Quantum Kitchen, Quantum Chicken

During lunch today, my co-workers and I were discussing how to properly marinade and grill vegetables. I didn't think that our conversation was going to take a turn for the...well, strange. I guess it was my fault after all...I did bring up the fact that a George Foreman grill's tray is not a singularity.

=== SNIP ===

[12:54] Alent_: mmm, grill...
[12:55] Alent_: i need a grill
[12:55] Conman: dude
[12:55] Conman: A grill is absolutely essential
[12:55] Alent_: like a real one, not that stupid george forman
[12:55] Alent_: i know XD
[12:55] Alent_: but i put it on hold for teh wedding
[12:56] Alent_: after the wedding, man, after
[12:56] Conman: the foreman grill I have dubbed The Flavor Killer
[12:56] Alent_: lol
[12:56] Conman: hahha
[12:57] Conman: all that stuff that drips off the bottom
[12:57] Conman: thats the flavor
[12:58] Conman: being sucked away into oblivion
[12:58] vnv_lain: you can reclaim it and serve as gravy
[12:58] vnv_lain: it's not oblivion. a tray is not a singularity.
[12:59] Conman: haha
[12:59] Alent_: maybe connor's is
[12:59] Alent_: connor has a quantum kitchen
[12:59] Conman: well problem is that the flavor and the fat that you DO want to come off is also in the tray
[12:59] vnv_lain: the food changes depending on how you observe them
[13:01] Conman: so all you have to do is not observe the food in the grill and there will always exist A perfect chicken breast
[13:01] Conman: or....use a quantum timer!
[13:01] Conman: and stick the whole damn thing in a box
[13:02] Conman: you will have perfect chicken and burnt chicken at the same time!
[13:02] Alent_: or an uncooked chicken, you don't know
[13:02] vnv_lain: LMAO
[13:02] vnv_lain: oh man
[13:02] vnv_lain: more than two states!?
[13:02] vnv_lain: I don't speak non-binary!!!
[13:03] Alent_: sure, just apply the state machine pattern = p
[13:03] Conman: a continuum of states
[13:03] Alent_: encapsulate what changes!
[13:03] Conman: all relating to how long it takes for timers half life to expire
[13:03] Alent_: are we talking about the same thing anymore?
[13:04] vnv_lain: it's a quantum kitchen. are we ever sure?
[13:04] Alent_: good point
[13:04] Conman: not until we observe
[13:05] Alent_: ahem
[13:05] Alent_: NERDS!
[13:05] Conman: but we must pay heed to the uncertainty principle
[13:05] Conman: an objects state is disturbed simply by observing the object
[13:07] vnv_lain: timmy has a solution
[13:07] vnv_lain: put in multiple chicken into the oven
[13:08] vnv_lain: one of them is bound to be of the right state when we observe
[13:08] vnv_lain: chickenS
[13:08] vnv_lain: damn plurals
[13:08] Alent_: XD
[13:09] Conman: haha
[13:10] Conman: well the oven applies the same heat to all the chickens
[13:10] Conman: we need like N quantum timer based ovens each with their own chicken
[13:10] Conman: with probability 1/N that we do not get a good chicken
[13:11] Conman: with N = 10 we have a 90% probability of getting a good chicken

=== SNIP ===

Ladies and gentlemen, we now know that the probability of getting a good roasted chicken is pretty high. Our calculations and concepts of understanding the subject is probably pretty off, but maybe in subsequent observations you will see that we are right. ;)

Discovery: STS-119

Launch Date: 15 March 2009
Launch Time: 1943h EDT
Launch Site: LC-39A
Site: North part of 528 on Port Canaveral

Description: It wasn't a night launch. It was more like a dusk launch. The shuttle exhaust trail was partially illuminated by the last gleam of sun on the horizon.

As the shuttle blaze reflected on the water, Chris stood up, while Joe, Anna and Kelley watched on.

Two white specks underneath the bright white spec indicated successful separation of solid rocket boosters.

Your Home...in 2.65 cubic meters

...or about 8.7 cubic feet.

If you cannot see the video, click here.

During my Science Channel binge, Beyond Tomorrow featured a segment on Micro-Compact Home discussing the O2 Village at the Technical University of Munich. The O2 Village is basically a student residential area consisting of six Micro-Compact houses.

I would really like to live in one of these homes. I know it sounds crazy, but restricting the amount of space in your living area can actually save you from bringing junk and clutter into your home. In fact, you'll think at least twice about grabbing that cheap swag from those technical conventions (Microsoft, I'm talking about you).

I also think that another reason why I like Micro-Compact House is because having a tight space appeals to my inner need to constantly hide and observe. :)

This type of housing is only suitable for one resident, and I wish that my graduate student housing back at Florida State University have this type of setup. Though I liked Alumni Village, the whole area really is just a hole in the ground. The townhouses and the duplexes have terrible insulation, and everything is quite old and dirty. The only reason students live there is due to cheap rent, the close proximity to the Engineering building, and the location isolates the residents from main campus football season turmoil, making the area ideal for students with children.

The units in the O2 Village are extremely energy efficient due to good insulation, and almost all the materials used to construct the units are recyclable. It is also the type of housing that doesn't shut you from the world, as the designer specifically wanted the resident to use his outside environment as a part of his home.

The timber frame is clad in anodized aluminum. Like a car, it has about an eighth-of-an-inch gap between the aluminum sheets, which gives it a very crisp appearance from the outside. The mast is for attaching solar panels without affixing them directly to the roof. The color of the exterior is slightly lighter than the interior, which means you can see out without a lot of reflection of the inside, and when you are outside you can’t see in very clearly. This is a trick also used by car and aircraft designers.

Sascha Kletzsch/courtesy Micro Compact Home

Dennis Gilbert/courtesy Micro Compact Home

Sascha Kletzsch/courtesy Micro Compact Home

This hypothetical clustered arrangement is intended for student housing or out-of-town visitors who need a home in the city. Its structure is made up of small steel columns that echo the surrounding trees.

Courtesy Micro Compact Home

Other uses for such a unit includes a portable home for traveling businessmen and people living in expensive areas (e.g. New York City). Obviously, the O2 is not recommended for family units greater than one person.

Amazon + Alcohol == $$$

Being of course the total nerd that I am, I had one too many glasses of sparkling wine and decided it was a good idea to read this paper by Donald C. Hodges on Plato's Republic while I was in this Bacchanalian state. Next thing I knew, I was on Amazon buying books left and right by authors like Hodges and Chomsky before I realized I was racking up a 300 dollar bill on my post-Christmas budget and was thinking that I could simply charge all of this on my credit card and not worry about it until next month. Luckily I came to my senses and closed the browser before I hit the "Process Order" button.

Moral of the story: When you're drinking, don't read papers that analyses post-capitalist societies: Just go out and get a life. However, I do feel confident that most people don't have this problem...

Counterpart 3

Me: Can you take a quick look at the painting?
Dan: What for?
Me: To critique it.
Dan: I don't know how to do that. It looks good though.
Me: No, I mean critiques like, does the birds look real, not real, cheesy, etc.
Dan: ...
You want me to tell you what looks realistic on an apocalyptic painting depicting a phoenix flying out into space from a shattered earth with a bunch of origami birds flying alongside it?

See turtle!!!

"Sea Turtle", taken from Red Rock Canyon on 23 May 2008

A few weeks ago, someone from Mullen, an advertising agency in Boston, MA contacted me about the photo above for commercial use. Apparently, they have been surfing through Flickr for images of sea turtles, and one of my photos came up (because this one was tagged "sea turtle", despite the fact that it only looks like one).

Being completely new to this, I inquired what the photo will be used for. To my delight, the lady told me that they will be using the photo for a new ad campaign for the New England Aquarium. I couldn't think of a better way to use the photo!!! :)

A fee was exchanged (first time I was ever paid for a photo!), and I asked the lady to send me a draft of the brochure, thinking that my photo was only going to be a blip in the ad. Turns out that it was a full page affair...and very cleverly done!!! They did some Photoshop on the image, darkening the sky as well as making the rocks more vibrant. It worked out really well, and you can see the draft below (by Mullen):

I really hope that their draft gets the OK for deployment. If so, I will have to bug one of my friends up in Boston to grab a flyer for me just so I can have one in my scrapbook.

Yet another reason why I <3 my D80. :)

It's not landing baby...

One of my favorite sayings: It's more like a controlled crash...

Flight deck operation for the last remaining Tomcat F-14s

And a nice clip of the pilot who *thought* he was landing on a carrier deck:

Edwards AFB, 1982

Moral of the story: Never have a naval aviator fly passenger planes. I'm sure he will fly very well, but the passenger seats might be a bit messy at the end of the flight...