Link dump: Shuttles, monsters and Apple(s)

(This blog has largely been content-free for a while now. Heh, sorry. To remedy the rut, I'm opting for a tried-and-tested strategy: posting random, unrelated links. Enjoy.)

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Everything must go! NASA puts out a garage sale that includes space suits, engines and -- get this -- space shuttles. Discounts are available (about 30%, according to a New York Times report), but the buyer would have to pay for shipping. Assembly is required as well.

Credit: toptechwriter on Flickr

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We all know that well-adjusted six-year-old kid with a pet tiger, Calvin, and his monster snowmen creations. Someone with an overly active imagination actually carved them! Talk about life imitating art.

Credit: justalby on Flickr

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I miss my K&R classic, "The C Programming Language", which was a handy reference in college. (I think I have the second edition.) What if you rewrite Kernighan and Ritchie's opus in the style of H.P. Lovecraft? You get "C is for Cthulhu", of course.

"Matt Elliot, Obed's fust mate, he allus was agin' it, but he saw it with his own eyes how that funct'n used to call itself up like a serpent eatin' its own tail--

void Cthulhu (int Ia)
{
   if (Ia/10)
   Cthulhu (IA/10);
   putchar // ftagn!
   (Ia % 10 + '0');
} // neblod zin!

"Twistin' and writhing like nothing of this Earth, it'd spit out those strings without no heap allocation in sight. It warn't natural, any fool could see that much. Matt tried to line up folks on his side, an' had long talks with the preachers-- no use-- they ran the Congregational parson out of town, and the Methodist feller quit– I was a mighty little critter but I heerd what I heerd an' seen what I seen--"

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The "real story" behind Newton's apple anecdote goes online.

The legend of Newton's inspiration coming from a falling apple is often dismissed as apocryphal, but the great physicist's memoirs would seem to indicate otherwise.

A biography written by William Stukeley, one of Newton's contemporaries, relates the apple story as Newton himself told it to Stukeley.

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And since we're on the subject of Apple(s)... Have you ever wondered why people (fanboys notwithstanding) are so enamored with Apple products? Prototypes are okay -- they give consumers a peek at what is possible in the future. Apple, however, ups the ante: they ship actual products.

Credit: Diesel Sweeties

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(Hey, how about that? I think I'll make this another "regular". It will help me maintain this blog, and pressure me to put out real content from time to time. Until next time.)