Friday, August 20, 2004
More Reasons We Need Batman.
Art Thieves. A couple of yahoos strolled into a Norwegian Art Gallery and stole Edward Munch's two paintings The Scream and Madonna in broad daylight. The Scream, of course, is the Expressionist painting of some sad fellow running down the pier, you guessed it, screaming. Yawn. His Madonna, of course, is not the singer, but is supposed to be the Virgin Mary, although his rendition is, in a way, more like the singer, in that it might not be visually edifying for young protestant boys trying to concentrate on their prayer life. But I digress.
EMP Attack. For those of you who paid attention during The Matrix, you learned what an EMP device is. For the rest of you, an EMP device releases an ElectroMagnetic Pulse which effectively fries any electrical device within line of site. The simplest way to create an EMP effect is to detonate a large nuclear device above the atmosphere, and it will affect a huge area. This phenomenon was discovered in 1963 after the US exploded a 1.5 megaton nuclear weapon 400km above Johnston Island in the Pacific - 1500km away in Hawaii, light bulbs and televisions exploded and power lines were fused. If a device was exploded high over Kansas, it would effectively take out all electrical equipment in the US that wasn't shielded against it - basically no consumer device is hardened against this, and few things military. Russia and China have both let us know that they have this capability, but really, they're not the ones to worry about as much as terrorists, who could mount a warhead onto a SCUD missile and fire it offshore from a barge or something.
The Apprentice First Season DVD Box Set. How did it ever come to this?
Labels: geek stuff
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
ASK FLOYD!
Here are some common questions we have received here, and so I thought I'd take this time to answer a few of them.
Q: The Jazzmaster bridge is terrible! What can I do?
A: Either install a Jazzmaster/Jaguar buzzstop or replace the bridge with that of a Mustang, although you may have to wrap tape around the posts to make it stay in place.
Q: Who is the "Elect Lady" that John refers to in his Second Epistle?
A: Some say it is a nickname for a fellow church, but I lean toward the opinion that it is a specific woman, perhaps a friend or relative.
Q: Why does Lucas screw up my childhood by constantly changing the original Star Wars Trilogy?
A: They're his movies, so he can do what he wants. They're just movies. Deal with it.
Q: Are you single?
A: Yes, there is only one of me.
Q: How many hit points do you have?
A: 1800, so don't even think about trying to start something.
Q: I think I can take you...
A: You're welcome to try, but you must sign a waiver.
Q: No really, I think I can take you...
A: If you try, I will burn you like the Crazy World of Arthur Brown.
Q: What did you think of The Passion movie?
A: The what?
Q: The one with Monica Bellucci...
A: Persephone from the Matrix sequels? Sounds racy - I don't watch those kinds of movies.
Q: Why does almost all 'christian worship music' sound like a bland cross between U2 and Dave Matthews?
A: It could be worse, at least they're finally phasing out the Michael Bolton influence. I'm sure they have a Creed-style band that could tide you over.
Q: I could use some variety...
A: Buy a guitar.
Q: How will it all end?
A: In fire. What did you expect?
Anyway, that was my first Q+A column. Feel free to leave questions about whatever, and maybe I will answer them in a future column sometime soon!