Search This Blog

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Article: The World Is Not Enough: Google and the Future of Augmented Reality - Alexis C. Madrigal - The Atlantic

The World Is Not Enough: Google and the Future of Augmented Reality - Alexis C. Madrigal - The Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/10/the-world-is-not-enough-google-and-the-future-of-augmented-reality/264059/

(via Instapaper)

Article: How Google is becoming an extension of your mind

nevver:Jirasak Plaboothong

nevver:

Jirasak Plaboothong
:





nevver:
Jirasak Plaboothong

Brian Eno's "Lux" and the Discreet Charm of Ambient Music : The New Yorker

http://m.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2012/11/the-discreet-charm-of-ambient-music.html

Kill the Password


Sent to you via Google Reader

Kill the Password

"No matter how complex, no matter how unique, your passwords can no longer protect you," writes Mat Honan in Wired magazine this month. And he should know.


Friday, November 16, 2012

Article: A Growing Community Of Jews In Nigeria | Here & Now

[Well, this is fascinating. -egg]    

A Growing Community Of Jews In Nigeria | Here & Now
http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2012/11/12/jews-nigeria-abuja

(via Instapaper)

Kevin Kelly on the end of anonymity

Kevin Kelly on the end of anonymity: Over on his Google+ account, Kevin Kelly says:

The major impact of the Petraeus affair has nothing to do with the military, sex, or celebrity -- it is that there is no such thing as anonymous, and that the US government is able to access internet and credit card records without warrants, just because they ask to. Your digital life is not private from the government, ever; therefore, your life is not private. Read the details in this important reporting by +Andrew Leonard:

"[This] debacle confirms something that some privacy experts have been warning about for years: Government surveillance of ordinary citizens is now cheaper and easier than ever before. Without needing to go before a judge, the government can gather vast amounts of information about us with minimal expenditure of manpower. We used to be able to count on a certain amount of privacy protection simply because invading our privacy was hard work. That is no longer the case. Our always-on, Internet-connected, cellphone-enabled lives are an open door to Big Brother."

I have nothing to hide; I am just saying anonymous is not anonymous.

Anonymous is Not





Tresset robot artist: Artist engineers robots to make art and save his own sanity. - Slate Magazine

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2012/11/tresset_robot_artist_artist_engineers_robots_to_make_art_and_save_his_own.single.html

Wretched woman!

[Very nice. -egg]
Wretched woman!:



In 1834, 21-year-old Jarm Logue (pictured above some years later) managed to steal his master's horse and escape the life of slavery into which he had been born. Sadly, his mother, brother and sister remained. 26 years later, by which time he had settled down in New York, opened numerous schools for black children, started his own family, become a reverend and noted abolitionist, and authored an autobiography, he received a letter from the wife of his old owner in which she demanded $1000.



That letter, and his furious reply, can be read below.



Note: After escaping slavery, Logue changed his name to Jermain Wesley Loguen.



(Source: Slavery in the United States; Image: J. W. Loguen, via.)



Maury Co., State of Tennessee,

February 20th, 1860.



To JARM:—



I now take my pen to write you a few lines, to let you know how well we all are. I am a cripple, but I am still able to get about. The rest of the family are all well. Cherry is as well as Common. I write you these lines to let you the situation we are in—partly in consequence of your running away and stealing Old Rock, our fine mare. Though we got the mare back, she was never worth much after you took her; and as I now stand in need of some funds, I have determined to sell you; and I have had an offer for you, but did not see fit to take it. If you will send me one thousand dollars and pay for the old mare, I will give up all claim I have to you. Write to me as soon as you get these lines, and let me know if you will accept my proposition. In consequence of your running away, we had to sell Abe and Ann and twelve acres of land; and I want you to send me the money that I may be able to redeem the land that you was the cause of our selling, and on receipt of the above named sum of money, I will send you your bill of sale. If you do not comply with my request, I will sell you to some one else, and you may rest assured that the time is not far distant when things will be changed with you. Write to me as soon as you get these lines. Direct your letter to Bigbyville, Maury County, Tennessee. You had better comply with my request.



I understand that you are a preacher. As the Southern people are so bad, you had better come and preach to your old acquaintances. I would like to know if you read your Bible? If so can you tell what will become of the thief if he does not repent? and, if the the blind lead the blind, what will the consequence be? I deem it unnecessary to say much more at present. A word to the wise is sufficient. You know where the liar has his part. You know that we reared you as we reared our own children; that you was never abused, and that shortly before you ran away, when your master asked if you would like to be sold, you said you would not leave him to go with anybody.



Sarah Logue.



----------------------



Syracuse, N.Y., March 28, 1860.



MRS. SARAH LOGUE:—



Yours of the 20th of February is duly received, and I thank you for it. It is a long time since I heard from my poor old mother, and I am glad to know she is yet alive, and, as you say, "as well as common." What that means I don't know. I wish you had said more about her



You are a woman; but had you a woman's heart you could never have insulted a brother by telling him you sold his only remaining brother and sister, because he put himself beyond your power to convert him into money.



You sold my brother and sister, ABE and ANN, and 12 acres of land, you say, because I ran away. Now you have the unutterable meanness to ask me to return and be your miserable chattel, or in lieu thereof send you $1000 to enable you to redeem the land, but not to redeem my poor brother and sister! If I were to send you money it would be to get my brother and sister, and not that you should get land. You say you are a cripple, and doubtless you say it to stir my pity, for you know I was susceptible in that direction. I do pity you from the bottom of my heart. Nevertheless I am indignant beyond the power of words to express, that you should be so sunken and cruel as to tear the hearts I love so much all in pieces; that you should be willing to impale and crucify us out of all compassion for your poor foot or leg. Wretched woman! Be it known to you that I value my freedom, to say nothing of my mother, brothers and sisters, more than your whole body; more, indeed, than my own life; more than all the lives of all the slaveholders and tyrants under Heaven.



You say you have offers to buy me, and that you shall sell me if I do not send you $1000, and in the same breath and almost in the same sentence, you say, "you know we raised you as we did our own children." Woman, did you raise your own children for the market? Did you raise them for the whipping-post? Did you raise them to be driven off in a coffle in chains? Where are my poor bleeding brothers and sisters? Can you tell? Who was it that sent them off into sugar and cotton fields, to be kicked, and cuffed, and whipped, and to groan and die; and where no kin can hear their groans, or attend and sympathize at their dying bed, or follow in their funeral? Wretched woman! Do you say you did not do it? Then I reply, your husband did, and you approved the deed—and the very letter you sent me shows that your heart approves it all. Shame on you.



But, by the way, where is your husband? You don't speak of him. I infer, therefore, that he is dead; that he has gone to his great account, with all his sins against my poor family upon his head. Poor man! gone to meet the spirits of my poor, outraged and murdered people, in a world where Liberty and Justice are MASTERS.



But you say I am a thief, because I took the old mare along with me. Have you got to learn that I had a better right to the old mare, as you call her, than MANNASSETH LOGUE had to me? Is it a greater sin for me to steal his horse, than it was for him to rob my mother's cradle and steal me? If he and you infer that I forfeit all my rights to you, shall not I infer that you forfeit all your rights to me? Have you got to learn that human rights are mutual and reciprocal, and if you take my liberty and life, you forfeit your own liberty and life? Before God and High Heaven, is there a law for one man which is not a law for every other man?



If you or any other speculator on my body and rights, wish to know how I regard my rights, they need but come here and lay their hands on me to enslave me. Did you think to terrify me by presenting the alternative to give my money to you, or give my body to Slavery? Then let me say to you, that I meet the proposition with unutterable scorn and contempt. The proposition is an outrage and an insult. I will not budge one hair's breadth. I will not breathe a shorter breath, even to save me from your persecutions. I stand among a free people, who, I thank God, sympathize with my rights, and the rights of mankind; and if your emissaries and venders come here to re-enslave me, and escape the unshrinking vigor of my own right arm, I trust my strong and brave friends, in this City and State, will be my rescuers and avengers.



Yours, &c.,

J.W. Loguen



RSS Feed proudly sponsored by TinyLetter, a simple newsletter service for people with something to say.

The Flawed Symmetry of Prediction: A Time-Lapse of Optical Illusions in the American West

The Flawed Symmetry of Prediction: A Time-Lapse of Optical Illusions in the American West:
The Flawed Symmetry of Prediction: A Time Lapse of Optical Illusions in the American West video art timelapse optical illusion
The Flawed Symmetry of Prediction: A Time Lapse of Optical Illusions in the American West video art timelapse optical illusion
The Flawed Symmetry of Prediction: A Time Lapse of Optical Illusions in the American West video art timelapse optical illusion
Flawed Symmetry of Prediction is an outstanding short film by filmmaker Jeff Frost that defies categorization as it ventures into time lapse, street art, and even optical illusion. Via email Jeff tells me:
I roam the deserts of California and Utah looking for abandoned structures. When I find a room that I like, I paint large scale optical illusions on the inside of it. I record this process with time lapse photography. It took me over half a year and more than 40,000 high resolution still images to produce this film on my Canon 60D. Aside from painting supplies, the only other equipment I used was a borrowed tripod, and some pretty unconventional lighting. As post production goes, no graphics or CGI was used whatsoever.
The visuals are absolutely brilliant and the sound design is top notch as well. (via laughing squid)

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Hominid: predation among the human-skeleton'ed prehistoric creatures

Hominid: predation among the human-skeleton'ed prehistoric creatures:


Brian Andrews has spent many years producing his striking "Hominid" images, described as "photo composites made from human and veterinary images creating hominid creatures." Now, these images have been animated, and the result is beautiful and haunting and profoundly, wonderfully disturbing.


Hominid is an animated teaser based on the Hominid series of photo composites by Brian Andrews. The series has been exhibited internationally, including at SIGGRAPH, in the Hong Kong Exhibition Center, and at numerous galleries. This animated teaser was produced at Ex’pression College for Digital Arts. Be on the lookout for future Hominid animations.


Hominid

(via JWZ)






What the election map would have looked like if only white men could vote

What the election map would have looked like if only white men could vote:


No wonder Ann Coulter wants women's voting rights taken away.

What The 2012 Election Would Have Looked Like Without Universal Suffrage (Via Sociological Images)





Monday, November 12, 2012

Videogame simulates "a slower speed of light"

[Open-source relativistic game engine will be available. Art project, anyone? -egg]
Videogame simulates "a slower speed of light":


MIT researchers developed a game that simulates the weird relativistic effects of slowing down the speed of light.


A Slower Speed of Light is a first-person game prototype in which players navigate a 3D space while picking up orbs that reduce the speed of light in increments. Custom-built, open-source relativistic graphics code allows the speed of light in the game to approach the player's own maximum walking speed. Visual effects of special relativity gradually become apparent to the player, increasing the challenge of gameplay. These effects, rendered in realtime to vertex accuracy, include the Doppler effect (red- and blue-shifting of visible light, and the shifting of infrared and ultraviolet light into the visible spectrum); the searchlight effect (increased brightness in the direction of travel); time dilation (differences in the perceived passage of time from the player and the outside world); Lorentz transformation (warping of space at near-light speeds); and the runtime effect (the ability to see objects as they were in the past, due to the travel time of light).
"A Slower Speed of Light"




High Frontiers (1984 proto-cyberdelic 'zine) now online

High Frontiers (1984 proto-cyberdelic 'zine) now online:
Highfrontierrrr

The first issue of the 'zine High Frontiers (1984), founded by BB pal and co-conspirator RU Sirius, is now online at the Internet Archive. High Frontiers begat Reality Hackers which begat Mondo 2000 which begat the cyberdelic early 1990s. "First Glimpse Of MONDO 2000 History Project Archives: Complete Issue #1 Of High Frontiers" (Acceler8or)





Sunday, November 11, 2012

How to Consider New Ideas

How to Consider New Ideas:

So, my publisher is offering a combo pack of my third Book, The Curse of the Masking Tape Mummy, and the Basic Instructions Coffee Mug for fifteen dollars. At that price, you're basically paying full price for the book and getting the mug for five cents, which sounds like a good deal to me. You can find the details on my store page.
And thanks as always for using my Amazon Affiliate links (USUKCanada).




Artisanal DIY Sriracha: HOWTO homebrew "rooster sauce," without the chemical preservatives

Artisanal DIY Sriracha: HOWTO homebrew "rooster sauce," without the chemical preservatives:

Oh god oh god oh god. I may join the hordes in gently mocking artisanal mayonnaise and overpriced bobo flour grinders, but this, this is important. Sriracha, the spicy red nectar of the gods that makes everything taste better, is awesome but contains various chemical preservatives that some of us prefer not to ingest with every single meal, because we put Sriracha on every single meal. Finally, a HOWTO video that breaks down how some obsessives brew their own. Oh god oh god. Video Link.
From SkeeterNYC:



"Food is naturally different. So, I just really want to honor that variety and let the chili peppers do the talking."
Meet Jolene Collins, the founder and artisan behind Jojo's Sriracha in Brooklyn, NY. Jolene is obsessed with sriracha. She discovered the chili sauce at age 15, when, in a hunger frenzy, she coated her tuna sandwich and potato chips with the unfamiliar condiment. When she recounts the story, you can see she remembers it as if time stopped. It was a moment she'll never forget. A moment that maybe, just maybe, foreshadowed her destiny.
So, enjoy Jolene's spicy little story about the unlocked potential of the sriracha you know and, probably, love. She'll have you convinced that her artisan sriracha, is so much more than the average cock sauce.
Thanks so much for supporting food. curated. and small artisans! Happy Eating!


To find out where to purchase this one-of-a-kind sriracha, visit: foodcurated.com.

(thanks @friendlystinger)