Fatbob

Following the success of ’80s-nostalgia genre hit Stranger Things and the announcement of a prequel to Jim Henson’s ’80s magnum opus Dark Crystal, Netflix continues to dig deep into our childhoods.

The streaming service has upped its nostalgia game, brushing off an old Nintendo cartridge (literally!) in the first teaser for its animated adaptation of the dark fantasy video game series, Castlevania.

Based on the Konami video game released in 1986 (many sequels would follow), the Castlevania TV series gives a slick, anime-style update to the popular pixelated game, though you wouldn’t know it until nearly a minute into the teaser.

For a good 40 seconds of the 1:26 minute trailer, we’re treated to an unknown hand brushing off an old Castlevania Nintendo cartridge. The unseen player is given the option of some pixelated versions of Kevin Spacey’s Frank Underwood from House of Cards, Taylor Schilling’s Piper from Orange is the New Black, with — since this is an adaptation of an ’80s game — your requisite Stranger Things nod, before settling on the Castlevania. Someone must have been very proud of their pixel rendering of Spacey, because the teaser lingered on his likeness so long I thought for a moment that Castlevania would star Kevin Spacey. Alas, that was not meant to be.

The teaser then flashes to a grim animated landscape filled with impaled skeletons and dusty castles as a voice with a thick accent narrates, “There is a darkness upon this land. A savior is needed.”

The teaser descends into gore and bloodshed before the hero is presented as “The man who will kill Dracula.”

See the official synopsis below:

Inspired by the classic video game series, Castlevania is a dark medieval fantasy following the last surviving member of the disgraced Belmont clan, trying to save Eastern Europe from extinction at the hand of Vlad Dracula Tepe himself. The animated series written by best-selling author and comic book icon Warren Ellis and executive produced by Warren Ellis, Kevin Kolde, Fred Seibert and Adi Shankar.

Castlevania, also known as Akumaj? Dracula, was first released by Konami in Japan in 1986 for the original Nintendo NES console. It made its way to North America in 1987 and became a cult hit, making the lists of many “best video games ever.”

The Netflix original series adaptation of Castlevania drops on the streaming service on July 7.

The post ‘Castlevania’ Teaser: Netflix Taps into Nintendo Nostalgia for Animated Series appeared first on /Film.

It is amazing how the game Doom has been ported to so many things. Enter one more port, where the hardware in question is a Honeywell Prestige thermostat.

In his video, [cz7asm] shows us the game running quite nicely on the 480 x 272 LCD with an NES controller plugged into the USB port originally intended for software updates. The thermostat runs on a STM32F429 which is an ARM9 processor that has the juice to pull it off. The Doom engine being used is based on Chocolate Doom, an open source port of the game, and the binaries can be downloaded for Windows and Mac. The source code is also available as a download for your tinkering pleasure. This project by [cz7asm]  is extended from a code on GitHub by [floppes] that was meant for the STM32F429IDISCOVERY evaluation board.

The author shares his code for the STM32F4 on Dropbox as a zip and in order to compile it, the Atmel BSP for GNU GCC is used. The video below demonstrates the hack in action and, though there is no sound yet, the satisfaction that comes from such modifications is its own reward.

What else can you run Doom on? How about a calculator or maybe the Intel Edison or even an ATM machine! If there is a processor with enough muscle power, hackers will find a way to run Doom on it. So have you seen any alien computers lately that you think can be hacked?

Filed under: ARM, classic hacks

NirSoft.net is home to a growing number of software programs for Microsoft Windows devices that are developed by Nir Sofer.

There are only a few developers out there that have produced a constant stream of quality free software for Windows in the past 15 or so years, and Nir Sofer is definitely one of them.

Nir Sofer started to publish his programs on free sites back in 2001, and switched to the iconic nirsoft.net domain in 2004.

Today, it is home to more than 100 freeware programs for Windows. These programs are all free, most are portable, and none include advertisement, unwanted offers or nags.

NirSoft.net Review

As good as many of the programs are that are offered on nirsoft.net, so messy is the site itself. The homepage has so many links that it is hard to find what you are looking for.

The best options that you have are to either use the category browser on the left, the custom search engine near the top, or to download NirLauncher, a package of Nirsoft programs that you can run locally once downloaded.

All product pages on the NirSoft website use the same layout. This is helpful for returning visitors, as you can find your way around more easily because of that.

As a rule of thumb: the download links are always listed near the end of the page. You get a description and details, command line switches, limitations, and a release history on those pages as well usually.

NirSoft programs use a custom translation system that allows anyone to contribute translations for programs available on the website. It is not uncommon that translations of programs become available shortly after release.

The average Nirsoft program has a size of less than 100 Kilobytes thanks to efficient programming in C++, and the lack of installation packages or dependencies that add to the size of the program download.

NirSoft Top Programs

The Top Downloads listing on the NirSoft website dates back to 2015. It is a bit outdated because of that, but may still be useful.

I'd like to provide you with my own top 10 listing of NirSoft applications:

1. Browsing History View -- Reads browsing data of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Safari, and lists it in its interface.
2. CurrPorts -- A handy program that lists all open ports, processes responsible for those, and other information.
3. DNS Query Sniffer -- The program lists all DNS queries of the system.
4. DriveLetterView -- Lists all drive letters of connected devices and devices that were connected in the past.
5. Quick Set DNS -- A simply tool that allows you to switch between different DNS server configurations.
6. NirCmd -- A small tool that enables you to run certain tasks on the system using commands.
7. NTFSLinksView -- Displays symbolic links and junction points in its interface.
8. Volumouse -- Provides access to the volume of audio components through the mouse.
9. Wireless Net View -- Scans wireless network activity and logs it.
10. Wireless Network Watcher -- Scans the wireless network, and lists all computer systems and devices that are connected to the network.

NirSoft Software Advantages

• The programs are free to use.
• All programs are small and portable, which means that you can run them from anywhere, and that they won't take up much space.
• Most NirSoft software uses the same layout and functionality. You will feel right at home regardless of program that you run, and you can use features such as the exporting of data or sorting of data in most.
• Most programs can be run from the command line.

NirSoft Tips

While users may concentrate on downloading software programs from the NirSoft website, other sections of the site may be overlooked. These tips provide you with information on some of the useful sections:

• Code Samples may be useful if you are an aspiring software developer. Nir Sofer published source code samples, as well as the source code for some of his programs.
• Donate page on Nirsoft.
• HTTPS is supported, but it is not enabled by default. You get some mixed content warnings right now when you load https://www.nirsoft.net/
• NirSoft Launcher is one of the best options when it comes to downloading all NirSoft programs at once, and using a launcher application to run them.
• NirSoft Panel lists all programs, and links directly to their executable file. This is a fast way of downloading those programs from a single page.
• The NirSoft blog is updated whenever new tools are released.

What is not so good?

Users may run into two issues with NirSoft applications. First, that some may throw false positives. The nature of some programs, programs that reveal passwords for instance, make them targets for some antivirus solutions.

Nir Sofer published a false positives list until 2008, but stopped doing so because of the large number of reports he received on a daily basis. False positives may impact NirSoft's reputation, and may also put it regularly on blacklists on the Internet.

Inexperienced users may shy away from using NirSoft programs that are flagged by their antivirus solution.

The second issue comes down to the compartmentalization of some of the program families. Most NirSoft programs sever a single purpose, and that is usually a good thing as it means that they are small in size. It can be frustrating however to download several programs for a single purpose instead of just one.

Closing Words

NirSoft is home to quality software programs for Windows, there is no doubt about that. What is great about Nir Sofer is that he kept going in all that time, and that he publishes new software programs and updates to existing programs regularly.

Now You: What are your favorite NirSoft programs, and why?

Ghacks needs you. You can find out how to support us here or support the site directly by becoming a Patreon. Thank you for being a Ghacks reader.

The post NirSoft.net Review (Tech Sites We Love) appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

ABC has recently announced that the popular TV show from the 1980s-1990s Roseanne is coming back in 2018 with an all-new season, starring its original cast, and, to celebrate the occasion, they have put together a 4-minute montage of the most memorable moments from the show.

Groundbreaking family comedy “Roseanne” will return in 2018 with the original cast! From executive producers Roseanne Barr, Sara Gilbert, Tom Werner, Bruce Helford, Whitney Cummings and Tony Hernandez.

ABC Television Network

Back before there was barbed wire to contain them, microchips to track them and trucks to transport them across continents there was the shepherd, who would tend to their herd as if they were their own offspring.

The shepherd would let their bovine children play in the fields all day and eat their fill, but when it came time to return to the safety of the stable the cows would heed the shepherd's call and run home.

(YouTube Link)

Thanks to keepers of history like photographer Joanna Jinton we get to hear what the ancient Swedish herding call known as kulning sounds like, and now I see why cows respond to kulning- because it sounds beautiful!

(YouTube Link)

-Via Laughing Squid

Looking for something a little refreshing this summer? Then head to your local novelty popsicle shop (that has to be a thing, right?) and pick up a Van Holten pickle popsicle. 

Or do you like your pickles a little less cold with a little fizz? Then maybe you need one of these pickle juice sodas from Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop. Sure, you could just drink regular pickle juice, but it lacks all that delightful carbonation you know you've always needed in your pickle juice.

Via Incredible Things

There is some scientific evidence that shows dogs may suffer from depression just like humans, but can we really tell if a dog willingly committed suicide?

Regardless of which side of the road you stand on regarding doggy suicide consider this- there's a bridge in Scotland dubbed "Dog's Suicide Bridge" because more than fifty dogs have leapt off the bridge and died in the last 50 years.

One particular section of the Overtoun Bridge near Dumbarton seems to have a strange effect on dogs of a certain breed, causing them to heedlessly leap off the side and "commit suicide":

All of the deaths occurred at the very same spot on the right-hand side of the bridge. All of the dogs who died were long muzzle breeds like Collie, Labrador, or Greyhound. All of the deaths took place on bright, clear days.

Over six months in 2005, five dogs leaped to their deaths. One bereaved owner, Donna Cooper was out walking with her family when her dog, Ben jumped over the parapet and fell fifty feet onto the rocks below.

Some people think the bridge is haunted by an evil spirit, others think it's situated in a "thin place" where our world meets with the "Otherside" so dogs are trying to leap into this other world.

But animal behaviorist Dr. David Sands has posited the most popular theory- their leaping over the side because they smell mink:

Sands uncovered the most likely explanation for the dog deaths is the onset of mink farming in the area, which started fifty years ago:

Evidence of mink was confirmed in the area not only by a naturalist, who spotted droppings beneath the bridge, but also by [an angler], who explained that the top hill quarry had lakes that contained trout (perfect mink diet).

The intense scent of mink aroused each dog’s curiosity, leading to their fatal leap of faith.

(YouTube Link)

Read The Mystery Of The Dog Suicide Bridge here

The process of getting kids to read was addressed by Lunarbaboon the other day. Grant Snider takes it a bit further and plots out the way we relate to reading throughout our lives. This comic is from Snider's Incidental Comics. You can get this comic in print or poster form; it would be a great gift for a teacher or librarian.

The post CABLE COMPANIES BRING THE BEST OUT OF US appeared first on EPIC FAIL .COM : #1 Source for Epic Fail and Fail Pictures, Fail Videos, and Fail Stories.

Studio Ghibli fans have something else to look forward to after Ronja, the Robber's Daughter. Hayao Miyazaki, famous Japanese animation filmmaker and the studio's mastermind, will be coming out of his retirement to begin working on his last project t...

Studio Ghibli fans have something else to look forward to after Ronja, the Robber's Daughter. Hayao Miyazaki, famous Japanese animation filmmaker and the studio's mastermind, will be coming out of his retirement to begin working on his last project t...

Not all hot peppers are created equal, and few are as unequal as the Dragon’s Breath chili—a new breed that may soon find itself atop the “world’s hottest” throne. Forged by Wales horticulturalist Mike Smith, the red-orange, fingernail-sized fruit is the unintentional product of a trial of a new performance-boosting…

Read more...

- commentaires
- via: twitter.com

The post WE’LL SEND YOU A POSTCARD. MADE OF BACON. appeared first on EPIC FAIL .COM : #1 Source for Epic Fail and Fail Pictures, Fail Videos, and Fail Stories.

For years, Microsoft has been talking about its dream of mixed reality -- the idea that AR and VR headsets can work together in harmony across virtual and physical environments. But until now, it really has just been talk. At its Build developer conf...

The bestselling author you read as a kid on how he's made scary stories his life's work, as told to Jen Doll.

(Image credit: Larry D. Moore CC BY-SA 3.0.)

All I ever wanted to be was a writer. I started when I was 9. I’d be in my room writing little joke magazines, and I would bring them to school. I was a shy, fearful kid, and it was my way of getting attention. People always ask, “Did you have any teachers who encouraged you?” and the right answer is, “Yes, I did.” But I didn’t. They begged me to stop!

These days, I read the paper and get to work at about 9:30 every morning in my apartment. It’s the world’s best commute. I write 2,000 words and usually finish by 2:30 p.m. I walk the dog, go to the gym, and take a nap. That’s it. It’s a full life.

The challenge is coming up with new ideas. I’ve done every scary thing you can possibly do. I met Stephen King at the Edgar Awards and he said, “You’ve taken every single amusement park plot and haven’t left any for anyone else.”

I’m lucky. When I need a new idea, I get one. But it’s mysterious to me. People say, “R.L. Stine has the formula.” I wish I knew the formula. I don’t think there is one.

About every Goosebumpsbook has to take place in some kid’s backyard, or the kitchen, or the basement. It’s scarier for kids if it starts in their own house or neighborhood. Some writers make a mistake; they want to do something creepy, so they pick a huge dark castle in Europe, but kids don’t relate to that.

I don’t get scared. I watched this horror movie, It Follows. It just made me laugh; they all do. I think horror is funny. That’s the combination kids like: books that are funny and scary at the same time, but not too scary.

I don’t read much horror. A few Stephen King books are absolutely brilliant. I think Misery is the best book ever written about writers and editors. Pet Sematary, I’ve stolen that plot about six times. I had to—it’s just so good.

Jack Black plays R.L. Stine in the Goosebumps movie. Watch it for a cameo from Stine himself.

Planning a book is the only time I get stuck. I can do a Goosebumps outline, which is 25 to 30 chapters, in three or four days. But if it’s not going well, it might take me two weeks. My editor is my wife, Jane, and I never get a book through without revising. It’s the main thing we fight about—plots.

In the early days, Jane and I collaborated on funny books for kids. But we work so differently. I go in order, starting in the beginning, and Jane would write something in the middle, then write an ending, then go back. We fought about it, and she locked me in a closet and left the apartment. Then we decided not to collaborate.

After college, I went to New York and worked for a year on a soft drink magazine, and then I became assistant editor of Junior Scholastic. It was 1968. I wrote history and geography articles and news stories, and then they gave me my own magazine, Search. It was a history-current affairs magazine for junior high kids, but written at a fifth-grade level. That’s how I learned about reading levels. I learned all the vocabulary lists for fourth and fifth grade, and that’s how I keep Goosebumps easy to read.

I did that for four years, and then we did Bananas, which was my life’s goal: my own humor magazine. I was 30, I did it for 10 years, and I had the best time. When the magazine folded, I thought, “God, I’m never going to shave again, never get dressed.”

I was doing everything just to make a living. I was writing Bazooka Joe comics and jokes for bubble gum. I did Rocky and Bullwinkle and Mighty Mouse coloring books. That was a great job because it’s one sentence per page. Then, I was having lunch with Jean Feiwel, the editorial director at Scholastic at the time. She’d just had a fight with a YA horror writer and said, “I’m never working with him again. You could write a good teen horror novel. How about it?” I hadn’t read any teen horror novels, but I didn’t say no to anything in those days. I ran to the bookstore and bought a bunch of horror books.

Then, I was having lunch with Jean Feiwel, the editorial director at Scholastic at the time. She'd just had a fight with a YA writer and said, "I'm never working with him again. You could write a good teen horror novel. How about it?" I hadn't read any teen horror novels, but I didn't say no to anything in those days. I ran to the bookstore and bought a bunch of horror books.

Fear Street sold like crazy: 80 million books. Jane’s business partner at Parachute Press, Joan, said, “Let’s try to do middle-grade horror for 7- to 12-year- olds.” I refused. But she kept after me. I finally agreed that if I could think of a good name, I’d write a few books. Well, I was reading TV Guide, and there was an ad on the bottom of the page that said, “It’s Goosebumps Week on channel 11.” The name was just staring at me!

I recently went back to writing Fear Street, and the new one [as of September 2015] is the best.
It’s called The Lost Girl. It has the most gruesome scene I’ve ever written. It’s disgusting. It involves horses eating a man. I should be ashamed, but I’m so proud of that scene.

I think I’m totally normal, don’t you? Horror guys aren’t sick at all.

________________________________

The article above, by R.L. Stine as told to Jen Doll, appeared in the October 2015 issue of mental_floss magazine. It is reprinted here with permission.

Don't forget to feed your brain by visiting mental_floss' extremely entertaining website and blog today for more!

Link Neal, of Rhett & Link Internet comedy duo, is in a park. Then it gets more complicated and interesting.



This Is Mythical