You may now refer to the Discworld author as "Sir Terry", although he regrets that the honor did not come with a sword.
Link via Wired
John Farrier's Blog Posts
I can think of a couple of times when I've nodded off while driving. This feature would've come in handy. Special sensors in the steering wheels of new Mercedes E-Class cars will detect inattentiveness by the driver and sound an alarm.
Link via Geekologie
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Robert Burden is a San Francisco-based artist who composes paintings of toys from the 1980s, including depictions of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, G.I. Joe, and The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The video above is a time-elapsed video of his composition of an 11-foot high monumental painting of Voltron.
http://www.robertburden.net/main.html via Topless Robot
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You may think that this Roomba-riding cat is cute. I'm more concerned about the implications of cats learning how to use human technology. What, do you think that cats will be loyal to us when the revolution comes? As Jonah Goldberg has long warned, cats will turn on us without the slightest hesitation like Kent Brockman before our alien ant overlords.
Via Bits & Pieces
(Video Link)
Here's a remake of the opening scene of the classic comedy film The Naked Gun using Grand Theft Auto IV. RT: 1 minute, 16 seconds.
If you buy this product, be sure to follow the warnings provided at the website: the maximum weight is 500 pounds and you should not use this gadget "when vehicle is in motion."
http://www.kotulas.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10051&storeId=10001&productId=11260&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=16551&top_category=10081 via Nerd Approved
I find this video strangely addictive. It has bunnies eating, but the way that it's presented, it looks like they're singing. And they're singing an even more strangely funny song, which I can't identify. And the split screens somehow make it exponentially more amusing. Yet, despite the inanity, I find myself watching this over and over again. It's like furry crack. RT: 2 minutes, 42 seconds.
Via lolbunnies
The Matrix probably would have been less exciting if the movie had to be restarted every ten minutes and the Agent Smiths inexplicably froze up during fight scenes. College Humor offers this parody of The Matrix in which the network operates on Windows XP.
Via Topless Robot
Honda has developed a machine that helps disabled people walk and workers who must kneel a lot to avoid strain on their joints. Guided by one's own motions, it provides partial bodyweight support. Follow the link for more pictures and a video.
A demonstration of several Wii games being marketed to rednecks, such as Drinkin' Alone and Horsin' Around. From College Humor, 2 minutes and 24 seconds long. HT: Urlesque
A 6-foot tall Lego figurine washed up on a beach in Brighton, UK. This follows a similar incident on a beach in the Netherlands back in August.
You probably had the same first thought that I did: scouts for a Danish invasion force.
Link via Geekologie
Computer science students at UC San Diego have written a program that can duplicate keys from security camera photographs:
The team demonstrated the software at ACM's Conference on Communications and Computer Security 2008, where students showed off the technique up close and from afar. They took close-up shots of keys with a cell phone camera. Then, using a 5-inch telephoto lens, they stood on top of a building and took photos of keys sitting on a table 200 feet away. In both examples, they were able to capture sufficient data to create duplicate keys.
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/10/ucsd-software-a.html
British inventor Keith Dixon has invented a lounge chair that uses repelling magnets between the seat and the base to allow users to float a few inches off the ground. It's one of the items that will be featured at this weekend's Stuff Live gadget fair in London.
Company site and Reuters article via Geekologie
Company site and Reuters article via Geekologie
Well, shoot, I always found Ichi-Kun Ichihonei pretty hot, but I'm already married.
Taichi Takashita launched an online petition aiming for one million signatures to present to the government to establish a law on marriages with cartoon characters.
Within a week he has gathered more than 1,000 signatures through the Internet.
"I am no longer interested in three dimensions. I would even like to become a resident of the two-dimensional world," he wrote.
"However, that seems impossible with present-day technology. Therefore, at the very least, would it be possible to legally authorise marriage with a two-dimensional character?"
Link via Geekologie.
Geekery blog Topless Robot links to a translation of a Japanese story that purports that the character in question is Mikuru Asahina from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Major problem with Takashita's plan: Japan doesn't allow polygamy, so only one person can marry an anime character at a time.
Pretty clever:
The blade carries a small electrical charge. This charge is continuously monitored by a digital signal processor. When contact is made, the human body absorbs some of the charge, causing the voltage to drop. The drop in voltage triggers a quick release aluminum brake. A heavy duty spring forces the brake into the teeth of the spinning blade. The teeth dig into the aluminum, stopping the blade cold. The blade's momentum forces it to retract below the table, and the motor is automatically shut off.
Via Geekologie
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