http://www.xach.com/nerd-name/

Nerd Name Generator

I didn´t get it… which totally makes sense, myself being a NAN

Related Article: Prove it

Giving whatever we are asked to, without thinking on the convenience of such concession, would not be more than a sign of weakness of character, and not an act of generosity.

http://www2.warnerbros.com/batmanbegins/index.html

In the wake of his parents’ murder, disillusioned industrial heir Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) travels the world seeking the means to fight injustice and turn fear against those who prey on the fearful.

“Disillusioned industrial heir…” I guess there could be many better ways to describe Bruce Wayne, but actually disillusionment is a good word (maybe mild) to describe the feeling of watching so much underutilised talent, not only among the cast, but the composers too: I was very surprised to know that Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard were both behind the soundtrack, because I found it very correct, but (with all my respects) just that; I would dare to say that it was Read the rest of this article »

http://www.armory.com/tests/nerd500.html

Hello, and welcome to the nerdity test. This test is designed to help you determine your nerdity quotient.

(no comment)

ps. I tried the 100 questions one. 58% NAN

Related Article: Prove it again

http://www.mathmos.com/erol.html

Airswitch can be controlled by simply moving your hand through the air above the product.

I have liked mathmos´ lamps since the first time I saw one of their creations, the aduki, and though lava lamps are not of my preference, I believe that this brand succeeds in offering a consistent line of stylish, well designed, cool products. The Airswitch seems a step forward in their catalog, because it adds a clever and novel approach to the “interface” of a lamp, making it easy and natural. The concept of “gesture control” is nothing new under the sun, from the classic theremin to the air fx (as a music NAN I´m always searching for these kind of gadgets), but I have never seen it applied this way. It could be real fun if my cat learned how to operate it! (no doubt he would)

Related Article: Make your walls glow with sTILE

If you dress like Yao, if you talk like Yao, and if you act like Yao, you will be similar to him. There is no need for anything more. On the contrary, if you dress like Kie, if you talk like Kie and if you imitate Kie´s actions, you will only be another Kie and nothing more.

http://www.newscientist.com/

how eerie it would be, yet also how peaceful - people all around having conversations on their mobile phones, but without uttering a sound.

If the purpose of the artifacts described has anything to do with conversations, then I would say this is a study case of how a good idea can be ruined by misunderstanding a little detail. The idea of a collar which detects the words pronounced by means of sensing the movement of the vocal cords sounds scfi- fi and interesting, and it reminds me of the sonic weapons described in Dune (though I´d search for other uses since I hate weapons of any kind). As the article tells us, the collar finds out what you´re saying and then re-reproduces the words by means of a computer, and so “the receiver of the call would hear the speaker talking with an artificial voice”. The point is, unless a human is talking to a computer, the human expects to hear human voices in a conversation. I know that Hawking speaks through a computer, but we all have assumed that to be his own voice. However, can you picture yourself talking on the phone with a computerized voice which is supposed to be your mother, your brother? I can´t. What about the battlefield? Will you pay the same attention to the shouts and calls of your comrades when they sound like the droids in Starwars? (very nice sounds, nevertheless). Finally, what about the loud bar? Just imagine it: the whole symbiosis between barman and customers reduced to a mere trade between computers. Will the computer reflect the drunkenness too?… In my opinion, when all you have for a conversation is voice, like on the phone, the nuances and subtleties of the other speaker´s voice are essential to set up an emotional context without which there can´t be an engagement enough to provide a satisfactory (say comfortable) communication. In other words, my brother is not an answering machine. (nor does his answering machine speak like a computer).

Anyway, out of conversational purposes the concept is still promising. For instance, in the field of electroacoustic music it would be interesting to make a singer sing along with a robotized doubler, which could add to real time processing of both the organic and electronic voices. Or the device could be used as a sophisticated trigger, so that the performer could change parameters in real time just by whispering what and how much to change. As a whole, it´s as useful for a human-computer communication as unuseful it is for human-human one.

Edit: I hope not to be misunderstood. My criticism goes towards the use of electronic voices to substitute organic ones in the contexts described in the article, not towards their use as an aid for mute or impaired people.

http://www.theglowcompany.co.uk/acatalog/THE_FLASHER.html

The Flasher is the first fully programmable portable scrolling sign that can be used anywhere & stuck to almost anything!

I´ve been thinking on a funny acute comment but actually the flasher speaks for itself. With up to 32 characters, you can wear your resume, your favorite Confucius quote, or just that funny acute comment that will denote how NAN you are. About the pictures and what they do represent, I guess that they´re not very representative of the average user and use of the product… (sticks to almost anything, but seems to have its preferences)

From the rest of the site´s catalog, I´d choose the Krill Lights, if only because they run on batteries and so they don´t wear out (forever) in a few hours. The Glow Gloves are probably too much for me, and the Laserpod seems to offer the kind of balance between sophistication and cheezyness that makes me avidly open the page and then shamefully close it right after. I guess I´m a Dr. Jose&Mr. NAN (oh geez… I should write that on my flasher).

It´s better to love the Truth than the cold knowledge of it; It´s better to please oneself in the practice of the Truth, than the simple love towards it.

http://essentialvermeer.20m.com/index.html

The Essential Vermeer provides a wide range of in-house resources for studying the work and life of Johannes Vermeer.

This site is simply awesome. It contains a huge amount of information on the great painter: no matter what you´d like to know, you´ll find it here. I wouldn´t know what to highlight, but I found very interesting the articles on the master´s technique and those on the palette he used. If you feel like an expert after all the reading, you can participate in the controversy about the authorship of the recently attributed “A young woman seated at the virginals”.

http://www.designboom.com/

The tiles are layers of glass and colour fused together, with a specially made LED pcb contained at the back, which illuminates the bubbly texture of the glass.

Great! I´ll never again have trouble finding the bathroom at 4 am! The article doesn´t make any comments on how are the tiles powered and the pictures don´t show any type of plug, so I hope it won´t be necessary to knock down the walls in order to change the batteries
Very nice idea, and practical too. The whole designboom site is just as interesting, whether you´re a contemporary industrial design lover or just want to see some cool, -even useful- stuff.

Related Article: Switched on Air

http://shop.starwars.com/

StarWarsShop.com shoppers can now get the very first fully-licensed Darth Vader ceramic cookie jar ever produced!

I knew this was going to happen. I knew it was just a matter of time. Say bye to those half or even quarter-licensed ceramic cookie jars that were flooding the market, this is the real thing! (vader brains- looking cookies included?)
I just wonder if any little kid will ever dare to grab a cookie from a jar this menacing… maybe wearing this pijama could help.

-The spudtrooper, though, is really cute.

He who every day acquires a new knowledge, and each month remembers what learned, can be called study lover.

Study lover: a refined way to call someone a… well… NAN, ok?

Updated 14.01.06

www.saveloomis.org

Art-Instruction Books of Andrew Loomis

My friend Tucho told me that he was using the books featured in this site to improve his technique, and actually I found them all very inspiring, not only for artists as talented as he is, but for everyone whith an interest in illustration. The page is also relevant since it´s hard to find printed copies of the books.

For more info on Loomis himself, you can read his biography here.

[Update] In a recent visit to the site this article points to, I found out that the books are no longer available there due to a letter of removal. On the other side, you can now find the books for sale in various online stores, like amazon.com.

www.glest.org

This includes G3Dv4 with packed structures, so it has broken previous G3Dv4 models. Affects Glest, G3D viewer and G3D exporter.

It seems that things are moving really fast these last days; there´s now a serious work which is being done in regard with the Blender plugin.