Here you’ll find a huge repository of classic video game maps. They’ve got everything from old console to modern PC games.
Video Games and Violence
Adrian Crook, a video game producer and an acquaintance of mine was approached by MTV to share his opinion on video games and violence. Though he was asked to argue for the “Hogwash! Video games don’t cause violence!” side he has written a very balanced and level-headed contribution to the ongoing debate. MTV never did end up using him for their show, but you can read his response to MTV’s pre-screening questionnaire. It’s an interesting read for those interested in media studies; plus Adrian’s candid responses are hilarious.
X-Chromosome in Women
I’ve seen the “Female X chromosome ‘cracked’” article being linked to around the blogosphere in the last couple days so I thought I’d check it out. What I found was very interesting.
“The discovery, by an international consortium of scientists, shows that females are far more variable than previously thought and, when it comes to genes, more complex than men.”
Nature reports two new studies; one on the complete sequencing of the X chromosome for humans, which sheds some light on how sex evolved and how women differ from men, and another on how women express many genes from X chromosomes previously thought dormant.
Vanunu Charged For Media Contacts
In an update to a previous post, Mordechai Vanunu has been officially charged with violating the terms of his release from jail last year.
Thirteen Anomalies
Here are thirteen things in science that do not make sense but are (apparently) true. I’m still not convinced about a few of them, like cold fusion and holistics. It’s an interesting read nonetheless.
Free Stanley Update
I got a response from Philip Pritchard, of the Hockey Hall of Fame. He sent along an attachment from the Globe and Mail which explains why the Stanley Cup won’t be awarded to any team this year even though the NHL isn’t having playoffs.
Punctuation
“In our personal and professional lives sometimes we receive emails that are upsetting…”
Comedy relief from Ze Frank.
Scion Launches Music Label
Toyota, yes the car company, is launching a record label in conjunction with its Scion line of cars.
This story is of particular interest to me because a friend of mine, Nate Smith, helped build the Scion “What Moves You” site.
In a presentation to our New Media class he shared a little bit about Toyota’s new direction in targeting twenty-something’s with an advertising campaign that focuses on music and design instead of more traditional methods.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Motorbike Unveiled
The world’s first purpose-built hydrogen-powered bike has been released.
“The motorbike, known as an Emissions Neutral Vehicle (ENV), has a top speed of 50mph (80km/h), a range of at least 100 miles (160km) and can run continuously for four hours before the fuel cell needs recharging.”
What’s more, the bike’s “exhaust” is water vapor and is so clean that its drinkable.
Concerns are that the bike is too quiet and plans have been made to add a motor sound to the bike so as to not startle pedestrians.
“For their part, manufacturers said the fake engine noise device, which could be switched off, would help alert road users.”
I think they should develop custom ‘fake engine noise’ so that you can change your bike’s noise on a daily or weekly basis. It would be cool to have your bike sound like a giant locomotive on one day and like the Jetson’s flying car the next. When you think about it though it would also be cool to turn off all sounds and ride around in stealth mode.
Interview with the Salt Lake Tribune
The other day I received an email asking for an interview with the Salt Lake Tribune. The reporter wanted to know more about my backmasking site and what I thought about it. I sent in my answers via email but I haven’t heard if this ever went to print yet. If you read this article and came to this site as a result please leave a comment. I’m interested to know what the article said.