March 22, 2012
Robot Animals of the United States Government
First there was the doomed cyborg Acoustic Kitty. Then the vaguely ominous man-outrunning robot cheetah. Now we have super stealth Robojelly, a robotic jellyfish.
Jardin la francaise
The Château de Marqueyssac is a 17th century chateau and gardens located at Vézac, in France. The chateau was built at the end of the 17th century on cliffs overlooking the Dordogne Valley. The original garden à la française featured terraces, alleys, and a kitchen garden surrounding the chateau.
In the 1860s, the new owner, began to plant thousands of boxwood trees - today there are over 150,000 - and had them carved in fantastic shapes, many in groups of rounded shapes like flocks of sheep. [more inside]
Geeklist, Sexism, Redemption-- Oh My
Last night, the founders of Geeklist and a female product manager got into a twitter fight about a video featuring their logo. A reporter for the Guardian Storified the whole fight and titled it "OH HAI SEXISM". Then, the entire internet got mad. The founders of geek list issued a "non-apology" apology. The founders Christian Sanz and Reuben Katz are now looking for redemption. [more inside]
Frank Bruni Has The Gout
Frank Bruni (previously) announced in his blog column today that he has recently been diagnosed with gout. The New York Times' restaurant critic for years, he links his condition to a predisposition combined with his personal habits and his professional experiences with alcohol and fatty meats. He chronicled his food writing in his memoir Born Round.
The American College of Rheumatology, PubMed, and The Mayo Clinic all provide factsheets on gout. Bruni wonders, "Why must it take something like [gout] for so many of us to pivot in a healthier direction?"
The cutting and stitching edge.
Push Stitchery Some stiched images are Not Safe For Work (but none the worse for all that) [more inside]
Somebody make a foul, you whistle.
The World's Best Referee: Rob Smyth tells the story of referee Abraham Klein.
It takes 2 minutes to start the movie with the original disc. It takes less than 5 seconds with an MKV.
Cinavia DRM: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Blu-ray’s Self-Destruction The latest Blu-Ray anti piracy technology uses audio watermarking to shut down unauthorised uses. Anandtech's Ganesh T S argues that it is a harbinger of doom. [more inside]
Kid Zoom: Home
'HOME' an exhibition by Ian 'Kid Zoom' Strange In October 2011, after three years living in New York, artist Ian Strange [Kid Zoom] returned to Australia to create a major new installation work housed in Cockatoo Island's prestigious Turbine Hall. The exhibition featured a full-scale reproduction of his childhood home and a film documenting the violent destruction of three Holden commodores. This video documents what resulted.
I see you!
Colors
What's it like to play Bach with synaesthesia?
Zone of Thought
Kyoto tofu
Fresh tofu in Japan is far better than it is anywhere else, and the tofu in Kyoto is generally held to be the best in the country. This is generally attributed to the skill, refined court and/or temple-influenced culture and the quality of the local water. ... During my week in Kyoto, I was able to pursue one family business’s vision of what tofu should be from beginning to end. [more inside]
In a sympathetic biochemical photo-reactive process, the Biosphere has altered the litho-sphere into the pedosphere, the cryo-sphere, the hydrosphere and the atmosphere*
The Loess Plateau in China’s Northwest is home to more than 50 million people. Centuries of overuse led to one of the highest erosion rates in the world and widespread poverty. Two projects (results) set out to restore the Loess Plateau. [more inside]
Because Kristen Bell's tears are delicious regardless of sloth content
It's damned if you don't and it's damned if you do
Aack!
Cathy's Requiem for a Dream - the novel, illustrated with panels from the Cathy comic strip. [more inside]
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
/dev/sigh, Where Developers Sigh
/dev/sigh :: user-contributed scenes from the sometimes frustrating world of software and web development.
World War I poetry
A great deal of poetry was written about the Great War, much of it by soldiers in the trenches. Two period books of World War I poetry and poets are The Muse in Arms and For remembrance, available in a variety of formats at archive.org. There is also The First World War Digital Poetry Archive which mostly has things from the most well-known authors, but many of these are available as scans of the original documents. (The interface is a little iffy on the DPA; click on a person, then use the search for "any poem" to get a full listing of what's available)
talking for the sake of talking.
"The result feels like musicians threatening to become content-producers, churning out a steady stream of conversation topics and half-formed ideas without quality control."
The Tumblr trap: Is Internet culture turning musicians into content-producers?
The Tumblr trap: Is Internet culture turning musicians into content-producers?
Things are not as they seemed in EE101
A series circuit of 1 battery, 1 resistor, 3 switches, and 3 LEDs. What happens when you turn on each switch? [more inside]
Nodding Disease
Since 2010, over 3,000 children throughout northern Uganda have come down with nodding disease, a degenerative neurological condition, reports CNN. [more inside]
Solve for Professor X
Pop Culture Math: Artist Matt Cowan breaks down pop-culture icons into basic formulas. [more inside]
Fabrice Muamba and the Doctors
Last Saturday 23-year old professional soccer player Fabrice Muamba suffered cardiac arrest while playing in front of a packed stadium. The medical staff rushed to his aid, as did a cardiologist who happened to be in the crowd. Muamba's heart was stopped for 78 minutes, but he survived and seems to be making good progress. Here, the doctors involved tell their remarkable stories of the incident.
The Dinner Party
Feminist banquet or confrontational gynocentrism? You decide. From 1974 to 1979 Judy Chicago orchestrated the creation of The Dinner Party, a collaboration with hundreds of artists, craftspeople and volunteers. Now permanently installed at the Brooklyn Museum, this project has sparked controversy, analysis and discussion, and was considered quite shocking when initially unveiled. [more inside]
Evil men with evil schemes, They can't destroy all our dreams!
Imagine one person in America directed Star Wars, the original Battlestar Galactica, Planet of the Apes, Alien and Blade Runner -- basically, all the big sci-fi hits except Star Trek. In Japan, that man existed, and his name was Noburo Ishiguro. He directed Super Dimension Fortress Macross (which became the first part of Robotech), Space Battleship Yamato (called Star Blazers in the U.S.), the classics Super Dimension Century Orguss and Legend of the Galactic Heroes, and more. Basically, he had his hand in almost all the major sci-fi anime of the '70s and early '80s except Gundam...
While many of his works were subjected to questionable translation practices (such as changing any mention of sake to "with water from a favourite spring on Earth" in Yamato) when they were adapted for Western audiences in the 1980s, the popularity of his works helped lay the foundation for anime fandom as we know it today.
On Wednesday, Studio Nue co-founder Haruka Takachiho reported that Noboru Ishiguro passed away at age 73.
(Via Topless Robot & Anime News Network)
While many of his works were subjected to questionable translation practices (such as changing any mention of sake to "with water from a favourite spring on Earth" in Yamato) when they were adapted for Western audiences in the 1980s, the popularity of his works helped lay the foundation for anime fandom as we know it today.
On Wednesday, Studio Nue co-founder Haruka Takachiho reported that Noboru Ishiguro passed away at age 73.
(Via Topless Robot & Anime News Network)
"One small fling for a bird, one quantum leap for birdkind."
"A space station is a serious place. We're doing serious research." Rovio and NASA further explore the classic avain-porcine rivalry (and microgravity) through a Space Act Agreement. Angry Birds: Space is launching today.
Mastodon - Leviathan (Piano)
John Abbott plays metal covers on the piano. On the 20th March, he uploaded a 39 minute video of himself playing Mastodon's 2004 concept album, Leviathan, in its entirety. [more inside]
A Corgi goes for a hike
Our project has been 90% complete for a year now...
Why are software development estimates regularly off by a factor of 2-3? Scroll down a page to learn why writing software is like a horror hike from San Francisco to Newport Beach.
Randall Munroe's Holistic Browsing Website
The XKCD Holistic Browser allows you to type in a web address and get sent to one typed by someone else. (NB: Results may be NSFW or even outright harmful. Take suitable precautions.)
Let's Pretend We're Marionettes
When artist Troy Gua wanted a new project to cheer himself up with, he hit on the idea of making a tribute to his favorite musician. Le Petit Prince, a 1/6 scale doll of The Purple One, was born.
The sport of pizza throwing
At the 2012 International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada, several freestyle pizza dough throwers competed in the World Pizza Games including Japanese Kazuya Akaogi who took home the Gold Medal in Freestyle Acrobatics.
You are on your own for moose
Has your garden been ravaged by the marauding squirrel hordes? Has your bird feeder been pillaged? Tired of shaking your fist at the neighbor children? Learn how to use Python to tap into computer vision libraries and build an automated sentry water cannon capable of soaking intruders.
That's how a turkey created TV
The IMDB says of the Canadian-produced, early 90s Nickelodeon show Turkey Television: A series comprised entirely of short (several per episode) comedy sketches. Unfortunately practically nothing of the show survives on the internet today, other than two clips: the theme songs from the two formats of the show and a commercial showing off some archive clips. Page on the Classic Nick Wiki - Everything2 node [more inside]
Fugitive Malcolm Naden Captured
The fugitive Malcolm Naden has been captured by police after a long drawn manhunt in the north of New South Wales. [more inside]
Still plenty of room for improvement
"He is the kind of boy who is bound to be rather a problem in any school or community, being in some respects definitely anti-social." Alan Turing's school reports.
Jake Kelly. Cleveland Rock Illustrator
Jake Kelly is a Cleveland, OH, based comic and concert artist. One of many rock artists in the area, he is prominently known for his really great concert fliers, promoting upcoming shows at venues around town. Last year, he completed a collaborative project titled 10 Imaginary Movies, where he created fake movie posters with local artist John G. He has also created murals for a number of area locations including The Grog Shop, Melt Bar and Grilled, and the Arts Collinwood Community Center. [more inside]
Nipples
Nipples at the Met: "A database of all the nipples on view in the permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art." Updated regularly
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