Blue Moon!
by Fazia Rizvi
30 July 2004, 4:01 PM
Ever wondered where the term "blue moon" came from? National Geographic explains: Sky Watch: "Blue Moon" Due Early Saturday
JAWS
by Fazia Rizvi
30 July 2004, 3:58 PM
I've been writing a report on web accessibility testing tools for my
workgroup and while doing the research, found out that there is a demo
copy of JAWS available. So I downloaded and installed it to test it out.
Nifty. It's like having Stephen Hawing guide you through your computer. In case you don't know what JAWS
is - It's a program from Freedom Scientific for
Windows that reads the computer screen, including open applications, menus
and various windows. It also outputs to
refreshable Braille displays (nifty!) and is THE killer application
for blind computer users.
Political Satire
by Fazia Rizvi
30 July 2004, 3:16 PM
The Democratic national Convention is underway, and the Republican one
will be soon. They herald the beginning of several months of unendurable
political slug-fights until election-time in November. (And judging by
last time and the fact that Florida
is *still* having trouble with the voting process, it's not likely to
end there either.) Maybe some humor will help the asprin go down. JibJab did it best I think. Check out the
video on their web site.
Tibetan Singing Bowls
by Fazia Rizvi
30 July 2004, 2:52 PM
These are really nifty to see and hear. Tibetan singing bowls are
basically small metal bowls that you place in one hand, while you stroke
the outer edge with a wooden playing stick. The sound generated depends on
the size and composition of the bowl, but you can get a lovely continuous
tone out of them - much like that of a tuning fork. It's fascinating and
rather pretty as well. For more info:
There's even a ongoing project by a Stanford student on the bowls, which
includes a
spectral analysis on the bowl tones and a physical model.