John Farrier's Blog Posts

Goodnight Dune



A couple of months ago, cartoonist Caldwell Tanner composed a few covers for classic children's picture books as though they were inspired by science fiction. Julia Yu was either inspired by one such cover or arrived at the idea on her own, but has, at any rate, composed a full-length presentation of Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Moon set in the Dune universe.

Link via blastr

Psychologists: People with Full Bladders Make Wiser Decisions

Researchers at the University of Twente in the Netherlands found a positive correlation between the need to pee and impulse control:

Their findings contradict previous research which found people who are forced to “restrain themselves” put more pressure on their brain and found it difficult exerting self-control.

Dr Mirjam Tuk, who led the study, said that the brain’s “control signals” were not task specific but result in an "unintentional increase" in control over other tasks.

"People are more able to control their impulses for short term pleasures and choose more often an option which is more beneficial in the long run,” she said.

"The brain area sending this signal, is activated not only for bladder control, but for all sorts of control.


The psychologists tested their hypothesis by asking two groups of people -- one consisting of people who had just drank a large amount of water and one that hadn't -- to make decisions about the future:

They were asked to make eight choices ranging from small, and immediate, rewards to larger, but delayed, ones including choosing to receive either $16 (£10) tomorrow or $30 (£18) in 35 days.

They concluded that people with full bladders were better at holding out for the larger rewards later.


Link | Photo by Flickr user mauitimeweekly used under Creative Commons license

Movies Compressed into Barcodes



Well, strictly speaking this isn't actually a barcode. But Movie Barcode, a Tumblr blog, compresses every frame from a movie into a single image. Pictured above is one example -- The Wizard of Oz. If you think about the dominant colors throughout the movie, it's actually possible to follow the story (to an extent) through the image.

Link via Geekosystem

Making Murals Through Small Explosions


(Video Link)


I'm not sure how he does it, but a Portuguese artist named Alexandre Farto carves murals into walls by setting off small explosions. The above music video for the band Orelha Negra shows the process.

Gallery via Geekologie

Elevator Knife Ad



This clever ad by the Grey Group in Japan promotes a brand of knives. As the elevator doors open, a knife appears to slice through a lobster.

Link via Super Punch | Agency Website | Photo: Akihiro Ito

Hipster Science Hashtag on Twitter



One of the funniest memes going around Twitter today is the #hipsterscience hashtag. What are the cool laboratory drones doing lately? Something you'll only discover in a few months.

Post Link and Twitter Link via Nerdcore

Han Solo Frozen in Carbonite Crocheted Throw Pillow



Of course! The basic shape of the block of carbonite lends itself very well to a throw pillow. This one measures 16 by 9 inches.

Link via Technabob | Photo: Xanadoodle

Space Shuttle Docking with Space Station as Seen from Earth



Sure, we've all seen pictures of a space shuttle docking. But this one was taken from Earth using a fairly ordinary telescope guided by hand:

This remarkable picture was taken by Rob Bullen on Saturday February 26 from the UK, using an 8.5? telescope. I’ll note that’s relatively small as telescopes go! But the ISS is now over 100 meters long, and if it’s directly overhead (that is, the closest it can be to an observer on the ground) it appears large enough to easily look elongated in binoculars — in fact, it would be big enough to look elongated to someone with good eyesight and no aid at all*! Still, images like this are difficult to obtain even with a carefully guided telescope equipped with a video camera.

Oh — did I mention that Rob hand-guided his telescope for this shot?


Link via Popular Science

The Most Wildly Inaccurate Prediction about the Internet, c. 1993


(Video Link)


In 1993, an early Internet user named John Allen explained that the Internet was and would continue to be a place of remarkable civility and courtesy. Warning: text displayed during the video is NSFW.

I began using the Internet in 1995, so I can only assume that this genteel atmosphere that Allen spoke of collapsed in just two years.

via Urlesque

This Parasol is a Sundial



Japanese designer Kota Nezu made a parasol that is a functional sundial. There's a compass built into the handle to that you can point it in the right direction and get a reading on the time.

Link via OhGizmo!

Portrait of Muhammad Ali Made out of Punching Bags



Michael Kalish created this elaborate sculpture that, when viewed from the right angle, looks like Muhammad Ali:

[...]artist Michael Kalish went big, using 1,300 punching bags, 6.5 miles of stainless steel cable, and 2,500 pounds of aluminum pipe to construct a 22-foot-high installation that took three years to complete.

The idea for the project came to Kalish as he was falling asleep one night in 2008: an array of custom-made, teardrop-shaped speed bags suspended in midair that, from just one vantage point, align themselves like pixels into an image of Ali’s face.


It's not actually quite done yet. Ali himself will hang the final bag at the unveiling.

Link | Photo: Wired

Who Will Be Famous in 10,000 Years?

Tyler Cowen, an economist and the blogger behind Marginal Revolution, was asked by a reader:

Who do you think will still be famous in 10,000 years? People from history or now. Shakespeare? Socrates? Hawking?


He answered (in part):

In that case, I'll go with the major religious leaders (Jesus, Buddha, etc.), Einstein, Turing, Watson and Crick, Hitler, the major classical music composers, Adam Smith, and Neil Armstrong.[...]

My thinking is this. The major religions last for a long time and leave a real mark on history. Path-dependence is critical in that area.

Otherwise, an individual, to stay famous, will have to securely symbolize an entire area, and an area "with legs" at that. The theory of relativity still will be true and it may well become more important. The computer and DNA will not be irrelevant. Hitler will remain a stand-in symbol for pure evil; if he is topped we may not have a future at all. Beethoven and Mozart still will be splendid, but Shakespeare and other wordsmiths will require translation and thus will fade somewhat. The propensity to truck and barter will remain and Smith will keep his role as the symbol of economics.


Who do you think will be famous in 10,000 years?

Link | Photo by Flickr user jake.auzzie used under Creative Commons license

Retelling of Lord of the Rings Imagines Mordor as Victim

In Salon, Laura Miller writes about a novel by Yisroel Markov which tells the LoTR story from Mordor's point of view. Here's a summary of The Last Ringbearer:

In Yeskov's retelling, the wizard Gandalf is a war-monger intent on crushing the scientific and technological initiative of Mordor and its southern allies because science "destroys the harmony of the world and dries up the souls of men!" He's in cahoots with the elves, who aim to become "masters of the world," and turn Middle-earth into a "bad copy" of their magical homeland across the sea. Barad-dur, also known as the Dark Tower and Sauron's citadel, is, by contrast, described as "that amazing city of alchemists and poets, mechanics and astronomers, philosophers and physicians, the heart of the only civilization in Middle-earth to bet on rational knowledge and bravely pitch its barely adolescent technology against ancient magic."


http://www.salon.com/books/laura_miller/2011/02/15/last_ringbearer/index.html via Ace of Spades HQ | Image: New Line Cinema

Spent Cartridge Casing Pan Flute



Instructables user rabidiga made this pan flute. It was his entry in a contest to build a post-apocalyptic musical instrument for under $30. He didn't spent a penny, but only used materials that he already owned:

Super easy to make. Took me about an hour even though I am clumsy as hell when it comes to working with wire. Depending on your choice of supplies it could have easily been finished in half the time. And while they don't sound perfect I was able to belt out a killer 'Ode to Joy' even if it was a bit out of tune.


Link via Everyday, No Days Off | Previously: Tampon Pan Flute

Bar Has Toilet That Looks Like a TARDIS



The Way Station is a steampunk-themed bar that just opened in Brooklyn. It features a toilet room shaped like a TARDIS. Although it may look small, the owners assure customers that it's bigger on the inside.

Link via io9 | Bar Website | Photo: Kimberly Fenwick

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