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Deep Pencil - the musings of Morgan Bell

If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is there to hear it did it really make a sound? If i post a blog and nobody reads it was there really any point? You have entered the random thinking space of Morgan Bell . . . These are my musings . . . things about my life written off the top of my head . . . written in an informal disjointed style almost completely devoid of punctuation, this is where i flesh out writing ideas, discuss my life, and generally be self indulgent . . . it is also the bargain bin for articles which do not fit in with the film or arts themes of my other blogs . . . so have a wander around my mind, have a laugh, have a think, be nice, and humour me!

Technology - Deep Pencil

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Computer meltdown? Targus to the rescue!

April 10th 2009 18:28

About three years ago I bought a notebook (laptap) computer online through Pioneer. It was called a "Dreambook" and I got to select all the specs and options according to what I needed. It's a similar system to Dell, cheaper than purchasing from a retailer, and they make it from scratch depending on which processor you want and how much memory etc.

My choice of Pioneer probably stems from my preference for all things Japanese. When it comes to driving, ive only ever owned Toyotas, replacement parts are dearer but they seem to last forever mechanically.

I grew up watching movies like Mr Baseball (Tom Selleck) and Gung Ho (Michael Keaton) and witnessing Japan emerge as a prolific industrial country. In the 1980s and 90s Japan gained a reputation for high productivity, efficiency and quality in manufacturing.

Is this still true today? I have no idea. But Im sure I will continue to have the same kind of faith in Japanese brands, similar to the generation before me having faith in German precision.

This week I was typing away on the computer and I got a warning that my battery was low and I should swith to A/C power. Thats funny, I swear it is plugged in . . . lets check, yep it is plugged in . . . hmmm whats going on here?

The battery drained because I was unable to get the computer to recognise the A/C adapter cord. It switched off. I was amazed. Jaw-dropped.

I got the Pioneer Dreambook in March 2006. It has never had any problems, always completely reliable. How could my computer have a meltdown? Its Japanese! This cannot happen!

I tossed it around in my mind for awhile. Its either the computer or the cord. What I need is a second cord to check. If that doesnt work I guess Im going to have to accept this is just a regular computer, and not the super-durable Japanese computer I thought it was going to be. I prepared to console myself with platitudes . . . well really you were lucky to get more than three years out of it . . . isnt that what people say?

First stop Harvey Norman, to be irritated by a condescending douche who had never heard of the brand Pioneer and claimed no cord in the world would fit it. He looked at me like I claimed to own a unicorn . . . Pioneer? Laptop? Are you sure? . . . yes Im sure you arrogant bastard.

Next stop Tandy . . . do you have an A/C adapter tant would fit my Pioneer laptop?

Yes of course, try to Targus 90W A/C Universal Notebook Power Adapter.

Easy peasy!

It came with six interchangeable ends to fit any laptop type or brand, and only cost $109. Compared to the cost of a consultation by a computer repair technician, I thought I should take a gamble and experiement with replacing the cord first - rule out the most obvious solution.

Snap, it works! Happy, happy, joy, joy! Charge, baby, charge . . .

If you have a problem with your laptop not charging, or you know you have a damaged cord, I highly recommend trying a Targus . . . not Japanese, but compatible with Japanese!

CLICKHERE to view specs for the Targus APA03AU Home/Office Laptop Adapter

Targus universal A/C adapter for laptops

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Is the Internet a Health Hazard?

February 25th 2009 19:03

Can using social networking sites make you physically or mentally ill?

Will Facebook give you ADHD or make you anti-social in the face-to-face world?

British neuroscientist and synaptic pharmacology professor Baroness Greenfield warns that social networking portals like Facebook, Twitter and Bebo are causing young people to have short attention spans and become selfish.

Greenfield described the youth's experience on social networking portals as:

"devoid of cohesive narrative and long-term significance. As a consequence, the mid 21st century mind might almost be infatilized, characterized by short attention spans, sensationalism, inability to empathize and a shaky sense of identity."

Greenfield compared the disregard for consequence on social networking portals to the thrill of compulsive gambling or eating. Greenfield warns that social networking portals may be contributing to a lack of empathy and more self-centred children who increasingly define themselves based on what others think of them.

Greenfield expressed concern about social networking sites replacing face-to-face conversations, saying:

"They [real conversations] occur in real time, with no opportunity to think up clever or witty responses, and they require a sensitivity to voice tone, body language and perhaps even to pheromones,"

Greenfield urged for an investigation to see if there is a link between the total submersion of cultures in screen technologies over the past 10 years to a threefold hike in prescriptions for methylphenidate, the medicine for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Greenfield has previously warned of the possible link between frequent computer use among the youth and rising rates of autism.

Sarah Lacy from TechCrunch.com says Greenfield is missing a fundamental shift that has happened since the anonymous chat room days: we now use our real names and identities on social networking sites.

"We no longer go to the Internet to interact with some shadowy user name where we pretend to be someone we're not. Ok, maybe people on Second Life do. But sites like Facebook and Twitter are more about extending your real identity and relationships online. That's what makes them so addictive: The little endorphin rushes from reconnecting with an old friend, the ability to passively stay in touch with people you care about but don't have the time to call everyday."

Eliz Greene, the Director of the Embrace Your Heart Wellness Initiative, says social networking can be good for a woman's heart.

Eliz claims women who maintain positive friendships with other women are 30% less likely to develop heart disease, and that includes connecting electronically. If you are in contact with someone who is happy, your chances of becoming happy increase by 15%. In addition, if you are in contact with people who are improving their health by quitting smoking, losing weight, exercising more, or eating better, you are more likely to develop healthy habits.

However, psychologist Dr Aric Sigman has also recently expressed concerns about the adverse biological effects of social networking.

If online social networking is being used to replace face-to-face contact, people may suffer health problems associated with isolation. Increased isolation could alter the way genes work and upset immune responses, hormone levels and the function of arteries. It could impair mental performance, and it could increase the risk of problems as serious as cancer, strokes, heart disease and dementia.

Sigman claims that research suggests the number of hours people spent speaking to others face-to-face had fallen dramatically since 1987 as the use of electronic media increased. He also said electronic media is undermining the ability of children and young people to learn vital social skills and read body language.

Some genes, including ones involved with the immune system and responses to stress, act differently according to how much social interaction a person had with others. Dr Sigman said 209 'socially regulated' genes had been identified, including ones involved in the immune system, cell proliferation and responses to stress. Their activity may account for higher rates of inflammatory disease and other health problems seen in socially isolated individuals.

"Levels of hormones such as the 'cuddle chemical' oxytocin, which promotes bonding, altered according to whether people were in close contact or not."

"There does seem to be a difference between "real presence" and the virtual variety,"

"Interacting 'in person' had effects on the body not seen when writing emails,"

Some studies show British teenagers spend 31 hours a week online. Other studies have shown that children taught via video broadcasts or DVDs did not learn as well as they did when given lessons by a real teacher.

"A quarter of British children have a laptop or computer in their room by the age of five and they have their own social networking sites,"

Dr Sigman also gave these statistics:

"One of the most pronounced changes in the daily habits of British citizens is a reduction in the number of minutes per day that they interact with another human being,"

"In less than two decades, the number of people saying there is no one with whom they discuss important matters nearly tripled."

But does it stand to reason that online social networking is the sole cause for this?

Is there any real link between reduced face-to-face communications and increased online communications?

Psychologist John M. Grohol says no, and debunks Dr Sigman's claims here.

"Aric Sigman’s (2009) hypothesis relies on a flimsy connection - that Internet relationships are less real and result in greater social isolation and loneliness for people who increasingly turn to them."

Grohol explains that Sigman's claims are based on just one study published over a decade ago (Kraut, 1998) showed that, in a study of 73 families who used the Internet for communication, greater use of the Internet was associated with declines in communication between family members, declines in the size of their social circle, and increases in their levels of depression and loneliness.

Grohol then goes on to cite mutiple studies of bloggers and older people (eg: Ko & Kuo, 2009, and Shapira et al., 2007) which proved using the internet improves general happiness and well-being.

Amichai-Hamburger & Ben-Artzi (2003) concluded that the internet is actually a solution for lonely people, rather than the cause of their loneliness.

This study about Facebook from a University in Louisiana, USA also disagrees with the claims of Sigman and Greenfield.

The study shows people who are more socially isolated in real life tend to be more isolated in the virtual world of social networking web sites. It claims the Internet primarily benefits extroverted individuals, and that introverts communicate online less often.

In the case of Facebook, people tend to maintain existing friendships rather than creating any new friendships or romantic relationships.

Ninety-three percent of the students who took part in the study reported having a Facebook account, with the average student spending around 45 minutes on the site each day.

Satisfaction or lack of satisfaction with face-to face communications did not predict the number of hours spent on Facebook, the number of solely virtual friends the users in the study had, or how satisfied they were with the site.

Students who expressed an unwillingness to communicate face-to-face had fewer Facebook friends than students who communicated easily.

Maybe the internet is not the behaviour-altering monster it is being made out to be by some medical experts?

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Human Fat can fuel Cars and Boats

February 17th 2009 14:34

If only it wasnt againt health regulations . . .

I just read a disturbing little article about a doctor from Beverly Hills using liposuctioned human blubber to power a couple of cars.

Apparently animal fat contains the same triglycerides that are required to create biodiesel as vegetable oils do.

Animal fats need to undergo an additional step to get rid of free fatty acids not present in vegetable oils, but otherwise, there's no difference between "lard" diesel and fuels derived from soybeans.

According to the story, a gallon of human fat can be converted to a gallon of biodiesel. and drivers can get about the same amount of mileage from fat fuel as they do from regular diesel.

The doctor in question was Craig Alan Bittner and this is what he had to say about the process:

"The vast majority of my patients request that I use their fat for fuel--and I have more fat than I can use," Bittner wrote on lipodiesel.com. "Not only do they get to lose their love handles or chubby belly but they get to take part in saving the Earth." Bittner's lipodiesel Web site is no longer online.

Bittner's human biofuel manufacturing came under scrutiny when several patients filed lawsuits alleging he allowed his assistant and his girlfriend to perform surgeries without a medical license.

It is illegal in California to use human medical waste to power vehicles, and Bittner is being investigated by the state's public health department.

HOWEVER

If you are in New Zealand attempting to circumnavigate the globe in an eco-friendly boat it may be a different story.

The kiwi sailor behind the helm of Earthrace, Pete Bethune, is a former oil exploration engineer, who is committed to proving biodiesel is a viable alternative to fossil fuel.

Earthrace is a 78 foot alternative fuel powered wave-piercing trimaran, it can carry 3,000 gallons of fuel, and weighs 23 tonnes when fully fuelled.

Demonstrating further commitment to the cause, Bethune underwent liposuction and donated enough to produce 100ml of biofuel, while two other, larger volunteers also had the procedure, making a total of 10 litres of human fat.

This in turn produced seven litres of biofuel, which could help the boat travel about 15km.
Earthrace is fuelled on 100 per cent biodiesel and has a net zero carbon footprint.

Earthrace is a state-of-the-art speedcraft that runs on human fat, in addition to other biodiesel fuels.

Apparently in this case the Remuera plastic surgeon, Martin Rees, performed the procedure for free. It was a real challenge finding much fat on Bethune's lean 70 kg frame, the additional probing necessary to obtain any fat from the surgery left Bethune feeling quite bruised.

Turning human fat into soap . . . using dead bodies for fuel . . . fiction is blurring into reality!

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Money Origami

November 8th 2008 17:05

i found these very cool images on Deviant Art, they are origami made from American paper currency . . . apparently theres a whole society of "bill folders" who do this sort of thing for a hobby . . .

to check out more of this artist's work CLICKHERE

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Yo Gordy!

November 8th 2008 11:34

Meet my good mate Gordy!

He is the brainchild of some of my very creative friends up in Newcastle, NSW.

In Newcastle we like to have house parties and drink at home, we would each grab a cask of Fruity Gordo Moselle (or assorted box wine) from the bottle-o, drink it and then fight over the house (spare) cask . . . there was once a massive argument that involved some serious note-writing where we drank the spare and forgot, but blamed it on the guy who went to bed early (we thought he was obviously hiding it under his bed - the audacity! haha) . . . these photos are taken in a big sharehouse in the poor end of town that nearly everyone ive ever known has lived in at some point . . . i love looking at this set of photos!

Gordy plays pirate

Gordy in the back of a ute

Gordy in the kitchen

Gordy sees his friends in the fridge

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Passion Pop

November 2nd 2008 16:26

seriously, how good is it!

i am a slave to the Passion Pop . . . i dont care how old you are, theres always room for Passion Pop

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Gus Van Sant Postcards

October 12th 2008 08:04

Listen to Uncle Gus kids!

Gus Vant Sant (director of Good Will Hunting, To Die For, Finding Forrester) has created a short documentary which is a series of interviews with young people explaining their feelings about the upcoming election

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little chip, big capacity

October 10th 2008 13:51

apparently i can now take 47,533 shots on my little mini camera, all thanks to the remarkable storage of my new memory card!

to be fair that is the lowest quality setting designed for email VGA (640 x 480 pixels) . . . but for the highest quality setting you can still take 3,643 shots designed for A3 print 7M (3072 x 2304 pixels

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What kind of Animal Magnetism do you have?

October 4th 2008 16:09

I went to a Body Shop party recently . . . its one of those female social pyramid schemes like Nutrametics, Mary Kay, Avon, and various tupperware, lingerie, and adult toy parties that do the rounds . . . the host earns rewards by pressuring her guests into booking subsequent parties or buying absurdly overpriced goods that they dont need . . .

hey dont get me wrong, i love them, if im ever invited ill always go, and despite my feeble protests I WILL BUY SOMETHING

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exploring my garden with a camera

September 6th 2008 05:56

i was given a new camera as a gift for my birthday, unfortunately all the instructions were in Japanese so ive been feeling my way through the settings

today i went out to the garden to check out the "flower" function

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if i never see your face again . . .

September 3rd 2008 11:33

sometimes duets are just SO good!

Rihanna and Maroon 5 have collaborated on "If I Never See Your Face Again" and they are hot together! HOT

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TOP Google Search Terms

September 3rd 2008 09:44

have you ever wondered what exactly people search for on the net?

well these lists show the movers and shakers of searchable terms - they are not the "absolute most popular terms" (i can only imagine sex, porn, iraq, and britney spears would be on that list) but they are the "most increased" in popularity according to Google Zeitgeist

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ridiculously goodlooking: Gabriel Macht

August 21st 2008 15:53

ive been having a bit of a movie marathon lately, ive had access to all the movie channels on Foxtel and am watching film after film, good after bad

usually i would steer away from a romantic comedy with Dianne Keaton and Mandy Moore but it came on and before i had the motivation to reach for the remote control a very handsome face appeared: Gabriel Macht

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delightful words

August 19th 2008 11:48

I love how some descriptive words go in and out of fashion!

There are words that I hear in films sometimes that I know the meaning of but never use in conversation . . . I attribute this to my interest in period dramas (frilly costume movies, BBC TV mini-series, Jane Austen novels) . . . but I think it also has something to do with the books I read as a child that were set in what I think of as the "english boarding school" culture, written before my parents were born and depicting fantasy lands and adventures which were stuffed to the brim with exotic and enthusiastic descriptive words (think Enid Blyton, C.S.Lewis

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