/dev/null/kevin

There was an announcement today that the original Star Trek is getting a CGI makeover.  While this will be interesting to see, especially since it will be high definition (and I'm sure there will be a whole new DVD set), I can only hope no one makes any "George Lucas" type changes.  Maybe they can add a CGI Chekov into the episodes that he wasn't in, or add a whole new character, Mr. Wiggles, who adds inappropriate comic relief.

In all honesty, while CGI has produced some amazing effects, when it comes to cool looking spaceships, the model makers of the 70s and 80s win that battle.  Sure there were a lot of "ships on fishing line" that looked fake, but best models look better than the best CGI.  The X-Wing and TIE fighters are still cooler than anything from all three of the prequels.  The same goes for the original Alien and Predator costumes compared to any CGI created characters (yes, you, Jar Jar Binks).

Take a look at Martin Bowers Model World for an example of the best models.
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August 31, 2006 09:58 PM PDT Permalink | |

Great comic from the under-rated, and not syndicated enough, comic Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!.  There is a sad element of truth to this strip.

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August 29, 2006 09:33 AM PDT Permalink | |

Someone in China (Hawkpeng79) created a pretty cool puzzle game.  Arrange the mirrors and prisms to redirect colored lasers to colored targets.  To quote the Google-translated page, "How strong is your logic?"

Oh yeah, there is also a sequel.

Stuck?  Here are my answers, but it's much more satisfying to get them yourself.

I've started the sequel (25 - 50).  I will post the answers as I get them.  Thanks to Dave Tong for some hints and some alternate solutions.  It took both of us to solve #32.

Billed as the "most incredible knife", I present to you the Wenger "Giant Knife Version 1.0."  It is supposed to contain every possible tool that you can get in a Swiss army knife.  I think version 2.0 includes other Swiss army knifes that fold out.

The cost?  A mere $1,200.00 (US).

Yes, it has a toothpick.

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August 25, 2006 10:10 AM PDT Permalink | |

Not one, but two three really bad places to eat today.



Yes, it's Hitler's Cross.  What marketing genius came up with this?  Was "Bin Laden's Deli" taken?



How hungry do you have to be to come up with this idea?  Yes, it's the USBBQ.  Sorry, can't use the mouse, keyboard or printer today.  I'm cooking prepackaged meat from a bag!  This restaurant should be called "T.G.I. Triconosis"

Update!

Thanks to Walter for this new entry: Toilet Bowl Restaurant.  Don't order the pupu platter.



Tags: humor restaurant stupid
August 24, 2006 10:20 AM PDT Permalink | |

Here is a scary posting about how many large sites don't protect your password when you login to their site.  i.e. they don't use (or default to) SSL for HTTP POSTs.  Using a simple network sniffer he was able to see many clear text passwords being sent over the wire.

I think this is a must read and we'll probably be hearing more about this in the future.
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August 22, 2006 01:02 PM PDT Permalink | Comments [1] |

Have you ever given up on a TV show? I don't mean watching a show once or twice and then stoping.   I mean you've watched the show for years, but then it really jumps the shark and you just can't watch anymore.  I usually stick with a show until its bitter end (or cancelation), but a couple of shows just put me over the edge and got purged from my TiVo season pass list.

I've given up on the following shows:

• The X-Files - The Truth was out there and the truth was that Chris Carter was just making it up as he went along.  This show was the hardest to stop watching because it used to be one of my favorite shows.  Sadly, it became apparent that no one invovled with the show gave a damn about the story, or the characters, and only wanted to collect a paycheck.  The "jump the shark" moment was the movie, and I bailed out a few seasons after that.  I never saw it, but they even named one episode of the last season "Jump The Shark" so they all knew it, too.

• Joey - My wife and I wanted to like this show.  We tried, and tried, and even stuck through the whole first season.  Secretly, I hoped it would be canceled, but it wasn't (at first).  For the second season, TiVo recorded episode after episode and we let them languish until they started dropping off.  Oh well.

• Andromeda - I probably never should have even started watching this dumb show in the first place, but it managed to overcome the "Hercules" factor, for a while.  But then Robert Hewitt Wolfe left and things went downhill fast.  Kevin Sorbo took more control and dumbed things down.  Way down.  Not even Lexa Doig was enough to watch this show.

• CSI: Miami - This CSI spinoff started off okay, but soon Miami's flashiness and action plots left realism and science in the dust.  As a fan of the CSI format, I put up with David Caruso's earnestness for several seasons.  Unfortunatley, Caruso's character of Horatio Caine is really a cartoon character.  While CSI's Gil Grissom always follows the evidence, Caine follows hunches and declares people guilty (or innocent) without any real evidence at all. My "favorite" thing he does is say things like "Don't worry Timmy, I'll get the guy who did this to your father.  I'll also pay for your entire college education."  The entire CSI:Miami team also uses their guns more than their microscopes and make huge, plot-driven, leaps in logic.  Strangely, this show is huge in Europe (more so than the original CSI).  It must be the same people who love David Hasslehoff's singing.

• Star Trek: Voyager - This show started weak and stayed that way.  I can watch any Star Trek series in reruns except this one.  I'll even watch Enterprise again sometimes, but not Voyager.  Never has so much good potential been squandered as with this show and in doing so Rick Berman and Brannon Braga destroyed the Star Trek franchise.
  

I'm not usually a fan of these video mashups, but this one meshes together pretty well and is actually funny.  I'm curious to know what the original soundtrack was.

No wonder it's so hard to achieve a cease fire in the middle east.  We can't even agree on a spelling.  Is it Hezbollah or Hizbollah?  Even top news organizations can't agree.

Google thinks it's "Hezbollah" as it beats "Hizbollah" 157,000,000 to 15,600,000 in links (10 to 1).  Google will even ask if you "Did you mean: hezbollah?"

Yahoo also thinks that it's Hezbollah by a 4 to 1 margin.

Finally, Wikipedia will direct you from Hizbollah to Hezbollah.

So, in the interest of world peace,  I declare the winner to be "Hezbollah" by score of 3 to 0.
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August 14, 2006 03:51 PM PDT Permalink | Comments [7] |

These people have too much time, and cardboard, on their hands.

See all the pictures.
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August 09, 2006 01:59 PM PDT Permalink | |

Here's a pretty cool AJAX site that creates a flight simulator using Google Maps.

Use the arrow keys to steer, climb or dive.  A & Z are the throttle, and the spacebar fires (but at what?   You can even crash.

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August 08, 2006 04:23 PM PDT Permalink | |

This looks like something out of a horror movie, only it's actually scary.  I guess it's from Sweden (.se) where the caterpillars dwell in mass.

See all of the pictures here.
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August 04, 2006 03:29 PM PDT Permalink | |

No, not this secret sauce...

In the world of color there are only a few primary colors that are used to create every other color in the world.

Such is the world of condiments.  The primary condiments are ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard and relish.  Every other condiment is a combination of those.

You might call this grid the Periodic Table of Condiments.