Check It Out

Links to cool places or things.

There are 1,530 posts filed in Check It Out (this is page 122 of 153).

Raleigh works to woo Google fiber

I got a little ink in this week’s Independent Weekly, discussing the Triangle cities’ efforts to lure Google’s proposed 1Gbps fiber network:

East Raleigh organizer and blogger Mark Turner said the Bring Google Fiber to Raleigh! Facebook group he created the day that Google announced the fiber program now includes more than 600 members and has drawn the support of elected officials. He hopes upcoming Internet conferences in Raleigh will add muster to the effort.

“I see fiber and Internet connection as being almost as vital nowadays as sewer service and water service, as far as building communities,” Turner said. “It would really position us for some long-term growth.”

Google to offer 1Gb Internet service in trial program

Today Google announced that it will be stringing fiber around a few lucky cities to study how ultra-high-speed Internet service might be used. Speeds of up to 1Gb will be offered and competitively-priced with fiber being deployed directly to the home.

I think the Triangle would be ideal with its concentration of networking companies (Cisco), storage companies (EMC, NetApp), software companies (IBM), and pharmaceutical companies. Raleigh was one of the North Carolina municipalities to oppose Time Warner’s efforts to close off competition, so I would hope the city would be looked upon favorably.

Google expects interested municipalities to respond to the RFI via the web, but you don’t have to be a city official to express interest. Google provides a link for interested residents to nominate their city.

Let the jockeying begin!

The gunslinger test

Gunslinger test

Researchers have shown that people move faster when reacting to something than when they perform “planned actions”. The movements that took place when reacting to something took an average of 21 fewer milliseconds than a planned action.

Inspired by Hollywood westerns, scientists at the University of Birmingham (UK) tested this with a simulated shootout. Participants given buzzers and not given a particular signal as to when to buzz their opponent.

Dr Welchman explained that it took around 200 milliseconds to respond to what an opponent was doing, so, in a gunfight, the 21 millisecond reactionary advantage would be unlikely to save you.

“The person who draws second is going to die. They’ll die happy that they are the faster person to move but it’s not much consolation in this context,” said Dr Welchman.

I think this must have been a fun experiment to conduct. Makes me wonder if there is some mental process that gets overridden or short-circuited when reacting to something. Also makes me wonder if we can train ourselves to override this process at will, i.e. consciously put our minds in “turbo mode” when needed.

High speed rail gets even closer

I’ve been following the Southeast High Speed Rail project for quite some time now Last week, President Obama announced that $545 million is on its way to North Carolina to kickstart the rail project. That’s great news for the state.

The majority of the money will go to improve the track between Raleigh and Charlotte, which is the most used rail route in the state. There’s also $25 million to go to the project to revive the tracks between Raleigh and Petersburg. All in all, it’s a great investment in the future of transportation in North Carolina: rail travel!

Artist in the making

A few weeks ago, Kelly sold Hallie’s ice skates through a Craigslist ad. The mother who picked them up from our porch left us an envelope with the money inside. On the outside of the envelope was the sketch you see above.

The sketch, it turns out, was drawn by her 14-year-old daughter, perhaps as a way to say thanks for the skates. Hallie has named the puppy Icey.

I think it shows quite a bit of drawing talent!

Good rebate policy


I bought a Samsung Bluetooth headset from Woot.Com last month with a rebate deal that made it practically free. When the headset and its rebate arrived, I saw that the rebate program ended January 15th. Thinking I had plenty of time to fill out the paperwork, I let it slide until about a week days ago.

That’s when I was surprised to read the fine print which said the rebate needed to be mailed within 30 days of purchase. It was now roughly 45 days since I bought it. I filled out the paperwork and mailed it in anyway, taking a chance that it would get honored.

Now, all my previous rebate experience told me that rebate companies use the slightest technicality to avoid honoring a rebate. That saves their clients money. I suppose that’s their right: the fine print is the fine print. Legally speaking, I was no longer entitled to a rebate check.

In spite of my gaffe, it looks like they’re sending me one, anyway! I got an email this morning with a message saying my rebate request is valid! Kudos for Samsung’s rebate fulfillment company, Parago for putting the customer first!

FindToto

A neighbor lost his dog recently and found it using this service called FindToto. You can use FindToto to make thousands of automated calls to your neighborhood, alerting others to your missing pet.

It’s an interesting idea, and one that appeals to me as I’m also working on a neighborhood phone alert system.