breakfast first

Separated at birth?

I really enjoyed Joel on Software's latest article on software pricing, but stylistically, he seems to be going all Lion Kimbro. That's not a bad thing; it just cracked me up.

NOW WHERE WAS I?

Yeah!

Fabulous sculpture, made with science

Long, long ago, and kinda far away, I worked in a plastics factory. They had the most amazing machine -- a stereolithography "printer" that allowed people to rapidly build 3D models from CAD designs. It was pure magic: it had a vat of photo-sensitive liquid plastic, a travelling laser, and an elevator that slowly descended in the vat as an object appeared above it in the plastic goo. It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. It was the kind of thing that people mean when they say "The Future".

Well, it looks like they now have the same amazing process for metal! But rather using it for everyday industrial design, this woman uses it to create some fantastic, intricate sculptures.  (Check out this sweet one!) Be sure to read her description of the technique; apparently the formed metal is very porous, so she dips it into molten bronze, and the bronze enfuses the sculpture through capillary action. Amazing. Sadly, it's too late to put this on my Christmas wishlist.

[via linkmonger]

Intel Research

The Seattle Times recently ran a nice overview of Intel Research Seattle and some of the work that's being done there -- complete with a photo of my pal Ian Smith looking vaguely professorial.

I'll take a wing

I love discovering oddities when I move to a new place, and this is one of them: Boeing has a big surplus store where you can buy all sorts of crap on the cheap:

Items available any time may include blocks or sheets of titanium and aluminum, leftover airplane carpeting, laser testing equipment and other unusual goods. You can also buy everyday products such as personal computers, office supplies and just about every kind of drill bit on the planet. If you can get it home, you can even buy used factory equipment.

Sheets of titanium?! I'm there!

[via Exploit Seattle]

Amuse-bouche

Wonderful! Miss Sabine, a serious food lover and an incredible cook, has decided to start blogging about dining around San Francisco (and the occasional jaunt up to Napa). This will be a great new addition to my food-related feeds (although it does make me pine for San Francisco).

It's been raised

Wow, I just learned that former co-worker Mark Harlan has written a book, Winning at Internet Poker for Dummies. Looks like it's due to be released in about a month. Congratulations, Mark!

Shameless Plug

If you're looking to pick up a Sidekick II, now's a great time. On Amazon, the price after rebate is -$50 (yes, negative), and they offer a T-Mobile plan with 1000 minutes, nationwide roaming, etc, for $35/month. That's pretty great. (Just don't forget to send in your rebates -- they have a whole team of actuaries betting you'll forget.)

Update: Pardon me! A loyal reader wrote in to say that the $35/month figure does not include data charges -- which are a flat $20/month extra. I just checked it out; the data charge gets added on Step 3, after you select a voice plan. Sorry about the confusion. He also says that you can't apply for the rebate until you get your first bill.

Remembering numbers

 There's not all that much call for remembering numbers these days, but I recently read about the Major System, a mnemonic aide for doing just that. Pretty interesting.

A surprisingly difficult question

"Where are the mailboxes near me?"

This seems like it would be a common question, but I couldn't find the answer to it on the USPS website. Nor could I find anything after some searches on google (although I can point you to maildrops on the Appalachian Trial). The USPS website has ways to locate post offices and businesses that sell stamps, so why not mailboxes?

For the breeders in the audience

An article from the Seattle Times on the growing trend of celebrities giving their children so-called "creative" names. My favorite: Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily.