War of Currents Update
-
Been too long. Lazy. Ain't like anyone is be reading this.
TSLA technically in the lead if there were no dividends.
9 years ago
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Nearing the opposite side of the Uncanny Valley
We are getting closer to crossing the Uncanny Valley it seems. Check out this Emily video by Image Metrics. Quantic Dream, a French company, created the video game Indigo Prophecy (aka Fahrenheit) and is working on the game Heavy Rain using Image Metrics technology.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Hunt for Broccoli Cheese October
Highlights from Souplantation's "guest favorites month" menu, from today's coupon circulars ...
The Souplantation to which us Hydrans go most often almost NEVER has this soup — even when the online menu says that it should be there. If they really do offer it this time, I might make a run at alliesglove's "Most Consecutive Days Going to Souplantation" record. If not, there will be some angry glares from me towards the soup that takes its place.
Why would a soup worry about that, you ask? If I'm mad enough, my laser vision might kick in and boil it all away. You think about that before you volunteer to sub in, soups!
Bonus reading: A while back, Monster Munching recommended the chocolate chip cookies.
October 1-11: Classic Greek Tossed Salad, French Onion Soup, Carrot Raisin Salad, Spicy Italian Sausage & Peppers Hot Pasta, Loaded Baked Potato Soup, Chocolate Chip Muffins, Chocolate Lava Cake (after 4 p.m.)I've emphasized a few items of interest. The Strawberry Fields Tossed Salad is one that I pile on to the point of overload. This time, however, it will compete for stomach space with Broccoli Cheese Soup.
October 13-18: Strawberry Fields Tossed Salad, Broccoli Cheese Soup, BBQ Chicken Focaccia, Four Cheese Alfredo Hot Pasta, Wild Rice & Chicken Salad, Shrimp Bisque Soup, Pineapple Upside-down Cake (after 4 p.m.)
October 20-25: Mandarin Spinach Tossed Salad, Classic Creamy Tomato Soup, Grilled Cheese Focaccia, Shrimp & Seafood Shells Salad, Albondigas Locas Soup, Roasted Eggplant Marinara Hot Pasta, Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Cups (after 4 p.m.)
October 27-31: California Cobb Tossed Salad, Cream of Mushroom Soup, Banana Nut Muffins, Old Fashioned Macaroni Salad, Yankee Clipper Clam Chowder, Garden Vegetable with Meatballs Hot Pasta, Warm Apple Cobbler (after 4 p.m.)
The Souplantation to which us Hydrans go most often almost NEVER has this soup — even when the online menu says that it should be there. If they really do offer it this time, I might make a run at alliesglove's "Most Consecutive Days Going to Souplantation" record. If not, there will be some angry glares from me towards the soup that takes its place.
Why would a soup worry about that, you ask? If I'm mad enough, my laser vision might kick in and boil it all away. You think about that before you volunteer to sub in, soups!
Bonus reading: A while back, Monster Munching recommended the chocolate chip cookies.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Ask The Hydra: Mega Man 9
O, blessed heads of The Hydra, I ask thee: what are your thoughts on the newly-released Mega Man 9? (trailer)
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Tap'dNY
Some coworkers/fellow-Hydrans and I were joking one day at lunch about taking the pretentiousness out of bottled water and just marketing a product called "tap water". Then, along came a link to a product called Tap'dNY (blog). I'm not 100% sure that it's a real product, since the site is so thoroughly tongue-in-cheek, but it's close enough to our idea that I'll say they beat us to market. The "Refills Available at Any New York City Tap" line and the custom Sigg bottles are particularly clever.
Friday, September 12, 2008
LHC Live Webcams ;-)
Now that the Large Hadron Collider is finally up and running here are some live webcams running at the site. The USA contributed $500 million to the project.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Cuil
A new search engine named Cuil (pronounced "cool") debuted last week, to much fanfare, with articles heralding its launch from the AP, Reuters, Time, Newsweek, BBC News, The New York Times, and more. (Someone give that PR person a raise!)
Cuil claims the to have largest index and most relevant results, and boasts a team of search industry veterans with impressive resumes, including two former technical leads at Google, the founding CTO of AltaVista, and the original developer of IBM's WebFountain. Of note to privacy enthusiasts, it does not log any IP addresses or keep any users' search histories.
I decided to try it out on its launch day to see how it stacked up against my — and millions of others' — go-to search engine, Google.
I first "cuiled" (doesn't have quite the same ring to it as "Googled") my own name, being the self-centered egomaniac that I am. While Cuil did return one relevant result, the rest of the results had nothing to do with me. It did not find, for example, the site with my name in the domain name. Google, on the other hand, not only finds all of my personal websites, but finds a number of sites that mention me and my similarly-monikered brethren.
Maybe my first test was too difficult. I next decided to search for something much more popular. To my surprise, my query for "iPhone" turned up — wait for it — the Linksys iPhone!
Cuil was helpful enough to know that I might be looking for "Apple iPhone", but when I chose that tab, none of the results on the first page were from Apple's official site, and most were spammy links that weren't useful at all.
I then tried another popular search of the moment: "The Dark Knight". Finally, Cuil returned very relevant results on the first page, including links to the film's official sites (U.S. and Canadian), its Wikipedia entry, and some of its viral marketing sites (Why So Serious?). It also provided a good example of the "Explore by Category" box:
A few more searches of popular terms turned up similarly relevant results on the first page, though there were enough shady sites alongside them to make me suspicious.
Again, though, despite its claims about index size, I found Cuil's depth to be lacking. For example, my search for something at which I couldn't stop laughing that day, "horse backflip":
Google, for the same query, turns up over a million results, including direct links to corresponding online videos, and not just those from YouTube.
I can imagine that a decent percentage of web searches are for Warez and pr0n, and while I didn't really delve into this area, I've (ahem) heard that, there too, Cuil comes up short (har har).
Perhaps the most accurate result returned by Cuil during my testing (since fixed), is for the word "cuil" itself:
At least Cuil, the search engine, was honest enough to know that it isn't yet relevant.
Cuil claims the to have largest index and most relevant results, and boasts a team of search industry veterans with impressive resumes, including two former technical leads at Google, the founding CTO of AltaVista, and the original developer of IBM's WebFountain. Of note to privacy enthusiasts, it does not log any IP addresses or keep any users' search histories.
I decided to try it out on its launch day to see how it stacked up against my — and millions of others' — go-to search engine, Google.
I first "cuiled" (doesn't have quite the same ring to it as "Googled") my own name, being the self-centered egomaniac that I am. While Cuil did return one relevant result, the rest of the results had nothing to do with me. It did not find, for example, the site with my name in the domain name. Google, on the other hand, not only finds all of my personal websites, but finds a number of sites that mention me and my similarly-monikered brethren.
Maybe my first test was too difficult. I next decided to search for something much more popular. To my surprise, my query for "iPhone" turned up — wait for it — the Linksys iPhone!
Cuil was helpful enough to know that I might be looking for "Apple iPhone", but when I chose that tab, none of the results on the first page were from Apple's official site, and most were spammy links that weren't useful at all.
I then tried another popular search of the moment: "The Dark Knight". Finally, Cuil returned very relevant results on the first page, including links to the film's official sites (U.S. and Canadian), its Wikipedia entry, and some of its viral marketing sites (Why So Serious?). It also provided a good example of the "Explore by Category" box:
A few more searches of popular terms turned up similarly relevant results on the first page, though there were enough shady sites alongside them to make me suspicious.Again, though, despite its claims about index size, I found Cuil's depth to be lacking. For example, my search for something at which I couldn't stop laughing that day, "horse backflip":
Google, for the same query, turns up over a million results, including direct links to corresponding online videos, and not just those from YouTube.I can imagine that a decent percentage of web searches are for Warez and pr0n, and while I didn't really delve into this area, I've (ahem) heard that, there too, Cuil comes up short (har har).
Perhaps the most accurate result returned by Cuil during my testing (since fixed), is for the word "cuil" itself:
At least Cuil, the search engine, was honest enough to know that it isn't yet relevant.
R.I.P.
Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes.
Get Well Soon, Morgan Freeman. (Sorry about the marriage.)
Stay strong, Samuel L. Jackson.
From, Your Friends at The Hydra
Get Well Soon, Morgan Freeman. (Sorry about the marriage.)
Stay strong, Samuel L. Jackson.
From, Your Friends at The Hydra
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Garfield Minus Garfield ... The Book!
A few months ago, I'd posted a link to Garfield Minus Garfield, and followed up with a comment pointing to a New York Times article in which Jim Davis called it "fascinating", "flattering", and funny.
While one might argue about how funny Mr. Davis himself has been over the past 30 years, he's nothing if not a shrewd businessman. He's taken his love for the strip one step further, and is helping turn it into a book:
While one might argue about how funny Mr. Davis himself has been over the past 30 years, he's nothing if not a shrewd businessman. He's taken his love for the strip one step further, and is helping turn it into a book:
Now, thanks to the awesome generosity and humor of Jim Davis, Garfield Minus Garfield is going to become a book and I’m absolutely honored to be part of it.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Theme Park Thoughts
Due to a steady stream of visiting relatives, I make an annual or biannual pilgrimage to various Southern California theme parks. Here are some of my thoughts from the latest round of trips:
Universal Studios Hollywood — The Simpsons Ride
The Simpsons Ride takes over the area previously occupied by Back to the Future: The Ride, and continues the earlier attraction's tradition of entertaining motion simulation.
The ride's concept is that the Simpsons (including Grandpa Abe!) are visiting Krustyland, a cross between Disneyland and the shadiest carnival you've ever been to. Their outing turns into an adventure after escaped convict Sideshow Bob takes over the park and attempts to kill Bart and his family — and you — for always foiling his plots to take revenge on his former employer, Krusty.
The best part of the ride is the line. Nothing makes an hour go by faster than watching the numerous flat-panel displays placed throughout the queueing area, which show a mix of The Simpsons' funniest moments (with a heavy dose of amusement park parodies) and clips created exclusively for the ride. As you get closer to the end, the fun continues, particularly in one room where it looks like Apu, Groundskeeper Willie, Patty & Selma, and Hans Moleman are life-size, within booths, talking to the guests. Also, don't miss the park map, and the circus-style posters for Krustyland's various amusements, including everyone's favorite, the Yard Work Simulator.
Homages to Back to the Future don't stop at the rib-tickling Doc Brown cameo in one of the clips shown in the line. The ride itself is essentially the same as its predecessor, down to the number of people in the vehicles and the domed IMAX screens. Of course, the technology has been updated and there's more spraying of water and baby powder aroma, but that goes with the times.
People who remember the old ride (which you can watch in its entirety over on "the You Tube"; intro clips: 1, 2) will note the many similarities, including parts where you're flying over a city, entering into a giant creature's mouth, and nearly falling into the burning lava pits of hell. Truthfully, the newer ride is a bit harder to follow, as it has much more dialogue and random scene changes, compared to the simpler chase structure of the old ride. That may just encourage repeat visits, though, as there are many in-jokes and visual puns to take in. I'm also not a fan of the third dimension that's added to the animation once you're actually on the ride — if it's going to end up being like watching a giant PlayStation 2 game anyway, why not pay Rough Draft Studios the extra bucks to get the clean-looking cel-shaded 2-D/3-D blend of The Simpsons Movie and Futurama?
Personal preferences aside, The Simpsons Ride is a worthy successor to Back to the Future: The Ride, and is probably more enjoyable for anyone who doesn't remember or isn't nostalgic for Marty McFly, Doc Brown, and the DeLorean. Even if motion simulation isn't your thing, you'll laugh all the way to the ride. If not, well, don't expect Krusty to give you your money back.
Disneyland — Innoventions
By far the coolest thing at Disneyland's Innoventions — the building in Tomorrowland that you've probably never been into unless desperate for A/C — is Honda's ASIMO robot. I'd watched many video clips and photos of ASIMO, but seeing it in person left me even more impressed, if not fearful (of the inevitable bot uprising).
After viewing a brief video about the history of automatons and robots, which includes humorous montages of lame 1950s B-movie monsters and early experiments in robot walking (picture a metallic ostrich, drunk), the curtains open to reveal the living room of a house. In walks a Kirsten Dunst stand-in, who explains that she just received her new ASIMO and wants to show us what it can do. After a few more moments of suspense, ASIMO enters and the auditorium's collective jaw drops.
What follows over the next 20 minutes is a demonstration of the mechanical man's various capabilities: walking forward, backwards, and sideways; kicking a soccer ball, stretching, and running; dancing; and the highlight of the show, ascending and descending stairs. The movements are deliberate, but smooth. I could do without the cheesy dialogue that connects each demo, but I suppose Disney is going for a 1950s World's Fair vibe.
While I'm sure ASIMO needed some custom programming for a show like this, many of the actions seemed to make use of its voice recognition, as the hostess would often make sure to look straight into its camera eyes and use specific phrases like, "ASIMO, why don't we show these people that you can also walk sideways?" Once in a while, the TV screens would show live footage from the cameras, superimposed with graphics that ostensibly show the object recognition at work. ASIMO also speaks, with the voice of a young boy. Fear not, though, child voice actors, it will be a while before you're out of a job.
As an engineer, it's hard not to be dazzled by ASIMO, knowing how difficult it must have been to create. Everyone else in the auditorium couldn't take their eyes (and cameras) off it either. It may ultimately just be an expensive toy, a fancy version of the Robosapien or Pleo that kids are playing with these days, but it's also an inspiring achievement of science and technology. We're not yet living in the future that was promised 50 years ago, but ASIMO is one step forward (pun intended) in that direction.
As for Innoventions in general, I would say that the only other thing worth checking out are the Segways, which you can learn to ride, for a minute or two. The "aging mirror" might be good for a few laughs as well. The rest of Innoventions is no more impressive than your local Best Buy, in my opinion. I'll grant Disney that visitors from some places might be impressed by the "house of tomorrow", with its HP Vista Media Center PCs (some stuck on the hourglass cursor), Xbox 360s, and Microsoft Zunes (yes, really). Most people, however, will find the conceit that they're being shown "not wild ideas that may fail, but futuristic technology that you can buy today" to be a thin veil over the truth that it's just a place to showcase sponsors' products, many of which aren't very futuristic at all. I can't tell you how many people I saw walking up to the touch screens attempting to pinch-and-zoom or multi-touch, leaving disappointed. Kids might like playing some of the games, but did you really spend hundreds of dollars on Disneyland admission so that they could play the same Guitar Hero they do at their friends' houses?
I won't go as far as saying that Tomorrowland has become Todayland. I will say, though, that Innoventions needs more things like ASIMO and Segway, or even the Siemens "Project Tomorrow" exhibit (scroll down), if it wants to be something more than a place to sit down for a while and escape from the heat.
Universal Studios Hollywood — The Simpsons Ride
The Simpsons Ride takes over the area previously occupied by Back to the Future: The Ride, and continues the earlier attraction's tradition of entertaining motion simulation.
The ride's concept is that the Simpsons (including Grandpa Abe!) are visiting Krustyland, a cross between Disneyland and the shadiest carnival you've ever been to. Their outing turns into an adventure after escaped convict Sideshow Bob takes over the park and attempts to kill Bart and his family — and you — for always foiling his plots to take revenge on his former employer, Krusty.
The best part of the ride is the line. Nothing makes an hour go by faster than watching the numerous flat-panel displays placed throughout the queueing area, which show a mix of The Simpsons' funniest moments (with a heavy dose of amusement park parodies) and clips created exclusively for the ride. As you get closer to the end, the fun continues, particularly in one room where it looks like Apu, Groundskeeper Willie, Patty & Selma, and Hans Moleman are life-size, within booths, talking to the guests. Also, don't miss the park map, and the circus-style posters for Krustyland's various amusements, including everyone's favorite, the Yard Work Simulator.
Homages to Back to the Future don't stop at the rib-tickling Doc Brown cameo in one of the clips shown in the line. The ride itself is essentially the same as its predecessor, down to the number of people in the vehicles and the domed IMAX screens. Of course, the technology has been updated and there's more spraying of water and baby powder aroma, but that goes with the times.
People who remember the old ride (which you can watch in its entirety over on "the You Tube"; intro clips: 1, 2) will note the many similarities, including parts where you're flying over a city, entering into a giant creature's mouth, and nearly falling into the burning lava pits of hell. Truthfully, the newer ride is a bit harder to follow, as it has much more dialogue and random scene changes, compared to the simpler chase structure of the old ride. That may just encourage repeat visits, though, as there are many in-jokes and visual puns to take in. I'm also not a fan of the third dimension that's added to the animation once you're actually on the ride — if it's going to end up being like watching a giant PlayStation 2 game anyway, why not pay Rough Draft Studios the extra bucks to get the clean-looking cel-shaded 2-D/3-D blend of The Simpsons Movie and Futurama?
Personal preferences aside, The Simpsons Ride is a worthy successor to Back to the Future: The Ride, and is probably more enjoyable for anyone who doesn't remember or isn't nostalgic for Marty McFly, Doc Brown, and the DeLorean. Even if motion simulation isn't your thing, you'll laugh all the way to the ride. If not, well, don't expect Krusty to give you your money back.
Disneyland — Innoventions
By far the coolest thing at Disneyland's Innoventions — the building in Tomorrowland that you've probably never been into unless desperate for A/C — is Honda's ASIMO robot. I'd watched many video clips and photos of ASIMO, but seeing it in person left me even more impressed, if not fearful (of the inevitable bot uprising).
After viewing a brief video about the history of automatons and robots, which includes humorous montages of lame 1950s B-movie monsters and early experiments in robot walking (picture a metallic ostrich, drunk), the curtains open to reveal the living room of a house. In walks a Kirsten Dunst stand-in, who explains that she just received her new ASIMO and wants to show us what it can do. After a few more moments of suspense, ASIMO enters and the auditorium's collective jaw drops.
What follows over the next 20 minutes is a demonstration of the mechanical man's various capabilities: walking forward, backwards, and sideways; kicking a soccer ball, stretching, and running; dancing; and the highlight of the show, ascending and descending stairs. The movements are deliberate, but smooth. I could do without the cheesy dialogue that connects each demo, but I suppose Disney is going for a 1950s World's Fair vibe.
While I'm sure ASIMO needed some custom programming for a show like this, many of the actions seemed to make use of its voice recognition, as the hostess would often make sure to look straight into its camera eyes and use specific phrases like, "ASIMO, why don't we show these people that you can also walk sideways?" Once in a while, the TV screens would show live footage from the cameras, superimposed with graphics that ostensibly show the object recognition at work. ASIMO also speaks, with the voice of a young boy. Fear not, though, child voice actors, it will be a while before you're out of a job.
As an engineer, it's hard not to be dazzled by ASIMO, knowing how difficult it must have been to create. Everyone else in the auditorium couldn't take their eyes (and cameras) off it either. It may ultimately just be an expensive toy, a fancy version of the Robosapien or Pleo that kids are playing with these days, but it's also an inspiring achievement of science and technology. We're not yet living in the future that was promised 50 years ago, but ASIMO is one step forward (pun intended) in that direction.
As for Innoventions in general, I would say that the only other thing worth checking out are the Segways, which you can learn to ride, for a minute or two. The "aging mirror" might be good for a few laughs as well. The rest of Innoventions is no more impressive than your local Best Buy, in my opinion. I'll grant Disney that visitors from some places might be impressed by the "house of tomorrow", with its HP Vista Media Center PCs (some stuck on the hourglass cursor), Xbox 360s, and Microsoft Zunes (yes, really). Most people, however, will find the conceit that they're being shown "not wild ideas that may fail, but futuristic technology that you can buy today" to be a thin veil over the truth that it's just a place to showcase sponsors' products, many of which aren't very futuristic at all. I can't tell you how many people I saw walking up to the touch screens attempting to pinch-and-zoom or multi-touch, leaving disappointed. Kids might like playing some of the games, but did you really spend hundreds of dollars on Disneyland admission so that they could play the same Guitar Hero they do at their friends' houses?
I won't go as far as saying that Tomorrowland has become Todayland. I will say, though, that Innoventions needs more things like ASIMO and Segway, or even the Siemens "Project Tomorrow" exhibit (scroll down), if it wants to be something more than a place to sit down for a while and escape from the heat.
Anything Can Be Funny
Roger Ebert, in his Step Brothers review:
(BTW, I need to lower my expectations for Tropic Thunder if I still want to enjoy it. Even Roger Ebert is getting me pumped up for that movie!)
Is this funny? Anything can be funny. Let me provide an example. I am thinking of a particular anatomical act. It is described in explicit detail in two 2008 movies, "Step Brothers" and the forthcoming "Tropic Thunder." In "Step Brothers," it sounds dirty and disgusting. In "Tropic Thunder," described by Jack Black while he is tied to a tree and undergoing heroin withdrawal, it's funny.This is exactly the way I feel about a few of the Apatow productions I've seen. It's like when you go hang out with a group of people you don't know very well, and they're all joking around and laughing, but you can only manage a smile because you're just not one of them. Maybe the idea is to make so many movies with Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, and the rest of the gang, that they do start to feel like friends and you can start laughing at their everyday conversations.
Same act, similar descriptions. What's the difference? It involves the mechanism of comedy, I think. The Jack Black character is desperately motivated. He will offer to do anything to be released. In "Step Brothers," the language is simply showing off by talking dirty. It serves no comic function, and just sort of sits there in the air, making me cringe.
[...]
I'm sure I've seen movies with more extreme language than "Step Brothers," but here it seems to serve no purpose other than simply to exist.
(BTW, I need to lower my expectations for Tropic Thunder if I still want to enjoy it. Even Roger Ebert is getting me pumped up for that movie!)
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
YAGS - Yet Another Google Service
Along the lines of Second Life, Habbo Hotel and the to-date vaporware Sony Home, Google has launched a new service called Lively. It requires a small download and MSIE or Firefox browser. There's already a pile of fully 3D rooms. It has or will have hooks for facebook and myspace.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Where the Hell is Matt?
No way to set this up, but here is Wherethehellismatt.com. He eventually got sponsorship to do this, and here's the end result.
Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.
Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Face scanning technology flawed
Japan has face recognition software to "see" the amount of wrinkles on a face to judge the age of a customer at their cigarette vending machines. It looks like the camera can be fooled by a simple magazine cutout. More on how Bruce Willis wants young Japanese children to smoke here. Update: Taspo is being used due to the face recognition issue. Sales of in store cigarettes have increased as consumers do not want to register to get a taspo card.
Utah just got more apealing
Utah gets a mandatory four day work week. They're experimenting if this will help reduce engergy use and pollution.
Friday, June 27, 2008
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