Awesomeness

True Plight (or Flight?)

Star Dust

Time lapse video of the night sky as it passes over the 2009 Texas Star Party.

Galactic Center of Milky Way Rises over Texas Star Party from William Castleman on Vimeo.

BBC on Craig Mundie

BBC did a piece on the Microsoft Home, which my team is responsible for, and also a short interview with Craig, our boss.

Fire Alarm Jam Session

Maybe next time Microsoft has a fire alarm test, instead of exiting the building we will try this instead:

Must See Movie!

So I went out and watched Star Trek last night with some friends. Excellent! Very much enjoyed it.

However, I think this upcoming movie is going to blow away even the cinematic thrill-level I experienced yesterday at Star Trek:

1,301 Fluorescent Lights

Richard Box set up 1,301 fluorescent tubes powered only by the electric fields generated by overhead powerlines.

Cooking With Dog

What's could possibly be funner than cooking a nice, tasty Japanese meal? Cooking it with a talking dog!

Rescuing Worms

Yesterday, as I walked out of the loading dock area of one of our buildings here on Microsoft campus, I saw a worm stretching himself out full, heading straight into concrete loading area. I knew why he was doing it--rain was falling in sheets outside, and the soil had become over-saturated with water. Worms actually do respirate, but through their skin, and so he was basically suffocating and heading for dry ground. I also knew that he was going to wind up as a dried-out worm carcass, stuck to the bottom of some driver's shoe in a day's time at that rate. I had all of these thoughts as I walked past the worm out into the rain to my car.

And I had to turn back.

A small, insignificant saving of a single worm. What's the use? I can't think of any reason for it. But I went back and picked up my little moist, wiggling friend and chucked him out into a patch of soil and plants. And I felt better about it. I did.

The Sartorialist

So, thanks to my good friend Esther Maria Swaty, I have become a fan of a website called The Sartorialist. It's a fella who wanders around the street and finds very fashion-forward folks to snap impromptu shots of. The world of fashion is a very strange animal. Sometimes you think, Oh yeah, that's sweet! Like that look. And other times it's more like ??? How on earth is that stylish?

A couple from today that made me raise my left eyebrow: