Please Wash Hands » Science

Yeah, that’s a bad bug

Steve — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:04:00 +0000

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the air data inertial reference unit (ADIRU) from the Airbus A330-303. This little beauty generates helpful data that flight control systems rely on. When everything works correctly no one has much cause to think about their ADIRU. When they fail, however, it is tremendously bad (some Aussies figured this out in 2008).

Now, before you start accosting your friendly neighborhood flight attendant to see their ADIRU maintenance records, consider this little tidbit buried in the article, “It’s not clear what caused the ADIRU to shift into failure mode, as this is only the third time that it has happened in over 128 million hours of operation”. 128 million hours of operation and three bugs?!? Think about that success rate. That’s 14,611 years of flight time!

I’ve been working on and with software for the majority of my life. We’ve got a certain amount of liberty developing websites (looking at you, everyone I’ve every worked with). If a feature crashes once in a while, or the entire site becomes briefly unavailable, most often it goes unnoticed. In the worst case scenario, we might have some unhappy users. When avionics fail, metal tubes filled with people drop out of the sky. On the web we might miss the occasional edge case when validating user inputs. These guys are contending with “a high-energy atmospheric particle striking one of the integrated circuits within the unit.” The reliability of these kinds of integrated systems given the complexity is absolutely insane.

So my hat is off to you, mission critical software engineers everywhere. You seldom receive the praise that the media heaps on your web counterparts, but I, for one, appreciate you keeping me from a fiery death.

Read the whole story here

Comet + Space = Hurray!

Steve — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:41:18 +0000

Someday, when I’m an astronaut, I’m going to have a mustache just like his. The comet is cool too.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoZIwtgEqKY

Making things

Steve — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:38:33 +0000

I’ve been thinking a lot about how things are made. Specifically, I’ve been thinking about how tangible items are produced and how far removed I am from those processes. I’m not sure where I’m going with this line of thinking, but it’s been on my mind.

Meet Bob Kramer and see if you have a similar reaction.

WaveJet!!

Steve — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 13:36:11 +0000

www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6Hg_Euegs8

Powered surfboard? You bet it is! The WaveJet has got to be the one of the coolest bits of technology I’ve seen in a while (if you don’t surf, just move along and do whatever it is you people do for a few minutes). I know that purists will be against the idea of a powered surfboard, but we can’t fear change. And they are the only chance we have of suppressing the filthy cheating stand up paddle board guys. Anyway, here’s what I’ve gleaned so far:

30 minutes of power from rechargeable lithium batteries
Self-contained propulsion system (not your arms)
Capable of up to 8 knots (that’s metric for freaking fast), depending on the model
Ranges from short boards up through rescue boards. The rescue boards for lifeguards make a ton of sense when you think about it.
Propulsion is activated and deactivated via a remote control button on a wrist band.
Steve Walden designed the board shapes so they probably won’t suck.
Fills an interesting niche for waves too big to paddle into without a tow in

The last time I was on Oahu we surfed the North Shore and I bumped into the WaveJet gang and Steve Walden having lunch. Really nice guys who are clearly stoked on their boards. I hope these turn out to be as cool as they look. Check it out.

Tiny action cam

Steve — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 18:24:24 +0000

I really like what folks are doing with tiny actions cams like the GoPro. A couple of the best I’ve seen lately.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1fHsZ8F0x4

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaEZZ43WrTQ

A guide to the new horoscopes

Steve — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 18:17:06 +0000

I know we’re all concerned that our astrological signs (completely made up) have recently changed (to something else completely made up). Don’t fret, a handy guide has been prepared to help you find your new sign so that you can go on living with an absolute lack of accountability for the direction your life takes. Hurray!

Fake Science

Steve — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:30:28 +0000

Fake Science combines two of my favorite concepts: 50′s style infographics and blatantly wrong scientific concepts. Let the learning commence!

Fire tornado!

Steve — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:48:50 +0000

And trailer residents have a whole new phenomenon to be afraid of…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7D5jrWbppY

Ants, now in zombie form

Steve — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 17:29:39 +0000

Not only is there apparently a fungus that is able to infect and control ants like tiny zombies, but it’s been doing it for 48 million years. As a strong believer in creationism, I think we can now rest assured that God made all things in seven days and freaking hates carpenter ants. Full story is here.

Just the skin, please

Steve — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:28:30 +0000

In the most inspired use of skin since Buffalo Bill, KFC is reportedly test marketing a new sandwich “The Skinwich”. I’m not 100% certain this is legit, but I certainly wouldn’t put it past KFC. Somewhere Xzibit is nodding approvingly…

Check out the full story and test locations here.