rlarson's blog

Creative ways of controlling traffic

Thu, 21 Dec 2006 12:15:03 -0600

With traffic accidents at all time records in most major cities, the DOT has had to come up with creative ways of adjusting drivers behavior.
One instance on Lake Shore Drive is to use stripes that get closer and closer as you approach a curve to get people to think they are driving faster than they really are. This seems to be working much better than the flashing yellow lights and the electronic signs that tell you how fast you should be going. Now I wish they would put as much thought into making the traffic lights leading away from LSD move traffic a little more efficiently.

My new aviation photo gallery..

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 23:59:12 -0600

I put together a website dedicated to showing people that have not had the opportunity to fly around in a small airplane just how beautiful it really is. The address is ShareaFlight.org and in blogcadre.com style, you can create your own account and upload your own photos to share them with the world.

Possible new battery replacement that charges quickly.

Tue, 27 Jun 2006 12:11:05 -0500

Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology think they're on the verge of making traditional batteries obsolete.

The researchers are working on a new device that uses carbon nanotubes to store and release electrical energy in a system that could carry as much power as today's lead or lithium batteries.

Check out the full article here

New powered front wheel for your bike.

Fri, 26 May 2006 10:43:14 -0500

Can't afford a new scooter, but need to get to work without smelling funny? This might be the solution. Its a powered front wheel that you can put on your existing bike. You can go about 200 miles per gallon of gas and after work, you can pedal back home instead of using up the fuel. Only problem is that it won't be available until next year.

www.revopower.com

Some School Districts crack down on inappropriate blogs

Tue, 23 May 2006 12:44:21 -0500

Some Schools Districts crack down on inappropriate blogs

"Maintaining or being identified on a blog site which depicts illegal or inappropriate behavior will be considered a violation of this code."

Now that sounds pretty benign, but can you really control what is posted on a blog? For example, I know we all hate it when Jason post's stuff about Evangeline Lilly. But is there really anything we can do about it? Except maybe help out the Bump Evangeline Lilly Contest?

Jasper, MN Goat Races

Fri, 19 May 2006 10:06:10 -0500

Don't know what you are doing on August 12th, 2006. Well heres something you can do. Go to the Jasper, MN Goat Races. There will be goats, beer, burgers, brats, bands and so much more. You can participate in a human powered tractor pull contest. Watch mud bog racing, or just take in the scenes of a small town.

Immigration March in Chicago on Monday

Fri, 28 Apr 2006 09:27:07 -0500

On Monday there will be an estimated 300,000 - 500,000 people marching through downtown Chicago. I will plan on bringing my camera and will try to get a few photos of the event.

Streets will be blocked off as needed and traffic will be a mess. The trains will be running much more frequently, as will the buses. I plan on riding my bike in so that I don't have to worry about traffic as much.

I hope everything goes well and they get their point across. Without immigration, this country would not be anywhere near what it is today.

Helping out your community

Tue, 25 Apr 2006 11:06:24 -0500

Over the weekend, over 200 people helped build a playground for the Harold Colbert Jones Memorial Community Center. It took over 12 hours to build the playground. We moved over 176,000 lbs of mulch, mixed about 7 tons of Cement and built a swing set, climbing wall, jungle gym and a big fort with multiple slides.

Gallery and google maps meet

Thu, 20 Apr 2006 10:08:45 -0500

I use the Gallery 2 software to display a large number of photos on the web. The other day I was wondering what it would take to integrate google maps into the site. So I pulled up google and found the Gallery2 Maps Module. Being a .5 version, it does work pretty well. The one major thing I think that needs to be added is the ability to edit multiple photo locations at the same time, or apply the same location to an entire album.

You can check it out at junster.com/gallery.

Now all I have to do is get a camera that automagically encodes the GPS location into the photo so that I don't have to update all 8000 photos by hand.

How secure is a credit card?

Wed, 08 Mar 2006 17:18:44 -0600

Ever wondered why we even sign for a credit card purchase? No one actually looks at the signature. Here is a very funny prank pulled by your average guy in a suit.

http://www.zug.com/pranks/credit_card/

My New Car..

Mon, 02 Jan 2006 00:01:57 -0600

For the first time in almost 8 years I bought a new car. The requirements for the car were as follows.

I looked at the following cars.

I ruled out the Subaru because I couldn't get a navigation system installed with a manual transmission.

The dancing fool..

Tue, 11 Oct 2005 00:36:40 -0500

Website - $50

Camouflaged Video Camera - $250

Purchasing studio time to record a song - $500

Watching your buddy dance like a fool - Priceless

Placing the video on the internet - Even more priceless.

Check out the clip Here

Another cool google maps hack

Wed, 24 Aug 2005 13:34:05 -0500

Someone has taken the time to put together a cool website to help out pilots using google maps.

He has taken weather data, aviation charts and google maps and put it all together. This makes it easy to get the general weather situation in an area.

Anyway, check it out at http://www.runwayfinder.com/

-Ryan

Microsoft turning a new leaf?

Wed, 13 Jul 2005 02:55:16 -0500

According to Microsoft's new development model they are turning a new leaf about open source software.

Well I my opinion, they are just trying to placate everyone into thinking that their software can do more than our software

I would personally take the time to evaluate which platform works for you now and in the future before I make a decision.

Especially after the Claria incident

Identity theft can be funny..

Fri, 01 Jul 2005 09:50:54 -0500

Today it was reported that the person who runs the FTC had some personal information stolen from a retailer that she frequented.

Now for the funny part, the FTC is in charge of helping people get through the process of getting their identity back after it has been stolen. In this case the company was at fault and let some 1.4 million people's CC numbers get stolen.

I also love the comment that the retail had trouble informing its customers because it doesn't collect address information at its stores. This is a good thing[tm] in my opinion. The less information you give the retailer, the less information they can lose. I won't even give them my zip code or phone number when they ask. I just politely say, "No thanks".