Tinnocking

The word of the day

W00t - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

W00t

The term w00t is a slang interjection used to express happiness or excitement, usually over the Internet. The expression is most popular on USENET posts, multiplayer computer games (especially first person shooters), IRC chats, and instant messages, though use on the World Wide Web is by no means uncommon.

The definite origin of the term w00t is unknown. One theory claims that usage of this term dates back to the mid-1990s, when it was probably derived from the alternative spellings of whoomp and whoot. These spellings are variously used in the phrases, "Whoomp, there it is," or "Whoot, there it is" from two songs in 1993 from rap groups Tag Team and 95 South, respectively. In those songs, the phrase is used exclusively for identifying voluptuous human female buttocks. This is analogous to another derivation from urban African-American music scenes to mainstream, White American culture, namely rock and roll. Another possibility is that it came from the vocalization made by the player in games of the Quake series when a jump is performed; however, as Quake was only first released in 1996, this etymology probably only furthered the popularity of the existing term. Another derives from root, the traditional username for the administrator on a UNIX machine: it might be an abbreviation of "Woohoo! I just h4x0r3d [hacked] your box [computer] and got r00t!", or it might be an Elmer Fuddization of "root". Others have theorized the term is an acronym for "We Owned the Other Team," or that "w00t" finds its origin in the sounds of a jubilant Daffy Duck. Another theory to the evolution of the term "w00t" is that it originally evolved from the age old "Woo!" sound popularised by over-excited students when drunk (a variation on "Woo-Hoo"), which evolved onto "w00" by geeks via leet speak, with the "t" later added through misinterpretation.

w00t itself was first seen in 1994. The expression rose in popularity in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It has not reached general usage or understanding.

w00t is pronounced as if it were "woot", and can also be written thus, or even w00+. It has also been argued that "w00t!" is the only proper spelling. The symbolic approximation of Latin letter forms makes w00t a prime example of leet.

My favorite commercial

One of my favorite commercials is the one for Six Flags Great Adventure. That little old guy that gets off the bus and dances... Well I finally figured out what makes him so happy he has to dance.

Mama Buy Me That!!

I was surfing and saw the add for this "Desktop Super Computer!"

Read more about this Computer

Wanna see the price list of my dream computer

Looks like He wanted to give an arm AND a LEG!

Telegraph | News | 'Burglar' grounded as his false leg falls off

'Burglar' grounded as his false leg falls off
By Millicent Brown
(Filed: 03/09/2004)

A burglar's getaway was halted when his false leg fell off as he struggled with the couple whose home he was raiding, a court was told yesterday.

Keith Bryson's artificial limb landed out of his reach in the garden after David and Heather Greenwood tackled him, Reading Crown Court heard.
When police arrived at the house in Marlow, Bucks, they found Bryson, 56, sitting on the lawn some distance from his artificial leg, with a small pile of coins nearby, it was alleged.
Bryson, of Foxes Piece, Marlow, denies two charges of burglary, one charge of assault, and three charges of handling stolen goods.
The court heard that on Aug 10 last year the Greenwoods arrived home as Bryson made several trips from their home taking with him £15,000 worth of silverware and coins.
He told police he bought the goods at car boot sales or they were gifts from friends.
The trial continues.

Onstar commercials they didn't show you

The Morning News - Transcripts of OnStar Service Conversations Not Selected for Commercials
18 August 2004 | STORIES

You’ve heard the spots, where the helpful voice of the OnStar satellite representative rushes to the aid of the panicked motorist. But have you heard them all? John Warner digs through the transcripts that didn’t make the final cut.

OnStar: Hello, OnStar.

Customer: My ice cream, it’s locked in the car, and it’s melting.

OnStar: Your ice cream is melting?

Customer: Yes, please hurry! It’s like 200 degrees in there!

OnStar: What kind of ice cream is it, ma’am?

Customer: Rocky road!

OnStar: I’m unlocking the vehicle now, ma’am.

Customer: Hurry! My three-year-old is in the car, too! I’m worried he’s going to eat the ice cream! I don’t want him to get fat! That would reflect poorly on my parenting skills!

OnStar: OK, the vehicle should be unlocked now, ma’am, and I’m just going to go ahead and notify child protective services right now, too.

Customer: Oh my God! Darn it! God please!

OnStar: Ma’am? Ma’am? Is everything all right? Should I dispatch an ambulance?

Customer: Ambulance? No, but I could use a Good Humor man, this stuff’s totally cashed.

OnStar: Hello, OnStar.

Customer: Hey, so, I got an important package in the trunk, but I think I locked my keys in with it when I was dispatching…er…loading it.

OnStar: Not a problem, sir, I’m unlocking the trunk now.

Customer: [sound of trunk opening] Whooo---man, that stinks!

OnStar: Are you OK, sir?

Customer: Yeah, yeah. I just got to get rid of this package as soon as possible. Say, can you give me directions to an abandoned quarry, or maybe some remote wooded spot where I could leave my package?

OnStar: Sure thing. I’m showing that there’s an empty shaft at an old silver mine three miles southwest of your location.

Customer: Perfect! That’s great, perfect. I’m going to need a car wash, too. Someplace discreet, if you know what I’m saying.

OnStar: Absolutely, sir. You and OnStar are speaking the same language.

* * *

OnStar: Hello, OnStar.

Customer: Hi, I have a problem.

OnStar: How can I help, sir?

Customer: I’m…umm…27, and still a virgin.

OnStar: How old are you really, sir?

Customer: Twenty-nine?

OnStar: Sir?

Customer: Thirty-six.

OnStar: [partially off mike] Holy crap!

Customer: [muffled crying]

OnStar: OK, sir, I need you to stay with me and listen very closely. I’m going to ask you some diagnostic questions to pinpoint the problem. Do you own action figures?

Customer: Yes.

OnStar: And if your Grakthorian Troll with +12 charisma and 170 hit points were to be attacked by a gelatinous cube, what would you do?

Customer: I would don my cloak of invisibility and bypass the cube to enter the dungeons of Dalagdon.

OnStar: I think I know the answer to the next one, but they make me run down the whole list. Do you live with your mother, or a spinster aunt?

Customer: Both. [weeping]

OnStar: And how often do you masturbate?

Customer: What? Never!

OnStar: Sir.

Customer: Three times a day.

OnStar: And do you look at anime comics while you engage in self-pleasure?

Customer: How did you know?

OnStar: Thank you for your patience, sir, I think we’re just about at a solution. What I’m seeing here is that you are going to have to pay for sex. Is this Visa you have on file with us good to use?

Customer: Yeah, uh, it should be…

OnStar: Sounds good. We’ll forward your payment info on to the dispatching office. Now, what I want you to do is drive 6.2 miles north to the corner of Laurel Avenue, and wait there for a “Miss Star.” She’ll be wearing a leopard-skin skirt and an OnStar jacket. She’ll take care of you from there. All right, I just sent the detailed directions to your on-board navigation system.

Customer: Wow, thank you, OnStar! Maybe I can come thank you in person some time!

OnStar: We’d rather you didn’t.

* * *

OnStar: Hello, OnStar.

Customer: OnStar, let me explain the situation. I gotta truck filled with 400 cases of illegal Coors beer that I gotta have in Atlanta, Ga., in four hours, and I’m running solo with a smokey on my tail! What in the hell am I gonna do?

OnStar: Uh… Snowman?

Customer: You know it, Bandit good buddy! So are we gonna hit this thing or what?

OnStar: Yee-hah!

This is just too cool!

I want one of these!!:46:

BBC NEWS | Technology | Bluetooth flying bot creates buzz

Bluetooth flying bot creates buzz

The latest robot micro flyer, FR-II, is wireless and has its own battery pack

The latest mini flying robot has been unveiled by Seiko Epson in Japan.
The micro flyer is the new version of the robot by the Japanese technology firm that wowed crowds last year.
Weighing in at 12.3g, the FR-II is wireless, has Bluetooth and its own battery on board, unlike its precursor, and takes and sends images.
Its two tiny ultrasonic motors let it buzz about for three minutes. Seiko Epson said it could be used in search and rescue operations in two years.
The helicopter robot, which is lighter than a can of pop, could be used in surveillance operations or for reaching into tiny spaces to look for earthquake survivors.
Flight control
The previous four-legged prototype weighed 10g but had to be linked to an external power source via a cable.

MICRO FLYING ROBOT
136mm wide, 85mm tall, 12.3g in weight
Two ultra-thin ultrasonic motors propelling in opposite directions
32 bit microcontroller
Tiny gyro-sensor
Battery pack on board
Bluetooth
Digital camera
Remote controlled
Two LED lamps

A battery is now on board in FR-II, but it still only has enough power for a three-minute flight.

It showed off its flying prowess in a pre-planned flight, with instructions sent via Bluetooth.

Although the robot is heavier than its predecessor, it is still extremely light considering the devices on board.

Seiko Epson, which has a long history of micromechatronics in watch-making, developed a different gyro-sensor which is a fifth of the weight of the one the first model carried.

It claims it is the smallest and lightest gyro-sensor in the world. The super-thin motors were also re-designed to boost its lifting power by 30%.

The mini gyro-sensor acts as a stabiliser and could be used for digital cameras and camera phones this year to ensure snaps are not blurred, said the Japanese firm.

The world's smallest non-flying robot is the Monsieur microbot, developed by Seiko Epson in 1992.

The FR-II micro robot will be buzzing around at the Emerging Technology Fair, part of the Future Creation Fair, in Tokyo from 27 August.

I need one of these!

MSNBC - NASA gets a new supercomputer

NASA gets a new supercomputer
Linux-based system aids theorists, shuttle engineers By Tariq Malik

Updated: 4:45 p.m. ET Aug. 9, 2004NASA researchers have teamed up with a pair of Silicon Valley firms to build a supercomputer that ranks alongside the world's largest Linux-based systems.

When complete, the Space Exploration Simulator supercomputer will provide 10 times the data-crunching power of NASA's current supercomputer capacity.

"Our space scientists in the past were starved for [computer] cycles," said Walter Brooks, chief of the NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) division. "Sometimes people would submit an idea and it would take weeks to get an answer."

Brooks told SPACE.com the new system will allow scientists to run complicated computer models, such as those used for research into planetary formation or solar physics, alongside the meticulous space shuttle engineering studies critical for NASA's return to flight.

NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California -- home to NAS -- is developing the new supercomputing system as part of its collaborative Project Columbia with the aid of Silicon Graphics, Inc. (SGI) and the Intel Corp. in the Silicon Valley.

Plans call for a network of 20 powerful SGI Altix computers, each with 512-processor systems, equipped with 500 terabytes of local data storage. Once the computers are linked, their 10,240 Intel Itanium 2 processors will power the Space Exploration Simulator over a wide range of studies, including space shuttle modeling, climate change, mission safety and aeronautics.

"This will enable NASA to meet its immediate mission-critical requirements for return to flight, while building a strong foundation for our space exploration vision and future missions," NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe said in a statement.

During the Columbia investigation, engineering and shuttle computer models took up most of NASA's supercomputing capacity, leaving Earth and space science studies by the wayside. With the new system, a single computer node can handle the return to flight shuttle modeling requirements, opening the rest for scientific research. The space agency also plans to allow the public science and engineering communities access to a portion of the Space Exploration Simulator for their own studies.

Ames and SGI researchers already had one 512-processor Linux computer -- built last year -- named Kalpana in honor of astronaut Kalpana Chawla who died with her fellow crewmates in the Columbia accident. A second machine has been linked to it, with the remaining 18 expected to follow over the next three months.

Since the Space Exploration Simulator relies on off-the-shelf technology, researchers can upgrade the system as more advanced computer chips and processors become available. Those internal upgrades are key, since the 20-computer system has consumed the available space at Ames.

"NASA, 20 years ago, led the way in computing," Brooks said. "When you're building the world's most complex vehicle, tackling hard problems like debris and crew escape … we need that kind of computing ability."

© 2004 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com.

Age old question

This answers the age old question....
Does a bear read his newspaper while taking a dump in the woods....

What famous movie are you!

What's your Bloginality

BLOGinality: weblogger personality types

What's your personality?
How much do you know about yourself? Because many webloggers enjoy personality tests, this is a portal for your bloginality!

Are people with a certain personality type more apt to take personality test?
More importantly, are they more likely to have a weblog?

You will find quite a bit of reference material here about personality tests, as well as a place for you to find other people who are the same personality as you!

Are you ready to take a test?

Enjoy!

My Bloginality is ISTP!!!

It's always something!

We've been having trouble with our water all day today. The water would shut off every 5 or 10 minutes as if it was going through a salt cycle. It was getting very aggravating to us, we couldn't do wash or run the dishwasher, take showers nothing. Billy suggested he go under the house in the crawl space to see if there was enough salt in the tank. That's when he spotted the hose spurting water all over the ground. He came out and told us what he saw and so I tried to get my rather large rear end in there to see, but I couldn't get my heiney in far enough. Fortunately Billy was able to find where the hose connected to and push it on. Hopefully we'll have water until the plumber can get here to fix it. Yaaaaa Billy!

The heart break of.....

Hemorrhoids
I was asked by a family member (who shall remain nameless) what they are and how to treat them, and since I have no shame, and a couple of them myself (I named them Mutt & Jeff).
Here is what I found. I hope you find it useful.
Yuck!

These are a mild form of hemorrhoid

This is a nasty bugger

Hemorrhoids are abnormally swollen veins in the rectum and anus. They are much like varicose veins you might see on a person's legs. When bulging hemorrhoidal veins are irritated, they cause surrounding membranes to swell, burn, itch, become very painful, and bleed. Hemorrhoids are caused by too much pressure in the rectum, forcing blood to stretch and bulge the walls of the veins, sometimes rupturing them. Listed below are the most frequent causes of hemorrhoids:

Constant sitting
Straining with bowel movements (from constipation or hard stools)
Diarrhea
Sitting on the toilet for a long time
Severe coughing
Childbirth
Heavy Lifting
There are two kinds of hemorrhoids: internal and external (see diagram).

Internal hemorrhoids usually don't hurt or itch; you can't feel them because they are deep inside the rectum. Internal hemorrhoids are pretty harmless. But since their bleeding could mask blood from a dangerous source like colorectal cancer, they should be treated.
External hemorrhoids cause most of the symptoms we commonly hear about --- pain, burning, and itching. If an external hemorrhoid becomes strangulated (cut off from blood supply), a clot can form in it and become an excruciatingly painful thrombosed hemorrhoid. Because of these unpleasant symptoms, external hemorrhoids get the most treatment attention.
Once the rectal veins have been stretched out and hemorrhoids created, they are difficult to get rid of completely and tend to recur with less straining than it took to cause them in the first place. Fortunately, good habits and simple medical treatment usually control hemorrhoids well, and surgery is only recommended in unusually severe cases.

Avoiding the causes listed in Basics will prevent most cases of hemorrhoids, but this advice is sometimes hard to follow. For example, how can you avoid sitting all day if you have a seated job? And most of us would like to avoid coughing, diarrhea, and childbirth, but that's pretty much impossible, isn't it? Here are some practical hints to help:

If your main job activity is seated, always stand or walk during your breaks. Make it a point to stand and walk at least 5 minutes every hour and try to shift frequently in your chair to avoid direct rectal pressure.
Always exhale as you strain or lift. Don't hold your breath.
Control coughing, diarrhea and constipation with early treatment since hemorrhoids may soon follow.
Make a rule: No reading or other relaxing activity while on the toilet. If bowel movements take longer than 3-5 minutes, something is wrong. If you want to keep hemorrhoids away, maintaining good bowel habits and softer stools should be your highest priority (see Treatment section).
If these preventive measures fail, you must take action right away! Hemorrhoids are one condition that can be mild in the morning and become intolerable by nightfall.

You must first find the cause of your hemorrhoids and stop it. Treating the hemorrhoids themselves is pointless if you keep re-creating them. Click here to review the causes listed in Basics. You should also read the Self Care Advisory section on Constipation, since it's probably the major cause of hemorrhoids.

Once you have eliminated factors causing your hemorrhoids, it's time to treat them. There are two treatment goals: first, take away the symptoms (burning, pain, itching) and second, shrink the hemorrhoids.

Sitz baths (soaking the rectal area in hot water, in a shallow bath) for 15-20 minutes, 3-4 times/day are a simple and effective treatment for both goals. (I have found that taking a shower with a hand held shower-head with the warmest water you can stand helps tremendously)
Pain medicine should be used for aching, but burning and itching respond best to surface-acting creams and suppositories found in the Recommended Products section.
To shrink your hemorrhoids back down to normal size, topical medications are again useful.
Cleanse the entire rectal area with warm water after each bowel movement, and use a bulk fiber laxative to soften stools. This helps eliminate straining with bowel movements.
Many people use bulk fiber supplements daily to prevent recurrences of hemorrhoids. But remember, bulk fiber may take several days to work. If you have existing hemorrhoids and hard stools are already present, you may want to use an immediate-acting stool softener and laxative to encourage elimination without straining and further aggravating your hemorrhoids.

SOME PRODUCTS THAT HELP
Preparation H topical cream (works well for me)
Aleve (naproxen sodium 220 mg). Use this quick acting anti-inflammatory for the aching discomfort of severe hemorrhoidal flare ups.
Anusol HC cream (hydrocortisone 1%). For swollen external hemorrhoids, brands containing hydrocortisone such as this one are effective at reducing the swelling, burning, and itching sensations.
Anusol HC suppositories (hydrocortisone 1%). These hydrocortisone suppositories should be used for internal swelling and discomfort.
Citrucel (methycellulose 2 grams/tbs.). Softening stools and treating constipation are crucial aspects of treating your hemorrhoids. Many find this brand of bulk fiber laxative to be less gritty than others, and it comes in both sugared and sugar-free versions.
Senokot, Senokot S (senna concentrate, various concentrations; docusate sodium 50 mg per tablet is the softener in Senokot S). The active ingredient senna is a bowel contraction stimulant. If you desire stool softening or lubrication along with the stimulant effect, Senakot S is the recommended combination.

Aggressive treatment using the above techniques should improve hemorrhoids within days, but they may need 2-4 weeks of treatment to completely calm down. If they have not resolved to your satisfaction in that time, consult a physician. Other medical problems such as inflammatory bowel disease or bowel infection can cause hemorrhoid-like symptoms. So if the problem does not clear up promptly with basic OTC treatment, see your doctor.

None of the OTC treatment methods listed above will be effective for thrombosed hemorrhoids (click here to review thrombosed hemorrhoids). These clotted hemorrhoids are always very hard, have a smooth black or purple surface, and feel like a growth coming from the anus. They are extremely painful, and a tiny incision made by a physician to remove the clot alleviates pain and bulging immediately. Don't delay seeing your doctor for a thrombosed hemorrhoid. Left alone, they take days or even weeks to go away.