Odd Lots

[jeff_duntemann]

• The 64GB Microsoft Surface Pro tablet has only 23GB of open storage. Yukkh.
• Given that I do most of my reading curled up in a monster cushy chair, I've begun to wonder if a tablet with a 12" display (or perhaps even larger) with a charger dock on the adjacent end table would be useful. Such things exist, but not in great numbers and not cheap. Technical PDFs are often uncomfortable reading even on my 10" Transformer Prime.
• Here's yet another reason I'm not bullish on the Cloud: If all you have is the Cloud, everything has to include a rain dance. I ruled out Eye-Fi when it first came out for this reason, but the absurdity of requiring global connection to make a local connection needs to be aired every so often.
• Short summary of Bowl of Heaven by Gregory Benford and Larry Niven: Ringworld with an engine, and nowhere to go. It's the first Larry Niven book I can recall that I genuinely hated. Save your money.
• Here's a result of vintage calculators (well, if not "result," what's the proper collective?) and a pointer to what would be a stunning steampunk model, if it hadn't been designed in 1788.
• Early heads-up for what may be a really brilliant thing: Pulp-O-Mizer, which is a sort of image generator that spits out convincing Deco/Diesel magazine or book covers. Thanks to Jim Rittenhouse for putting me on to it. I'll have more to say when I take it for a spin myself.
• I don't know from personal experience if this is true; I don't drink enough, nor late enough, to be a good test case. However, I've been told by several in my inner circle that too much booze too late at night makes for very bad sleep.
• There are a lot more Steampunk R2D2s out there than I would have guessed. I like the one with the monocle.
• It's as easy as fishin'? I'll stick with bluegills. (Thanks to Pete Albrecht for the link.)
• The big movie studios are evidently creating fake YouTube accounts with fake users uploading supposedly pirated movie trailers promoting new films. For the sake of plausible deniability, they're sending YouTube takedown notices on the trailers. And you wonder why I see maybe three movies a year.
• This may not be a viable business model.
• In times long past, men used to wear high heels. (More recently, I remember seeing guys in platforms when I was in college.) Why? To stay on their horses. Or maybe to avoid being mistaken for Neanderthals. We may never know.