elliottzone » Cool and Fun

Amazingly realistic robo-dog

elliottzone — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 20:01:38 +0000

The folks over at Gizmodo have posted an update on BigDog, a robotic quadruped “dog developed by Boston Dynamics.

If you haven’t seen BigDog in action, it is, as Gizmodo states, “so stunning, it’s spooky.”

While I think it looks more like a huge bee than a dog, I wouldn’t want it chasing me either way…

The Loch Ness Monster is back

elliottzone — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 04:16:48 +0000

An amateur scientist has captured what Loch Ness Monster watchers say is among the finest footage ever taken of the elusive mythical creature reputed to swim beneath the waters of Scotland’s most mysterious lake.

See the video footage of Nessie at CNN.

Icon design… in wood

elliottzone — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 22:09:50 +0000

For a person who is a web geek and a woodworker it just doesn’t get any better than this…

Woodpixel lets you design (and constantly redesign) a 10×10 pixel, 6 colour icon masterpiece to hang on your wall.

Check it out at www.woodpixel.com

Doug the schoolbus driver

elliottzone — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 16:36:49 +0000

Since laughter is healthy for you and perks you up… if you’re in need of a good safe-for-work laugh, check out this short video.

You need to watch it for a minute or so until the middle guy (Doug) starts laughing, then you won’t be able to stop…

Check it out at The New Editor.

Freaky faces gallery: Monoface

elliottzone — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 15:59:13 +0000

Mono, a Minneapolis-based branding agency, created a wonderful Flash based New Years “card” called Monoface.

Each staff member had a head shot taken, which was then cropped into individual parts: mouth, nose, head, and each eye.

With over half a million possible facial combinations, it’s a freakishly fun site. You can browse the gallery or have fun making your own weird combinations.

http://www.mono-1.com/monoface/main.html

Robot controlled by slime mould’s fears

elliottzone — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 21:04:09 +0000

With the amount of time we spend in front of computers, gaming systems and the TV, I’ve often wondered what the future holds for us.

Will we end up morphing into shapeless, wobbly masses of flesh, solely dependent upon swarms of mini-droids to complete phsyical tasks? (All controlled with wireless handheld devices, of course.)

You may laugh, but that scenario might be closer than you think…

Researchers at Kobe University in Japan and Southamton University in the UK have developed a slime-controlled robot

Check it out at: Robot moved by a slime mould’s fears.

Hi-tech but energy-efficient homes

elliottzone — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 03:46:43 +0000

There are inexpensive things you can do to increase your home’s energy efficiency, and then there are expensive things you can do.

Wired has an interesting story on some pretty cool things that some people have done to their homes. And these aren’t things like replacing lightbulbs…

Check out some of these hi-tech homes…

Man, that’s fugly!

elliottzone — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 01:31:22 +0000

Odds are, you receive at least one e-mail (a day…) with photos of cute, fluffy little baby animals.

You quickly scroll through the e-mail, think “aw, cute” and delete it. Or, you just delete it as soon as your realize it’s yet another assortment of cats dressed up as people.

As with most things, however, there’s an opposite that provides some balance.

UglyOverload is the answer to those opposites — featuring the not-so cute and the “that’s so fugly it’s cute!” of the critter world.

Giraffe Weevils

elliottzone — Fri, 02 Sep 2005 23:52:28 +0000

When we lived in Oman, I remember picking or sifting out all the little weevils (aka "snout bugs") that lived in the bags of flour or oats.

When I picture weevils, I don’t usually picture giraffes… until now.

The Giraffe Weevil can grow up to 3 inches long, and has a long, segmented neck.

It’s a perfect "ugly bug" but is also very much a cool bug.

Do I Really Look Like That?

elliottzone — Fri, 29 Apr 2005 17:53:40 +0000

Nobody likes to see a photograph of themselves. Now you can shudder and squirm even more, thanks to The Perception Laboratory and the University of St Andrews’ Facial Transformer.

It’s as easy as uploading a mugshot and then selecting one of their transformation filters.

Here’s what the buggers did to MY beautiful mugshot…