droidworks is a book by michael rubin divulging the history and technology breakthroughs of george lucas and his various endeavors and companies. i have not read the book yet (just grabbed it today) but according to amazon, the book describes how george lucas created pixar, digital editing, and videogame avitars. that's right, you can thank star wars for world of warcraft and the guild. the best thing about this book is it has alot to do with star wars, just look at the title. the second best thing about this book is that you can get it from amazon or you can download it for free from the author's blog. seeing as how i am poor, i took the free option.

google's plans for world domination are moving steadily forward. they have recently announced that they will have their own operating system for netbooks which will be available in the second half of 2010. it will be designed for net-based use and will most likely be designed for cloud computing. i was not planning to ever get a netbook, but if i can find one of decent size with a google os i may just have to pick that up. today netbooks, tomorrow the world!

announcement on google's blog

www.xrayrisk.com is a great place to go if you are worried about getting cancer from your trip to the hospital. it tells you the average radiation dose for a given procedure and then calculates the chance that you will get cancer from whatever procedure or procedures you underwent while at the hospital. the site focuses exclusively on cancer and it is unclear how much emphasis it places on the time of the exposure. the calculator does ask for the age of the patient at the time of the exposure which does influence the risk percentage and rightly so. but do the exams lose percentage over time? should they lose percentage over time?

just about everything, including humans, see by refracting (bending) light through a lens (right behind your pupil) to focus it onto the retina where rods and cones detect the image and send the info to your brain. this works great except when your trying to see in very muddy water. lobsters do not refract, they reflect. refracting takes the light that is immediately available directly infront of the pupil and it works great when light is abundant and the viewer can afford to ignore the stray light photons that do not fit the standard light-path.

no seriously, its the unofficial star wars day that is being discussed everywhere online. not only is it on the official star wars pages, but its also in wikipedia and nbc and a blog on the usa today site.

star wars day on wikipedia
official star wars blog
nbc la story on star wars day

in their online magazine/blog good magazine has provided a guide "to the shadowy organizations that rule the world" it provided a brief introduction to the various groups and the conspiracy theories that surround them. still going through the article myself, but feel that it must be read with the jonathan coulton song "i'm a mason now" playing in the background. the current condition of the author is unknown to me but the fact that the guide is still online leads me to believe that it is merely what the societies want us to believe.

denon has a digital audio cable on amazon for the amazing price of $500.00 it amazes me that anyone would buy a cable for that price, yet somehow, as of this writting, they only have two left in stock with more coming on reoder. if you feel so inclined, you could purchase a used one for as low as $2,499.98 or a refurbished one for only $999.99. but the comedy only starts there. be sure to read the buyer comments where the cable holds global warming at bay, creates miniture black holes, causes music to play backwards, and can regrow limbs.

boingboing article

a series of actual, and very creative snowglobes. while most of them are of a somewhat grisly nature and a few are just unusual, they are all unique and worth looking into. be sure to check out some of his other works while visiting his website. enjoy :)

recent works (snowglobes)
his main page

as part of their recent legal settlement, warner brothers is purchasing the pirate bay for thirteen billion dollars. all legal disputes will be forever waved and the pirate bay will continue to operate independent of their new owners. in other words, pirates win! the official press release is available for download from the pirate bay here or you can read about at torrent freak here. oh, and happy april fools!

finally, proof that squirrels are evil. sure, it looks like one of these two is helpless, but do not be fooled, its the apprentice turning on his master. honestly, you should have seen this picture already. why are you not following the star wars feed on flickr. its embarrassing really.

star wars on flickr