September 2005 Archives

I've been intrigued for some time with the prospect of electronic ink and paper. Geekzone reports that Philips Polymer Vision developed a prototype device using the technology in months rather then the 2 years they thought it would take.

With four gray levels, the monochrome, 5-inch QVGA (320 pixels x 240 pixels) display provides paper-like viewing comfort with a high contrast ratio for reading-intensive applications, including text, graphics, and electronic maps.

Looking forward to when these things are commercially viable. I think its emergence will be quite profound on computing devices as we know it. Imagine what someone like Apple could do with this technology?

Engadget notes that Lego has launched a service for designing your own custom brick designs.

File this under “wish we had this when we were kids”: LEGO is starting a new program called LEGO Factory where you can download a desktop application that allows you to create a custom brick design. You can take the designs you create using the LEGO Digital Designer software, upload them to the LEGO website, and actually order a kit of LEGO bricks that will make the design you spec’d out.

I used to be a Lego junky. My brother and I would built a 3 foot+ long space battleships by hacking pieces together. We'd do things like erase the faces off of heads and turn them into turrets and things like that. It was Lego Hacks just back in the 80's when the pieces were more generic. The scale of our creations was total different then the happy little sets of today -- these things were flying fortress.

A bunch of kids in the neighbor hood used to built ships and have pretend battles (hey, we were 8 years old.) The ship names and weaponry was adapted from a early japanese animation series that was in syndication then called Star Blazers. Ours was named the Andromeda (here is a picture of the cartoon ship) and like the cartoon it had two wave motion guns (two non-Lego plastic tubes that was salvaged off of something from a grocery store), detachable battle satellites, fighter planes and dual missile launching turrets in the back.

Most of the fun was figuring out what set gave you the most bang for your buck and how you could use every piece on your ship. I can remember shopping in the toy section of stores for what $5 mini sets we could buy to upgrade our ship. A mobile lunar rover gave us radar dishes and antenna to upgrade our communications stack. A space scooter gave us an exhaust piece to boost our array and wing pieces we could mount more weapons on. Every so often you'd get bored with your or needed to "refactor" to better use the pieces you've collected since the last design.

It taught me a lot about design and engineering. I credit a lot of professional skills to my hours of time I spent building and creating my own science fiction.

If only this service was available back then. What damage could we have done if Lego sets could have been built to our exact specifications!

I'm going to have to dig out my old Legos stashed away somewhere at my parents house.

The local hometown paper doesn't keep an archive as far as I can tell. I'm posting my grandfather's obiturary here so we have something to link to.

Walter P. Appnel, hall-of-fame bowler

Walter P. Appnel, a member of the Reading Bowling Association Hall of Fame, died Aug. 31 in St. Joseph Medical Center, where he had been a patient three days.

Appnel, 79, Maidencreek Township, formerly of Reading, was predeceased by his wife, Edna M. (Wielandt) Appnel, on Jan. 22, 1998.

He was inducted into the hall of fame in 1977.

Appnel bowled perfect games in 1956, 1959 and 1997.

In November 1959, he was honored by the Berks County Chamber of Commerce during a sports banquet for rolling 12 strikes in a single game.

Born in Avoca, Luzerne County, he was a son of the late Joseph and Louise (Krakowski) Appnel.

Appnel was employed for 20 years as a paper cutter by the Standard Offset Printing Co., Reading, retiring in 1997.

He was a Navy veteran of World War II.

Appnel was a member of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, Reading.

He was a past president of the Reading Bowling Association. He was pin bouy for the association’s 700 Club.

Appnel had 50 years of attendance at the American Bowling Congress’ national tournament.

Surviving are a daughter, Jan L. (Appnel) Scott, with whom he last resided; and a son, Michael J., Maidencreek Township.

Other survivors include a half brother, Patrick J. Appnel, Las Vegas; and a half sister, Alice M. (Appnel) Rosell, Brooklyn, N.Y.

There are also six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Saturday at 10 a.m. in St. Joseph’s Church. Entombment will be in Gethsemane Cemetery Mausoleum, Laureldale. Bean Funeral Homes Inc., Reading, is in charge of arrangements.