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! :)

Guitarists

While listening to Dire Straits recently I noticed some familiar sounds in Mark Knopfler's voice, and, sure enough when I looked up the information, he was raised in the North East (Blythe) and attended Leeds University. (He got an English degree and worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post). There is more interesting stuff on the wiki, but the main thing I'd like to point out is this comedy gem he appears in, from an early French and Saunders show.

Website News

Quick update for those that don't know yet; CitizenLocal was bought by MyLife, a company that specializes in people search and various other web services. There is a lot of integration work to do, and things are looking good.