Missing Person

Hi, everyone. I have some more serious news I need to bring to your attention. Ben Stanford, a senior at my old high school, disappeared this past Monday and has been declared missing. Here is a recent picture of him and the information the alumni association of my high school sent out:

"Ben Stanford, a senior at The Donoho School, has been reported missing.
Ben is the son of Bill and Lynne Stanford and the grandson of state Sen.
Jim Preuitt, D-Talladega. Ben is also the brother of Will Stanford, '06.

The faculty, staff and students of Donoho ask you for your prayers for Ben
and his family. Please share this information with any members of the
Donoho family who know the Stanford family. Following is information that
appeared in the Anniston Star and the Talladega Daily Home:

Law enforcement in Alabama and Georgia are searching for Ben ,17, who was
last seen Monday morning near I-20 in Lincoln.

According to family members, Stanford weighs 140 pounds and has brown hair
and green eyes, and was last seen about 7:30 a.m., Monday. He was driving
a silver 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee at the time, and the family says they
know he bought gas before getting on the interstate Monday.

The vehicle may have been seen in Villa Rica, GA."

If you've seen Ben or have any information on his whereabouts please contact the Talladega, Alabama police department at 256-299-0011 (Tip Line); the Anniston, Alabama police department at 256-240-4000 (Investigative Department), 256-238-1800 (emergency number), or apd@ci.anniston.al.us; or your local police or highway patrol.

Armstrong's Missing "A"

The London Times has a cool story about Neil Armstrong's famous quote.

Welcome Home

Anousheh Ansari is back on Terra Firma.

"Apple is saying, resistance is futile. Assimilation is inevitable."

The iPod Observer has an interesting post on Apple's early announcement of the iTV.

Commercial Space Travel News

Gizmodo has the first look at the cabin of the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo. While Cosmic Log has info on SpaceDev's Dream Chaser.

[Via Defense Tech]

Georgia Aquarium Trip, Part 2

Some more photos from my July 3 trip to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.



Some manta rays.




(Above) A picture of the "petting pond" at the Aquarium where you could touch rays, baby hammerhead sharks, and other animals.

Blogs in Space

Anousheh Ansari, the "space tourist"* currently on the International Space Station, has her own blog and is blogging from orbit.


*I've never been a huge fan of the term space tourist. In my opinion, if you've gone through the training and rode a rocket into space you're an astronaut, regardless of whether you paid your own way or were recruited by NASA.

10 Coolest Things Found Using Google Earth

Some amazing finds made by people using Google Earth, including planes in flight, a capsized cruise ship, and more.

Georgia Aquarium Trip, Part 1

Here's some pictures from my July 3, 2006 trip to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta:



The first photo is of one of the Aquarium's four whale sharks taken from the underwater tunnel than goes through the main tank.


The above photo is also from the tunnel. You can see one of the divers who works at the aquarium. (Now that's a fun job!)


The third photo is of the main entrance hall.



The last picture is of Michelle, my lovely traveling companion and girlfriend.

I'll post some more pictures a little later.

Big Spring Jam

For you music lovers, Huntsville is holding it's annual Big Spring Jam music festival from this weekend. (September 22-24) (Before you ask, I know Big Spring Jam is in the fall. The festival is named after Big Spring Park in downtown Huntsville where it's held every year, not the season.)

There are going to be five stages and 92 bands at Big Spring Jam this year. Here's the list of who's playing. Big Spring Jam is one of the largest music festivals in the Southeastern United States and has been held every year since 1993. It's also a charity event hosted by the Huntsville Heritage Foundation to raise money for area causes.

Don't worry about the concerts getting rained out as the Big Spring Jam goes on rain or shine.

UPDATE 9/26/2006: According to one of my classmates who had tickets, "rain or shine" apparently means they'll take your money for tickets even if it's raining. They cancelled the Saturday night acts due to the weather.

Finally.......Jeremy's New MacBook

I finally got my new laptop right before the start of fall semester. Apple out did themselves with the new MacBook. The new 13" widescreen is a big improvement over the 12" screen of my old G3 iBook. The screen is much brighter, and the new "glossy" screen finish makes more of a difference in viewing quality than I thought it would. The extra width of MacBook needed for the 13" screen also means the keyboard is wider and the keys spaced out more which makes it more comfortable to type on. Well, more comfortable for me, anyway, with my larger than average hands and worse than average typing ability.

I also like the magnetic power cord port and clasp. The power cord easily comes loose when someone trips over it, but the magnet is strong enough that I don't have to worry about the cord disconnecting accidentally. I'd love to know what Apple makes the magnet on the end of the cord out of as it is an amazingly strong magnet for its size. The magnetic clasp that holds the screen down when the MacBook is closed is a much cleaner design than the old mechanical locking mechanism on the G3 and G4 iBooks and seems less vulnerability to damage.

The built in iSight webcam produces surprisingly bright and clear video. The iSight's picture quality is much better than my old Logitech webcam. My only gripe with the built in iSight is that you have to move the whole screen to change the pitch of the cam. It's not too much of a problem, but I can see how it might become an issue in situations were I might have to adjust the screen because of glare.

Apple also addressed the single biggest downside to owning any laptop, the difficulty in upgrading. The MacBook's hard drive is easily accessible through the battery bay, and if you have enough technical knowledge to add memory to your laptop you can most likely manage a MacBook hard drive swap. The old G3 and G4 Apple laptops required a great deal of technical skill from anyone attempting to upgrade the hard drive and you risked voiding the warranty unless you were an Apple-authorized technician.

One of the big issues everyone was talking about when the MacBook first came out was how hot the computers supposedly get. I don't know if Apple made some changes in the MacBook, the critics were just imagining it, or my computer is just a particularly cool running example, but my MacBook seems to run cooler than my old G3 iBook. I did buy a Road Tools Podium CoolPad, but even when I don't use the CoolPad heat hasn't been an problem.

Overall, I've been extremely impressed with the MacBook since I got it a month ago. The MacBook is a well designed laptop computer with plenty of innovative features. Like most Apple products, the innovations contribute to the overall design and usability of the computer and are not there simply for the sake of having another feature on the marketing spec-sheet. The one recommendation I have for anyone who wants to buy a MacBook is to not order the black version, unless you just can't live without a black MacBook. You can custom order a MacBook in white with the same specs for $150 less. You're better off spending that $150 on a bigger hard drive, more memory, or a printer.

World's Wussiest Bear

This is just too funny for words. Photos of a black bear that was chased up a tree by a house cat!?

The Definition of Irony

You've got to love this story from the associated press.

Basically, students in some New York schools have found a ring tone for their cell phones that adults can't hear, and the students have been using the ring tone to text message each other in class. Here's the kicker:

The ring tone is a spin-off of technology that was originally meant to repel teenagers -- not help them. A Welsh security company developed the tone to help shopkeepers disperse young people loitering in front of their stores while leaving adults unaffected. The company called their product the "Mosquito."

The irony is priceless.