Marplotter. Analogue Software for a Digital World

ESP Cards - Zener Card telepathy test for Android

2009-09-20T01:08:00.002-04:00

Zener Cards are a classic extra sensory perception (ESP) experiment testing for telepathy. 2 people required.

There is both a free and full ESP Cards app in the Android Market. The full version has test options, records your results as sender and receiver, and even has a Ghostbusters Mode!

16th Century doom-sayer and prophet Nostradamus did not use any other software!
And that's a fact.

The free Android app runs a 10 card Zener test, clean and simple. The inexpensive full app has options for deck size, and keeps track of your scores as sender or receiver with summary statistics. The Ghostbusters Mode provides random Dr Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) quotes from the film for the Sender to say to the Receiver (watch the youtube clip). Choose the Ghostbusters option to toggle the mode on and off.

Terms and Conditions of Service

2009-09-08T13:48:00.001-04:00

To use our software you must agree to the terms of service (TOS) of services that we use. These are the Android Market Place (TOS, privacy), Flurry (TOS and Privacy), and my own ("my common sense applies").

To use this web site you must agree to the terms of service (TOS) of services that we use. These are Google & Blogger's (TOS) and my own ("my common sense applies").

World Level - A Digital Level for Android

2009-09-07T20:54:00.014-04:00

Measure angles more accurately, with a level that calibrates for latitude and local gravity!

Full 0 to 180 degrees reading
Angles show 10th of a degree - because you can see when something is off "true" by a few 10th of a degree
The angle is a "smooth" reading from many samples. The angle value does not have that annoying flicker
Unique latitude calibration adjusts for your local gravity, for increased accuracy
Possibly the only digital level in the world to calibrate for latitude!
Advanced trigonometry shows true angle when other levels do not.
Displays uncalibrated angle for comparison (new in 2010)

Flip the orientation, and retain full 0 to 180 degree range.
The angle reading will not "flip" or "jump" before you even get to 90 degrees.
In some other digital levels this jump obscures the fact that their angles do not add up to 90 degrees for a quarter turn.
Quit button saves power when you are finished. When you quit the app stops asking for accelerometer values.

Put the Android device on its back for a 2-Axis "bubble level"

Why Calibrate for Latitude and Local Gravity?

Want to measure an angle? Most digital levels will not read the correct angle world wide, because they use a fixed value for Earth gravity. Gravity (in general) is actually at its highest near the poles, and at it's lowest near the Equator! Digital levels with accelerometers use the earth's gravity to measure angles. But gravity changes with latitude, caused by the rotation and oblateness of the Earth. By using the correct value for gravity the World Level can do the correct sensitive trigonometry and calculate the angle .

If you live at the same latitude as one of these places then you are in luck! Harbin PRC, Lyon France, Milan Italy, Odessa Ukraine, Portland OR, Seattle WA, in Switzerland, Quebec Canada, Zagreb Croatia, or in the south Comorodo Rivadavia Argentina, or Dunedin New Zealand; all of these places are roughly along latitude 46 degrees, north or south. The local gravity at this latitude is approximately 9.80.... m/s^2, the default value used in many software systems (like Android) digital levels. The further away north or south you are from here the less accurate a traditional digital level will be unless it calibrates for the latitude and re-computes the correct local gravity. Very few digital levels take this into account.

You can set the lattitude to different values to see the effect it has on the angle and the local gravity. Calibrated for Alaska

Calibrated for Florida and Texas

How To Calibrate For Latitude
Just start the World Level app up

Automatically calibrates using GPS or cell phone inform ation to locate the current latitude, for increased accuracy measuring angles

Hit the MENU button for three ways to calibrate: AMERICAS, WORLD, or (i know my) LATITUDE

Manually calibrate by selecting states and countries in the Americas. GPS is not required.
Manually calibrate by selecting cities and countries world wide. GPS is not required.
Manually calibrate by entering your latitude, from 0 (at the equator) to 90 degrees (at the pole).

Democratic_Surveillance

2009-04-16T23:34:00.006-04:00

El Reg ran a story "the mobile phone as self-inflicted surveillance". The phone is a democratic form of surveillance, keeping track of the breadcrumbs we are all leaving behind us. We are our own Big Brother, at least my Android phone is mine.