Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

I just watched this 17 times and haven't stopped laughing.

William Palin / Sarah Shatner

Forever

Everybody in the world's already seen it, but it's funny. So here is Simon's Cat a nice wedding procession:

Embedding disabled by user request.

That Damn Cat!

Everybody in the world's already seen it, but it's funny. So here is Simon's Cat:

More Mitch Album Talking

Or...a tribute to SZ's Mitch Albom post on MVS

Blues Song of The Week

The Best Books Ever?

I saw this list a while ago: The BBC Big Read which is an attempt to find the best books by having the public vote on it. I took a look. Decided it was bad by the first book (The Lord of the Rings) and completely disqualified it by the fifth (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire? Come on, that isn't even the best Harry Potter book). This got me thinking that there must be a better list out there, and so I started looking. I checked out Good Reads, and nearly died laughing. The Book of Mormon at #3, Twilight at #4, and the Bible at #6?

So decided a little more researched list might be better. I went to Newsweek which had a list compiled from 10 other lists. Very scientific, right? Well, I haven't read all the books, but some of the one's I have read certainly wouldn't make my list. Gulliver's Travels? The Canterbury Tales? Brave New World?

One last try, into the world of the true scholastics. The Novel 100 list, by some dude with a PhD. I could only disagree with one (On the Road, which I hate but everyone else seems to love), so it looks good. The problem? It's the list out of which I've read the least number of books.

To summarize, all the lists seemed to suffer from one of the following problems: It was open to the public and was therefor co-opted by either special interests (Book of Mormon, Bible, anything by L. Ron Hubbard. Are you really going to argue these are the greatest books ever? They're barely readable) or by kids that have only read crap (Twilight?!?), written by list compliers that are relying on others opinions and/or the historical significance of the book (I mean while I can see Canterbury Tales place in history, it can hardly be considered one of the best books ever written), or the lists are such that I'm entirely unqualified to have an opinion about having read to few of the books.

So screw it, I'll make my own damn list (with your help of course). So here are my votes (at least the ones I'm remembering).

Also Rans:

The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway.
Dune, Frank Herbert (You know I had to).
The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka
Watership Down, Richard Adams.

The Contenders:

A Confederacy of Dunces, John Toole Kennedy.
All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
Johnny Got His Gun, Dalton Trumbo.

And then there's my top two. This was a hard debate, and finally I had to decide that since Kessey was writing about Oregon there might be some bias there.

2nd:

Sometimes a Great Notion, Ken Kessey.

and #1:

East of Eden, John Steinbeck.

Pac-Man Quits

It may come as no surprise that YouTube is home to tons of awesome Pac-Man movies. While I strongly recommend watching all of them, this one is one of the best:

Bargain Gourmet

Looks delicious right? What if I told you each of these fine meals is available, including drink, for around $5. What a deal! Here's how to get it.

via the Daily Dish

WTWTA

I was worried about this, until i saw the preview in the theater. Now? I think it looks great.



I think some one may have posted this already...

Matt of the Week

This is becoming a bit much for me

You T-Pain-in Too Much!

Jay-Z lets all the tight jean, colorful shirt wearing club music making hacks of the mainstream know. "I know we're in a recession, but the music y'all making going make it the great depression."

Oh yeah, and he balls with LeBron James. He dunked on him but the King had the video erased.

DIY Air Conditioner

I stole this from someone else's blog and I'm not even going to link to it, so there!


But here's a cheap way to make your own airconditioner. All you need: A fan, some copper tubing, some polyurethane tubing, a submersible pump, a bucket, and a bunch of ice water. I'm not going to put it any plainer than that. You all are smart, you can figure it out.

Don't Talk to Syfy Geeks

The Tool Of Despotism

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of the unwarrented influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complexe. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist." Dwight D. Eisenhower.

I probably don't need to remind you of the vast and fattened bulk of the United States military, but bear with me why I throw some facts your way. There are currently 1.5 million people on active duty and an additional 850 thousand in the reserves. The US spends more money on it's military than any other country in the world. The Department of Defense has an annual budget of 515.4 billion dollars, with another 70 billion on the war on terror, and an expected 65 billion expected for additional expenses. There are currently military personnel stationed in 39 different countries.


It wasn't supposed to be this way. Originally many of the founding fathers (FF from now on) argued that there should be no standing army. Having recently been through a hard and long war they were well aware of the damages and risks of war. James Madison said:

Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few.

Alexander Hamilton:

Safety from external danger is the most powerful director of national conduct. Even the ardent love of liberty will, after a time, give way to its dictates. The violent destruction of life and property incident to war — the continual effort and alarm attendant on a state of continual danger, will compel nations the most attached to liberty, to resort for repose and security, to institutions, which have a tendency to destroy their civil and political rights. To be more safe they, at length, become willing to run the risk of being less free.

They argued that the only purpose for an army was the defense of the nation from outside invaders. But the risks of a standing army being a tool of subjugation of the people was too high to justify having a standing army. Instead they argued in favor of a militia of the people. There would be a ban on maintaining a standing army. Every man would be required to own a gun, receive training in soldiering, and respond to his nations call when it was in danger. The idea was, as Hamilton said:

If standing armies are dangerous to liberty, an efficacious power over the militia, in the body to whose care the protection of the State is committed, ought, as far as possible, to take away the inducement and the pretext to such unfriendly institutions. A citizen's militia appears to me the only substitute that can be devised for a standing army, and the best possible security against it...

And it almost happened. But much as today the fear mongers got in the way. They pointed to the Native Americans, the French Canadians, and the Spanish Floridians. In the end, they compromised and we ended up with:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

No ban on an army, just the attempt to keep it under control by dividing powers. The congress was in charge of financing:

"To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years; To provide and maintain a Navy"

This was meant to give congress the power to shrink the military back down in times of peace and to give them control on the formation and maintenance of the military. The other division of the power was to give the President actual control over the use of the military:

"The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States"

Having failed to ban a standing army, Thomas Jefferson settled on a new method for checking the armies harm. He was morally offended by the idea of a volunteer army that only the poor would join for the opportunity to gain and education and a job (sound familiar?). He noted that volunteer armies rely on the existence of a pauper class. His solution was mandatory service. Mandatory service would lead to a diversity of military opinion, and reduce the risk of coup or the formation of a dangerous isolated military culture. This too almost passed, just missing apparently by one vote in 1805.

So our country did what it could with the checks on balances that had been placed in the constitution. And it mostly worked. The military grew in times of conflict and shrunk again after things settled. That is until the end off WWII, when the military not only stayed but grew larger. And we said hello to the military-industrial complex. And that's how we found ourselves in this mess that we are in (okay, I know I'm glossing over a lot, but my point here is not to talk about military history).

What can be done about things now? Well, it seems that Thomas Jefferson's two proposals (he really was a smart bugger. It's crazy to read some of those FF and see how applicable some of their ideas still are) still might be the best solutions, with some modifications. So we have two choices:

Choice 1: The Militia.

Say good-bye (and good riddance) to the standing army. Well, all right, not entirely. Military tech has come along way since the 1700s. We would need to maintain a minimal professional army who would operate all those high tech weapons, scheme up the plans, and handle the training of the militia. It would require that every able bodied person not only own a gun, but be trained in it's operation and in the basics of being a soldier. The defense of the nation would depend on it's people. The militia would act as a check on the power of the standing military. This is close to what Switzerland does, and some claim this is why they were not invaded by Hitler.

Personally, I don't support this idea.

Choice 2: We all Serve.

There's still a standing army, but we all have to server a short tour of duty, say 2 years. People would be given the choice of military service, or volunteer public service work. The advantages of this system should be clear. Every person becomes invested in their country. Every person is created equal. Every politician who has a child knows that if they sign on for a war, their kid is going to go as well.

Will this solve our problems? I don't know. I do think that it would improve things.

PC/Hmm

I get quite a bit of Peace Corps-related correspondance in my inbox, mostly mass emails urging me to pester my Representative and Senators to appropriate more money to PC so that the number of volunteers can be doubled, or some blah blah blah like that. Yawn, signing petitions compromises my Facebook time.

Anyhow, it seems someone more into correspondance than I am sent a ready-made letter to Sen. Pat Leahy urging him to move the vote forward on the Peace Corps Expansion Act. A staffer's response under the Senator's byline:

From:
Date: Thu, Jul 16, 2009 at 1:26 PM
Subject: From Senator Patrick Leahy

Thank you for contacting me about funding for the Peace Corps. As Chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee that funds foreign assistance programs, I have recommended $373,440,000 for the Peace Corps for fiscal year 2010, which is equal to the amount requested by President Obama and is $33,440,000 above the fiscal year 2009 level.

I strongly support the mission of the Peace Corps, which can be as relevant today in promoting American values abroad as it was when it was founded almost a half century ago. But the world has changed significantly since then, and the Peace Corps needs to adapt to the 21st Century. However, past efforts by the subcommittee to encourage the Peace Corps to reform and make better use of resources have been ignored. A new Director with a new vision, who recognizes the need for reform, supports transparency, and seeks a constructive relationship with Congress, is urgently needed.

I am aware that some have called for a large increase in funding above the amount requested by the President for fiscal year 2010 in order to send volunteers to new countries. Very few of such countries are safe enough or otherwise ready to host volunteers, and there are hundreds of volunteers currently serving in countries with little if any strategic importance to the United States who could be used more effectively. At a time of intense pressures on a limited budget, each volunteer costs the U.S. Government $50,000 a year. Each dose of vaccine for measles, a virus which threatens hundreds of millions of children in poor countries and needlessly kills 200,000 children annually, costs a few dollars. This is but one of the many difficult funding choices our subcommittee faced, yet the recommendation for the Peace Corps is the largest percentage increase in the Peace Corps' budget since 1993. I and other members of the subcommittee believe that reform, not dramatic increases in funding in a single year, is the Peace Corps' most urgent need.

I expect to recommend additional increases in funding to support the goal of doubling the Peace Corps, including sending more volunteers to countries with large Muslim populations, once it is clear that a new Director is providing the leadership that the Peace Corps needs.

Again, thank you for contacting me.

Subscribe to Senator Patrick Leahy's periodic newsletter at the following address:

http://leahy.senate.gov/NwsLtr/indexSub.cfm

[image: Patrick Leahy]
PATRICK LEAHY
United States Senator

Uh...wow? Way to lay bare the politics of a supposedly apolitical organization of high diplomatic value. I particularly like his non-sequitur about measles vaccines. So telling, in so many different ways. I wonder if that particular humanitarian concern ever arises when the Armed Forces Committee meets.

Absolutely No Reason To Live

A tanker truck explodes beneath a highway overpass in Hazel Park MI, engulfing the overpass in flames and eventually destroying it. What do the Detroit drivers do?--they keep on driving!

--Courtesy of Jalopnik.com

Geek Battle Rap of the Week

Harry Potter vs. Voldemort Rap : Original Short
Uploaded by indymogul. - More college and campus videos.

Hey Guys, Thanks For Nothing

After our semi-annual MvC marathon debate, we may not be any closer to agreeing on what to call one-another behind each other's backs, but google has definitely zeroed in.
This is the google ad that now shows up on my Posting Success page:

Comic of the Week

The story of SZ's life:

Anti-Zombie Hip Hop Of The Week

Creation is Fun!

Well, since I don't want to be the odd voice out, and my previous anti-creationist post was so resoundingly denounced, I've decided that I too should jump on the bandwagon. I'm born again my brothers! (Or will be a soon as one of you agree to rinse away my sins in the cool refreshing waters of the Willamette). Can I take back the words that I have said? No. So then, how can I atone for my disbelief? Well I don't know. But I do know where to start, at Answers in Genesis' very own Creation Museum!

The Exhibits!

Natural Selection is Not Evolution: Where you can astound yourself as you learn that while the blind cave fish on display are an of an organism that has traits not suited to its environment, you'll be soothed in knowing that it is NOT an actual example of evolution. And thrill to uncover the TRUTH about antibiotic resistant bacteria!

Dinosaur Den: "Biblical history is the key to understanding dinosaurs", so please don't forget your bible as you explore many of these amazing creatures!

Noah's Ark Construction Site: "See the scaffolding, smell the freshly-cut timbers in the busy work site of Noah’s Ark. Delve into the belly of the Ark and imagine the stalls full of animals, in close quarters. Listen to the sounds of thunderous, driving rains and the pounding of water against the sides of the great Ark." Hell ya... Erg... I meant Heck ya!

Walk Through Biblical History: Amaze yourself as you "Witness the true time line of the universe unfold through the 7 C’s of History—illuminating God’s redemptive plan throughout history". I don't know what the "7 C's" are, but I can't wait to find out!

And when you're done with the exhibits be sure to save time for...

The Movies!

Dinosaur Legends: Ever wondered about the origin of dragon and dinosaur stories? Did dinos walk with men? You'll have to watch to find out!

The Last Adam: Blow your mind as you witness God's plan through the ages. From the beginning of time, through the birth, death, resurection, and the return of Jesus the last Adam. All that in less than 20 minutes!

The Six Days: Travel back to the insanely far away past of 4350 years ago and witness as God creates everything in 6 days (and less than 6 minutes of film time)!

Men in White: You have bible/science questions? Well the Men in White (trademark pending) can answer them! And with special effects even!

Whew. What a day. And after that don't forget to book passage on the Canoe Creation! Where you can "Taking back God’s Glory is one of the central focus points of Canoe Creation river classes. You’ll be immersed in God’s handiwork and your eyes will be trained to see God’s invisible qualities in the things that He has made."

Man I can't wait to get those lessons in viewing the invisible. That's gonna be so cool!

Summer Hip Hop of The Week

Ohmega Watts Feat. Jneiro Jarel - Eyes And Ears from Ubiquity Records on Vimeo.

Nerd. Dork. Geek

A few posts ago Ptera claimed Joker was misusing the word nerd and Joker countered that the connotation of the word was different than the dictionary definition, linking to several examples where dork, geek and nerd were used for various groupings of fantasy/sci-fi fans. This struck me as unfortunate for two major reasons.

Before I get to them – a qualifier. I believe in language being fluid and flexible. I’m not trying to be a grammar snob, especially since its slang we’re talking about. My favorite authors modify language in fun and interesting ways. I spent much of my childhood developing fake languages from shared inside jokes with friends probably to subvert my social situation (now whose the outsider mr. I don't understand your make-believe gibberish!) Language can change for creativity, convenience, and for power. But seemingly just as often it changes for stupidity, misunderstanding, and laziness.

So here are MY (I would never speak for Pteradactually) reasons for finding the label of nerd for sci fi fans to be completely lame.

Reason #1. Loss of linguistic meaning and depth.

Dork, nerd and geek have distinctly different definitions. Perhaps the differences are subtle, but they exist. To turn them into one synonym with equivalent meaning (as was implied here) compromises the quality of the modern American English language. I’m not saying its not done, just that its not a good thing and certainly not something that we should support because of existing usage. (e.g. “My boss and myself were speaking on the topic earlier.” is not, I say NOT, OK! Just say "I talked to my boss about it." end.)

Why lump these three words together so that they mean the same thing? I think we can agree having 30 different words (or whatever) for types of snow is superior to one. And something is missing from our language without a richer vocabulary for the varieties of love. We learn in high school how many more words Shakespearian English had than modern English. Eksetura. You get my gist – something is lost.

Definitions:

Dork - A stupid, inept, or foolish person
Geek - A person regarded as foolish, inept, or clumsy.
Nerd - A person who is single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits but is felt to be socially inept.

There is a common thread here to be sure: inept. We’re not talking about the cool kids. But all outcasts aren’t the same and by lumping them together we lose something.

Origins:

Nerd is actually a fairly new word. It comes from Dr. Seus or some Scottish paper in the 1950s. Regardless, by the 1980s, when we were coming up, the connotation was unattractive but smart. Nerds read books and got good grades. Their interests were socially unhelpful at best, but viewed as productive by society at large and seemed to lead toward academic honors and careers and whatnot. Think Bill Gates.



Geek has an older origin and gained traction in relation to circus/carnival acts. The bizarre, the unusual, the weird. Now I admit that some definitions seem to be nearly identical to nerd but I’d posit those definitions are newer ones, given the origins. Geek is closer to freak and doesn’t necessarily include intelligence.



I can’t find the origin of dork. (Can I blame Mork?) But there seem to be no positive associations whatsoever.



These are my selected definitions and I’ve chosen them from a wider set but I don’t think I’m alone in fit here because I don’t think my cultural upbringing was unique in this regard.

So, while Fantasy fans may be nerds, geeks, dorks, or all three, there isn’t anything inherent to the interest that fits under my definition of nerd. Geek? Sure. Dork? For Sure. But nerd? Not so much.

Reason #2: Loss of power in the act of co-option.

Insults and derogatory statements are often taken by the group receiving them and embraced. This can flip the power role and lead to important shifts in perspective. The most famous and powerful example I can think of is nigger.

However, when a word that was once an insult becomes cool the power is lost in some sense. When white kids call each other nigger because they think its cool, the descendants of slaves have lost some degree of power.

Similarly, though far less significantly, geek and nerd have been embraced by many groups outside the cultural norms for the same reason. Very few adults are going to be insulted if you call them a nerd or even a geek. They’ll take it as a tribute to their intelligence or individuality. Which is fine, but if you really are a nerd - glasses from reading too many textbooks at night, calculator in pocket protector and the rest - you don’t want the word you’ve embraced for yourself to be stolen by a bunch of losers who like to dress up like wizards and roll dice with too many sides. Its THEIR term. Don't steal it. Their lives are tough enough what with the extended virginity and all.

Put another way: Bobby Seale wearing a t-shirt that said Nigger is kind of badass. Eminem wearing it is just pitiful. [Not that either would, but again, you get my point.] Because he'd be trying to portray himself as something he isn't. When fantasy fans call themselves nerds it comes off like they're trying to give their interest some intellectual viability and acceptability that it doesn't have.

Signed,
Not a lingustics dork, just a dork.

P.S.

I’m sure I’m being a hypocrite here but hopefully not intentionally. One example I just saw in reading over my post was a violation of reason #1 - my use of lame. What I mean to say is: not cool, or just bad – the way lame is often used these days. But, that’s just another lazy-headed fudging of lingustic differences given that lame should really mean incapable given its origins in the physical definition of the word.

More Creationist Whack Jobs

I guess you have to give them credit for their persistence, but man these buggers drive me crazy. I recently came across a link to a website called Answers in Genesis. Perusing it briefly I stumbled on their Successful Predictions by Creation Scientists section. Wow. There's so much wrong with this I don't know where to start. First the name. Scientist don't really predict things, that's more the psychics realm. Second, creation scientists is an oxymoron, since you can't set out to prove things with science. You're supposed to make observations, test what you find, and by doing so elucidate the truths, not read the bible and then find ways to design experiments to prove the bible is true. But maybe that's just semantics. Let's look at their claims.

1. Large celestial bodies have magnetic fields which decay steadily. If you calculate back you'd find that the Earth's magnetic field would thusly have been so intense when the earth formed that life could never have existed. This indicates the Earth must be only 4000 years old.

Truth: The Earth's magnetic field is generated by what is known as magnetohydrodynamics, or the convection movement of the molten iron in the Earth's core along with its rotation on its axis. And as to the constant decay of the magnetic field, well turns out they're just flat lying. The Earth's magnetic field does weaken, usual before a geomagnetic reversal occurs, or in layman's terms, the polarity of the north and south poles reverse. But the field is rapidly restored after the reversal occurs. Turns out something that's cyclical isn't the best way of determining age.

2. Radioactive elements, their example is uranium (though really anything heavier than lead on the periodic table) decay. As they decay they produce helium. This helium is too "slippery" to be caught by the crystal lattice that is formed. At a drill site in New Mexico they found not only much more helium trapped in the crystals than expected, but also that lots of radioactive decay had occurred in only thousands of years. This indicates that nothing can be older than the bible says.

Truth: Really? God that's all so poorly worded. I mean this is so much jibber-jaw. What they are referring to with the helium crap is what a scientist would call alpha decay, where a helium molecule is split from the nucleus of a radioisotope, which results in a radioisotope that has a mass number that is 4 less. In the study mentioned they were examining helium levels in zircon crystals. But it appears there were serious problems with their methodology, including not reporting errors and variabilities, their samples contained more helium than could be formed by uranium decay,the surrounding rock also having higher than expected helium concentrations, and a small sample size of only three samples. And in turn the measure of accelerated radioactive decay is based on this "over-abundance" of helium. Nothing like drawing massive conclusions from one small and poorly carried out set of measurements.

3. Radiohalos are evidence of radioactive decay of elements embedded in rock. A short lived step in the decay of uranium is polonium. Some guy predicted that if water were moving through the rock it could pick up the polonium and deposit it else where. He was right! Some how this demonstrated that these processes occurred faster in the past.

Truth: Are you F'n kidding me? I'm not gonna waste my time with this one. There's only one thing you need to say. This guy's supposed scientific paper was published in the Answers Research Journal, which just happens to be published by the Answers' website. I'm sure that's well peer reviewed.

4. During the flood (remember Noah?) the floor of the ocean broke free and sunk 1800 miles to the base of the molten core. If they had sunk slowly over millions of years they should have melted. However if they sunk quickly 4350 years ago piles of those plates should still be there. New technology allowed them to "see" these cold plates in the mantle. This suggests that the continents moved quickly during the flood and the flood occurred only a few thousand years ago just like the bible said.

Truth: Man, I'm starting to feel guilty here. Did they even proof read this site? Talk about made up stuff. Others have done such a good job of refuting this I don't feel compelled to compile the reasons myself. I do wonder why 4350 years is not enough time for a liquid hot mantle to melt a few chunks of surface plate. Suffice to say it's a crock. Here's a money quote that should hold you: "Not only does catastrophic plate tectonics lack any plausible geophysical mechanism by which its changes might occur, it also is contradicted by considerable geological evidence (which is in turn consistent with conventional plate tectonics)..."

5. The reversal of the Earth's magnetic field (as mentioned before) is recorded in solidified volcanic flows (called ferromagnetics, as the lava cools pieces of ferrous metal align with the prevailing magnetic field. Once cooled they remain in that alignment, allowing one to know what the magnetic field was at the time of the volcanic flow) and the record shows a period of rapid realignment, multiple times in a few weeks, and the only explanation is the disruption of the young Earth's magnetic field during a global flood.

Truth: (See above link) Well the biggest problem, the last known field reversal occurred 780,000 years ago. And while the mechanism by which it occurs is not known, strangely enough most geologist don't believe it was caused by a flood. Call me crazy, but how does a flood affect the magnetic field?

This started off as fun, but it got boring quickly. Seriously, they know they're just telling lies right? There's no reputable evidence to support anything they claim. The question that bothers me is if they know they are lying, which I can't believe they don't, and their bible tells them that lying is wrong, how do they justify this nonsense? I mean,I'm a biologist and I had no problem refuting every one of their claims. This kills me. All I can think to say is may God have mercy on their souls.

A Fantastic Rise

This guy did a pretty interesting study in publishing trends over the last 10 years. The findings? Fantasy books are taking over the world.
In related news, the Sci-Fi channel has changed its name to Syfy.

This story via Boing-Boing

Smoochie-Smoochie

Check out the newest and greatest game on the web--how many times can you kiss the bride?

Be Very Careful

As I may have mentioned once or twice, I work as a scientist in a lab. As such I am surrounded by all kinds of dangerous chemicals. I constantly have to read MSDSs to figure out how to handle things, what to avoid, and how to dispose of them when done with them. That said, I've never seen one like the one bellow that I found on a bottle of mineral oil:

CAUTION!
Relatively non-toxic by ingestion. Inhalation hazard is low except when misted or heated which results in irritation. Repeated or prolonged contact with skin may tend to remove natrual oils from the skin, and mild irritation could result. Mild eye irritant. Target organs affected: None known.

Well, now that I know that there's no way I'm every working with it again!

The Worlddd

Fujifilm, one of the originators of the digital camera are coming out with an upgrade: the 3D Camera. It works in the same fashion as you eyes. It has two lenses spaced a few inches apart that take two pictures simultaneously from two slightly different angles. One the images are combined by a computer (like you brain does with your eyes) you have the illusion of depth. There will be two ways to view your photo as 3D. First with a special 3D LED frame that directs each image to a differnt eye and lets your brain do the work.

They unfortunately did not choose to go the low tech route and reinvent the View Master. Instead the LED screen will direct each image to the appropriate eye.

The second option is a 3D print that will use a plastic layer to direct the image to each eye.
While it's a cool idea, I'm not sure how well it'll catch on. But then again, I'm the guy who still prefers film to digital. What do I know?

Remix

This shite makes even less sense when you can actually pick out the wordz. But still, represent, yo!

Whatever You Do, Don't Set It To "Blow"

Mayan Glyph of the Week

Matthew of the Week

Please Help

With your support we can wipe out this terrible disease.

Retro Game of the Week

Dr. Mario!












--Courtesy of The Video Game Masters Club

It really is worth 1000 words.

Think you're too nerdy to get a tattoo? Not sure what the right one to get is? Wondering if you'll wake up the next day suffering from a case of Caveat emptor? Relax. None of these are possible any longer, thanks to the efforts of this young woman.

If it was only a real controller, she'd trump every woman since Helen of Troy. Still, it's a noble effort.

Naked People Playing Song Of The Week

Sigur Rós - Gobbledigook from sigur-ros.co.uk on Vimeo.

Sounds like Animal Collective. Who said 2008 didn't have any good music again?

Own a Piece of History

Here is your ONLY chance to own an authentic Robert Anton Wilson Artifact
Get it while you can, suckas!

Damn Liberal Media...or "Poor Li'l Sarah"

Outlander: Best Movie Ever?

So you like Vikings?
How about Space Men?
Dragons?
Space Ships?

Check it out:

Must See Tee Vee

Hopefully its a hit and we see something like this in the US someday.

What happens when you put a Muslim imam, a Christian priest, a rabbi and a Buddhist monk in a room with 10 atheists?

Turkish television station Kanal T hopes the answer is a ratings success as it prepares to launch a gameshow where spiritual guides from the four faiths will seek to convert a group of non-believers.

A Natural Rival

Anyone who has battled ants in their house knows they are persistent, relentless, and numerous. You may also have heard that for every single human on the planet there are estimated to be millions if not billions of ants. Still humans have been thought to be the species with the largest range of habitat. New research indicates otherwise, that Argentine ants not only outnumber us but live on all continents except Antarctica.

These ants have piggybacked on us and have established megacolonies in the US (California large colony covers 900km), Europe (Mediterranean colony thought to stretch for 6000km), and Japan. But the crazy thing is that ants (who are notoriously territorial) from various megacolonies won't fight each other when introduced. This indicates that they recognize each other as being from the same colony. So if these ants can just outcompete humans they will achieve world peace.