scientification

Randomness for 2/26

Standard

1) This is crazy and awesome: Man builds functional CPU in Minecraft, using only redstone dust, torches, levers and stone. Of course it’s bigger than two city blocks (and I have no idea what the hell he’s talking about as he describes the parts, but it’s freaking awesome. via @laura_hudson

2) Try to watch this video without reading the comments first. It’s pretty funny and kind of brilliant.

3) The Gettysburg Address as a PowerPoint presentation.

4) Silent security cam footage of a tornado hitting St. Louis airport. Video. Brr.

5) Animated gifs as art.

6) Awesome! Check out the new trailer for THOR… as made my mockbuster crap-slingers Asylum Entertainment. Video.

7) Cousins fight over GAME OF THRONES tv show. lol.

Randomness for 4/10

Standard

1) Slow motion photography. Exploding cakes. Techno. I promise you that you will love this: Video. And it even comes with little stories! via @ChuckWendig

2) “I like big butts and I cannot lie, but is there some evolutionary reason as to why?” Sir Mix-A-Lot mashed with the modern just-so stories of sexual selection pressures. The comments are stone hilarious.

3) The sounds of Minecraft, as music. Video.

4) New Zealand brewer markets a “breakfast beer.” I’m not opposed to the idea of a (small) beer at breakfast, but this sounds god-awful.

5) “How I got a blank book onto the Amazon.com bestseller list.” via @victoriastrauss

6) Some posts on the resurgence of “epic” fantasy: One. Two.

7) Alternate Star Wars. What if George Lucas had been inspired by a Kurosawa film other than HIDDEN FORTRESS?

Japanese reactors, and iodine pills, briefly described

Standard

If you want a brief description of the issues facing the Japanese people with regard to their nuclear reactors, check this out.

We’ve been watching his other videos for a while now. It’s interesting stuff.

Randomness for 3/21

Standard

1) Simpsons jokes, by season. via Bill Martell.

2) A James Bond script, written by Ben “The Shakespeare of Hollywood” Hecht. I especially love the idea of giving the name “James Bond” to different agents, just to mix things up. It explains the parade of actors in the role so nicely.

3) Seven massive holes in the Earth.

4) Read this wonderful story by Jane Rice, written in the 1940s.

5) Novels and novelists: imperfect competition

6) An interesting new format for physical books. (Ignore the seo crap about killing the Kindle).

7) Not a real ad campaign for the Smithsonian.

Randomness for 3/9

Standard

1) Cognitive Scientist records 90K hours of his own child’s language development, then graphs it. Soon to come to a TED Talk near you.

2) Andrew Wheeler’s syllabus for his non-existent sf course. I think it would be better served to address some of what happened in the 19th century, even if it was just an overview in the first week.

3) The Muppet Alignment Chart.

4) I wish every review of a reality TV show was this good.

5) Organizing a bookshelf: Video. There are so many simple ideas that work magic as stop-motion. Thank you, computer revolution.

6) A nearly-incomprehensible map of science fiction.

7) The internet is full of wonderful things: Carl Sagan’s Old Spice commercial as an animated gif.

Bonus 8th thing! Soylent Green isn’t the only thing made of people! Now “castles” are, too! Video.

I have been planning a serious post, but this ain’t it.

Standard

The OK Cupid blog (which I don’t follow as closely as I should) regularly anonymizes and crunches facts about love, sex, and the usual mating rituals. It’s science! Unlike some of the annoying assertions about genre I keep running across.

Anyway, want to know if a potential mate will be right for you without coming right out and asking? Check this factoid out:

Getting a “yes” answer from a man to: “In a certain light, wouldn’t nuclear war be exciting?” has an 83% correlation with the likelihood that he’ll have sex on the first date. Grim meathook future, your abs are irresistible.

The find out the same information about a woman, or to surreptitiously discover something else, check out the whole post.

Randomness for 2/4

Standard

1) Detroit, a city in decay. Apparently, the crapsack future will be unevenly distributed. Great source material for art directors planning the next post-apocalyptic novel.

2) Planetary bodies, if they orbited the Earth at the distance of the moon. Video.

3) With these skills, this actor is sure to be a star.

4) Are you ready for marriage? Advice for young women, circa 1971, in comic form.

5) Predator’s teenage son. Video.

6) This is more like Call of Duty than Call of Duty is! Video. This made me laugh and feel pathetic at the same time.

7) Better Book Titles. via James Macdonald on Absolute Write

Randomness for 1/25

Standard

1) A dating service for people who like white hats with anchors.

2) A hotel that’s free to stay at… but it’s decorated with beach trash.

3) You should date an illiterate girl.

4) From boiling water to instant fog. Video. Now that’s cold.

5) Casting the 1940’s version of Harry Potter films. Too many of the biggest stars of the day, but fun to think about.

6) Phelps family protests the movie RED STATE. A counter-protest breaks out. Some NSFW text.

7) Five Angry Birds status updates.