Thursday, April 22, 2004
We all know from sci-fi and tabloids that genetic engineering will lead to many terrible modifications of, and mixtures between, all manner of animals, humans included. Now, however, we have a way to actually visulaise these potential monsters. HumanDescent is what happens when you miss out all that tedious science stuff and go straight to the mainline for species mixing; Photoshop. Surprisingly for such a large collection of images, these all seem to be the work of one person; Magnificent Obsession indeed.
posted by Mark 3:14 PM
Lots of people hate their jobs, and many have good reason to do so, but next time you are cursing your current employment, spare a thought for the poor souls that have [drumroll] The Worst Jobs in Science. This one will really put all those "Why is at always my turn to put toner in the photocopier" moments into perspective.
posted by Mark 1:12 PM
For those among you in the habit of taking foreign holidays, I can wholeheartedly recommend The Zompist Phrasebook as probably the only one you'll ever need. Plus, it's funny.
posted by Mark 2:10 AM
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Just so you all know, Windows Security Updates for April 2004 has a few more of those pesky "Critical" updates you really should have. It might seem tiresome to install these patches, but honestly, it's not as bad a starting from scratch after someone wipes your stuff.
posted by Mark 11:45 AM
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
I like cars, and in particular I love looking at the pointy end of car design; Concept Cars. The 37th Tokyo Motor Show last year had some real beauties, and there is a nice gallery of them online. Whoever is responsible for this astonishing vehicle has obviously been recording my daydreams (without my knowledge or permission), and how can you not love a car that looks exactly like a puppy? Brilliant stuff. Toyota haven't let me down either with the PM getting my "Most Like Scifi" award. Here is the full list - it doesn't have as much information as I would have liked on the cars, but there are some amazing ideas on show. There was even a motorbike I liked the look of (but not in that colour, obviously).
posted by Mark 1:56 AM
Sunday, April 11, 2004
Stanley Kubrick was a genius. He also had a reputation for being, well, a bit odd. Plumbing Stanley Kubrick is a fascinating article by Ian Watson about what it was like to work with Stanley on developing one of his films (AI in this case) and it completely enthralled me. Citizen Kubrick is a Guardian article about a visit to his house 2 years after his death. Put them together and you have a fine way to pass a spare hour, and an intriguing portrait of one of the truly great filmmakers, and his legacy.
posted by Mark 4:19 PM
It's a good job that cats are, in general, very tolerant of their idiot human pets. In Japan they seem to be particularly forgiving, otherwise it would be impossible to dress your cat as a frog and not end up flayed alive. Poor kitty.
posted by Mark 4:10 PM
Warning: Computer Humour. These Tech Support Haiku kept me chuckling for ages. Your mileage may vary.
posted by Mark 3:54 PM
The Subservient Chicken has been entertaining me on and off for days now, so it's only fair to share. Just type in something you want to see him do, then wait a moment. My favourite one's so far have been make a chicken sandwich and do a handstand but it's quite remarkable how many things the poor guy is willing to try. This one might be a bit slow if you haven't got broadband. Oh, and his taste in music is terrific - try typing in Tom Waits.
posted by Mark 3:45 PM
A decent subwoofer is a wonderful thing, and I wouldn't trade mine for all the little plastic toys in China, but this monster is in a different league entirely. Horn subwoofer that fills a 60 cubic metres of hole? Wow. I bet he's popular with the neighbours...
posted by Mark 3:36 PM
Faces made with clothes? Sure, why not? I rather like them in fact.
posted by Mark 3:32 PM
This one might not be suitable for the queasy among you, but this thoracic cavity cake is quite inspiring. Best suited to fans of zombie films, I suspect, but what a grand piece of work! Look's almost too good (bad?) to eat.
posted by Mark 3:27 PM
After our recent Subterranea Brittanica link, a helpful scouser (no, really) pointed me in the direction of an interesting underground chunk of Liverpool that isn't mentioned there; the Williamson Tunnels. The official site is a bit sparse on the information front, but the Friends of Williamson's Tunnels site has lots of juicy stuff. Reading about it reminded me of Mick Jackson's terrific book The Underground Man, about another eccentric tunnel-builder, and made me wonder what it is with all these rich folks and tunnels. Cheers for the link, Ian.
posted by Mark 3:21 PM
Saturday, April 10, 2004
BBC to screen first televised sperm race. Honestly.
posted by Mark 2:17 AM
Saturday, April 03, 2004
Big Al sent us this one in, and it's a honey. Livio De Marchi is apparently the only driver in the Italian city of Venice, perhaps because his "car" is one of his own sculptures - an amazing wooden Ferrari F50 replica. Not only that, but he has a fully-carved house with some beautiful work inside. My suggestion is that you start here and look at the everything there. Quite a talent.
posted by Mark 7:17 PM
Wikibooks is dedicated to developing and disseminating free, open content textbooks and other classroom texts. 'Nuff said.
posted by Mark 6:50 PM
Akira is not only a classic animated film, it also has by far the coolest motorbike in the whole world, ever, and now someone has gone and built one that actually works.*
*Okay, so the text is in japanese, but I'm reliably informed thats what it says. Trust me :)
posted by Mark 6:44 PM
This may be the prettiest CD player ever. Feel free to buy me one, obviously.
posted by Mark 6:23 PM
Everyone at the Wasted Times likes underground stuff, especially me, so it was with some delight I stumbled across Subterranea Britannica with their amazing store of information on underground stuff in the UK. You can even use their map to find out what is in your area. Please note, if you get arrested trying to get into any of these places it isn't my fault.
posted by Mark 6:22 PM
If you're an artsy-crafty type you might like to try your hand at Envelope and Letter Folding one day. This is one of those things that'd be perfect, if only I ever actually wrote to anyone.
posted by Mark 6:15 PM
It happens to everyone who uses the interent eventually - you've got a huge file you want to get to Gran, but her email will not accept anything more than 5Mb. You can mess sbout splitting the file into smaller bits (praying all the time that the old dear can reassemble them), you can mess about setting up an ftp server (praying all the time that she can drive her ftp client), or you can just upload it to Dropload (no messing about at all really). Dropload will then email Gran with a link that she can simply click to collect the file. Simple but brilliant, good for any file smaller than 50Mb, and free too! Bookmark this one under "Extra Useful".
posted by Mark 6:06 PM
Once upon a time, there was a SPC Schwarz stationed with the Army in the Balkans. SPC Schwarz was either very clever or very bored; but probably both, since he managed to attempt or be warned about 213 things he wasn't allowed to do.
posted by Mark 5:55 PM