Cut-up credit card Jan 28, 2006
What do you do with old credit cards?  You cut them up into little pieces and throw them out.  But is that good enough? 

I performed a little experiment to try to figure it out.  I took an American Express gift card (picture 1) and cut it up into a bunch (41 to be exact) of little pieces (picture 2) and tried to put it back together again (picture 3).  Actually, I did more than just try; I succeeded.  What I found was pretty interesting: 

1.  The whole process took about 30 minutes.  It was started and completed during my lunch break. 
2.  Random sizes and shapes of pieces didn't make it any harder.  Actually, it might've made it easier because certain pieces could only fit in certain spots. 
3.  The design on the credit card made it easier.  I tried this one time in the past with an Old Navy credit card, which is full of colors and designs.  The patterns of the lines and shapes made it easier to match up with similar pieces. 

Conclusion:  If a person can complete a puzzle, they can reassemble a cut-up credit card.  I'm not sure if this is useful in any way.  I'm assuming it would be possible to just read the name and numbers off the card and use it to buy things online.  It obviously couldn't be taped back together and used at a store. 

I'm not sure what the solution would be to prevent this problem.  I would say to cut it up into smaller pieces, but I think that would just turn it into a slightly more complicated, though completely possible, puzzle.  Another way to fool a would-be cut-up credit card thief would be to put the cut-up pieces in several different trash cans or several different trash collecting cycles.  This would complicate the process of collecting all the little pieces, though it would still be possible to do.  The only really fool-proof solution is to burn the old credit card, turning it into a pile of melted plastic. 

[gallery /img/2006/01/creditcard1.jpg:::/img/2006/01/creditcard1-150x150.jpg::::::/img/2006/01/creditcard2.jpg:::/img/2006/01/creditcard2-150x150.jpg::::::/img/2006/01/creditcard3.jpg:::/img/2006/01/creditcard3-150x150.jpg::::::]
#money
Timekeeping (1) Jan 28, 2006
On December 31, 2005, a leap second was added to the Coordinated Universal Time (atomic time) so that it would be in sync with Greenwich Mean Time (astronomical time). 

This article talks about how certain scientists are proposing to get rid of the leap second because it could cause some major computer problems down the road.  The reason the leap second needs to be added in the first place is because astronomical time is based on the movements of the Earth, and the Earth isn't perfect:  Its days and years vary in length.  Atomic time is based on the vibrations of the Cesium-133 atom, which doesn't change.  So in order to keep the two methods of timekeeping in sync, the International Telecommunication Union decided that UTC couldn't differ from GMT by more than 9 tenths of a second.  So every once in a while, a leap second is added so that everything stays in sync. 

(via Boing Boing) #technology
Sideways room Jan 28, 2006
This guy rearranged his room so that it's sideways.  (via Boing Boing) #technology
Intolerance of lactose (8) Jan 28, 2006
I have a slight problem:  I'm mildly lactose intolerant.  "Common symptoms include nausea, cramps, bloating, gas, and diarrhea..."  I usually get about 1 or 2 of those 5.  I'll keep those 1 or 2 a secret for the good of humanity. 

This "disease" is funny because it has a very simple cure:  Stop eating things that contain lactose.  It's kind of like the solution to a hand hurting after being hit by a hammer:  Don't hit the hand with a hammer.  But here's my problem:  I love cheese.  Let me say that again.  I love cheese.  Love, love, love.  I had a turkey and swiss sandwich for lunch today.  Amazing!  Pasta without Parmesan cheese?  Unheard-of.  Grilled cheese without cheese?  Ridiculous.  And it's not just cheese.  I like ice cream, whole milk, and coffee creamer among other things.  I'm a big fan of dairy. 

Lactose intolerance would be a lot easier to deal with if it made me sick to my stomach.  Oops I gave away part of the secret.  Yeah so I don't get nauseous.  If I did, I would always remember what happened the last time I ate dairy, and that would make me stop.  But no.  My symptoms aren't that big of a deal.  Well, for me they're not.  So the negative side-effects of eating dairy don't outweigh the positive goodness. 

But I think I ate too much cheese this week, because I got another one of the 5 symptoms.  And I didn't really like this symptom.  It felt like there was an alien inside of me and he was pushing on the walls of my organs.  So I came to the conclusion that I should probably eat less dairy; maybe only have it with one meal per day.  That's fine with me.  As long as it takes care of that alien. #food