not only is zack morris the greatest character in the history of television, he's also the first to have a cell phone.
Monday, 4 April 2011
the brick
not only is zack morris the greatest character in the history of television, he's also the first to have a cell phone.
Cell Phone
Because of cellphones:
1. I text and barely call people unless it's an emergency.
2. I don't remember anyone's phone numbers.
I don't know where this guy came from.
Everybody wants a phone
I don't really get cell phones, despite begrudgingly owning one since I was...wait for it...14. But eventually it fell into one of the many technological concessions I've made to my generation.
Anyway I love fat entitled children!
T-Mobile - G1
It's product cycle ended almost a year ago, so it only has Android 1.6 on it. Most of the modern Apps need Android 2.0 to run correctly. It struggles ( with an ARM11 with 192Mb RAM) to keep up with most of it's functions, which is surprising considering that it's probably the 4th or 5th fastest computer I've ever owned. My first Dante covers were done on a machine that was a remote ancestor of this thing ( Acorn RiscPC with an Arm2 CPU with 120Mb of RAM , which I still own but is going in the recycling this year)
I don't generally get sentimental about machinery and I am more than aware of the various failings of this phone, but this has been a very good piece of kit.
38th Anniversary of the First Cell Phone Call!
So, it turns out that the first ever cellphone call was made 38 years ago today. Who knew the cellphone was so old? It's older than me!
I think the first time, in my own limited worldview, that I really became aware of the soon-to-be-ubiquitous cell phone was about 1995, give or take a year. So, as I am often prone to do, I tried to imagine what 1995 George, if while on one of his patented Angry Walks® through 1995 NYC, would think if he accidentally walked through a space-time wormhole to the NYC of 2011 and saw all the peoples on their bluetooth headsets.
Used to be, you could spot the crazies in NYC a mile off, as they'd be the ones merrily yammering to themselves. Now, we all are. Yay cell phones!
I think the first time, in my own limited worldview, that I really became aware of the soon-to-be-ubiquitous cell phone was about 1995, give or take a year. So, as I am often prone to do, I tried to imagine what 1995 George, if while on one of his patented Angry Walks® through 1995 NYC, would think if he accidentally walked through a space-time wormhole to the NYC of 2011 and saw all the peoples on their bluetooth headsets.
Used to be, you could spot the crazies in NYC a mile off, as they'd be the ones merrily yammering to themselves. Now, we all are. Yay cell phones!
first cell phone call
Yesterday was the 38th anniversary of the day that Martin
Cooper made the first cell phone call.
Thus, TODAY we celebrate a mostly forgotten, but
no less momentous anniversary. 38 years ago today Mr. Cooper
was the first person to drop his phone in a public toilet,
creating the first "Smell phone"along with several
new profane words I can't reproduce here.
We salute you (and curse you at times) Martin Cooper!
Cooper made the first cell phone call.
Thus, TODAY we celebrate a mostly forgotten, but
no less momentous anniversary. 38 years ago today Mr. Cooper
was the first person to drop his phone in a public toilet,
creating the first "Smell phone"along with several
new profane words I can't reproduce here.
We salute you (and curse you at times) Martin Cooper!
Sunday, 3 April 2011
Saturday, 2 April 2011
Mona-leficent
Seeing as today's topic is "free for all Saturday I decided to draw the big bad from the Disney classic Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent.
Too dark.
I have gotta hate.
Follow me on Twitter!
Too dark.
I have gotta hate.
Follow me on Twitter!
Friday, 1 April 2011
Naked Morena Baccarin! She's nude! **UPDATED!!** NOW WITH ACTUAL SMUT!!!
Screw Tiny Ants! Tim has had some sort of infestation in his kitchen/change in his medication and has been obsessed with the creepy crawlies lately. I'm all like, I don't want to draw the little bugs bugs bugs that are crawling all over everything, I wanna draw Morena Baccarin, she of Firefly and V fame, with no clothes on! Did you see how many hits Simon got yesterday with his fully clothed drawing of her (in tandem with his underhanded dealings with the Whedonesque board)?!? Plus she's GORGEOUS, and I'm kind of the go-to guy for drawing naked ladies around here. If I draw her naked, the sky's the limit!
Just to make it tie into today's theme a little, I drew, somewhere on that expanse of curvaceous, naked flesh, a Tiny Ant. Just like Tim requested. And tell you what-- the first person who finds that Tiny Ant in the comments section WINS the original 6" by 8.5" piece of art. Black and white only--- the original is pen and ink in my sketchbook. The colors were added later in Photoshop. Still, free naked Morena Baccarin art, if you can find the Tiny Ant. Sound good?
I can't have this not-very-family-friendly picture at the top of the page, so please give a click after the jump to see Morena Baccarin in all her nude glory, and your chance to win the drawing:
UPDATE!!!
So to my surprise, nobody was actually able to find the hidden ant in my nude drawing of Morena Baccarin, so unfortunately the original piece of art is going unclaimed. I guess the sight of all that naked, voluptuous, curvaceous, sexy... what was I talking about again? Anyway, without further ado, here is the drawing in question again, now with the hidden ant clearly labeled. Enjoy!
Just to make it tie into today's theme a little, I drew, somewhere on that expanse of curvaceous, naked flesh, a Tiny Ant. Just like Tim requested. And tell you what-- the first person who finds that Tiny Ant in the comments section WINS the original 6" by 8.5" piece of art. Black and white only--- the original is pen and ink in my sketchbook. The colors were added later in Photoshop. Still, free naked Morena Baccarin art, if you can find the Tiny Ant. Sound good?
I can't have this not-very-family-friendly picture at the top of the page, so please give a click after the jump to see Morena Baccarin in all her nude glory, and your chance to win the drawing:
UPDATE!!!
So to my surprise, nobody was actually able to find the hidden ant in my nude drawing of Morena Baccarin, so unfortunately the original piece of art is going unclaimed. I guess the sight of all that naked, voluptuous, curvaceous, sexy... what was I talking about again? Anyway, without further ado, here is the drawing in question again, now with the hidden ant clearly labeled. Enjoy!
 |
| Oh, now I see it. It's on her ear. |
Tiny Fire Ants
Probably my finest work yet. I wanted to be a bit different and draw FIRE ANTS.
It wasn't easy and normally I cringe when I see everybody else's work...but today I feel pretty good.
Tiny Ants!
Todays theme is Tiny Ants!
My favorite ant is the Fire Ant.
I love them so much I went and drew THREE of them.
I know. I'm always being a show off.
Enjoy.
Some info:
Fire ants are known for their lively and aggressive behavior, swarming over anyone or anything that disturbs their nest, often attacking wild animals, baby animals, pets or people, in some instances, even killing them. Their painful stings affect about 40% of people in infested areas each year. Twenty million people a year are stung by fireants in the United States!
When these pesky critters invade an area, they do it with a vengeance. There will be enormous numbers of them which can dramatically reduce populations of native ants, other insects, and even ground-nesting wildlife. Watch out. They invade homes, school yards, athletic fields, golf courses, and parks. They will damage crops and electrical equipment, costing humans billions of dollars each year in repairs and eradication. Texas A&M University estimated the cost to the state of Texas alone was over $1 billion per year.
My favorite ant is the Fire Ant.
I love them so much I went and drew THREE of them.
I know. I'm always being a show off.
Enjoy.
Some info:
Fire ants are known for their lively and aggressive behavior, swarming over anyone or anything that disturbs their nest, often attacking wild animals, baby animals, pets or people, in some instances, even killing them. Their painful stings affect about 40% of people in infested areas each year. Twenty million people a year are stung by fireants in the United States!
When these pesky critters invade an area, they do it with a vengeance. There will be enormous numbers of them which can dramatically reduce populations of native ants, other insects, and even ground-nesting wildlife. Watch out. They invade homes, school yards, athletic fields, golf courses, and parks. They will damage crops and electrical equipment, costing humans billions of dollars each year in repairs and eradication. Texas A&M University estimated the cost to the state of Texas alone was over $1 billion per year.
Ctenocephaides Hymenopterae - 'The Ant Flea'
This is the story of Fa Roil-Lop a Malaysian Grad Student at the Myrmecology Research Labs of Brisbane University and one of the most remarkable zoological discoveries of modern times. Though it's unlikely that you have heard of it, Ctenocephaides Hymenopterae is the most numerous animal in the world. It's common name might make things a little clearer, Ctenocephaides Hymenopterae is also known as 'The Ant Flea'.
To understand exactly how this creature is remarkable you have to understand a little about it's discovery.
In 1997 Dr Roil-Lop was finishing off his graduate thesis on "The Haplodiploid Sex-determinant factors in Myrmecia Pilosula ( The Australian Jack Jumper Ant )" when he noticed some rather erratic behaviour among his test subjects. After introducing a wild caught specimen into a colony of 20th generation laboratory bred ants, Roil-Lop observed a marked change in behaviour. As the newcomer passed through the colony, the other Ants became highly excited, they twitched and spasmed , writhing as if in pain. Though the apparent carrier of the 'infection' remained calm and displayed no symptoms. Roil-Lop's supervisor, Professor Angus Maynard,initially attributed the outbreak to the spread of a fungal pathogen, though the infection rate was many times what would be expected from fungal spores. Roil-Lop was curious and over the coming months conducted a number of autopsies on the affected Myrmecia.
His initial studies revealed nothing out of the ordinary, no fungal spores, so Roil-Lop decided to do something unorthodox. Using free time in the early hours of the morning, Roil-Lop and his team started analysing their samples using the University Physics Departments Low-Voltage Electron Microscope (LVEM), producing images of the ants bodies at unparalleled resolution for the time. At that scale the source of the irritation became immediately apparent. As the researchers studied the scans at below the >1 µm range, numerous tiny organisms became visible. It was initially difficult to see enough detail to make an accurate identification, so the sample was flown to the MIT-CMSE Electron Microscopy Shared Experimental Facility in Boston, where the higher powered equipment would allow more accurate scans. From these images the identification of Ctenocephaides Hymenopterae the 'Ant Flea' was made. That Ants could be the victims of parisitism was not in itself surprising, they are frequently prey to Nematode worms and fungae, but the scale of the parasite in question is remarkable. The Ant Flea is not only the smallest insect ever discovered it is the smallest animal ever discovered! If you can imagine a normal ant (Pachycondyla verenae) then the Ant Flea is in proportion to it, as the common rat flea (Nosopsyllus fasciatus) is to the average human being. Each Ants body was shown to be carrying in the region of 700 unique parasites!
Now this is where the story gets quite alarming, Roil-Lop and Maynard theorized that as nobody had thought to look for this creature before, it could be a lot more common than might be expected. Their findings surprised even them. Not only was Ctenocephaides Hymenopterae widespread on a wide range of insect life, it was also found on mammals and reptiles. So far the Ant Flea has been found on all the continents of the world ( except Antarctica ) and to have a fruitful and untroubled parasitic relationship with almost every form of terrestrial life on Earth, from African Elephants right down to Fleas themselves. Mathematical modelling suggests that the combined biomass of this species alone could outweigh that of all mammilian life on Earth!
Needless to say Fa Roil-Lop's thesis was greeted with an extraordinary amount of interest in the world of Zoology and in the scientific community at large. The paper "Studies on the growth and lifecycle of Ctenocephaides Hymenopterae" A.M.Maynard , F. Roil-Lop , G. Dickenson & U.R.A Suquer was presented in 2002 and was subsequently published in Nature ( Volume 471 Number 7340 pp547-672, March 2002)
Professors Roil-Lop and Maynard will be presenting their work to the Royal Society of London on April 1st of this year. You would be a fool to miss it.
To understand exactly how this creature is remarkable you have to understand a little about it's discovery.
In 1997 Dr Roil-Lop was finishing off his graduate thesis on "The Haplodiploid Sex-determinant factors in Myrmecia Pilosula ( The Australian Jack Jumper Ant )" when he noticed some rather erratic behaviour among his test subjects. After introducing a wild caught specimen into a colony of 20th generation laboratory bred ants, Roil-Lop observed a marked change in behaviour. As the newcomer passed through the colony, the other Ants became highly excited, they twitched and spasmed , writhing as if in pain. Though the apparent carrier of the 'infection' remained calm and displayed no symptoms. Roil-Lop's supervisor, Professor Angus Maynard,initially attributed the outbreak to the spread of a fungal pathogen, though the infection rate was many times what would be expected from fungal spores. Roil-Lop was curious and over the coming months conducted a number of autopsies on the affected Myrmecia.
His initial studies revealed nothing out of the ordinary, no fungal spores, so Roil-Lop decided to do something unorthodox. Using free time in the early hours of the morning, Roil-Lop and his team started analysing their samples using the University Physics Departments Low-Voltage Electron Microscope (LVEM), producing images of the ants bodies at unparalleled resolution for the time. At that scale the source of the irritation became immediately apparent. As the researchers studied the scans at below the >1 µm range, numerous tiny organisms became visible. It was initially difficult to see enough detail to make an accurate identification, so the sample was flown to the MIT-CMSE Electron Microscopy Shared Experimental Facility in Boston, where the higher powered equipment would allow more accurate scans. From these images the identification of Ctenocephaides Hymenopterae the 'Ant Flea' was made. That Ants could be the victims of parisitism was not in itself surprising, they are frequently prey to Nematode worms and fungae, but the scale of the parasite in question is remarkable. The Ant Flea is not only the smallest insect ever discovered it is the smallest animal ever discovered! If you can imagine a normal ant (Pachycondyla verenae) then the Ant Flea is in proportion to it, as the common rat flea (Nosopsyllus fasciatus) is to the average human being. Each Ants body was shown to be carrying in the region of 700 unique parasites!
Now this is where the story gets quite alarming, Roil-Lop and Maynard theorized that as nobody had thought to look for this creature before, it could be a lot more common than might be expected. Their findings surprised even them. Not only was Ctenocephaides Hymenopterae widespread on a wide range of insect life, it was also found on mammals and reptiles. So far the Ant Flea has been found on all the continents of the world ( except Antarctica ) and to have a fruitful and untroubled parasitic relationship with almost every form of terrestrial life on Earth, from African Elephants right down to Fleas themselves. Mathematical modelling suggests that the combined biomass of this species alone could outweigh that of all mammilian life on Earth!
Needless to say Fa Roil-Lop's thesis was greeted with an extraordinary amount of interest in the world of Zoology and in the scientific community at large. The paper "Studies on the growth and lifecycle of Ctenocephaides Hymenopterae" A.M.Maynard , F. Roil-Lop , G. Dickenson & U.R.A Suquer was presented in 2002 and was subsequently published in Nature ( Volume 471 Number 7340 pp547-672, March 2002)
Professors Roil-Lop and Maynard will be presenting their work to the Royal Society of London on April 1st of this year. You would be a fool to miss it.
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