By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
If you’re waiting for the Playstation 3 game WipEout then you’re going to be waiting a while longer. It seems that the game has failed epilepsy tests due to the speed and flashing lights on the screen and will therefore have to be “re-engineered” by the developers.
There’s no word yet on how long that will even take.
I had no idea that games companies even ran “epilepsy tests”. I am quite impressed by their thoroughness.
Via CVG
Ever wondered what fonts would look like if they were presented as real human beings? The following CollegeHumor video will show you just that. Funny stuff.
By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
This blog post by David Risley kind of hit a raw nerve today because it is a problem that all bloggers face sooner or later.
Blogging is a sedentary occupation. I personally sit in my chair for 12 hours or more, 6 days a week. Yes, I have breaks and walk around, but I don’t do a lot of strenuous exercise. Blogging isn’t like working on a building site or working as a police officer or fire fighter. It just involves sitting in front of a screen, typing away. I enjoy what I do, but it’s hell on my lower back and neck.
This also means I am tempted to snack away on junk food while I am typing. So quite often you’ll see chocolate wrappers, empty soda cans and so on around the computer monitor. As a result, my weight has shot up over the past few years to the point where people are asking me when I am going to give birth to my triplets.
Now this is not uncommon with bloggers and other home-based workers. You sit around all day, hardly moving, eating crap and the weight is going to eventually start piling on. I keep telling myself I should start going to a gym to workout, but how many people tell themselves that but never go in the end? I’m sure you tell yourself that too but never go either. It’s human nature to get lazy and put it off in favour of opening another beer.
Which is why the best thing to do is : eat less and move around more!
By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
As millions of people head to the movie theaters to see The Dark Knight, you too can be Batman – if you have a spare $7 million and change lying around.
The Chicago Tribune has a feature showing you each step you have to take and how much it will set you back. From the suit to the car to the butler and much more. As you will see, saving the world and getting the girl isn’t cheap. The suit itself would take up just over $2 million of your budget.
But if you want to go the low budget route, the “Cheapo’s R-Us” strategy, then the Tribune has that covered too. Just head towards the end of the article for some options leaning towards the Homer Simpson end of the price scale. Oh look – a small Batmobile toy from Toys-R-Us for $27.99! Holy Smackeronies Batman!
By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
If you blog for a living like I do, you’ll know that some days the words just don’t come. For hours, you’ll sit there looking for stories or you’ll try to make the words come out to no avail. Or you’ll simply not be bothered, give up and watch daytime TV instead. There’s been many a time when Kiltak has sent me an IM message with a not so subtle “planning on posting anything today Mark?” to which I’ll reply “sssh…Oprah’s starting!”
Well if you find yourself in that terrible word drought situation then I have the very thing for you – the Lazy Blogger Post Generator! Simply choose your phrase, hit the button and out pops your post! Simple as pie!
So I chose my words and phrases, hit the button and…..here’s my Pulitzer winning post –
Blimey! I just got slapped with a wet salmon – really – I have not updated this since dearest Mummy was still alive… You would not believe how terribly tardy the Victorian internet can be. I prostrate myself in sorrow and beg thy forgiveness..
I am lost in a sea of pseudo-olde-english with finding Jesus (after someone told me he was lost), selling my soul to Google, just generally being an embarrassment to the bodyguards of the blogger I am stalking, my day drifts aimlessly from lunchtime to sun down and beyond. I am beyond drunk most of the time. I wish you could be here to share it.
I swear on the bones of my ancestors I will make more of an effort to blog more often. You have my word! Don’t hold your breath though, you’re likely to turn blue..
I’m convinced Kiltak will never notice the difference….I can automate this stuff and spend my whole day on the beach living a life of luxury and getting paid! Wait…did I just say that out loud?
By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
First it was Chinese and Iranian bloggers getting the boot in from their government, then a Russian blogger received a suspended prison sentence for saying nasty things on his blog about the local police. Now the Memphis Police Department (MPD) in the good ol’ US of A is attempting to discover who is behind MPD Enforcer 2.0
The blog, which is apparently operated by a former MPD officer, is extremely critical of the MPD and its director, Larry Godwin. Now Godwin and the MPD’s lawyers want to know who’s behind MPD Enforcer.
So they have taken AOL to court because it looks like an @aim.com e-mail address is associated with the blog. They want the company to hand over all records that will identify the perp so the heavily armed SWAT teams can raid the premises and take the dangerous violent S.O.B down – ASAP. If that doesn’t pan out, I’m sure Google’s Blogspot is next on the hitlist. We can then all sleep easy in our beds knowing that a dangerous blogger has been taken off the streets and will never harm our children or our children’s children.
Some thoughts – first, by doing what they are doing, the MPD is playing right into the blogger’s hands. Not only are they giving the blog lots of publicity, but they are also confirming what the blogger is probably constantly saying – that the MPD is heavy handed and bullying.
Secondly, doesn’t the MPD have real criminals to catch instead of getting all worked up over one blogger?
Third, shouldn’t somebody teach the MPD and Director Godwin about something called the First Amendment?
Fourth, shouldn’t police officers be tough and develop thick skins? It looks like the MPD can’t handle a bit of criticism on a blog without crying about it and running home to Mummy. What about either ignoring the criticism or responding to it in a mature adult manner? Isn’t suing a bit over the top?
I’m sure all you US readers don’t want to see your tax dollars being spent on lawsuits like this when they should be spent on catching criminals, building prisons and maintaining a justice system in general. Instead, the MPD seems to be using your tax dollars to keep their egos intact.
To kick off this post, we’ll start with an excerpt from The Wind from the Sun, a short story by Arthur C. Clarke:
“Hold your hands out to the sun. What do you feel? Heat, of course. But there’s pressure as well – though you’ve never noticed it, because it’s so tiny. Over the area of your hands, it only comes to about a millionth of an ounce. But out in space, even a pressure as small as that can be important – for it’s acting all the time, hour after hour, day after day. Unlike rocket fuel, it’s free and unlimited. If we want to, we can use it; we can build sails to catch the radiation blowing from the sun.”
When it comes to space-technology prediction, almost no one has ever reached the level of Arthur C. Clarke. Once again, it seems that Mr. Clarke was right.
Just next week, NASA is planning to launch a new space propulsion system named NanoSail-D. The technology consists of a 10 square-meter metallic polymer sail that uses solar pressure as a mean of propulsion for spacecrafts. Even though Mr. Clarke passed away last March, I doubt that we’ll stop hearing about him anytime soon, and I’m sure he’ll keep on amazing us again and again with his prophetic writings. Video after the jump.
By JR Raphael
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
This is heavy, Doc: Marty McFly’s original hoverboard from the Back to the Future series is up for grabs on eBay.
Oh, and it’ll run you at least $30,000.
Price aside, though, this would be a pretty sweet purchase. Used in both BTTF II and III, the board is one of two different styles made for the movies and is described as “the best example of all wood Hoverboards to have survived the rigors of filming.”
The other style, interestingly enough, combined wood with styrofoam — and as a result, didn’t last as long. The one up for sale, however, is said to be in “used but outstanding condition.” It’s equipped with ballbearing-mounted rear footpads that’ll let you do full 360s, just like Marty. There are also bottom-installed magnet plates and even two holes on the top — evidence of the handlebars originally on this board when Marty borrowed it from a little girl in the second flick.
The Hoverboard live auction begins August 1 at 11:00 PDT. It’s estimated to go as high as $50,000.
In related news, if anyone has $50,000 I can borrow, please contact me immediately.
By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
Gmail has introduced the ability for its users to access their email through a secure “https” connection.
Previously, if you wanted to access Gmail through a https connection, you had to use a Greasemonkey script or Gina Trapani’s Better Gmail Firefox extension. But now Gmail has integrated it right into their interface.
You may be wondering though, if a secure connection is so important, why Gmail gives you the chance to opt out of it. The Gmail blog explains :
We use https to protect your password every time you log into Gmail, but we don’t use https once you’re in your mail unless you ask for it (by visiting https://mail.google.com rather than http://mail.google.com). Why not? Because the downside is that https can make your mail slower. Your computer has to do extra work to decrypt all that data, and encrypted data doesn’t travel across the internet as efficiently as unencrypted data. That’s why we leave the choice up to you.
I personally use a secure connection all the time so I am glad that Gmail is now offering this feature officially. Https is another tick in the plus column for why Gmail is so much better than other email services!
Being Gmail, it is possible that they are rolling this out slowly, so if you don’t see it in your settings, wait a few days. I’m sure it will make an appearance eventually.
By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
Professor Randy Pausch, the man who brought us the inspirational speech “The Last Lecture” has died of complications from pancreatic cancer.
The speech, delivered at Carnegie Mellon University, was an urge by Pausch to celebrate life and do great things. This was made all the more poignant given the fact that he was fighting terminal cancer and not given much time to live. His speech went viral on YouTube, he appeared on Oprah and the speech was made into a bestselling book.
So even though Professor Pausch has died, his memory and his ideas will live on for generations.