“Highest Possible Recommendation.” The statement still stands.

From the opening sequence I was already sold. Somehow I knew I was going to love it. And with so many disposable movies coming out of Hollywood, that’s a rare occurrence. If you’re the type of person that would give this a chance, you probably have already seen a hundred zombie attacks. In the intro you just know this is going to be something special when Metallica’s “From Whom the Bell Tolls” guitar chugs start thundering in with the zombies themselves.

Zombieland isn’t just a fun movie. It’s a funny movie. It’s hysterical, in fact. The entire audience guffawed throughout and you have to kind of be a pretty hip crowd to laugh at some of the things that happen. That’s kind of the beauty of it because the characters have heart and fantastic actors playing them. Woody Harrelson is brilliant as a southern zombie-slaying good ol’ boy. He meets an unlikely hero: the nerdy unassuming narrator and zombie apocalypse survivalist played by Jesse Eisenberg (Adventureland). The two of them hook up with a pair of imperiled sisters played by Emma Stone (Superbad) and Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine). The foursome trek through the undead wasteland in a fairly linear storyline not uncommon to every other zombie flick. What sets this apart is what they do at their stops along the way. In a beautiful and twisted way, Zombieland becomes a hybrid of Dawn (Shaun) of the Dead, Superbad and National Lampoon’s Vacation.

The bottom line is that it’s obvious that the filmmakers had fun making it and the audience will have fun watching it.

One evident danger of Facebook or MySpace activity is the increased risk from stalkers and predators. Kids and teens, and even those beyond their teenage years may unintentionally place themselves at risk from stalkers and sexual predators. Your friends aren’t the only people who may be looking at your profile, and MySpace is a stalker’s haven where personal photos and information are a click away.

Most interesting are those who claim the variety of health problems that come about from social networking. Aric Sigman, a highly acclaimed British scientist has inflamed and enraged the population through his books like Remotely Controlled: How Television is Damaging Our Lives. Sigman is to be respected for taking the minority stand on unpopular issues. His talks on alcohol and technology are equally scintillating, but it’s his comments regarding social networking with which we are interested. In his influential paper, “The Biological Implications of ‘Social Networking’” (Biologist, February 2009), Sigman attempts to prove his thesis that online social networking has biological effects that adversely alter our health. In other words: Facebook is bad for you. If you can navigate his medical verbiage, you will discover that online social networking subjects you to increased risk for cancer, genetic mutation, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia, lupus, arthritis, strokes, and yes, even the common cold. His charts which trace the size of one’s social circle and its direct impact upon the diameter of one’s arteries are really quite insightful.

With a pointed application, Sigman closes his work with a haunting question: [Having considered th the enormous evidence of these calamitous effects] “we should now explain the true meaning of the term ‘social networking.’”

I will admit that I have a few Facebook friends, who don’t seem to sleep, judging by the constant regularity of their status updates, even in the odd hours of the morning, but I’m not sure it’s given them lupus…yet.

No doubt, it would do us all good to maintain an awareness of the way we spend our time. Few would argue that such an exercise could produce significant improvement, but you will have to judge personally whether or not you’re at an increased risk for dementia as a result of your Facebook activity.

We’ve discussed cosplaying before, and how the art form can take some very interesting turns when coming to life. There’s the professionals who take their trade seriously, then there are those who should never….ever don a costume. Instead of posting both, I’m going to provide some awards to some of the better cosplays.

So, are you ready? Well too bad because here we go.

—————————————————

Why Couldn’t George Lucas Have Seen This Before Phantom Menace Award

Ok, so this cosplayer hasn’t stayed true to the character but it really doesn’t matter. He took a concept we can all get behind (hatred of Jar Jar Binks), and turned it into a creative idea that I’m sure garnered a lot of laughs at SDCC. Then of course he now has a bad ass Star Wars spatula to use when does some grillin’ back home.

Too Nice Looking To Be Quinn, But Some Awesome Dedication To The Costume Award

There’s some people you can tell wouldn’t make a good Harley Quinn. Not because of their costume but because they’re too nice looking. The girl playing Harley Quinn here looks so nice, there’s no way she could take a knife to my neck. Or lead me to my fate by the hands of The Joker. That doesn’t mean she didn’t take some time to make an awesome costume, and some solid makeup work as well.  Now, the guy who seems to be weirdly watching her from behind looks like he could be up to no good.

Hot Pikachus — The Creepiest/Sexiest Trend At Comic Con Award

I’m not sure which is more wrong — hot girls who dress up like Pikachu, or the guys who find it attractive.  An even more important question to ask is — What leads these attractive women to dress up like a character based on a property that for all intents and purposes is crack for kids? Whatever the reason, I know all you’re really thinking about is how the girl’s skirt on the right is half an inch from showing Pikachu’s no-no place.

We Apologize For Interrupting Your Regularly Scheduled Program, But President Obama Has A Few Words To Say

My fellow Americans, it’s time change be brought to San Diego Comic Con 09. No longer should we be complacent in our goals for nerd-dom, dedication to source material, and free Wonder Woman tiara schwag. I tell you this my friends, a vote for me is a vote for bringing true change to Comic Con and more statues depicting myself.

If There’s Something Strange In Your Comic Con — Call These Guys Award

Ok, this is a complete fanboy award. I’m a huge Ghostbusters nerd, so sue me. While these guys look like they belong more in a Halfbaked sequel, they still were dedicated to making some amazing Ghostbusters uniforms. PKE meter…check, Proton Packs…check, United Kingdom flag…check. Wait, what?

This Man Chose Wisely Award

Almost every Comic Con you go to, you’ll see the same things — Darth Vader, Superman, and random anime characters you have no idea about. Then there are the people who think outside the box. Sure there might be some who don’t recognize the Crusader from Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. But I say it’s their loss. Just be sure not to take the $1,000 bust of Supergirl beyond the sacred seal. Everyone knows that’ll bring the roof down.

Even Kids Get Into Comic Con — Especially If They Get To Play Ruthless Galactic Bounty Hunters Award

While Comic Con is generally filled with people who never grew up, there are those who still have some actual  growing up to do. And when they do, they’ll learn how to properly use that blaster and knife. Then hunt you down and freeze you in carbonite.

Run Lady!! Do You Not Realize What Happened In Those Outfits!? Award

I’m sure this tag team received some odd looks while traversing the hall of Comic Con. I know if I saw them I’d think “Maybe they’re just into that kind of thing”. *Watchmen fan giggles ensue*

[Pictures Accredited To:Maximum PC]

That’s the real oath that every member of the Green Lantern Corps recites. If you’re a huge Green Lantern fan like myself, you can recite the oath on command and if you’re a true nerd — backwards.

I’m sure most casual comic fans, or ones who only know the heroes from the movies have an idea of Superman, Batman, and some Wonder Woman. One hero that I find many have no true idea about is the ‘Green Lantern‘. With the plans that DC has set for Green Lantern, that all looks to change. As I look around it seems that every form of media is going ‘Green’.

COMICS – STORY, CHARACTERS, BLACKEST NIGHT

If you want to learn about the character of Green Lantern, here’s his wiki page. For a brief summary I’ll give you an idea of what Green Lantern is about. Unlike most comics, the term ‘Green Lantern’ doesn’t speak for an individual person. There are literally thousands of Green Lanterns spread across the universe. They act as a police force that protects order and justice, and at the center of it all their home planet of OA. This planet is the center of the Universe, and houses the ‘Guardians’ who have been around for billions of years seeing that the universe stays safe.

Along with the story, many don’t have an understanding of what power the Green Lantern actually has. What makes a Green Lantern special is the power ring that he/she uses, and the strength of will the wielder possesses. Depending on the strength of will, the user is able to create constructs from the ring that can be used to protect themselves or others, and engage an enemy. Their power alone is the reason Green Lantern is my favorite DC super hero(es). It’s such a creative power, and in many ways it’s wielder must be creative in how it’s used.

While there are many Green Lanterns, the comic book stories tend to follow Hal Jordan. Who is known as ‘The Greatest Green Lantern’ (along with Sinestro). His character was introduced in 1959, and for the most part has had the spotlight of the main series. During the run of the story, there have been times that the focus has shifted to other characters. John Stewart, and Kyle Rayner are other characters the Green Lantern series has focused on.

Speaking of comic books this summer’s huge event is ‘Blackest Night’. This story arc will not only effect Green Lantern, but all the heroes in the DC universe. It will primarily focus on Green Lantern though, and it’s really creating a stir. I certainly am giddy as a school girl for it.

The basic plot of Blackest Night is that along with the power of Green (willpower), there are other colors that represent different sides of the emotional spectrum. Think ROY G BIV. There are different corps that represent these various colors, each with their own members and rings.

Red (Rage)
Orange (Avarice)
Yellow (Fear)

Green (Willpower)

Blue (Hope)
Indigo (Tribe) (Compassion)
Violet (Star Sapphires) (Love)

The ‘Blackest Night’ story follows a prophecy in the Green Lantern lore that says the various corps will erupt in a ‘War of Light’. This leads to the creation of the ‘Black Lanterns’. These corps of Lanterns represent death, and their power will resurrect the dead from their graves. They’re looking to extinguish all the other colors of light, thus kick starting the ‘Blackest Night’ event.

LIVE ACTION MOVIE – GOLDENEYE DIRECTOR, WRITING TEAM, RYAN REYNOLDS

It’s probably not a coincidence that DC’s main event for the summer is focused around Green Lantern, and major news concerning the movie has come to light recently. It’s obvious they’re really wanting to put Green Lantern into the spotlight.

While there is a buzz about the movie, very few details have been announced. We do know that Martin Campbell (Goldeneye, Casino Royale, Mask of Zorro) will be directing. With Campbell’s track record I feel safe knowing that he will be handling the film. The writing team is what I’m most concerned about; Greg Berlanti & Michael Green. It’s not that these guys are talentless, it’s just that they’re inexperienced. They’ve really only written for television, and Green Lantern is a big break for both of them. This could turn into a blessing in disguise though, as they are most likely really hungry to pump out something solid.

Along with the director, and writers, we know who will play the main character (Hal Jordan); Ryan Reynolds. I’m pretty neutral towards him playing Hal Jordan. I like Ryan Reynolds, and have enjoyed many of his movies. However, I’ve always seen him as a comedic actor. Even in action movies that he’s been in, it’s seemed as though he played the comedic relief. Playing Hal Jordan will definitely test his range, and I’m hoping that he passes.

ANIMATED MOVIE AND VIDEO GAME TIE-IN – ORIGINS, AND TRY NOT TO RUSH THIS GAME

Ha, you thought that with a summer event story and live action movie announcement that the news would be over for ol’ Green Lantern. You couldn’t be more wrong. To be honest what I’m most excited about from everything I’ve written today is the animated movie, Green Lantern: First Flight.

If you’ve seen any of the recent DC animated movies then you’ll know why I’m excited. Nearly every DC animated movie that’s come out in the past few years has been high quality. JLA: New Frontier, Superman/Doomsday, Wonder Woman, all of those movies are definitely worth a watch and represent the various character(s) really well. Now it’s Green Lantern’s turn with First Flight. The storyline of First Flight will focus around Hal Jordan’s origin story and how he became Green Lantern. Below is a trailer for First Flight, which releases July 28th.

An unfortunate constant anymore in the movie business is that when a film is released, a video game tie-in is to follow. The reason this is a negative is because movie tie-in games are known to be of lesser quality. Generally because the developers have to rush the game out to coincide with the release of the movie. The outcome is a poor product with numerous bugs and just having an overall ‘rushed’ feel to it.

VentureBeat has confirmed through what they call a credible source that a Green Lantern video game is in the works. It is being developed by a company called Double Helix who created Silent Hill: Homecoming, and the upcoming G.I.: Joe video game. There are no details to report on the game, except that VB’s sources say that only a Xbox 360 and PS3 version have been confirmed.

CONCLUSION – MY HOPE FOR THE GREEN LANTERN FUTURE

Now that DC looks to stand by their strong surge of Green Lantern property, I hope that we see some quality product released as a result. For too long Green Lantern has taken back seat to the more popular DC heroes, and it’s a real shame. Today marks the release of the Blackest Night story arc, and I couldn’t be more excited. With First Flight releasing later this month, July 2009 could mark the beginning of something truly special.

Green Lantern bed sheets next? You’re not someone until you have specially crafted bed sheets made in your honor.

Christian Bale delivers the presence you’d expect to the leading hero John Connor and Sam Worthington seems to be a proper rising star as the character Marcus. There were plenty of throwback references in the spirit of past Terminators that have done the same. They didn’t feel shoehorned or cheapened. Fans of the series will get it without the movie jarring to accommodate them. The trepidation fans held was obvious due to unproven director MCG, which had an underwhelming box-office presence this past Memorial Day weekend. But in this reviewer’s opinion, MCG has indeed proven himself as a kinetic action director capable of handling a film with more gravitas than previously thought possible. Danny Elfman handled the musical duties and brought his own flavor using classic themes and weaving them into the score.

The only thing really holding this movie back was the PG-13 rating. While taking a 13 rating is usually a studio attempt at broadening an audience, it’s quite possible it could have served more as a detriment. While the filmmakers pushed the action as far as it could go, the lore of this material has always been very adult. Humans were collected for some unknown diabolical robotic experiments or torture. But rarely terminated. In every film prior to this one there was never a shortage of humans violently meeting their ends by a mechanical executioner. At the end of this film, you know you saw something enjoyable, but you eventually can’t quite help noticing something missing. Terminations.

Would an R-rating have brought this movie to an upper tier? Absolutely. It’s like making a PG-13 version of the Predator. Or Conan. It’s just never going to be the genuine article without the violence. Let’s hope we get a director’s cut for the home video market, because in the end it really is a well acted, well-shot action packed film with walking metal endoskeletons packing automatic firearms terrorizing the human race.

Chris Pine creates a Kirk with cool and charisma while avoiding the pitfalls of being a pretty boy with no substance. This tale of Kirk is woven through an epic hero’s journey rivaling any Star Wars film. Using the dude from Shaun of the Dead, Sylar and Harold from White Castle is inspired casting. Characters use their classic accents without being jokes or cheap stereotypes. Supporting crew members like Chekov and Sulu contribute with their own particular brands of badassery.

Not only is Abrams good at character and story, his visual directing is top shelf. When you see the Enterprise you truly grasp the sense of scale that this version of the vessel has. Having the cameras recoil while “filming” ships going to warp is an ingenious creative decision. There are also action sequences that are some of the most fun you’ll have in theaters this year that aren’t even space battles.

There’s true drama, character development, an obvious love to the material that it is based off of, action, spectacle, light-heartedness and a sense of hope that makes the film stand apart from so many of the apocalyptic dystopian realities we tend to create. As a society we tend to make what we imagine and with this Star Trek it becomes more than just a popcorn movie. It illustrates a culture that we could be and where we could boldly go.

The term cosplay, is a meshing of ‘costume’ and ‘play’. The idea of cosplay is to develop a costume that emulates a character from anime, manga, video games, movies, comic books etc… The difference between cosplay and other other costumes (like Halloween), is the dedication into becoming the character you’re emulating. The good cosplayers spend hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars to create their costumes.

Of course to understand cosplay, you really have to see it. If you’ve ever been to a video game, comic book, or movie convention then you’ve undoubtedly seen cosplayers milling about. They add an air of fun to these conventions, the good and bad cosplayers.

Let’s take a look at some of the goofy, and bad cosplay:

This is the cosplay of Sailor Moon, a famous anime, and manga. Notice that the gentleman’s costume is actually well put together (comparatively speaking), even if the physique doesn’t exactly match the character…

here’s what Sailor Moon’s character looks like

Alright, the guy above might not have had the body for Sailor Moon but atleast he tried. His costume wasn’t anything to scoff. Some outfits just shouldn’t be worn though….ever.

This cosplay is based on Misty from the Pokemon series. Unlike the gentleman above, this dude just cut out the stomach of a yellow t-shirt and put on some cut off jeans and suspenders. No effort on the hair…tsk..tsk.

and here’s the guy’s cosplay…

For every awful, or laughable cosplay there’s good ones out there as well. They’re not any less geeky, but are definitely worth more time to check out. After viewing these, you see how much of an art cosplay actually is.

This first cosplay is from a famous cosplayer by the name of Thaís Jussim. She has been tweaking, and perfecting her art for years. Her most recent display is easily her best. It’s a Samus Aran suit from Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.

You can check out her full portfolio at: Yukicosplay

For some reason, Samus Aran has seen good cosplay, as here’s another one of her that’s well constructed.

I can’t just show love to Samus Aran, there’s been some other great cosplays as well.

So there you have it, the good and bad world of cosplay. Even the bad costumes are still worth having a laugh at. I’ll hand it to cosplayers, it takes some dedication and a whole lot of not giving a damn to walk around dressed as a comic book, video game, or movie character. You make all the conventions worth while. So here’s a toast to you.

Do you have some examples of awesome cosplay, or do you have some outfits you’d like to show off. Drop a link in the comment section

Researchers at Portsmouth University are looking to preserve the history of our software past, by creating an emulator that could read any software dating back to the 70′s. Yea, I wish I could get in on some of that research as well. Maybe test some games out, make sure they work. Hey, somebody has to do it.

The emulator is part of an European program called KEEP (Keeping Emulation Environments Portable), who’s initiative is to make sure that everything is being done to make sure digital media is being kept safe and will always be available for years to come. The project goes beyond games, and will be able to read text, sound and image files, multimedia documents, websites, databases.

Dr David Anderson, one of the head researchers of the project provides insight into the reasons behind the project, “Early hardware, like games consoles and computers, are already found in museums. But if you can’t show visitors what they did, by playing the software on them, it would be much the same as putting musical instruments on display but throwing away all the music. For future generations it would be a cultural catastrophe”

That’s quite an interesting take on the idea behind how we treat digital media. Just look at cassette tapes. They are hardly more than a decade out of being a prime source of media, and now it’s a dinosaur format. I’m sure most of you, and myself included have no idea where any of our tapes are. But how important are they in terms of defining our culture, and painting a portrait of life in the 80′s and 90′s?

I’m definitely going to be keeping up with this research project, and see how far they can take it. Trying to develop a device that can read any software from the past 40 years, is a lofty goal indeed. But it’s one that could be very important. Maybe not now, but in the future when our civilization is considered archaic, and kids are listening to music through microchips in their head.

[via: Tech Radar]

Smartmow is a 3 blade mulch system that runs on lithim ion batteries that can be charged with the included charger. The lithium ion batteries will last about 2-3 hours but the Smartmow will automatically re-dock and charge until it gets the job done. In this time frame it will cover about 3,230 square feet. For hard to reach areas it also includes a remote so you can still enjoy mowing your grass from inside your house. To start the mower you have to use a security card that is provided when you purchase. This is for safety and theft measures.

If only Billy Mays could get a hold of this product, he could sell a billion of them. They might need to look into hiring him to market the Smartmow.

To find out more information or purchase one of these visit www.smartmow.com

To get a first hand look of this product check out this exclusive video from WebProNews:

Mail Online has an in-depth look at “Jules,” the human-looking robot head, which can mimic real human facial expressions. And in real time no less.

Mail Online reports:

Jules mimics the expressions by converting the video image into digital commands that make the robot’s servos and motors produce mirrored movements.

And it all happens in real time as the robot can interpret the commands at 25 frames per second.

You can see plenty of images of Jules at that site, but you can also see Jules in action in the video embedded below.

Creepy, exciting stuff. For a look at fictional Terminator news, read my thoughts on the upcoming sequel.

Unfortunately I am of the latter ilk. For one, I am the kind of guy who likes my Terminators to carry strong tones of Austrian/governor accent. Terminators who speak in monotone voices who have very clear missions that can only begin once their first objective is achieved: obtain clothes, boots, and a motorcycle. I come from the school of “The Electronic Murderer” (even though I’m not Polish). Picture courtesy of Answers.com.

I am not so much interested in this. “Oh, but it’s got Christian Bale,” you might respond. Watch Harsh Times and then give me that argument. Was Eddie furlong not available? I can’t imagine that the Night of the Demons remake was a higher priority for him. What happened to Nick Stahl? I wasn’t thrilled to have a new John Connor forced upon me then either, but he did an adequate job.

I’m not saying that Bale can’t cut the mustard. Bale’s not the issue. The issue is that they have gotten away from what made The Terminator a classic, and that was…well, Arnold (not to mention Michael Biehn), James Cameron, and the decade of the 80s. I’m not one to totally live in the past. I realize times have changed, but films like Planet Terror prove that the dark, gritty look of the original are still possible to achieve.

Terminator: Salvation is looking more like a Transformers or Matrix knock off (if not a stylized Robot Jox remake) to me based on some of the robot designs. But I guess that’s what you get when you give the co-creator of Fastlane the reigns of one of the most beloved science fiction/action franchises of all time. I’m a little skeptical to say the least.

But to be fair, I can’t judge it too harshly without having seen it. My expectations are set pretty low, so perhaps I’ll be overwhelmingly surprised. Some of my best movie-viewing experiences have come from low expectations.

See some recently leaked video footage at io9.com. I rest my case.

The art of hacking in a technological world is generally a negative thing. To hack into something, usually means a breach in security and some form of data altered. However, hacking, and being particularly skilled at it, can pay off – if the skills are used appropriately.

Shane Kelly, age 16, became the world’s youngest person to pass the Certified Ethical Hacker course. Because of his dedication and precision, there are some big people very interested in utilizing his mad skills.

Hacks can be used for good! Programming something to “hack” into a problem you’re encountering, like with say your website development or network. Hacking can be viewed as a positive thing, and quite frankly, the biggest networks and programs are developed by hackers. You have to know how to get into it to be able to prevent access to it, right?

Now, by no means am I saying that it is okay to hack into someone else’s property, or copyrighted works like programs and applications, but hacking should not always be viewed as illegal. Take those skills and go work for someone who can really benefit from them. Internet companies, software companies, police departments. Fight crime! Slip into your bat-suit and get involved in the criminal investigation sector of a police department. After all, they are likely to more fully utilize your hacking super-powers (and you’d get paid for it).

They are kind of pretty and shiny in a hard bitten, vaporware sort of way.  But wait, could this be the proof that we’re all waiting for?  Will DNF be an actual product in our lifetime?  I’ll let you decide that while you gaze lovingly at the once familiar mug of our long lost protagonist.  Let’s hope that if it is real, it makes a better impression than Spore.

Technorati Tags: dfn, duke nukem forever, pics, screenshot, kick ass and chew bubblegum, video games, vaporware

Gabriel tells of a relationship that starts early in his childhood with an Atari 2600 and plays out much like the story of every adult gamer’s life. During his teenage years, he discovers two overriding passions: freestyle club dancing and Blizzard’s classic RTS Starcraft. I can’t personally sympathize with the former; the club scene has never been anything for me except a mindless churning of intoxicated bodies, a dead-end excersise who’s only real virtue is the physical discipline it requires. Too many people I knew in high school went down that bottomless spiral of meaningless social mingling, destructive relationships, and drug and alcohol addiction and found themselves in their late 20s with no skills, no family, a dead-end job and few true, reliable friends.

You might then imagine my confusion when Gabriel characterizes his relationship with dance clubs as a constructive force in his life and his personal obsession with video games as a youth-stealing, mind-rotting, addictive plague on modern society. You see, in my case, video games defined my life, my career, and my passions in a positive way that led me to a successful career, a happy marriage, and a great group of friends who share my interests. Like Gabriel, I started off with the Atari, worked my way up through the Nintendo, the Super Nintendo (still my all time favorite console), the Playstation, and then the plethora of online PC games that grew in popularity during my teenage years. As dedicated gamers, my friends and I became heavily involved in PC modding and tuning, always trying to squeeze out that extra frame per second. It built our technical skills and provided the foundation I needed to to eventually get a job as a PC technician, after years of dead-end work in civil service I’m still trying to forget.

That experience also led directly to my eventual career choice as a web software developer and web designer. As the geekiest and most technically inclined of my group, I assumed the responsibility of building guild websites, handling server administration, and a brief stint of game programming when we spent some time off from Command and Conquer and Quake to build a MUD – a Multi-User Dungeon, a prototypical MMO with an all-text interface, for those of you who came along after Ultima Online and Everquest. The skills and social connections I developed while pursuing my gaming hobbies are more valuable to me than any other character-building experience in my life.

Without video games, I can’t predict exactly where my life would have ended up, but they provided me the focus that helped me develop my own personal talents into a successful career much the way Gabriel developed his based on his passion for dance. The similarity and contrast between our lives leads me to wonder, once again, at the impact articles like his will have both on gaming culture and on clinical and popular psychology – by further diluting the meaning of addiction and confusing cause and effect in the case of obsessive behavior, involving video games or anything else. The plight of real addicts with debilitating chemical addictions is mocked every time someone characterises an obsession as an addiction, and likewise people with unhealthy obsessions may be suffering from a fundamental misunderstanding of the cause and consequence of their problems which prevents them from seeking and finding the help they need.

I also worry that it provides a skewed view to the already misinformed older generation, as well as the members of our generation who never quite got on the boat, who are still playing the politics of fear we gamers are oh-so-familiar with. Every generation in the past century has been the first to embrace some amazing new technological or cultural advancement and each has had to deal with ignorance and fearmongering that big changes like these bring about. It’d be nice if we could look past generational lines and find the common ground we share as the children of a rapidly progressing society. Certainly Gabriel is welcome to tell his story. I hope that he, and others like him who have allowed a single facet of their life to become an overriding destructive obsession, will someday have the maturity to admit that the problem is theirs, and accept responsibility for their actions and their lives instead of placing blame on the object of their obsession.

(thanks to QJ.net for the image, used without permission, sorry!)

Technorati Tags: video, game, obsession, addiction, addict, obsessive, personality, bohemian, gabriel fransisco

Why on Earth should my modern browsers (Firefox, Opera) still freeze up on every third embedded video I try to play?  Websites are rendered ugly as hell because Flash just doesn’t know what to do with them. You do realize that by hindering a portion of today’s web browsing consumers you’re eventually affecting your own bottom line, right?  Even a small portion who can’t do the things that web developers, web store owners and viral marketing execs expect them to do can be significant if it impacts delivery and sales.

For those who aren’t employed by Adobe.  Yeah, I think that Flash sites are not the way to go, even with Google’s revelation that Flash can now be indexed.  The truth of the matter is Flash is here and it’s probably here to stay so we need Adobe to please swallow whatever bitter pill they’re fumbling around with and just get a working version out to all of us in Linuxland so we can watch cats attack string on YouTube or whatever it is we’re wanting to do online.  Okay?  I know of lots of local, small sites like restaurants and small brick and mortar shops who have Flash front ends on their sites.  And you know what? It stinks not being able to patronize them – for them and for me.

We need a working Flash.  Let’s hope 10 does a much better job of it than 9.  Until then, I’ll be taking my own petty mental revenge by referring to this monstrosity of a rich media crap fest as ‘flunk’ using my inside voice.  No, that won’t fix anything but at least it will get that grimace on my face into a twisted smile as I kill and restart my browser yet again.

Technorati Tags: flash, linux, adobe, firefox, ubuntu, flunk

Looking at Spore, a game I’ve been excited about for a while now, it looks like there will finally be a change from the grind of rapid build up and nuke, or hide behind the pretty foliage from alien’s shooting beams at you paradigms that have been so prevalent lately.  I’m even getting sick of my new old standby – COD4.  Level 55 on a PC and. . . wow.  A gold gun, more shots down the line and more infantile chatter over which levels are ‘teh suck’.  They’ve even launched a whole ad series in a bunch of major urban public transportation stations.  How cool is it to see a video game, any video game, advertised in a place like that?

Call me nostalgic or an old fart but I miss the days of turn based RPGs and strategy games that really made you think.  Civ, Baldur’s Gate, Total War, MOO2. . . these are games I spent days on, working out my strategies, leveling my party, conquering worlds and taking real pride in my accomplishments.  No twitching involved.  All of these games had their shortcomings and limitations based on the systems and resources available – but they also all had that golden sheen of near endless replayability, go at your own pace game play and customization.

Guess what Spore is offering?  Pretty much all of the above.  While game play isn’t strictly turn based, it does look to be paced at a rate I want it at – not at the fastest click or quickest button push.  You start with your creatures at a cellular level and bring them all the way through to interstellar conquest.  Yowza!  It’s got vast scope, incredible customization, the ability to be not just a game but a social network without the grind of MMORPG camping.  I can’t wait to get my hands on this game and tool around with it.  Single player with creature sharing – so I can choose my level of interaction with other people online and I’m not forced into reading inane comments by school kids learning they can swear on the ‘net or grouping with a bunch of strangers.

There will of course be some limitations and downsides to this game – there is no gaming nirvana, at least not yet and probably won’t be until we get a Holodeck or its equivalent.  There will be limitations to the game but worst of all, there will be DRM.  Good old SecureRom, in it’s scaled back form.  At least there’s no 10 day activation anymore, EA has backed off of that, you can even play the game offline.  You will however need to authenticate when you install, and every time you update.  Here’s the official word:

We authenticate your game online when you install and launch it the first time.

We’ll re-authenticate when a player uses online features, downloads new content or a patch for their game.

The new system means you don’t have to play with the disc in your computer. And if you are like me, always losing discs, this will be a huge benefit.

You’ll still be able to install and play on multiple computers.

You can play offline.

Better than the original 3 installs and 10 day activation period but still DRM.  Why couldn’t the folks at Stardock have developed this with Will Wright?

You can pre-order Spore right from EA and they’ll do a ‘pre-load’ which essentially downloads a huge, encrypted install file onto your machine (PC only, no Mac right now) which you can install at 12:00:01 on the 7th I’m assuming.  This saves you the hassle of having to go out and buy the game somewhere physical or wait for Amazon to deliver it to your door, but does mean you get no physical copy, at least at first.  I can’t tell whether a pre-load and pre-order also entitles you to a shipped product.  You’ll also have to download, install and trust EA’s Download Manager, yet another piece of software to manage your stuff for you.

So yes, Spore has it’s faults, and I’m sure there will be game play issues like there are in all games where not everything is perfect for everyone – an impossible goal but I’m still looking forward to it.  I can even forgive the cartoony graphics if the game gives me an absorbing experience that I’ll look forward to playing again and again.  Here’s hoping.

EDIT: I broke down and got the pre-install and the creature creator.  Check out the few things I’ve cobbled together here.

Technorati Tags: ea, spore, games, video game, creature creator, securerom, downloads, pre-load, micro to macro, lets hope its as good as the build up

The remake, Bionic Commando: Rearmed (Rearmed! Get it?!), features the same story and gameplay as the the original, but enhanced with modern graphics and sound effects. Fans of the original will recognize levels and bosses throughout the game, as well as some nostalgia-heavy cutscenes. The remake is still a 2D scroller, and you still can’t jump (forcing you to rely on your bionic arm swinging abilities).

First, the positives. This game is absolutely beautiful. Everything from the stellar 3D characters with full ragdoll effects to the campy back and forth dialogue to the modernized 8-bit soundtrack are incredibly gratifying. It’s so much fun to combine the nostalgia of playing a side-scrolling shooter with the graphics of modern gaming machines. The visuals of this remake are at times better than those of modern original titles.

BCR also features split-screen multiplayer campaign as well as up to 4-player versus modes. The campaign can be a lot of fun, since the opponent AI alters itself to require teamwork. However the versus modes are only fun for a short while and quickly become repetitive and boring.

Where BCR suffers is in gameplay. The original Bionic Commando is known for being somewhat difficult to master, and I found the remake to hold true to that assessment as well. It took me a long time to master the swinging technique needed to traverse even the earliest levels, and many of the areas you encounter feature spiked floors or lava that will kill you almost immediately. After struggling to get through the first few levels, I went back and lowered the difficulty level to the easiest setting. This blocked off the traps on the floor and made enemies easier to defeat, thus refocusing gameplay on navigating using the bionic arm, which is where this game really shines.

For a remake, Bionic Commando: Rearmed is a stunning success. Original gameplay is left mostly untouched, with stellar graphics and soundtracks added and enhanced to really make this one of the best $10 video games out there. I definitely suggest this game for any fans of the original Bionic Commando, or for fans of retro gaming in general.

Technorati Tags: Bionic Commando, Bionic Commando: Rearmed, Grin, Capcom, XBox Live Arcade, Playstation Network, PC Games, Nintendo, NES, video games, video game reviews

The new book by Nick Sagan (son of Carl Sagan), You Call This the Future?: The Greatest Inventions Sci-Fi Imagined and Science Promised, is characterized by explanations of some of the fascinating technologies envisioned in classic science fiction along with explorations of the progress modern science has made towards achieving those visions. Classic science fiction references appear side-by-side with summaries of state of the art scientific research.

The book is divided into 5 broad chapters, each covering 10 technologies that we have made progress towards realizing. The chapters are Travel and Transportation, Computers, Cyborgs, and Robots, Communications, Weapons and Security, and Life, Health, and Sex.

The Pros

This book is very well written. Each technology is described with multiple fictional appearances as well as detailed accounts of modern advances involving that technology. I was also surprised at how realistic many of the concepts once considered impossible have become. There were also detailed diagrams and high-quality images for all of the sections, which made the content much more engaging.

The Cons

Some of the technologies in the book were much less interesting than others. In a desire to have the same number of sections in each chapter, some sections were added that probably could have been left out – language translators, watch toys, and sex toys, for example.

I definitely recommend this book. It was a quick read, and each section was engaging and interesting. The price is very reasonable, as well.

The Stats

Title: You Call This the Future?: The Greatest Inventions Sci-Fi Imagined and Science Promised
Author(s): Nick Sagan, Mark Frary, and Andy Walker
ISBN10: 1556526857
ISBN13: 978-1556526855
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Cost: $11.21 (from Amazon)
Format: Paperback, 160 pages
Published: April 1, 2008

Technorati Tags: Carl Sagan, Nick Sagan, Mark Frary, Andy Walker, science fiction, technology, books, book reviews, You Call This the Future?: The Greatest Inventions Sci-Fi Imagined and Science Promised

We have no way of knowing what it is that the inhabitants of the Death Star want, or even if they are friendly. But one thing is for certain. On the fateful day when we must finally engage our enemy in combat, the greatest weapon available to us will be Jeff Goldblum and his Macintosh of Doom.

Technorati Tags: Jeff Goldblum, Star Wars, Independence Day, Macintosh, Death Star, San Francisco, video

If you wish to choose 100d6, you may.  In fact, I had to do the obligitory test of 100d100 just to see how it worked – the app did fine as my iPod Touch screen filled up with 100 sided dice.  For those curious, I rolled a 4788.

You can also set up multiple dice to roll.  Say you want to roll 2d6 and 1d4 at the same time?  No worries.

You can also roll physically impossible dice, like a 13 sided die.

The rolling is pretty nice and the app features a neat tilt/view, where if you hold your device at an angle, the dice seem to tilt appropriately.  Not bad MachWerx, not bad. You can see an example of multiple dice rolled and the tilt effect below.

The only downside, if you can consider it one, is the cost.  At $0.99 it isn’t going to break your bank (and if you think of it this way, it’s less than a cent per die) but it isn’t free.  Personally, I think it’s well worth it, if for no other reason than to support the devs who worked on this little app.  The graphics could use a bit of an update as well but all in all it’s a great app.

Technorati Tags: dice, die roller, iphone, ipod touch, mach dice, rpg, role players, reviews, software, apple, apps, app store

THE Singularity, that’s what he’s talking about.  You know, the point where machine intelligence jogs past human intelligence and brings us to a new era where combined computer cognition is the equivalent of a minor deity.  Not only that, but it’s Kurzweil, without the T.  I don’t know if that’s Intel’s fault or Cnet’s on the transcription.

What is the Singularity really?  It’s where machine intelligence surpasses human intelligence – even by just a tiny bit.  At that point, the machines, which are now more knowing than we are, can recursively improve on themselves in a never ending and rapidly accelerating cycle of getting better and better.

Kurzweil tones it down a bit and simply says it’s going to be a time where machines can manifest their own rapidly advancing technology.  The implications of a meteoric rise in technology, self replicating smarter than human intelligences and you know, superbeings. . . it’s all still there though.  Perhaps in Intel’s mind, the Singularity involves computers designing processors for their next of kin to the point where we have the 1nm Intel processors featuring 10,000 cores.

Is this something we really want to work towards?  Is it inevitable?  And will these machines become self aware?  No one really knows but it’s certainly an interesting concept to think on.

For their part, I’ve awarded the first ever ArsGeek Overreaching Statement Award to Intel.  Congratulations Intel! Stating that they are actively working on the Singularity goes a bit beyond miniaturizing processors and coming up with interesting ways to optimize code for multiple cores.  It’s a bit like casually stating that your experiments on family dog have yeilded a doberman with the intelligence of your or I and the ability to speak several languages.

Technorati Tags: singularity, intel, ray kurzweil, ai, overraching statement award, computers, technology, other geeks, our future overlords

Remember in grade school there was this kid who could make fart noises with his armpit? How cool that was? You wanted to be able to do that too, but never seemed to be able to pull it off. And remember how in high school, the same kid was still making fart noises with his armpit? But now you thought it was gross (You never admitted to anyone you still tried to make it work alone in your room).

Have you ever wondered what happened to that guy?

Well, you’ll be happy to know he’s alive and well. And he’s still making fart noises (though he’s since traded armpit farts for hand farts, less rashes I guess).

Meet Gerry (Jerry) Phillips. Gerry calls himself a manualist. A manualist is someone who plays music with their hands and no other instruments.

Sounds easy? Try it.

Gerry has a real talent. He’s got over a hundred videos posted on YouTube. And they are all amazing. He handfarts his way through all sorts of old favorites (Bohemian Raphsody, Killer Queen, Mario Bros. Theme) and makes some songs better than they’ve ever been (Hit Me Baby, One More Time, The Final Countdown).  Here’s Peter Frampton:

I highly suggest you check him out if you’re looking to waste some time, get a good laugh and be totally amazed. Here’s a link to his YouTube page:

http://www.youtube.com/user/gunecologist

Technorati Tags: geek, manualist, handfart, music, classic rock, super mario bros.

Technorati Tags: media player, songbird, video, audio, album art, beta, software, cross platform

Note: This will work on any system using gnome, or just about any other system if you know your way around cron.  I happen to run Ubuntu though, and enjoy it over other distros, so that’s where I wrote this and that’s how I titled it.

I also like to see what’s going on with the world, particularly the weather but often find myself not in orbit so I’m unable to track worldwide weather patterns like I want to.

Then a though occurred to me – what if I set up one of my Ubuntu boxes to have a map of the world with clouds overlayed, updated every hour?  Neat!  I now have a map of the world with cloud overlays updated hourly for my background.

It took me a little time to figure this out but I’ve nailed it and now you can do it too by following my quick, easy plan to wealth and . . . er. . . to a weatherified desktop.

First, you’re going to want to get a program called gnome-schedule. You can either start Synaptic (System-> Administration-> Synaptic Package Manager) and search for ‘gnome-schedule’ or open up a terminal session (Applications-> Accessories-> Terminal Session) and type:

sudo apt-get install gnome-schedule

What is it?  Gnome Schedule is a GUI front end to Cron, which is a scheduling daemon.  It allows you to tell your computer to execute a command at a given time, which in our case is going to be every hour – and to repeat this command at given times, again, hourly.

Gnome-scheduler isn’t automagically added to your menus, so let’s add it to the Applications-> Accessories menu, shall we?  Right click on Applications and choose “Edit Menus”.  From there, left click on Accessories and click the New Item button.  Call this new menu item “Gnome Schedule” in the Name field and in the Command field, type ‘gnome-schedule‘.

Click okay, and it’s there.  You can also always launch it from a terminal session by typing gnome-schedule.

Thankfully, there’s an awesome site out there called die.net.  They host a nice good sized image of the world with cloud cover updated once every hour or so.  We’re going to automate the task of going to die.net and downloading the needed .jpg file.

Open Gnome Scheduler, and click the New button.  From there, choose “A task that launches recurrently”.

In the description field, call it “weather wallpaper” or whatever you’d like.  In the Command field, type

wget -r -N http://static.die.net/earth/mercator/1600.jpg

In the Time & Date section, click the Advanced radio button.  Now, in the Minute field, put something between ‘10‘ and ‘55‘  – you choose a number.  In the hour field, put 0-23. Now click the Add button to add this task to your scheduler.

What does this do?  It tells your computer to go out to die.net and grab the 1600.jpg file some number of minutes past every hour.  Why do it this way?  Well I figure if the image updates on the hour and my clock is a little off, a few minutes past the hour or a few minutes to the hour should be enough leeway for me to get the latest image.  If we vary our numbers, we won’t all flood the site at 10 minutes past.

Once you’ve added this to Gnome Schedule, click the Run task button.  This will execute the task so you can both test it, and grab the appropriate file.  Gnome Schedule will run this command as you, and dump the file into your home directory.

Now to get it on to your computer as your background.  Right click your desktop and choose “Change Desktop Background”.  Now click the Add button and browse to your home directory.  Choose the file 1600.jpg and it will be added to your backgrounds and set up as your wallpaper.

When this image updates every hour, your background will automatically update as well.  Neat, eh?

You can do this with any image that’s available on the web which updates.  All you need is the URL to download the image and you’ll have to modify your little script to reflect the correct file name.

Enjoy!

EDIT: Thanks to Sam R and some astute Reddit readers, I’ve edited this article to make it even easier to do.  Now – anyone got a list of pictures online that are updated every N minutes?

Technorati Tags: ubuntu, how to, wallpaper, desktop, rotating, weather map, linux, updated world cloud coverage, geek

The best part of the video is when Adam breaks from the itinerary to show a slow-motion video of fellow co-host Jaimie Hyneman slapping him across the face in an attempt to sober Adam up.  While locating the file on his laptop, someone in the audience points out the somewhat suspiciously named “Batman The Dark Knight.avi” on Adam’s desktop, to which Adam responds, “Well, I hadn’t seen it yet.”

The video is an hour long, but totally worth watching.

Edit: It turns out the video in question was just the trailer of Batman.  But still, Adam is a Batman fan, he recreated a Dodo skeleton, he hand-drew a map of Middle Earth, and his official occupation entails blowing stuff up on TV.  He would be hard pressed to be any geekier (or cooler).

Technorati Tags: Mythbusters, hackers, H.O.P.E., Adam Savage

Frotz is a Z-machine interpreter which is needed to run Zork and other Zork like games, made popular waaaay back in the day by this little company called Infocom.

It’s a free app from the store, which comes with a bunch of games pre-loaded, and the ability to natively browse the IFDB (Interactive Fiction DataBase) for new stuff to download and play.

Game play is a little slow thanks to the iPhone keyboard but it’s still pretty much the same experience as it was back in the 80s.

Technorati Tags: frotz, iphone, apps, app store, zork, infocom, ifdc

This particular piece really stirs something within me. Sure, I love zombies and that’s part of it but it’s more than that.  The look on the kid’s faces, the thought of being trapped at the top of a playground set as hordes of undead children swarm, wondering if they’ll make it with their improvised weapons.  It could also be that one of the children bears a passing resemblence to my own.  It makes me want to go out and write young adult zombie survival fiction.  A group of children, seperated from their parents just at the breaking point of an undead uprising.  How would they survive? What would they have to do?  Would they ever see their parents again?

Definitely stop by Jason’s site and have a gander at his gallery. It will be worth your time.

Technorati Tags: zombies, playground, art, painting, jason chan, braaaaaains

IMPORTANT: Your DVD shipments might be delayed…

We’re sorry to report that we’ve been experiencing issues with our shipping system, so some of you are not receiving DVDs in a timely manner and some of you have not received emails letting you know we got a DVD back from you.

We apologize and we’ll be automatically issuing credits to all of you whose shipments have been delayed. Our goal is to ship DVDs as soon as possible and to provide a personalized email update to you if your DVD shipment was delayed.

We’re sorry for any inconvenience we’ve caused you and thank you for your patience.

The Netflix Team

Technorati Tags: dvd, netflix, system issues, oops

• You are actually afraid of Chuck Norris, and have a respectful fear of Christopher Walken.
• J00 c4n und3r574nd wh47 7h15 54y5.
• Your fingers are permanently in the WASD formation.
• You have one or more Manga Girl Wallpapers on your computer.
• You know the answer to: Life, the universe and everything.
• You don’t know how far it is to your state capitol but you know exactly how may miles it is from Hobbiton to Mt. Doom.
• Rem Lezar changed your life.
• You cried when Chewbacca died.
• Your only form of exercise is DDR.
• You have had a crush on an animated character…recently.
• You learned everything you need to know in life from Wikipedia and GI Joe PSA’s.
• You wish you could visit a modern day faire and then come back to renaissance life.
• You wish talk like a pirate day was celebrated year round.
• You consider the Geek national anthem to be: Ballad of Bilbo Baggins by Leonard Nimoy.
• You consider your dyslexia a second language.
• You think the real reason The Lone Gunmen went off the air is because the writers were “silenced” by the shadow government.
• The predictive text on your phone knows words in drow, klingon and elven.
• The last time you read a book, you accidentally read 3 extra chapters before you realized that there are no ‘save points’ in real life.
• You really do think you’re turning Japanese.
• Greatest musicians of all time: Beethoven, Led Zeppelin and Weird Al.
• You’ve been out in the middle of the night wearing a costume, and you weren’t trick-or-treating.
• You are fluent in 7 languages and none of them will help you speak to another human being.
• You own 8 pounds of dice, but don’t know how to play craps.
• You refer to those dice as your ‘jewels’.
• Said ‘jewels’ are also the most expensive jewels you own.
• You have no clue who the 39th U.S. president was, but you can list back 100 generations of elven royalty.
• You know what Mjolnir is but don’t have a degree in Norse mythology.
• You’ve used you replica of the One Ring to try to sneak past/hide from someone you didn’t want to see.
• You feel the need to explain the difference between geek and nerd if someone calls you a nerd.
• Your favorite number is an irrational number.
• Every time you get hurt you say “its just a flesh wound”.
• You wear skull and crossbones not because it’s a fad but because you actually are a pirate.
• You thought the X-files was a documentary.
• You consider the game of Risk just a warm up.
• Your dresser is filled with computer parts and your clothes are on a pile on the floor.
• you are well prepared for the coming zombie uprising.
• you know what, up up down down left right left right B A start, does.
• You find yourself breaking your neighbors potted plants because you think there might be hearts, arrows or bombs inside.
• Your vacation itinerary looks like this:

1. Area 51
2. Loch Ness
3. Dragoncon
4. Silicon Valley
5. Narnia

*special thanks to my pal dsp311 for help compiling this list*

Technorati Tags: geek, humor, lists, sci-fi, fantasy, not nerds

You can’t get away from politics in the X-Files, but Michael Valdez Moses picks apart the subtle undertones of the new film with razor-edge precision and surreal cadence as enchanting as the show itself. Don’t miss it!

Technorati Tags: x-files, politics, i want to believe, reason magazine, analysis, political, muldur, scully, michael valdes moses