Category Archives: Play

DDT: Myth busting

October 14, 2004LOTDMush

You know how everybody “knows” that DDT is toxic to humans? That it’s a terible carcinogen? Perhaps its not. Perhaps banning DDT causes unnecessary human deaths.

“In 1956, a group of human volunteers ingesting DDT for periods of from 12 to 18 months at 1,750 times the average amount for the U.S. population showed no adverse effects either at the conclusion of the trial or in follow-up studies 5 years later. A 1964 study of the incidence of different forms of cancer from all areas of the U.S. from 1927 to the early 1960s showed no correlation with the use patterns of DDT, nor with its presence in food or human body tissues.
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New classic camera

October 12, 2004PhotographyMush

Brownie Reflex Synchro Model

We went to Rutledge on Sunday: Brett & me and Joe.

Joe got way cool retro glassware and some other cool vintage stuff, and I got another old camera, a Kodak Brownie Reflex Synchro Model (mfg. from 1942-1951). I’ve already ordered film for it (custom film, apparently, since Kodak no longer manufactures original 127 film), and am trolling eBay for a flash attachment.

Here’s the manual in PDF format if you really want to be geeked out.

I love the smell of old cameras, and this one smells as groovy as my wonderful old Polaroid (1965-1967). It was so full of gunk that the ‘reflex’ part didn’t work at all until I disassembled the camera completely and washed the mold off of the mirror and lenses with dish soap and warm water. (Not the shuttered photo lense, of course – that I cleaned with a Q-tip.)

The shutter seems to function properly. As it’s basically the only moving part of the camera (besides the latch that opens the film compartment) I think that means the camera will work. (For five bucks, it doesn’t really matter if it doesn’t, but I think it would be fun to take some pictures with it.)
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Where to buy eBooks

October 6, 2004ReadingMush

As you know, I read voraciously. I don’t restrict myself to ebooks, but an awful lot of my reading is in e-format.

I started reading ebooks way back in the day – ten years ago, now – when I got my first palm-top computer. At that time, it was mostly Project Gutenberg stuff; books that were old enough to be in the public domain and could therefore be distributed freely. I read classics, mostly, because that’s what there was, and loaded up on reference material like the constitution, the bill of rights, and other items that might come in handy during a discussion in a bar somewhere.
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Current status is Volcano Alert (Alert Level 3)

October 5, 2004LOTDMush

St. Helens is erupting again. Take a look: Mount St. Helens VolcanoCam, Special Conditions and Current Update.

And then talk about it in the St. Helens’ thread on Rants!

An Online Hex Calculator that works!

October 3, 2004GraphicsMush

“Use this simple java applet to compare colours quickly and easily. Excellent for designing web pages, as you can set the foreground and background colors to your tastes, and then read their hexadecimal values. You can contrast different sizes of text and/or a big colored area against the background colour.” Visit the Colour Numbers – Hexadecimal Color Value Calculator.