the stuff inside my head that must get out
archives
Sun, 30 Mar 2008
In the clip above, Professor Harold Hill engages in the age-old political maneuvers of fear-mongering and scapegoating. He's using a fear of change to whip the town into a frenzy that distracts them from the fact that the true danger in their midst is actually him. He's there to bleed them dry and with nothing more than a little hand waving and a song and dance, they're ready to sign up.
So the next time you see a politician preaching to you about the dangerous choices you need to be prevented from making, think of this. The idea that billiards is healthy and wholesome but pocket pool corrupts the morals of our youth is a pretty powerful analogue to a lot of other discussions going on in the world around us.
I'm stepping off of my soapbox now.
Fri, 28 Mar 2008The Marx Brothers were amazing performers on the stage and screen. Groucho is known all over the world for his amazing wit and wordplay and Harpo is much beloved as a musician and as a pantomime performer. What's even more amazing is that Chico was as good at any of those things as either brother, and was an amazing piano player to boot. Check out his piano stylings and impressive comedy chops in this short clip. Amazing!
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Mon, 24 Mar 2008
like something from my worst nightmares
Usually seeing a cool new robot do something amazing fills me with joy. For some reason this thing scares the heck out of me. Perhaps it's the loping gait, or the headless design that makes it look like some Geiger-esque horror show.
It's crazy to think that just 10 years ago walking robots were considered almost impossible to implement in the real world. Now, thanks to Moore's law and some very determined dorks around the world, it's not a question of if we'll see lifelike autonomous robots in my lifetime, but merely a question of when it will happen. My bet is on soon.
Sat, 15 Mar 2008I didn't have as much time as I wanted to spend at the events and I also didn't really do very much of importance on this robot. It was all the hard work of the students and especially the team mentor Rick Guptill. This guy ate slept and breathed robots to help the team meet the ludicrously short 6 week design cycle mandated by the tournament rules.
The age of hobby robotics is truly upon us, much like hobby computing became realistic and affordable in the seventies and changed the world in the eighties. I have no doubts that this century will see the rise of semi-autonomous robotic armies and unmanned submarines that will change the way war is waged.
What, you thought this was all about robot butlers?
Wed, 12 Mar 2008
Garfield minus Garfield = hilarity
Garfield minus Garfield is an experimental comic strip based on the popular strip by Jim Davis. It simply removes the titular character leaving only what appears to be a lonely and confused man living a life of quiet desperation. That kind of thing makes me smile.
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Tue, 11 Mar 2008
Dave Stevens died of leukemia today. All I know is, wherever he is a man is a man and the dames are all lookers. Dave seemed to be born a few decades too late, and he never put out a lot of comics, but those he did do are among my very favorite comics of the eighties. I always hoped he'd return to the adventures of Cliff Secord and his stolen rocket pack, but the work he left behind is so great that I'm glad it was never over-exploited.
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Mon, 10 Mar 2008
this is wrong on several levels
Often disregarded as part of any continuity, Li'l Bruce Wayne was a long-running series of light-hearted comic books aimed at children, detailing the life of a young, fantastically wealthy Bruce Wayne (known in the series as "The Happiest Kid On Earth") in the years before the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne and his subsequent transformation into Batman
The series was originally created by Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson to fill a gap in DC's publishing schedule after the cancellation of More Fun Comics in 1946, and ran through the majority of the Silver Age despite being regarded by editors and fans alike as being "extremely depressing" [citation needed] and is usually left out of any discussion of the character. It is notable, however, as being the first published comic book work of writer/artist Frank Miller.
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The following video should only be viewed by authorized S.H.I.E.L.D. agents level 9 or above. Unauthorized access is strictly prohibited.
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Fri, 07 Mar 2008[/topics/polls] permanent link
Tue, 04 Mar 2008
The father of role-playing games ran out of hit points and failed a saving throw against death. From his mind millions of imaginary worlds, characters and adventures sprung forth through those who played his games. The entire world is a richer place thanks to his pursuit of his passions, and he will be missed.