Tweets o' the Week

Recent posts from http://twitter.com/flanga (reverse order; newest first):

1. Before Photoshop: 7 film/glass photo edits that Literally Made History http://bit.ly
   
   
2. Researchers have developed a system of building-block 3D pixels for do-it-yourself low-resolution 3d displays. http://bit.ly/3A5Cmu
   
   
3. Bloxels: http://twitpic.com/ohn47
   
   
4. Awesome image: Cassini spacecraft flies through vapor plume of Saturn moon Enceladus: http://bit.ly/umpsO
   
   
5. Large Hadron Collider shut down by a piece of bread dropped by a bird. http://post.ly/Bm1r
   
   
6. Dead Star Encased in Diamond Shroud http://ow.ly/zFYR
   
   
7. A robot powered by a ground-based laser beam successfully climbs long cable, tests space elevator concept. http://bit.ly/gac5B
   
   
8. Brrr! Postcards from Mars show a frosty Phoenix on the north polar plains during Martian winter http://bit.ly/2kCuf4
   
   
9. A Brief History of Climate Change (TIMELINE): http://bit.ly/DjemT
   
   
10. Collision alert! The U.S. is now tracking 20,000 objects to try to protect 800 maneuverable satellites... http://bit.ly/25oVkO
    
    
11. A very weird hummingbird, from Peru. http://bit.ly/4FFbrq
    
    
12. A month of great space pix. http://bit.ly/2hDhYb
    
    
13. Light-powered space elevator prototypes compete... http://bit.ly/3ZZoV4
    
    
14. Powerful! Films show"shell-shock" in 18 British soldiers in military hospitals towards the end of the First World War. http://bit.ly/40bxpC
    
    
15. Innate good or learned behavior? Harvard scientists use a brain scanner to learn how we resist temptation. http://bit.ly/2jY711

How to write bad, good

Yes, it's an entire blog devoted to the art of writing poorly. If you're doing to do it wrong, do it wrong the right way! 8-)

http://writebadlywell.blogspot.com/

Is there a 'correct' clean-install sequence?

It's Thursday, so there's a new "LangaList Plus" column posted at WindowsSecrets.Com.

A reader with the nom de Web of "PTL" is rebuilding his OS and wants to know the best way to proceed:

"Is there a proper sequence for installing applications in a clean install? Obviously, the OS needs to be installed first, but what about after that? I asked several techie friends this question, and every one has a different answer. Any suggestions?"

While, there's no one, true way to set things up, I do believe there's solid justification for my tried-and-true method of building a stable, secure installation of any version of Windows. In fact, a step-by-step walk-through is the lead item in my WindowsSecrets column this week.

Also in this column:

'Server error' more common with NOD32? (Hugo Galindo reveals something interesting about the IRPStackSize error I wrote about in my Oct. 22 column.)

Are external drives OK for primary backups? (They're cheap and convenient, but are they reliable?)

More ways to capture 'uncopyable' text. (Expanding on the item in my Oct. 22 column, "Capture text in dialog boxes and folder windows," several readers wrote in with additional ways to capture file paths and print directory (folder) window contents.)

Access to the above content is almost free: You pay only what you think the WindowsSecrets newsletter is worth (there's no set fee--- you decide); whatever you pay that once gets you access to all the paid content, including my columns, for an entire year.

Want to have a question answered in that column? Use the "contact" info at the end of the column to send in questions you might like me to try answering. And you can also rate the content to let me know how I'm doing.

More info: https://windowssecrets.com/

Thanks for your support!

16 awesome treeshouses for adults

Some real, like this (click for larger view):



Others just proposed. All amazing.
http://www.treehugger.com/galleries/2009/10/terrific-treehouse-designs.php?page=1

If you own a digital camera...

... you might enjoy this collection of images.

The heart of digital cameras are CCDs, "charge-coupled devices" that use incoming photons to alter the electrical charge between closely-spaced electronic elements. This is analogous to film-based cameras that used incoming photons to alter the properties of a chemical emulsion painted onto a clear plastic substrate.

The chemicals in film-based photography form "grains" that limit the resolution of the film. Fine-grained film yeilds extremely high resolution that captures enormous details and that can be substantially enlarged without much visual degradation.

CCDs elements--- pixels, if you will--- started out much, much larger than film grains, and this collection of what were, st each stage, state-of-the-art scientific digital photos, clearly shows.

It's also amazing to remember that in just about 25 years, CCDs went from exotic and experimental scientific gear to commodity items. Today, they're nearly disposable items. Incredible!

http://www.newscientist.com/gallery/dn18035-improving-images-of-space/1

You gotta see this full size!

Awesome photo from National geographic. Brought back some college memories, too.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/your-shot/wallpaper/2009/img/1015wallpaperys-1_1600.jpg

Tweets o' the week

As I've mentioned previously, I'm slowly succumbing to the inevitable and am using Twitter more and more, albeit mostly as a news-feed resource.

I also post there, but it's not "I'm giving my cat an enema!" type stuff.

Here's a sampling of Tweets from me (http://twitter.com/flanga) in the last week.

Nothing brings a couple together like gunning down post-apocalyptic psychopaths and bloodthirsty alien beasts. http://bit.ly/1Z0ySM

Splat! That Latvian meteorite crater: http://twitpic.com/n0kf0 (source: BBC http://bit.ly/2Sq5Br) It was, alas, a hoax: http://bit.ly/3v800d

Armadillo Aerospace, Unreasonable Rocket, and Masten Space Systems compete in for-real $1-million lunar lander prize!: http://bit.ly/1mG0N4

Associated Press requests, gets, independent analysis of climate trends. http://bit.ly/1i5BL1

Study: By 2409 women will be .8" shorter, 2.2 lb. heavier, have first child 5 mo. earlier and menopause 10 mo. later. http://bit.ly/34fA3v

Colossal fossil 'sea monster' --- 52' pliosaur--- unearthed. The lower jaw alone is 8 feet long! http://bit.ly/2waZ3P

Comparison of the newly discovered pliosaur: http://twitpic.com/n4u70

Current blog: Don't get in the way!: This 40-ton dinosaur left fossil footprints up to seven feet wide. http://bit.ly/V99QY

This is pretty freaky: Ancient ‘unicorn’ fly had five eyes! http://bit.ly/1KCqAE