Kevin Blanchard Dot Com

Pink dinosaur grabs centre stage on remote New Zealand volcano

AUCKLAND : Scientists using a camera to monitor a remote New Zealand volcano over the Internet have struck an odd problem – a pink dinosaur.

New Zealand’s Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GNS) have installed a digital camera in the crater of the volcano which makes up most of White Island in the Bay of Plenty, east of Auckland.

The often active volcano draws tourists by boat but most people do not go ashore on the uninhabited, rumbling island.

To keep a close watch, GNS installed a digital camera on the island and post a shot taken every hour on their website.

But suddenly a pink dinosaur has appeared in the shot.

“Some wag has glued a pink dinosaur in front of our digital camera,” GNS’ John Callan said.

“A number of people have been emailing us asking what the dinosaur is all about.”

They are not planning on removing it, counting on the sulphur and high acid environment to deal to the creature. – AFP

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/05/19/uk.online.church/index.html

*EDIT*
… and no I was not the one who hacked the site

http://www.bitchhitmytruck.com/

So the next 6 weeks will be pretty hellish so you may not “see” me online or here from me as much.

* classes 4 nights a week
* up by 7am every day, meetings at 9am this week but quite often this month, class till 9pm 2 nights and 10:15 the other 2
* somehow have to do homework when i get home before the next class and still be up at 7am the next day,lol

I need to step up a bit to get everything done anyway

my smart/dumb ass decided to change from a CS major, to an EE major to a double major (pending dean approval),lol

I really need to stick with a major and finish,lol
I mean I technically I am not under any time crunch considering my current position in my company but since I still have a masters and a PHD to get out of the way i’d like to be done with it all and know what it is like to Just work and not have school 🙂

I WAS a computer science major then switched to electrical engineering.. I had played with the idea of computer engineering, am currently a electrical engineering major minoring in computer science, but I think before it is all done it’ll turn into a double major. Of course going to night school this = time++ (translation for the non-geeks: more time). I am hoping to get into the masters/phd program at cmu for robotic engineering, but it is HIGHLY competitive. My fall back will be a masters in computer science (with focus in artificial intelligence) and then the phd will be in robotic engineering.

Any thoughts?

*EDIT*
Oh yeah and did I mention I also work full time, do volunteer work at the local HS, and am learning japanese in my “free time” ? lol

a bit of a fender bender to say the least…
http://forum.planetisuzoo.com/viewtopic.php?t=1361

The Google Terrrorist

It was the lead item on the government’s daily threat matrix one day last April. Don Emilio Fulci described by an FBI tipster as a reclusive but evil millionaire, had formed a terrorist group that was planning chemical attacks against London and Washington, D.C. That day even FBI director Robert Mueller was briefed on the Fulci matter. But as the day went on without incident, a White House staffer had a brainstorm: He Googled Fulci. His findings: Fulci is the crime boss in the popular video game Headhunter. “Stand down,” came the order from embarrassed national security types

From http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/040517/whispers/17whisplead_2.htm

http://www.livejournal.com/users/jachilli/85691.html

I really wish I knew of a way to move out of DC…well out of the US actually. I have been playing with the idea of moving for 6-12 months and at least from what I know, I’d love to live somewhere like Tokyo or somewhere in that vicinity. *sigh* I’ve been teaching myself Japanese for the last few months though as I am impressed with the amount of knowledge I have soaked up, i think i still am at about the equiv. to a grade 1 equivalency test in Japan,lol.

*EDIT*

Nippon Air – non stop – 14 hrs – $1050
*sigh*
road trip anyone?

This is a clip from an article on the soon to be here Cicadas:

“These large, ungainly insects in the genus Magicicada spend either 13 or 17 years underground, then emerge nearly simultaneously in densities that can exceed 1 million per acre.”

1 million per acre…….

*EDIT* ok the pic should be fixed, they apparently didn’t like me linking to their site and denied me access,lol

More old skool goodness 🙂

http://www.somethingawful.com/images/tetris.mpeg

So I made a random observation today. I was looking at the top 5 shows I Tivo and notice ALL of them are cartoons.

1. Futurama
2. Simpsons
3. Aqua Teen Hunger Force
4. Family Guy
5. South park

No point to this post just a random observation I found interesting, apparently according to my tivo viewing habits, reality does not amuse me anymore,lol.

Please Don’t Let There Be Any Emergencies…

WTF, I knew it was May but it just sank in we are already into the 5th month of the year, almost half way done? Where has the year gone????