In this super HD video over 70 different Muppets take on Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” This is inspirational. Please sit back, relax, and enjoy/rock out.
[Via Nerdist]
All posts by Scott Meisner
Legos do The Matrix in stop-motion
Check out this recreation of the famous bullet time scene from The Matrix, Lego-style. It took 440 hours to complete.
[Via Gawker]
News: New Zealander gets himself stuck in clothes dryer
Don’t ask, watch.
[Via FOTC Twitter page]
Girlfriend smashes her man’s Xbox 360, dreams
Yikes.
[Via Gizmodo]
Jimmy Fallon sings “Fresh Prince” as Neil Young
And he sounds just like him.
[Via EW]
Supercomputer simulates a cat’s brain, humans are next (gulp)
Scientists at IBM have created the “biggest artificial brain ever” with a computer simulation (1.6 billion virtual neurons connected by 9 trillion synapses) that far surpasses the previous attempt (55 million neurons) to do such a thing. This year’s results simulate a cat’s brain, while the last time simulated a rat’s brain. Who’s up next? We are.
These massive simulations are merely steps toward Modha’s ultimate goal: simulating the entire human cortex, about 25 billion neurons, at full speed. To do that, he’ll need to find 1000 times more computing power. At the rate that supercomputers have expanded over the last 20 years, that super-super computer could exist by 2019. “This is not just possible, it’s inevitable,” [Dharmendra Modha, computer scientist] says. “This will happen.” [He adds:] “I’ll have it ready for you within the next decade.”
Modha meet SkyNet.
Well then, time to go out and buy all the Terminator movies and study up. Judgement Day is imminent.
[Via Gizmodo, here & here; Popular Mechanics]
Google is refreshing its search interface, give it a try
Looks like Google is finally giving its first-born a refresh. At an unspecified date the main Google page and its search options will change in appearence. The interface promises to be cleaner, bolder, and and more accessable. Right now Google is testing out the new search features on random people. You haven’t been invited to the party? That’s OK, I’ve got the ticket to sneak you in the back entrance. It’s all after the break.
[Via Gizmodo, here, here & here; SearchEngineLand]
Continue reading Google is refreshing its search interface, give it a try
Don’t stare directly at the center..this deck will suck you in!
Ok, this deck is not a vortex in disguise, but it sure looks like one. This trippy, mind-bending deck belongs to Jeff Dauber, an Apple senior executive of all people. “I wanted someone to barf when they look at it,” says Dauber.
The Japanese maple in Jeff Dauber’s San Francisco backyard is not at the center of a carbon-sucking vortex. Sorry, sci-fi fans, but the Berkeley-based architect Thom Faulders’s perfectly flat deck only looks like its far corner has its own warped gravity. Ever since Francesco Borromini’s Gallery Spada, in Rome, forced perspectives and architectural patronage have gone hand in hand, but whereas the Renaissance architect employed a mathematician to make that arcade seem longer through foreshortening, Faulders used 3-D–modeling software to achieve Deformscape’s dipping effect.
[Via Gizmodo; Metropolis Mag]
Five finger toe shoes are all the rage this holiday season
Pictured above is Google’s co-founder Sergey Brin. At last week’s Google Chrome OS announcement he made a quick appearence sporting these outrageous shoes that have a place for all five toes to take comfort. Vibram’s Five Fingers are “ultralight running/sports shoes with separate pockets for each toe.” Though they look quite unconventional, they are apparently great running shoes and are praised by CrunchGear. If you’re interested in a pair, they go for about $75 and are available to order here.
[Via CrunchGear]
Shower has three modes, one that washes your crotch area
The Smart Shower by Hansa combines three different shower heads into one setup.
The aptly named Smart shower lets you activate three different shower heads and alternate between modes with the push of a button. Set your water as a gentle shower or a cascade; start the pivoting body spray [(aka the crotch spray)]; or wash away the cares of the day using the new slim hand shower. And it looks as good as it feels…
Oh, I’m sure it does.
YouTube now supports full HD (1080p) video
This past week YouTube lifted the 720p-only upload restriction; users are now able to upload and watch full 1080p high definition videos on YouTube. And what better way to celebrate this news than watch Heroes’ Hayden Panettiere uncork a bottle of champaign in slow motion, in reverse. Enjoy, fellas..
There’s still more YouTube news hot off the press. First, Google decided to shut down YouTube’s API access. What this means is that all the set-top boxes (and other similar devices) no longer have the ability to access YouTube services. Only YouTube-sanctioned devices like supported Blu-Ray players, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, and TiVo will be able to feature a YouTube interface and provide videos to consumers. Why is Google doing this, you ask? Well, the unofficial reason is that Google, like any other company, wants to make as much revenue from its ads as possible and letting anyone and everyone have access to their YouTube service leaves them in a hard-to-control situation. Come December 2 all set-top boxes and unauthorized devices will lose their ability to feature the YouTube service.
On a less somber note, Google is now allowing users to add automatic captions to their YouTube videos to make videos accessible to the deaf and hearing-impaired. YouTube will utilize Google Voice speech-recognition technology to create automatic, on-the-fly captions for uploaded videos. For now this service will be available to a handful of partners including PBS, National Geographic and a some universities until it is perfected. For now, Google is implementing an “auto-timing” feature that will take written words in a user-generated text file and match the text to the words as they are spoken in the video. Neat-o.
Oh, and there’s another (less exciting) 1080p video posted after the break.
SNL Digital Short: Kenan is Reba (Featuring Ardy Samberg)
Another classic…