Alexander Gilbert

Then at last his gaze was held: wall upon wall, battlement upon...

Sat, 02 Jul 2011 10:55:06 -0400

Then at last his gaze was held: wall upon wall, battlement upon battlement, black, immeasurably strong, mountain of iron, gate of steel, tower of adamant, he saw it: Barad-dûr, Fortress of Sauron. All hope left him. (from: The Fellowship of the Ring, page 521)

The Terror was a bit slow and clunky as a horror novel, but I...

Sun, 06 Mar 2011 10:42:00 -0500

The Terror was a bit slow and clunky as a horror novel, but I really enjoyed being sucked into the world of a 19th century Naval Arctic expedition. These photos of Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctic voyage will pull you right back there. Powerful, spooky stuff.

(via kottke)

David DeSandro

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 00:59:00 -0500

David DeSandro:

DeSandro is a crazy genius. Every time I look at this site I’m inspired to get to work on something. I’m especially intrigued by his use of Stacey CMS (note his thoughtful post about switching to this new system) and excited about trying out some of these techniques with the Screaming Rattler site.

I’m looking forward to a year from now when I remember to check in on what he’s been up to.

New developments on the Screaming Rattler side include a limited...

Fri, 26 Nov 2010 23:26:00 -0500

New developments on the Screaming Rattler side include a limited run of t-shirts and an improving web presence. We also spent some time in the studio earlier in the month and should have six proper songs ready for release soon. Get excited.

Using genetic algorithms to find Starcraft 2 build orders

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 10:14:28 -0400

Using genetic algorithms to find Starcraft 2 build orders:

At its core, the program is a genetic algorithm. For those of you who don’t know, a genetic algorithm is a type of optimization algorithm that tries to find optimal solutions using a method analogous to biologic evolution (to be specific: descent with modification & natural selection). Put simply, you take a “population” of initial build orders, evaluate them for fitness, and modify the population according to each element’s fitness. In other words, have the most successful reproduce.

"putting a page flipping effect on iPad content to make it feel more like a book is similar to..."

Mon, 18 Oct 2010 17:03:06 -0400

“putting a page flipping effect on iPad content to make it feel more like a book is similar to putting a saddle on an automobile to make it feel more like a horse.”

- iPad as the new Flash

You will never see anyone closer to a volcano than this. (via...

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 16:34:00 -0400

You will never see anyone closer to a volcano than this. (via kottke)

"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives."

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 23:34:02 -0400

“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”

- Jackie Robinson

On Set: Empire Strikes Back

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 13:56:08 -0400

On Set: Empire Strikes Back

Photo

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:51:00 -0400

“Accident. Rig shuts down while replacement of key...

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:25:00 -0400

“Accident. Rig shuts down while replacement of key personnel takes place. Miss one turn.”

“Fire breaks out. Pay $2,500,000 for repairs.”

“Hit High-Pressure Gas—Rig Damaged. Specialists called in.”

“Blow-Out! Rig Damaged. Repairs cost $2,000,000”

“Drill pipe breaks. Pay $500,000 for replacement.”

“Strike High Pressure Gas. Platform Destroyed.”

“Blow-Out! Rig Damaged. Oil Slick Clean-Up costs. Pay $1,000,000.”

Dig these amazing, somewhat eery photos of BP’s Offshore Oil Strike board game over at BLDGBLOG. Unfortunately, my eBay searches turned up empty.

Prologue: Iron Man 2

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:53:00 -0400

Prologue: Iron Man 2:

A really interesting piece on the motion graphics created by Prologue for Iron Man 2.

Not since the Minority Report have interfaces played such a major role in a Hollywood blockbuster. For Iron Man 2, Prologue lifted screen design elements off of flat surfaces and into the three dimensional world surrounding Tony Stark. As he struts through his secret lab, a virtual world of swirling data and wireframe plans pops forth from the genius playboy’s fingertips, creating a seamless dance between man and machine that elegantly echoes the symbiosis between Stark and his exoskeleton.

The videos are private and un-embeddable, but worth the watch. I wasn’t really planning on watching this movie until now. (via butdoesitfloat)

Pentagram has designed the identity for the US bid to host the...

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:30:00 -0400

Pentagram has designed the identity for the US bid to host the World Cup in 2018 or 2022. Really loving the typeface and color palette. Looks like they handed off these materials to Blue State Digital for the creation of the website. One of the leads on this project was also the designer of the ‘94 World Cup logo. Good stuff. Sign the petition!

EpicWin is a “playful productivity app” for the...

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 13:52:00 -0400

EpicWin is a “playful productivity app” for the iPhone. It reminds me much of Panic’s status board. Great opportunity for the EpicWin developers to make their app work for groups. The best RPGs come with parties, after all.

Ni no Kuni is an upcoming RPG for the PS3 and Nintendo DS being...

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:05:00 -0400

Ni no Kuni is an upcoming RPG for the PS3 and Nintendo DS being developed by Level 5 in collaboration with Studio Ghibli.

Dragon Quest VIII meets My Neighbor Totoro — this is something to be very excited about.

Human LCD

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:08:17 -0400

Human LCD

Labor rights remain nonexistent for pro gamers

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 12:28:00 -0400

Labor rights remain nonexistent for pro gamers:

Labor rights for professional gamers is a tough concept to wrap one’s head around. At least in the states it is, but in South Korea it’s a different story.

“The standard in pro gaming groups is for people to live together 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with no traveling to or from work, and for those ranked Group 2 or lower, their entire daily routine consists of eating, cleaning, laundry and games,” said Kim Jeong-geun. “Because of this structure of bringing in young people, developing them and then replacing them when their lifespan is spent and they have been squeezed dry, it has earned the name of ‘the chicken coop.’”

(Eating, cleaning, laundry and games sounds to me like a life many young gamers dream of… minus the cleaning and laundry maybe.)

“Everyone knows about these problems, but if you start talking about players’ rights, everyone wants to keep quiet about it, scared they might be branded as an impediment to the growth of e-Sports,” said Kim Dong-su. “They need to introduce things like a minimum age system for players and limitations on the number of games.” Citing the example of fixed StarCraft matches uncovered on May 16 through an investigation by prosecutors, Kim said, “Because players have short lifespans and uncertain futures, you inevitably have a widespread sense of ‘Let’s pull something off while things are going well.’”

Since I got my hands on the StarCraft 2 Beta, I have become a bit of a follower of the StarCraft programing and commentating scene. I wonder how many of these problems extend out to the west’s tiny place in it?

"Your evening will have a completely different shape and texture than what it would have prior to the..."

Tue, 04 May 2010 14:39:00 -0400

“Your evening will have a completely different shape and texture than what it would have prior to the advent of ubiquitous mobile Internet. You’ll have been tossed this way and that by the gusts and squalls of network weather.”

- Adam Greenfield on Don’t get me wrong

We’re hiring a new developer

Mon, 03 May 2010 16:26:51 -0400

We’re hiring a new developer

These are the opening credits for Gaspar Noe’s 2009 film...

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 13:09:00 -0400

These are the opening credits for Gaspar Noe’s 2009 film Enter the Void (via kottke)