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Yet another example of the new web world using Silverlight. Telerik has developed a set of Silverlight-based controls to help you take your web apps to the next level.
Check out a demo here.
IMHO, if you're a Flash junkie today, you need start ramping up on Silverlight as soon as possible or you're going to get left in the dust very soon.
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Another bit of fun with Silverlight: a physics-based demo of a swinging rope using molecular dynamics simulation techniques. What's amazing to me is how quickly the demo loads. I'm really looking forward to see how Web 3.0 evolves using Silverlight. You'll need the Silverlight 1.0 beta to view the demo.
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As I mentioned previously, I have a sticker on my HCH-II with a simple message: 52mpg. Yes, it's partially there for bragging rights, and partially there to help people understand just what kind of great mileage you can achieve with this car.
Well this weekend, someone actually pulled up beside me at a red light and started asking all sorts of questions about the car after seeing the sticker! She was considering replacing her minivan with an HCH-II or a Prius. She told me she preferred the non-spaceship look of the HCH-II over the Prius (I agree). She was also fairly tall, 6ft, and asked how the headroom was. Being 6'1" myself, I was happy to tell her I had plenty of headroom. I can't say enough good things about this car, and it's great to get an opportunity to tell a perfect stranger how much I like it too!
Interestingly, on my current tank, I'm 563 miles into the tank at 55.2mpg! Looks like I'm going to have to get a new sticker! I'm hoping this is my first 600 mile tank, so keep your fingers crossed.
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I'm in a cave with Christmas lights. Elvis with a black eye is sitting at the bar next to me, wearing what I imagine is his finest aloha shirt. He's staring intensely at Ronnie, who I think is the father of both the lead guitarist and bassist.
The band is Oscar Begat, described to me by drummer Aaron as "alternative chamber pop". Part Dave Matthews, part singer/songwriter, and part folk/blues. They're rocking a song about trying to play frisbee in a tornado in Ohio.
Old people in business casual keep trickling in, and the occassional lost student pokes a curious head in the door... then leaves. They don't get it.
The second set is much more consistent and mellow jam than the first. Nick Cave meets Phish. Very glad I stayed.
What is with all the suits?
Aaron is pulling out a Kalimba. Here comes the violin, add a little rhythm acoustic and bass. This is a lullaby worthy of Bjork.
I wish the the suits at the bar would shut it. They're muddling the jam.
Ronnie is holding his own when it comes to hip. That's hip, not hip replacement. He's working the Crybaby Wah like its just part of his foot.
I'm just curious... How do you start a band with your dad?
I'm outta here in 5, else I have to pay cover for the next band, and from the looks of the guiitarist, they're playing old Cure songs no doubt. Later.
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I just found out about Microsoft Popfly. It's a new platform/website for creating mashups. It's not quite open to the public yet, but you can visit www.popfly.ms to request an invitation. Be sure to check out the 15 minute demo video that shows examples of making mashups from geotagged images on flickr, displaying them on a Virtual Earth map, and all in 3D! Best of all, you can write it all in managed code with Silverlight.
I've requested an invitation, but I sort of hope I don't get invited. If I do, then I'm sure I'm going to be wasting a ton of time there.
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Think you can make the Zune better? The Zune team is hiring... here's your shot.
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I spent some time tonight playing around with the free trials of Microsoft Expression Web and Expression Design. Both apps are extremely easy to use and quite capable! I had a lot of fun playing around with the Blend 2 preview and Silverlight tonight too. I'm sure I'll find a way to include some Silverlight features into the site one of these days.
You'll notice the theme updates if you click through the RSS feed to the actual site (does anyone do that anymore?). I also fixed the problem where you weren't getting redirected to this blog page when you hit http://joefuture.com.
So now that the theming & site bugs are out of the way, back to the future!
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MSN has just unveiled their new site, liveearth.msn.com to promote a partnership of awareness with the Live Earth movement. The site is choc full o green goodness including green driving tips, videos, downloads, and even a new song by Madonna that's free to download for the next 7 days. Kudos to MSN for stepping up!
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With a bit of a cold snap, some cruising around neighborhoods at low speeds, and rushing my wife to a doctor's appointment (lesson: always leave early), this tank wasn't as good as the last. I got 48.9mpg for 502.6 miles. Here's a snap of the dash just after I filled up, but before I had started the engine and reset the odometer.
It's a shame this one is blurry. If you squint, you'll see that for the first .5 miles of my new tank (from the gas station to work this morning), I'm getting 92.6 mpg :). I'm sure that will drop at least 40 mpg on the way home from work today, but it's fun to see. I tried hard, but I couldn't get it up to 99.9 to see if it would flip over.
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Well... almost :). Right now, if you buy any Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner over $279 at time of purchase, you can get a FREE Roomba Dirt Dog cleaner too! Here's a link to the rebate form.
Tip: If you're going to buy a Roomba, first use their referral program to get a 10% off coupon code, then plop down the coupon code perform50 to get another $50 off your order!
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Ask your Congressman to bring back online poker by supporting HR-2046. The Poker Player's Alliance has created this easy website to send a letter to your congressman (even if you don't know who he/she is!) to support this new resolution. The gist of the resolution is that consenting adults shouldn't be told what they can and can't do with their own money online (especially when other forms of gambling are still legal all over the USA).
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Here's a very creative idea to harness the wind from cars rushing down the interstate and convert it into electricity. These turbines supposedly generate 9600 kWh per year:
It proves the concept that excess energy is everywhere! We just need to open our eyes and think a little to be able to harvest it. Of course we're not going to net zero energy loss, but why let something like unused wind go completely to waste?
Via: Crunchgear