Category: Cool Stuff

Nicola’s mamelife blog

I never knew this existed, but the original programmer of MAME has a blog hosted at Blogspot.  If you have somehow existed in the computing world and played games, but don’t know about MAME, then read up on it at Wikipedia or on the official MAME site.  The latest post right now on Nicola’s blog is some details on how the developers have perfected the emulation for Bubble Bobble by getting an original ROM, disassembling it, reading the ROM visually, and then decoding it all.  He also explains some apparent bugs they have found and how the bugs impacted game play.

[tags]MAME, Nicola’s blog, Gaming[/tags]

Animated Jigsaw puzzles

(via Neatorama)

I’ve been playing with the animated planet verson of this puzzler.  The author at Neatorama who pointed this out mentioned that it crashed his FireFox browser several times.  I did not try this in FireFox, opting to just use IE in case there were problems.  It also requires Shockwave (in fact, my system required that I update my Shockwave install).

moving-jigsaw-puzzle.jpg

[tags]Animated puzzles, Animated Jigsaw[/tags]

Celebrate 138 years of helium

On this day in 1868, the French astronomer Pierre Jules César Janssen discovered Helium.  Ever since, ordinary people have been talking with funny voices and laughing while destroying their esouphagus.

In 1862, impressed and fascinated by the spectroscopic work of Gustav Kirchhoff and Robert Bunsen, Janssen began his studies of the solar spectrum. His first important contribution was to demonstrate that some of the dark lines observed in the solar spectrum were caused by water vapor in the Earth’s atmosphere. He made lasting contributions in solar spectroscopy, in particular in the observation of solar prominences. Following his observations of the 1868 solar eclipse in India, he suggested that some of the unknown spectral lines observed above the solar limb were due to a hitherto unknown chemical element. J. Norman Lockyer independently and simultaneously arrived at same conclusion, and both men are now credited with the discovery of Helium.

I’m guessing it was a few years later that Helium was put in to balloons for all the spoken zaniness we’ve come to love Helium for, but noting the existance of this element in space was the important first step.

[tags]Pierre Jules César Janssen, Helium[/tags]

Boot XP from your USB key

I missed this way back when, but recently stumbled on it and thought it was pretty cool.  Earlier this year, InformationWeek ran an article on how to boot Windows XP from a USB key drive.  This OS feat is possible thanks to Bart Lagerweij’s BartPE, a recent update to USB handling in Windows 2003 that also benefits XP, and work done by other software authors to fix remaining issues.

Before we get too far, it’s worth noting that there are some kinds of boot-from-USB problems that software fixes can’t cure. For example, not all PCs (especially older ones) support boot-from-USB in the first place: If the system doesn’t allow it, it’s game over. (If your PC supports boot-from USB, it’ll be an option in the BIOS setup tool.) There can be compatibility issues with USB 1.0 and 2.0 hardware, and with “High Speed” versus “Full Speed” or “Low Speed” support. And so on.

. . .

Booting XP From A USB Drive, Step By Step
First, if you haven’t already, grab a free copy of BartPE. You’ll find all the information you need on getting and using this tool in “A Must-Have Repair And Recovery Tool.” and at Bart’s site.

Next, you need new versions of two files from Microsoft: “setupldr.bin” and “ramdisk.sys”. These new files are part of the Windows Server 2003 SP1 pack, which you can download from Microsoft no matter what operating system you’re running. So, if you’re not running Server 2003, it’s not a problem.

Here’s what to do:

For the guide with step-by-step instructions and occasional screen captures, hit the story on Information Week‘s web site.

[tags]Boot Windows XP off a USB key, XP on USB key[/tags]

The evolution of mussels

No, no, not muscles – mussels – those little barnacle-like things that live in the water. For those that doubt that evolution is real (and I mean that evolution occurs at all, not whether or not humans evolved from apes), here is yet another fine example of documented evolution in response to a changing habitat.

Some 15 years ago, blue mussels knew their enemies and had a rather peaceful life in the New England waters. But when an invasive crab species turned up, the mussels moved quickly to defend themselves against this new predator by thickening their shells.

Such rapid evolutionary response is a “nanosecond” compared with the thousands of years that it normally takes for a species to respond to a predator.

“It’s the blending of ecological and evolutionary time,” said study co-author Aaren Freeman, a graduate student the University of New Hampshire. “It’s an important development in the arms race between these crabs and these mollusks.”

There you have it. Mussels evolve to protect themselves. Let me know if you’d like more examples of evolution. Oh, and if you can’t be arsed to read the article, the invasive crab species in question is Hemigrapsus sanguineus, but I’m sure you already knew that.

[tags]The evolution of mussels, Evolution in 15 years, Crabs like mussels[/tags]

Learn to draw online

(via LifeHacker)
Here is a site I could have used 15 years ago in college.  I have a brother who is a pretty good artist.  I have the drawing skills of a ferret using a calligraphy pen to draw on pressed reeds (no, I don’t have any idea where that comparison came from).  That made my required art class much tougher for me than I would have liked.  But the folks at DrawSpace seem to think they can help folks like me learn to draw any way.  Here’s a snip of their front page.  Missing is any of the advanced courses, and most of the beginner and intermediate ones as well.  This is just a small sample of what is offered.

drawspace.jpg

And since I’m sure just seeing what a few of the lessons offered are isn’t enough to convince most folks, why not look at one of the (advanced) skills purported to be learnable.

drawspace-eyes.jpg

If you can’t do that now, but would like to be able to, it’s time to hit Drawspace and learn.
[tags]Drawspace, Learn to draw online[/tags]

Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser

(via TechEBlog)
Blah, blah this. Blah, blah that. Reading the news some days can just leave you wondering “Where’s the good stories?” Well, unless, of course, you read your daily news here. In which case you’ll be wondering “Can I ever be as awesome as Randy?”

The answer is, no. But you can try. The world certainly needs more people whose awesomeness approaches mine. :)   I kid, I kid.  I’m not awesome – just brilliant!
Now, that out of the way, why in the world am I rambling? Because I just found another frikkin’ story about frikkin’ lasers!!! And you all know I love my frikkin’ lasers, sharks or no.

mthe-laser.jpgMTHEL uses directed energy (laser beam) to intercept aerial targets such as rockets, missiles, artillery shells and other aerial threats. The target destruction is achieved by projecting a highly focused, high-power laser beam, delivered by a chemical laser, with enough energy to affect the target, and explode it in midair. This operational concept is offering the first “reusable” interception element. Existing interceptors use kinetic energy kill vehicles (such as fragmentation warheads), which are not reusable.

Whoa! You had me at destruction.

And those of you looking at that thinking, “That doesn’t look so awesome,” how about if you have to carry it around in one of these:

mthe-carrier.jpg

Yes, sign me up when the order lines open.  Read all about it in Defense-Update’s look back on the MTHEL.  I think if aimed properly, it could even make a tasty batch of popcorn.

[tags]Laser, Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser, Real Genius[/tags]

Cool tools – easy sandcastles

(via Cool Tools)
Since we covered the online how-to build sandcastles a few days ago, it seemed only appropriate to point out this book on building sandcastles recently highlighted at the Cool Tools web site.

sandcastles-book.jpgBook Description

A crenellated turret here, a winding, arched staircase there, maybe even a giant turtle-fairy tale ideas are at the heart of every sandcastle. Summer after summer, children and adults alike make valiant efforts to infuse their sandy structures with such inspiration, but the results are generally disappointing.

With Sandcastles Made Simple, Lucinda “sandy feet” Wierenga, a renowned sand sculptor, puts a permanent end to less-than-perfect beach creations. She provides the ultimate step-by-step guide to building impressive sandcastles, and shows that with a few simple tools and a basic understanding of sand, building dream castles can be easy.

[tags]Sandcastles[/tags]

Approaching the uncanny valley

(via TechEBlog)

Scientists in Japan have recently announced the development of a “lifelike” female android called “Repliee Q1Expo.” Of course, they should have named her Rachael, I think, but what do I know? (And speaking of Sean Young, go check out her pictures on IMDB – I can barely believe she’s nearly 50).

More information from the BBC:

She has flexible silicone for skin rather than hard plastic, and a number of sensors and motors to allow her to turn and react in a human-like manner.

She can flutter her eyelids and move her hands like a human. She even appears to breathe.

So why the uncanny valley reference? Well…

Continue reading “Approaching the uncanny valley”

Instant domain search

(via BloggingPro)
If you are looking to register a new domain, here’s a tool to help you find the perfect name.  Using AJAX, Instant Domain Search shows the .com, .org, and .net address availability of the domain you are typing, as you type it.  Here’s just a snip of the screen you’ll see when trying it out.

instantdomainsearch.jpg

[tags]Instant Domain Search, Cool domain search tool, AJAX domain tool[/tags]