One of the more interesting panels at Comic-Con this year was about good and bad science in science fiction TV and Movies. This is the third year I know of this panel has been presented, and they made some great points, as you can see for yourself.
Playing Doctor Who, that is. It has frustrated me for years that the BBC kept developing all kinds of wonderful online games that folks in the UK got to play, but the rest of us were locked out of. They have finally come up with a solution for that: Direct2Drive Dr Who is now an option for those of us on this side of the pond. Admittedly it costs money (4 or 5 dollars compared to free to folks in the UK), but since the previous games were not legally available at all I consider this a serious improvement, and will be handing them some cash.
In the meantime, you CAN have some fun working out the Doctor Who Jigsaw Puzzles, and they are a bit of a hoot.
Have you been following the action on Robocup 2010? Robocup is taking place in Singapore this year, with a hoard of soccer playing robots from all over the world competing against each other. The organizations goal is to be able to field a team of humanoid robots that can beat their human opponents in the World Cup by the year 2050. It seems that some American Robots from Carnegie Mellon University have been programed with a new algorithm for predictive ball physics that may give them an edge. In the video, the bot with the blue center dot is the one running the algorithm.
Nice day for a Robot Wedding; the scary bit is this is already beginning to look normal…
I am happy to report that the Google Pacman now is permanently online at that link!
Craving some Steampunk? Allow me to recommend the alternate history series Clockwork Century from author Cherie Priest. Some of the books and stories in this series are up for some serious awards, so it is worth your attention. If you are looking for a Build Your Own project, I was just passed the link to the Gamepunk Woot Shirt design. While it has been forever since I last silk-screened a T-Shirt or poster (yes, another one of those jobs we have all had that doesn’t directly relate to our main goal in life, but that was fun and educational), it has inspired me to start working on creating 3D VRML/2ndLife/Machinema objects based on the Portable Games In A Steampunk World concept. Perhaps you have a design idea? Triple points if your 3D object can actually activate a HUD and run an interactive game within the virtual environment!
I am glad Chuck got renewed for a 4th season, because I love that show. For those who enjoyed the season finale last Monday but were hoping for more music, thanks to the Chicago Tribune you can watch the Jeffster Music Video in its entirety.
And one last detail, for the Punk Rocker who needs to remember their roots; Linda, Linda…
Google ran some non-intuitive tests of its Google Chrome browser speeds versus real world events. Unless you have Ghod’s Own Internet Connection and a state of the art computer built next week, your mileage may vary. But still, this is more than a bit impressive. Also, be aware that Futurama is about to kick into its new season in a few weeks. I for one am thrilled the wait is almost over.