Total Nonsense

For those of you who fondly remember the classic arcade game "Asteroids", Disasteroids 3D for windows is completely free, has great graphics, can be controlled with the keyboard, mouse, or joystick (and even supports my rumble pad functions which is nice).  And the kicker here is that the complete game is only about 500k, a tiny download that's great for those of you still on slow dial up connections.  This game comes as one executable file that doesn't have to be installed.  Just click on it and go.

Oh, this just sort of speaks for itself.  Pretty darn funny stuff.

If one is interested in creating art on one's computer using "natural media" (tools that actually look like real paint, chalk, acrylics, etc.), be sure to check out Artweaver, a very nice (and free) package for Windows XP that accomplishes this task with an easy to use interface.  If one has  a graphics tablet (I use a small Wacom 4x5 Graphire), it will be evident that Artweaver supports them exceptionally well, making doodling with realistic results a real pleasure.  I can't draw/paint for squat, but it's a heck of a lot of fun to play around with this.  I imagine that those with some real skills could get some pretty stunning results.

Well, after many false starts, it looks like the Harrison Ford's final bow as Indiana Jones is finally going to happen.

From the horses mouth (Spielberg that is):

“I haven’t given up making entertaining films, but over the last decade I have been making some films that express the respect I have for history,” Spielberg said.

“I am about to make ‘Indiana Jones 4,’ which is, as far as I am concerned, the sweet dessert I give those who had to chow down on the bitter herbs that I’ve used in ‘Munich.’”

 A lot of concern has been expressed about Ford's ability to play the role as he is now in his 60's, but he seems in great shape and has said that he'll continue to fake it as he always has.  Lucas and Spielberg have previously noted that any Indy IV script would be set in the 50's, taking into account that the character has grown older.

 

Did George Washington truly appear as he does on the $1 bill?  Not according the scientists behind this article.  These scientists used computer and 3D modelling techniques to recreate the real deal, even backdating the information to recreate his true look as young as age 19!  Wax figures were created from the data giving a very realistic vision. Make  sure to check out the video clip on their site for some further information.

Back in 2003, the Onion opined about the ridiculous trend of "blade inflation" from our friends at Gillete.

Five blades sounds pretty crazy eh?  Then take a good close look at Gillete's recently released "Fusion".  This thing has five blades in the front, one blade in the back and two lubricating strips for your shaving pleasure.  So this thing actually has six blades!  You've got to wonder how much they're going to charge for refills.  Insanity.

AutoStitch Autostitch is the world's first fully automatic 2D image stitcher. Capable of stitching full view panoramas without any user input whatsoever, Autostitch is a breakthrough technology for panoramic photography, VR and visualisation applications. This is the first solution to stitch any panorama completely automatically, whether 1D (horizontal) or 2D (horizontal and vertical). Autostitch is built using cutting edge research from the AI lab at UBC, but it's incredibly simple to use! Just select a set of photos, and Autostitch does the rest: digital photos in, panoramas out. 

Check out their demo gallery to see what kind of results can be obtained pretty much automatically.  Following the link in their description will take you to a page with a download link and several nice examples.

While I know some of this is enhanced in editing, I found it a nice twist on manipulations done with cards and the like. I think it's the element of fire that makes it appeal to me. Oh, this is my first test of an embedded video from youtube.com , so let me know if it doesn't work for you.

To play the video directly in the blog, you'll need to click on the arrow in the middle of the picture.  If you miss and just click the image, you can still see the video, but it'll take you to the youtube.com site.
 
The "music" on this clip is pretty awful, but can be muted with the small button at the bottom directly to the left of the "share" button.
 
Here is a "perma link" to be used if the video clip doesn't show up for some reason.

Stupidest Shrimp related lawsuit ever...

 Here's a snippet.

A jury took two hours today to reject a widow's claim that her husband's death resulted from an injury he suffered while ducking a piece of flying shrimp at a Japanese steakhouse

.The family of Jerry Colaitis, 47, had sought $13.5 million in damages from the Benihana Japanese steakhouse chain, claiming it is directly responsible for his death in November 2001.

The suit, filed by Colaitis's widow, Jacqueline, claimed the Old Brookville man wrenched his neck ducking a piece of shrimp tossed by a chef while attending a family birthday party on January 27, 2001.

The family claimed the unidentified chef tossed shrimp at party revellers three times - the last shot at Colaitis - and refused to stop even after their pleas.