Another fine message to those dangerous whackos at the Cult of Scientology.
Thank you for playing the game
December 6th, 2009What a sound!
November 1st, 2009
This electronically modified didgeridoo produces a quite amazing sound that combines the natural sound of the instrument with computer audio synthesis and manipulation.
Play the video and then follow the link below to learn more.
An amazing gift
October 19th, 2009
This might not be the finest crafted of gifts, but the concept and thought behind it are wonderful.
It is a gift box that only opens at a certain location. A kind of reverse-geocache.
Read the full story behind it and details of its creation here.
Rainbow Apartments
October 6th, 2009
These “reversible destiny” apartments in the Mitaka area of western Tokyo are quite something. They look constructed from some kind of giant futuristic lego. Their interiors are every bit as challanging as their exteriors too, with uneven floors, hidden power sockets, oddly placed doorways and climeable walls.
Take a look at them here. And take a virtual tour here.
I’ts wonderful that something like this is commercially viable. I’m not sure what they will look like in a few decades time, but I bet they’ll still be more appealing than some of the shoebox crap I see around me.
The Ultimate Camper
September 29th, 2009
I play a fair bit of Unreal, Battlefield and similar games and must confess to prefering the sniper rifle as a weapon and the tactics of a sniper as a way of playing the games. I do sometimes get called a “camper”, but for me, a carefully prepared and skillfully executed single shot kill from a distance is worth countless kills obtained by frantic bunny hopping and keyboard mashing.
One person I have taken an interest in is Vasily Zaytsev, a real life WWII Soviet sniper who recorded 242 verified kills and who played, along with those he trained, a very important role in the battle for Stalingrad.
Unusually for such “heroes” he survived the war and died at the age of 76 in Kiev in 1991.
A fictionized version of his time in Stalingrad was released as a film “Enemy at the Gates” a few years ago, but perhaps of more interest is a book that Vasily Zaytsev wrote himself, titled “Notes of a Sniper:For us There is no Land Beyond the Volga”, that gives a direct insight into his life. An english translation was publish around the time of the film but is already out of print.
Just for clarity I have no interest in owning or operating real weapons, nor would I ever sign up to any kind of job where I might be expected to use one - but from a gaming point of view the perspective of those who have “played the game” for real is interesting.
For more information search for Vasily Zaitsev or Vasily Zaytsev (spellings seem to differ).
Buzz Aldrin
July 22nd, 2009
Buzz Aldrin was one of my few childhood heroes, and certainly my favourite of the Apollo astronauts, both for his achievements in the Apllo program and in his life in general.
The video below is something I came across recently, and, whilst the man himself might have mixed emotions at his actions, there is something immensly satisfying about seeing a disrespectful nutter being delt with in such a firm and final fashion - especially by a man of Aldrin’s age. The action is towards the end of the interview.
Doubly satisfying that the judge who sat on the hearing where the the nutter tried to sue Aldrin for the incident threw the case out saying he had it coming.
Tokyo Time Lapse
July 16th, 2009Have you ever stood alone at the window of a hotel room high up above a city and watched the world go by below?
If you have, watching the video below will recapture something of that experience.
Who are all those people? What are they doing? Where are they going?
In some of the shots you can see the Park Hyatt Hotel, as featured in the film “Lost in Translation”.
Visit the photographer’s, Samuel Cockedey, site here.
Access All Areas
June 15th, 2009
Whether you know who “Free” Kevin Mitnick is, or whether you believe that his being held in prison without trial for four and a half years on wire and computer fraud charges was outrageous, you have to admit that his “Business Card” is rather neat.
Physical security is every bit as interesting, and sometimes geeky, as software security and that card and its incorporated lockpick tools, embody how easily the majority of people are fooled into thinking they are secure.
Ring of Water
June 5th, 2009
Here’s an astounding photograph of a halo of water vapour forming in a conical ring shaped cloud around an F/A-18F Super Hornet as it hits the speed of sound.
I’ve seen a few photos of this effect, but never as clearly as this one by Christopher Pasatieri shows it.
Life Size Gundam
June 1st, 2009
To celebrate 30 years of the Gundam manga phenomenon a life size model of one of the giant mechs has been built in Shiokaze Park in Tokyo.
It’s almost sixty feet high and a splendid testament to something uniquely Japanese.
Pity my home town doesn’t have something similar rather than the rather dull victorian statue it currently sports.
Anyway, see more images at Engadget, here.