LotR Film

Ok, there is a lot of list journalism at this time of year, but this effort is actually interesting: Things You Didn't Know About... The Fellowship of the Ring.  Perhaps half of these things you actually do know, particularly if you are a Peter Jackson fan, but there are some good quotes like this one from Sir Ian:

If you are suddenly dropped by a helicopter on top of a mountain on which no man has ever walked before, which I was, and you're trudging in Gandalf's gear through two feet of snow, feeling like that Kiwi, Edmund Hillary, going up Everest, no acting is required...

Also, ponder this without your brain hurting - The Beatles apparently wanted to star in a version of Fellowship. Directed by Kubrick. o_O

Lightning

Artificial lightning can be created in the lab with tesla coils, but apparently a much higher voltage than natural lightning is required. These guys think this is because existing tesla coils are not big enough, so they are going to build two 10-story high coils and send arcs across a football field. If you think this is great, then you can contribute to the project. They have also built a wirelessly-powered vehicle (a chair on wheels), which thankfully runs during "arc free" mode. True steampunk-style Mad Science!

Influential

A games site just wrote an article about Why Quake Changed Games Forever. Quake is an old game that I used to play a lot; it looks terribly brown and pixelated now but that is not the point - the point was shooting at monsters/friends in a true 3d world, which was technology years ahead of its time. Also, because John Carmack wrote it, it was super-easy to mod, which we did instead of writing college assignments. I see Romero gets a bit defensive in the article; he has his reasons *cough Daikatana*. The most amusing part is the the fact that Quake code still survives in games today. How many games can claim that?

Asteroids

A while ago there was a website I enjoyed using where you helped astronomers categorize galaxies, Galaxy Zoo. This site has now expanded to other projects, which are collectively called the Zooniverse (disappointingly, no, I don't think it is a Mighty Boosh reference). Now they not only have have projects that involve astronomical data from the moon, sun and Milky Way but there is also a weather one, and one based on transcribing old papyri. But my favorite at the moment is Ice Hunters, where you check highly-processed photos for possible asteroids (more technically "Kuiper Belt Objects"). Not for everyone, I'm sure, but it's kind of relaxing for me.

Music

A lot has been said about how music is over-priced yet the artists only get a small cut; this is a case of under-pricing. This guy gives his music away for free. His name is General Fuzz and he makes, in his words, "lush melodic instrumental electronica". It's quality, listen-toable stuff with the occasional guest artist on sax or violin. I started with the album "Messy's Place", which includes the brilliant "unconscious alliance". If you only download one track, this is it. You can donate, but he also accepts nonfincancial support - spreading the word via blogs etc. Consider it done, Mr Fuzz.

Nanodiamond

Could I resist reading a story with that title? No.
Researchers at Vanderbilt University are making electronics out of diamonds rather than silicon. The "nano" part is due to the very thin layer that is used; the process is inexpensive because of this, and also due to the use of industrial diamonds (or what should be called "reasonably-priced" diamond). Why do this when silicon seems to be adequate? Well, silicon has problems with high-energy particle interference, e.g when in space or in a nuclear reactor. These new-style transistors get around that by using an old-style concept: vacuum tubes. Yes, if they can cheaply pack these in a vacuum, we will have Super-efficient Nanodiamond Space Transistors. And who doesn't want one of those?

It's live

The reason I have been quiet in recent weeks is now live:

MyLife Deals

It was a lot of work for our small team, but worth it. Our first deal is from an Indian restaurant called Tanzore, which is located in a "casual Beverly Hills locale". So if you happen to be in the area, grab the deal now before it ends today! :)