Self Deprecating Journalism

Alex Moore Visits Occupy London

2012-01-24T07:24:00.000Z

Alan Moore is a writer of many fine graphic novels and this video is of him visiting Occupy London. It is an interesting video because he identifies with the protesters after having control of some of his work taken away from him by large corporations. Plus many of the protesters are wearing the mask from V for Vendetta a story about revaluation, which he wrote for.

Alan Moore visits Occupy LSX from inka stafrace on Vimeo.

SOPA

2012-01-18T07:51:00.001Z

This is a really good video about SOPA, but some facts are slightly missing.

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

The US would seek extradition to prosecute breakers of SOPA abroad like they do with existing copyright laws.

The US currently controls domain name registration so would use that as a weapon against governments, people or organisations that didn't comply with their domestic SOPA laws.

And SOPA contains a section whereby anyone discussing or educating people about circumventing SOPA would fall under SOPA's restrictions. In the case of the video I have posted above that would mean VIMEO could be taken down and without due process or representation.

Samsung's OLED Window

2012-01-14T07:10:00.000Z

I am not saying that all windows in the future will be interactive, but I think the benefits of having clutter free screens around the home so you get the information you want, when you want it, is a very appealing idea.

At Home Genotyping

2012-01-10T07:09:00.000Z

We aren't yet at the stage here everybody has their genetic code sequenced, but it looks like it will be a standard medical tool for people in the future. The main benefits being that you could findout what medical conditions you might have a genetic inclination to get or other physical or dietary traits that knowing about would help you live healthier for longer.

Costs for sequencing are rapidly diminishing and there are now a few companies that offer a similar service, but by using genotyping to rapidly (and much more cheaply) give you access to that kind of information information.

23andMe ($99 to $207)
deCODEME ($500 to $1,100)
Navigenics

It should be noted that even if you do have a genetic marker that suggests you will get heart disease. That just means that you might, there are still many other factors that lead to most conditions.

The IGF Pirate Kart Entry

2011-12-29T07:22:00.000Z

In March next year the Independent Games Festival will award a few independently produced games some awards and raise the profile of those titles. A few in the past like Minecraft, Limbo and Mechinarim have had extra promotion which has helped the developers sell more units and raise their profile.

Next year has an interesting entry, the Pirate Kart. This is a single IGF entry of (at time of writing) 321 games.

A download link to the 1.4GB pack is on the Front Page if you feel like playing some very random games.

Zelda Mod For Skyrim

2011-12-23T07:01:00.000Z

This is one of the better mods I have seen so far for Skyrim. It is a Legend Of Zelda, Link Character Mod.

USS Enterprise Engine Noise

2011-12-19T07:36:00.000Z

I have often wondered what I would be like to be on the Enterprise and have to put up with the sound of the engines all the time. I have also wondered what it is about the engines that make that noise considering there are no moving parts on the engines and any noise from outside wouldn't carry due to the vacuum of space. There is a video on YouTube that loops the enterprise engine noise for 24 hours.

However a better and higher quality version can be herd from Linux's play app. Use the following command to generate the noise procedurally:

play -n -c1 synth whitenoise band -n 100 20 band -n 50 20 gain +25 fade h 1 864000 1

Google's Memories for the Future Project

2011-12-15T07:45:00.000Z

To remember The Tsunami that hit Japan earlier in the year. Google has put together a streetview project called Memories for the Future that allows you to see the streetview data before and after the tsunami.

It is a shame the site doesn't support linking, otherwise I would have linked to a few interesting areas.

Elder Scrolls V Skyrim: Master Lockpicking Guide

2011-12-11T07:15:00.000Z

This is my lockpicking guide for Skyrim. You can either read the description below or watch the video I have recorded. The video is a little dry, but contains all the reliant information. I will add however that if you are in a town and you want to break into a house without being seen; you should crouch and wait for the eye in the middle of the screen to close (indicating that you are hidden) before starting you lockpicking attempt. This will ensure that your lockpicking attempt is conducted in secrecy.

In Oblivion you could lockpick by the sound of the tumblers rising, but this isn't possible in Skyrim. You need to keep looking at the tip of the pick (see screenshot).

If you are on an area of resistance the end of the pick will judder. You need to probe around the lock until you find an area of smooth motion with the pick. Once you have found it, don't rotate the lock all at once. Rotate it gradually, always looking at the end of the pick. If you find an area of resistance, release, move the pick slightly and start turning again. Apply this technique and you will be able to break even master level locks with a low level character.

Playing Skyrim As A Pacifist Character

2011-12-07T07:17:00.000Z

WestSideLuigi isn't playing as a pure pacifist because a pacifist is someone opposed to violence, but he is playing Skyrim without killing humans, beasts, the undead or even ghosts, and that is interesting.

Equal Marriage Rights in Australia

2011-12-03T07:22:00.000Z

GetUp! Australia is an action group committed to promoting the environment and a better future for Australians. And they have produced this very excellent video for their Gay Marriage campaign.

SpaceChem is Now Free For Schools

2011-11-29T07:48:00.001Z

SpaceChem, the indi puzzle game of combining elements to make molecules, is now Free For Schools. I think this is cool because in the advanced levels, you need to use the game's periodic table to make the target compound. SpaceChem comes with a level editor, so educators can create class specific levels to accomplish learning objective.

I find this exciting because it is this kind of thing that will be part of the future of education.

More Musical Tesla Coil Action

2011-11-21T07:09:00.000Z

Musical Tesla Coil Hat

2011-11-17T07:00:00.001Z

A guy made a Tesla Coil Hat that plays the mortal Combat theme tune. The video doesn't show the hat itself very well, so checkout The Guy's Blog.

Using Your Old Graphics Card To Run As A Dedicated PhysX Processor

2011-11-12T07:13:00.000Z

I am currently upgrading from a Nvidia 9800GTX to a Nvidia 580GTX and with the current SLI technology can't have them running together because the GPUs and graphics memory is different on both cards. But a configuration that is supported, is using my old card as a Dedicated PhysX Processor.

I wondered wither this would be better than just letting the 580GTX do all the graphics rendering and physics work. And I found this video when I Googled:

In the video he is using a 8600GTS which isn't as powerful as my 9800GTX, but it is interesting to see that the benchmark scores higher when the 580GTX is allowed to do all the work. I don't think it can be stated strongly enough that the results will change from benchmark to benchmark. But as on overall indicator I don't think I will keep my 9800GTX as even if it could conceivably provides a little extra performance if my 580GTX is under extreme graphics load, the extra heat and power consumption required to keep my 9800GTX makes the whole thing not worth it.

Full Immersion Battlefield 3 Rig

2011-11-08T07:52:00.000Z

One of the challenges that The Gadget Show set themselves recently; was to create a fully immersive Battlefield 3 playing experience. What they created is rather impressive and makes me wonder why I can't pay to get this kind of experience at somekind of gaming center.

I think one improvement that they could make would be to use electric shock pads, instead of the paintball guns. Not sure if that would work commercially, but would provide better feedback.

Heidi Klum's Halloween Costume

2011-11-04T07:28:00.000Z

It isn't often that I care about celebrity news, but the Daily Mail did an article on Her Costume At Her Annual Halloween Party. And wow it was impressive.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T07:42:00.002Z

I love this guy's house videos.

Epic Anime Adobe After Effects Fights

2011-10-28T07:26:00.000Z

One of the things I love about computing is the upward trend towards everything becoming cheaper, faster and more accessible. Where as once computer special effects where for the privileged few, now we are seeing a growing number of independents using them in their film projects. And One of the things I love about martial arts is the rewards you get for time invested. The below videos combine both of these things to good effect.

Cover Up Makeup Advert

2011-10-24T07:32:00.000Z

This is an advert for Dermablend Pro a skin concealer for scars, tattoos and blemishes for makeup people to use on models, tv people etc.

I love this advert, firstly because of Rick, but mostly because it is a very good advert that has style and demonstrates the product very well.

Japanese Anti-Piracy Advert

2011-10-15T07:23:00.000Z

In Japan, this is played before every film.

Mercury Arc Rectifiers

2011-10-11T07:13:00.000Z

The Mercury Arc Rectifier was used in the days before semiconductors to convert high voltage mains current to CD current for train lines. My favorite thing about this is that they are rather complex pieces of glass that wouldn't look out of place on a TARDIS.

First World Problems

2011-10-07T07:54:00.000Z

The third world has problems like starvation, war, finding drinkable water and lots of other fundamental problems. The first world has problems like, waiting for more than ten minutes on hold when trying to pay a bill and, being unable to find the correct remote control for the TV. The funniest one I have heard is that someone had to see Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows in 3D because the 2D showings had sold out.

Reddit has a subgrop called FirstWorldProblems which is full of these although a lot could be argued to be problems for everyone.
Zach who has a channel on youtube called Funnyz did a rap called first world problems.

Breaking up the Monopoly with Modern Board Game Design

2011-10-03T07:05:00.000Z

Scott Nicholson is currently on sabbatical at MIT where he is infusing everyone with boardgame enthusiasm. His main research focus while at MIT is to create a toolkit for allowing groups of students to use a boardgame toolkit and simple parameters to develop their own boardgame to learn about a subject.

A few weeks ago he did an open talk about himself, boardgames and what he is doing at MIT and his research focus. He is an excellent lecturer so it is worth a watch.

The Euthanasia Roller Coaster

2011-09-29T07:18:00.000Z

Euthanasia is an interesting subject, both the ethical side, and the mechanism. How would one kill themselves in a nice way?

Julijonas Urbonas at the Royal College of Art has created the Euthanasia Coaster. This is a Roller coaster where the rider is subjected to a negative ten gforce for one minute resulting in the brain being starved of oxygen and the death of the riders. I am not sure wither one minute is enough to kill someone, but I am sure Julijonas has done his research. The riders would experience a feeling of euphoria as their brains are starved of oxygen. And I think this is a very interesting art project. Roller coasters try to terrify riders with sirens and warning singes as they queue for a ride, but here we have one that I am sure most of us wouldn't want to take, but it's design is simple and elegant. And I am sure if it was built, it would be ridden.

Video Link