over from various PC upgrades I've made over the last year or so. PCs are so cheap these days, it's hardly worth listing the hardware specs. Any vaguely modern dual core CPU with 2 GB of memory will do fine. There are only two bits worth worrying about:

• Video card . Don't skimp here. I'd recommend the NVIDIA 8800GT or better, as games tend to be heavily video card dependent these days.
• Sound card . Get a discrete sound card with enough outputs to drive a 5.1 surround system. I need three analog outputs to drive the necessary 6 channels on the old Logitech Z-680 surround system I used in this room. A simple stereo plug isn't enough.

For the display, I opted for an inexpensive projection system.

I used a typical 4:3 business class projector, mounted on a shelf at the rear top of the room. The screen is the largest that would fit in the space. I've also mounted the 5.1 speakers on the wall, as you can see. The two rear speakers are on the opposite wall behind us, and the subwoofer sits in a rear corner.

Business class projector (1024x768)	~$800
8 foot projector screen	~$150
Logitech 5.1 surround speaker system	$220

Between the booming sound, the huge eight foot screen, the realistic racing "cockpit", and the force feedback of the leather-wrapped wheel and rumbling bass shakers, it's an impressive driving experience.

I've always loved racing simulations, and now I've assembled a rig that does them justice. Some of my current favorite racing sims are:

• Dirt
• Richard Burns Rally
• Race 07: The official WTCC Game
• GTR 2
• rFactor
• Live for Speed

There's something about the programmer in me that delights in the physics playground afforded by these simulations:

Simulation, by definition, needs to be accurate. Otherwise, well, it's not simulating reality, really, which is of course the idea of simulation. Games like Forza simulate the real physics of racing in a predictable and mathematically precise manner.

The past, present and future of computer simulation of real-time physical events, or simply computer-based simulations that involve highly accurate representations of things moving/changing in space and time that are precisely affected by multiple variables like wind, rain, gravity, mud, oil, planets, waves, etc are fascinating topics for gamers (many may not realize this explicitly, but they sure experience it!), mathematicians, programmers and physicists alike.

I know this racing simulation rig probably barely scratches the surface of what it would actually be like to drive a $100k sports car on a race track. It certainly won't get you as much attention from the opposite sex as a real sports car would. But it's still a heck of a lot of fun, nonetheless-- and it can be built by mere mortals like you and I.

Source: Coding Horror

Will Gullible Audiophiles Buy Absolutely ANYTHING?

Article link: Will Gullible Audiophiles Buy Absolutely ANYTHING?



There is certainly no shortage of “tweak†devices designed to separate audiophiles from their money by offering the promise of huge gains in sound quality. Some prime examples are the $200 Shakti Audio “Electromagnetic Stabilizer Stone†which sits on top of a line conditioner or transformer and is said to use proprietary noise reduction circuitry to absorb RF and EMI noise and dissipate them as heat, the $125/pr Creative Cable Concepts “Pigtails†which are designed to eliminate “Back-EMF†, a supposed distortion caused by the backward movement of cone and dome drivers by connecting to the positive terminal on a speaker, and the $1800 Furutech DeMag , which demagnetizes CDs and DVDs, cables, and somehow, vinyl LPs.

When it comes to shameless hucksterism and pure snake-oil though, none of these products or companies can even hold a candle to Machina Dynamica. Their products and their performance claims are so transparently ridiculous that it beggars belief.
[more]

Let’s start with the “Tru-Tone†electrical outlet cover , an “audiophile grade†outlet cover made with proprietary materials and processing techniques which “produce a remarkably powerful, detailed and focused sound.†Machina Dynamica recommends using at least three or four of them (and of course there’s the accompanying package deal, four for just $99!) on your outlets, including outlets with nothing plugged in to them.

It gets worse, far worse. The “Brilliant Pebbles†is, quite literally, a plastic bag filled with rocks. It is of course made with a number of “highly-specialized, proprietary techniques are used for preparation/assembly†, and is claimed to act as a “vibration ‘node damper’ and EMI/RFI absorber depending on size/application via atomic mechanisms in the crystal structures.†Machina Dynamica offers several different sizes of bags and rocks, with prices ranging from $39 to $159. There’s even a “white paper†on the Brilliant Pebbles, full of strings of words which make absolutely no sense.

There’s also the “Clever Little Clock†, a cheapie travel alarm clock (you won’t know what kind it is until you receive it in the mail) which has been modified with more of Machina Dynamica’s proprietary techniques. They set it from the “factory†; you aren’t even supposed to set the time. It runs on “special batteries†(which Machina Dynamica will replace for you when they run out, regular Duracells “won’t work†). What are you supposed to do with it? Just stick it somewhere in the room, and it will transform the sound of your system with its magic power. The clocks are apparently so clever that in order to test your system without them, you must “place the Clock outside the house structure, for example on the front steps -- but NOT in a drawer, closet, another room, basement or garage OR the family car.†The Clever Little Clock is an absolute bargain at just $199, especially considering the glowing review and award it received from Positive Feedback.

The product that jumps the shark, the most ridiculous of them all, is the “Teleportation Tweak†. You call Machina Dynamica on either a landline or cell phone, and they play a series of clicks and beeps for about 30 seconds. Machina Dynamic will transmit their sound magic over the phone, transforming your system, for just $60. There’s no physical product at all. 30 seconds of FAX modem noises, over the phone, for $60. It’s enough to make a Bose or Monster Cable marketer’s head explode. All of this would be very funny if no one actually fell for this stuff, but they do. Machina Dynamica has racked up over 750 sales on Audiogon alone. In an answer to my own question, will gullible audiophiles buy absolutely anything? Sadly, yes.
Source: Audio Junkies