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Monday Links from the Sidings vol. CLXXI

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    Monday Links from the Sidings vol. CLXXI

    ClientCo is right next to a railway line. In some countries the sound of a train hooting has a romantic appeal evoking wanderlust, but here one just assumes it's a load of gravel from a nearby quarry. Ho hum
    • Fixing E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial for the Atari 2600 - "chances are that you're already well aware that E.T. for the Atari 2600 is one of the most reviled games ever made. I never understood why. As a child, it was one of my favorite games. I still think it's a good game... On this page I'm going to briefly explore why people hate E.T., and how the game can be fixed." It continues: "In case you can't wait, open your NTSC E.T. ROM in a hex editor and make the following changes..." which is how all good articles begin

    • The Bitcoin Bubble and the Future of Currency - "A few days ago, the value of all the bitcoins in the world blew past $1 billion for the first time ever. That’s an impressive achievement, for a purely virtual currency backed by no central bank or other authority. It’s also temporary: we’re in the middle of a bitcoin bubble right now, and it’s only a matter of time before the bubble bursts." Felix Salmon offers a good explanation of what Bitcoin is, how it works - and how it will inevitably fail.

    • Extracting Audio from Pictures - "Just a few months ago, I crossed the fourth floor of Wells Library from the elevators, located the volume with call number AP30 .U22 v.63 in the oversized shelving on the back wall, and opened it up to page 395 to reveal a circular image—on closer inspection, a nearly microscopic wavy line coiled into a tight spiral. This isn’t just a pretty picture. It’s a bona fide sound recording—a “record.” In fact, it might arguably be the oldest “record” in the world that you can listen to today!" Another cool example of ways data can be extracted from old sources in unexpected formats.

    • The Jellyfish Entrepreneur - "When Alex Andon got his first order for a $25,000 jellyfish tank installation, he was excited. He also had a problem. He didn’t know anything about jellyfish or how to make a jellyfish tank. He had a hunch that people wanted to keep jellyfish as pets, so he created a test website and bought $100 in Google search ads. Lo and behold, his phone started ringing with enquires and he got his first order for the $25,000 jellyfish tank." That's one way to make a go go Plan B

    • "I can see right through you". Why yes, yes you can. - "Now, I know it's a bit weird to be putting pictures of your innards up on the internet - I say this being fully aware of some of the things people post, so maybe it's not that weird... I have a condition called syringomyelia which has led to me needing regular MRI scans. It's caused when the fluid surrounding the spinal cord leaks into what's meant to be a tiny, tiny tunnel down the middle of it. The fluid gets trapped there, forming a sort of cyst that places pressure on the cord. This fluid filled cavity is referred to as a 'syrinx'. Personally I like to call mine 'Dave'."

    • DigiBarn Docs: "How Apple Booted Up" - Key Documents in the Creation of Apple's First Operating System (Apple II DOS, 1978) - "Thanks Paul Laughton for your donation of this superb collection of early to mid-1978 documents including the letters, agreements, specifications (including hand-written code and schematics), and two original source code listing for the creation of the Apple II "DOS" (Disk Operating System). This was, of course, Apple's first operating system, written not by Steve Wozniak ("Woz") but by an external contractor (Paul Laughton working for Shepardson Microsystems). Woz lacked the skills to write an OS (as did anyone then at Apple). Paul authored the actual Apple II DOS to its release in the fall of 1978. See Paul Laugton's story here." I love the way all this old code keeps turning up. BTW, if anybody finds the source code for my implementation of FORTH on the Atari ST, can they please send me a copy?

    • Twenty Awesome Covers From The US Space Program - "The upcoming 2013 April 18 Space Exploration Signature Auction by Heritage Auctions brought us these fine document covers. Manuals, guidebooks, press kits, reports, brochures - all with cool artworks and typography. Enjoy!" Cliphead's probably already got these

    • Rutherford Chang – We Buy White Albums - "Rutherford has a unique vinyl collection. He only collects the Beatles first pressing of The White Album... Chang is creating a record store that stocks only White Albums. But rather than selling the albums, he buys more from anyone willing to part with an original pressing in any condition." There'a also a Soundcloud embed about half-way through the interview of a hundred copies of the first side of the album recorded and layered into one track: as they slowly drift out of sync, it gradually descends into a rather awesome cacophony.

    • The Day My Grandfather Groucho and I Saved ‘You Bet Your Life’ - "...as I watched Groucho delivering his rapid-fire quips at the befuddled contestants, I couldn’t help thinking how amazing it was that I was sitting in the comfort of my den watching a TV show that made its debut in 1950, starring my grandfather. But I also couldn’t stop thinking about how close every one of those classic episodes of “You Bet Your Life” came to being destroyed many years ago and how my grandfather and I managed to stop that from happening." Andy Marx persuaded Groucho he should accept the "several boxes of 16mm film" when the studio planned to get rid of them; they were both somewhat taken aback when five UPS trucks arrived.

    • Wormworld Saga: Chapter 5 - Call of the Worm Mountain - Another instalment of Daniel Lieske's beautiful graphic novel, only seven months since the last one - he's really getting through them now he's able to work on it full time, and this one launches in four languages


    Happy invoicing!

    #2
    Originally posted by NickFitz View Post
    [*]Twenty Awesome Covers From The US Space Program - "The upcoming 2013 April 18 Space Exploration Signature Auction by Heritage Auctions brought us these fine document covers. Manuals, guidebooks, press kits, reports, brochures - all with cool artworks and typography. Enjoy!" Cliphead's probably already got these
    I don't have any of those nice as they would be in the collection
    Me, me, me...

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by Cliphead View Post
      I don't have any of those nice as they would be in the collection
      Well it's nearly two weeks to the auction

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by NickFitz View Post
        Well it's nearly two weeks to the auction
        Having a serious think about it.
        Me, me, me...

        Comment


          #5
          Shame. Someone tipped me off about Bitcoin quite a few years ago. I never got around to jumping on the bandwagon. Oh well

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Platypus View Post
            Shame. Someone tipped me off about Bitcoin quite a few years ago. I never got around to jumping on the bandwagon. Oh well
            The bubble seems to have burst

            England's greatest sailor since Nelson lost the armada.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by Uncle Albert View Post
              The bubble seems to have burst

              Yes, it's tanking nicely at the moment

              Comment

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