Playing around with Flickr and the video feature… It was close to 100º F in Portland yesterday. Time to bring out the Slip’N Slide.

The SkyScout from Celestron is a handheld device that identifies and/or locates any celestial object visible to the naked eye. The blurb on their web site indicates that you can point the SkyScout at any bright object in the night sky, and it will identify the object from a database of over 6000 objects. Once an item is identified, data and stories about the item are displayed on a screen along with an audio narration. When the device is turned on it displays a list of 10 items of interest viewable that evening.

I think I need one of these… Cost is going to be about $400.

It will be available sometime this year…

Via Scobleizer

Technorati Tags: astronomy, Celestron, SkyScout

Just in time for the neighborhood holiday party season, Google Map Mania points to Matthew Kane’s Map Political Campaign Contributions in Your Area. This Google Maps mashup takes campaign contribution data from the Fundrace Project web site and combines it with Google Maps to produce a red and blue map of your neighborhood. Check it before you head out the door to the neighbor’s holiday party to see if you have more to talk about than just the weather…

Technorati Tags: Fundrace, google maps, Mathew Kane

Went out with my family this morning to gather our Christmas Tree. We drove out northwest of Portland to Sauvie Island. Sauvie Island is a large island at the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette Rivers. Lots of farms, tree farms and pumpkin patches and such. Didn’t take us long to find our tree and haul it back to the shop. I found the baling machine to be an interesting contraption. They charge just $2 to bale the tree for the trip home. They’ll do kids for free…

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Technorati Tags: Christmas Tree, Sauvie Island

MonitorThis is a site that creates an OPML file of RSS feeds that track your search quarry. Tell MonitorThis your desired search terms, and it creates an OPML file that you can save and import into your favorite news reader… Currently it tracks 22 different search engine feeds.

by way of…. 43 Folders…

Technorati Tags: monitorthis, RSS

WAVM…The Eyes and Ears of Tigertown:

Because of a bureaucratic loophole, a Massachusetts high school radio station with over 30 years of service to its community, is scheduled to loose its license because it wanted to upgrade it transmission capacity from 10 watts to 250 watts. This kind of change triggers an FCC process where others can apply for the frequency and a religious group out of California has applied for the frequency and the FCC has granted its request.

eSchool News has an article that explains the situation. I’ll leave it to someone else to explain why an applicant based 3000 miles away trumps a local high school with an outstanding program serving its community.

If you find this kind of goofy, please drop a letter Secretary Dortch of the FCC…

MARLENE DORTCH, SECRETARY

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

445 12TH STREET S.W

WASHINGTON, DC 20554

You can also let the folks at Living Proof know how you feel…

LIVING PROOF, INC.

125 SOUTH MAIN STREET

BISHOP, CA 93515

Technorati Tags: education, dumb bureaucratic things

Ahh…Inca Kola

Originally uploaded by Steve’s Photos.

My friend Steve Burt is on a two week trip to Peru. He is posting his adventures on his Flickr account… Interesting stuff… I on the other hand am getting ready for the start of school and making sure that the floors are waxed and supplies are delivered… not exactly fair…

Technorati Tags: peru, steveburt, travel