12 dead in BLACKHAWK crash

Oh CRAP.....this sucks. Dammit, dammit. Thanks, Dad, (oceanportal) for sending this to me ASAP.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A Black Hawk helicopter believed to be carrying 12 people has crashed in northern Iraq, and all aboard were killed, the U.S. military said Sunday. The helicopter crashed just before midnight Saturday about seven miles east of Tal Afar, the military said. Records indicated that it was carrying eight passengers and a crew of four, it said.

Can't the Red Cross or something fo a "Welfare Check" so I can find out of Jon, (jdbryce) is OK?

Idea Roundup #1

A result of my last few posts, I'm going to start posting "idea roundups" on a regular basis. I can save them in draft form and when I'm done for a bit, I will publish them. This is more about me keeping track of my thoughts and brainstorms rather than additional content to readers.

As such, I will post a disclaimer:

1. The ideas on this page are not complete. I wanted to write them down so I could keep track of them and eventually expand them into my full brainstream. See this post as an example.
2. I am fully aware that, in some cases, major parts of my ideas will already exist. I am not claiming to be the first to come up with these ideas and in my expanded version, will most likely reference pre-existing efforts.
3. Anyone can take my idea and run with it. I am big on thought but lacking follow-through. All I ask is that you credit me as per my Creative Commons license and, if possible, invite me to participate or at least observe the project.
4. Please feel free to post your thoughts and ideas alongside mine. I really encourage you all to join in - it's a lot of fun!

Idea Roundup #1

1. Google Sky - An add-on to Google Earth. It will allow for graphic displays of the weather from the sky if you were looking at the horizon - kind of like when news stations pull you under the clouds to see it actually snowing. It would also contain or allow for airline tracking, visual representation of the jetstream etc. As per a previous post, you could also see stars, constellations and other objects in the night sky.
2. Google Mars - As we get more and more data and pictures from the "Red Planet", begin turning them into a full graphical rendering of Mars for Google Earth-like exploration.
3. Google Universe/Space - An Add-On of sorts to Google Earth, (or perhaps the eventual parent application), this contains all the stars, constellations, comets, meteor showers, sattelite positions, and renderings of other celestial phenomena. It could contain a link to Google Moon as well as Google Mars.
4. Pooper Scooper Attachment - Not a tech application but an actual product. As someone who walks dogs, often when really tired or in inclimate weather with heavy gloves on or holding an umbrella, picking up droppings bites - I usually use a plastic grocery bag and dispose of it. One idea is for an add-on to those retractable leashes - it resembles the lower-half of a pelican beak. The tip is a bit of a shovel and you easily feed in plastic grocery bags to represent the pelican gullet. Then you click the "stop" on the lead, bend over, scoop with the shovel-tip, tilt it back and it goes into the bag. Pull the bag downwards out of the "pelican beak" and it ties itself into a not.
5. One-Handed Automatic Pooper Scooper -The second is a bit more complex and futuristic. Somethimes bending over due to an ailing back, old age, or hyper dog is impossible. I see the development of a metal "stick" about 3-5in in length with a button. Press the button and it telescopes downward with a claw of sorts to grab various droppings. You can do this as many times as you want. The waste is pulled inside the tube and deposited into a bag which you can later pull out and throw away. But the key with both scoopers is that it uses or "recycles" plastic bags.
6. Small, wireless, battery-powered, ink-jet printers - Being overweight and asthmatic, it's a PITA to go up two flights of stairs to the printer every time I print something. Most of my ideas come out of me being lazy anyway. I can't bring my 1.5ft by 1ft laser printer downstairs - no room. So why not a small, rechargable battery powered ink jet that you can connect a wireless card to....easily mountable on a wall through suction cups, a narrow shelf or some other non-intrusive means. When cheap enough, (way in the future), these could be a feature of several rooms in a home so one can print anywhere one would want.
7. RFID Smart Shower/Bath - When we first moved into our house, I thought it was cute that our cat would meow to be fed via water trickled from the bath faucett. What a pain! Now she wants it multiple times a day and spends most of her time yowling for more. It got me thinking about the RFID "smart" cat and dog doors people hacked together in the past. Why not have a small computer that stores various water preferences via RFID and learns from adjustments? For starters, if my cat hops up on the edge, it would trickle a little water. When she finally leaves, it fully shuts off. No human standing there or leaving the water on wasting some until we come back. This could be expanded in the future to humans via biometrics. I walk into the bathroom and run my hand across the shower sensor and it starts it running getting it to a certain temperature and indicating it's ready. A computer can do it a lot faster and more exact than my fat fingers so I'd save water. Plus if I have to adjust the temperature it can learn my eventual optimum preference. Perhaps the shower would be voice-activated at some point and, feeding into the house sensors determine my body temperature, the bedroom temperature and see how hot I make the shower. Then it can know that days with those conditions, an alternate temperature may be a better place to start.

BrainStream Followup: SkyScout pricing etc

Since last night's post, [MovableType | LiveJournal], I did some poking around and the Celestron Sky Scout is currently available on Amazon for $400. They got it up fast - apparently it was added January 4th.

Additional details include:

• It's 7.4 x 2.5 x 4.0 inches (W X H X D)
• Weighs 16oz
• Accepts SD cards
• Box includes USB cable, and one pair of earbud-style headphones
• Will last for 10hrs on batteries.

Nifty. I started tracking the Sales Rank on TicTap to see how well it does.

Chopper Crash: All Clear

My sister-in-law got a call from my brother. The chopper, [MovableType | LiveJournal],was not in his unit nor were anyone in his unit lost. All is well - for now. Thanks for all who sent well-wishes.