Author Archives: AusQB

Scientists have been monitoring and calculating the likelihood of a potentially disastrous asteroid collision with the Earth in the year 2182. The asteroid, (101955) 1999 RQ36, is only estimated to be a one-in-a-thousand chance that it will collide with the Earth, but as scientists have calculated the potential impacts through the year 2200, over half of the calculations point to the year 2182 for a collision.

The mathematics behind the calculations come by using two different models, the Monte Carlo Method and line of variations sampling. Using these models, VIs (Virtual Impactors) have been searched. VIs are sets of uncertainties that would lead to collisions with the Earth, two of which appear in 2182 with over half the chance of an impact.

The asteroid is part of a group of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHA), which all have the possibility of colliding with the Earth and causing damage because of the proximity of their orbits. The asteroid in question was discovered in 1999 and has roughly 560 meters in diameter.

Klendathu, source of the bug meteor attacks.

5 Comments Read More!

I was very late to the smart-phone party, I didn’t even have a cell till the end of 2005. When the first iPhone was released in early 2007, it seemed as though they were about as essential as a wallet or pants. In fact, anybody I saw without one had a Nokia N95 in one hand and an 80GB iPod in the other. I decided not to jump on the bandwagon and I simply purchased an iPod Touch. Combined with my simpleton Nokia 6230i, they seemed to almost make up an iPhone. I was never really fond of the thought of using my phone as my MP3 player.

Then last year I receive a BlackBerry Bold 9000 for my birthday. While initially grateful, I was somewhat frustrated since buying a phone is like buying a pair of shoes; you have to be there yourself, taking a look at the range, doing the research and trying them on for size. I remember when I was young I got a pair of shoes for my birthday, but they were the wrong colour. Needless to say, it wasn’t a very happy day for me.

So there I was, thinking to myself not only do I have an awesome smart-phone, but one which projects a somewhat more sophisticated and professional image. I go about the standard routine, trialing all of the major features, until I start to come to a stark realization: this phone actually sucks, hard.

Click here to find out why…

3 Comments Read More!

North Americans and Europeans take for granted that they always have a super-fast internet connection at their disposal. To them it is an insignificant fact of life, like running water or electricity. To Australians however, it is a luxury we will almost never experience.

To put things in perspective, I did a quick search for a good US internet plan. I wound up on AT&T’s “U-verse High Speed Internet”, which offers up to 24Mbps for USD$65 per month. That’s the best I could find. Then I trudged over to my current ISP’s website and punched a baby cow as I compared their best broadband plans to AT&T.

* This scam is a complete waste of your time and money motherfucker.


More…

5 Comments Read More!

If you’re like 99% of gamers, you mash A (or X or Escape etc.) as soon as you load the game so you can skip all the bullshit developer logos and intro videos. On occasion however, I find myself putting down the controller, leaning back and just admiring the introduction. Here is an arbitrary list of some of the intros that I have enjoyed over the years.

Battlefield 1942
As far as I can remember, Battlefield 1942 was probably the first game in which I always watched the introduction. After watching it once, the theme song would be stuck in heads for weeks. As stale as it may seem, this shit got me so pumped even though I was sitting in a dark internet cafe surrounded by Asians playing Counter Strike and WoW.


See the rest of the intros after the jump…

1 Comment Read More!