sound, fury, etc.
From the New Scientist article “Spherical micro-robots could explore Mars”:
The micro-robots could land on the surface of another planet arranged in a capsule like eggs in a carton. Or they could be dropped onto the planet by a balloon floating above the surface. They would move by rolling and bouncing, powered by artificial muscles that alter their overall shape.
So after I saw the fun with the iPhone accelerometer video I got to thinking, “Wow… this is going to be the start of something big!” Namely, the return of those cheap-ass little plastic puzzles with the metal balls that you have to guide into various holes. I wanted to know more about this type of game, so I googled for “dumb plastic ball puzzle” and found out that the “official” name for this type of game is the “dexterity” puzzle. (Don’t believe it’s “official?” Well then what is this “Mechanical Puzzle Classification and Taxonomy” all about, huh?? =) Anyway, “Dexterity” sounded like an apt enough name I thought, but after reading a bit more about the genre (incidentally, that page has an awesome description of ball-in-a-cup which reads, “the objective being to swing the ball into the air and catch it in the cup. Sometimes the cup was replaced with a pointed stick and the ball had a hole in it. You can imagine.”) I was most intrigued by the “less common” variety of dexterity puzzle which involves moving various beads into different parts of a blown glass tube. Check it out, it’s like “OCD Maracas!” So in conclusion, yes… let’s make “dexterity” games for the iPhone and the Wii and maybe even the PS3 if Sony will give us enough money. Or has somebody already beaten me to the 1890s nostalgia wave?
From The Economist’s article on artificially-induced out-of-body experiences:
Dr Ehrsson did it by making his volunteers look at themselves from behind. He sat them in a chair and asked them to wear virtual-reality goggles, which work by projecting a picture in front of each eye. Behind the chair there were two video cameras adjusted so that they were at the level of the volunteer’s eyes. The left-hand camera sent its picture to the left eye of the goggles; the right-hand camera sent its picture to the right eye. The subjects could thus see their own backs, in stereo, as though they were sitting behind themselves.
Dr Ehrsson then tested how touch is combined with vision to locate the self. When he tapped his volunteers on their chests at the same time as he tapped the air at chest-height below the cameras, they reported feeling that the core of their identity inhabited the camera’s position. They were, in other words, out of their own bodies, and they considered their real selves—seen through the goggles—as another person. When, however, he prodded the chest and the air at different times, that illusion immediately dissolved.
More on “the self” from The Economist.
If you get the chance to take a break from “inhaling furious amounts of dick” you should take a look at this awesome, hyperactive video about Psychonauts, a cool game developed by DoubleFine Productions. DoubleFine was founded by Tim Schafeer, who created some timeless classics at LucasArts “in the days before [they] decided to axe the cleverness division in favor of the milking the Star Wars license until its udders turn into little black stalactites department.”
Amazing!! Make sure to watch it all the way to the end…
UPDATE: Here’s a non-YouTube-crappified version of the video.
LOL… This PDF about the Labor Day Bay Bridge closure is great. Check out the “Why are we doing this?” section where they explain how the new section of roadway will *slide* into place on rails!
Kids, I know that you don’t want to hear this from a “square” old 27-year-old like me, but I’ll be god-damned if I’m going to let that stop me. It’s time somebody told you THE TRUTH, and if it’s not going to be your parents or your teachers or your priests, then I guess it’s gotta be me. Here’s the thing you guys… Even though doing drugs makes you feel good, and you think that OD-ing or getting addicted is not going to happen to you, it’s just NOT WORTH THE RISK. When I have to read stories like this in the news it just makes me SICK!
WHY hasn’t the government outlawed this horrible, sinful stuff!? HOW MANY more innocent children have to face death and a lifetime of submission to its insidious designs?? CLEARLY the only solution to this problem is ABSOLUTE banishment of this disgusting trash because people (especially CHILDREN) simply CANNOT BE TRUSTED to decide for themselves “how much is too much” and in the absence of a more nuanced solution we must ALL simply make this sacrifice for THE GOOD OF THE FEW. Because (and I’m sure you’ll agree with me here) no matter how many people can effectively manage their use of this drug, and no matter what pleasures and intellectual discoveries may have sprung from it’s sweetly stimulating action, if so much as ONE CHILD falls victim to over-indulgence then we simply MUST forbid its use to all.
Now don’t bother telling me that you’ve seen your parents use this drug responsibly, and how they’ve even instructed you in it’s proper and moderate use. Because children, it pains me to say this, but your parents are both LIARS and MURDERERS. That’s right, each and everyone who puts forward the proposition that there is such a thing as “safe and sane” use of this drug is unknowingly TWISTING THE KNIFE in the soft flesh of its innocent victims. RENOUNCE your parents’ sins and ACHIEVE what they could not! RID THE WORLD of the plague that now lubricates the gears of it’s foul machinery and JOIN ME in a NEW and PURE vision of ABSOLUTE TRUTH!™
Hallelujah, Holy Shit! Now let’s all relax with some healthful and harmless elixirs of a superior moral quality. It is, after all, your right and DUTY as Americans to consume as much of these as possible before succumbing to cirrhosis and lung cancer at an early age, unselfishly leaving your accumulated social security contributions to be squandered by future generations.
Having been a happy T-Mobile customer for probably about 5 years now (minus a disastrous 12 months with Cingular in 2004/2005) I am typically a pretty big cheerleader for these guys. When I bought my T-Mobile MDA Smartphone several months ago, I took every opportunity to talk it up to friends, colleagues and pretty much anybody who would listen. In my opinion this phone stacks up quite favorably to the iPhone (MP3 Player, Stereo Bluetooth, WiFi, EDGE support, great mapping and email functionality and even a real, physical keyboard!) Some friends of mine had purchased Blackberry Pearl phones, Sidekicks or the T-Mobile Dash, but I’ve always feld that the MDA (while bulkier) offered a much more complete package than any of these.
In my opinion, a large part of the MDA’s success owes to it’s Windows Mobile operating system. Microsoft may be having a hell of a time trying to patch togeher a decent desktop OS these days, but their mobile offering has really come into it’s own in the last few versions, and when I found out that a new version was now available, I anxiously awaited my opportunity to upgrade. Several weeks ago, I found out from a friend that T-Mobile was offering Windows Mobile upgrades for their T-Mobile Dash device, and so I rushed over to their website to grab the upgrade for my MDA. Surprisingly, it was nowhere to be seen. After waiting a few more weeks to see if it was forthcoming, I began to grow suspicious, and decided to call customer support.
After tunneling through the first few levels of scripted nonsenses, I finally got a hold of a very knowledgable guy who broke the bad news to me. T-Mobile was no longer carrying the MDA, and there were NO PLANS to offer the Windows Mobile 6 upgrade for my OS. If I was willing to part with another $350 of my hard-earned money (as well as re-up for another 2 year contract) I could move to the MDA’s successor, the T-Mobile Wing, which comes with Windows Mobile 6 installed by default, but otherwise I was stuck with the MDA until sometime in 2009. Given that T-Mobile Dash users could upgrade to the new OS version for ZERO dollars, I asked whether they might be able to give me some kind of discount on the Wing, but they (very politely) informed me that it was just my misfortune to have bet on the wrong horse with the MDA, and there was nothing they could do to help me out.
At this point, I began to ask about cancelling my contract, but they dashed my hopes (pun intended) on that front by invoking the dreaded $200 early termination fee (over which they’ve been taken to court before). Even after acknowledging that they were no longer supporting my MDA (which to me seems to constitute breach of contract) they refused to waive this fee.
To be perfectly clear. I do not WANT to leave T-Mobile! I’ve enjoyed using all the geeky phones that I’ve purchased from them over the years, and would have gladly seen out the remainder of my contract with the MDA, if only they had taken the simple step of providing me with a software upgrade that (as I understand) they get for FREE from Microsoft.
Instead, I’m left with a bad taste in my mouth and while I’d rather wait out the remainder of my contract than pay them $200 in blood money, I can assure you that I’ll waste no time in finding a new carrier on the day my contract expires. In a day and age where number migration makes it more difficult than ever for cellular providers to keep their customers, I am absolutely astounded that T-Mobile can’t be even just a little bit flexible for a long-time subscriber and shameless booster of their company.
But enough ranting for now, it’s time for pizza. Thanks for listening, Internet!
And I quote:
The IFE runs Linux, boots over the network and has a full qwerty keyboard. All the processing is done locally, with the media residing on three servers living in the rear cargo area. Every seat includes 110v power, ethernet jack and USB ports. The USB ports are handy for charging your iPod or Blackberry, but you can also plug in a keyboard to use with the IFE. There are even two wifi base stations onboard, with internet access promised sometime next year.The system’s use extends beyond the customer to the running of the in-flight services. For example, you order food and drinks from the IFE, and the crew will bring it to you. The system uses these orders to keep track of food stocks and tells the ground crew at the destination how much should be loaded on.
Finally, the IFE has Doom on it, I don’t know if it is multiplayer or not. There is a competition going where you can submit your Open Source games for evaluation if they can run on the aircraft, a new target for game makers.
On the other hand… with great innovation, comes great legal liability. Which is why they’re probably the only airline with a TOS agreement for their entertainment system. Warning: Experience may change during airborne play!!
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