31/01/07
Gareth:
Dashboard Widget Proposal
gareth: The entire idea, plus posting it on flickr, makes him the geek of the year. And it's only January!
Marcus: Ngggggh.
Dave: Jesus! I just didn't understand what this was until I clicked the link. I'd love to know his thought process...
dave: "hmm should I propose in Rome? Paris? Maybe some big romantic gesture at home? Nah, I'll just bung it on Flickr"
Marcus: No, it's much worse than that - he seems to have crafted a Mac OS X Dashboard widget for the proposition, then flickr'd it as evidence.
Gareth:
Transparent concrete
Marcus: Tsk.
gareth: Whoops, I guess it having a datestamp of March 2004 probably means that it's not exactly new.
Dave:
Found by my excellent girlfriend - a frozen tidal wave!
justin: What do your other, normal girlfriends think of that?
Dave: Not much, I pay them not to think.
30/01/07
Marcus:
Ingenious.org.uk hosts a huge amount of cultural material, including a fantastic and varied collection of old photographs.
Marcus: You could lose yourself in this site for hours - I can't believe I've never heard of it before.
Marcus: "The key NMSI contributors to the site are the Science Museum, the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television, the National Railway Museum, the Science & Society Picture Library and the Science Museum Library."
Marcus:
Morticious Thrind CLI: a command line interface-driven blog. Ingenious, although if you choose to peruse websites this way you are a mental. (via)
Marcus:
The new UK versions of the "Get a Mac" ads feature Mitchell & Webb of Peep Show fame. This is sort of cool and sort of an annoying sell-out.
29/01/07
Dave:
Woman gives birth to a giant baby!
zanna: I saw that story this morning. I'm going to have such nightmares tonight!
Dave:
"I won't be happy until I lose my legs" (Cheers Ned).
Marcus: It would be wrong to call that woman a disturbing freak, but oh so tempting. So I give in. She's a disturbing freak.
justin: People like that need psychotherapy, not amputation.
tim: is it just to lose weight?
zanna: Well if it's to lose weight she can't be mental, just female. No Justin, that's not the same thing.
Marcus:
Slashdot: Who killed the webmaster?
Dave: Video?
gareth: Streaming video killed the webmaster.
Marcus:
YouTube: music video for Herman Dune's charming and catchy "I Wish That I Could See You Soon", and the work-in-progress. (Thank you Sarah!)
Marcus:
YouTube: Infinite Solutions have a number of "tutorial" videos on how to do cool things like unlock a secret beta of Google TV using your GMail account, or use your mobile phone to increase your computer's wireless range.
Marcus: The joke seems to fly waaaay over the head of the average YouTube commentator (those intellectual giants who post "LOL!1!! OMG FAG!1!" in the comments to reflect their sophisticated world view).
Marcus:
iConcertCal is a free Mac OS X app which scans your iTunes music library and then tells you which bands have upcoming gigs in your area. Awesome idea. (via)
28/01/07
Marcus:
Amusing re-dubbing of "You Say We Pay", the god awful Richard and Judy quiz thing. Created by the mighty Adam Buxton of TV's Adam & Joe. (via)
Marcus: Also: Head On Shoulders spoof ad.
Marcus: Also: Davina, Boobies, Birdseye.
Marcus: All NSFW, particularly the last one.
Zanna:
A 29 year old sex offender successfully enrolled in school posing as a 12 year old for four months.
zanna: This is absolutly insane. He was living with two men, ages 43 and 61, and he had managed to convince them he was 12 apparently by shaving his body hair and using make up to cover his stubble. The only reason he was caught was because the school officials thought his birth certificate may have been forged and were concerned they were dealing with an abducted child.
26/01/07
Marcus:
Nicole Kidman injured in attack by zombies shock outrage horror.
Marcus: The movie in question, Invasion, appears to be an Invasion of the Body Snatchers remake. Hmm.
Gareth:
Make the man laugh at your whitty remark by entering text in the form below. <3 the internet.
25/01/07
Marcus:
"A substitute teacher from Connecticut is facing up to 40 years in prison because her malware-riddled computer displayed porno popups in class." (via)
Marcus: As a (British) computing teacher, this makes my blood run cold - what is wrong with the people who accused, arrested, judged and sentenced this woman?!
Marcus:
Spiderman and Homer Simpson versions of toy robot Robosapien on the way. (via)
chris: The lego Spongebob discussed on the same site is sweet, too.
Marcus:
HD porn is fretted about by some adult, er, entertainers - because it has the capability to expose the physical imperfections that standard definition hides. Amusing. (via)
Marcus: "Producers are taking steps to hide the imperfections. Some shots are lit differently, while some actors simply are not shot at certain angles, or are getting cosmetic surgery, or seeking expert grooming."
Marcus:
"New pants mean you can fart with confidence". It isn't a proper day unless I can giggle immaturely at some kind of flatulence-related invention. (via)
Marcus:
BBC second lead story: US military unveils heat-ray gun.
Marcus: "The gun - called Silent Guardian - projects an invisible high energy beam that produces a sudden burning feeling, but is actually harmless."
Marcus: It's intended for crowd control. Lordy.
tim: am I the only one who has noticed this machine looks suspicously like something out of command and conquer? I shall name it 'light xenon ray jeep'. Relatively light armour and when it gets destroyed one man shall come out of it. At half health. With a heavier base defence version that is mounted on a fixed turret.
Marcus:
Fascinating article about a refugee boy's football (soccer) team in the US state of Georgia and, in part, the prejudice they face from some locals. (via)
Marcus: "They speak with accents and don’t seem American. A lot of people get shaken up by that." They've also been banned from playing on the local pitch by the mayor.
Marcus: "Mayor Swaney even has a name for the sort of folks who play the game: the soccer people." I agree with this MeFi comment.
Marcus: For a country built on immigration, the United States can seem to be the most backwards, racist place at times.
Marcus: How else can you explain the continuing existence of Apu on The Simpsons? The character's like a bad 1970s British sitcom racist stereotype. Move on America, move on.
Dave: This really is an good article, but it's not all about the prejudice they face. It's quite inspiring what these kids (and their coach) have done.
Dave: In response to the racism aspect, I wonder if any of these kids will be good enough to turn professional. I bet then they will be welcome as US citizens and will be eligible for the national team, see Freddy Adu for details.
Gareth:
"The world's first rhinoceros conceived by artificial insemination has been born, Budapest Zoo has announced."
Gareth:
Gapminder is "a non-profit venture developing information technology for provision of free statistics in new visual and animated ways."
gareth: It might sound really lame, but just shifting the time slider back and forth is really interesting. Atleast, for me anyways.
Gareth:
Youtube: "Protein synthesis: an epic on the cellular level"
gareth: It's basically a bunch of hippies stumbling around trying to be protein, which is a funny sight.
24/01/07
Marcus:
Choosing the right sunglasses for your face. (via)
gareth: Awesome, I got the ambiguous "any frame".
Marcus:
Children Are A Gift: amusing short film (QuickTime) about a kid who needs his bum wiped. Better than it sounds. (via)
Marcus: The outtake at the end is what I do as well.
Marcus:
An artist is planning to offer a service making your Mii into a 6" figurine. I'm a little surprised it's taken this long to be honest.
Marcus: Custom Mii T-shirts, too. When will the madness end?
Dave:
Samorost - weird little game.
Marcus: That there is part 2 - part 1 I linked to back when we all still had hair and knew how to be hip. Ahh, 2005, where are you now?
Marcus:
How to win Wii Tennis (at any cost).
Marcus: About two weeks old, but I've only just seen it. Funneee.
Gareth:
Pictaps: draw something and have it dance. The frequency of people drawing a penis is frightening.
Gareth:
This is pretty hardcore: "An Australian abalone diver told rescuers on Tuesday he was partly swallowed head-first by a great white shark but managed to fight his way free, suffering a broken nose and bite marks around the chest."
gareth: Can you imagine fighting off a shark after it's swallowed your face? I mean, that's amazing.
23/01/07
Marcus:
Rathergood.com's Joel Veitch and his band have been given a heap of cash by Coca-Cola after Coke used a blatant rip-off of 7 Seconds of Love's kitten-filled video Ninja in an Argentinian advert without permission.
Marcus: You can see the offending advert at about 1:30 into this Sky News interview with Veitch.
Zanna:
I'm sure you'll all be pleased to know I may have found a new religion.
Benrik's mission is to introduce a welcome element of branded anarchy into our predictable lives. Benrik's books are thus instruction manuals for warped living.
Here are some of their Gods. Instead of dealing with barbarian invasions or slaves escaping, they deal with modern problems, such as unforeseen overdraft charges, or losing the remote.
gareth: It's good to see religion catching up with modern happenings.
Marcus:
ZonTube: Amazon/YouTube mashup which enables you to search Amazon's music album catalogue for songs with music videos on YouTube, which you can then click to play. Smart and cool. (via)
Marcus:
XBox 360: Crackdown demo released today on XBox Live; the final release will come with a "Golden Ticket" invite to the Halo 3 multiplayer beta.
Dave:
Ocsar nominees have been announced!
Dave: Good to see Children of Men and The Departed both get a mention.
Dave:
There's 300 trailer here that I hadn't seen before. I REALLY can't wait for this film.
gareth: I'm definitely excited about this one too.
Marcus:
Brooker: "Why would I want to hear your opinions when I've got so many more interesting ones of my own?"
Marcus: The article is funny, the comments depressing.
Marcus: "They should all either shut up or be forced to shut up by stormtroopers. Or maybe we could seal them inside a Perspex chamber filled with angry bees swarming around with razor blades glued to their bellies. We could televise this."
Marcus:
Mac app to create a Star Wars intro crawl, complete with your own custom 20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm logos. (via)
Marcus:
YouTube: Two-legged dog that gets around by walk/hopping upright. Freaky.
gareth: I'm pretty sure this is a monster in one of my dreams.
22/01/07
Marcus:
Blu-ray video decryption codes have been released. Looks like each film requires a different code. My, those ingenious hacking pirate terrorist types. Not even a week after HD-DVD was cracked too. (via)
Dave:
My finger hurts and I think it might be down to the fact that I use computers all day. Here's some exercises to help cut the chances of getting RSI
Marcus:
YouTube footage of a new Ghostbusters game in development for the XBox 360.
Marcus: Looks to be a GTA-style sandbox environment, ie you can run around anywhere you please and zap ghosts.
Marcus: Only hitch is the developers currently lack the IP rights, but hopefully that will change.
Marcus: Interview with the developers, ZootFly, at GameSpot.
Dave: Awesome. Simply awesome.
Gareth:
Rage Against the Machine will reunite for Coachella.
gareth: That is pretty exciting, although I can't say I listen to much Rage anymore.
Also, the link requires a login - bugmenot is your friend for that.
Gareth:
"Making money in a corporation like McDonald's is not simple at all! Behind every sandwich there is a complex process you must learn to manage: from the creation of pastures to the slaughter, from the restaurant management to the branding. You'll discover all the dirty secrets that made us one of the biggest company of the world."
21/01/07
Marcus:
Now I've started using Twitter, the "constantly tap out thousands of little messages detailing the tedious minutiae of your life and share them with the world" Web 2.0 thing, it's ok for everybody else to start using it too.
Marcus: Twitterific is a smart Mac OS X tool for keeping everybody abreast of your up-to-the-minute bowel movement reports.
Marcus: Twadget is a Windows Vista widget that does a similar thing.
Marcus: You can view my own page of bowel movement reports (and encourage my belief that everybody is watching me, just waiting for the right moment to strike) at: twitter.com/skypunch
gareth: Hah, the name twadget made me laugh out loud.
Marcus:
HowStuffWorks: How Kissing Works.
Marcus: Fascinating article detailing the history of kissing and the learned behaviour/instinct debate.
Marcus:
Smashing Telly is a weblog linking to interesting films/documentaries/other cool stuff posted to Google Video. (via)
Marcus:
A snowclone is "a neologism used to describe a type of formula-based cliché which uses an old idiom in a new context". (via)
Marcus: A good example of a snowclone would be "X is the new black".
Marcus: A background to the origin of the word can be found at Language Log. It involves Eskimos.
gareth: Space Travel is the new HIV?
Gareth:
Youtube: This is one hell of a hockey fight. This is basically what we do in Canada every day.
Marcus: I knew it. Canada truly is a nation ruled by the doctrine of kicking people's heads in and screaming incoherent swearwords because they looked at you funny. Nobody's fooled by that calm, liberalised image. Nobody.
20/01/07
19/01/07
Marcus:
Friday Flash Game Larks: Four Second Frenzy is a WarioWare-style frenetic quickfire multiple minigame thing. Confusing and great fun.
Marcus:
Sony won't allow XXX movies on Blu-Ray - potentially a disastrous move, as we all know porn is a driving force for new technology sales.
gareth: Didn't something similar happen with betamax?
Marcus: Supposedly, although I've had a hard time backing that up with hard facts - although it's an oft-repeated "truism".
Marcus: Update: despite what most news sites are saying, apparently Sony hasn't actually banned porn. Discouraged it, yes, but there are still porn films going to Blu-Ray.
Marcus:
How to f*ck with friends who just got HD TV. (via)
zanna: Is there any chance you haven't got yourself a HD TV yet and you are jealous of our friends who have?! I have a Tesco Value TV which I am perfectly happy with. Then again, I very rarely watch television.
Marcus: We have friends who have HD? Awesome. These are the people I will use in my experiment to sell overpriced technology that doesn't really do much.
Gareth:
"A Cambodian girl who disappeared aged eight has been found after reportedly living wild in the jungle for 19 years."
18/01/07
Gareth:
Youtube: If you are on drugs, do not look at this: squeak squeak, I am a mouse. If you aren't on drugs, you will feel like you are. Thanks, Toon! (that is still an awesome name)
Gareth:
Helicopter rescue bid for Marine. I cannot think of anything more f*cking hardcore than strapping yourself to an Apache.
Zanna:
Mr T vs everything!
Dave: Sorry, but it's been done.
zanna: Can I be let off just this once due to pregnancy hormones and morning sickness?!
Dave: Hmmm. Ok, but Post Secret is a double post too. Stupid search ain't working though.
zanna: The double posting made me cry if that makes it any better? Just 6 months of this to go. Awesome. It means I will start posting some of the weird pregnancy sites I have been to though!
gareth: Had any cravings yet?
zanna: Curry and chocolate are the main ones, the post mentioning MnM's didn't help with that! Is mine the first linkbunny baby?
Marcus: Depends if you count Justin's parasitic internal twin.
Zanna:
PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.
17/01/07
Tim:
right I'm in a posting mood... so its my birthday tomorrow, some people get this but I get this. Typical. Oh and its international Winnie the Pooh day.
Tim:
Ok guys, for those of you that don't know I work for an architectural practice and the professional weekly magazine is called Building Design. Great mag, but they have a habit of jumping on any bandwagon that captures the current tabloids like this. basically the question is can they somehow combine the worlds of racist 'appalling ignorant chav scumbags' and architecture? watch this space, its issued on friday....
gareth: That would be a horrifying sight, no doubt. Why would you want to be involved in unleashing such evil upon the world?
tim: Whoops seems I was more cynical than I thought, or they have more integrity than I give them credit for. Anyway I WAS WRONG. Unusual I know but for all of you that I argue with me I WAS WRONG ABOUT THIS.
Marcus:
HD-DVD copy protection has been cracked (for now) and Serenity is the first HD movie rip in the wild.
Marcus: Worth mentioning that HDBits, the torrent tracker hosting Serenity and a few other new HD rips, is private. My brief exploration of Google/tracker sites revealed no public HD film torrents at this time.
Marcus: There's a rumour that Blu-Ray might be crackable on the PS3 too.
Marcus:
SofaTube is a Wii-friendly way of viewing YouTube videos. The slick interface works with PC/Mac browsers nicely too. (via)
16/01/07
Dave:
It's all kicking off in Celebrity Big Brother.
Marcus: Shock horror - it turns out that appalling ignorant chav scumbags are racist too. Never would've figured that one out.
Dave: OR it turns out that Channel 4 start blowing things out of proportion to raise veiwing figures.
Marcus:
In 1956 at the height of the Suez Crisis, a proposal was floated for France to join the British Commonwealth and accept the Queen as its head of state. Blimey.
Marcus:
Giant disused tunnels lie behind Niagara Falls, and three guys went exploring. (Language NSFW.) (via)
Gareth:
Google's Master Plan
gareth: Sure, you deny it now as a bunch of silliness, but when the google remake of Babylon 5 hits it'll be crystal clear.
15/01/07
Gareth:
Holy sh*t, the Master Chief is here: this guy has constructed armour weighing in at just 18 kg that is safe against anything up to and including an elephant gun.
gareth: You have to see the video
Dave:
Do your eyes pop out if open them when you sneeze?
gareth: Well, that solves one childhood paranoia.
Marcus:
Apparently insurgents are using Google Earth to plan attacks on British troops in Iraq.
Marcus: Says one soldier, "Even if they did blank out the areas where we are based it is a bit after the horse has bolted as the terrorist now have the maps and know exactly where we eat, sleep and go to the toilet."
gareth: I wonder how old the maps they're using are - I'm guessing they're talking about Shaibah Logistics Base, which if you look at the KML the previous link supplies is covered in clouds. Is that Google covering up the base?
gareth: So I screwed the second link up: it was meane to be covered in clouds. Damn copy and paste and my fingers not working properly.
Dave: Are they REALLY using it? Is it REALLY any more useful than a bog standard map? It's not like it's a real time satellite feed.
Marcus:
MacWorld: Reality might tarnish iPhone's shine.
Marcus: A nice breakdown of the most likely problems with the wonder device.
Marcus: I think Apple seriously dropped the ball calling it the "iPhone" instead of the "iPod Phone", which is what all the kids at school refer to it as. A more obvious name, and a lot less legal bother.
Marcus: And don't even get me started on "Apple Logo TV". Ugh.
Marcus:
The Mac Tablet is here. As an unofficial but shiny-looking commercial mod, anyway. (via)
gareth: I was always curious why Apple didn't have a tablet PC out.
Marcus:
Charlie Brooker: "I read a magazine yesterday and suddenly truly understood in my bones that human civilisation will die screaming in our lifetime."
Marcus: "Slowly it dawned on me: this was a rating system. I flipped back a few pages, and sure enough, there was the key: a brightly-coloured box full of little celebrity faces, accompanied by a brief description of what they stood for."
14/01/07
Gareth:
"From The Basement is a music series that features the most intimate live performances from the finest musicians on the planet."
Dave:
Barclay's bank offers 10 ways to make some more money.
Dave: Number 8 really does sound too good to be true.
13/01/07
Gareth:
Children of Men is a very good movie and well worth downloading, even paying money for. the official site
gareth: And the trailer on apple.com
Dave: I really liked this film and thoroughly recommend buying or renting it on DVD as the excellent sound is part of what makes it such a good movie.
justin: I saw this last night as well funnily enough - excellent film.
Marcus:
NewsBiscuit: Courage award for man who threw out old computer cables.
Marcus: "...even though he could not remember where they came from and could not be certain that one of them might not come in handy again at some point in the future."
gareth: I liked "Steve Jobs heralds new wave of street crime"
12/01/07
Gareth:
"Fundies Say the Darndest Things! - An archive of the most hilarious, bizarre, ignorant, bigoted, and terrifying quotes from fundies (fundamentalists) all over the internet!" The top 100 list is especially funny.
11/01/07
Gareth:
God. Inc: if God had a corporate office. Episodes 1, 2 and 3. And Francis Stokes' (the creator)website
10/01/07
Dave:
Can you get high from smoking banana peels?
gareth: I eat quite a lot of bananas (as well as apples), as they are so easy to pick up and eat with very little fuss. I had no idea they were increasing my seratonin levels by 16% though.
Gareth:
"Just like his labrador friends, he wags his tail, fetches sticks and rolls on his back to have his tummy tickled. But the hooves and mane give away his real identity - as a Shetland pony."
Gareth:
"The prices of rent in tel aviv has become extremely expensive - and we are pushed to pimp ourselves to find a decent apartment at a decent price. it is simple: more wh*res in your neighborhood = lower rent prices"
Gareth:
"A cheap self-assembly device capable of fabricating 3D objects has been developed by US researchers. They hope the machine could kick start a revolution in home fabrication – or "rapid prototyping" – just as early computer kits sparked an explosion in home computing."
09/01/07
Chris:
The iPhone cometh, apparently. Play mp3s, take pictures, with a big screen and "no button" according to the BBC. But you probably already know that by now...
chris: Comes in 4Gb and 8Gb flavours with a touch screen that knows whether you're holding it in portrait or landscape mode, going to be available in the US in the summer, and in Europe in Q4.
Marcus: Apple's iPhone page. Yeah, let's face it, I'm getting one. In 2010 or whenever they deign to bring it to Europe.
Marcus: Although bad move on Apple's part for insulting us mobile-obsessed, communicationally-advanced Europeans. Pointlessly making us wait for six months after the - ahem - less telephonically-advanced US could backfire. Just look at the Sony PS3 debacle. And humorous backlash.
Dave: That looks very damn cool, however, call me a cynic if you want, but I bet the batteries will be sh*t and it will break easy. I still want one though :)
Marcus: An iPod-style sealed battery is definitely going to come round and bite Apple on the ass. People use, charge and recharge their phones a hell of a lot more than their MP3 players. This will knacker the battery in no time.
Marcus: I've only had my RAZR V3iM since last June and the battery's already dying.
gareth: Kottke's been getting artsy and crafty to compare the iPhone to other devices.
08/01/07
Zanna:
Ask this guy to draw something. Anything you like. The Charles Bronson Beauty Pagant is pretty funny.
Gareth:
From reader Marcus (no, your other Marcus): 101 Reasons is a very new and wet behind the ears website, featuring lists of 101 user-submitted reasons for various things. Marcus (the evil one, I'll leave you to decide which that is) suggested 101 Reasons Why 2006 Was A Great Year. Thanks, Marcus!
07/01/07
Marcus:
Great YouTube clip of famous boozer actor Oliver Reed doing his drunken thing.
gareth: Well, he went out doing what he loved, lucky guy.
gareth: I didn't know Orson Welles was such a drunk though.
Marcus:
Magnus Magnusson started, now he's finished.
Marcus: Which is a rather poor way of saying that the great quizmaster of Mastermind, one of the very few truly cerebral quiz shows, has died.
Marcus: I never knew that the interrogation of the contestants for name and specialist subject was inspired by the show creator's own experience of being a POW in World War II.
Marcus:
Ask MetaFilter: Why is the CGI in Jurassic Park so good? (via)
Marcus: It's certainly stood the test of time better than most CG-laced efforts.
Marcus:
How to disable the transmitter chip in an RFID passport (the new ones which beam out your personal information to all and sundry in order to stop terrorists or something).
Marcus: Hint: it involves hitting the chip with a hammer. And, er, that's it.
Gareth:
US Army urges dead to re-enlist. I can't think of a better (or worse) way to insult the families of those who died.
06/01/07
Marcus:
YouTube: "Tamper proof" UK Chip & PIN terminal with Tetris installed. Amusing way to demonstrate a serious security problem. More. (via)
Marcus: APACS, the organisation responsible for Chip & Pin, says "people would not be able to create counterfeit Chip & PIN cards, but they could use this information abroad to make purchases".
Marcus: So that's alright then.
Marcus:
YouTube: Stephen Colbert plays Wii Boxing. With a knotted wire between the remote and nunchuk, which makes my console-neatness OCD cringe. (via)
Marcus:
The children's railway... FROM HELL. Inappropriately-scary Engrish toy fun. (via)
Marcus: Also, a 1951 toy atomic lab that included real radioactive uranium.
Marcus:
My favourite headline of the day: "Iranians 'up to no good' in Iraq".
Marcus: Those rascally Iranians, probably creeping about wearing capes and top hats and twirling their moustaches...
Gareth:
Momofuku Ando, inventor of ramen noodles (breakfast, lunch and dinner of champions/students) has died.
gareth: I know how I'm going to remember him.
05/01/07
Gareth:
Wired on Dean Karnazes, one crazy running guy who apparantly did such things as run 50 marathons in 50 days.
Marcus:
Stupid "new Betamax vs VHS" format wars between Blue-Ray and HD-DVD might actually be resolved by new dual format players and a new disc that is compatible with both formats.