Connect One

Screw connecting 4, why not just connect 1:

Sucks to be that girl. From somethingawful.com.

Technorati Tags: board games, connect one, connect four

Harbin Ice Festival 2007

Every year, Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang, a province of China, hosts the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival. Officially, the festival starts from January 5th and lasts one month. Ice sculpture decoration ranges from the modern technology of lasers to traditional ice lanterns. The following photos are provided by entros. The 2007 festival features a Canadian theme; it now holds the Guinness Record for the largest snow sculpture: 250 meters long and 28 feet high, using over 13,000 cubic meters of snow.

For more information, visit Wikipedia's entry on ice sculptures.

Technorati Tags: harbin, ice sculpture

Harry Potter versus Star Wars

I've always thought that the Harry Potter story line was somewhat similar to the Star Wars story line. Here's proof that the two stories are actually one and the same, with the exception of a few minor details.

Technorati Tags: harry potter, star wars

Clever Marketing Technique

Check out this awesome email I received, titled Viagra Improves erection, from a certain Fuck hard. That really makes me want to click the email and check it out. Or not.

Technorati Tags: viagra, spam

Starcraft 2 - FINALLY ANNOUNCED!

YES! Blizzard has finally confirmed that Starcraft 2 will indeed be made. The official website, http://www.starcraft2.com/ has been launched. It will feature the 3 original races: the Protoss, the Terran, and the Zerg. There will be:

Legions of veteran, upgraded, and brand-new unit types will do battle
across the galaxy, as each faction struggles for survival,

with both single-player and multiplayer modes, as expected. Battle.net will return, but with "some exciting new changes and features."

One thing that will be very different is that the second Starcraft will be fully 3-D. Listed under upcoming new features are:

Vibrant new 3D-graphics engine with support for dazzling visual effects and massive unit and army sizes.

This is both exciting and somewhat troubling. By 3-D, I hope they mean 3 actual axis, not just the occassional ledge that gives you some height advantage. I'd imagine that the terrain would be much more complicated to fully implement 3-D battles. I doubt air units will be able to fly at different altitudes, so the next best thing will be rolling hills and other landscape features. Hopefully, Blizzard will still focus primarily on gameplay and balance issues, not just graphics. It would be a shame if Starcraft 2 is unable to live up to its name.

From what I can gather from the FAQ, there will still be only the 3 original races. There has been no word of a new race, but the 3 existing ones will all receive new units as well as modifications to pre-existing units. So far, there have been 3 new Protoss units announced: the Immortal, Stalker, and Phase Prism.

The Immortals will be the new version of the Dragoon. It's unit description is:

The remaining dragoons have become the immortals, refitted with twin phase disruptors and hardened energy shields that can shrug off the most powerful weapon strikes - though at the cost of leaving them more vulnerable to the pinprick attacks of lesser foes. The heavily armed and shielded immortals give critical fire support to the ferocious legions of zealots by eliminating enemy artillery and ranged attackers, allowing the zealots to close in and complete their work of destruction.

In short, they are Dragoons with twice the firepower, and big shields. They're probably meant to counter the Terran Tank, since the Protoss lacked any real siege units in the first Starcraft. They only had Reavers, which were decent when used in conjuction with Shuttles, but were still no match for Tanks. The Immortals will have big shields to counter the Tank damage, but it appears that these shields will be ineffective against small melee units such as Zerglings and Zealots.

The Protoss will also get Stalkers, which look like mechanical Zerglings, but act more like mechanical Hydralisks. That can teleport. Stalkers will have

the ability to instantly teleport or 'blink' from one spot to another. ... The deadly particle disruptors mounted on the stalker's carapace are equally adept at crippling targets on the ground or in the air.

The only teleporting in the first Starcraft came in the form of Arbiters. This will make it interesting because Stalkers will be able to get around choke points, as well as attack a base from the back and go straight for the workers. I doubt they'd be too strong, or they might be very expensive to build; otherwise I'd see a lot of cheesing with these. It also depends on the range and speed of the teleporting.

The last unit revealed at this time is the Phase Prism. More teleporting! It seems that the function of the Phase Prism is to field units quickly. Units spawning from a gateway will appear at the location of the Phase Prism instead of outside the gateway. I can already see many sneaky tactics that can center around the Phase Prism. A Phase Prism can fly into the rear of a base just outside of the enemy players view, and slowly teleport units over until a good sized force is there. Or, they can be used to assault small islands that only have anti-air defenses. Missle turrets don't work very well against zealots. Phase Prisms can also serve as mobile pylons. They are able to deploy themselves and power cannons and buildings. I don't see this as being incredibly useful, but if Phase Prisms are relatively easy to be built, they may be used in photo cannon rushes, another cheesy tactic.

The big question on everyone's mind: When will Starcraft 2 be released? Unfortunately, they have not released a date, but rest assured, I will be first in line to buy it, not to mention beta test for it.


I'll leave you guys with a few screen shots from the game, which I'm sure most of you have seen.

Technorati Tags: starcraft 2, blizzard

Chinese Shadow Theater

Chinese shadow puppetry has been around for over 2,000 years. Check out this awesome video showcasing their skills. Head over to wikipedia to learn more.

Technorati Tags: chinese, shadow, theater, puppetry

10 Fastest Cars of Spring 2007

Everybody loves fast cars, so here are the 10 fastest as of Spring 2007, along with some specs.

Note: Ranking is based on 0 to 60 mph acceleration time. It may not be the most accurate way of deciding whether a car is "faster" than another car, but it is the most convenient. The power to weight ratios are also listed for reference.

10. 2006 Ford GT


0 to 60 mph acceleration time: 3.8 seconds
Power to weight ratio: 0.16 hp/lb
Engine specs: 5.4-liter V8; 550 hp
MSRP: $149,995

9. 2002 Pagani Zonda C12 S


0 to 60 mph acceleration time: 3.7 seconds
Power to weight ratio: 0.20 hp/lb
Engine specs: 7.3-liter V12; 555 hp
MSRP: $325,000

8. 2003 Ferrari Enzo


0 to 60 mph acceleration time: 3.6 seconds
Power to weight ratio: 0.22 hp/lb
Engine specs: 6.0-liter V12; 660 hp
MSRP: $1,000,000

7. 2006 Porsche Carrera GT


0 to 60 mph acceleration time: 3.6 seconds
Power to weight ratio: 0.15 hp/lb
Engine specs: 5.7-liter V10; 605 hp
MSRP: $484,000

6. 2007 Lamborghini Murciélago LP640


0 to 60 mph acceleration time: 3.4 seconds
Power to weight ratio: 0.18 hp/lb
Engine specs: 6.5-liter V12; 640 hp
MSRP: $350,000

5. 2006 Mosler MT900S


0 to 60 mph acceleration time: 3.1 seconds
Power to weight ratio: 0.27 hp/lb
Engine specs: 5.7-liter V8; 600 hp
MSRP: $189,000

4. 2006 Koenigsegg CCX


0 to 60 mph acceleration time: 3.1 seconds
Power to weight ratio: 0.32 hp/lb
Engine specs: 4.7-liter V8; 806 hp
MSRP: $600,910

3. 1998 McLaren F1


0 to 60 mph acceleration time: 3.0 seconds
Power to weight ratio: 0.29 hp/lb
Engine specs: 6.1-liter V12; 680 hp
MSRP: $1,307,000

2. 2006 Saleen S7


0 to 60 mph acceleration time: 2.8 seconds
Power to weight ratio: 0.26 hp/lb
Engine specs: 7.0-liter V8; 750 hp
MSRP: $585,000

1. 2006 Bugatti Veyron


0 to 60 mph acceleration time: 2.5 seconds
Power to weight ratio: 0.23 hp/lb
Engine specs: 8.0-liter W16; 1,001 hp
MSRP: $1,357,000

Technorati Tags: fast cars, bugatti, ferrari, lamborghini, pagani, ford, porsche, mosler, koenigsegg, mclaren, saleen

Deals of May 2007

Total Solar Eclipse - 2006

Click for full-sized image. Well worth the click.

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Spiderman Speed Painting

Since we're on the subject of Spiderman, here's a cool video of Manlio Noto drawing Spiderman using Photoshop 7. Somewhat similar to the Mona Lisa post I made earlier.

Technorati Tags: Speed Painting, Spiderman

Spiderman 3 - Third Time's Not Always the Charm

I haven't felt this excited about a movie in a while. The last movie I actually wanted to line up for was probably the re-release of the original Star Wars, since I wasn't around for the original release. Actually, I hadn't been born at the time, but that's besides the point. I ended up watching Spiderman 3 on Friday night with the GF.

This time around, Spiderman faces Sandman, Venom, and Goblin. Impressive lineup, eh? No, I'm not Canadian. It stars the usual Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker / Spiderman, Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson, and James Franco as Harry Osborn / Goblin, along with new additions Thomas Church as Marko Flint / Sandman and Topher Grace as Eddie Brock / Venom.

Here are all of the movie posters that I found. I'm not sure if all of them are "official," but most of them look pretty good.

Peter Parker pretending to be Superman.

Constipated Venom.

Bug eyed Spiderman.

Hmm...black or red?

Definitely black.

The glint.

The spider.

My favorite poster: black on black Spiderman.

The movie picks up where Spiderman 2 left off: Peter Parker is still riding his little moped by day, and web slinging by night. All is well for the first 10 minutes of the movie. Then Marko Flint breaks out of prison, is shot by radiation and turns into Sandman. At the same time, the alien symbiote lands on earth, and hitches a ride to Peter's shabby apartment on the back of his moped. Harry Osborn starts using the green gas that his father was so fond of, and becomes the New Goblin. Do I smell a fight?

Here are a few things that stood out from the movie that I want to talk about:

Why is it that when Peter Parker bonds with the symbiote, he becomes EMO? The symbiote is supposed to trigger aggression in its host, not emo-ness. He wears his hair in classic emo style, and expresses his anger through dance. Right, that's real aggressive. The only redeeming act of aggression is when he pushes Mary Jane onto the floor. I'd definitely file wife beaters under aggressive. With all this talk of emo, I really do think its time for Nemo to make his second appearance.

During the final battle, as Spiderman arrives at the construction site to save Mary Jane from Venom and Sandman, he briefly poses in front of the American flag. Sam Raimi, the director, obviously wanted to show his support for America. While browsing the internet, I came across several blog posts that pointed this out, and from the looks of it, Raimi was getting flat out flamed for that scene. I'm not sure if the commenters were American or not, but what's wrong with showing some pride for your country? Although it was blatantly clear that he wanted the scene to stand out, Peter Parker himself is American. It fits in with the story, and its nice to see that America has heroes, even if they are only on the big screen.

The movie ended up being 2 hours and 20 minutes, which is a good length, but it felt very rushed and hectic. If you follow the comic, you know that just the storyline behind Venom is extremely long and complicated, not to mention the story behind Sandman and Goblin. Eddie Brock doesn't become Venom one day, and then goes off dying the day after. I was expecting the movie to follow the comic's storyline, but there were quite a few unexpected twists. Personally, I would have preferred the original version, which is why I felt really disappointed when so many prominent characters all ended up dead after one battle. I really wish they had devoted the entire movie on just the symbiote arc, and left Sandman for another movie. Although I've heard rumors that Spiderman is only a trilogy, making this the last one, MovieWeb reports that Marvel has confirmed there will be a Spiderman 4.

Despite these shortcomings, I do not regret the $12.50 and 2 hours that I spent waiting in line for it. It actually cost me $23.00, since the GF went as well. She claims that this one was the best one in the series, but I'm sure that's because they emphasized the love story more, and also made it a lot more light-hearted in general. I remember when comic books and computer animation were for geeks only; not that I am a geek, or was a geek. OK I was / am a little geeky, but Spiderman is my favorite superhero, so say what you want, but I really enjoyed this movie. The acting was mediocre as usual, but the plot was above average. The computer generated graphics were very impressive, and since it's straight out of a comic book, there is a definite "wow," "cool," and "weird" factor. It all rolls together into a visually, and surprisingly emotionally, entertaining movie. Make sure you go see this one!

Let me leave you with a joke:
What kind of person is Spiderman?
.
.
.
...drum roll please...
.
.
.
是白的man !

For those of you who can't read Chinese, it says "He's a white man," but when you pronounce it, it is Shi Bai De Man!

Technorati Tags: spiderman 3

Kill the Zombies! - The Rooms

Kill as many zombies as you can. You get better weapons as you kill more zombies. Did I mention kill the zombies? Courtesy of Novelty Arcade.

NoveltyArcade

Technorati Tags: zombies, online flash game

It's a Bird, it's a Plane, No it's a Wheel Chair Car

A company in Hungary by the name of Rehab Rt. has come up with a car for the disabled, called the Kenguru. A person in a wheel chair can literally roll right in, and start driving. The wheel chair locks into place, and the car's controls are centered around a joy stick, with styling similar to the Japanese Kei cars. If this car were to come to America, it would definitely be a hit. Finally, all those handicap spots can be of good use.

Technorati Tags: kenguru, wheel chair, car

Paint the Mona Lisa Using MS Paint

Check out this video of Jason from Eclectic Asylum. He draws the Mona Lisa using MS Paint in about 2 hours and 30 minutes. Don't worry, the video isn't that long, it is put in fast forward. All I can say is WOW. This might be the most impressive display of art skill that I have ever seen.

Technorati Tags: art, mona lisa, speed painting

Yummy, Pie

Check out this video of a guy who makes pies approximately 3.5 millimeter in diameter. Then he THROWS the pies at INSECTS, and captures all of it using high speed cameras. Pretty amazing.

P.S. I wonder if those pies are any good. Finally, a pie with not too many calories.

Technorati Tags: pies, insects, youtube

If Microsoft Made Cars

I came across this funny article about Bill Gates' remarks regarding the car industry. I'm not sure if it's a true story or not, but regardless, it is quite hilarious.

At COMDEX recently, Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up with the technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon."

In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating: If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.

2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.

3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull over to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.

4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.

5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive, but would run on only five percent of the roads.

6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single "This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation" warning light.

7. The airbag system would ask "Are you sure?" before deploying.

8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.

9. Every time a new car was introduced, car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again, because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.

10. Oh yeah, and last but not least . . . you'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off!

Technorati Tags: bill gates, microsoft

My High Scores in Tower Defense

Remember all of those Tower Defense games I posted earlier? The two that I've been playing the most are Onslaught by Gaby and Flash Circle TD by David Scott:

I just wanted to share my high scores and screen shots of my setup:

For Onslaught, I reached level 203, using the 'nuke' combo, which consists of 1 red turret combo-ed with 2 blue turrets. I just kept building damage multipliers so each nuke would kill the creeps in 1 shot. However, I started to run out of space to build the damage multipliers, which eventually led to my downfall.

For Flash Circle TD, I reached level 372. As you can see, I had so much money that I could not spend it anymore. I filled the entire screen up with fully upgraded turrets. I think I could have gotten further by micro-managing which turrets I had up against certain creep waves through selling and rebuilding, but by level 372 I was tired of the game already and was hoping to just stop. I started with splash towers at key choke points, with damage towers spread out. I built air towers for the fliers, obviously. The trick is to always try to accumulate more money in the bank. Do not overbuild, because interest is what wins the game. After a while, you will be receiving so much interest you won't know what to do with it.

If you've got tips or a better high score, feel free to leave a comment. All TD games are open to discussion, not just these two. You can find my list of top 10 Tower Defense games here.

Update: Jodan beat my Onslaught score =( He got to level 204, with an overall score of 405M.

Technorati Tags: tower defense, td, high score