Welcome to tastypopsicle.com

I've decided to open up the weblog archive. At one point is was closed off except to registered members due to an incident, However, that company has since closed its doors so they can just eat it. Use the search to find something that youmight be looking for. Maybe you'll find it.

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This is WAY too rich not to mention. I can't tell you how many times screenshots of Web pages are needed to be used in printed pieces. But, as you can imagine, a 72dpi RGB screenshot is not going to be worth anything when you need a 4 color CMYK 300dpi graphic. So what is a man to do? Cameron Moll has (rather had - now) the right idea.

Up until last week, I thought I knew the answer to that question—just knock up the dpi to 300 in Photoshop, convert to CMYK, and resize as needed.

But he shared what a lot of us wish we knew over at graphicPUSH (a new site that I am adding to my "i like to read"). The best way to do it is to create a vector graphic. You follow the same steps that you would to create a raster graphic (grab the screenshot and open it up in Photoshop). The short of it is that you need to turn it into a 24-bit bitmap. From there you open the image in Flash and then go to Modify > Bitmap > Trace Bitmap. I won't get into all the details because the tutorial at graphicPUSH is spot-on and it deserves the respect for bringing this to our attention. Now, I just need to get Flash on my PC. Or, I suppose, just do the screenshots on the PC and then bring them over to the G4 and go from there. Anyway, big thanks to Cameron Moll and graphicPUSH for making life easier.

Of course it's not uncommon anymore to find WIFI hotspots popping up everywhere. In fact, we almost expect to have them in some places like hotels and airports. So what separates the "good" guys from the "bad" guys - charging for access (or not charging as the better case may be). The last hotel that I stayed at (just a few weeks ago but the name escapes me) charged for net access in the room and it wasn't wireless. At nearly $10 a day it may not seem like a bad price to pay while you're working on the road but that can't possibly be sustainable as good guys like the Hampton Inn offer free wireless access throughout the whole hotel. As soon as my laptop fired up I was instantly connected to the Internet. No gateway page, no ads popping up requesting that I stay at their hotel again. Just the Internet. Now, the Hampton Inn isn't a very desirable place as far as other amenities go. The pool is outdoor, and as such is closed until the weather gets better. There is no gym to work out at but apparently one can use the gym at the hotel across the lot for free. There is no restaurant or bar here - that one's a tough one - but there are plenty of places within walking distance. So, as a business traveler who doesn't work out and could care less about the pool, free WIFI access is KEY. My decision to stay at a Hampton Inn in the future will be affected by this factor. Other hotels offer free Internet access so the deciding factors to stay at them will once again be based on the other amenities - like a bar. Find the FREE WIFI hotspots near you (U.S. only).

Unfortunately this is not the same hotel Internet treatment that is available at the Hampton Inn. There is no wireless access, there is however, one complimentary computer here in the lobby. Internet access is available in each room for $9.95/day - again, not wireless. This of course makes them one of the "bad guys". While the hotel is very nice and a lot more accomodating to it's clients, more so than the Hampton Inn, I would rather have wireless Internet access over the other ammenities. I already mentioned my reasons before. Colorado is BEAUTIFUL and I only wish I had brought my camera (note to self: always bring camera on trips). We are right by the Rockies and the view out my window is a very nice one. The weather is very pleasant as well making the trip even more eNjoyable. Since I leave tomorrow there isn't a chance to go and see the city or the state. BUT I did drive to Colorado Springs from Denver where I flew into so I did get to eNjoy the wonderful scenery on my way here. Rented a car from National for $24 + $7.70 in gas - not too shabby. And a story that has made national news has come out of Colorado: Highway girder falls on car, killing 3. I heard all about it from the car rental shuttle driver as the news was breaking. A call had come in letting him know that Highway 75 heading West was CLOSED. Apparently this had a major impact on Denver. Here's the story

A 40-ton steel girder dropped from a freeway overpass construction site into morning traffic on Saturday, crushing one car and killing all three people inside. The 100-foot-long girder sagged across three lanes of Interstate 70 west of Denver, shearing off the top of an SUV that was carrying a man, a woman and a young girl, said State Patrol Master Trooper Ron Watkins. No other vehicles were involved in the accident, which occurred shortly after 10 a.m., Watkins said. The site is 10 miles west of downtown Denver. The girder collapsed after temporary braces holding it in place gave way, state Department of Transportation spokeswoman Stacy Stegman said. Authorities had not determined why, she said. U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez said investigators were looking into the possibility of ''criminal tampering.'' Jefferson County sheriff's spokesman Jim Shires confirmed deputies were investigating but added, ''We are not suspecting criminal activity took place.'' A caller to radio station KOA described seeing a blue Dodge SUV cut in half. ''The front, from the driver's seat forward, is about 200 feet down the road from the other part that's under the girder,'' the caller told KOA. The station did not identify the caller. The girder was put up Tuesday as crews were adding a lane to a bridge carrying Colorado 470 over I-70, Stegman said. Each end of the girder rested on a concrete pillar, and it had been attached to the existing bridge with five evenly spaced braces, she said. The ends of the beam still rested on the pillars Saturday, but the middle drooped over the highway. The crushed remains of the car were underneath. ''This is about as bad as it gets,'' State Patrol Capt. Jim Wolfinbarger said. Gov. Bill Owens visited the scene Saturday and offered condolences to the family of the unidentified victims. ''I'd say I'm sorry. This is a horrible tragedy, one that you wouldn't want to have happen to anybody, and we're going to do everything we can to learn from it so it doesn't happen again,'' he said. Traffic on I-70, the main route from Denver west over the Rocky Mountains, was stopped in the eastbound lanes and moving slowly in the westbound lanes after the accident.

Just tragic...

So I get to the airport early and I check in at the United Terminal quickly (this is a small airport) and I decide to hang out in the front area to kill some time. Well, I wish I hadn't now. When I get to the gate areas I see signs up at a bunch of gates proclaiming free wireless access at that gate. Unfortunately, my gate 5A is not one of them - but the one across the aisle is. So here I sit checking my email and blogging a bit. CSO is definately one of the "good guys". I should have stayed here instead of the DoubleTree. Update: this took me WAY too long to post. Why? Becuase the signal drops in and out and is about as stable as a monkey on a unicycle. Hmmmmm shady if you ask me.

It's right there on BoingBoing.net

New Scientist reports on the graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University we've linked to previously who built a robot that can make simple origami constructions.

The mention actually comes from a story in the publication New Scientist called "Dexterous robot conquers art of origami". Devin Balkcom is a Ph. D. student at the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute and the assistant coach for the CMU swim team. Origami is a new challenge for robots. This is because robots are normally required to manipulate rigid materials, not flimsy and flexible paper. Modelling the creation of an origami model is also mathematically and computationally complex. There's always something good to say at my alma mater.

Maybe I can get my Ph.D. in hopscotch research:

Scientists devise formula for perfect sandcastle LONDON -- Scientists have finally discovered what generations of children knew instinctively: how to make a sandcastle remain standing. After taking sand samples from beaches around the country, the researchers from Bournemouth University have come up with the formula, 0.125 x S = OW, where S is the quantity of sand, and OW is the quantity of water. For those without a degree in sandcastle technology, that means that if you have 5.5 pounds of dry sand in a bucket, you need 11 ounces of water. Or put even more simply, make sure that the sand is wet enough, but not too wet. Researchers spent two days testing the sand samples from 10 different British beaches for their suitability for sandcastle building. They made sandcastles from each of the samples, and then piled weights on them to test their strength. By trial and error, they found the optimum amount of water to use. They also found that the smaller the sand particles, the better they bonded with the water and the stronger the sandcastle was.