August 2009

Voice Chips

Posted Thu, 08/27/2009 - 04:01 by admin

http://www.voice-express.com/

Early computer sound chips had only simple tone and noise generators with few channels, imposing limitations on both the complexity of the sounds they could produce and the number of notes that could be played at once. In their desire to create a more complex arrangement than what the medium apparently allowed, composers developed creative approaches when developing their own electronic sounds and scores, employing a diversity of both methods of sound synthesis, such as pulse width modulation and wavetable synthesis, and compositional techniques, such as a liberal use of arpeggiation. The resultant chiptunes sometimes seem harsh or squeaky to the unaccustomed listener.

The June 2008 issue of Paste Magazine has an article on chiptune artist Jeremiah "Nullsleep" Johnson, and the included sampler CD features chiptune song "Local Hero" by Crazy Q.

Islanders' Mike Sillinger retires after 17 years (AP)

Posted Thu, 08/27/2009 - 00:51 by admin

UNIONDALE, N.Y. – New York Islanders center Mike Sillinger is retiring after 17 years in the NHL because of an injured left hip.
The 38-year-old forward announced his decision during a conference call Wednesday.
Sillinger played only seven games last year and had season-ending surgery in January. In February 2008, a procedure on the hip forced him to miss the final 29 games of that season.
He played for a record 12 teams during his 17 seasons. He spent three years with the Islanders and his 42 goals and 87 points were his highest total with any NHL team.
Sillinger was chosen No. 11 in the 1989 draft by Detroit. For his career, he had 240 goals and 308 assists in 1,049 games.

Asian stocks fall as China plans to curb capacity (AP)

Posted Thu, 08/27/2009 - 00:42 by admin

BANGKOK – Most Asian stock markets fell Thursday after China said it will curb overcapacity and excessive investment in industries such as steel and cement, adding to worries about whether a global economic recovery is sustainable.
Meager gains overnight on Wall Street also contributed to the increasingly cautious mood among investors after the strong rally in global markets since March. While economic indicators are turning positive, investors wonder if further gains in stock prices are warranted.
Wednesday's announcement that Beijing plans to cut capacity in steel and other sectors comes after economists had warned that China's 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) stimulus package was creating a glut in a range of industries. In the long run, that may be positive for the Chinese economy, but in the short-term could mean less profit.
"They pumped trillions (of yuan) into the economy and the local economic leaders used the money to build steel mills that have no market," said Francis Lun, general manager of Fulbright Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong. "This is bad for the stock market."
"We'll probably see a temporary lull," he said. "In Hong Kong, people are ready to sell out because the market has risen so much this summer."
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 219.52 points, or 1.1 percent, to 20,239.80 while Tokyo's Nikkei 225 average slid 165.74 points, or 1.6 percent, to 10,473.97.
Shanghai's Composite index, which has swung wildly over the last two weeks, dropped a relatively moderate 0.8 percent at 2,944.15. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.9 percent and Australia's benchmark ended nearly flat.
Markets in Singapore, India and the Philippines, however, advanced.
On Wall Street Wednesday, stocks finished with tiny gains after positive reports on sales of home sales and big-ticket items, suggesting the world's largest economy is on the mend.
But investors in the U.S. didn't seem impressed with either report. Many have already factored in a recovery in the housing market, and the 4.9 percent gain in durable goods seems to have been driven by the government's recently expired "Cash for Clunkers" program that prompted thousands of people to trade in older cars for new ones.
The Dow Jones industrials rose 4.23, or 0.04 percent, to 9,543.52, while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.12, or 0.01 percent, to 1,028.12. The tech-heavy Nasdaq ended barely changed at 2,024.43.
Asian investors pay close attention to the American economy because it is a huge export market.
"The U.S. economy is showing signs of improvement," said Lun. "The one thing that hasn't improved is employment. That's the missing piece in the recovery."
Wall Street futures were down, suggesting a tepid opening Thursday in New York. Dow futures were off 14 points, or 0.2 percent, to 9,512, while S&P futures slipped 3.2, or 0.2 percent, to 1,024.90.
Crude oil prices fell, with benchmark crude for October delivery down 23 cents to $71.21 a barrel.
In currencies, the dollar weakened further to 93.73 yen from 94.21 yen late Wednesday in New York. The euro was little changed at $1.4246.

Wood Benches

Posted Wed, 08/26/2009 - 23:27 by admin

An open park bench in al-Mahdi Park, Tehran. the bench seat is a traditional seat installed in automobiles, featuring a continuous pad running the full width of the cabin. a punishment bench is used to have a punishee lie (and often be tied) down on for the administration of a corporal punishment, after which it may be specifically named, e.g. caning bench.

Often benches are simply called after the place they are used, regardless whether this implies a specific design Garden benches are very similar to public park benches set outdoors, but the former offer usually only two or three -, the latter mostly up to five persons sitting places. Picnic tables, or catering buffet tables have long benches as well as a table. These tables may have table legs which are collapsible, in order to expedite transport and storage. Church pews inside places of worship are equipped with an additional kneeling bench.

Wood Benches

NYC's 'skinniest' house has fat price tag: $2.7M (AP)

Posted Wed, 08/26/2009 - 19:36 by admin

NEW YORK – It's 9 1/2 feet wide and 42 feet long and is billed as the narrowest house in New York City. But there's nothing small about its asking price: $2.7 million.
Located at 75 1/2 Bedford St. in Greenwich Village, the red brick building was built in 1873, sandwiched in a narrow space that used to be an alley between homes at 75 and 77 Bedford.
The narrow house is considered a curiosity and is one of the neighborhood's most photographed homes. A small plaque on the house notes that poet Edna St. Vincent Millay once lived there; so did anthropologist Margaret Mead.
Real estate broker Alex Nicholas says there is interest in the property and he has appointments on Thursday to show the home to three different potential buyers.
The residential interiors are a tight squeeze even by New York standards, measuring just 8 1/2 feet wide and 42 feet long on each of its three floors.
"Due to the narrowness of the house, I think you have to be very clever in how you decorate," Nicholas said.
The current owners bought the house for $1.6 million in 2000.
The broker's Web site describes it as a vertical suite, with a kitchen, dining room and parlor on the first floor, a double living room on the second floor and a top-floor master bedroom suite. A trapdoor in the kitchen floor leads to a finished basement.
Large windows in the front and back of the house and a garret skylight, plus a small backyard garden, give it "an airiness, a sense of light and charm," Nicholas said.
He predicted the property will fetch its listed price due to its uniqueness, history and location in one of the city's most famous preserved neighborhoods.

Swanky Space Hotel Concept Revealed (SPACE.com)

Posted Wed, 08/26/2009 - 17:57 by admin

Space tourism may face some challenges with the uncertainty over the
next-generation rides into space. But that hasn't stopped Earth designers from
envisioning future space hotels for paying thrill seekers.

A robot concierge, a redesigned showerhead and a full-sensory exercise
wall are just part of the Space
Hotel Project created by master's degree students in a program hosted by
Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art in the UK. The concept
could theoretically attach to the International Space Station, so long as the growing
space
outpost remains in orbit.

"From personal hygiene to sleeping in zero gravity, we encouraged
the students to be completely creative with their solutions so that the living
conditions in the world's most isolated hotel could be as comfortable as
possible," said Daniele Bedini, a space architecture expert who has worked
for NASA and the European Space Agency on moon and Mars base designs.

The new space hotel concept includes a rigid module similar to Europe's
Columbus laboratory on the space station, as well as an inflatable sphere
developed by Thales Alenia Space in Italy.

Bedini told SPACE.com that the space hotel could be built
tomorrow with today's existing structures and technologies. He compared the
process to luxury airlines buying an airplane structure and personalizing the
interior.

Keeping clean in microgravity

Space hygiene has always proved a challenge, but space hotel designers
tackled everything from smaller vacuum-powered toilets to new clothing to keep odors down.

"There are no washing machines or tumble dryers in space so we had
to design clothes that enabled the skin to breathe, which reduces sweating,
smells and the need for clothes to be washed," said Katrin Baumgarten, a
student in the Innovation Design Engineering program at Imperial College
London. "We achieved this by using natural fibers that breathe and we also
made small chest flaps, which let the air in to keep the body cool and
comfortable."

A redesigned showerhead could also help tackle the washing
problem in space by using many small holes to squirt small amounts of water
and soap, and another set of holes to suck up water for recycling. Water only
comes out of the holes in contact with the skin, and so avoids leaving liquid
globules floating around.

Cleaning up after stray food crumbs or globules may similarly become a
cinch. An "AirMaid" cycle would operate during the night period on
the space hotel to suck any offending particles out of the air, just like the
space station's air conditioning unit operates.

A personal touch in space

Staying fit and healthy on a space vacation need not resemble a grim
daily ritual. Student designers suggested an exercise wall and a routine where
space tourists would pull on elastic bands in time with lights and music. But
astronauts may still prefer running on the COLBERT
treadmill named for comedian Stephen Colbert.

Food would also become a snap with customizable menu, and a robotic arm
that connects food containers in rows to create a tray-table.

The redesigned space hotel experience extends to the waking and sleeping
patterns, which face the challenge of dealing with 16 sunrises and sunsets
within the span of typical Earth day as the station orbits the planet every 90
minutes.

Astronauts on the space station today typically adhere to a daily schedule
anchored to Greenwich Mean Time, which dictates when their work days begin and
end.

Space hotel designers decided to incorporate light-emitting diodes (LEDs)
into the walls and storage spaces, and leave the natural light coming from
outside. The exterior glass would only darken to reduce the level of incoming
light during Earth's night cycle, and help space tourists adjust to the new patterns
of night and day.

A stand-alone lamp powered by glowing algae might also accompany space
tourists wherever they go, the student designers proposed. That could serve as
a poignant reminder of the life swarming across the planet below.

Getting off the ground

Any space hotel or tourism concepts must overcome a stiff challenge from
a budget crunch.

Space tourists going up to the space station face a squeeze for seats on
the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, if NASA follows an original plan to end space shuttle
flights by 2010. That would require the U.S. space agency's astronauts to take
Russian rides into orbit until NASA's Constellation program finds its legs.

The shortfall in manned spacecraft capability has space tourist outfits
seriously worried, given that their paying passengers may lack the rides to get
where they're going. One company, Bigelow Aerospace of Las Vegas, Nev., a
proponent of inflatable space station modules and future space hotels, has
proposed how to rescue the Constellation program and its Orion spacecraft with
an Orion-Lite concept that pares down NASA's original design.

Still, uncertainty has not stopped Bedini and his students from working
on ways to inject fresh food into their tray-table concept. Bedini also wants
to test of a floating camera on the space station, which could eventually lead
to a robot concierge snapping vacation photos for space tourists.

Some of the ideas could become reality under Bedini's contract with
Thales Alenia Space. Bedini even hopes to pitch the space hotel concept to
private companies and space agencies, and perhaps make the space station an
even livelier place in the future.

Designers who want a taste of extreme interior decorating can sign up
for Bedini's course in Space Design at the Royal College of Art in London next year.

New
Video - A Hotel Room in Space
Video
- Visions and Realities of Commercial Space
New
Video Show - NASA's Vision for Humans in Space

 

 

Original Story: Swanky Space Hotel Concept RevealedSPACE.com offers rich and compelling content about space science, travel and exploration as well as astronomy, technology, business news and more. The site boasts a variety of popular features including our space image of the day and other space pictures,space videos, Top 10s, Trivia, podcasts and Amazing Images submitted by our users. Join our community, sign up for our free newsletters and register for our RSS Feeds today!

Sound Chips

Posted Wed, 08/26/2009 - 17:45 by admin

Contemporary interest in chipping has also led to numerous web sites dedicated to the history of music groups, artists, and antique platforms.

In the last couple of years, chip music has returned to modern gaming, either in full chip music style or using chip samples in the music. Games that do this in their soundtrack include Mega Man Battle Network, Seiklus, and Tetris DS.

Sound Chips

LAPD looking for 3 suspects in Lohan burglary (AP)

Posted Wed, 08/26/2009 - 17:39 by admin

LOS ANGELES – Police are looking for three suspects in the burglary of Lindsay Lohan's home.
The Los Angeles Police Department has released surveillance camera footage of the Sunday break-in at the "Mean Girls" star's house. The footage shows three people, whose faces are covered with scarves, walking through a gate at Lohan's Hollywood Hills home and entering a courtyard at around 1:10 a.m.
LAPD detectives believe the suspects — one male and two females, all 18 to 25 years old — entered the house through an unlocked door, then ransacked it and took property.
Lohan's spokeswoman, Leslie Sloane-Zelnik, said the break-in happened Sunday while the actress and her younger sister were away. Sloane-Zelnik said many of Lohan's "personal belongings were taken without remorse."
Lohan posted on Twitter she didn't think it was a robbery because "things that a certain old friend knew meant a lot to me" were taken.

LAPD looking for 3 suspects in Lohan burglary (AP)

Posted Wed, 08/26/2009 - 17:39 by admin

LOS ANGELES – Police are looking for three suspects in the burglary of Lindsay Lohan's home.
The Los Angeles Police Department has released surveillance camera footage of the Sunday break-in at the "Mean Girls" star's house. The footage shows three people, whose faces are covered with scarves, walking through a gate at Lohan's Hollywood Hills home and entering a courtyard at around 1:10 a.m.
LAPD detectives believe the suspects — one male and two females, all 18 to 25 years old — entered the house through an unlocked door, then ransacked it and took property.
Lohan's spokeswoman, Leslie Sloane-Zelnik, said the break-in happened Sunday while the actress and her younger sister were away. Sloane-Zelnik said many of Lohan's "personal belongings were taken without remorse."
Lohan posted on Twitter she didn't think it was a robbery because "things that a certain old friend knew meant a lot to me" were taken.

Cash for Clunkers under budget with 690,000 sales (AP)

Posted Wed, 08/26/2009 - 17:33 by admin

WASHINGTON – The popular Cash for Clunkers program generated nearly 700,000 new car sales during the past month, giving the U.S. auto industry a badly needed jolt of activity during the deepest decline in auto sales in two decades.
The government, releasing final data on the car incentives, said Wednesday that dealers submitted 690,114 sales totaling $2.88 billion, bringing the program to a close under its $3 billion budget. Japanese auto manufacturers led American companies in new car sales through the program, which ended late Monday.
Many dealers are still waiting to be repaid for the Cash for Clunkers incentives they gave car buyers and were allowed to submit paperwork seeking reimbursement until late Tuesday.
Despite the summertime frenzy at dealerships, analysts said the growth in auto sales may be short-lived. Sales in July rose to 11.2 million when converted to an annual rate, the first month in 2009 in which sales had risen above the 10 million level. A drop in consumer confidence late last year sent sales plunging to depths not seen since the early 1980s, prompting lawmakers to create the program.
Jeremy Anwyl, CEO of the auto Web site Edmunds.com, said dealers and automakers clearly gained from the big boost in sales. But while the incentives helped consumers, average prices for vehicles went up as buyers less concerned about prices rushed to take advantage of the rebates.
Inventory shortages from the popular program could keep prices high and drive down new vehicle sales. "We have created a sales bubble and now that bubble has burst," Anwyl said.
The Obama administration declared the program a major success, saying Cash for Clunkers provided a needed stimulus to the auto industry and the broader economy.
"Manufacturing plants have added shifts and recalled workers. Moribund showrooms were brought back to life and consumers bought fuel-efficient cars that will save them money and improve the environment," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
The White House Council of Economic Advisers said the program will boost economic growth in the third quarter by 0.3 to 0.4 percentage points because of the increased auto sales in July and August. An estimated 42,000 jobs will be created or saved during the second half of the year, the White House said.
The biggest industry beneficiaries were Japanese automakers Toyota, Honda and Nissan, which accounted for 41 percent of the new vehicle sales. That outpaced Detroit automakers General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, which had a share of nearly 39 percent. Toyota Motor Corp. led the industry with 19.4 percent of new sales, followed by General Motors Co. with 17.6 percent and Ford Motor Co. with 14.4 percent.
The Toyota Corolla was the most popular new vehicle purchased under the program. The Honda Civic, Toyota Camry and Ford Focus held the next three top spots. All four are built in the United States.
The program, which began in late July, offered consumers rebates of $3,500 or $4,500 off the price of a new vehicle in return for trading in their older, less fuel-efficient vehicles to be scrapped. The trade-in vehicles needed to get 18 miles per gallon or less.
It proved far more popular than lawmakers originally thought. Congress added another $2 billion to the original $1 billion budget when the first pot of money nearly ran out in a week. The extra money was supposed to last through Labor Day, but the funding only lasted about a month.
Dealers loved the new sales, but they reported major hassles trying to get the government to repay them for the rebates. Many dealers are still waiting to get paid.
Peter Kitzmiller, president of the Maryland Automobile Dealers Association, said most dealers appeared to get their paperwork in by the Tuesday night deadline and he was hopeful the pace of repayments would pick up.
The Transportation Department said Wednesday that 2,000 people are processing dealer applications. The program was expected to cost $50 million to administer, but Transportation officials said the administrative costs would exceed that amount. They expressed confidence the extra costs would not push the program's total expenditures beyond $3 billion.
Some consumers may be regretting their clunkers purchases, especially since many buyers traded in paid-off vehicles in return for new cars financed through loans. A survey of 1,000 Cash for Clunkers participants, conducted by CNW Research, an automotive research firm in Oregon, found that 17 percent had doubts about their vehicle purchase after taking on monthly car payments of $275 to $350 per month.
The government said 84 percent of the trade-ins were trucks and 59 percent of the new vehicles were passenger cars. New vehicles bought through Cash for Clunkers had an average fuel-efficiency of 24.9 miles per gallon, compared with an average of 15.8 mpg for trade-ins, a 58 percent improvement.

American companies accounted for all the top-10 traded-in vehicles. The Ford Explorer four-wheel-drive was the most popular, followed by the Ford F-150 Pickup two-wheel-drive, the Jeep Grand Cherokee four-wheel-drive and Ford Explorer two-wheel-drive.

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On the Net:

Cash for Clunkers: http://www.cars.gov/