Meanwhile... On YouTube

I've come across/been sent a number of videos lately, so I thought I would share them.

How many men does it take to build Stonehenge? One.

Awareness test more interesting than it sounds.

Nothing beats water balloons in slow motion.

Obligatory robot suits.

And... live action Mario.

Ingenious Means Genious? What A Country!

There's something ingenious about garfield minus garfield.

Extra bonus psychiatry rant, that also doesn't explain the post title.

Moore's Law Has Nothing On This

When an article has a title like Tiny Brain-Like Computer Created, how can I not comment on it? I think this article should give a fairly good glimpse of where nanotechnology is going to take us. A quantum computer whose transistors, rather than having 2 states, have 4.3 billion states, is the kind of idea that makes me salivate. Of course, that kind of application for these machines is still a long, long way off. Now we just need the tiny brain-like software.

It's Like A Segway Above the Waist

Robotic Arm
Dean Kamen (inventor of the Segway) is working on a next generation prosthetic arm. It looks pretty impressive.

For Those Who've Missed the Debates

...this should get you caught up.

Life Imitates Spam?

You may recall my run down of an email about gas pumping tips a while back. Apparently someone has taken the "heated gas expands" tip a bit more seriously than I did. In fact, our very own Kansas City Star has the scoop. They say that back in 2006 they estimated that the estimated overpayment for gas amounted to $2.3 billion annually, because the standard temperature used to determine the price is about 5 degrees cooler than what it gets sold at.

The judge's order had these handy figures in it:

To apply D-1250 to petroleum sales, one adjusts the total sales price to reflect the temperature of the product in relation to the 60 degrees Fahrenheit standard. CAC ¶ 16. For example, if a retailer purchases 10,000 gallons of motor fuel from a wholesaler at a time when the fuel temperature is 90 degrees Fahrenheit, the retailer will pay the wholesaler for the volumetric amount when the fuel is measured at 60 degrees Fahrenheit – i.e. 2,310,000 cubic inches (231 cubic inches x 10,000 gallons). Without temperature adjustment, the retailer would pay for the expanded volume of 10,000 gallons of motor fuel measured at 90 degrees Fahrenheit – i.e. 2,357,800 cubic inches (235.78 cubic inches – the volume of a U.S. petroleum gallon measured at 90 degrees – x 10,000 gallons).

So, a gallon of gas at 60 degrees, has a volume of 231 cubic inches. Heated up to 90 degrees that expands to 235.78 cubic inches. That let's me check my math I used previously. I had used a volumetric expansion coefficient of 0.001 before, using the given data, I can use a similar chart to the one I linked to before to calculate what the coefficient actually is, and I get... 0.00124156. Well damn, I had meant to be generous, but I was a bit short. I had previously said that 10 gallons of gasoline heated from 40 degrees Fahrenheit to 80 degrees would net you 10.222222 gallons (a difference of 66 cents at $3 bucks a gallon), with the new coefficient I come up with 10.275902 gallons (a difference of 82 cents).

So, there's the updated math. On a day where the temperature of the gasoline stored in the ground changes by 40 degrees, you could possible be shorted 82 cents worth of gas if you choose to measure the sale by energy instead of volume. The class action lawsuit comes in at 5 degrees, or what would amount to a 1.2 cent variance per gallon. Not a big difference in my book, and in fact, you're only getting "screwed by the oil companies" if you live in a warm state. If you live in a cold state, it sounds like you're actually getting your fuel at a discount. I'm not sure I would agree with the idea that it's a ripoff anyway, since gas is sold by volume, and not by the amount of energy in it. Do we really need gas pumps that show how many joules of energy you've pumped into your tank? You know, some of that energy gets converted into matter when you drive down the highway. Stupid space & time, always trying to stick it to the little guy.

I couldn't bring myself to read past the third page of the suit for fear that I was getting dumber, but I did find this jewel that I think sums things up nicely:

Defendants advertise and sell the fuel at a specified price per gallon without expressly defining the term “gallon.”

Those bastards!

The Day We All Rolled 1s

Gary Gygax has passed away. He was the co-creator of a game that brought countless hours of entertainment to geeks everywhere, inspired a hilarious Tom Hanks movie, and made my mother wonder if I was involved in something satanic.

He will be missed.

First They Came For The Smokers

American beer companies are being sued for marketing to children with some of their new products (cause, you know, kids love their caffeine). I would say the writing is on the wall, but between this, wanting to put breathalyzers in every car, and zero-tolerance for blood alcohol content, I think we're well past that point.