World Wide Web

An interesting thought I came across on Wikipedia:

"The World Wide Web is the only thing I know of whose shortened form takes three times longer to say than what it's short for."

– Douglas Adams, The Independent on Sunday, 1999

MIT Mystery Hunt 2007

Here are some of my pictures from that weekend-long sleep-deprivation event known as the MIT Mystery Hunt.

Arriving early at ESP

Andrew eating a clementine

Teams gather in Lobby 7

Kickoff

So we're supposed to be Really, Really Awesome

The puzzling begins

We're close to the "run-around"

After the hunt. Rich brought a Wii and a Bomberman-fest ensues

Big Dome and Little Dome

I didn't know they made books that fat =D

Russian Scrabble

Katya and Andrew

So we made this pile of futons and sat on it...

...and applauded the next person to step out of the elevator

Tim's a pimp

Manic Sages came in a respectable third place, behind Palindrome and Codex. See you all next year!

The Lotus Elise

Okay, the Lotus Elise isn't exactly a new car; in fact, it was announced back in 2000. And it's not particularly efficient either, with an EPA fuel economy of 24/29 (city/highway). Plus, it was built to be a race car. So what is it doing here?

First, let's take a closer look at the Elise. At its heart lies a four-cylinder Toyota 2ZZ-GE engine producing 190 hp @ 7600 rpm and 130 lb-ft of torque at 6800 rpm. It is the same engine used in several Toyota Corollas, Matrix (Matricies?), and Celicas, and propels the Elise from 0-60 mph in about 4 seconds. The mid-mounted engine is mated to a 6-speed manual transmission driving the rear wheels. But the Elise's trump card is its anemic weight of 1930 lbs, resulting in a power to weight ratio rivaling Ferraris and Lamborghinis. With less mass to scoot around corners, the Elise's handling is superb (lateral acceleration of 0.97 g).

The idea behind the Lotus Elise is very simple: the lower the weight, the less power you need to propel it. With cars gaining weight as fast as Americans are gaining weight, this principle can and should be applied to making fuel-efficient cars. What if, for example, someone replaced the Toyota engine with a less-powerful but more efficient engine? It'd probably run with Toyota Camry-performance, but use much less fuel. What if that someone forwent gasoline and put in an electric motor? Well, it'd look awfully similar to the Tesla Roadster.

Granted, the only incentive to pay more for a car with a spartan interior (minimal upholstering & carpeting, passenger seats are unadjustable, minimal sound dampening material) is for its incredible performance and handling characteristics. An Elise with 70 hp will probably appeal to an extremely small number of people. The Lotus Elise, though, is undeniably a weight-saving engineering masterpiece.

Read how the Elise works at HowStuffWorks

Tesla Motors

Tesla Motors recently unveiled its Tesla Roadster. All-electric, 0-60mph in about 4 seconds, and a 250 mile range. It was designed by the British car company Lotus, and the styling cues are evident when you look at a Lotus Elise. The great thing about electric motors is that they produce maximum torque (thus, maximum acceleration) at 0 rpm, meaning there is nearly no lag for the engine to spin up to its power band. This is my kind of car.

Freecycle - "Changing the world, one gift at a time"

From the Freecycle website (in case you haven't noticed, a combination of "free" and "recycle"):

The Freecycle Network was started in May 2003 to promote waste reduction in Tucson's downtown and help save desert landscape from being taken over by landfills. The Network provides individuals and non-profits an electronic forum to "recycle" unwanted items. One person's trash can truly be another's treasure!

Running through Yahoo! Groups, Freecycle allows people in a local area to give items no longer of use to them to other people who might be able to put it to use. It is, in essence, recycling. All transactions are gifts and must be free.

Freecycle simply provides a place for people to post up wanted ads or to offer items. The rest of the logistics are up to the two parties; they agree upon a pickup time and location (usually the offerer's home). Because it's a gift, the offerer can give it to anyone who inquires (I usually just give it to the first person, since that's the quickest way to move my crap). It's a great way to clean your room and get rid of things you'll never use again.

What are you waiting for? Find the nearest Freecycle community, or start your own!

Here We Come 2007

Happy New Years everyone!

I finally submitted the bulk of my applications yesterday, so I can now relax. For a day.

I'm still formulating my new year's resolutions, but they will probably involve college, updating this blog more regularly, keeping my grades up (senioritis is quite contagious), and working on my science projects. It's kind of scary to think about it, but this next time year, I will probably be in college - yikes!

What do you have for new years resolutions?