I came across an interesting and addictive puzzle game recently called Color Junction. It was created by Mihai Parparita of Google and is based on SameGame (formerly Chain Shot!) by Kuniaki Moribe.
Showing posts with label fun. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fun. Show all posts
2009-02-21
2007-10-16
Alex
The Economist carried an obituary for Alex some time back. Alex was an African Grey parrot that Irene Pepperberg had trained to actually understand what it was talking about, unlike the parrots raised as pets which merely repeat whatever they hear.
For a parrot, Alex had impressive linguistic capabilities. It could describe objects, materials, shapes, colours, etc. It could express its desires. It could also ask questions. It could also count up to six and even had a notion of "zero". Very impressive.
For a parrot, Alex had impressive linguistic capabilities. It could describe objects, materials, shapes, colours, etc. It could express its desires. It could also ask questions. It could also count up to six and even had a notion of "zero". Very impressive.
2007-10-03
Product Reviews by "Wayne Redhart"
Kingshuk pointed out the amusing reviews of products posted by a "Wayne Redhart" to the website of Amazon UK.
For some of the products reviewed by him, I found the product on offer more amusing than the review itself.
For some of the products reviewed by him, I found the product on offer more amusing than the review itself.
2007-07-04
Expiry Dates
If medicines and food items become dangerous to consume after their expiry dates, shouldn't pesticides become more powerful after their expiry dates?
2007-07-02
Dragon Ball Z
Many years ago, a cartoon TV channel in India started showing Dragon Ball Z. They showed 53 episodes of this series comprising the Vegeta Saga and the Namek Saga. Just as the series got really interesting, they yanked it off the air without notice and without even a word of apology.
Loyal viewers of the series were aghast. They pleaded with the channel to show them the rest of the series as well, rather than leaving them on tenterhooks. The channel could not care less. The viewers were frustrated and cursed the channel using the choicest of expletives. They did not have much choice.
Several years later, the same cartoon channel starts showing Dragon Ball Z once again. Some of the old viewers hope the channel would show the entire series this time and watch the episodes once again to revive their memories.
They were naïve. The channel showed the same 53 episodes of the series and then abandoned it yet again at the same critical point in the story.
They were idiots. The channel as well as the viewers.
Loyal viewers of the series were aghast. They pleaded with the channel to show them the rest of the series as well, rather than leaving them on tenterhooks. The channel could not care less. The viewers were frustrated and cursed the channel using the choicest of expletives. They did not have much choice.
Several years later, the same cartoon channel starts showing Dragon Ball Z once again. Some of the old viewers hope the channel would show the entire series this time and watch the episodes once again to revive their memories.
They were naïve. The channel showed the same 53 episodes of the series and then abandoned it yet again at the same critical point in the story.
They were idiots. The channel as well as the viewers.
2006-12-25
2006-12-11
Dhoom 2
Go and watch Dhoom 2 if you haven't already. You get to see from two to four hot bodies (depending on your inclination) and some of the best stunts seen in Hindi cinema.
Besides that, try not be disappointed by the script (such as there is) comprising utterly inane dialogues, the plot (such as there is) comprising completely illogical turn of events, the skill of the actors (such as there is) that makes a chiselled wooden statue look more expressive, the fact that the character played by Uday Chopra is not killed off in this film either, the tendency of every actor in this film to walk or run in slow motion, the unnecessarily numerous and forgettable songs (except for the title song), etc.
See also: VikGup's hilarious review of Dhoom 2.
Besides that, try not be disappointed by the script (such as there is) comprising utterly inane dialogues, the plot (such as there is) comprising completely illogical turn of events, the skill of the actors (such as there is) that makes a chiselled wooden statue look more expressive, the fact that the character played by Uday Chopra is not killed off in this film either, the tendency of every actor in this film to walk or run in slow motion, the unnecessarily numerous and forgettable songs (except for the title song), etc.
See also: VikGup's hilarious review of Dhoom 2.
2006-12-05
Bumper Sticker
On the way to work this morning I saw a rather dilapidated car sporting this bumper sticker:
I found this rather funny in more ways than one.
!! CAUTION !!
My Senseless Driving
May Fear You
My Senseless Driving
May Fear You
I found this rather funny in more ways than one.
2006-11-08
"Canon Rock" by Jeong-Hyun Lim ("Funtwo")
It has apparently been a rage on the Internet for some time now, but only recently have I come across the cover version of "Canon Rock" played by "Funtwo". The original version was arranged and played by "JerryC".
2006-09-26
Fullmetal Alchemist
I generally like animé, but I am not into it the way VikGup is, for example. About the only series I used to watch regularly was Dragon Ball Z (DBZ), before Cartoon Network India abruptly and very irritatingly pulled it off the air just as it was near the final few episodes. I liked the overall story in DBZ, but I felt the episodes and the fights were unnecessarily long and dragged-out, really testing one's patience (it reminded me of Ramanand Sagar's TV series "Ramayana"). I also liked Animatrix a lot. I have watched parts of other animé series, but I have never felt compelled to watch an entire series from the beginning to the end.
I am not a fan of the way most serious animé suddenly switches to "silly mode" in the middle of a scene, with characters swinging their limbs about wildly and screaming for no good reason, the drawing degrading in quality with quivering outlines - it just ruins the whole experience for me. I also find a bit odd the technique of showing an essentially still frame and then moving the camera about - I realise that the animators want to save effort and that it is a commonly-used technique elsewhere, but it seems to be used a lot more often in animé and I wish they didn't do it. Finally, the English dubbing is almost always terrible and I wish I could just see them in the original Japanese with English subtitles (I believe the DVD releases allow you to do that). All this aside, I must admit that many of the more popular animé series are beautifully drawn and have an overall story that is so fantastically different from anything else that one generally gets to see.
When I read Stevey Yegge's blog post on animé, I felt an urge to check out some of the animé series that he recommends. As luck would have it, Animax India has been showing some of the animé series that he highly recommends and on a whim I decided to check out Fullmetal Alchemist.
I am not disappointed at all - this is a wonderful series. It does switch to "silly mode" some times, but the rest of it is so good that I can live with that. The art is awesome, the story is intriguing, the music is nice and the story actually moves forward in each episode. No wonder many people have rated it one of the best animé of all time.
By the way, by the time I started watching the series, the episodes being shown were from the last one-third of the series so I didn't quite follow some of the things. Fortunately, Animax started showing the whole series from the beginning on weekends in a "catch-up marathon", with eight episodes shown back-to-back on every day of the weekend. In the evening on weekends they also show five episodes back-to-back to allow you to catch-up with the regular episodes that were shown during the week. It is a bit exhausting and my wife and sister think that I have gone crazy.
I am really looking forward to watching the concluding episodes that will be shown during this week and the next. I am also looking forward to watching the movie.
I am not a fan of the way most serious animé suddenly switches to "silly mode" in the middle of a scene, with characters swinging their limbs about wildly and screaming for no good reason, the drawing degrading in quality with quivering outlines - it just ruins the whole experience for me. I also find a bit odd the technique of showing an essentially still frame and then moving the camera about - I realise that the animators want to save effort and that it is a commonly-used technique elsewhere, but it seems to be used a lot more often in animé and I wish they didn't do it. Finally, the English dubbing is almost always terrible and I wish I could just see them in the original Japanese with English subtitles (I believe the DVD releases allow you to do that). All this aside, I must admit that many of the more popular animé series are beautifully drawn and have an overall story that is so fantastically different from anything else that one generally gets to see.
When I read Stevey Yegge's blog post on animé, I felt an urge to check out some of the animé series that he recommends. As luck would have it, Animax India has been showing some of the animé series that he highly recommends and on a whim I decided to check out Fullmetal Alchemist.
I am not disappointed at all - this is a wonderful series. It does switch to "silly mode" some times, but the rest of it is so good that I can live with that. The art is awesome, the story is intriguing, the music is nice and the story actually moves forward in each episode. No wonder many people have rated it one of the best animé of all time.
By the way, by the time I started watching the series, the episodes being shown were from the last one-third of the series so I didn't quite follow some of the things. Fortunately, Animax started showing the whole series from the beginning on weekends in a "catch-up marathon", with eight episodes shown back-to-back on every day of the weekend. In the evening on weekends they also show five episodes back-to-back to allow you to catch-up with the regular episodes that were shown during the week. It is a bit exhausting and my wife and sister think that I have gone crazy.
I am really looking forward to watching the concluding episodes that will be shown during this week and the next. I am also looking forward to watching the movie.
2006-09-04
"If You Come Today"
"If you come today, it's too early. If you come tomorrow, it's too late. You pick the time."
Sriram pointed out a video of the (English) song "If You Come Today" sung by and featuring Rajkumar. The lyrics of the song are rather confounding, but my favourite parts are the "Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick..." and the "DOHLING!".
Sriram pointed out a video of the (English) song "If You Come Today" sung by and featuring Rajkumar. The lyrics of the song are rather confounding, but my favourite parts are the "Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick..." and the "DOHLING!".
2006-08-28
A Bold Question
Does anyone know why comics writers put one or two words in every sentence in every dialogue in bold typeface?
For example, "Watchmen" is perfect in every other way except for this flaw. I tend to translate bold typeface as indicating an emphasis on a word or a phrase, so it is rather jarring to read dialogues mouthed by characters in comics.
Why do they do this?
For example, "Watchmen" is perfect in every other way except for this flaw. I tend to translate bold typeface as indicating an emphasis on a word or a phrase, so it is rather jarring to read dialogues mouthed by characters in comics.
Why do they do this?
2006-07-03
Superman Returns
I watched this movie over the weekend and was somewhat disappointed. The special effects were decent and more natural than in the original series of movies, as was to be expected, but the plot just had so many holes and the acting was so so-so that I was wondering how Bryan Singer and Kevin Spacey who gave us "The Usual Suspects" could have also given us this.
The New Yorker's Anthony Lane has written a far more eloquent critique of the movie than I can ever hope to write, but I would add that Brandon Routh is also about as good-looking as Christopher Reeve and is unfortunately about as wooden an actor. Of course, they are still nothing compared to Keanu Reeves when it comes to having a consistent lack of expressions throughout a movie. Perhaps having a chiseled good-looking face implies that your facial muscles are in a permanent rigor mortis.
There are some things that I would never understand about superhero stories. For one, why do they always have the same villain in story after story either as the main villain or as a willing aide to the main villain? Superman has Lex Luthor, Batman has the Joker, the X-Men have Magneto, He Man has Skeletor, etc. Do fans never get tired of seeing the same villains bugging their superheroes in episode after episode? Do they never wonder that if their superhero is all he is chalked out to be, why he is not able to get rid of this villain for good? Are they in fact aware of this irony and actively relish it?
Another thing that bugs me about superheroes is the need for almost all of them to have a mild-mannered alter ego. Why? And why can't other people recognise them in most of the cases? Clark Kent as the alter ego of Superman is particularly worrisome - does the addition of spectacles so change the facial appearance of a person that even someone close to them, like Lois Lane is to Superman, is unable to recognise them?
Yet another thing that really irritates me about superhero stories is the mess that all the hundreds and thousands of stories and story branches create. Again, Superman is the perfect example of this mess. Are there Supergirl, Superboy and Krypto, the Superdog, or not? Does Superman have a son or not? Has Superman died or not? Et cetera. What is the canonical Superman storyline?
Finally, why do most superheroes wear their underwear outside of their tights? What is it about superpowers that affects their sartorial sensibilities? In our college, a mild form of ragging involved the seniors making the freshers wear their underwear outside of their trousers, tying a bedsheet or a shawl around their neck as a cape and making them run down the corridors of hostels screaming "I am Superman!". Some of my friends would also remember our batchmate, who is now a banker in Bombay, running through the corridors of our hostel one night in an obviously inebriated state and clad only in an underwear and a bedsheet tied around his neck screaming "I am Superman!".
The New Yorker's Anthony Lane has written a far more eloquent critique of the movie than I can ever hope to write, but I would add that Brandon Routh is also about as good-looking as Christopher Reeve and is unfortunately about as wooden an actor. Of course, they are still nothing compared to Keanu Reeves when it comes to having a consistent lack of expressions throughout a movie. Perhaps having a chiseled good-looking face implies that your facial muscles are in a permanent rigor mortis.
There are some things that I would never understand about superhero stories. For one, why do they always have the same villain in story after story either as the main villain or as a willing aide to the main villain? Superman has Lex Luthor, Batman has the Joker, the X-Men have Magneto, He Man has Skeletor, etc. Do fans never get tired of seeing the same villains bugging their superheroes in episode after episode? Do they never wonder that if their superhero is all he is chalked out to be, why he is not able to get rid of this villain for good? Are they in fact aware of this irony and actively relish it?
Another thing that bugs me about superheroes is the need for almost all of them to have a mild-mannered alter ego. Why? And why can't other people recognise them in most of the cases? Clark Kent as the alter ego of Superman is particularly worrisome - does the addition of spectacles so change the facial appearance of a person that even someone close to them, like Lois Lane is to Superman, is unable to recognise them?
Yet another thing that really irritates me about superhero stories is the mess that all the hundreds and thousands of stories and story branches create. Again, Superman is the perfect example of this mess. Are there Supergirl, Superboy and Krypto, the Superdog, or not? Does Superman have a son or not? Has Superman died or not? Et cetera. What is the canonical Superman storyline?
Finally, why do most superheroes wear their underwear outside of their tights? What is it about superpowers that affects their sartorial sensibilities? In our college, a mild form of ragging involved the seniors making the freshers wear their underwear outside of their trousers, tying a bedsheet or a shawl around their neck as a cape and making them run down the corridors of hostels screaming "I am Superman!". Some of my friends would also remember our batchmate, who is now a banker in Bombay, running through the corridors of our hostel one night in an obviously inebriated state and clad only in an underwear and a bedsheet tied around his neck screaming "I am Superman!".
2006-06-15
Driving In India
This video shows an example of how people drive in Indian cities. This is unfortunately not an exaggeration - for example, the junction of Taverekere Main Road and Hosur Road near my office building has a traffic pattern very similar to the one shown by this video. I come to work every day driving through such traffic. No wonder foreigners find it very difficult to drive in Indian cities and Indians find it very difficult to control their urges in foreign cities.
2006-06-06
Graphic Novels
I am quite intrigued by graphic novels and look forward to reading some of them, especially those by Alan Moore. I was therefore very happy when I spotted some graphic novels in Landmark, Blossoms and Crossword here in Bangalore. The happiness was rather short-lived as I discovered that they were quite expensive. There is no way I am going to shell out 800 rupees for such a thing when I don't even know if I am going to like it and especially since many of them are in a rather battered condition probably caused by many people browsing through them but then deciding to not buy them.
2006-05-17
Google and Maths
"Fuzzy Maths", an article on Google in the latest edition of The Economist, contains this interesting bit:
Their famous recruitment campaign and their very name further reinforce the impression of their obsession with Mathematics.
(Originally posted on Advogato.)
Google constantly leaves numerical puns and riddles for those who care to look in the right places. When it filed the regulatory documents for its stockmarket listing in 2004, it said that it planned to raise $2,718,281,828, which is $e billion to the nearest dollar. A year later, it filed again to sell another batch of shares -- precisely 14,159,265, which represents the first eight digits after the decimal in the number pi (3.14159265).
Their famous recruitment campaign and their very name further reinforce the impression of their obsession with Mathematics.
(Originally posted on Advogato.)
2006-04-21
2006-04-07
ZINC
ZINC is a variant of the game of Core War in which programmes (called "warriors") fight each other in a battle to control a virtual computer. The programmes are written in a simple language called Redcode and run inside an emulator known as Memory Array Redcode Simulator (MARS). ZINC implements a simpler and more symmetric dialect of the Redcode language than the current International Core War Society (ICWS) standard known as ICWS-94.
To get a feel for ZINC and Redcode, look at the following simple warrior:
Redcode looks very similar to the assembly language of many modern microprocessors. A DAT #0 instruction indicates the number 0 stored as the datum at that location in memory. This instruction is itself encoded as 0 and is not executable - an attempt to execute this instruction leads to the death of a warrior. So the warrior shown above (called "Dwarf", a classic Core War warrior) bombs every fourth location in the core in the hopes of fatally wounding an opponent. Note that Core War only supports relative addressing and @ represents indirect addressing (the location pointed to contains a pointer to the final location). More details, including a tutorial for beginners, are available in the ZINC User Manual as well as on sites like www.koth.org and www.corewar.info. There is also an active USENET newsgroup rec.games.corewar for Core War enthusiasts.
ZINC is currently at version 0.1 and is Free Software released under the GNU General Public Licence (GPL).
By the way, I expect to receive a lot of flame for my decision to not recognise TAB characters as whitespace in the Redcode dialect implemented by ZINC.
(Originally posted on Advogato.)
To get a feel for ZINC and Redcode, look at the following simple warrior:
; Bomb every fourth cell in the core with a "DAT #0".
org start
target:
dat #0
start:
add #4, $target
mov #0, @target
jmp $start
Redcode looks very similar to the assembly language of many modern microprocessors. A DAT #0 instruction indicates the number 0 stored as the datum at that location in memory. This instruction is itself encoded as 0 and is not executable - an attempt to execute this instruction leads to the death of a warrior. So the warrior shown above (called "Dwarf", a classic Core War warrior) bombs every fourth location in the core in the hopes of fatally wounding an opponent. Note that Core War only supports relative addressing and @ represents indirect addressing (the location pointed to contains a pointer to the final location). More details, including a tutorial for beginners, are available in the ZINC User Manual as well as on sites like www.koth.org and www.corewar.info. There is also an active USENET newsgroup rec.games.corewar for Core War enthusiasts.
ZINC is currently at version 0.1 and is Free Software released under the GNU General Public Licence (GPL).
By the way, I expect to receive a lot of flame for my decision to not recognise TAB characters as whitespace in the Redcode dialect implemented by ZINC.
(Originally posted on Advogato.)
2006-03-28
Tatjana van Vark
Tatjana van Vark looks like an amazing Dutch inventor and machinist. Just look at her works and you'll know what I mean. My favourites were the oscilloscope that she created when she was just 14 years old and an Enigma-like "Coding Machine". I just wish they had put up some more information about the devices than just the pictures. Another of those humbling experiences for yours truly.
(Originally posted on Advogato.)
(Originally posted on Advogato.)
2006-03-27
Miscellaneous
Steve Yegge is now on Blogger for those of you who can't seem to have enough of his rants.
Ranjit Madampath pointed me to a rather hilarious entry on Frameworks in the Joel on Software discussion group.
Planet Scheme used to be available as planet-scheme.yi.org, but it seems to be dead now. I used to like reading the aggregated weblogs of a lot of smart Scheme hackers, the weblog of Jose Antonio Ortega Ruiz in particular.
(Originally posted on Advogato.)
Ranjit Madampath pointed me to a rather hilarious entry on Frameworks in the Joel on Software discussion group.
Planet Scheme used to be available as planet-scheme.yi.org, but it seems to be dead now. I used to like reading the aggregated weblogs of a lot of smart Scheme hackers, the weblog of Jose Antonio Ortega Ruiz in particular.
(Originally posted on Advogato.)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
