e-clecticism: August 2012

Friday, 31 August 2012

Miniatur Wunderland

Although I don't own one now, I have been fascinated with model railways since I was a boy. My father helped me (well OK perhaps it was the other way round) to build one. I have often thought that if I had the room, time and money that I'd like to do it again, but there is no way I could compete with this...

Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg has to be every model enthusiasts dream visit. It is the largest model railway in the world, and one of the most successful tourist attractions in Germany. The 1300 m² large layout hosts far more than a thousand trains, aircrafts, cars and ships. I really need to visit. See their website for more information.

Thursday, 30 August 2012

5 Guys, 1 Piano

I'm not a fan of One Direction or any "band" like them but I defy any lover of music not to think this is cool.

A couple months ago the 5 of us were gathered round a piano prepping for a video shoot scheduled for that day. We were brainstorming ideas when one of us (can't remember who!) got off task and starting flicking a piano string. Since all of us are poster children for ADHD, it wasn't long before ALL of us had joined in -- banging out a beat, plucking a string, or hitting keys. The brainstorming meeting had been sabotaged beyond repair, but another music video idea was born!

Wednesday, 29 August 2012

Robot Drummer

Does a robot drummer lack soul? I can't find out much about this sadly but it appears to be a four-armed robot playing a drum cover of "Hey-Ho, Let's Go" by The Ramones. He plays drums better than me and he has better hair too!

Monday, 27 August 2012

Cryptography

James Lyne and I share a passion for cryptography. OK, as a leading IT security expert at Sophos, James possibly is better qualified to talk about it but to me it is the most important aspect of modern communications. Here he tries to get an audience at TED as excited as he is.

Saturday, 25 August 2012

Star Wars Detours

For sometime now there have been rumours that Lucasfilm Ltd were going to release something new from the Star Wars universe.

"Star Wars Detours" is an animated comedy that explores what daily life is like in a galaxy far, far away. There are no Empires striking back or attacking clones here. Instead, "Star Wars Detours" focuses on the universe’s regular folks and their everyday problems...which, to be fair, do frequently involve famous bounty hunters, crazed Ewoks, and even a Dark Lord of the Sith.

Whilst I'm not entirely convinced this is anything more than a re-hash of the wonderful "Robot Chicken" series (it even features Seth Green and Matt Senreich) it seems clear that Lucasfilm refuse to do any good with the Star Wars legacy, so it looks like we'll have to make do. The trailer and some clips feature below.

Wednesday, 22 August 2012

Super Dog

There is no doubt that if a cat watched this they would panic. A Staffordshire Bull Terrier is trained in what can only be described as doggy Parkour.

Tuesday, 21 August 2012

Painting Reality

I of course don't condone vandalism or graffiti, it is illegal and you may well go to jail. But sometimes it is awesome too. Take this example from Germany. An art project, titled "Painting Reality," consisted of members of a group called IEPE dumping 500 litres of different coloured water-based paints at different points in one intersection. When the traffic drove their natural course, they tracked through the paint, drawing out their traffic routes in bright colours.

Monday, 20 August 2012

Don't Frape

I think that many of us have been "fraped". When you forget and leave yourself logged in to Facebook only to have a so-called friend or family member change your status/profile pic/sexual preference to purposely embarrass you in front of others. Or perhaps it is you that has done the fraping? The normal course of revenge is to return the frape but not for this guy from The Netherlands. He decides to repay his little brother offline and transform his room in to that of a girl. Sorry about the bad language but it was too funny not to post.

Friday, 17 August 2012

OMG!

This video is causing a bit of a storm. Sorry, bad puns aside this is quite cool. This footage was filmed as a storm rolled across the picturesque region of Grand Falls, New Brunswick, Canada. As the cameraman pans across his backyard the huge face (about 1min 45sec in) can be seen forming a human-like side-profile with a nose, mouth, eyes and a beard all clearly discernible.

Wednesday, 15 August 2012

Cloud Atlas

This looks like it will be an astonishingly good. Cloud Atlas (based on the book of the same name) is due for release later this year and has a pretty mega cast list. Tom Hanks, Hugo Weaving, Halle Berry, Susan Sarandon, Jim Sturgess, Ben Whishaw, Hugh Grant, Keith David and Jim Broadbent star in what looks to be a sci-fi must see.

An exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution.

Everything is connected: an 1849 diary of an ocean voyage across the Pacific; letters from a composer to his friend; a thriller about a murder at a nuclear power plant; a farce about a publisher in a nursing home; a rebellious clone in futuristic Korea; and the tale of a tribe living in post-apocalyptic Hawaii, far in the future.

Tuesday, 14 August 2012

Inside Heck's Magic Kingdom

Benjamin J Heckendorn aka Ben Heck is a god among geeks and in this episode of The Engadget Show we get to see the home of this rather unique mind.

Friday, 10 August 2012

Human Jukebox

This is a great way to start your day. cdza create fun musical videos that just ooze with talent. Here they trade votes for donations as they attempt to become a human jukebox. Enjoy but be sure to visit their website for more.

Wednesday, 8 August 2012

7 Minutes Of Terror

As I'm sure you have all heard by now that NASA has successfully landed the "Curiosity" rover on to the surface of Mars with what appears to have been a perfect landing. The rover is basically a really expensive photographer that can film in HD, and in 360-degree panoramas. It represents a massive step forward in exploration, but the decent and landing had been described as "7 Minutes Of Terror" because the literally billions of things that could have gone wrong. Check out the video below. I think it makes for a great trailer for a nerdy film.

Tuesday, 7 August 2012

Buttermilk

Witness the latest Internet sensation. Buttermilk! If you ask me it is a bad idea to give coffee to baby goats, especially racist ones. Enjoy!

Monday, 6 August 2012

Crash Course

Casey Neistat was given a ticket and fined $50 for leaving a cycling lane in New York. He was a little confused at this as not only did he have to leave the lane because of hazards, but apparently it is not actually illegal.

Enjoy his humorous film whereby he tries to make a point. I think he does.

Thursday, 2 August 2012

DW - Series 7

The BBC have released the worldwide teaser for the new series of Doctor Who starting here in the autumn. As always it looks like its going to be an absolute doozy and is posing many questions already. Can't wait!