Heaving Dead Cats » geek

Scanning Electron Micrograph Of My Toothbrush!

Neece — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:21:09 +0000

Last month Johnny posted about an offer from ASPEX. They have desktop SEM (Scanning Electron Micrograph) and will scan a sample of anything you send to them.

The offer still stands. Follow the instructions here to get your dead bugs and rotten food scanned for free.

I sent in my toothbrush and they sent me an email with the results the other day! So here it is:

Pretty interesting, huh? They also put up two other toothbrush scans:

While mine was old, this one looks new. The corners of the top don’t look so worn.

Here’s the third one:

ASPEX also has a contest running. Name that sample for a free 1gb USB stick. Here’s this week’s which will be over soon:

Click the image to go to that page where you can comment with what you think it is. Or go here.

FREE Scanning Electron Micrographs of Just About Anything

Johnny — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:35:45 +0000

An interesting offer from ASPEX
November 10, 2009 2:54 PM – by PZ Myers

I had my doubts about this; I got an offer from ASPEX corporation to let people get free scanning electron micrographs of just about anything. They make a desktop SEM (Scanning Electron Micrograph), and all you have to do is fill out a form and mail it in with your sample of a dead bug or a microchip or bacon, and presto, within a few weeks they’ll have it scanned in and the image available on their website.

I asked them if they knew how many readers I have, and they said no problem, they can handle it.

Huh.

Well, you heard them. Scavenge your trash cans, dig into your local sources of vermin and oddments, and send them in. I’m thinking this could be really fun for any school teachers out there — you could have the whole class looking for interesting specimens to zoom in on. You can see their current galleries for ideas.

Follow the instructions here to get your dead bugs and rotten food scanned for free.

If you do send something in to get scanned be sure to note that you found them via PZ; and be sure to come back here and share your scan with the rest of us!

WolframAlpha and Google “Fun” While Fixing Computers

Neece — Mon, 18 May 2009 22:06:54 +0000

Ok, this will be relatively short because I’m very tired and I really have to go downstairs and devote myself to fixing Butch’s computer today. You know how it happens, one thing leads to another, and suddenly I am doing a clean install of windows xp for him. Let’s hope it fixes most of his problems and he’ll be a happy camper again. (He has no internet connection. That’s just not bearable these days, you know? Everyone needs and deserves fast internet access!)

So, if you haven’t heard, WolframAlpha, the latest, coolest “computational knowledge engine” is out and ready to play with. It still has a long way to go with adding more functionality, but there’s a lot in there. I was asking it questions regarding religions and that wasn’t really an option yet. Go over and try a few questions, watch the video, and see if you won’t at least bookmark the site. It’s geektastic, if you ask me.

One question I asked it was how many people per church are in my town? Unfortunately it didn’t know how many churches were here, so that didn’t work. But it told me the population, so that was a start. Also it has handy links down on the right. One was to Wikipedia which had an even newer figure for my town’s population. So then I went to Google Maps and asked it to tell me where all the churches are in my town. Here is a summary of what I found:

Population: 19,096 people
Area: 8.2 sq. miles
Churches: 6302

That’s 3 people per church. WTF? That can’t be right!?

Now, I think some of those 6,302 churches are in the surrounding area outside of town. So I redefined my search to be near the main street of downtown. I got 6,296 churches. Within 8 miles of downtown, I would say the first 10 pages of results would be a fair estimate. That’s about 100 churches. Whew.. that’s much better. I was freaking out there for a minute.

That still means 191 people per church. That makes more sense, I guess. But seriously, driving through our sleepy little town, there’s a church on every corner, it seems. The major denominations competing for the sheeple are catholic and methodist. We have a pentacostal church near our house too.

Well, now that I’ve wasted an hour of my day, and a few minutes of yours, I’ll go work on Butch’s computer. Which reminds me, if you’re a geek, I’d love to be your new BFF! I know just enough about computers to get myself deep into trouble and not be able to get back out of it again. So wish me luck. I’m diving in headfirst!

A Happy, Frustrated Atheist

Neece — Sat, 09 May 2009 03:06:44 +0000

Hey everyone! First, let’s catch up.

Comments: Thanks for the great comments recently! I promise to reply to each of them but I am falling behind. I realized some of them really require a post devoted to them instead of just a reply. So please don’t think I’m ignoring you. I will comment soon.
Computers: It’s true. Ask my poor long-suffering husband Butch, I am missing the Patience gene. My computer has been doing strange things since I reinstalled windows (which I do every 6 months to a year to keep things fresh and in working order, as every past geek friend of mine has recommended) and I found out through Lifehacker that Windows 7 beta is freely available for download. Well, of course I had to do it. I have waited as long as possible, but the ADD, Shiny-Loving Geek in me had to have it. I’m such a sucker for the shiny when it comes to geek stuff. (Luckily for Butch, I couldn’t care less about diamonds and that kind of nonsense. Unfortunately though, I need gadgets and computers and stuff like that.) It’s my kryptonite, I guess. So I just had to have windows 7, and now, of course, I’m having problems with the virtual memory. Sigh. So bear with me, it’s taking me quite some time to try to figure out the issue and see if I can find a fix. On a completely unrelated note, I’m interviewing geeks to be my new BFF. Please apply within.

Ok, now, I want to talk to you briefly about happiness. Are you an atheist? Are you happy? This lingering idea keeps wandering around that all atheists are curmudgeonly, grumpy, miserable, fatalistic and depressed.

I’ve been an atheist for 9 years, and for many years before that I was basically an agnostic. I have to say, I think discarding religion was a huge relief. I think I felt better. Once I finally learned to think critically, I think I started really seeing rationally and really appreciating the natural wonders of the universe. If anything, this process has left me more happy, more fascinated by the world of science and discovery. I think I’m happier and calmer, yet always eager to learn and grow.

But I think I probably come across under certain circumstances as a furious cynic. Why would that be? Which is the real me? The happy atheist is who I think I’d identify with best. But my bullshit meter has become increasingly sensitive. So when someone says something that screams of ignorance and a total lack of thinking for oneself, I just tend to get irritated, frustrated and grumpy.

It seems that wherever I go I’m surrounded by sheeple people who let others think for them. They spew forth the rubbish and lies that had been told to them by people in some strange version of authority (whether that be their minister, the pope, the government, or a slick marketing campaign) and that’s good enough for them. They wallow in their ignorance like it was some sort of universal remedy. Thinking is endangered and that pisses me off, and worries me.

Anyway, other than that, I’m quite a content person overall. Are you an atheist? Or a believer? Are you happy and content? Or are you angry and bitter and curmudgeonly? If you’re happy, do you still get really angry over certain things? I look forward to your comments! Oh,and have a great evening!

Richard Dawkins “Rose From The Dead”

sheisgod — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:41:21 +0000

From NewsBiscuit

via RichardDawkins.net

Confirmed atheist Richard Dawkins was forced onto the defensive yesterday after he died but subsequently rose from the dead in a miraculous resurrection, much like that of the son of God Jesus Christ.

‘There are a number of perfectly logical scientific explanations for what has happened’ he told journalists flocking to hear his story or just touch the hem of his clothing. ‘Although I was pronounced dead after the unfortunate incident on Friday, the doctors clearly made a mistake. The fact that there was thunder and lightning, and those around claim to have heard the sound of angelic voices is completely irrelevant.’

Dawkins suffered a shocking but ironic death on Friday having been seized by a mysterious gang of burly men dressed as Roman soldiers. They nailed him to a cross, and left him there until he died some hours later. However on Sunday, his body was no longer to be found in Slough mortuary, and he was seen walking on the A4 towards his home, where his resurrection was hailed as a miracle.

It is being suggested in some quarters that Richard Dawkins was being taught a lesson by God, who has now given him magical powers including the ability to walk on water and cast out demons. A bitter Pope Benedict said ‘Why is it the naughty ones get all the attention? I have been saying that I definitely, definitely believe in God for ages and I haven’t been given the ability to perform a single miracle. Unless you count progressing from the Hitler Youth to being God’s representative on Earth, I suppose.’

Despite the miraculous events of the past few days, Richard Dawkins was standing by his militant atheism. ‘All of it can be explained by science and rational thought’ he insisted to reporters outside his front door. At this point a leper rushed through the crowd, and kissed Dawkins’ feet, only to stand up apparently totally cured of her hideous affliction. ‘OK, that is pretty impressive, I admit’ said the author of The God Delusion. ‘Oh shit, I think I’m going to get pissed.’ At that he touched a bottle of mineral water, turning it into Chateau Lafitte 1967, and slunk inside to drink it.

Debating Creationists

sheisgod — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:46:17 +0000

O rly, Ya rly!

sheisgod — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 23:41:25 +0000

Heaving Dead Cats » geek

Scanning Electron Micrograph Of My Toothbrush!

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