@benguild

Anamanaguchi makes loud, fast music with a hacked NES from 1985.

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:05:00 -0500

Anamanaguchi makes loud, fast music with a hacked NES from 1985.:

Yes. It’s a Nintendo Entertainment System. Plus, four guys with instruments.

Anamanaguchi opened for a band I saw last night called “PEELANDER-Z”. While the latter was more entertaining, the music of Anamanaguchi was actually really good. 8-Bit “Chiptunes” mixed with traditional instruments (guitar, drums, bass)… it’s a winning combination for any past or present legacy gamer.

First CD I’ve bought in a long time, and it was only $8 at the show! Check them out for sure.

Román Cortés' "Pure CSS Coke Can"

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 09:53:00 -0500

Román Cortés' "Pure CSS Coke Can":

Using a bit of cleaver CSS (for advanced web-styling) .. Román has created a fascinating effect utilizing the scrollbar in your browser as a control.

Things that have made my life easier lately.

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 01:14:00 -0500

Mandatory post. Keeping you “posted”.

Zipcar (Use this link for $50 in free driving-credit)
Having owned two or more cars at a time for the past few years (since I can’t drive my Volkswagen R32 in the winter due to all of the modified components on the motor) … Zipcar has been true blessing. Rent cars for as little as $7/per-hour via a toll-free number, text message, their website, or their iPhone application. It’s awesome. That price even includes free gas, insurance, and 180-miles of driving! So, as long as you don’t have a bad driving record, you can join instantly and save a fortune if you don’t need a car for a daily commute.
Mozy
Backup your entire computer for as little as $4.95/month. Enough said.
Hulu
Okay, so most people know about Hulu and how you can watch TV shows for free the day after they’ve aired with “limited commercial interruption” … well — most people don’t think about the fact that you can also get rid of your Satellite or Cable TV and just use this instead. Do it.
BoltBus
One downside to Zipcar is that their daily rates (with the exception of a single-day snowboarding trip, which I’ve done several times divided by four passengers… excellent plan) are often comparable to just flying to the nearby city you were considering spending the weekend. However, BoltBus to the rescue! Book at least 30-days in advance and your trip there only costs $1. Seriously. “Bolt for a Buck” is their slogan. They even have FREE Wi-Fi internet access on the bus.
Amazon Prime
Imagine getting FREE two-day shipping on anything shipped from Amazon’s warehouse. It’s not “quite” free… it’s like $79/year for the service or something. However, living in the city and relying on Zipcar reservations to pick stuff up, sometimes it’s just easier to have it arrive in two-days than go to a specific store. Also, almost everything is cheaper on Amazon… sometimes significantly cheaper. Pharmaceutical items (such as soap, shampoo, etc.) are often sold in 3-packs for the price you’d pay at the store. Never again will I shop in a store for anything except food! (…Unless it’s a really good deal, or I need it that day… or Amazon doesn’t sell it.)

Also, here are some geeky things that have helped me out lately:

Revision3
Sometimes there’s nothing on Hulu I feel like watching… so if you feel like educating yourself in something nerdy… here you go. Free online television reminiscent of the TechTV days.
Feedly
Feedly is downloadable script that runs in your browser (such as Safari or Firefox) presenting a daily “magazine-like start page” based on your Twitter streams and Google Reader feeds. If you don’t know what either of those things are… then maybe this isn’t for you… but it’s pretty cool if you do use those things already!
Tumblr
Since moving my blog from Wordpress to Tumblr this morning, I’ve been able to remove yet another website I need to manage… my own. Now Tumblr does everything for me and I can post stuff really easily. I can even redesign it myself through a single template… reminiscent of the old Blogger days. (which is removing FTP support shortly)
The Rackspace Cloud
Cloud Services have become mainstream, and I’ve been able to eliminate a ton of servers from my company and daily operations as well at great savings to myself. Rackspace provides both virtual servers at just a few dollars per-month, and load-balanced website hosting for everyone from the casual blogger to the small startup. I host ilikebsides there, as well as everything else I run except Mobile17… which is hosted at regular Rackspace because it requires networked dedicated servers and a considerable amount of storage. The Rackspace Cloud is perfect for everything else!
Timesvr
If you find yourself doing boring repeat tasks all of the time… Timesvr might be a great way to outsource some of those. I particularly like it for repeat tasks that can be done once per-day by just about anyone. Try it for a month and see if you really save time! (Just FYI… if the task involves any thinking, don’t bother. It’s mostly for manual labor.)
Coda for Mac OS X
Dreamweaver for Mac is extremely unstable… or at least it was the last time I used it. I highly recommend Coda for streamlined web-development as long as you’re comfortable writing code for everything. There is no visual design feature in Coda, but it keeps the program lightweight, stable, and quick. Love it!
CrossOver Gaming for Mac
Almost all of the games I used to play when I had Bootcamp installed on my Mac (to also boot into Windows XP for the sake of updating my BlackBerry or playing a quick episode of Half-Life 2) were run through Steam. Luckily, Steam is able to run in CrossOver Gaming… so now I don’t even need Bootcamp on my Mac. Sorry Microsoft. :)

Enjoy!

What is up with the Bing logo...? Why is the font stretched so much...

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:57:00 -0500

Bing’s logo is so tacky. Why did they stretch the font so much?

Maybe they’re trying to hide the fact that they’re trying to be like…..

It’s not like it’s obvious or anything….

Verizon Elves

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:31:54 -0500

I’ve never had an issue with AT&T but I’m always amused that Verizon thinks they’re amazing for having more 3G coverage in areas that aren’t as inhabited by actual humans. Eventually everyone will catch-up and it’ll be a non-issue.

Demo Mix (Vol. 1)

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:32:00 -0400

I did a trance/house mix last week and figured I’d post an MP3 album for everyone to enjoy. I’ll be making more of these , I promise.

Download the MP3-album (zip file)

Track list

Brazil by Deadmau5
Losing Gravity (Martin Roth NuStyle Mix) by Martin Roth & Bartlett Bros
For All I Care (Spencer & Hill Mix) by Above & Beyond
I Will Be Here (Wolfgang Gartner Remix) by Tiësto & Sneaky Sound System
Mount Everest (Dennis Shepard Remix) by Cold Blue
Unforgivable (First State Smooth Mix) by Armin van Buuren
So Strong (Inpetto Remix) by Meck Feat. Dino
Breaking Ties (Duderstadt Vocal Remix) by Above & Beyond Pres. OceanLab
Memories (Feat. Kid Cudi) by David Guetta
Fine Without You (Sied van Riel Remix) by Armin van Buuren
Archipelago (Original Mix) by Albin Myers
Winter (Max Graham Remix) by DT8 Project
Solero by Jaytech
Vietnam (Original Mix) by Komytea

Songs are mixed for promotional purposes only and not complete in remixable form.

Dubspace in Public Beta... The community of auto-enthusiasts with modifications.

Sun, 17 May 2009 20:38:00 -0400

I’ve wanted to start this site for years, so this week I decided to not only do just-that, but also release it ASAP and develop it as people use it. This way, I wouldn’t waste my time if things started going poorly, and all of my friends could help test it.

Everything’s going well so far, check out Dubspace right-now.
“Community of modified-vehicle enthusiasts. — For cars, trucks, motorcycles, ATVs, & SUVs.”

It’s not for any particular kind of car/truck/vehicle, it’s for everyone!
You can also follow the site’s updates on Twitter.

This is what a totaled Dodge Challenger looks like.

Thu, 07 May 2009 14:58:00 -0400

I saw this parked at my friend’s body-shop today. Apparently someone was doing a drift or a burnout (trying to be a smartass outside the shop) and ended up totaling his ride. Not sure what he hit, but the damage is more than obvious.

Take a look at the photo below.

…Something else worth viewing is the integration of the Volkswagen Radios (in the new 2010 cars) with the Climate Control, and other gems that VW stays ahead of the game with. I guess this is why the new cars all come with a touchscreen radio standard… because the rest of the car needs it! (video I made today is embedded, below:)

Why I now love to listen-to/DJ/mix Deadmau5' music even more! [Autographed sneakers.]

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:03:00 -0400

They were brand-new, now I can’t wear them. :D
For those not familiar, it’s pronounced “Dead mouse”. [Wikipedia]

Opinion: You should be able to return lousy video-games.

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 03:42:00 -0500

Before I knew to check the game-review websites for reference of whether something was worth buying, I always just bought whatever game I thought looked the “coolest”… literally judging a book, err… video-game…, by it’s cover.

I think that the main reason stores like GameStop still exist is the fact that you simply can’t return most of their merchandise if it’s been opened. The reality is that copies of a video-game cost almost nothing to produce, and are sold at $50-60 a piece. Of course, this is to cover the costs of developing a game… but if you’re making lousy video games, then you deserve to eat the cost if people don’t like them. Okay, yes I know this would be damaging to the business overall, but it would definitely filter-out a lot of the crud from the market.

/end-rant

Bitsmash project retired, as well.

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 17:59:00 -0500

Today I made the end-all decision to cancel the Bitsmash project. Reasons being:

The project was making basically no-income, yet cost $1300/month to run.
Lack of public-awareness. Lack of my own dedication as well.
Needed a lot of work, and couldn’t justify it since there was just no money in it. (this also ties-into the lousy economy we’re presently stuck with)
Need to consolidate my focus onto things that matter, rather than saturating the market.

My whole reason for starting any project is to fascinate people and/or make their lives easier. For this one, there just wasn’t that much interest. However, I did learn a lot more (as with any project) about various technologies that I usually never use, and therefore it was still worth my time, I feel.

So long, Bitsmash!

"i like b-sides." .... do you need a new mix-tape?

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:34:00 -0500

I launched this site today, it’s pretty cool.
Basically it suggests songs to you that you wouldn’t normally have or listen to, but are still good. It’s kind of like a reversed iTunes Genius… it actually more of a iTunes Librarian that can help you find interesting books to read by just showing up to the library with a list of what you already have… except, for music. hah.

So yeah, basically the site works for just about anyone with any usable information in their iTunes Library (whether it be star-ratings or only Play Counts, as well as other factors like quantity of songs by that particular artist, etc.) — so give it a try and grab some new tunes from those artists you already know and love! http://ilikebsides.com

DiggSuggest retired. New projects coming.

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 11:40:00 -0500

Hi guys, I retired DiggSuggest today due to dwindling traffic. It got a huge amount of press when it first launched and was a success, but since Digg has since launched their own tool (as I’d hoped they would), there’s no real need for it. :)

So, bye bye DiggSuggest! I’ll release something new soon.

Mobile17 delivers 15-millionth piece of mobile-content! Huge milestone is approaching.

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 08:47:00 -0500

Just wanted to post a quick note to thank everyone for supporting the project all of this time!
http://mobile17.com

FWIW, around this time two years ago we’d just hit 4-million. :)

Bitsmash API launched.

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 06:03:00 -0500

Ever wondered what “DVBS”, “PROPER”, “SKIDVID”, and “S03E01” meant in English… or what country the tracker is in? Well, if you haven’t already been to Bitsmash, using this API now your BitTorrent Application could tell you this on its own!

Waiting for an update to 'Fallout 3'...

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:44:00 -0500

I saw a friend of mine’s roommate playing Fallout 3 at this house the other night. Very pleased with it, reminds me of a combination of Half-Life 2 (one of my favorites) and Smuggler’s Run (similar theming, but a driving-game).

(Keep in mind I’ve never bought a “collector’s edition” of any video-game, but with this one I decided I’d be able to use the lunch box… for lunch. haha)

So basically for the past 24-hours I’ve been on-and-off glued to the game for hours at a time. It’s very open-ended, yet driven. Challenging, but not impossible or frustrating. Also, there are plenty of optional bonus quests to do on the side that aren’t particularly distracting or annoying… they are actually satisfying to complete! (you discover new areas, get paid decently, meet people that give you more side-quests, etc.)

So yeah, highly recommended… BUT, I found a bug: (others have found it, too)
[source: Fallout @ Wikia] “There is a known bug in all versions of the game where, if you do not exit Galaxy News Radio via the back door as Three Dog instructs, you will be unable to return to the building to complete the quest via the front door (using the intercom will result in the doorman telling you that it’s open, when it’s not), and the side-door will be locked and require a successful very hard lockpick to open. It is not known if you can backtrack from Dupont Circle to the back door, but dialog from Three Dog when you accept the quest would suggest that you cannot. Picking the very hard side door will result in negative karma, but will allow you entrance to the building to complete this quest.”

I never heard this part of the conversation with Three Dog, so naturally I just went out the way I came in. Nor did I receive a key for the door, which I’m pretty sure was required since I tried to use that door before even talking to him and it was locked. (requiring a key) Weird.

So obviously, this bug breaks the game. You cannot go any further unless you either:

browse around randomly and eventually discover ‘Rivet City’, where you can then resume your quest with a new goal.
check an online walkthrough at GameFAQs or something that tells you where to go next

As mentioned, this ALSO locks you out of the Dupont Circle region unless you find it manually… and also, the game is constantly telling you to “Return to Three Dog to talk about Dad” or whatever. Hah. This is one of the first times I’ve ever run into a bug like this in a game of this scale. Luckily, with these modern gaming-systems, they can patch it remotely and send out an update to everyone.
Yayyyyyyyyyy!

smash.me launched, my new homepage! (more juicy information "about" smash.)

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 20:23:00 -0500

UPDATE: smash.me has been merged into benguild.com… ;)

This is a new site I’ve started to complement my blog here at Smash’s World… which of course will remain here until the END OF TIME.

‘Smash.Me’ (available at http://smash.me), is a syndicated “sandbox” of my online-activity that may or may not be interesting to viewers. The site also allows me to post new “tabs” for unique purposes (like cars, projects, etc.) and more static (non-changing) content/information that wouldn’t normally fit here into a blog-entry. This also helps keep the clutter down for projects that should always be featured, rather than just mentioned in a single post.

I made the site over the past few-weeks in some spare time and feel pretty good about it. Check it out, and sign the guestbook!

A note about ‘Whitesoap’ and ‘73git’: … at this point I’ve closed these two projects down. The news-feeds backing both systems have been recycled into my Google Reader, and I am using this to provide interesting news on the main page of ‘smash.me’. I felt this was the best decision possible as I want to focus further on online-tools and development… rather than aggregating online-information. (except if it’s about me… hehe.) ^_^

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Simon Wai prototype)

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 23:33:00 -0400

Way back in the day, I was too young to have had an original Sega Genesis. However, I had the Sega Nomad, the brick-sized Genesis “portable” that got an overwhelming 30-40 minutes maximum to a fresh set of 6-AA batteries.

My favorite game was always Sonic 2, it was so fun to play and there were lots of cool cheat-codes to do hidden things when you were bored. (Super Sonic, Debug mode, Level Select, Night mode, among others) So, naturally when I found out that there was an UNRELEASED BETA of the game floating around online in ROM-format, I had to check it out.

There are previously unreleased and/or incomplete levels in this version of the game… AWESOME. Plus a lot of the old classics in their incomplete or beta formats. It’s pretty cool to play if you’ve played the game. I’m using an emulator called Genesis Plus to play it on my Mac right now.

FYI there are some key combos you need to know to play this:
A+Start at the main screen = level select (otherwise you can only play the first level)
B+Start for two-player
… I guess that’s pretty much it.

Have fun, linked is a page at Sonic Retro with more information and a level-list that shows which zones are playable and which got either cut from the game, renamed, or combined/redesigned before the final release. There’s a really cool one called Wood Zone that I’m really sad didn’t make the cut, and also Hidden Palace Zone which seems pretty cool and is fairly playable in this beta, as well!

Magic Flashlights.... "take only what you need."

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:53:00 -0400

Incredible production, had to post.

Magic Flashlights from Mike Benson on Vimeo.

Link: Breath controlled LED candles (Hack a Day)

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:36:00 -0400

Saw this and had to post it:
Instructables user [cedtlab] has posted an interesting LED project that simulates birthday candles. The circuit runs on an AVR ATTiny45, and is powered by 4 AA or AAA batteries. By using a Charliplexing technique, they are able to drive all 20 LEDs with only 5 pins of the ATTiny. A thermistor is used for detecting breath by measuring temperature changes, and then blocks of LEDs turn off depending on the change detected. They have provided schematics and source code for everything. Make sure to check out the video of the “ficticious birthday party” after the break.

http://www.hackaday.com/2008/07/11/breath-controlled-led-candles/