pennyfornasa:

On Wednesday February 26^th, NASA’s Kepler mission announced the discovery of 715 new planets. These newly-verified planets orbit 305 stars, many have multiple-planet systems like our own. Interestingly, 95% of these planets are smaller than Neptune in size, which is 24,622 km in radius (15,299 miles). NASA states that this discovery marks a significant increase in the number of known small-sized planets more akin to Earth than previously identified planets.

Since the first discovery of a planet outside our Solar System was made two decades ago, Kepler has been able to speed up the process of confirming planets. These multiple planet systems are important for scientists to study because they are fertile grounds that give us clues on planet formation. Four of these confirmed planets are 2.5 times the size of Earth and they lie within the habitable zone. The possibilities seem endless on what may lie on these planets or what life could exist there.

Without doubling NASA’s budget it’ll take us a lot longer to answer the age-old question, “Are we alone in the Universe?” Let’s take action today and help NASA double their budget. penny4nasa.org/take-action/

Yeah.

…It was always a privilege to write for Velma. You knew at least one of the characters had a grip on things.

by bkenig

time-for-maps:

What Africa might look like if it had never been colonized. [1699 × 2400]

Survey of the Roads of the U.S. Northeast (1790)

Survey of the Roads of the United States of America showing Post Roads Survey of the Roads of the U.S. Northeast in 1790 Date: 1961 Author: Christopher Colles Dwnld: Full Size (6.93mb) Source: Rumsey Map Collection Print Availability: See our Prints Page for more details pff This map isn't part of any series, but we have other maps of New England that you might want to check out. A map...

the BIG Map Blog - Interesting maps, historical maps, BIG maps.

Because Canada

(Est. 1969) "The National Arts Centre collaborates with artists and arts organizations across Canada to help create a national stage for the performing arts, and acts as a catalyst for performance, creation and learning across the country. A home for Canada's most creative artists, the NAC strives to be artistically adventurous in each of its programming streams - the NAC Orchestra, English Theatre, French Theatre and Dance, as well as the Scene festivals and NAC Presents, which showcase established and emerging Canadian artists. The organization is at the forefront of youth and educational activities, offering artist training, programs for children and youth, and resources for teachers in communities across Canada. The NAC is also a pioneer in new media, using technology to teach students and young artists around the globe, by creating top-rated podcasts, and providing a wide range of NAC Orchestra concerts on demand. The NAC is the only bilingual, multidisciplinary performing arts centre in Canada, and one of the largest in the world.

Design by: Scott Thornley + Company (Toronto, Canada)

Opinion/Notes: The old logo was kind of bad-ass; perhaps a little OmniCorp-esque for a cultural organization but it was a really nice icon. The new one is, unfortunately, quite trite. A spotlight. Woo-yawn-hoo. The resulting icon is just not very pleasant and using it as a window doesn't win it any points with me. Lastly, the typography is messy and overly tight. Just an overall poor job.

Related Links: National Arts Centre press release
Scott Thornley + Company project page

Totally normal and cool. Definitely how it happens.

My Congo African Grey picks up stuff REALLY fast. Sometimes he’ll piece together stuff that’s hilarious.

Yesterday I was sitting next to him reading, and he was preening quietly so I told him he was being really good — giving them attention when they’re not screaming gives them the option of not screaming when they want attention, so I try to do this a lot.

His response? He said in a friendly tone, “You’re a really good Nattie. Haha. I love you, bitch.” My husband and I use obscenities as casual endearments.

Then sometimes he’ll throw stuff together in Engrish-y ways that almost make sense. The other day we were moving, so I put Bongo (the African Grey) and our cockatiel in their travel cages so I could take their huge cages apart to stick in the truck. Bongo didn’t like this, so he decided to lift up his water bowl, which lifts the food cup door, and throw it on the floor. Shocked, I said, “You douche!” Bongo yeowled, this hilarious gibberishy cat-like sound. My husband came in and asked what happened, and Bongo said, “Yes, that became water now.” I want to put that on a shirt with like, a picture of an anthropocentrized flower or something.

Other times he’ll say stuff that makes sense, logically and grammatically, that he’s put together on his own, but it’s just funny. The other day we were sitting in silence for a while, when Bongo suddenly let out this long sigh and said, “Well, I guess I *am* Bongo,” not in a revelatory tone, but in the same grudging way someone takes responsibility, like when someone says, “I guess I *am* the adult here.” I blinked at him and said, “Alright. How does that make you feel?” and he just gave a weary “hm” and started preening, like there was nothing to be done for it so we may as well move on with life.

On a less philosophical note, a few weeks ago we put the birds to bed, which basically means just putting them in their cages and covering them. Most nights, Bongo does not want to go to bed, but that night he REALLY didn’t want to. He tried to scramble back out of the cage but wasn’t fast enough. He then clung to the side as my husband wrapped the blanket around, and, adopting my husband’s raging-at-Mortal-Kombat voice, yelled, “Nooooooooooooooooo!” We cracked up because we couldn’t help it, which he did not seem to appreciate. He fell silent once the blanket was in place. Then we flicked the light switch off, and Bongo said simply, “Fuck.”

Bongo is awesome. Parrots are awesome. When we lived in Texas, there was a breeder who said that her breeding parrots would speak some human to their chicks, like “good girl” and “here’s some nummies” when feeding them. Bongo uses both when he talks to our cockatiel, which is positively creepy since they hate each other; he’ll climb on Precious’s cage to harass him, and say, “Come here Precious” and snicker, and when Precious starts squawking in outrage, he says, “Calm down, Precious,” or (more rudely) “Shut up, Precious.” What’s especially amusing about this is we practically never said those things to Precious because Precious didn’t scream as much as Bongo used to; we’d say “calm down, Bongo” instead, but he says Precious. He also tries to blame his own screaming on Precious if I’m out of the room: he will scream a lot, and if I eventually say anything back telling him to knock it off, he says “shut up Precious.” And then screams again. (He doesn’t scream much anymore after I started being more alert to enforcing and ignoring certain things.) Precious also does this horrible, scratchy barking sound in imitation of an alarm clock we had when he was a baby, and Bongo will start whistling La Cucaracha whenever Precious starts in on this because Precious LOVES La Cucaracha and will instantly start singing instead.

It is always interesting to me to see different ways Bongo figures out how to use sounds to change stuff around him. One of my favorite things he likes to do is sit on the back of my wooden office chair, and he will start banging his beak rhythmically on it, which is a normal bird thing, especially with male birds (Precious does it too). But if I start making percussive beat boxing noises, he will keep banging his beak AND make a clicking sound AND put his wings up and dance a bit. The rhythm is shaky but it’s super cute. If he wants to get my attention, he knows I will do that with him for a while. He also likes to sing, “Boooooongo, Booooongo biiiiird,” in it sometimes, just whatever notes he feels like.

But what’s been REALLY great, is Bongo’s about to turn six, so for the last year or so he’s been transitioning to adulthood more fully. He seems to have gotten much smarter — like, quicker to understand things — and mellowed out over this time. The other week I was sick and lying in bed, really tired, but Bongo was freaking out wanting to see me so my husband brought him in the bedroom and left him on the chair I mentioned earlier. Bongo started gibbering and laughing and talking to me a bunch, which cheered me up, and I didn’t want him to feel ignored so I kept up for twenty minutes or so. Finally, though, I was just too tired, but Bongo kept talking. I tried to think of a way to explain, not really knowing if anything would work, but not wanting to upset him. When we put the birds to bed at night, we say, “It’s bedtime!” so that seemed like an option. Then he knows that “mommy” is me, plus he had started using it as an adjective — he started saying “want mommy kiss” a year ago.

So I try, “It’s mommy bedtime.” To my surprise, he stops talking abruptly, then says, “Okay.” And he stayed completely silent while I took a nap. When I woke up, he said in a bright British accent, “Hullo!”

Birds are the best.

Actor and activist George Takei recently made an appearance on Democracy Now! where, in addition to discussing Arizona's recent anti-LGBTQ bill and his role as Mr. Sulu, he talked about his family's experience inside a Japanese internment camp during the Second World War.

Read more...

Beholder

Comic artist Patrick Sean Farley of Electric Sheep Comix has created an incredible series of 3D models in ZBrush based on creatures from the original Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual. You can view more monsters from the collection on Patrick’s website.

Lamassu

Barbed Devil

Owlbear

Ki-Rin

images and videos via Patrick Sean Farley

via Boing Boing

redscharlach:

Above, you see a genuine ad from Popular Science (1968), courtesy of newhousebooks. Below is the image that popped into my mind when I first saw it. Perhaps there IS an upside to sexist retro advertising after all?

Danish Fuel, a design company based in the Kolding Municipality of Denmark, has very creatively transformed the petrol carrying “Jerry Cans” of Word War II into unique and modern portable bar cabinets that can also be hung on walls. Because the cans are recycled, they are stripped, sterilized and made useable through a unique baking and sandblasting method, then powder-coated and reassembled with the purchaser’s choice of wood for the shelves.

A “Jerry Can” is a German invention that originates from WWII. Back then the English referred to the Germans as “Jerries” – hence the name “Jerry Can”. The coloring of the cans were unique in the sense that it was based on their specific use, cf. Red = gasoline, Yellow = diesel, Blue = petrol, and light blue = water…All of Danish Fuel’s Jerry Cans are handcrafted in Denmark based on the principal of reusing parts of old Jerry Cans and remaking them. Hence, not two cans are alike; therefore your specific can will be a unique specimen.

The bar cabinets are sold for €399 (roughly $547 USD) and are shipped “to most countries”. In addition to the bar cabinet, Danish Fuel has designed a line of bathroom cabinets and suitcases, also made from Jerry Cans.

File under: Want.

images via Danish Fuel

via Werd, The Awesomer

Turns out the “polar vortex,” which has led to record low temperatures in parts of the United States, did make Americans buy more “Ugg boots” this winter, after all.

Overnight, Decker’s Outdoor, which owns the UGG Australia label of the popular sheepskin boots first worn by shearers and surfers, reported quarterly results that were much stronger than analysts had anticipated. Net sales were up 19% to $736 million, with UGG brand sales up 18% to hit a fresh high.

But that hasn’t helped the company’s stock price, which has sunk by 15% this morning.

That’s due to an underwhelming forecast for the first quarter of 2014, which has caused investors to dump the stock this morning. Last year, hedge fund manager David Einhorn described this tactic of expectations management by companies, which makes it easier to exceed estimates in the future, as “beat and lower.”  Well, it didn’t work for Decker’s this time.

selfiecity is a project coordinated by Dr. Lev Manovich of the City University of New York that investigates the ubiquitous selfie in what they call “a mix of theoretic, artistic and quantitative methods” including essays and data analysis. For the project, they culled 120,000 total photos from Instagram down to 640 selfies from five different cities (New York City, Bangkok, Sao Paulo, Berlin, and Moscow) for a grand total of 3,200 images.

Though the project boasts an impressive analysis of poses, age and gender profiles, smile distributions, and other data on a per-city basis, it’s important to note that 3,200 total images can be considered a small sample size, and a significant amount of the initial processing was done using Mechanical Turk workers — folks hired specifically to make a guess at certain things like age. It does provide some potentially interesting insights, however, like the fact that only 3-5% of the images the project initially analyzed were selfies.

All of the projects data, essays, and methods are available on its website.

via Kenyatta Cheese

Create an API for any website, in any programming language, without writing a line of code

Gargl (Generic API Recorder and Generator Lite, pronounced “Gargle”) is a project composed of multiple components meant to allow developers to easily figure out, document, and generate modules for the undocumented APIs that websites use to talk between client and server.

Saturday girl, Casey Orr

Inspired by video games such as NBA 2K14, Jon Bois decided to create a sports video game of his very own. It went terribly.

Even though a video game costs only $50 or $60 to purchase, it typically costs over $1,000 to make, and sometimes much more. Creating a game such as Madden 25 or NBA 2K14, in fact, requires an entire team of people:

- Computer programmer
- Person who looks through and checks whether any of the code is wrong
- Assistant for random stuff
- Boss

But making a great video game is just like making the next Facebook or Twitter: all you need is a computer, big dreams and a great attitude. By that logic, I decided to set about making my own video game, which I have called Jon's Basketball Game.

I created the game all by myself, thereby cutting out so much of the bloat that hampers big-budget enterprises. I felt as though the credentials I brought to the table were more than enough to get the job done:

- I'm a big sports fan who has watched lots of basketball games, some of which I watched from the very beginning until the very end
- I have a thorough grasp of BASIC, and once authored a variant of the TI calculator classic "DRUGWAR" in which you could do the drugs yourself and the numbers would add wrong
- I'm pretty good with my computer -- if you watched me use the computer, you'd admire how quickly I zip from page to page, and from application to application
- I care deeply

So this week, I set to work. I purchased Garry's Mod from the Steam store for $10. It's essentially a program that allows you to build your own 3D world. You fill it with buildings, objects and all sorts of different folks, and you can also set laws of physics for your world and build simple machines. I'd never used it before, but given my qualifications (see above), I didn't think I would have much trouble.

I feel that I need to temper your expectations just a bit. I know you're excited to see Jon's Basketball Game, but creating a basketball video game all by myself proved to be quite difficult, and I ran into a countless number of issues during development. In fact, you may not even think that it's a good game at all. Some elements of the game are so poor in appearance and function that I'm rather embarrassed to show them to you.

I will let you decide for yourself, though. Here, through a series of GIFs, is a preview of Jon's Basketball Game.

THE BASKETBALL

Constructing a pair of rudimentary baskets and backboards wasn't too difficult, but the ball was a whole different issue. Firstly, since Garry's Mod is based on the Half-Life universe, the player does not actually hold the ball; instead, the player uses the Gravity Gun to pick up and throw the ball. While it looks unnatural, it still does the trick.

More problematic was the lack of a basketball model in Garry's Mod. I had to run through a series of objects to determine which would work best as a basketball.

1. A large tire

As you can see, I got pretty good with my tire-ball, but it was so dang large that I couldn't even attempt half-court shots. I had to look elsewhere.

2. A crate

Finally, a video game with crates! Like a basketball, it was empty inside and relatively light, but it shattered to pieces every time I made a shot. To play an entire game under such circumstances would not have been feasible.

3. A crate which is on fire

I don't know why I thought this might work. I had just got done trying out the regular, not-on-fire crate, and that didn't work, so there was pretty much no chance that this would be a good basketball.

4. A guy

While it's true that a guy was small enough to fit through my improvised hoop, and I could throw him quite far, dribbling him proved to be a fool's errand. Moreover, the spectacle was frankly a little too macabre for my tastes.

Part of the backboard is missing because it burned down during the "crate on fire" phase of development. I fixed it later.

5. A metal ball

At first, I was loathe to use this as the basketball, because it's so heavy that I often died while trying to rebound a shot. However, its size, shape and behavior were closer to that of a real basketball than any other item I tested, so I decided to go with it.

THE GAMEPLAY

Unfortunately, I lacked the know-how to construct artificial-intelligence models for the computer-controlled players, so I had to rely solely upon what Garry's Mod made available. Many of the human models simply stood around and wouldn't do anything, but I did find one model -- the security guard -- who would at least follow me around while I ran upcourt.

I made four copies of him, but none of them demonstrated any degree of basketball I.Q. This kept happening whenever I tried to pass them the ball.

You might be tempted to compare them to a terrible NBA team, such as the 76ers. But in fact, the 76ers are far better than the average basketball player, and would have run circles around these guys -- guys who had no idea of how to catch a pass, much less perform any more sophisticated basketball actions.

This was the stage of development in which I realized that Jon's Basketball Game was essentially unplayable as a traditional basketball simulator, and that I would have to get creative with the gameplay to establish anything of value. I spawned a dune buggy in the hope that a player could literally drive to the net.

This feature was a dud, and I ultimately made the difficult decision to remove it from the game. It will, however, come in handy if I decide to produce Jon's F1 Racer. I think I might attempt that project at a later date. Though my technical skills as a developer are perhaps not what they could be, I think I've clearly demonstrated by this point that I am a hard worker who's determined to find tech solutions and bring them to the mass market. And when it comes to software development, that's really all you need.

For my next simulation, I created an opposing team of five nerdy scientist guys. They would just stand there as I dribbled around them. Their defensive game plan was exploitable in so many ways. Here is one way.

Features like this one led me to change the game's original slogan from

Jon's Basketball Game: Get in the game!

to

You never know what will happen when you play Jon's Basketball Game!

I will admit, though, that this slogan conceals my deep concerns regarding gameplay. Eventually, I decided to remove myself from the game, and allow two computer-controlled teams to play against one another. Since so few of the character models would actually do anything, I regrettably had to field one team of gun-wielding riot guards.

I set them all up (with a dozen or more players per side, because you never know what will happen when you play Jon's Basketball Game), placed two guys at center court, put the ball between them and turned on their AIs.

This was thoroughly disheartening. After they racked up a dozen fouls, perhaps even more, they started opening fire on me, a bystander. I deleted all these characters, because this is not what Jon's Basketball Game is all about.

It was the latest of a wealth of well-intention game features I had to cancel. How could I hope to create a Career Mode or Franchise Mode if half the players couldn't go five seconds without dying? It would have been completely pointless.

In the end, there was nothing left for me to do but perform trick shots. I'm happy to report that in this effort, unlike all others, I did quite well. I had to practice this full-court, through-the-opposite-hoop shot for about 10 minutes before I finally made one:

The 400-foot-tall man, as well as the 20-foot-tall pigeons, were leftover elements from gameplay features that were abandoned at an early stage of development. The scientists have a boat, but I can't remember why. I was probably just joking around, since there's no reason to have a boat on a basketball court.

In all, I have little choice to assess Jon's Basketball Game as a categorical failure. The graphics are decent, but it suffers from unplayable AI, uneven gameplay, and a complete lack of replay value. Arriving at this assessment, frankly, is painful, since I spent many hours developing it.

If nothing else, though, it's a cautionary tale: if you want to design a video game, you will need to take computer programmer classes first.

Would YOU like to play Jon's Basketball Game? Well, you can't.

jtotheizzoe:

sci-universe:

Technology at it’s cutest — The Bipedal Cycling Robot

In 2011, robot creator Masahiko Yamaguchi demonstrated a robot which can balance, steer and correct itself while riding a fixed-gear bike.

Full video with more information here.

Hipster-Bot 5000

oh, my, god. 

There's a new Snickers ad with Godzilla in it just in time for the new movie. Did I say Godzilla? Because the whole thing looks just like an imaginary Denver, the Last Dinosaur movie. You can watch the clip below:

Read more...

Paul Fischer makes 3D sketches of big, complicated machines for fun. He recreated the King Tiger and other German tanks from World War II, but that only made him more ambitious. “I was looking for something bigger to draw after tanks,” says Fischer, who has been drafting since high school.

So he ordered the original blueprints of the 4-8-8-4 Big Boy, an American steam locomotive used by Union Pacific Railroad from 1941 into the 1960s, when diesel supplanted steam. He began with the main drive wheels, which were in two parts. “Even something as simple as those wheels, I always assumed that they were one piece of metal.”

Fischer reconstructed an entire Big Boy engine, first in SolidWorks 3D modeling software and then in real life, on a MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer in his basement in Earleville, MD. “From what it looks like on the outside, I made it as close to the original as possible,” says Fischer. Fischer spent between 700 and 800 hours drafting and another 1,000 hours 3D printing the locomotive.

All told, Fischer spent eight months on the Big Boy. At times, it was like having a newborn. “In the middle of the night I would hear the printer stop, and I would get up and start a new build.” Fischer went through 16 rolls of MakerBot True Black PLA Filament and two 2-oz. tubes of Zap Super Glue. “I used more Super Glue than I probably should’ve,” says Fischer. He filed some parts to fit them together, but the Big Boy is black, so there was no need to paint it.

The finished engine is six feet long. “Just short enough to fit in the SUV when I put the seats on one side down,” says Fischer, who drove his model up MakerBot headquarters in Brooklyn, NY. “It was a tough journey,” says Fischer, “But when I got to the end and saw the look on Bre’s face, it made it all worth it.”

As formidable a project as Fischer undertook, Union Pacific is restoring Big Boy No. 4014, which is now on display in Pomona, CA. At 132 feet long including a tender, it will not fit in an SUV, but Union Pacific will find a way to bring it to its Cheyenne, WY, headquarters, this spring.

If you’re an experienced model maker and want to make your own Big Boy, Fischer has posted a complete set of files on Thingiverse. You should finish your Big Boy before Union Pacific restores No. 4014. Or if you’re not ready to commit, you can start with the main drive wheels, like Paul Fischer did.

(Big Boy No. 4014 photograph courtesy Union Pacific.)

Hey all you hand-waiving stupid motorists! Stop waiving me through the intersection when you clearly got there long before I did on my bicycle. What are you doing anyway? Are you trying to be helpful? Well you’re not! You’re just holding up traffic and confusing everyone. Do you even realize that half the time I cannot see you waving because you bought the gang-banger black SUV with smoked windows?!
Just follow the traffic laws! I know! I know! You are concerned about the cyclist who will undoubtedly dart through the intersection. Again, just follow the traffic laws! When the idiot cyclist ends up on the hood of your car you can stand over his aching body and remind him he should stop at intersections. They need to be taught a lesson.

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