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CORTANA: The message just repeats. 'Regret, Regret, Regret.'
MIRANDA: Catchy. Any idea what it means?
JOHNSON: Dear Humanity... we regret being alien bastards. We regret coming to Earth.
And we most definitely regret that the Corps just blew up our raggedy-ass fleet!
PILOTS (in unison): Oo-rah!
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Okay, so here's another link roundup, sue me. I should get back to real posts soon enough. I've determined that I spend wa~y too much time colocating links from all my various sources (yeah yeah, hush you), and so I'm planning on easing off. In my last post I mentioned that I'm officially pruning TechEBlog from the things I'll post here about, and a while back I decided that most links found through livejournal will make their way around soon enough without me. But that still leaves me with a number of sources before even getting into the random stuff I actually found myself cruising around.

For those who follow my weblogs via the RSS feeds, heads up. I'm planning on separating out all the link roundups (and similar links-only posts) to their own blog, including retroactively. That should help folks who only care about my more essayic posts, or only for the links. It may be a while yet until I do that since I've still yet to get this site switched over to Titania from its immediate predecessor; there'll be an announcement on the website updates blog when it does happen, maybe also here. For those who're following from livejournal, I'll still mirror the links posts (I finally got my mirroring script set up :). I'll also start mirroring the f/oss blog since folks seemed interested in hearing about Eng.

Less talking, more linking )
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So you know those great robotics articles and such I've been touting about recently? Well pretty much all of them come from TechEBlog. And if you thought those weren't cool enough, here's another dump of some of the highlights. However, if you're into this sort of thing then subscribe to the feed yourself. Nearly everything is awesome, and those that aren't are still pretty cool. It'd be a waste of time for me to syphon any more over here (though the occasional over-the-top post might still leak on over). Now on with the linkage:

To the future and beyond, Robotics, Gizmos & gadgets )
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So it's been a while since I've writ. And, alas, I've no plans to break that strak just yet. But to steer you clear of boredom in the interim, some pictures and sounds to sooth your mind:

Ground Zero. Virgin Digital "Music Muscle"
I'm not usually much of one for viral advertising, but it takes a measure of skill to fit all those songs in there. How many can you spot?
Songs by Helix on Newgrounds
Some interesting free downloads. A good site to explore in general and I don't think I've linked them before.
Xenosaga III PV
For those on the Windows side of the fence you can check out the trailer for the latest Xenosaga and watch the Japanese butcher Hamlet.

And here are some links for humor and horror:

The Moe Image
Spamusement!
Justice (part 1): How Mitchell Siegel's murder gave the world its greatest hero
Hanji Smatter
Amazing 3D Sidewalk Art Photos
The Torn-Up Credit Card Applications
May I take your order?
My Eyeball Just Fell Out of Its Socket: What should I do?

And in case you weren't sure, the future is indeed now:... )

...or never:... )

...or will be brought to you by Lego:

Difference Engine: Building A Calculating Machine Using LEGO Pieces
Top 10 Strangest Lego Creations

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It's time once again for a list of some recent interesting reads. I'm debating moving the link roundups off to their own newsfeed, but that'll have to wait until I've free time. Now, in mostly-devoid-of-pithy-retorts format:

Octavia Butler, R.I.P
I'm sure you've already heard, but in case you haven't...
Gulf War vet supports veterans traumatized by war
Regarding an ongoing project by one of the PIGies.
New Kids on the Block
Pinball is all about a spherical object rolling around on a smooth surface, so the thought of building a pinball game from Lego doesn't immediately seem like one of the better ideas. But that's exactly what Gerrit Bronsveld & Martijn Boogaarts from The Netherlands have achieved.
The Ugly Face of Crime
Not only are physically unattractive teenagers likely to be stay-at-homes on prom night, they're also more likely to grow up to be criminals, say two economists who tracked the life course of young people from high school through early adulthood.
The Long March to Nerd Prom Begins
Warren Ellis v. Joss Whedon. Y'know y'wanna.
Demons, Perl... )
New Body Armor Technology Aids Athletes
Slalom racing suits provided to the U.S. and Canadian Olympic teams by ski wear maker Spyder, for example, contain pads from the British firm, d3o, that contain a fluid that hardens when struck, said Spyder spokeswoman Laura Wisner. [...] "It's very soft and pliable when you just manipulate it in your hand. However, when you hit it with a hammer or some kind of impact, it instantly becomes hard."
Roleplaying, appalling crimes, cooking/recipies, fuck.com... )
Hubble Confirms Two New Moons of Pluto
The confirmation [of the moons] reinforces the emerging view that the Kuiper Belt, a swarm of icy bodies encircling the solar system beyond Neptune, may be more complex and dynamic than astronomers once thought. Pluto resides inside the Kuiper Belt and is about 3 billion miles from the Sun. Pluto was discovered in 1930.
Stealth sharks to patrol the high seas
More controversially, the Pentagon hopes to exploit sharks' natural ability to glide quietly through the water, sense delicate electrical gradients and follow chemical trails. By remotely guiding the sharks' movements, they hope to transform the animals into stealth spies, perhaps capable of following vessels without being spotted.
Editing tips from the NSA (I forget if I've posted this)
Hiding confidential information with black marks works on printed copy, but not with electronic documents, the National Security Agency has warned government officials
Brokeback of the Dead
Who says goths can't take their music unseriously?
anime... )
Love Yourself and Your Blog
Some tips (and links to more tips) on how to blog well. Tips of which I'm flagrantly ignoring for the moment due to time constraints. But this quote bears repeating: "If you start thinking you're a big star just because a lot of other nerds read your online diary, you need to aim higher. Go outside."
canadians confuse anime with pr0n... again
And now for the Macworld roundup:
MPAA suits expand war on illegal file-trading
Widening its legal assault on copyright infringement, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has filed seven lawsuits in U.S. federal courts against search engines and news groups affiliated with P-to-P (peer-to-peer) networks.... )
Political rivals unite against AOL, Yahoo e-mail plan
Both sides of the U.S. political spectrum have found an issue to unite them: Free e-mail. ... ) With CertifiedEmail, senders agree not to send unsolicited e-mail. They pay a fee of between one-fourth of a U.S. cent and one cent in order for their messages to receive preferential treatment in AOL and Yahoo in-boxes.
Germany joins calls to end Google's "free lunch"
The chief executive of Deutsche Telekom AG became the latest head of a major telco to call for Web companies, such as Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc., to help pay for the billions of dollars required to build and maintain high-speed Internet infrastructure. "Customers should not be the only ones to pay for this new world,"
RIM to judge: BlackBerry too important to shut
... )"I'm surprised, absolutely surprised, that you'd leave this ... incredibly important decision to the court," he said.
Li verdict shows Yahoo played key role, group says
Yahoo Inc. played an important role in the Chinese government's prosecution of Li Zhi, Reporters Without Borders said Wednesday, citing a copy of the court's verdict to back up its claims.

And now that you've been amazed by what the future promises, mourned the loss of the past, been enraged by human actions, witnessed the attempted mockery making of the judicial system, and more it is now time for me to retire. And so, I bid you adieu.

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Feh, I'm feeling lazy. Go read my real blog. There are four five new posts which I'll port over at some later point; maybe after I finally write that script to automate the process

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Some very interesting discussions have been going on in lj recently. Of particular note is this post by [livejournal.com profile] theotherjay, and these two posts by [livejournal.com profile] silmaril (the first one by silmaril was posted in the last LR). The posts themselves are quite interesting, but the ensuing discussions are perhaps even more so. Long as the posts are, do read them. If I manage to find time this weekend I'll be writing something of a companion piece in a similar vein.

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Now in ultra-short format

On Arabs
On Hikikomori
US plans to 'fight the net'
Human Rights In China tells Google it's 'not too late'
EFF sues AT&T over U.S. wiretapping program
GamerGod Interviews Steve Jackson
Take a leap into hyperspace (AIAA's pdf thereunto)
This Is the Title of This Story...
Retailer Target Branches Out Into Police Work
When arson investigators in Houston needed help restoring a damaged surveillance tape to identify suspects in a fatal fire, they turned first to local experts and then to NASA. With no luck there, investigators appealed to the owner of one of the most advanced crime labs in the country: Target Corp.
Starbucks Economics: Solving the mystery of the elusive "short" cappuccino.
Chinese New Years, 2100~2644 (Google's cache)
Russia plans to put a mine on the Moon to help boost energy supply (Transhuman Space much?)

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Tom Shelley's Emdrive
We all thought the reactionless thrusters of classic scifi were just a quaint plothole, but one day they may be de rigueur for space travel and very small scale robotics. And all without violating the laws of physics as we know them. (Warning, that site doesn't believe in paragraph breaks.)
"The design could greatly improve capabilities for acquisition and recognition of targets in space, as well as demonstrate the feasibility of long-range energy directed devices,"
The newest greatest telescope in Mexico has recieved some funding from DARPA, but "some Mexicans believe its military link teeters on the edge of unacceptable territory for a nation that prides itself on staying non-aggressive on the world stage."
Partner-type Personal Robots from Japan
Alas(?) no, it's not what you think. Though it does have a modest phrase vocabulary, can recognize faces, and more.

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Those with an interest in radomness, passwords, or lego may be intriqued by these two sites I came across in the last day or so. One is as random as a computer can be; and the other is as random as a computer can't be.

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Transhuman Space, in all its dizzying complexity, grows ever closer.

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The Discovery Channel has a short article on a study than human hands (and more) emit light. Abducted from [livejournal.com profile] miratos[1] in turn courtesy of some entity known only as "Marty". And this should be the last spam of the day.

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Looks like they're considering introducing some reproduction regulation in Indiana. Which, other than adding "unauthorized reproduction" to the law books, looks like it would be (as someone pointed out) one of first laws to discriminate against lesbians (specifically, as opposed to discriminating against gay men or queers in general).

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Nyrg, too late for making posts, and yet I want to avoid my bed for as long as possible... Gmwrgl... fmrging cats deciding they need to have a turf war. And neither of them are my cats either, this isn't their room. No I already have a kitty, y'know the fluffy, nice, albeit crotchety one? the one as doesn't piss on anything? Yeha, that one. Fmwrr...

...Oh! In less garbled inarticulations, one must, if they are to consider themselves of proper breeding, have read The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity (1987) wherein the estimable Carlo M. Cipolla (1922?~2000) lays out indeed what the title proclaims in five glorious movements replete with illustrative graphs conjoined with inlayed illuminations. Stolen forthwith from [livejournal.com profile] cerebrate, I'm a particular fan of the Fourth Law.

Nyow~sh'time fs'leepshing

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So I've been playing around on OKCupid recently[1]. And I came across this question on a test:

27. Which of the following have you done?

  • I have cheated on a significant other.
  • I have been in more than three physical fights.
  • I have done something unimportant to me, knowing that it would devastate someone else.
  • None of the above.

That third answer gave me pause, trying to think about who could do that, what it would mean about their personality. At first I just couldn't comprehend it, the sentence itself was simply unintelligible. But, slowly, an image began to form in my mind. And despite the warm room, I shivered.

...

Once again, some of these have been sitting around too long and may be old news by now, but so it goes. So in most recent order:

A Miracle of Science
A webcomic set in the far distant future where mankind has colonized the solar system and where Mad Scientists strike fear into the hearts of all. All save the hard-boiled detective whose job it is to bring them in.
For those familiar with the setting, MoS seems to borrow wholehandedly from Transhuman Space— not it's entirety by any stretch, just enough for a backdrop. I first ran into this comic a long time ago care of The Daily Illuminator. At the time it didn't really strike my fancy. The artwork is a bit simple—especially compared to my normal fare of MegaTokyo—but don't confuse simple with unskilled. In fact, don't follow the link I gave above; start from the beginning; read through the prologue; then decide if it suits your fancy.
Secrecy Power Sinks Patent Case
Guy invents a new device, works with Lucent to get it developed. They are using it as part of a "black" project for the Department of Defense and say they don't need to pay the inventors since it's a matter of "national security". The case is quashed under an obscure state protection clause.
Pledge-a-picket, life on Titan, Katrina: the Gathering, legislation drives clubbing underground in NYC, world's smallest mobile robot, SUV tax deduction, no paradox for time travellers?, photosynthesis sans sunlight, electric bullets, and more! )

[1] I got the account a long time ago for fun and time killing. But I heeded their advice about complete honesty and, since there may be/is stuff I wouldn't want getting back to prospective employers or the like, I've set it up to be unconnected to my other online presence.

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links the future is now Fascination Street ~ The Cure (Galore - The Singles 1987-1997)

A Sad Truth: Cities Aren't Forever
The city of New Orleans is not going to be rebuilt.
The tourist neighborhoods? The ancient parts from the French Quarter to the Garden District on that slim crescent of relatively high ground near the river? Yes, they will be restored. The airport and the convention center? Yes, those, too.
But the far larger swath — the real New Orleans where the tourists don't go, the part that Katrina turned into a toxic soup bowl, its population of 400,000 scattered to the waves? Not so much.
many more interesting links on regenerating mammals, psychodrama, shaolin kung fu, and more! )

And I promise I'll get back to real posts soon, I've just been ill the last few days, ever since I've been wanting to write them.

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Or eight and half a dozen KBOs?

Largest Asteroid Might Contain More Fresh Water than Earth
The largest known asteroid could contain more fresh water than Earth and looks like our planet in other ways, according to a new study that further blurs the line between planets and large space rocks.
Defining 'Planet': Newfound World Forces Action
"The word planet is simply not a scientific word, it is a cultural word." ~Mike Brown, leader of the "10th planet" discovery team
The claim Friday that a 10th planet has been discovered in our solar system has set off a fresh round of debate and international talks aimed at defining the most vexing term in astronomy: the word planet.
Crazy Names: The Solar System's Nomenclature Wars
You might be surprised to learn that the outskirts of the solar system are loaded with Plutinos, Centaurs, cubewanos and EKOs. Astronomers didn't even know this a decade ago. In fact until 1992 they hadn't even invented three of the terms.
Now it seems they don't have enough of these crazy names.

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Not quite enough time yet to dig into telling my Japan story, but here're a few links I should get off my stack, many of them none too pretty (but read on):

.ugly the and, bad the, )

And now for some more light hearted ones...

good thE )

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