firehose

msm1267 writes "Oracle has once again released an emergency Java update to patch zero-day vulnerabilities in the browser plug-in, the fifth time it has updated the platform this year. Today's update patches CVE-2013-1493 and CVE-2013-0809, the former was discovered last week being exploited in the wild for Java 6 update 41 through Java 7 update 15. The vulnerability allows for arbitrary memory execution in the Java virtual machine process; attackers exploiting the flaw were able to download the McRAT remote access Trojan."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

“Call Me a Hole” by pomDeter is a splendid mashup of “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen and “Head Like a Hole” by Nine Inch Nails.

via ANIMAL

1ucasvb:

The continuous Fourier transform takes an input function f(x) in the time domain and turns it into a new function, ƒ̂(x) in the frequency domain. (These can represent other things too, but that’s besides the point.)

(Tumblr kept rejecting the proper sized GIFs, so they may look blurry, pixelated or compressed to you. There’s also HD video.)

In the first animation, the Fourier transform (as usually defined in signal processing) is applied to the rectangular function, returning the normalized sinc function.

In the second animation, the transform is reapplied to the normalized sinc function, and we get our original rect function back.

It takes four iterations of the Fourier transform to get back to the original function. We say it is a 4-periodic automorphism.

However, in this particular example, and with this particular definition of the Fourier transform, the rect function and the sinc function are exact inverses of each other. Using other definitions would require four applications, as we would get a distorted rect and sinc function in the intermediate steps.

For simplicity, I opted for this so I don’t have very tall and very wide intermediate functions, or the need for a very long animation. It doesn’t really work visually, and the details can be easily extrapolated once the main idea gets across, I think.

In this example, it also happens that there are no imaginary/sine components, so you’re looking at the real/cosine components only.

Shown at left, overlaid on the red time domain curve, you’ll notice a changing yellow curve. This is the approximation using the components extracted from the frequency domain “found” so far (the blue cosines sweeping the surface). The approximation is calculated by adding all the components, by integrating along the entire surface (this is continuous, remember?)

As we add more and more of the components, the approximation improves. In some special cases, it is exact. For the rect function, it isn’t, and you get some wavy artifacts in some places (the sudden jumps, aka discontinuities). These are due to Gibbs phenomenon, and are the main cause of ringing artifacts. As you’ll probably notice, the approximation is pretty much dead on for the sinc function, as shown in the second animation.

The illustration shows the domains in the interval [-5,5], but the Fourier transform extends infinitely to all directions, of course.

The surface illustrated here isn’t too far off from the approach used in Fourier operators. If you consider the surfaces defined by z = cos(xy) and z = sin(xy), you get the cosine and sine Fourier operators. Having complex values lets you mix both into one thing.

The surface you see in the first animation is just z = cos(2πxy)sinc(πy). The Fourier transform can be thought of as multiplying a function by these continuous operators, and integrating the result. This can be very neatly performed using matrix multiplication in the discrete cases. (New drinking game: take a shot every time linear algebra shows up in any mathematical discussion.)

This also explains why the Fourier transform is cyclic after 4 iterations: rotating 90° four times gets you back to your original position. By using different rotation angles, you get fractional Fourier transforms. Awesome stuff.

NOTE: This animation is a follow-up to the previous one on time/frequency domains, showing discrete frequency components. Check that one out too, as it may help with understanding this one.

Sadly, I had to reduce the images to 400 pixels wide instead of 500. Tumblr wouldn’t accept it otherwise. However, a HD video is also available:

This animation would probably look better with a different way of rendering that surface. Sorry, I don’t have anything better available at the moment, but I’ll work on it. If I do come up with something, I’ll post an update.

In this clever commercial for Abbott’s Village Bakery of Australia, loaves of bread roam across open pasture at a “free range bread farm.” The commercial was created by Australian ad agency BMF.

via Neatorama

Professional underwater photographer Jason Isley created this whimsical photo series of miniatures interacting with marine life. He says he started the series after becoming bored with taking traditional macro photos of marine life. Isley talks about the series in this interview with Wetpixel. Prints can be purchased here.

The entire series follows a surreal theme of humans living underwater once the planet is completely flooded and of course miniature in size! At first there is resistance from the marine creatures but once the soldiers fight back there is peace and all live in harmony.

via Wetpixel, brian lam

25 Pick-Up Lines to Use on Female ‘Doctor Who’ Fans:

nah bro

pigrabbitbear writes "Areva, the French nuclear fuel company, helps supply Japan with a lot of its juice. And Areva's chief executive says that Japan is going to restart up to six reactors by the end of the year. Eventually, it's going to power up at least two thirds of them. Japan's prime minister Shinzo Abe has been a little cagey, but he recently told the press that yes, despite the upcoming March 11th anniversary of the Fukushima crisis, the nuke plants are coming back online." Supposedly, they are overhauling their nuclear regulatory agencies to fix the massive failure and regulatory capture that led to Fukushima being run unsafely. They are also not going to restart reactors that are on active fault lines; this includes the largest reactor complex in the world. Vaguely related, the Vogtle plant expansion in the U.S. is running a bit over budget, with folks like the Sierra Club seizing the chance to call for an end to construction (unlikely, since Georgia Power says it'd cost customers more, even pretending natural gas is infinite and will always be cheap, to halt construction in favor of any other kind of power plant), and legislators aiming to 'protect' customers from cost overruns. However, it looks like unless action is taken the nuclear renaissance is already dead due to the inherent short-sightedness of the "free market."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Mar 4th 2013 By: Chris Sims

If there's one thing that sets ComicsAlliance apart from other websites, it's that we're not exactly shy about letting our readers know what our favorite things are. As a result, whether it's our look back at Power Rangers, our (sadly short-lived) series of looks at the Japanese Spider-Man show, or even our recent excitement over Shotaro Ishinomori, you're probably already aware that we have a soft spot for tokusatsu. There's just something about transforming superheroes who occasionally summon dirtbikes and/or giant robots to battle evil that appeals to us.

If you're the same way, then you might want to block out the next half hour so that you can enjoy the pilot episode of Pro Wrestling Star Azteckaiser, a slightly more obscure show from 1976 that follows the adventures of a pro wrestler who battles evil by transforming into anime and rides around on a motorcycle that looks like Jack Kirby designed it. It might be our new favorite thing.

The worlds of pro wrestling and tokusatsu shows aren't exactly new to each other -- both Tiger Mask and Jushin "Thunder" Liger were originally based on animated counterparts. Azteckaiser, though, which was sent to me by pal Brandon Bragg, takes things to an entirely new, entirely bizarre level. The plot revolves around the sinister Black Mist Wrestling Federation, a promotion that appears to be staffed entirely by actual demons, who invade the decent, hardworking World Pro Wrestling Championship in order to steal their title, even going so far as to put current champ Strong Ricky in the hospital.

I'm not exactly sure how this happens, since the BMWF's #1 Contender, Red Bloody Hell (accompanied to the ring by Satan Demon) tends to pull out an actual sword and beat people with the pommel before attempting to literally decapitate them. That sort of behavior tends to be frowned upon even in hardcore matches, but I guess attempted murder is a legal finishing move over there. Either way, they pretty much trounce the good guys.

Fortunately, the WPWC has someone looking out for them: Azteckaiser, a super-powerful wrestler who uses the mystical Star of Aztec to transform himself and his opponent into an anime, at which time he can do finishing moves that, according to Wikipedia, "are otherwise impossible."

You know, like the Boston Crab.

It is basically amazing, and in an interesting sidenote, it's actually the version of the Aztec empire that Sam Humphries based Sacrifice on. True story. You can ask him.

Bombed, Banksy

The Wocka Wocka-ing Dead

Clermont, Florida-based illustrator Kenny Durkin has created a fantastic series of illustrations that reimagine The Muppets as popular film and television show characters. You can view more from the series online at deviantART.

Ghostmuppers

The Big Bowwowski

The Fellowship of the Muppets

Muppets Inc. and TEETH

Muppet’s Nightmare Before Xmas

images via Kenny Durkin

via Neatorama

Green box Renovation in Italy by Act_Romegialli via designboom

While Harrison Ford’s return to Star Wars remains expected, repeatedly rumored, yet still not officially confirmed, The Hollywood Reporter has news of his participation in another sequel to a film about crazy things happening around people with floppy ’70s hair. Ford has reportedly signed on to Anchorman 2 as one of several rival anchors to Will Ferrell’s Ron Burgundy—this one a “legendary newscaster a la Tom Brokaw,” who similarly reported on the day’s events in a weary, aggrieved tone that suggested the world was just doing stuff to annoy him. It’s the second time Ford has played a presumably cranky news anchor after 2010’s Morning Glory, though here he’ll obviously have to put up with far more wackiness than just Rachel McAdams’ annoying verve. Also, the story doesn’t say that this newscaster isn’t named Han Solo, so—given the way the ...

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letsbuildahome-fr:

Construction of Neuschwanstein Castle 1868-1884

Architect: Eduard Riedel

Location: Schwangau, Germany

Last Photo by David Henderson

 

Carolyn

GPOY

Fulfilling the dream of every aspiring rapper just trying to get off the gang-ridden streets and into the fake-gang-ridden-streets, Wu-Tang mastermind the RZA has landed a role in the drama pilot Gang Related, currently being driven roughshod over the rugged TV lands of Fox by Fast & Furious writer Chris Morgan. The surely very nuanced series stars Charlie’s Angels refugee Ramon Rodriguez as a San Francisco gang member who, in the show’s chief twist, is sent undercover to infiltrate the police department, eventually finding himself torn between his new cop family and the old family he’s still gang-related to. RZA will be one of those new police brothers, a Gang Task Force member named Cassius who “decided to become a cop after the object of his affection was gunned down.” (A giant bong?) Anyway, after the short-lived Method & Red, this makes RZA the second Wu-Tang member to get ...

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via carry-on-my-wayward-butt:vantasticmess:w-for-wumbo:

Also this though.

The Zoological Society of London has launched its Cat Map, a global, searchable map of all the world’s cats. You can search for cats by age, gender, color, and name, and even add your own cat to the map, complete with a picture and description. The Cat Map was created to raise awareness of the London Zoo’s Tiger Territory, which opens on March 22nd.

via Wired UK, Geekosystem

Ziggy played guitar

— A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

“I am thrilled to be well remembered, and respected in the comic book community, and to have fans willing to pay me to draw commissions, but I got into comics in order to tell stories, not to draw custom art. I still feel vital, and still want to be at that table. Do I think DC comics owes me anything? Yes and no. I understand that no company owes anything that isn’t contractually stipulated, but in my heart, I think I deserve better than being marginalized over the last 10 years. I’m not retired, I’m not financially independent. I’m a working guy with a family, working for a flat page rate that hasn’t changed substantially since 1995. I may have opportunities at smaller companies, companies that pay less per page than I made in 1988, with no royalties or ownership of any kind. I’m not at all looking down at that, but it is hard to reconcile, as I can’t work faster, and refuse to hack my work out to match the rate. I have pride in what I do, and always have. As to my part in the history of DC for the past 33 years, I was a highly visible and successful part of it, not a minor footnote. [...] all I ask is for some of the same consideration my generation of creators and editors gave to the older guard in the 1980′s. My work is still sharp, my mind is still full of stories to tell, and I’m still willing to work all hours of my day to meet my deadlines. Why am I out of work from the publishers? Why are my friends, people who turned in great work, worthy of hardcover and trade paperback reprints, not able to get work?”

– veteran artist and writer Jerry Ordway in an essay titled “Life over fifty,” lamenting the lack of regular work from DC Comics, where he once worked on such titles as Adventures of Superman, All-Star Squadron, Infinity Inc. and The Power of SHAZAM!

Good day, Commander. If you've been unable to experience XCOM: Enemy Unknown due to an allegiance for programs that run on OSX, your wait will soon be over. The award-winning turn-based strategy game is on its way to Mac in an "elite edition," which bundles all previously released downloadable content, including the Slingshot and Elite Solidier packs, along with the second wave update.

XCOM took the silver in our 2012 Game of the Year awards. We've followed up with publisher 2K Games for a narrower release window on the Mac edition.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown coming to Mac originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 04 Mar 2013 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iguanamouth:

i cant do this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Deleted_articles_with_freaky_titles

Agricultural Terraces of the Incas via Amusing Planet

One of the most visually stunning Inca ruins is at Moray, an archaeological site in Peru approximately 50 km northwest of Cuzco and just west of the village of Maras. In a large bowl-like depression, is constructed a series of concentric terraces that looks like an ancient Greek amphitheater. The largest of these terraces are at the center – they are enormous in size, and descend to a depth of approximately 150 meter, leading to a circular bottom so well drained that it never completely floods, no matter how plentiful the rain.

The concentric terraces are split by multiple staircases that extend upward like spokes of a wheel and enable people to walk from the top to the bottom of the bowl. Six more terraces, in connected ellipses rather than perfect circles, surround the concentric heart of Moray, and eight terraced steps that cover only a fraction of the perimeter overlook the site. The purpose of these depressions is uncertain, but the most widely agreed theory is they used to serve as ‘agricultural research station’.

An anonymous reader writes "Gaming on Linux is growing fast right now, and most of that is thanks to Steam. Initially, Steam committed only to the most popular desktop distribution, Ubuntu, but more recently has opened the door to others. So what do you do when you want to game in Linux and you're using something a little less popular — at least, on the desktop? If you're a programmer called GhostSquad57, you rewrite the installer for Debian. GhostSquad57 uploaded his efforts to Github yesterday, and has since reached out to the Linux community."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Safety in Numbers

Spartacus Title Sequence Photos, Saul Bass

A man in Russia gets pulled over by a cop and his Chatimal talking toy hamster on the dashboard mimics everything that the police officer says.

video via TheFunDriving

via Say OMG

The White House has just issued its official response to a petition calling for President Barack Obama to legalize the practice of unlocking cellular phones in the United States. In short, the administration agrees wholeheartedly. "The White House agrees with the 114,000+ of you who believe that consumers should be able to unlock their cell phones without risking criminal or other penalties," reads the response, written by R. David Edelman. "In fact, we believe the same principle should also apply to tablets, which are increasingly similar to smart phones." The White House believes customers should also be given the right to unlock a device once they've met their contractual obligations with carriers. " It's common sense, crucial for protecting consumer choice, and important for ensuring we continue to have the vibrant, competitive wireless market that delivers innovative products and solid service to meet consumers' needs."

In October of last year, the US Library of Congress removed unlocking from its list of valid exceptions to the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, making the act illegal without consent from wireless carriers. The controversial move spurred outrage among mobile users, with the petition — started by Sina Khanifar — drawing 114,322 signatures. Khanifar's petition was among the first to break a recently-instituted 100,000-signature barrier required to receive an administration response.

Developing...

• Source The White House
• Related Items white house petition president obama unlock unlocking dmca we the people digital millenium copyright act sina khanifar