desideratum

xkcd #667: SkiFree. Ahh, the good old days of simulation gaming....

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:26:21 -0800

xkcd #667: SkiFree. Ahh, the good old days of simulation gaming. What a fantastic timesink SkiFree was. I still think of you fondly, SkiFree.

Alt-text: And from that day on, I wore this little ‘F’ key pendant everywhere I went.

Jimmy Fallon (as Neil Young) sings the “Fresh...

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:15:00 -0800

Jimmy Fallon (as Neil Young) sings the “Fresh Prince” theme song (via digg)

Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” as covered by The...

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:15:00 -0800

Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” as covered by The Muppets (via Larissa Meek)

Wonderful Illustrations of Alice in Wonderland (via...

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:30:00 -0800

Wonderful Illustrations of Alice in Wonderland (via Abduzeedo)

Alice in Wonderland is a chameleon that lends itself to endless interpretation. By far, though, my favorite take on Alice has to be American McGee’s Alice. I’m also crossing my fingers that Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland won’t flop.

photo above by tahra

Taking a Stand Against American Apparel

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:20:59 -0800

Taking a Stand Against American Apparel:

Cameron Moll writes:

[…] American Apparel feels it’s not enough to merely make a quality tee that fits well. In the past year or so they’ve substantially broadened their product line and have resorted to advertising that is suggestive at best and explicit at worst. In today’s say-all, share-all socioeconomic society where a quality product virtually sells itself — which is precisely how American Apparel sold itself back when it became mainstream — there is no need for this, let alone the ethical reasons for which this isn’t necessary.

If you haven’t been in the loop, see for yourself (potentially NSFW). It’s difficult to argue that American Apparel straddles the line between “tasteful nudity” and porn when more than a few of their models are porn stars. I personally don’t mind; but then again, I don’t buy American Apparel clothing.

P.S. …in case you’re wondering which ones: Sasha Grey, Charlotte Stokely, Faye Valentine, Avy Lee Roth and Trixie Teen by my count.

Fly with me? by @takumi. Awwww <3 reblogged from...

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:00:13 -0800

Fly with me? by @takumi. Awwww <3

reblogged from musinginmyworld and robot-heart

Sweet — an awesome looking Kid Robot alternative called Double...

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:39:00 -0800

Sweet — an awesome looking Kid Robot alternative called Double Punch just opened in North Beach. Gotta check it out.

reblogged from sfhaps:

Double Punch
Featured in Yelp this week http://www.yelp.com/biz/double-punch-san-francisco

Photo: saki-waki

Blue Bottle is finally here! According to @bluebottleroast,...

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:35:00 -0800

Blue Bottle is finally here! According to @bluebottleroast, operating hours are 7am-5pm weekdays.

reblogged from sfhaps:

Blue Bottle in Oakland is officially open - 7am weekdays

Twilight Fans Get Punk’d (via Funny or Die) Twilight fans...

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:26:05 -0800

Twilight Fans Get Punk’d (via Funny or Die)

Twilight fans show up to what they think is the red carpet premiere of “Twilight New Moon” only to discover that they are not going to be seeing Twilight, but instead will be forced into a vampire intervention.

TechCrunch Homepage Design Gets Deconstructed By ZURB (via...

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:44:12 -0800

TechCrunch Homepage Design Gets Deconstructed By ZURB (via TechCrunch)

I thoroughly enjoy reading design critiques and deconstructions like this one. I think Andy Rutledge has spoiled me though; I miss the passionate opinions and no-nonsense “this is how you do it” approaches.

I love this design. The slot for the olive oil would be perfect...

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:50:23 -0800

I love this design. The slot for the olive oil would be perfect for the Sonomic Vinegar I have lying around.

stayinspired:

1-Line Spice Rack from DESU Design (via Furniture Fashion)

Woodpecker vs. Snake (via Bits & Pieces) The snake is a...

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:37:11 -0800

Woodpecker vs. Snake (via Bits & Pieces)

The snake is a pseustes sulphureus or Giant Yellow Belly Puffing Snake; the woodpecker is a crimson-crested woodpecker.

Mmmm, Brains! Undead Labs to Develop Console-based Zombie MMO

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:09:06 -0800

Mmmm, Brains! Undead Labs to Develop Console-based Zombie MMO:

From the press release:

When flesh-eating, shambling undead corpses invade Seattle, Undead Labs will probably be the ones responsible. Video game industry veteran Jeff Strain today announced the formation of Undead Labs, a Seattle, Washington-based game development studio that’s on a mission to take online gaming in bold new directions.

Undead Labs’ sole focus will be to create the definitive massively multiplayer online zombie game (MMOZ) for console gamers. Nothing screams funny quite like wading into a group of rotting zombies with lawn chair and a box of sharpened #2 pencils, and nothing says fun quite like doing it with your friends, whether online or on your couch. Undead Labs is committed to bringing to life an MMO loaded with action, humor and, of course, a whole lotta zombies, because the world doesn’t need more dragons.

(via Kotaku)

Here’s a new way to play Tetris: make everything REALLY...

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:03:17 -0800

Here’s a new way to play Tetris: make everything REALLY big. That’s right. Gigantor. You’ve got to give credit to whoever thought that a giant, near-novelty joystick would breathe new life into this classic game. It does look pretty fun to play.

From theatarian:

Here’s Tetris Giant by Sega at IAAPA 2009 in Las Vegas. The game has several different modes and it’s essentially just Tetris with huge blocks (and joysticks).

(via Kotaku)

“5 to 1” by Cyril Breton reblogged from...

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:39:50 -0800

“5 to 1” by Cyril Breton

reblogged from musinginmyworld and its-never-felt-so-real)

The showreel of Damien Walters, professional stuntman,...

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:06:46 -0800

The showreel of Damien Walters, professional stuntman, gymnastics coach and free runner (via morganpugh84 on reddit)

I’ve seen a lot of parkour videos in my time, but this one is by far the most flashy, exciting and insane. Now I feel like watching just the free-running bits of District B13 and Casino Royale.

Detroit, Michigan, circa 1917. “Looking up Woodward...

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:47:02 -0800

Detroit, Michigan, circa 1917. “Looking up Woodward Avenue.” Dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. (via reddit)

Original: Shorpy Historic Photo Archive

On December 10th, AOL will be launching a new brand identity and...

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:26:00 -0800

On December 10th, AOL will be launching a new brand identity and logo (via idsgn)

The redesign is courtesy of Sam Wilson from Wolff Olins, whom the New York Times quoted:

The period in the logo was added to suggest “confidence, completeness,” Ms. Wilson said, by declaring that “AOL is the place to go for the best content online, period.”

Mr. Armstrong said he liked to describe the period as “the AOL dot” because “the dot is the pivot point for what comes after AOL,” whether it is e-mail, Web sites or coming offerings that will “surprise people.”

This is pretty terrible, no matter how you look at it. The idea for the different logotype backgrounds seems to have been cribbed from the old “Nickelodeon” brand (with various blobs of goop in different shapes). The brand contexts of the logotype are unprofessional, ugly, and worst of all, uncommunicative.

In a word: ugh.

“Nom nom nom nom nom nom nom” by Parry Gripp. If...

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:17:33 -0800

“Nom nom nom nom nom nom nom” by Parry Gripp. If this were set to a meme-packed, animated video, it would be the contemporary hamster dance.

reblogged from musinginmyworld and vwynx:

NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM!!!

Hahaha this shall be my new ringtone. LOL. Cuuute!!!!!

Playing around with Chrome OS for VMWare. By default, the...

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:46:00 -0800

Playing around with Chrome OS for VMWare. By default, the resolution comes in (and stays at) 800x600, but I managed to change it by doing the following*:

Press “Ctrl+Alt+T” to open up a Terminal window
In the console, type /usr/bin/xrandr to see the available resolutions
After choosing one, type /usr/bin/xrandr --size x. For instance, if you’re on a 15” Macbook and running at 1440x900 resolution, you would want to type /usr/bin/xrandr --size 1440x900.
Go to the window’s VMWare menu, and do “Virtual Machine > Send Key > F12” to bring up the Chrome OS window switcher and return to your browser.

I still haven’t figured out the shortcuts to close a window or switch windows, but that’s ok for now. My biggest beef is how slow the UI is with 1GB of RAM allotted to the VM. I don’t know if that’s due to limited VMWare compatibility or to the OS itself, but the issue practically renders it unusable. Oh well, it’s still kind of pretty.

Download Chrome OS for VMWare (via gdgt)

*via AndyOfLinux