Chain Factor

Image via Wikipedia

I am addicted to this game Chain Factor.

M of the M

Mario of the month for December. Photo found here.

M of the M

Mario of the month for November, which was skipped so I will post it late right now. Photo found here.

This cool film was made by filmmaker Bruce Branit.
Via: www.artlies.com

On the absence of compulsions as a blessing

Image via Wikipedia

BoingBoing reports that "When asked why he strangled his little brother to death, 17-year old Andrew Conley of Rising Sun, Indiana said: 'Like, I had to. It's like when people have something like when they're hungry and there's a hamburger sitting there and they knew they had to have it.'"

Although of course the boy's answer is horrifying, I don't doubt that it might yet be true. Surely some of what we all do (lose our tempers, enjoy reading novels, eat too much, like The Beatles, drink a cup of water...) is due to forces acting on and inside us that we are not aware of and that we therefore cannot begin to comprehend.

To the extent that we are free of (or can consciously counter-act) forces that make us do things we regret or that harm others, we should feel blessed.

Virgin Princess Peach

Painted by Michael Fahey's girlfriend Emily's friend Sarah Bolton.

From kotaku.com 

Video game proverbs

GamerPaper.com has a whole set of proverbs re-configured for video games, like this version of 'A penny saved is a penny earned'. I didn't like it as much but also check out their series on 'What if Mario wasn't a plumber?'

Black holes 'zap galaxies into existence'

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

"Astronomers have long wondered which came first, the black hole or the galaxy around it. The leading theory holds that the two co-evolve, starting small and building over time.
But colossal black holes may zap galaxies into existence from scratch, new observations suggest."
Read all about it here on Yahoo news.

Man in Japan weds anime game character

Strange but true: a man in Japan married a Nintendo DS video game character.

I don't recommend this as a dating/marriage approach myself.

I enjoyed some of the comments on BoingBoing. One person wrote "I don't give this marriage another year. He'll leave her for the PSP version...".

Via: BoingBoing

Earth with rings

Via: BoingBoing

Vortex cannon fun

Rules for my unborn son

Although I don't agree with all the advice, I do enjoy the blog Rules for my Unborn Son, which consists of 1001 rules written by a Dad for his son.

I do agree with Rule 387.

Proof that 2 = 1

a=b
a²-b²=ab-b²
(a+b)(a-b)=b(a-b)
a+b=b
2b=b
2=1

Can you see the problem?

Nintendo to release large-screen DSi

Image by plebeian regime via Flickr

"Nintendo Co. plans to release a large-screen version of its DSi hand-held game system in Japan, possibly by the end of the year, according to a news report Tuesday."

A guy devoted to his craft

The Coolest Guy in the World - For more amazing video clips, click here

Proof that 1 is the largest integer

Let N be the largest positive integer. Then either N = 1 or N > 1.

If N > 1 then N*N > N, which breaks our definition of N as the largest integer. Therefore N = 1.

Via: Futility Closet

Machinarium

Machinarium has been released by Amanita Design.

Control your Mac with a Wiimote

Image via Wikipedia

Check out these instructions for controlling your Mac with a Wii remote. I'm not totally sure why you'd want to, but you can! (You could control iTunes from a distance, which could be handy.)

I enjoy the instructions: "Once you have the Wii Remote, be sure to take it out of the package and put the batteries in it. "

This American Life

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

This American Life is an excellent radio program out of Chicago, which tells (real and fictional) stories of people's lives. It has a free podcast, and also free access to its archives. I highly recommend Episode 355: The Giant Pool of Money and Episode 289: Go Ask Your Father, but really I have enjoyed almost every episode I have ever heard (and that is many, many episodes).

Image shows Ira Glass, the show's host.

Hands-on PSPGo review

Gizmodo has a good hands-on review of the PSPGo, due to be released this week. Their reviewer was not greatly impressed by it.

The rapid growth of American obesity

A startling illustration of the rampant growth of obesity in the USA.
Gif from: www.weight.com

"Fat people are destroying America. [...] A National Institutes of Health (NIH) study released in May 2006 demonstrated that despite the fact Americans spend twice as much per capita on health care as the British do (about $5,000 per year per person in the US versus about $2,500 per person per year in the UK), middle-aged white Americans are far sicker than their British counterparts. Compared with the Brits, Americans showed significantly higher rates of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and cancer - -all conditions that are directly traceable to obesity. A June 2006 study by the Harvard School of Public Health found that similar results when comparing Americans' health with Canadians'."
          Jill Elaine Hughes / Obesity in America: The Awful Truth

Segway-inspired unicycle

Check out this experimental Segway-inspired (because self-balancing) unicycle from Honda. The wheel has several small wheels on it, so you can actually move in any direction- forward, backwards, sideways, and even diagonally- just by leaning in that direction. Cool.

Via: KurzweilAI.net

Belief in evolution in the US, by education level

Only 40% of Americans believe in evolution (in Canada it's 59%). Among the least educated, it is 21%. Among the most educated it is 74%. Click the image for more details.

Smokescreen game

Smokescreen "is a cutting-edge game about life online. We all use Facebook, MySpace, Bebo and MSN to keep up with our mates - and we've all heard the stories about parties on Facebook being mobbed, or people getting stalked on MSN. The question is, what would you do if it happened to you?"

Crash Test: 2009 Chevrolet Malibu vs. 1959 Chevy Bel Air

I like this crash test comparison of a 2009 and a 1959 Chevy. Make sure you wait for the interior shots. Yikes!

Link from an anonymous comment on BoingBoing.net

M of the M

Mario of the Month for September, original here.

Free anonymous e-mail

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

The well-named HideMyAss.com provides free anonymous e-mail, which might be handy in certain situations. As they describe it: "Our free anonymous email service enables you to create a disposable email address to protect your privacy online. If you need to give someone your email address, or need to sign up to a website which requires an email address, but you don't wish to reveal your identity then our free service for receiving emails is perfect. Simply signup instantly, give them the our disposable email address and you'll be able to read every email they send in complete privacy. Our free anonymous email service is also good to stop SPAM; if you don't trust a website asking for your email address, then give them one of ours instead." There is a list of other sites that provides this service here.

New iPods

Apple announced some new iPods yesterday. They are trying to position the iPod Touch more as a game-playing device (Steve Jobs even said so), and most of the changes to the 3rd generation iPod Touch are to that end: it has a faster processor and new graphics capabilities. It also has more storage, up to 64 Gbs. Prices as shown (American dollars, of course). More, as ever, at Gizmodo.com, from whence the image. Apple also announced new iPod Nanos, with an FM radio and a video camera.

Hotel Ad Fail

Simply too good to be true, I think, more at Failblog.org.

Formula Wan

Is an interesting racing game, but like MyBrute, you can only play it once a day (depending on how many managers, you have). Click on the photo for the game or here.

Crime mapping

The Edmonton Police have released crime-mapping software (powered by Google maps, of course!) that allows you to see the crime rate in different neighbourhoods in Edmonton. The image shows crimes downtown in the last 60 days. The white circles that are most common are 'multiple crimes in a single location'. Looks like the police are keeping busy!

The most useful information on the Internet

I've always wanted to be able to do this. Maybe now I can.

Japan to Spend $21,000,000,000 on a Power Plant in F%#king Space

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

I can't beat either the headline or the blog entry from Gizmodo on this amazing story. My picture is kind of irrelevant, though- I'm out of time.

Zigzag Philosophy

Image via Wikipedia

I don't know what to make of this site.