Feed the Hungry with Vocabulary Knowledge

There’s a website that I just found out about called FreeRice.com that will donate 10 grains of rice for every vocabulary word you can answer the meaning of correctly. Snopes has a verification page with more info about the site. The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) donates the rice. It’s a good thing they don’t penalize you for getting the words wrong or I would have just cost them a lot of grains of rice. :)

Pzza Ordrs By Txt Msg

Papa John’s has started providing a new way to order your pizza at about 2700 locations. Instead of calling in for delivery, you can now send a text message using your cell phone. Even Domino’s is making sure that those customers with mobile devices on the internet can place the order through their browser. Ok, I admit they would have to come up with some better abbreviations than I did for this kind of thing. Papa John’s has already thought of that. You can enter “FAV1,” “FAV2,” “FAV3,” or “FAV4” in the message depending on what you saved in each of these names. You can also save your payment and address information. It seems that this is just one more step towards less and less human contact in a way. However, this will definitely appeal to the younger crowd and will probably create a big benefit for the consumer and the company.

Study Shows That Most Parents Aren’t Into Gaming

One of the latest polls says that parents and gaming isn’t the best relationship out there. It seems the majority of parents never or very rarely join their kids in playing games. I can understand how parents want to limit their child’s time gaming. I mean, there is such a thing as the real world and kids need to get out and run around a bit. However, I think that if they’re going to allow the kids to game they should join right in. I have to think that when my husband and I have kids, we’ll be playing right alongside them (or against them, whichever works). A little gaming, whether it is Halo or Wii Sports, can be a good stress reliever after a long day. It’s nice to go home and just do some fun for a little bit. We usually appreciate the graphics and the beauty that the games offer, as well as the storylines and over all fun factor. A friend of mine recently told me that she played Halo with her 17 year old son and really had a blast. She never really plays the Xbox but she still enjoyed it. So parents, if you’ve never tried it give gaming with your child a shot (no pun intended). You might end up liking it.

Google Your Gas Pump

Google is planning to incorporate their maps and driving directions into gas pumps starting soon. I can already think of a few trips where this would have come in handy. The new gas pumps will have an Internet connection so that lost drivers can check directions while filling up their gas tanks. The service will include categories such as hotels, restaurants, and hospitals for you to choose from to show what’s available in your area. From the sounds of it, it will be very similar to what you get when you visit Google Maps on your PC. You can even print out your directions (very handy!). The gas pump service will be free to drivers, but unlike most Google services, this service will not use ads for income.

Comet Holmes Makes It’s Appearance

I found out today that you can see a naked eye comet in the constellation of Perseus. On October 24th comet Holmes erupted and brightened almost a million times, taking it from magnitude 17 to 2.5 (the smaller the number, the brighter the object). Comet Holmes is a periodic comet that was discovered in 1892 by Edwin Holmes during another such eruption. You can find where to see the comet with this map. I went out tonight and took a peek with binoculars. It looks like a fuzzy circle, not your typical comet shape, but very cool nonetheless. The reason we don’t see the tail is that it is in the line of sight with the Earth, so we’re looking down the length of the tail. If you have a pair of binoculars or a telescope, it would be worth pulling them out and taking a look. You should be able to see the comet at least through the middle of the month, at which time the moon returns and will light up the sky. Right now the comet is just beyond the orbit of Mars and appears to be about the size of a third of the full moon.

Sony Announces a New PS3

Sony is going to give gamers a Merry Christmas this year. The PS3 lineup will have a few changes for the upcoming holiday shopping season. For starters, Sony has announced that it will be dropping the price of the current 80GB PS3 to $499 (down $100). They will also release a new PS3 to the US for $399 with 40GB of storage. The 40GB model has already debuted in Japan and Europe, and the introduction to the US market is probably to help boost sales here. The Wii has sold 9 million units since its release, while by comparison the PS3 has only sold 5 million. (By the way, if you haven’t played the Wii, get your tushy down the nearest game store that has one and try it out.) The new PS3 will not be able to play PS2 games as the current models do so that Sony can concentrate on providing new games for their new platform. The new model will still be the most expensive of the three major consoles, but the new price tag should look a bit more appealing than the current models for those gamers on a budget.

New Zunes on the Horizon

Microsoft has announced that they will be releasing new Zunes in November. The 80 GB hard drive Zune will be available in black with a 3.2 inch screen and sell for $250. This model is the most similar to the current Zune being sold. The new slimmer Zunes will be available in a 4GB and 8GB that uses flash memory. Flash memory has no moving parts, which is a big plus for people who are hard on their devices. The 4GB and 8GB models will come in pink, green, black, and glossy red. It looks like the smaller Zunes will sell for $149.

Both new models will come with the ability to sync wirelessly and will extend the wireless sharing function. The Zune will get new touch controls as well, which I imagine will be like the current iPod controls. Also getting a facelift is the Zune Marketplace. Microsoft hasn’t said much more than this on their Zune website, but as the month goes on I am sure they will have more teaser information posted.

What’s that you say? You already have a Zune? No problem…Microsoft intends to push out Marketplace and firmware updates so that current Zune owners can get the new features on their players.

Canon Unveils the PowerShot SX100 IS

Canon unveiled a new point-and-shoot camera a few days ago that will appeal to the novice (me) and professional (my husband) alike. We purchased one Saturday and have really loved using it. It has a lot of features that your SLR’s have, but without the complication or the separate lenses and body. It’s a mini me of sorts. My husband is as excited about this point-and-shoot as I am. That should give you an idea of the features that it comes equipped with. The SX100 comes with 8 megapixels and powerful 10X optical zoom. The other point-and-shoots that I looked at in that price range for the most part had either a 3X or 6X optical zoom. It also comes with image stabilization which is a definite perk. The one thing that it’s missing that I am used to is a view finder. Good luck finding a point-and-shoot with one of those anymore. It’s slim pickin’s. The SX100 does have a 2.5 inch LCD screen though which by far makes up for the lack of a view finder. The screen is very clear and large enough that you can see what you’re taking a picture of without the need to squint.

As far as options go, there are the standard settings that most point-and-shoots have preconfigured, like portrait, landscape, foliage, night time, etc. The SX100 give you Program, Tv, Av, and M settings so that you can set all of your options like ISO, f/stop, and shutter speed manually. This is the part that my husband was excited about. I’ve found since using the manual settings that I want to learn more about what they are and how they work. You can even do white balancing with preconfigured settings, or you can manually white balance so that you get exactly what you want. The macro setting is awesome. I am finding that I enjoy this feature the best so far. The closest the manual says you can get to an object and still focus is about a half an inch. I’ve tried this out and it holds true. The picture I’ve attached at the bottom of this post is a tomato about an inch in diameter in the morning dew, taken at about an inch away. The camera does come with video capability at 640x480 and 30 fps with sound. I tried this out and was able to view the video maximized on a 17” widescreen LCD monitor without any pixelization. The sound on the video is pretty good, but you do have to be careful not to bump the camera too much or you will get those noises on the video.

Now, you may think that setting all of these features is going to be difficult. Wrong! This is one of the easiest interfaces to get around in. There aren’t a ton of buttons to begin with, and they have pictures next to them to tell you what it does (like the flower symbol for the Macro setting). It does have a wheel on the back that you can either press in the four directions, or turn around in a circle to get around your menus. The four directions are considered buttons since they each do something different when you push them. The left side of the wheel allows you to set the Macro settings, the top button the ISO settings, the right button the flash settings, and the bottom what kind of shot you want to do (continuous, single, timed, etc.).

The best part…all of this comes at the reasonable price of $300. When we compared this camera to the others we saw in the store, we felt like we got the most options for the price. Canon is really making it a point to offer point-and-shoots that appeal to both the beginner and the pro who want a camera that has SLR features, but without the bulk of an SLR.

I Finished the Fight

Finally, when I returned home Friday, I was able to play Halo 3 with my husband. We like to play these kinds of games on cooperative so that we can play the whole storyline through together. It’s handy when someone (me!) decides to run with guns blazing into battle just to be killed over and over again by hordes of enemies. He stays in a safe place, popping off a few big guys with a sniper rifle, so that I can respawn and do the whole thing over again. Hey what can I say, that’s my style. :)

The one word to describe the game is beautiful. The graphics are a big improvement over Halo 2. There was a difference in graphics and AI between Halo and Halo 2, but there’s a much bigger difference in both between Halo 2 and Halo 3. Everything in the game is much more detailed and reflects light much more realistically. When you’re in the sunlight and turn towards the sun, your gun will glint as you around catching the light. It’s hard to describe without actually seeing it. When you catch a reflection it will actually kind of blind you a bit just like it would in real life. I caught myself wanting to squint at times. It did seem as though everything was shiner as if the designers were saying, “Hey look at this neat thing we can do!” The effect was gorgeous though. You find yourself simply taking time to admire the scenery and effects between battles. Even the plant life is more detailed than the previous versions. If you run through a fern or bush, and the leaves have very detailed textures. The character’s faces show much more detail and emotion than before. And they’re smarter. And they drive better which is a big improvement over Halo 2. I always liked it when your guys would drive in Halo 2, but they didn’t drive the best and I’ve had my fair share of being run over by them. Just get out of their way and let them go, because they would always take off and kill most of the enemies before you could catch up. Halo 3 fixes that and they wait on you now (yay!) and don’t drive as crazy as they did before.

I’ve noticed that the movements of the characters are much more lifelike in this game as well. There was a scene where the Master Chief was leaning over a table with his hands on the table. I remember noting that his arms and shoulders bent very fluidly and even had that little give in the shoulder when he bent farther over. Again, it’s hard to describe unless you see the game, but it’s one of those moments where you say, “oh how cool.”

If you play the game on cooperative mode, Player 1 will be the Master Chief and Player 2 will be The Arbiter. This change is key to the storyline of the game and really helps you get into the plot. A few weapons have changed and you get a few extra, such as the Gravity Hammer. It’s pretty much a big stick that will destroy any enemy in 10 feet of you. If you run across one, pick it up. It’s great fun to use. You will also see some new vehicles this time around. The Chopper has the same principle as the Ghost, but meaner. The Hornet is a new flying vehicle that you can take to the skies with. The Wraith is harder to steal but still packs the same punch it did before. You do get the Scorpion with a few improvements. It’s faster than what it was in the previous games, and you can have a second player shoot a machine gun along with the first player still firing the main gun.

WARNING: SPOILERS IN THIS PARAGRAPH: I did get a lot of satisfaction in one part of the game when I finally was able to kill 343 Guilty Spark (aka The Monitor and The Oracle). I know he’s just a little metal floaty ball with a blue light that hums all the time, but darn it felt good to blow him up. You even get a big gun to do it with which made it even more fun. Yes, some people that you’ve grown to love do die in the game. I won’t say who, but not everyone gets to finish the fight.

Ok, the spoilers are over now. If you play Halo 3 don’t forget to do something very important. When the credits roll after the last level is over, don’t end the game. Let the credits finish and there is an extra movie at the end. I’m not going to spoil anything, but it will leave you with a better feeling about the ending of the game if you watch the final after-the-credits movie. The storyline does finish out and wrap everything up. However, the designers do leave open a few possibilities, maybe for future games or the plot of the Halo movie that is supposed to come out sometime in 2008 or 2009. That is just my speculation for what it’s worth.

All in all it was great game that any Halo fan will enjoy. It is a bit short but the graphics, AI, and storyline make up for it. If you haven’t played any of the Halo trilogy, start with the first and work your way up. I wouldn’t recommend starting with the last one and then going back to the first.

Voyager Turns 30

This fall is the 30th anniversary of the Voyager missions to the outer planets and beyond. The missions brought back the first close-up images of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune along with a plethora of new discoveries about the planets and their moons. Before these missions no one knew that there were volcanoes on any other celestial body other than Earth. Jupiter’s moon Io turned out to be THE place in the solar system for the ultimate in volcanism. From fire to ice, Neptune’s moon Triton, the coldest body in the solar system, was discovered to have geysers that spewed nitrogen gas and dust high into it’s atmosphere. I grew up in the Voyager age and can remember learning about the planets from the very pictures that the spacecraft sent back to Earth. We’ve learned so much since Voyager 1 and 2 passed through our outer Solar System, and we have such a better understanding of these planets and their moons because of these two missions. When Voyager 1 passed the orbits of Neptune and Pluto, NASA turned around the craft and took a picture of our tiny Earth, which looked like nothing more than a small blue speck against a black backdrop. NASA also took pictures of the rest of the planets and made a family portrait of our solar system family. Those spacecraft are still transmitting data, 30 years and about 9 billion miles later. Scientists think the craft are approaching the boundary of the heliopause, where the solar wind and interstellar wind meet. In about 80,000 years they will reach Alpha Centauri, our closest star at around 4 light years away. In billions of years when the Sun is nothing more than a cinder, these two spacecraft will still be on their journey through our galaxy, carrying with them a piece of humankind and human spirit.