It's hard to define what exactly makes the perfect desk toy, because when you're bored even just a paper clip can be entertaining. What's most important is that it gives you an outlet for fidgeting, and this Main Reduction Gear Unit salvaged from a plane's engine and re-branded as a desk toy should fit the bill.
Pop culture is full of anthropomorphized mice that can drive boats, fall in love and hatch diabolical plans. None of them are real, but a mouse that thinks more like a person seems like a tantalizing possibility now that scientists have boosted rodents' brain power by infusing their noggins with human brain cells.
According to a recent report in New Scientist, a team of researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York transplanted human brain cells into the brains of newborn mice. As the team reported in a paper published in the Journal of Neuroscience, the human cells not only survived in the mice brains, they thrived Read more...
Pharmaceutical giant Novartis has created an app to make visually impaired people's lives a little easier. ViaOptaDaily is available for iOS and Android phones, offering a suite of functions that aim to translate the visual world into audible cues. I...
Google's just added a handy new feature to Gmail: you can now convert attached Microsoft Office files to Google Docs and edit them, all within your inbox. There's also support for 15 lesser-used MS Office filetypes, and increased support for tables and charts and the like. Happy spreadsheeting. [VentureBeat via The Verge]
Search engines like Pipl allow you to find information on just about anyone. If you'd like to get your information removed, Computerworld has a giant list of opt-out links for the most popular sites.
Yesterday, legendary crime novelist P.D. James passed away, at the incredible age of 94. The 'Queen of Crime' might've been best known for her writing, but this 2006 adaptation of James' novel captures everything that's great about her writing.
Here we are again, Destructoid. Another Black Friday has come and gone, leaving in its wake sad, emptied wallets and hard drives filled to capacity. Seriously, I just upgraded to a 2TB SSHD and I've already had to move files off of it to make room for my new games.
This year I've actually shown some modicum of restraint in my holiday sales purchases. I picked up Mikami's latest, The Evil Within for less than fifteen dollars -- which is pretty crazy seeing that the game just released last month. I also managed to snag the gorgeous-looing Metro 2033 Redux for ten and I finally got around to picking up the complete version of Sid Meier's Civilization V for around nine dollars. While this year's haul didn't break the bank, I still ended up with some great stuff to add to my collection.
So, how about you, Destructoid community? What were the best deals you came across from this year's offerings?
mikejuk writes It seems incredible that in the 21st century schools are still teaching children to scratch marks on paper. Well in Finland they are taking a step in the direction of the future by giving up teaching handwriting. The Savon Sanomat newspaper reports that from autumn 2016 cursive handwriting will no longer be a compulsory part of the school curriculum. Instead the schools will teach keyboard skills and 'texting'. The idea of teaching proper keyboard skills to children is unquestionably a great idea, the idea of texting is a little more dubious and many will mourn the loss of a traditional skill like cursive writing. So what about a world where cursive writing is forgotten? What do you do when your computer is dead and you need to leave a note? The death of cursive script probably isn't the death of handwriting but the death of doing it quickly and with style. Some no doubt will want to master it just for the sake of it — like driving a stick shift. I know some U.S. schools have done the same; how proficient should kids be with cursive?
I am a 28 year old felon with no high school degree, and a dirty old van one year younger than me painted like Eddie Van Halen's guitar. I can play anywhere between the ages of 20 and 29 depending on if i shave. I'm a line cook and work late nights at a bar. If you'd like to have me as your stictly platonic date for Thanksgiving, but have me pretend to be in a very long or serious relationship with you, to torment your family, I'm game.
In exchange for a free dinner, he would also:
talk about politics and religion
openly hit on other female guests
pretend to get really drunk
start a fistfight with a member of your family on the front lawn in full view of the neighbors
Prior to Thanksgiving, he told a reporter that he had secured a date. Schmidt promised to live-tweet the date, but the results of that date are unclear in his Twitter timeline.
Today, I thought it would be cute to put on a Santa hat and ask my crush what he wanted for Christmas. He said "A girlfriend." I took off my Santa hat and yelled "Ta-da!" He added, "An ATTRACTIVE girlfriend." FML
I can't imagine the amount of hours Dutch editor Matthijs Vlot spent making this: A fantastic supercut that transforms bits of Breaking Bad dialogue into a cohesive rap song that actually makes sense.
A new patent published by the USPTO yesterday details an invention by Nintendo that would allow it to emulate its mobile game consoles, including the Game Boy line of devices specifically, in other settings, including on seat-back displays in airplanes and trains, and on mobile devices including cell phones. The patent is an updated take on an older piece of IP, so it’s not an entirely… Read More
UPDATED 2:15 p.m. ET: At 62 years old, Mickey Rourke returned to the boxing ring Friday night in Moscow, beating a fighter less than half his age. According to the Associated Press, Rourke scored two knockdowns against Elliot Seymour, a 29-year-old former California Golden Gloves champion with a 1-9 professional record, before the referee stopped the fight and awarded the win to Rourke.
Hollywood actor Mickey Rourke (C), 62, raises his fists after knocking out US professional Elliot Seymour, 29, in Moscow on November 28, 2014.
Image: ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images
However, this video of the fight would suggest that neither Rourke nor Seymour were that formidable in the ring: Read more...
The creative minds at Pixeljam Games are gearing up for the Steam re-release of their challenging "potatosophical" platformer, Potatoman Seeks the Troofon December 3. It's been a while since a game trailer had me chuckling as hard as this one. Have a look, it's pretty damn amazing.
This version of Potatoman will feature a new rendering engine, more vibrant colors, a true fullscreen mode, controller support, and Steam achievements. Also, there's this description of the game: "In a world where the Troof is an unanswered question, Potatoman quests through the riddle. Through desert wastelands, thick forests, and dystopian cities: nothing is what it seems. With only his wits, his jump, and a question, Potatoman must potato forth through quirky and challenging platforming puzzles!"
When they say challenging, they're really not screwing around. I died so many times last night seeking my own Troof. Potatoman is very old-school in its unforgiving platforming, but the delightful soundtrack and quirky sense of humor made the experience well worth my time. It's pretty great.
Also, if you missed it before, our very own Editor-In-Chief Jonathan Holmes interviewed Rich Grillotti and Miles Tillman from Pixeljam last year. Have a look at all of them being awesome!
Pharmaceutical giant Novartis has created an app to make visually impaired people's lives a little easier. ViaOptaDaily is available for iOS and Android phones, offering a suite of functions that aim to translate the visual world into audible cues. I...
A new patent published by the USPTO yesterday details an invention by Nintendo that would allow it to emulate its mobile game consoles, including the Game Boy line of devices specifically, in other settings, including on seat-back displays in airplanes and trains, and on mobile devices including cell phones. The patent is an updated take on an older piece of IP, so it’s not an entirely… Read More
