Mutant animal photoshopping contest

too much time on their 5 hands

Mutant animal photoshopping contest: "


Today on the Worth1000 photoshopping contest: mutated animals. I love the adorable cryptozoological critters!

Link

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

6th man on moon says space aliens are real (and have visited us)

hey, who knew..

6th man on moon says space aliens are real (and have visited us): "Dr. Edgar Mitchell, the 6th man to walk on the moon, told a radio station yesterday that he knows for a fact that space aliens exist and have visited Earth. From Wikipedia:

On July 23, 2008 Edgar Mitchell was interviewed on Kerrang Radio. Mitchell claimed the Roswell crash was real and that Aliens have contacted humans several times but that governments have hidden the truth for 60 years stating 'I happen to have been privileged enough to be in on the fact that we've been visited on this planet and the UFO phenomena is real'. In reply, a spokesman for NASA stated 'NASA does not track UFOs. NASA is not involved in any sort of cover up about alien life on this planet or anywhere in the universe. Dr Mitchell is a great American, but we do not share his opinions on this issue.'

Link has audio clips from show, as well as a NASA spokesman's bemused response. Edgar Mitchell says aliens are real (Kerrang Radio, thanks Avi Solomon!)

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

Zombie puppets sing songs of love

hellaciously funny

Zombie puppets sing songs of love: "


Robbo sez, 'A puppeteer colleague of mine, Matt Ficner, has been producing these delightfully weird short videos - a lot of them featuring zombie puppets.

This karaoke version of 'Dust In The Wind' as performed by a chorus of the rotting undead just made me giggle stupidly all afternoon.'

Link

(Thanks, Robbo!)

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

Science of brain "fatigue"

tell me about it

Science of brain "fatigue": "New research suggests that the brain's 'executive function,' the mental system involved in abstract thinking, planning, and focusing on one thing instead of another, can be fatigued to the point that your ability to make decisions is badly hampered. Scientific American has an interesting survey of studies in this area. The, er, decision whether to read the article or not is up to you. From SciAm:

...What types of actions exhaust executive function and affect subsequent decision-making? Until recently, researchers focused on activities that involved the exertion of self-control or the regulation of attention. For instance, it's long been recognized that strenuous cognitive tasks—such as taking the SAT—can make it harder to focus later on. But recent results suggests that these taxing mental activities may be much broader in scope-and may even involve the very common activity of making choices itself. In a series of experiments and field studies, University of Minnesota psychologist Kathleen Vohs and colleagues repeatedly demonstrate that the mere act of making a selection may deplete executive resources. For example, in one study the researchers found that participants who made more choices in a mall were less likely to persist and do well in solving simple algebra problems. In another task in the same study, students who had to mark preferences about the courses they would take to satisfy their degree requirements were much more likely to procrastinate on preparing for an important test. Instead of studying, these 'tired' minds engaged in distracting leisure activities.



Why is making a determination so taxing? Evidence implicates two important components: commitment and tradeoff resolution. The first is predicated on the notion that committing to a given course requires switching from a state of deliberation to one of implementation. In other words, you have to make a transition from thinking about options to actually following through on a decision. This switch, according to Vohs, requires executive resources. In a parallel investigation, Yale University professor Nathan Novemsky and his colleagues suggest that the mere act of resolving tradeoffs may be depleting. For example, in one study, the scientists show that people who had to rate the attractiveness of different options were much less depleted than those who had to actually make choices between the very same options.

Tough Choices: How Making Decisions Tires Your Brain (Scientific American)

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

Boom Computing

need this nmy iphone

Boom Computing: "
'What's that funny glow outside, dear?'

'Just the Russians, darling. Thankfully, I have my Nuclear Bomb Effects Computer right here. By my estimation, we're in 'damage to vehicles, roofing and exposed joists, moderate risk.' Terribly glad we went for the suburbs, what?'

Boom computing [Nonist via FFFound]

"

(Via Boing Boing Gadgets.)

Star Wars photoshopping contest

Star Wars photoshopping contest: "


Today on the Worth1000 photoshopping contest: Star Wars meets fine art. There are so many fantastic entries here -- I was very hard pressed to pick a favorite (pet, shown here). Other noteworthies: Thomas Kinkade with AT-AT, King Jabba VIII, Vitruvian Wookiee, Da Vinci's R2 plans, Napoleon Vaderpart and Vaderhol.

Link

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

Star Wars photoshopping contest

Star Wars photoshopping contest: "


Today on the Worth1000 photoshopping contest: Star Wars meets fine art. There are so many fantastic entries here -- I was very hard pressed to pick a favorite (pet, shown here). Other noteworthies: Thomas Kinkade with AT-AT, King Jabba VIII, Vitruvian Wookiee, Da Vinci's R2 plans, Napoleon Vaderpart and Vaderhol.

Link

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

$3 iBeer about as drinkable as real-life $3 beer

hahha hic

$3 iBeer about as drinkable as real-life $3 beer: "

The photo says it all: a beer animation that swishes around to the whims of your iPhone's accelerometer. Everyone hates it, but I love it. $3.

Product Page [via Gearfuse]

"

(Via Boing Boing Gadgets.)

Neal Stephenson lecture on whether genres matter anymore

waqtch it if you have the chance

Neal Stephenson lecture on whether genres matter anymore: "




Here's a 40-minute talk that Neal Stephenson gave to Gresham College in London last May, discussing the nature of "literary genres" and why these distinctions are melting away. It's a fascinating noodle on a subject close to my heart -- is there such a thing as genres anymore, and is science fiction a genre?

Link

(via Beyond the Beyond)

"

(Via Clippings.)

Lordy

Quintessential TSA stupidity: taking airline cutlery away from a pilot: "Salon's Patrick Smith, author of the excellent Ask the Pilot column relates the incredibly frustrating -- and quintessential -- story of the day a surly TSA screener confiscated the airline-issue, safe-certified knife from his luggage (part of his hotel stayover emergency kit):

'No, this is no good. You can't take this.'

'Why not?'

'It's serrated.' He is talking about the little row of teeth along the edge. Truth be told, the knife in question, which I've had for years, is actually smaller and less sharp than the knives currently handed out by my airline to its first- and business-class customers. You'd be hard-pressed to cut a slice of toast with it.

'Oh, come on. It is not.'

'What do you call these?' He runs his finger along the minuscule serrations.

'Those ... but ... they ... it ...'

'No serrated knives. You can't take this.'

'But sir, how can it not be allowed when it's the same knife they give you on the plane!'

'Those are the rules.'

'That's impossible. Can I please speak to a supervisor?'

'I am the supervisor.'

There are those moments in life when time stands still and the air around you seems to solidify. You stand there in an amber of absurdity, waiting for the crowd to burst out laughing and the 'Candid Camera' guy to appear from around the corner.

Except the supervisor is dead serious.

Realizing that I'm not getting my knife back, I try for the consolation prize, which is getting the man to admit, if nothing else, that the rule makes no sense. 'Come on,' I argue. 'The purpose of confiscating knives is to keep people from bringing them onto planes, right? But every person on my flight was legally handed one of these knives with their meals. How can you ... I mean ... it just ... At least admit to me that it's a dumb rule.'

'It's not a dumb rule.'

Link


(via Schneier!)

"

(Via Clippings.)

Coffiness is next to godliness

Funny espresso rant: "Jeff Simmermon recounts his recent experience with a snobish barista at Murky Coffee in Arlington, VA.

I just ordered my usual summertime pick-me-up: a triple shot of espresso dumped over ice. And the guy at the counter looked me in the eye with a straight face and said ‘I’m sorry, we can’t serve iced espresso here. It’s against our policy.’

The whole world turned brown and chunky for a second. Flecks of corn floated past my pupils, and it took me a second to blink it all away.

‘Okay,’ I said, ‘I’ll have a triple espresso and a cup of ice, please.’ He rolled his eyes and rang it up, took my money, gave me change. I stood there and waited. Then the barista called me over to the bar. I reached for it, and he leaned over and locked his eyes with mine, saying ‘Hey man. What you’re about to do … that’s really, really Not Okay.’

Murky Coffee, Arlington: Hold That Espresso Between Your Knees (And I Am Not Lying)

"

(Via Clippings.)

Wednesday, July 16, 2008
05:26 PM
lol at this
Asimox would laugh hopefully

Asimov's 30 laws of robotics: "Huh, looks like Isaac Asimov's 3 laws of robotics have been expanded tenfold by the thoughtful Something Awful guys:

# A robot must tip its hat in the presence of a lady human being, except where such a display would be construed as a come-on by a jealous male human being, who then might pose a difficulty to the Third Law.

# A robot may not act in such a fashion as would make dogs obsolete, because dogs are less expensive than robots, and robots should be reserved for science things.

# A robot, when given contradictory orders by two human beings, and assuming those orders do not violate the First Law, must decide which order to follow based on which human being has a deeper voice.

# A robot, specifically a big, wide robot, may not pretend to be a refrigerator and then make a scary noise when a human being opens it.

Asimov's 30 Laws of Robotics [ somethingawful.com, thanks Coop ]

"

(Via Clippings.)