Talking about steampunk - next time I'm in SF, I gotta see this: Steampunk Unboxing: Difference Engine Arrives in Silicon Valley
When Charles Babbage invented a massive calculating machine in 1849, he probably didn't count on the 150 years it would take to actually get the thing built.
Babbage's Difference Engine No. 2 was a precursor of modern computers, capable of performing complex mathematical calculations with 31 digits of precision, all using Victorian-era rods, gears, levers and linkages.
But Babbage never completed it. It took engineers and curators at London's Science Museum almost six years of work to bring Babbage's 20 pages of blueprints to life in 1991.
Now, thanks to Microsoft multimillionaire Nathan Myhrvold, a second Difference Engine has been built and delivered to the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, where trained docents will turn its brass handle to crank out the calculations Babbage dreamed of automating.
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After losing the backing of the British government, Babbage continued work on an even more sophisticated device, an Analytic Engine, which would have been a true computer, capable of executing programs with conditional sequences, loops, computations and registers for stored data. It, too, was never built. Babbage died in 1871, an embittered and disappointed man, and the London Times ridiculed him in its obituary.
As a result of Babbage's failure, his influence on computing history has been negligible. It took more than 100 years before anyone would again build a true computer, using electrical systems instead of mechanical ones.
There are some pictures - the machine is just beautiful....
I second flea's suggestion of the Stride Rite Stage 2 for asphalt walking. Robeez are awesome for inside and soft ground but we had some SR's that were great.
Gah. I was planning on taking Liv in to have her eye checked in case she picked up my pink eye (she was crusty this morning). While I was brushing my teeth, Owen ran into my bathroom, picked up my Intuition Razor and pulled it across his mouth. He cut his lip right on the edge and 40 minutes later, it hasn't completely stopped bleeding because he keeps pulling his lip and licking it because of the blood.
I held him for 15 minutes (as long as he would allow me to) and I've got a t-shirt that looks like I performed an autopsy.
Called and cancelled Liv's appointment (we'd never make it). I'll keep an eye on her and have her checked tomorrow (thank dog for Saturday hours).
I'm going to try to fix lunch and search for some more caffeine.
Maybe Owen's trying to make you relive the trauma of his birth cause he's a funny, funny kid?
OW!!! Poor Owen!!! (that totally made me grab my lip!)
Oy, Cashmere. A handful and then some.
This weekend I will be overreaching my boundaries.
Maayyybeee...
Jesse, with an attitude like that, you'll be single forever.
I love that Steampunk Star Wars stuff. It's very thoughtfully designed. Lord Vader is great. I wonder what his Boba Fett would look like.
While I was brushing my teeth, Owen ran into my bathroom, picked up my Intuition Razor and pulled it across his mouth. He cut his lip right on the edge and 40 minutes later, it hasn't completely stopped bleeding because he keeps pulling his lip and licking it because of the blood.
Yeah, pretty sure I pulled that maneuver at around the same age, or Olivia's. Baby's first stitches!
Jesse, with an attitude like that, you'll be single forever.
Heh, I know!
I have managed to get through the morning with out talking to my boss at all, and not that much to anyone else, either. This is a good thing.
Happy birthday, Owen! And stay away from Mommy's razors! ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch
I wasn't looking for DH when I found him. We met in England, so I was looking for a British guy. There was this Scottish guy in our program, looked a bit like Ewan MacGregor, beautiful gray eyes, named Duncan McHyphenated-PoshName. I had him in my SIGHTS. But then I started talking to this American guy from Oklahoma who'd moved to Seattle. The first night we met, we sat on the stairs talking until 2:00 a.m. or so, jet lag be damned. And the rest is history.
So - what are everybody's weekend plans?
Tonight - Mariners. King Felix is pitching tonight, which always adds a certain air of anticipation to a game day.
Tomorrow - Soak up the forecasted sunshine and 70-degree temperatures to remember for the next 2-3 months of gloom before summer properly arrives sometime around July 4. This will probably entail taking Annabel to the park with sidewalk chalk and bubbles, and I'm also planning to take the laptop out onto the deck to write.
Sunday - Choir. More writing, probably indoors, as the sun is already supposed to be gone.
