Category: Weirdness
Gaming as Art: The Unfinished Swan
The Unfinished Swan is a forthcoming indie game / tech demo, made in XNA by a chap called Ian Dallas. It’s set in a completely white world, and you’re equipped with splats of black paint which you use to view the area around you. The goal is to find your way to the exit…
Take on burglars… dark ages style
The world is on alert tonight after intelligence reports have suggested that the Vikings may be coming back and launching a new wave of attacks. Unlike the only partially successful invasion 1300 years ago, this time it looks as though the hoards may have a new trick up their sleeves. From the country that brought us IKEA comes a new high-concept bedside table that can transform in moments to a battle ready club and shield (some assembly required).
Robot Plant Pot seeks out the brighter side of life
This is a “Solar seeking botanical augmentation”, to quote the Play Coalition, who are building the thing. It’s basically a plantpot on legs which has a light sensor and moves around your room in order to find the best, brightest spot…
MoD releases UFO files
The Ministry of Defence, under pressure from “enthusiasts”, has just released a bunch of data about UFO sightings between 1986 and 1992. The sightings are dotted across the UK, but include Belfast International Airport, Glenavy, Heathrow and Lydd in Kent.
One sighting was from the captain of an Altilia airliner, who saw a brown missile-shaped object shoot past overhead, who shouted “look out!”. Neither the Civil Aviation Authority, nor military investigations, could explain the event or what happened. If you’re interested in poring through the reports yourself to try to work it out, then they’ve been made available on a dedicated, and rather attractive, website from the National Archives.
UFO Archives (via BBC)
Related posts: Wingless electromagnetic air vehicle (UFO! UFO! UFO!) set to take off this year | Nokia N95 used to capture footage of UFOs in Liverpool, Nokia rejoices over free publicity
Virtual Orchestra – 64 musicians replaced by 64 speakers
“Autumn Fantasy 2008” sounds like a porn film, but in actual fact, it’s the name of a concert that’ll be taking place between Oct 11th and 21st in Kanagawa Science Park in Kawasaki, Japan. The system uses 64 speakers to replace the 64 musicians in an orchestra, and each speaker plays just one instrument…
TECH BEEF 2008: Apple gets nasty in new TV ads
A couple more Apple ads have surfaced, poking fun at the Microsoft ads that poked fun about Apple ads that poked fun at Microsoft and Vista. Here’s a potted history: Apple release the “I’m a PC, and I’m a Mac” ads, Microsoft respond with “I’m a PC, and I’ve been made into a stereotype” adverts, and Apple hit back with the above video, and another other the jump…
World about to get lighter and stronger thanks to "buckypaper" and the magic of nanotubing
Buckypaper is similar in concept to papier mache – layer it up thick and it gets stronger. So strong, in fact, that aeroplanes and rockets and even common household chairs could all be made from buckypaper in distant some future world. We are therefore calling it papier mache 2.0.
The invention of scientists at Florida State University’s High-performance Materials Institute (headed by Ben Wang, pictured), buckypaper is a simple way of compositing…
Prototype power shoes from NTT – generate electricity everywhere you go
I think I made jokes about power dressing the last time I looked at clothing which harnessed energy for your gadgets, so I’ll just stick to how ridiculous these electricity-generating shoes look…
Britney Spears is now following me on Twitter
That’s right, the pop princess now has her own Twitter account, or at least ‘her people’ do. At twitter.com/therealbritney, Brit’s “taking you where no paparazzi lens ever could with pics, vids and news from Britney herself”…
Make your expensive architect-designed house look RUBBISH with a LEGO radiator
Sarah Beeny would not be impressed. This could take tens of thousands off the value of your home. The terms & conditions of your mortgage would be voided. You’d be out on the street for Christmas. If you let your children be in charge of your internal design decisions, you get what you deserve.
This is a concept radiator (or at least a concept image of a concept radiator) by Italian firm Sciroccoh, made out of component pieces that resemble LEGO. It’s not particularly clever, as all the illustrator has done here is take an existing thing – in this case a household radiator – then imagine what it would look like if it was made out of LEGO…
