May 26, 2005
Preview of the new template for Insignifica can be found here. I'm still reworking it, making tweeks, etc.
May 25, 2005
Now that Star Trek's over, it's interesting to see exactly how much Star Trek there is (canon only, add 660 minutes/11 hours if you include The Animated Series):
Movies:
The Motion Picture: 132 minutes
The Wrath of Khan: 113 minutes
The Search for Spock: 105 minutes
The Voyage Home: 119 minutes
The Final Frontier: 107 minutes
The Undiscovered Country: 113 minutes
Generations: 118 minutes
First Contact: 106 minutes
Insurrection: 103 minutes
Nemesis: 116 minutes
Episodes:
The Original Series: 79 (3713 minutes @ 47 minutes/episode)
The Next Generation: 178 (8010 minutes @ 45 minutes/episode)
Deep Space Nine: 176 (7920 minutes @ 45 minutes/episode)
Voyager: 172 (7740 minutes @ 45 minutes/episode)
Enterprise: 98 (4116 minutes @ 42 minutes/episode)
Movies Total: 1132 minutes (18 hours, 52 minutes)
Episodes Total: 31499 minutes (524 hours, 59 minutes)
Grand Total: 32631 minutes (543 hours, 51 minutes)
That's 22 days, 15 hours and 51 minutes of Star Trek. Not bad...
May 24, 2005
I remember a while ago, perhaps the late 90s, when 2005 seemed SO far away. It was a half-way point for the first decade of the 20th century. When Phantom Menace came out in 1999 and I first heard the third movie wouldn't be out till 2005, I thought that was an amazingly long time to wait. Now here we are, almost to June 2005, more than half way through the 00s. I'm glad I have the ability to pause live TV, still want a personal flying machine.
May 23, 2005
Wow, that was a quiet week on Insignifica, wasn't it? Between being in training all week at work and having lots to do to prep for last weekend's bachelor party, I didn't get much time to post. All in all, I know considerably more about Excel and Access, and the bachelor party was fantastic. Good times!
More updates coming soon...
May 17, 2005
Usually I'm not so quiet on Mondays, but I'm in training all week so I don't really have the 5 minutes here and there to post a happy hello. So here it is:
Happy hello!
Tomorrow is the first Orange County Atheists Meeting since the Meetup group I was organizing decided that it wasn't worth paying meetup.com. Click on the link for more info.
Some friends posted with some good critizisms of the new layout. Not sure what I'll do with it yet, but it's nice to have feedback.
So, what's up with you?
May 13, 2005
Happy Friday, readers! You may have noticed some changes:
I've removed the right hand menu bar, and moved some of the content (Daily Links) to the left menu bar. I got rid of my "daily phone photos" (Since I hadn't taken any new ones in a long time). I also added an RSS feed for Daily Links.
I'm not totally happy with the layout (it's kinda stale), but it'll do for now. I need to go in and change other pages (like archives and static pages) so they look the same. Luckily that's not TOO big of a deal. If you notice a page with the old layout, let me know.
In other news, looks like a 3-4 day San Diego-Las Vegas trip is in the works for July. It's just coming together and looks like a lot of people from a lot of my wider groups of friends will be able to attend some or all of the trip. Nice thing about Vegas is that you can have 20 people go, and anyone can hang out with anyone else some, all, or none of the time, and still have fun. You can meet to do some gambling, or drinking, or dining. More news as dates become set.
May 11, 2005
After owning it for more than two years, I finally got around to pointing insignifica.com to this page (insignifica.org). I don't remember why I picked "org" over "com" when I first decided on the name insignifica (.com might not have been available at the time), but it's nice to have both, and to have both point here.
May 09, 2005
LEGO challenge!
Goal
Create a vehicle or device entirely out of LEGO bricks that can fly or levitate under its own power.
Motivation
This is more of an intellectual curiosity than anything else. I've tried before with no luck, and will be trying again soon. I thought it would be fun to involve other LEGO builders so we could compare notes. Also, I thought it'd be great to have multiple people document their process (in writing, photos, or both) and have them all linked here.
Prizes
Undetermined. Maybe a LEGO set, and the pride of knowing you've built a flying machine. Donations of prizes welcome!
Rules
Only LEGO bricks and select accessories may be used. No other items may be used in the creation, including fabric, string, cardboard, metal, rubber bands, tape, or glue.
LEGO bricks, motors, gears, tracks, etc. may all be used. Specialized LEGO pieces will be accepted on a case-by-case basis, although most will likely be accepted.
The vehicle/device may be any size.
Unless you have a method of levitation unknown to science, the vehicle/device should be powered using LEGO power methods. These include motors, gears, engines and battery packs. No non-LEGO power methods (other than natural forces of physics) will be accepted. Unacceptable power methods include rocket engines, jet engines, and fireworks. Fire may be used safely, assuming you can find a fuel made from LEGO bricks.
The vehicle/device must fly under its own power; gliding and falling do not count. Throwing or LEGO-specific methods may be used to launch a vehicle/device, but it must also fly on its own.
The engine/battery pack does not need to fly along with the vehicle/device, however, the vehicle/device must still fly or levitate, not just be "whipped" around by the engine.
The vehicle/device may not be secured to a tether other than the power source.
Deadline
None, but I'll be working on my vehicle for a few weeks. I'd like to see what others can do, too. Good luck!
Another great weekend! Strato as usual in the morning on Saturday, then some party setup (finishing early), followed by the "Mexican-themed get-together", basically our late Cinco de Mayo party. I was very worried about turnout, since only a couple people had RSVPed. But there were 10-12 people there at different times, including some new friends and others we hadn't seen in a while. Except for Marek, none of the regular crowd could make it, but it was still a good time.
Sunday we woke up late, then did a mother's day lunch in Yorba Linda. Several of my siblings had missed my birthday, so I got a couple more presents (in gift certificate form). This allowed me to go on a shopping spree at Frys, where I got:
I came in just $7 under my gift certificate total, which I got in cash. Happy birthday to me!
While I like the selection of Fry's Electronics, I'm amazed how they manage to get anything done with the steps employees have to take to do the simplest things, and that they still have Gift Certificates instead of Gift Cards (like every other major retailer).
As I've mentioned before, Frys gift certificates come hand written, on paper, with a code on them. Both times I've used them in the past year, the cashier has had issues because the certificate wasn't issued at the store I was using them at. When I've purchased them, it adds an additional 3-5 minutes to my checkout time. And every time, purchase or redemption, a manager's had to be called over for something. If Barnes & Noble ran like this, they'd lose thousands in sales.
Other annoying things Frys puts its customers through:
So do I still shop there? Yep. They occasionally have good prices, they almost always have plenty of check-out staff, and their selection tends to be very good. But it's run with state-of-the-art 1995 technology, which is especially weird for a technology store.
