Little Green Men

I'm still searching the skies for little saucer shaped aircraft. Listening to the radio waves for little green men. Yup. I've set up another account on SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) from Berkley. It's a rather clever project that has been around for years. SETI takes data take from radio telescopes and analyze it for any unusual signals. Because there is so much data to process, they cannot keep up with it all. So instead of processing all of it by themselves, they uses other people's computers to help analyze the data. They created a screensaver, basically. When your computer is not in use, this program boots up and analyzes the data for SETI. When your data packet is done being analyzed, it automatically uploads the data to their servers and downloads a new packet. If nothing else, it's a cool screen saver as it scrolls through the data. You should check it out if you get a chance. I use to have an account years ago and I've processed a lot of data. Unfortunately, I don't remember my login information. So I had to start over. At least I'm doing my part by searching for the little green men.

Family Web Page

I'm thinking about putting together a web page for myself/family. I'm currently using dotMac for my email and web hosting. It currently costs me about $99/year for the privilege of using their services. Granted, their services are pretty cool. They offer syncing of Macs and a lot of web life is integrated into the Mac software. With a single click, I can upload all of my pictures or videos. I can start my own blog, and an interactive web calendar. I can backup important files easily, have my own password protected FTP, and share bookmarks and addresses between computers. Nice service. But $99/ year is a good chunk of change.

As you know I'm working to develop a website for cornholeplayers.net. Doing this kinda inspires me to create my own page. It is a lot cheaper than I originally thought. About $4/month, I can have my own website with my own domain name. Not bad and it's about half the price of dotMac with 2x as much space. The reason I really wanted to use dot Mac is for the photo publishing. But Mark uses Gallery on his site that would more than be sufficient for my use. I can also integrate a blog into the web site with relative ease and host my other blogs (I have too many). I found some calendar PHP scripts that would be easy to install as well. Plus I could add a forum or any number of other odds and ends. And the best part about it, I could have as many email accounts as I need. This way Nicole doesn't need to use gmail anymore.

I guess the trick is to find a good domain name. Something I'd be happy with for a long time. It's almost like trying to decide on a tattoo. I don't want to choose something cheesy. I want something cool. But something that has meaning at the same time. I want something that would be usable for my family. I think integrating our last name would be nice.

Cookville.com
ChateaulaCook.com (Chateau la Cook)
UsCooks.com
dotCook.com
daCooks.com
CookFamily.com
TravisandNicole.com

or I can go by the old standard, evilyellowmonkey.com

More Cowbell!

I haven't watched SNL for at least 5-8 years. I just never found it funny at the time. I didn't like the new casts or sketches. But the strange thing is, as I watch past episodes I discovered the show is only funny in hindsight.

I never really liked Will Ferral when he was on SNL. But on of my favorite sketches is the Cowbell sketch. Check it out here. Everybody's probably seen it. But it's worth watching again. Cracks me up.

Maybe while you're at it, you can get your Cowbell Merrit Badge.

I think I'll start TIVOing SNL again. Maybe some Mad TV as well. Then I can fast forward through the crappy sketches.

Rail Guns

I think they Cyberpunk series of roleplaying games made mention of "rail guns." These were rifles that used magnets to shoot a projectile. In the world of science fiction, these were very lethal weapons. Much better than the rifles we know today. But I guess truth is stranger than fiction. I came across 2 videos on the internet on these magnetic "rail guns." Both homemade.

This first one shows this gun. I'm assuming it was made and tested in a lab. Check it out. The thing looks brutal and very powerful.

This second one is pocket sized. You can make one at home for a few bucks. It really doesn't do any damage, but I think it illustrates a way a rail gun could work. It was mostly something cool that makes you think a little bit of the possibilities.

Check them out. They're pretty cool.

Do You Cornhole?

It's not what you think. Really. Let me explain.

A buddy of mine and I have just launched a new website, www.cornholeplayers.net. This new website is dedicated to the backyard/tailgate game of Cornhole. Its a game who's roots dig deep in the Midwest. The easiest way to explain it is to compare it to horseshoes. Instead of pitching chunks of iron at a spike, you toss bags filled with cornfeed onto a box platform. The goal is to try to get the bag into the hole, or at the very least, onto the platform. It sounds stupid and it probably is. But trust me, it is a lot of fun and rather addicting. And like darts and pool, it plays better with a few beers.

So what is our website about? Well, we're putting together a community of cornhole players and box/bag builders. We've included a message board section where players and builders can exchange ideas, stories, and socialize. We also have rules explanations, box and bag building tips, a box and bag gallery, cornhole news, links, as well as some cool cornhole swag.

Check it out. The website is in it's infancy, but are continually adding new content to make it the best cornhole site on the internet. So do yourself a favor, create a message board account . It's all free! You don't have to buy anything. And if you really get adventurous, post a comment or two.