The other dude and I were having an deep discussion about funny things* on the Internet. The discussion was vast and varied, and with it were gems to be shared. Whoa is the unfortunate who have missed these Internet treasures.
Conway's Game of Life - The hard to find official wiki, the informative wikipedia entry, and a place to learn with hands on experience. Take some time, it's more interesting than it looks at first glance.
Cool pic of the year, and why. True it has alreadyhitanumberofInternethotspots (feel free to go tab crazy), but to really appreciate it you have to understand this moment only lasted a fraction of a second.
Image courtesy of someone who did look at the sun even though they were told not to their whole life.
James and I both had the privilege of attending the Real Pirates! exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural Science this weekend. The exhibit was full of interesting historical artifacts and pieces recovered from the Whydah Galley, a pirate ship that sank off the coast of Cape Cod in 1717.
The museum has numerous other attractions, and I only felt it appropriate that the GyroXtreme be captured on video. The result is below.
I'd like to start by stating a fact: no one saw Tron: Legacy without wondering how they can make their own Tron trench coat Jeff Bridges sported when he clicked on the bad ass switch.
Image courtesy of the Internet. No really why couldn't the whole of the Internet give me a better picture? Thanks Internet.
As the fact stated, I left the theater with my head full of light-up jacket lining dreams. Later, when I was killing time at work, I decided to look up how they heck they did that.
Being a nerd the first thing I thought of was some form of flat EL wire. After many different attempts I failed to find anything of merit.
I found a video with the costume designer. While an interesting watch, gave no clues to the fabrication of this particular vestment.
Low quality image courtesy
of an over priced VHS tape.
I found a forum post with some sap asking where he can find the jacket Mr. Bridges wore in the first Tron. Really dude? I'll grant you that the posting was pre-Tron: Legacy, but it's not that cool.
After seeing so many others looking for the same answer, on the edge of giving up, I stumbled on light tape. They make a sample kit that would be perfect for would be Tron trench coat makers. The kit is a strip 2" wide and a foot long that runs off a 9 volt power pack the size of a trench coat pocket*. You might need two kits.
So get to it Internet. Make some Tron coats that light up from the inside. Make so many they go for cheap on ebay because there is no way I have the tailoring skill required to craft it.
Image blatantly stolen from random online retailer
who sells rips off metal you put in your collar.
Usually, as enlightened individual, I try to see the argument from both sides. In this case I have made an exception. I don't care why these dreadful simple contraptions even exist. The plastic ones break in the washer. If I remember to take them out I forget to put them back in so I look goofy at work. I am certainly not spending money for the real ones. Seriously, look at those prices; for a strip-of-metal-you-put-in-your-collar. Why the freak do they make matching cuff links? You can't even see them! Is there some truth that eludes me? Is my socioeconomic status so unrefined I can't grasp a concept? Maybe, but I don't care. It's a new rule I just made up so that I don't have to waste brain power on the subject ever again.
The plan is, once I get a number of these rules I'll organize them in a hierarchal structure. I'm already seeing this one fall under \clothing\fashion (as opposed to \clothing\utility and \clothing\comfort...let's just say that is a whole different blog post).
The first thing I saw that was particularly interesting I caught on slashdot.org; a mobile PC gaming device. It's interesting because technology is getting to the point this is possible--at least as a prototype. My personal opinion is that it will be some time before this becomes viable if ever (you know because people play the latest high end games, and they take a beefier computer than a netbook).
What I find particularly interesting is the keyboard. I see potential uses that prove the netbook format is not dying. Check out the video with the extremely serious Asian guy to see what I mean.
My first concern about netbooks for gaming is the Atom processor is on the puny side. To quote one of the best slashdot comments I saw on this subject, "if they went dual core Atom that is just double [crappy]." (edited for the kids)
Maybe I'm not easy to impress, but so far this was the only thing that caught my eye.
Just to comment on Michael's impressions of Ford; I agree it's great to see a car company pushing the envelope. Ever since I found out Ford wasn't in need of a bail out I started paying attention to what they do. On the same note I was also interested to learn about their in dash tree growing game. They are using game design mechanics to make people want to drive more efficiently. The better you drive, the more your tree grows.
Full disclosure: I have been left on the side of the road by Ford, Chevy, and Dodge.
Credit to filmfuturist.com; I would have asked for permission but I couldn't find any real contact information. (really, get an email address because I'm not adding you to my facebook. I only have one facebook friend and that's the way it's staying!)
It's that time again. The Consumer Electronics Expo ushers in the new year with tons of tech related products for Joe Consumer. While the quantity far exceeds the quality every year, I'd like to share some of the products that I think will make the most impact in the future.
Microsoft Surface 2
The Microsoft Surface has always been an interesting product. Essentially, it's a huge iPad that was around before the iPad. Microsoft has geared the product towards business, not yet figuring out how it has a place in the home (coffee table?).
Ford
With the introduction of My Ford Touch at last year's CES by new-ish Ford CEO Alan Mulally, I have been listening whenever Ford makes an announcement. Ford has been pushing car tech the last few years, one of the only manufacturers to really do so. Sure, tons of companies have included iPod connectivity, but which companies have built an entire GUI inside the car?
This year, Ford is introducing the Ford Focus 2012, in both gasoline AND fully electric models. As far as American car companies go, I am glad to see one of them pushing the envelope.
