Favorite Android App of the Day

       Google Sky Maps:  This piece of GPS technology is actually able to determine where a person is based on satellite networking and triangulation, and from there determine what the entire sky pattern looks like for the user based on the angle of the camera.  It can do this from inside a building or anywhere you can get a network signal.  It can point you in the right direction, indicate where planets are, tell you the names and locations of different constellations, and even hunt and peck for orbital objects that you wish to find (pictured above).  There really aren't any problems with this application other than the moon's location fluctuates from time to time.  Other than that, this is my go-to app for scheduling dates on moonlit nights.  You are welcome to use this idea to benefit your own life.

Great Controversial Question: Check It Out

Hey make sure to check out sunsoutgunsout-joe.blogspot.com.  It is the blog page apply named "blog" from one of our fellow students in my Com 435.  He has a great article from November 18th, 2009 that comments of the question on the moral question of killing in reality versus virtual reality.  Check it out!

Energy Drink Palooza: Red Bull v. Monster v. Rockstar

      So though the developments of emerging social technologies have been far more extensive than those of energy drinks, I think it's time to deliver these waker-uppers some attention.  The world of energy juice has been filled with several changes and innovations.  When originally all we had were single versions of each brand, and now we have long term five hour, sugarless, low-carb, juice mixed, coffee flavored, and a host of others.  This is not meant to be a totally comprehensive look at these companies or to say that they represent the entire population of energy drinks.  But let me guarantee you that I am a tried and true member of the energy drink slurping college student body.

      So Red Bull is always a good choice if it is around.  The normal energy drink has an okay taste and is overpriced for the amount that you get, but it certainly gets the job done.  The sugarless Red Bull has an amazing taste and also gets the job done, yet it is certainly worth its sticker price.  These are the two main products of Red Bull and still it is the most successful brand of the three by far.  Must be the need for it in Jaeger-bombs.

      So Monster Energy is certainly the company that I consider to possess the most diverse array of products.  The regular Monster is a pretty good taste, the low-carb delight tastes just as good, the mixed fruit drinks leave something to be desired due to over sweetening, and all of the coffee flavors are to die for.  The best thing about Monster is that, in my opinion, you are always getting a good bang for your buck.  It is really cheap and it is always running specials for sale.  It is a brand that sports lots of sugar and some other unhealthy ingredients, but while one is drinking this kind of stuff anyway, I don't think that diet is the first thing on one's mind.

     RockStar Energy, regular, tastes the best of any of the regular energy drinks.  They have tried to pass down this taste from one drink to another.  This means that their sugarless drink is amazing, their mixed juice drink is amazing, and all of the coffee drinks are amazing although very fattening.  The five hour energy drink tastes like absolute crap, but other than that, the rock star product is a great choice.  It is also very well priced.
       Energy drink-wise you really can't go wrong.  You just have to try and find what you like to taste and what combos of energy get you wired the best.  RockStar does the best job for me, but I know that it does not work as well for others.    It all comes down to personal preference.

It's Never Too Late: Congratulations to my Mother

      I would just like to take a few minutes here and congratulate my mother on her finally turning in the completed copy of her discertation.  She still has to defend her thesis, but the point is that the massive body of work she has had hanging over her head is done.  This gives my such hope for the future.  No matter what or when, I will be able to accomplish whatever I want to accomplish.  She has been working on this for some time now and finally at the age of 55 she is able to say that she is done.  Here's to you mother and I wish I could be there to watch you defend your thesis.  Congrats on the PhD.

Pneumaticly Powered Artificial Muscle Response

        For this entire semester, I have been working on a Senior Design project, the goal of which is to make improvements on current prosthetic technologies.  My particular part of the project is aimed at building a direct bone integrator that will attach to the intelligent prosthetic, but that is not the point of this entry.  Recently the team that I work with made some incredible strides forward on the design of the intelligent prosthetic; designs that we decided were cool enough to share with the world.
        A little background into this video, the intelligent prosthesis system shown is an actuator that, when stimulated, opens and allows an inflation of the inner balloon.  The inner balloon causes the latex outer coating to stretch which leads to a vertical compression of the entire muscle.  This compression is what will provide our prosthetic leg with enough force to move as a regular ankle joint would move.  The muscle is stimulated by excitation of live calf muscle tissue.  Normally this would be on the leg of an amputee and the electrodes would be placed on remnant calf tissue, but since we didn't have a trans-tibia amputee on staff, we placed the sensors on the calf muscle of a normal leg.  Notice in the video that the muscle contracts at the exact same time that the artificial muscle contracts.  This is so cool.

iPod Maps vs. Verizon Navigator

        I have only used Verizon and AT&T for cell phone services, so those users of Sprint, Cingular Wireless, T-Mobile, etc. I cannot speak for.
        This weekend I took a trip through Wisconsin.  I flew into Milwaukee to meet my father.  There we traveled to my grandmother's house so that we could take her out for dinner.  The next morning my father and I traveled to Madison so that we could catch the Purdue vs. Wisconsin game that turned out to be a slaughter of the Boilermakers.  That night we traveled to Osh Kosh, one of the coolest city names on the planet, so that we could be closer to Green Bay.  The next morning, we again woke up to travel to Lambeau Field to watch the Packers vs. Vikings football game.  That was awesome, but when we left we had to drive from Green Bay back to Milwaukee so that I could fly home to get back for class on Monday.  Got to love those Com 435 8:30 AM classes.
        The point of this incredibly summarized narrative is to say that I traveled a lot this past weekend in territory that I had not navigated through previously.  Therefore, it is safe to assume that I had to use a GPS system of some type to get us there.  My phone serves me with VZ Navigator and my father's phone delivers him the ever magical iPhone Maps.  The beginning of the weekend was a debate over which system worked better, but it soon became clear.  The iPhone App, though it is very clear on a vehicle's current location, does not allow a user to change the road course or choose a different route.  It does not allow for multiple guidance routes to the same location in the case that a user does not want to use the highways.  Most importantly, the AT&T coverage sucks, so it is hard to get a map to anywhere in rural America.  Don't get me wrong, the street view application is incredibly useful for things like finding a parking spot or getting an idea of what is coming up in the future.  All in all though, the Navigator was reliable, it recalculated routes automatically, it gave the user the option to choose different paths, and even displayed search criteria for routes that included stuff like shortest distance, no highways, and avoid traffic.  It is harder to zoom in and zoom out with this product but we would have easily lost ourselves in Wisconsin without its help.