As the title suggests, my blog has content from many sources. Being a professional nerd, there is a strong techy vibe here but my interests are varied and some will hopefully be of interest to the non-tech also.
Saturday, 31 March 2012
Sand Flea
This is an RC robot that weighs 11lbs but has the ability to jump up to 30ft. Sand Flea has an on-board stabilisation system which keeps it oriented during flight and controls its landings. Not surprisingly there is interest from the military. More information is available from BostonDynamics.
Friday, 30 March 2012
BrowserQuest
Mozilla has launched a browser-based MMO game designed to showcase the capabilities and the future of HTML5 gaming. BrowserQuest is a retro-style adventure game designed by Little Workshop and pits the player as a young warrior driven by the thrill of adventure. There are no princesses to save in this game; just a dangerous world filled with treasure to explore and discover. There is even a multiplayer element that allows gamers to interact via text-based chat and team up to fight enemies together.
Play the game here or watch below for more information.
Play the game here or watch below for more information.
Thursday, 29 March 2012
Daytime Fireworks
Well that's never going to work is it? Well actually I was surprised. I really can't tell you much about this video except that the display of fireworks held entirely during daytime was the work of Mathaf, Arab Museum of Modern Art; and that it really is pretty impressive.
Wednesday, 28 March 2012
Tuesday, 27 March 2012
Sphero
It will be clear to regular readers of e-clecticism that I'm quite the nerd. But you have to admit that the Sphero is the gadget for cool people. No? Well I still want one. Check out the website here.
Monday, 26 March 2012
Photoshop CS6
Photoshop CS6 has been released as a beta. In the following video Russell Brown, Senior Creative Director, walks through his 6 favourite features. Learn more about the new capabilities of Adobe Camera Raw 7.0, the new adaptive Wide Angle feature, Field Blur, Iris Blur and Tilt-Shift. Also take a look at Content-Aware Move and Patch, the all-new Crop tool and incredible new possibilities with video.
Saturday, 24 March 2012
Whistle Stop
I'm really not sure what I can tell you about this. Great hair, great moustache, steady on ladies, try and control yourselves. Sometimes viral videos take a while to surface but in the case of this one it is worth the wait.
Friday, 23 March 2012
Stars From Space
Calling all space nerds, this is for you. Time-lapse videos depicting the stars from low earth orbit, as viewed from the International Space Station. Images edited using Adobe Lightroom with some cropping to make the stars the focal point of each shot, and with manipulation of the contrast to bring out the stars a bit more.
The Stars as Viewed from the International Space Station. from AJRCLIPS on Vimeo.
The Stars as Viewed from the International Space Station. from AJRCLIPS on Vimeo.
Thursday, 22 March 2012
Ruin
This is only a short animated film but its a real doozy and a stunning both with its rich post-apocalyptic scenery and its action packed sequences. From what I can tell it is the beginning of a larger project so I'm really keen to see more.
RUIN from OddBall Animation on Vimeo.
RUIN from OddBall Animation on Vimeo.
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
Prometheus
I've got those movie goosebumps again. Ridley Scott, esteemed director of Blade Runner and Alien, is revisiting the sci-fi genre with a new film this year called Prometheus. Take a look at the new trailer below.
A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a thrilling journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Dragon Painter
Perhaps it has something to do with my celtic heritage but I have a bit of a thing for dragons. I can't really explain it, but Chinese, Japanese, even Welsh dragons simply fascinate me. For me, the following video represents the ultimate in wishful thinking. If only I could produce something like this. Wow!
Monday, 19 March 2012
Psykopaint
A great off-shoot for photographers or artists whether expert or not is the ability to turn photographs in to art. Sure you could use Photoshop and click a few buttons but how about this as a truly superb alternative? Psykopaint. The following video gives a brief introduction but I urge you to try it for yourself and check out some proper tutorials on their own Youtube channel as it really is a powerful free resource.
Sunday, 18 March 2012
Bad Science
British physician Ben Goldacre dismantles the questionable science behind an assortment of drug trials, court cases, and events of our time. Just be sure to listen carefully because he slows down for nobody.
Ben Goldacre Talks Bad Science from PopTech on Vimeo.
Ben Goldacre Talks Bad Science from PopTech on Vimeo.
Friday, 16 March 2012
Marty McFlying
If you're going to be geeky and build a an RC model, you may as well go full tilt and be as geeky as possible. This Russian enthusiasts no doubt confused his neighbours when they first saw a real flying DeLorian from the Back To The Future movies. The lights are the perfect touch.
Thursday, 15 March 2012
Cliplets
Unveiled at Microsoft’s TechFest 2012 was a free piece of software that video enthusiasts and/or photographer's might enjoy. Cliplets is video manipulation software that explores the space between still and video media. The software allows the user to take a moment in time from a home video, and focus on looping the action of one object, while all other actions surrounding that object remain frozen in time.
The Cliplets application is available for download from the Micorsoft Research website for 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7.
The Cliplets application is available for download from the Micorsoft Research website for 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7.
Wednesday, 14 March 2012
Language
I have said before that I am a huge fan of the English language and as such Stephen Fry is one of my heroes. Beautifully spoken and wonderfully erudite, the man exudes what it is to find language a joy. I have to say though that he is a bigger man than I as I am sadly one of the pedants which he despises. Nonetheless, this marvellous speech on the beauty of language, carefully animated in to kinetic typography, inspires me to try harder to simply let it slide. If you want to hear the full speech it can be downloaded from Fry's website here.
Stephen Fry Kinetic Typography - Language from Matthew Rogers on Vimeo.
Stephen Fry Kinetic Typography - Language from Matthew Rogers on Vimeo.
Tuesday, 13 March 2012
An Animated Diary
For three years starting in June 2008, French artist and animator Denis Chapon drew 12 pictures a day. After he had finished the three years of drawings, he turned each day's work into one second of an animated film. Without changing the order of any of the pictures or adding any new ones, he knit them together to create a captivating four-minute film. Enjoy!
12 Drawings a Day - 12 Dessins par Jour from Denis Chapon on Vimeo.
12 Drawings a Day - 12 Dessins par Jour from Denis Chapon on Vimeo.
Monday, 12 March 2012
Light Drive
This is one of those posts that is probably best if I let the creator explain.
Light Drive from Kim Pimmel on Vimeo.
I've been interested in taking my Light Study photo series and evolving them into motion pieces. I shot a lot of footage for a VJ gig for FITC San Francisco. So I edited together those stop motion sequences, mashed up some audio from the Tron Legacy trailers, and out came Light Drive.
The video is stop motion, so every frame is an individually shot photograph. Each photograph is a long exposure photo, with exposures reaching up to 20 seconds in some cases.
Light Drive from Kim Pimmel on Vimeo.
Saturday, 10 March 2012
Free Whaley
Sorry for the terrible pun but hopefully you'll forgive me as today's post is a doozy. Michael Fishbach, co-founder of The Great Whale Conservancy (GWC), narrates his encounter with a young humpback whale entangled in fishing nets. What began as a tragedy soon became a thrilling rescue as Fishbach and his crew laboured to free the young whale. The entire encounter was caught on videotape. Enjoy!
Friday, 9 March 2012
Kyle Coleman
Kyle Coleman, 25, from Gwithian, Cornwall, was diagnosed with autism at the age of three and has only ever been able to say a few words. In fact, he has never spoken a full sentence. However, he is about to release an album after he was found to have perfect pitch and an amazing singing voice. His talent was discovered after his mother, Caroline, took him to a music therapy session in 2009. Kyle has recorded nine covers - including songs by Robbie Williams, Cat Stevens and Razorlight - plus one that was written especially for him about autism (see below). The album is being supported by the National Autistic Society (NAS) and will be released to coincide with World Autism Day. See Kyle's website for more information.
Thursday, 8 March 2012
Keep Calm
For those of you that live in the UK, I'm sure you cannot help but be astonished at just how popular the phrase Keep Calm and Carry On has become. From nowhere it seems this design has appeared on mugs, posters, t-shirts, tea towels...You name it. Copied, evolved and parodied, it is everywhere. But where did it all begin? Watch the following video to see how the slowest viral in history came about.
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Cardboard Camera
Kiel Johnson is a whizz with cardboard. If you look at his website, you will see that he can create all sorts of wonderful things. But being interested in photography, this one really caught my eye. In this time lapse he builds a sculpture of a twin lens reflex camera made strictly from cardboard, hot glue, and tape.
Later he made the sculpture into a pinhole camera and actually took photos with it. See some of those photos at flickr.com/photos/theophoto/
Kiel Johnson's Cardboard Twin Lens Reflex Camera Time Lapse from Theo Jemison on Vimeo.
Later he made the sculpture into a pinhole camera and actually took photos with it. See some of those photos at flickr.com/photos/theophoto/
Kiel Johnson's Cardboard Twin Lens Reflex Camera Time Lapse from Theo Jemison on Vimeo.
Tuesday, 6 March 2012
Still Life
I want one of these on my wall. Artist Scott Garner an interactive gallery piece that takes traditional still life painting into the fourth dimension with a motion-sensitive frame on a rotating mount. Read more about how it was achieved here.
Still Life from Scott Garner on Vimeo.
Still Life from Scott Garner on Vimeo.
Monday, 5 March 2012
Real Life
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| Image via Wikipedia |
Once I returned from my course I assisted another of our instructors in testing some of our newer cadets with their swimming test to ensure they were able to swim to a sufficient competency so that they will be able to take part in our water-borne activities.
All in all a very busy but very satisfying weekend, but I have to say I need another one now for a rest. Ah well. Normal service should resume now.
Friday, 2 March 2012
Thank You Sharp Objects
There is no doubt that good advertising can work really well and this one definitely stands out. DKMS, an American bone marrow donor charity, have partnered with Help Remedies to promote a "Get Swabbed" campaign. Included in an edition of Help's adhesive bandage kits, consumers will now find a DKMS bone marrow registration kit. "Thank You Sharp Objects" introduces the "Help I've cut myself & I want to save a life," project.
Thursday, 1 March 2012
The Monkees
Sorry for the late post today. I wasn't going to make one because of work commitments but after the very sad news that Davy Jones has passed away, I wanted to hastily offer my simple tribute to a great sound from my childhood. RIP Davy!
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