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Holy mackerel! Image analogies are an NYU-developed technique for "teaching" the computer an image filter. Their software can do things like fill in the blank in the analogy (photo of a swan):(pastel rendering of a swan)::(photo of a landscape):________. I'm not doing it justice. Their site has some compelling examples of what they can do. Gee-whiz factor of 8.5!
posted by MonkeyMeat at 10:26 PM PST - 17 comments

Haunted House = No STDs! "As visitors make their way through a dimly lit, S-shaped maze, they view startling, full-color photos of canker sores and genital warts on male and female genitalia infected with syphilis, chlamydia or gonorrhea. An empty casket at the end sends a message that death awaits anyone who does not practice safe sex."
posted by adrober at 10:23 PM PST - 8 comments

Email Roulette "When you submit your message, it gets sent randomly to another player who has signed up to receive messages. They have the option of responding to you or not; you won't know who it went to unless they write back... so you better make it interesting!....email Roulette is a great way to meet people and will doubtless provide you hours of random entertainment...." What hallucinogens are these people on?
posted by Voyageman at 9:08 PM PST - 5 comments

It was bound to happen. "The NBC TV network is looking to revive the old fantasy TV series FANTASY ISLAND -- as a reality series."
posted by donkeyschlong at 8:29 PM PST - 11 comments

In the true spirit of Halloween, follow the interactive mystery of Ellen Gray.
posted by DBAPaul at 6:13 PM PST - 1 comments

Bridge Builder, revamped I posted a link to this program months and months ago. Since then, the program has been revamped. It's now called PONTIFEX, and it gives you more options for bridge building materials, as well as better 3-D graphics (including an option to view your bridges from the point of view of the train's engineer). It's well worth another look.
posted by crunchland at 5:55 PM PST - 8 comments

What if Martha Stewart was a goth? As it turns out, she'd just shy away from elegant eggshell blues and seafoam greens in favor of black and burgundy. Other than that she'd be pretty much the same. It's not too late to recycle your house in time for Samhain. A frivolous, yet convincing argument for a strange but useful marriage of ideas. Well, if you're into this sort of thing, of course.
Happy Halloween, MeFi!
posted by ZachsMind at 4:24 PM PST - 13 comments

A Columnist of the People?: "Many people have told me they consider my writing a breath of fresh air. The question is whether a year of fresh air is worth the price of a music CD. I don't know the answer to that question, but this is my attempt to find out. My proposal is a modest one. Whereas some Post writers earn $750 per column, I am proposing to write a weekly online column for $600 dollars Canadian (see U.S. dollar equivalents). This means I would be paid, over the course of a year, $31,200 for two days work per week."

I guess this is sort of a twist on the honor model, but wouldn't people possibly be more likely to go with something like a micro-ad, where they get some tangible ROI?
(via e-media tidbits)
posted by owillis at 4:08 PM PST - 20 comments

Ever wanted to be an online mentor? Have you ever had an online mentor? So many are so terribly worried about so many things right now. What are we doing? Have you had a mentor on MeFi that showed you the way? The time to learn is now (methinks).
posted by Wulfgar! at 3:03 PM PST - 9 comments

A crazy Halloween "Choose Your Own Adventure" story, only it's not quite as "tame" as the original CYOA books by Edward Packard. In fact, every choice you make in this on-line book could lead to your death. Good Luck!
posted by kingmissile at 1:29 PM PST - 14 comments

I've been trying to build this computer on Dell's site for about two straight weeks now. What would you do with 6 TFLOPS?
posted by prodigal at 1:08 PM PST - 28 comments

Anthrax Appears To Be Home Grown. Something more than sensationalist anchor people reading off tele-prompters. A low key approach to questions I think a lot of people have
posted by Grok09 at 1:02 PM PST - 20 comments

The Chrysler Design Awards include Susan Kare. "Her bitmap wrist watch, travel-destination city fonts, lit bomb icon that signals a computer crash (“they told me it would almost never be seen ”) and smiling, welcoming Mac start-up screen helped re-envision the computer from machine to co-creator." -- "almost never be seen" -- heheheh. Well -- at least it's got more wit than a blue screen of death.
posted by fpatrick at 12:25 PM PST - 11 comments

The 2001 Chrysler Design Award winners have been announced. Though my pal Adam at V-2.org was not a winner, I'm still pleased at the winners this year—all accomplished graphic artists and architects.
posted by Down10 at 12:23 PM PST - 1 comments

Who knew there were so many “magnetic poetry” sites? (these use java, flash or shockwave)
posted by transient at 11:59 AM PST - 11 comments

Bush will observe "high alert" at...the World Series? Confirmed at the NY Times. Is this sort of mixed signal supposed to make us feel better about our safety? At least "officials disclosed that Vice President Dick Cheney [has] been taken to an undisclosed secure location." Let's review: we're on high alert; the President is going to a sporting event; the Vice-President is safe. Tom Toles got it right.
posted by precipice at 11:49 AM PST - 28 comments

Once in a blue moon. Not only will the full moon on Halloween be the first in 40(i think) and the last for another 19 years, it is also a 'blue moon' which means that the moon is full twice in the same month. Notwithstanding any MeFi visitors from Detroit, are you feeling strange yet?
posted by donkeysuck at 11:08 AM PST - 25 comments

The dramatic way to open champagne. Have you used or seen someone use a champagne saber? Amazing that the bottle neck doesn't shatter around the edges. I tried looking on Google for some lore and description but found nothing.
posted by mmarcos at 10:22 AM PST - 18 comments

Washed-up movie actor C. Thomas Howell is on trial today for "making a terrorist threat" while beating up a skateboarder. I always knew there was something I didn't like about him.
posted by nicwolff at 10:12 AM PST - 30 comments

Designdefenseministry All out war! A call to arms for those pixelpushers out there. Sick sense of humor (like the kabul coverage) combined with really great gfx. caution: bandwidth!
posted by heimkonsole at 9:32 AM PST - 7 comments

Spooooky... Everybody has their own favorite ghost story, and this site has catalogued thousands of them. Beyond that, they have videos, photos, lists of famous hauntings (find one near you!) as well as as guide to Ghosthunting 101. Creep yourself out, count the "phantom hitchhiker" doubles, debunk away, or gear up to become Egon Spengler Jr.. Happy hauntings!
posted by headspace at 9:05 AM PST - 16 comments

Do you believe what you're told by your government? I don't. I'm quite the conspiracy theorist. One thing I do believe is that during the Vietnam war, battlefield evidence obtained by journalists directly contradicted the official word from the Pentagon. Starting with Ashcroft basically overturning the FOIA, numerous government agencies are using the Current Situation to get a stranglehold on information. Furthermore, they are getting rid of anything remotely distasteful to their administrators and beaurocrats. Most telling is the FAA's decision to remove records of past security violations from their website, basically ending public oversight of their self-policing activities.
posted by taumeson at 8:45 AM PST - 22 comments

Only in Utah -- with a twist. Check out the beer list of Wasatch Beers of Park City, Utah. Their copywriters do OK -- but the real genius is in the last beer on the list: Polygamy Porter. "Why have just one" -- indeed!
posted by mattpfeff at 8:30 AM PST - 10 comments

Surprise! National Review thinks the market can provide for better airport security. Talk about ignoring evidence...
posted by Ty Webb at 8:18 AM PST - 34 comments

Said's ideal Mid East proposal. In one of the more insightful pieces written lately about the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Edward Said might surprise those that see only fundamentalists in the Arab world. Excerpt: And since the Palestinian-Israeli struggle has been so humanly impoverishing I would suggest that important symbolic gestures of recognition and responsibility, undertaken perhaps under the auspices of a Mandela or a panel of impeccably credentialed peace-makers, should try to establish justice and compassion as crucial elements in the proceedings. Unfortunately, it is perhaps true that neither Arafat nor Sharon are suited to so high an enterprise. From Al-Ahram Weekly, one of the most interesting English language news magazines originating in the Arab world.
posted by talos at 7:26 AM PST - 5 comments

The Butler wrote it! He's won a Pulitzer Prize. He teaches a creative writing class at Florida State University. And now Robert Olen Butler intends to write a novel, starting at 9 p.m. EST, live on the Internet -- by picking an old postcard at random and developing what's written on the back into a full-fledged narrative. And, taking Saturdays off, he'll do it in the 17 days between today and November 20th.
posted by allaboutgeorge at 6:40 AM PST - 6 comments

Ask the ombudsman. Are newspapers revealing too much information? too little? A news ombudsman receives and investigates complaints from newspaper readers or listeners or viewers of radio and television stations about accuracy, fairness, balance and good taste in news coverage. He or she recommends appropriate remedies or responses to correct or clarify news reports. Michael Getler: Internal Critic with Big Audience: how the Washington Post's Ombudsman does his job. An ombudsman is someone who handles complaints and attempts to find mutually satisfactory solutions. Ombudsmen can be found in government, corporations, hospitals, universities and other institutions. The first ombudsman was appointed in 1809 in Sweden to handle citizens' complaints about the government. It is pronounced "om-BUDS-man" and is Scandinavian in origin.
posted by Carol Anne at 6:38 AM PST - 2 comments

Tonight is Devil's Night in Detroit. There have been measures taken in recent years to reduce the number of arsons on this night. From 6pm curfews to 'officially' renaming it 'Angel's Night'. Can a city that is known for this sort of behavior ever grow out of this image?
posted by tj at 5:10 AM PST - 40 comments

Virgin Mobile Phone Records Which Map Users Whereabouts Kept Indefinitely. Admittedly, this data is only accurate to within a few hundred metres at the moment, but 'When the new breed of 3G - third generation - phones comes on stream, probably next year, they will enable the users' location to be pinpointed to within a couple of metres'. I know the current climate is increasingly pro-identity cards, pro-police state, but this can't be right, surely? Why do they want to keep this information indefinitely?
posted by boneybaloney at 2:49 AM PST - 15 comments

"No anthrax for you!" It's official. We're pussies. A classic "Seinfeld" pulled from syndication
posted by RavinDave at 2:39 AM PST - 84 comments

Physical synthesis models vibrating structures to synthesis sounds (Tao home). SAOL lets you program audio synthesis inside an MP4 file (MP4 home).
posted by andrew cooke at 1:05 AM PST - 10 comments