Rednz's World

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21st-Oct-2008 05:43 pm - Long time, no post! Con Info

Dear ALL

Hiya. So it's been about... 6 months since I posted. And I know that because my wee daughter (Amelia Sophie) is about 6 months old. She's gorgeous but de-mand-ing!!!

I wanted to post a little info about Armageddon - the pulp culture expo on in Auckland, NZ, THIS COMING WEEKEND. It's our country's only convention. Last year Joe Flanigan came. And I touched him. :-D

Anyway, this year David Hewlett (McKay) will be there, and also Kavan Smith (Lorne). And for Heroes folks, David Anders (Adam).

Anyway, I can't go (see above re: demanding baby), and I'm sure many of you won't be able to make a trip to the Antipodes for a weekend, but if you're interested in seeing some of the convention, it's being broadcast on the net - and I presume people outside NZ will be able to access the stream (though have not checked that out).

Here's the link to the convention website, so you can check things out:

http://www.pulpexpo.com/

Here's a link to the schedule of times:
http://www.pulpexpo.com/images/stories/nz%20event%20handout%20sheet.jpg

Here's the info from the website about the broadcast:

Out of Auckland over the weekend?
Watch all the action from Armageddon 08 in Auckland streamed on TelstraClear’s website www.clearnet.co.nz from 11am until 6pm, Saturday October 25th to Monday 27th.

Online viewers can watch celebrity interviews ‘on the couch’ with a roaming reporter, highlights from the Wellington and Christchurch Armageddon events held earlier in the year and other expo favourites including the popular ‘celebrity panel’.

TelstraClear has enlisted e-cast's live video streaming technology and production expertise to bring the expo online and into people’s homes.
Online viewers can enjoy the unique flavour of the event from home and an added benefit for TelstraClear customers is they can watch the expo unmetered so it won’t affect their broadband allowance.

And finally, here's a link to the World Clock so you can convert NZ times back to your own "native" times so you know when to watch
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/

Hope this info is of interest to some folks.

*hugs*

21st-Apr-2008 10:43 am - huh! interesting (well, to me)

Did Neanderthals speak like New Zealanders?

Reuters | Thursday, 17 April 2008

Neanderthals have spoken out for the first time in 30,000 years, with the help of scientists who have simulated their voices using fossil evidence and a computer synthesizer.

And they may have sounded a bit like New Zealanders.

Robert McCarthy, an anthropologist at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, used new reconstructions of Neanderthal vocal tracts to work out how they would have sounded, NewScientist.com reported.

The conclusion is that Neanderthals spoke, but lacked the "quantal vowel" sounds that underlie modern speech and which provide cues that help speakers understand one another.

By modelling the sounds that a Neanderthal larynx would have made, McCarthy's team engineered the sound of a Neanderthal saying "e."

In contrast to a modern human "e," the Neanderthal version lacks a quantal hallmark, which helps a listener distinguish the word "beat" from "bit," for instance.

12th-Apr-2008 11:21 am - Happy Birthday Beth!

Hey everyone! It's the lovely and very talented

everybetty's birthday today

(Actually, it was YESTERDAY where I come from but she and I have already squabbled about this, and seeing as it WAS her birthday yesterday, I've decided to give in and LET her win this timezone argument...)

I'm sure you'll all join in with me to wish Beth a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

*big birthday and cake-y hugs*

30th-Jan-2008 12:52 pm - Meme snagged from *bright

and re-posted as promised...

If YOU'RE ON MY FRIENDS LIST, I want to know 36 things about you. I don't care if we never talk, or if we already know everything about each other. Short and sweet is fine ... You're on my list, so I want to know you better!

BE HONEST! COPY FROM HERE THEN SEND DIRECTLY TO ME IN A COMMENT THEN, REPOST THE EMPTY QUESTIONS.

( Take the quiz )

21st-Jan-2008 12:29 pm - Given that I live in the future...

and it's already Jan 21 here (midday no less), then I think I get to be the first one to wish

jalola
a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY.
I hope you have a wonderful day, my dear, and you get made a fuss of.
*hugs*

18th-Jan-2008 01:31 pm - OMG - this is the height of geekyness

And I LOVE it. Scientists for better PCR (you know, the process that makes DNA profiles, detects disease, ascertains paternity). It's a SONG :-D. My fav bit is the guy kissing the PCR machine.

If any of you had feared that 2008 would be the year that we scientists swapped our lab goggles for Armani shades, pulled a Diesel jacket over our labcoats and generally shook off the albatross-like aura of uber-geekiness that hangs around our collective necks, then I offer you this video clip, to assuage your worries and reassure you all that you can take the scientist out of the lab, but you can't take the lab out of the scientist.

Thank you Biorad.

http://bio-rad.cnpg.com/lsca/videos/ScientistsForBetterPCR/

(P.S. It does need sound)

9th-Jan-2008 09:55 am - Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…

This occurred last weekend, off the Kapiti Coast, which is where my husband grew up.

“…four Kapiti Coast divers shared a thrilling close encounter with a four-metre white pointer.”

White pointer aka GREAT WHITE aka JAWS

( Anyway, so what did they do when the shark circled their boat for more than hour? )