Tag Archives: Friday Links

The Singularity has arrived! Or at least, a robotic hand that can beat you at Rock, Paper, Scissors every time. Next up: THE SINGULARITY!

This week, Two Guys and Guy plumbs the depths of irony.

And Sinfest searches for unlikely superheroes.

Finally, here’s a 15-minute compilation of Worf getting shot down and rejected, over…and over…and over. Michael Dorn’s reaction here (at around the 2:00 mark) is equally enlightening.

See you Monday!

ULTIMATE PERUVIAN WRITING DEATHMATCH. That is all.

What’s wrong with this picture of the Russian Revolution? If you answered “there shouldn’t be a giant robot in the background,” congratulations! You nailed it. Six thousand students taking a history exam were similarly perplexed.

What happens when an Italian singer writes a song that’s pure gibberish, but designed to sound like English? You get Prisencolinensinainciusol, an utterly fascinating piece of music. My brain somehow thinks it’s English, it just can’t…quite…understand any of the words.

Have a good weekend! I’ll be back Monday with more of the answers to your Ask Brian Anything questions.

Don’t be fooled by the duct tape on the dev kit. The Oculus Rift just might be the future of virtual reality. Sponsored by id’s John Carmack, and endorsed by everyone from Sony’s CEO to the lead designer of Minecraft, this unassuming black box grants a wider range of virtual vision than anything before, giving a total immersion experience.

A month ago, the Penny Arcade team went hands-on with the Oculus Rift. Here’s their report.

Speaking of The Future: we all know about 3D printing. How about a 3D scanner that hooks up to your iPad?

Remember how you used to burn holes in leaves with a magnifying glass? Turns out the same principle applies to a curved, reflective skyscraper, and some dude’s Jaguar. He’s, uh, not too happy about it.

“NASA spent millions developing an astronaut pen that would work in outer space. The Soviets solved the same problem by using a pencil.”

Have you heard this story? Turns out, a story is all it is. Here’s Snopes taking the stand in NASA’s defense.

And finally, here’s a photo-based webcomic that I read constantly but seldom link to: A Softer World. I read this comic and figured I had to share.

Have a good weekend, hypothetical reader! All next week I’ll be answering the Ask Brian Anything questions.

The Triumph of V’ger: NASA announced yesterday that Voyager 1, the little spacecraft that could, has officially become the first manmade object to exit the solar system. What’s more, it’s still working, still transmitting sensor data, still recording information on an 8-track tape. It’s now 11.7 billion miles from Earth, so distant that its messages take over 17 hours to reach home. But reach home they do, and we’re glad.

Bored? Why not spend a fascinating hour (or three) browsing this Wikiquote page of people’s last words? A tantalizing example: Walt Disney’s last words were “Kurt Russell.” Nobody, not even Kurt, knows why.

Finally, Two Guys And Guy illustrates what happens when one of those cheesy pickup lines actually works.

One last reminder to Ask Me Anything by midnight tomorrow. Don’t be shy. Remember, every single question will be answered.

Have a great weekend!

How did Halle Berry go from winning an Oscar to acting in some of the worst movies of the decade? Think Catwoman, Gothika, and Dark Tide, a direct-to-DVD boondoggle with an astounding 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. Discover the slow decline of Halle Berry.

“The US National Security Agency (NSA) broke privacy rules and overstepped its legal authority thousands of times in the past two years,” the BBC reports.

Calvin and Hobbes cartoonist Bill Watterson is a very private man who does almost no interviews. Note, I said “almost.” In 2005 he answered questions from a couple dozen fans. Enjoy.

The best SMBC I’ve read in a long time.

Have a fulfilling weekend, hypothetical readers! If you start feeling existential, roll in the grass. See you Monday!

Behold! Hallgrimskirkja, the tallest building in Iceland.

Man Tries To Board Plane With Pet Turtle Disguised As Hamburger. Sometimes the headline says it all.

The Onion provides new information on how the NSA gets your data.

SMBC takes an insightful look at priorities.

Have a great weekend, hypothetical readers. B. D. Buckley, over and out.

The fourteen geekiest beers on the planet. Enjoy.

Have a great weekend. See you Monday!