Human Computer Interaction in Science Fiction Movies

Science Fiction movies have been a source for speculation about the future of technology and human computer interaction. This paper presents a survey of different kinds of interaction designs in movies during the past decades and relates the techniques of the films to existing technologies and prototypes where possible. The interactions will be categorized with respect to their domain of real-life applications and also evaluated in regard to results of current research in human computer interaction.

http://w5.cs.uni-sb.de/~butz/teaching/ie-ss03/papers/HCIinSF/

nintendo8.com - classic Nintendo 8-bit games online!

nintendo8.com - retro-gaming galore!
Get your daily dose of Nintendo nostalgia at nintendo8.com! Thanks to Jamie Sanders for the excellent vNES emulator!

http://nintendo8.com/toplist/

Lost in Translation

What happens when an English phrase is translated (by computer) back and forth between 5 different languages? The authors of the Systran translation software probably never intended this application of their program. As of September 2003, translation software is almost good enough to turn grammatically correct, slang-free text from one language into grammatically incorrect, barely readable approximations in another. But the software is not equipped for 10 consecutive translations of the same piece of text. The resulting half-English, half-foreign, and totally non sequitur response bears almost no resemblance to the original

http://www.tashian.com/multibabel/

Why didn't the Romans invent Photography?

Long ago people noticed the effect of light on green plants, or how it made coloured fabrics fade. It is the effect of light on plants that makes Roman Photography possible.

http://www.grand-illusions.com/roman.htm

The 10 Most Puzzling Ancient Artifacts

There is a great deal of archeological evidence that the history of life on earth might be far different than what current geological and anthropological texts tell us.

http://paranormal.about.com/od/ancientanomalies/ig/Most-Puzzling-Ancient-Artifact/index.htm

Christmas - Nadolig - Superstitions

You'll be surprised by some of the weirdest Welsh Christmas and New Year superstitions

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/weird/sites/content/pages/xmas_superstitions.shtml

Save the Egg

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/marchofthepenguins/game/

Unitarian Jihad

Greetings to the Imprisoned Citizens of the United States. We are Unitarian Jihad. There is only God, unless there is more than one God. The vote of our God subcommittee is 10-8 in favor of one God, with two abstentions. Brother Flaming Sword of Moderation noted the possibility of there being no God at all, and his objection was noted with love by the secretary.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/04/08/DDG27BCFLG1.DTL

Homeward Bound

http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=51.497256,-3.192472&spn=0.037310,0.081050&saddr=cf10+3bb&daddr=cf14+1jr&hl=en

Gossamer Wings

The 2004 emergence of Brood X of the 17-year-cicadas in Washington DC.

http://flickr.com/photos/happymonkey/11647285/in/photostream/

Wild Horses of Newbury

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzATCoRbIpY

Wii is creating its own sub-language

Every year new words are added to the American lexicon. Most recent additions have centered around new technology. The word ipod is a relatively new addition to the language. Today that word is easily recognizable. This year Nintendo released its new console. The “Wii” (pronounced: Wee), as it is called was originally dubbed “Revolution”, but later changed to a strange little word that has no previous definition in English.

http://www.failedsuccess.com/index.php?/weblog/comments/nintendo_wii_language/

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=wiidefine

Wii in a theater: we don't need no stinkin' pixels

This latest Wii vid, which we've decided in a completely non-mathematical way stretches those 480p pixels to about one square foot of screen per, just goes to prove what all those Wii fanboys have been politely discussing with the Sony and Microsoft camps all along: pixels don't necessarily equal fun.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/24/wii-in-a-theater-we-dont-need-no-stinkin-pixels/

Addictive little online games

http://www.kottke.org/06/12/addictive-little-online-games

Falling Sand

http://chir.ag/stuff/sand/

Soda Constructor

http://www.sodaplay.com/constructor/player.htm

Hillman Wonders of the World

http://www.hillmanwonders.com/

Two-headed reptile fossil found

Scientists have found what is thought to be the first example of a two-headed reptile in the fossil record.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6195345.stm

Some stars and planets in scale

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3974466981713172831&sourceid=Himself

Why Bread and Water Is Bad For You

1. More than 98 percent of convicted felons are bread users.

...

http://thrillingwonder.blogspot.com/2006/12/why-bread-and-water-is-bad-for-you.html

A cosmic hall of mirrors

Most astronomers think that the universe is infinite, but recent measurements suggest that it could be finite and relatively small. Indeed, as Jean-Pierre Luminet describes, we could be living in an exotic universe shaped rather like a football

http://physicsweb.org/articles/world/18/9/3

Bell's Visible Speech

In 1864 Melville Bell developed a universal system for writing speech sounds called Visible Speech.

http://abecedaria.blogspot.com/2005/09/bells-visible-speech.html

Amateur - Lasse Gjertsen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzqumbhfxRo

Seminole tribe in Hard Rock deal

British entertainment company Rank Group has agreed to sell its Hard Rock Cafe chain to an American Indian tribe for $965m (£490m).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6216292.stm

Starship Dimensions

This site is intended to allow science fiction fans to get an impression of the true scale of their favorite science fiction spacecraft by being able to compare ships across genres, as well as being able to compare them with contemporary objects with which they are probably familiar.

http://www.merzo.net/index.html

Keep The Gate Open - Angie Moriconi

http://youtube.com/watch?v=izAk5sTFU8Q

City pedestrian plans are backed

Under the plans, The Hayes is to be pedestrianised, with the creation of a square, Hayes Place, and a smaller pedestrian square at the northern end of nearby Mary Ann Street.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/6157191.stm

Face-mounted Lucid Dreaming Mask

For the uninitiated, lucid dreaming is a phenomenon whereby a person who is asleep and dreaming realizes that he (or she) is dreaming, and continues to control the dream, acting out fantasies or gaining special powers all within the dream.

http://cre.ations.net/creation/face-mounted-lucid-dreaming-mask

Micro Helicopter

When battery powered toys and gadgets were expensive there used to be the good old fashioned rip cord to launch the flying disc, now with technology moved on and things being cheaper, the Stress Relief Helicopter comes with a charger and launcher and will now stop any chance of you getting tennis elbow from pulling the cord.

http://www.crazyaboutgadgets.com/related.asp?product_extra=Micro%20Helicopter

Super Bright Hands Free Light

The Super Bright Hands Free Light is perfect for reading, hobbies, computing, working on the car and lots more. To use, put the rubber loop behind one of your ears, this then leaves your hands free to carry out your task.

http://www.crazyaboutgadgets.com/detail.asp?ID=410

Acrobots

Imagine the drum role in the big top as an insane dare devil takes to the high wire, way up in the air, the ooh’s and quiet whispers of the crowd and the sigh of relief as they make it to the other side. Acrobats are amazing to watch and although the circus is bags of fun you come away feeling kind of glad that its not you walking the tightrope every night. Allow us to introduce you to the Acrobot, all the poise and balance of genuine acrobat with all the crazy body twisting moves of a circus contortionist.

http://www.crazyaboutgadgets.com/related.asp?product_extra=Acrobots

Electronics Tutorial

Welcome to the electronics tutorial! If you want to learn electronics, it's a great place to start. You can also revise for your GCSE here, as it's written to GCSE standard for the year 2000 (so if you're taking it in 1999, forget it. but have a look anyway!). It's suitable for all, and anyone can learn electronics using a combination of this & the other material available on my site. Whether you want to learn as a hobby, are taking a course in it, or just want to brush up on a few points, there should be something here to help you.

http://www.ffldusoe.edu/Faculty/Denenberg/Topics/Electronics/Alex_Pounds/Index.htm

Aching Back? Sitting Up Straight Could Be The Culprit

Researchers are using a new form of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to show that sitting in an upright position places unnecessary strain on your back, leading to potentially chronic pain problems if you spend long hours sitting. The study, conducted at Woodend Hospital in Aberdeen, Scotland, was presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061127112844.htm