For his latest project, custom toymaker Sillof imagined Star Wars in a dark version of the near future:

The line is intended to have a 90's sci-fi aesthetic. It has some elements of Cyberpunk, the Matrix, Akira, Ghost in the Shell, etc. I envisioned the movie as a struggle by a group of rebel hackers struggling to break free from the oppressive system of control by a mega technological corporation that controlled all aspects of society.

View more images of his figures in the line at the link.

Link

P.S. If you like his work, be sure to read our interview of Sillof.

Strictly speaking, Instructables user lmnopeas uses potato stock and starch, thus heathenously violating the integrity of the potato chip. But the stock comes from actual whole potatoes, so he is starting from the proper point.

lmnopeas reduces the stock to a gel, which he then shapes into shingles. He deep fries the singles, which turn into translucent potato chips.

Link -via Geekosystem

"My Little Pony and me took to each other real well. It felt like it had meaning. The feeling of doing what you thought was right. But it wasn't. Folks can believe what they like, but eventually a brony's gotta decide if he's gonna do what's right. That choice cost me more than I bargained for."

And it cost Pinkie Pie a lot, too. She left with blood on her hooves, and not the kind you can just wash off. Artist Marco D'Alfonso shows us how it all began.

Link -via Nerd Approved

To be fair, the octopus is just doing what all of us have always wanted to do. Joan Gonzalvo of the Ionian Dolphin Project snapped two pictures of this pair in the the Amvrakikos Gulf of western Greece:

"My hypothesis is that the dolphin might have attacked - tried to prey on the octopus - and somehow to avoid it the octopus just attached to the dolphin's belly," says Gonzalvo.

The dolphin made two leaps before it shook off the cephalopod.

Link -via Geekologie | Ionian Dolphin Project

Every design element of an Apple Store is arranged to subtly encourage visitors to become customers. The computer screens, for example, are angled at 70° to compel users to adjust them. Touching the screen lets users experience Apple products tactility and increases the desire to purchase one:

The point, explains Carmine Gallo, who is writing a book on the inside workings of the Apple Store, is to get people to touch the devices. "The main reason notebook computers screens are slightly angled is to encourage customers to adjust the screen to their ideal viewing angle," he says -- "in other words, to touch the computer."

A tactile experience with an Apple product begets loyalty to Apple products, the thinking goes -- which means that the store exists to imprint a brand impression on visitors even more than it exists to extract money from them. "The ownership experience is more important than a sale," Gallo notes. Which means that the store -- and every single detail creating the experience of it -- are optimized for customers' personal indulgence. Apple wants you to touch stuff, to play with it, to make it your own.

Link -via Kottke | Photo: Oswaldo Rubio

Because I could not stop for beer, it kindly stopped for me. Jessie Gaynor of The Paris Review imagined intoxicated text messages from famous authors including Emily Dickinson, Gertrude Stein, Dan Brown and others.

Link -via Nag on the Lake

If you want to play while on the road, now's your chance. The Japanese toymaker Takara Tomy and Toyota are giving away three Pokémon-decorated cars, one of which looks like Oshawott and another like Pikachu.

Link (Google Translate) -via Kotaku

The face of death peers out from this electric violin by Stratton:

That statement is backed up by a rich, focused tone from the Barbera Twin Hybrid transducer system, providing a strong output signal that's great for acoustic styles, but also exceptionally well-suited for use with high-gain effects in high-volume performances.

It's a bit pricey at $2,999, but it's guaranteed to get attention.

Link -via Boing Boing

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I'm just glad that it's not a teen romantic comedy set in a high school. Please, HBO, do not do this with Season 3.

-via The Mary Sue

Pedalpalooza is a bicycle festival in Portland, Oregon. Last Saturday afternoon, it conducted a Star Trek vs. Star Wars-themed ride. This tandem bike, though too underpowered for a campaign on Hoth, navigated the city streets with ease. Watch a video of it at the link.

Video Link -via Technabob | Official Website

Some programming languages become widely used. Others languish in obscurity. How can you predict which languages will succeed and which will fail? Tamir Khason has figured it out: it's not the the language, but the developer. Languages devised by people* with full beards or, in some cases, mighty mustaches, thrive. Those made by the clean-shaven gain few fans.

Take, for example, Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie, who are pictured above. They have fine, beardly beards. They also invented C. A coincidence? Maybe. But certainly a beard can't hurt. And studies that I just made up show a strong correlation between having a beard and being super intelligent. So why take chances? Start growing one today.

Link -via Glenn Reynolds | Photo: Quibik

*Intentional use of gender-inclusive language, as you will see at the link.

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I haven't the foggiest idea who won this horse race. Fog covered the Elwick track in Tasmania, making the horses and riders all but invisible to spectators:

Although visibility was still poor it was good enough to proceed and Harding gave the all-clear.

As the horses and jockeys made their way to the barriers and started to load into the gates, nature again took another turn and the fog quickly engulfed the racetrack as the three horses were set to jump.

Link -via The Presurfer

This sterling silver ring by Individual Icons would be a great engagement ring for a gamer. The recipient should roll a 4 or higher to accept a proposal.

Link -via NotCot

Raymond Davidson, a skilled woodworker, made this mobile from scraps around his workshop. He doesn't say which Enterprise it is, but I'd guess that it's the NCC-1701 or the NCC-1701-C.

Link -via Walyou

(Video Link)

The Quintek Group's elegant alternate introduction to the original Star Trek smoothly blends William Shatner's narration with graphic styles reminiscent of both classic Trek and The Next Generation. It's just lovely.

-via Kuriositas