Researchers in Austria have broken the distance record for transmission of entangled protons. The best description of this process (that I've run into) was in this episode of Nova. Basically, the team demonstrated transporting protons a significant distance, without losing their entanglement. Entanglement is where 2 (or more) sub-atomic particles are bonded together such that, when you resolve the state of one, the other particle gets resolved. Such technology can be used to instantly transmit messages, that is, faster than light. The only catch is that you must have previously transported the entangled particles, which is what these researchers have demonstrated.
But what good is instantaneous transmission ? Light can already go around the Earth 7 times per second. We can stream hi-def movies, and hold live videoconferences, where the biggest delays are in the software. Sure, having a telephone call through a satellite is annoying but so what ?
According to this TED talk, automated stock traders on Wall Street pay a premium to be closer to the exchange because the delay from the transmission of light over a few blocks is literally a performance criteria. That is, the closer you are physically, the more of an edge you have over other stock traders, because your software can react faster. Faster trading means more profits and more customers.
But what if you can transmit information instantaneously ? Then it doesn't matter where you are. If we take the record-setting distance of 143km, you could set up an automated trader in Poughkeepsie, NY and *beat* the traders on Manhattan Island.
Perhaps we will see a real estate price dip in the financial district because of this.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Sunday, August 26, 2012
100 shaves - the truth of straight razor shaving
I know that straight razor shaving is back on the rise, however it wasn't until a post at Boing Boing (which will undoubtedly reach a million people) that I felt I needed to get the truth out. (Not that 5 people read my blog.) In short, I think there are plenty of people who succeeded at straight razor shaving talking about its virtues, but not enough people telling the whole story. I'd like to correct that.
For this gentleman, the motivation behind using a straight razor apparently came to 3 things:
I will comment on each of those and give my own opinion.
Regarding the sustainability of straight razor shaving, I can't really disagree with it, but I can say that the other methods aren't as bad as he thinks. For instance, electric shavers are just as sustainable. You can use one forever and pass it on to your kids if you like. (I thought his comment regarding passing his razor onto his son was funny. What was he planning on using afterwards ?) I happen to prefer cordless, so yes, mine uses batteries but yours doesn't have to.
Disposable razors aren't that bad either. He seems to think that you can only use a razor once and then you have to throw it out. Who told him this ? Perhaps its worse, perhaps you can only take a single stroke with a disposable razor and then you must throw it out ? The truth is, if you use a disposable the right way, it will last days, possibly weeks. The razor on my counter hasn't been replaced in 6 months (but I'm cheating. See below.)
On the minus side, you have to buy shaving cream of some sort. I guess the rage is using a brush and soap but I prefer simple spray cans. You will also have to buy strops (oops, I guess those are sustainable, but they certainly don't make you self-sufficient.) Lastly, until someone starts manufacturing ceramic straight razors, you will have to send the razor to someone each year to be sharpened (or buy hundreds of dollars in sharpening stones and do it yourself.)
Regarding electric shavers, I think he's nuts. Electric shavers are awesome. They're fast, they don't require any sort of prep before or after, contrary to what he says they don't require cleaning ever, and they don't require sharpening. I still use the same shaver that I bought 20 years ago. They don't give you as close a shave but its plenty good enough and, given how fast it is, gets the nod for me.
Regarding his last reason for using a straight razor, "because I can't do anything the easy way", in fact I completely agree with him on this one. Straight razor shaving is a pain in the ass. You have to prep your skin. (Most people do it after a shower to avoid this.) You have to lather. You have to shave, which takes much longer than with say an electric shaver. You have to shave again (you didn't think those 3 blades on the disposable were decorative, did you ?) If you nicked yourself, you have to dab it somehow. You have to clean up. You have to strop the razor.
You will spend at least 15 minutes, possibly 30, shaving with a straight razor. Do you have that much time ? The only reason I consider it is because it shaves so close that I can skip a day.
If you're really going to spend that much time and need a close shave, consider shaving with a disposable the right way. What's the right way ? Using shaving cream for one. You must use shaving cream and water with a straight razor. Its the only way the blade will glide over your skin instead of grabbing and hopping. You realize you need to do the same with a disposable too, right ? He gave away that he didn't do this when he said that disposables made his face burn. Well, ya, scraping your face with any sharp object will do that.
Above, I mentioned that I had a secret for making a disposable last 6 months. What I do, mostly due to the shortcomings of the straight razor, is to first shave with the straight razor and then finish with a disposable. The first reason I do this is because I can't seem to shave under my nose with the straight razor. I can't stroke down because the nose is in the way. I can't go sideways or it hops and I can't go up because, if it hops, it cuts my nose.
The other reason I finish with the disposable is because the straight razor misses spots. It misses lots of spots. This is why you see the guys in the YouTube videos do it 3 times, and repeatedly scrape the same spot.
To anyone who hasn't bought a straight razor yet, why not just use a disposable ??? It has 3 blades so you get a good shave the first time. The blades are angled perfectly and the head tilts to follow your face. Remember how he said that it takes time to learn to hold the razor at the correct angle ? Know that it will take several months to get that right. One person even says that it takes 100 shaves before you do it right. But with a disposable, you're doing it right, on every spot of your face, the first and every time, whether you rush or not.
To summarize, I'm not saying the straight razor is bad. Just realize that it has huge trade-offs. If sustainability means that much to you and you want a blade-close shave, ok, go for it, but be aware of the work you're getting yourself into.
For this gentleman, the motivation behind using a straight razor apparently came to 3 things:
- its sustainable, so he doesn't have to throw out disposables
- he doesn't like electric shavers because of batteries, cords and cleaning
- "but mostly because I can't do anything the easy way"
I will comment on each of those and give my own opinion.
Regarding the sustainability of straight razor shaving, I can't really disagree with it, but I can say that the other methods aren't as bad as he thinks. For instance, electric shavers are just as sustainable. You can use one forever and pass it on to your kids if you like. (I thought his comment regarding passing his razor onto his son was funny. What was he planning on using afterwards ?) I happen to prefer cordless, so yes, mine uses batteries but yours doesn't have to.
Disposable razors aren't that bad either. He seems to think that you can only use a razor once and then you have to throw it out. Who told him this ? Perhaps its worse, perhaps you can only take a single stroke with a disposable razor and then you must throw it out ? The truth is, if you use a disposable the right way, it will last days, possibly weeks. The razor on my counter hasn't been replaced in 6 months (but I'm cheating. See below.)
On the minus side, you have to buy shaving cream of some sort. I guess the rage is using a brush and soap but I prefer simple spray cans. You will also have to buy strops (oops, I guess those are sustainable, but they certainly don't make you self-sufficient.) Lastly, until someone starts manufacturing ceramic straight razors, you will have to send the razor to someone each year to be sharpened (or buy hundreds of dollars in sharpening stones and do it yourself.)
Regarding electric shavers, I think he's nuts. Electric shavers are awesome. They're fast, they don't require any sort of prep before or after, contrary to what he says they don't require cleaning ever, and they don't require sharpening. I still use the same shaver that I bought 20 years ago. They don't give you as close a shave but its plenty good enough and, given how fast it is, gets the nod for me.
Regarding his last reason for using a straight razor, "because I can't do anything the easy way", in fact I completely agree with him on this one. Straight razor shaving is a pain in the ass. You have to prep your skin. (Most people do it after a shower to avoid this.) You have to lather. You have to shave, which takes much longer than with say an electric shaver. You have to shave again (you didn't think those 3 blades on the disposable were decorative, did you ?) If you nicked yourself, you have to dab it somehow. You have to clean up. You have to strop the razor.
You will spend at least 15 minutes, possibly 30, shaving with a straight razor. Do you have that much time ? The only reason I consider it is because it shaves so close that I can skip a day.
If you're really going to spend that much time and need a close shave, consider shaving with a disposable the right way. What's the right way ? Using shaving cream for one. You must use shaving cream and water with a straight razor. Its the only way the blade will glide over your skin instead of grabbing and hopping. You realize you need to do the same with a disposable too, right ? He gave away that he didn't do this when he said that disposables made his face burn. Well, ya, scraping your face with any sharp object will do that.
Above, I mentioned that I had a secret for making a disposable last 6 months. What I do, mostly due to the shortcomings of the straight razor, is to first shave with the straight razor and then finish with a disposable. The first reason I do this is because I can't seem to shave under my nose with the straight razor. I can't stroke down because the nose is in the way. I can't go sideways or it hops and I can't go up because, if it hops, it cuts my nose.
The other reason I finish with the disposable is because the straight razor misses spots. It misses lots of spots. This is why you see the guys in the YouTube videos do it 3 times, and repeatedly scrape the same spot.
To anyone who hasn't bought a straight razor yet, why not just use a disposable ??? It has 3 blades so you get a good shave the first time. The blades are angled perfectly and the head tilts to follow your face. Remember how he said that it takes time to learn to hold the razor at the correct angle ? Know that it will take several months to get that right. One person even says that it takes 100 shaves before you do it right. But with a disposable, you're doing it right, on every spot of your face, the first and every time, whether you rush or not.
To summarize, I'm not saying the straight razor is bad. Just realize that it has huge trade-offs. If sustainability means that much to you and you want a blade-close shave, ok, go for it, but be aware of the work you're getting yourself into.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Found some old D&D characters
We're cleaning out closets and I found a folder full of D&D characters from ~25 years ago. Here's a sampling.
Walter, neutral human fighter - sounds like he killed foes by boring them to death. However, he owned a straight razor, so maybe there's hope.
Dakkian, neutral evil half-orc cleric/assasin - My favorite character that I never got to play.
Kyle the wanderer, some mediocre GURPS character. Seemed to have lots of animal friendship spells. Hope he didn't get too friendly.
Gaelbhan h-Eoin, another faceless GURPS character
Lorendar, elven fighter, my longest played character (if you include his alter-persona Loriglynne). Made Legolas look like a little girl.
Loriglynne, ("golden eye"). Lorendar had a name change and became this character. Eventually took up magic and was a general bad-ass.
Ravelin Dyeldrene, Celtic elven bard, nuetral. Little known fact about Ravelin: spoke lizardman because those guys are idiots at poker.
Viserion, neutral good half-elven bard, can't find his instrument, aren't bards supposed to have an instrument ?
Sir Lawrence, paladin, preferred a two-handed sword
Neme'bla, neutral good half-elven fighter (another bard ?)
Crogar the Nomad, neutral barbarian. Somehow proficient with a lance.
Tamericon, another paladin. For some reason, questionable lance proficiency.
Jemal, half-elven chaotic good fighter/magic-user/thief. Yes, a triple threat.
Radon, gray elven neutral good ranger/druid, another nature lover, no doubt made during my chemistry period, has note, "Where the bird meets the lion" and "Prince Eddy".
Lorensian, neutral good elven magic-user/thief. Obviously made during my calculus period. Most powerful spell: Sleep.
Frederick, neutral good human cleric, aka Fred, the token healer
Philster, chaotic good gnome illusionist thief, *nothing* can keep out a gnome illusionist thief.
Bonus character! Written on the back of Philster:
Cre'laeh, neutral good half-elven cleric/magic-user
Bjorn, paladin, this was another of my long-played characters, spoke only Swedish
Sondra, lawful good human cleric. Bjorn's "friend". Another token healer, because lets face it, diplomacy wasn't Bjorn's strong suit. The "lay your hands on me" jokes never ended.
Duke Myrdek, fighter/magic-user/thief, at least level 9 in each class, "third wheel" to the Bjorn/Sondra pair, why did such a high level Duke hang around them ?
Kinkaid, chaotic good half-elven cleric/magic-user, IIRC this guy was fairly resourceful, written on the back, some sort of class schedule:
eng
math
phys (PE ?)
flute (yes, I played once)
gov
tech (TA?)
Jafe, chaotic neutral elven assasin, you can't have too much fun with an assasin
Merlynne, neutral good human magic-user. Started out lawful good. Wonder what happened there.
Lenerian, chaotic evil magic-user/thief, another from my "angry" period
Aethelred, chaotic neutral elven fighter/magic-user/thief, pretty cool name, huh ?, had a +2 "undead slayer" and a Wand of Frost which he called, "Shlitz".
Beordine, neutral human fighter/thief-acrobat. IIRC he was a wear-bear but the sheet doesn't mention it. Apparently wanted to keep it a secret from the other players...
Next post: sci-fi characters!
Walter, neutral human fighter - sounds like he killed foes by boring them to death. However, he owned a straight razor, so maybe there's hope.
Dakkian, neutral evil half-orc cleric/assasin - My favorite character that I never got to play.
Kyle the wanderer, some mediocre GURPS character. Seemed to have lots of animal friendship spells. Hope he didn't get too friendly.
Gaelbhan h-Eoin, another faceless GURPS character
Lorendar, elven fighter, my longest played character (if you include his alter-persona Loriglynne). Made Legolas look like a little girl.
Loriglynne, ("golden eye"). Lorendar had a name change and became this character. Eventually took up magic and was a general bad-ass.
Ravelin Dyeldrene, Celtic elven bard, nuetral. Little known fact about Ravelin: spoke lizardman because those guys are idiots at poker.
Viserion, neutral good half-elven bard, can't find his instrument, aren't bards supposed to have an instrument ?
Sir Lawrence, paladin, preferred a two-handed sword
Neme'bla, neutral good half-elven fighter (another bard ?)
Crogar the Nomad, neutral barbarian. Somehow proficient with a lance.
Tamericon, another paladin. For some reason, questionable lance proficiency.
Jemal, half-elven chaotic good fighter/magic-user/thief. Yes, a triple threat.
Radon, gray elven neutral good ranger/druid, another nature lover, no doubt made during my chemistry period, has note, "Where the bird meets the lion" and "Prince Eddy".
Lorensian, neutral good elven magic-user/thief. Obviously made during my calculus period. Most powerful spell: Sleep.
Frederick, neutral good human cleric, aka Fred, the token healer
Philster, chaotic good gnome illusionist thief, *nothing* can keep out a gnome illusionist thief.
Bonus character! Written on the back of Philster:
Cre'laeh, neutral good half-elven cleric/magic-user
Bjorn, paladin, this was another of my long-played characters, spoke only Swedish
Sondra, lawful good human cleric. Bjorn's "friend". Another token healer, because lets face it, diplomacy wasn't Bjorn's strong suit. The "lay your hands on me" jokes never ended.
Duke Myrdek, fighter/magic-user/thief, at least level 9 in each class, "third wheel" to the Bjorn/Sondra pair, why did such a high level Duke hang around them ?
Kinkaid, chaotic good half-elven cleric/magic-user, IIRC this guy was fairly resourceful, written on the back, some sort of class schedule:
eng
math
phys (PE ?)
flute (yes, I played once)
gov
tech (TA?)
Jafe, chaotic neutral elven assasin, you can't have too much fun with an assasin
Merlynne, neutral good human magic-user. Started out lawful good. Wonder what happened there.
Lenerian, chaotic evil magic-user/thief, another from my "angry" period
Aethelred, chaotic neutral elven fighter/magic-user/thief, pretty cool name, huh ?, had a +2 "undead slayer" and a Wand of Frost which he called, "Shlitz".
Beordine, neutral human fighter/thief-acrobat. IIRC he was a wear-bear but the sheet doesn't mention it. Apparently wanted to keep it a secret from the other players...
Next post: sci-fi characters!
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