December 22, 2010
Greetings from ISS!
Farmville, but for real.
Now that winter is officially here, maybe you're thinking about warmer times, and your vegetable garden. Here are some online tools and resources to help you plan your next bumper crop.
Mother Earth News Garden Planner is an online app that can help you layout your garden, and once you've done that, it'll tell you when you should start planting, based on your location. It even takes into account things like successive sowing and crop rotation, all with an eye towards organic farming practices. (Don't like associating with the Mother Earthers? The same app is available via GrowVeg.com.)
Considering more unusual varieties this year? How about heirloom varieties? Seed Savers Exchange | Victory Seeds | Seeds of Change. And of course, there's always Burpee for your more garden variety seeds.
And be sure to check out these composting tips.
Or if all of this is just too much work, you can always sign up for a share in a nearby CSA.
"Return with us now, to those thrilling days of yesteryear."
At 89, radio and TV announcer Fred Foy is dead. The booming intro voice for the Lone Ranger, and later the Green Hornet television series, Foy was also Dick Cavett's announcer, for several years. [more inside]
The Post That Cannot Possibly Go Wrong
Halfway through the third book of the Hitchhiker's Guide series, there is a throwaway reference to a doomed starship, one whose incredible splendor was matched only by the cosmic absurdity of its maiden-day annihilation.
But the story didn't end there. Unbeknownst to many fans, this small piece of Adamsian lore was the inspiration for an ambitious and richly-detailed side-story: a 1998 computer adventure game called Starship Titanic.
Designed by Douglas Adams himself, the game set players loose in the infamous vessel, challenging them with a maddening mystery laced with the devilish wit of the novels.
The game was laden with extra content, including an in-depth strategy guide, a (mediocre) tie-in novel by Terry Jones, a whimsical First Class In-Flight Magazine, and even a pair of 3D glasses for one of the more inventive puzzles.
Key to solving these puzzles was the game's groundbreaking communications system -- players interacted with the ship's robotic crew through a natural language parsing engine called SpookiTalk, whose 10,000+ lines of conversational dialogue spawned 16 hours of audio recorded by professional voice actors, including John Cleese, Terry Jones, and even Douglas Adams himself in several cameos (spoiler cameo). Want to experience the voyage for yourself? Then watch this narrated video playthrough (intro (ads) - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9? 10 11 12 13) ...or click inside for a information on how to run the game for free on Windows, Mac, and Linux (along with a bunch of other goodies!). [more inside]
"When we do right, nobody remembers. When we do wrong, nobody forgets."
Never-seen Hells Angels Photos, 1965 - LIFE photographer Bill Ray and writer Joe Bride recall the weeks they spent with Sonny, Buzzard, Hambone, Big D, other Angels and their "old ladies." Of the 36 photos in the gallery, only one had been previously published. (via Daily Jive) [more inside]
Double the apocalypse, double the fun
Do you like the wholesale destruction of everything you cherish? Do you like roguelikes? Then you're in luck because two new roguelikes are yours to play, the zombie-apocalypse city survival fest Rogue Survivor, and the Gamma Worldesque ASCII-Fallout-analogue Caves of Qud. Both are still in beta, both will keep you away from the dinner table over the holidays.
Skeptical about this Skeptic
The credibility of Skeptoid podcast creator, Brian Dunning, has come under fire from the Science Blog / Skeptic community after he posted a questionable podcast regarding DDT. A comprehensive fact check in two parts hit the web soon thereafter, followed by other critiques - suggesting that Dunning's objectivity may be tainted by conservative / libertarian political leanings. [more inside]
Economic stimulus via destruction.
If you own a car built before 2007 or any small gas engines, you may be replacing them soon.
The Fall of the House of Usher
The Wikileaks Cablegate scandal is the most exciting and interesting hacker scandal ever. I rather commonly write about such things, and I’m surrounded by online acquaintances who take a burning interest in every little jot and tittle of this ongoing saga. So it’s going to take me a while to explain why this highly newsworthy event fills me with such a chilly, deadening sense of Edgar Allen Poe melancholia.
But it sure does.
Bruce Sterling on the world of post-Wikileaks diplomacy.
But it sure does.
Bruce Sterling on the world of post-Wikileaks diplomacy.
The skinny guy behind the The Rock guy can't seem to keep up with the moves.
infinite click and read
Your lipstick stains / On the front lobe of my left side brains
And just think: When your shitty kid marries someone you violently disapprove of 20 years from now, this song -- with its references to blowjobs and songs that were ground into the ground before the kid was a twinkle in your eye -- will serve as the couple's first dance. As you watch your offspring and new in-law twirl around the dance floor, you will reach for a glass of Champagne Loko (President Kid Rock won't try to ban the stuff until he's up for re-election in 2032) and wonder how everything went so, so wrong.
The Village Voice presents the 20 Worst Songs of 2010. [more inside]
The Village Voice presents the 20 Worst Songs of 2010. [more inside]
Young, gay and homeless in L.A. County
Word of the Year
Merriam-Webster Online has come up with its take on the top word of the year -- plus nine others that are close to the top. (I'm partial to no. 10, furtive, myself.)
DOES. NOT. COMPUTE!
Two More Fallen Brothers
This morning, firefighters responded to a reported fire in an abandoned laundry building on Chicago's South Side. There was a major collapse of the rear wall which caused the roof truss to fail. A "mayday" transmission (8 minutes in) prompted a 3-11 alarm response to rescue at least four firefighters were trapped in the rubble. Two firefighters, Edward Stringer and Corey Ankum, were killed. 14 other firefighters were injured, 4 critically. Many of the injured were hurt while frantically searching for their comrades. [more inside]
The Waste Land
"The Simple Software That Could —but Probably Won't—Change the Face of Writing." James Somers on Google's Etherpad (previously).
Can I have a Turing Test for Christmas?
Just in time for the holidays, Santabot. But can Santa pass the Turing Test, (previously)?* From the same guy who brought us God Chat (also previously).
*Short answer: Nope.
"Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time in 150+ movies, Rifftrax has nothing to say."
Rifftrax's new holiday release (preview highlight clips) tackles one of the most notorious bad movies of recent years, the infamous Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny, filmed at a struggling Flordia amusement park and produced by a porno director. More on the movie: Agony Booth, Invasion of the B Movies, WFMU's Out Of Context Cinema. (Unfortunate note: the full version is $10, but includes the movie itself.) (Side link: The park SatICB was filmed at, Pirates World, went out of business when Disney World opened up. The locations seen in the movie are all condos now. Before it closed they were known to host rock concerts, archive.org hosts a video of the Grateful Dead playing Pirates World) [more inside]
I feel that you should be aware some asshole is signing your name to stupid letters.
In 1974, a Cleveland Browns season ticket holder was frustrated with a new fad of throwing paper airplanes in the stadium, and wrote to the Browns to let them know. The Brown's response likely failed to alleviate his concerns.
Cover me!
This year's top holiday duet doesn't feature Mariah Carey or Will Ferrell. It's Rodney the Mailman [local news] and Andrew WK [original], live from the Chicago offices of the Onion AV Club in their Holiday Undercover project.
In typical Andrew WK style, a slightly... different version is also available.
But this is not Rodney's first appearance -- nor are these covers few and far between. [more inside]
But this is not Rodney's first appearance -- nor are these covers few and far between. [more inside]
Let it dough!
Sweet and simple - be merry and Let It Dough! (goofy SLNYT filter)
Holy shit, Vogue, really?
Here is large announcement.
Deep in Cathar country lies Bugarach and it's Magic Mountain.
As reported in UK Daily Telegraph, The mayor of the picturesque French village has threatened to call in the army to seal it off from a tide of New Age fanatics and UFO watchers, who are convinced it is the only place on Earth to be spared Armageddon in 2012.
Jury revolt.
Missoula District Court: Jury pool in marijuana case stages ‘mutiny’. 'A funny thing happened on the way to a trial in Missoula County District Court last week.
Jurors – well, potential jurors – staged a revolt.
They took the law into their own hands, as it were, and made it clear they weren’t about to convict anybody for having a couple of buds of marijuana. Never mind that the defendant in question also faced a felony charge of criminal distribution of dangerous drugs.
The tiny amount of marijuana police found while searching Touray Cornell’s home on April 23 became a huge issue for some members of the jury panel.
No, they said, one after the other. No way would they convict somebody for having a 16th of an ounce.'
Retro gaming, the Big Lebowski, Yoshi, and Twitter.
"Designed by Giant Robot head guru Eric Nakamura and his friend Len Higa, the car was stripped down and operated on extensively, with a simple goal in mind: transform this Scion car into one giant Nintendo Entertainment System. " The Scion Gallery and Giant Robot team up to curate "Pixel Pushers" a show about the 8-bit aesthetic. The Scion gallery's tour of the show.
Gurafiku - Japanese graphic art and design
Visually sumptuous, Gurafiku is a collection of visual research pertaining to Japanese graphic design. Assembled by the designer abroad; Ryan Hageman. Some of the categories: Ukiyo-e | Illustration | Typography |Manga | 1960's | 1970's | 1980's |1990's. [more inside]
There's a Stratagem For That.
Feeling outflanked this holiday season? Perhaps you need to brush up on your stratagems. But how many stratagems do you need? [more inside]
It makes so much sense now
This clip of the baby preacher has been floating around the internet for a while. If you've never seen it before, it's memorable - this toddler, too young to be able to talk, is imitating a preacher in front of a church congregation. [more inside]
I saw a preview of Spider-Man so I am calling this a Re-piew.
"People that like Spider-Man and super heroes and villains and violence and kissing would like this play." A six-year-old girl reviews -- sorry, "re-piews" -- the injury-plagued production of Julie Taymor's Spiderman: Turn off the Dark, currently in previews in New York.
Comic Sans Criminal
How do you get a Comic Sans user to stop, just stop? An eloquent, well-designed, appeal. With stickers! [more inside]
Blackawton bees
A new paper about bees in Biology Letters, Blackawton bees concludes with "We also discovered that science is cool and fun because you get to do stuff that no one has ever done before." The authors are 25 children between 8 and 10 from the Blackawton Public School, becoming the youngest scientist to be published in a Royal Society journal.
Marvin. I hate Marvin.
"This ascension took 143 tries and was damn hard, I tell you. Look at the conducts if you are curious why." [more inside]
MetaFritter:“apple fritter is good hot, but the cold ye [should] not touch"
What species of food is 2000 years old, has evolved copious adaptive variations, and still tastes delicious as ever? [more inside]
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