rabitguy found this music geek gem: NAMM Oddities 2007. Even in just the guitars page, admire the Mexican designs (one quite suited to ysengrin), or the nifty Chinese doubleneck, with one beneath the other. Don't miss the techno toys section, either - how does the Vivo2 dispense with a violin's body, yet apparently manage to retain the vibrational characteristics of a violin? And the Koyabu just invites noodling around.. !

Excellent brief NYC quote for the day. =:D

ysengrin pointed out a few entrants in a competition to produce a trailer for a non-existent movie adaptation of Greg Bear's Eon - for me, this one (FLV, 83MB; identical quality MPEG-4, 8MB) stood out particularly. Most impressive.

Intriguing - the Sun's reporting that John Simm, sent back in time in Life on Mars, is lead runner to play a certain old favorite villain in the forthcoming season of Doctor Who.

austin_dern mulls the differences between his own and his father's approaches in house renovation: "And we come from different schools of thought in spackle. I take a tiny bit on the paddle and fit it very carefully over the hole or crack, and brush over multiple times in every direction until you can't tell there was ever anything there. Dad is from the school that takes great big heaping gobs of spackle and applies it like a ski resort pouring on artificial snow until the room has spackle applied so thickly on the walls that the room is impossible to move in. Then he begins sanding until he reaches something resembling the plane of the original wall. My method is more time-consuming on application; his turns spackle into a good insulating material. It's hard to make a peaceful balance between the two styles."

DT1 Flocking Orchestra "employs flocking algorithms to produce music and visuals. The user's motions are captured by a video camera and influence the flocks behaviour. Each agent moving in a virtual 3D space controls a MIDI instrument whose playing style depends on the agent's state. In this system, the user acts as a conductor influencing the flock's musical activity. In addition to gestural interaction, the acoustic properties of the system can be modified on the fly by using an intuitive GUI."

I thought rosequoll in particular might enjoy this birdie pic. ^_^

Amusing comic strip of a furry nature, not completely worksafe. =:D ("pictures. like smutty pictures, but not as smutty.")

Could be worth catching: there's a ballet company in SL, with the debut of an original work, Olmannen, on Sunday Feb 4, 4pm Pacific, repeating on Wednesdays and Sundays for the remainder of the month. '"Olmannen" is the story of a couple in love, how evil in many forms can divide, and how true love can overcome. It is the story of souls fighting for love. Centuries ago, Namon agreed to become a Devang to save his one true love, Seraphette, from evil. Namon has waited centuries for her soul to be reborn to reclaim their love. But now that she is reincarnated, Seraphette has changed. Can Namon still love the new Seraphette? Can Seraphette possibly accept the love of Namon, a creature of the Overworld?' Fancy a Tardis USB hub? =:D Philly geeks might want to try (or avoid) Nerds: a musical software satire, about Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. ^_^ Penned by two staff writers of Robot Chicken, interestingly enough. Handy. ^_^ Seems Spore will be coming to the DS. Wonder about the PSP?

Why it's a good idea to heed signs warning of bridge heights, if you're driving a commercial vehicle. And as patch_bunny pointed out, notice where he's parked.. =:D

Penny Arcade offered up their handy guide to Vista.

Screensaver for the day: Hotel Gadget. Not just another multihued textures demo-wannabe. Speaking of screensavers, wouldn't this smoke bunny make an excellent one? (The liquefying dragon is rather cool, too) I have Pharyngula and the hilarious antics of certain Boston officials to thank for introducing me to quite a wonderful word: contumelious. Anime: Brave Story. Somewhat flat writing occasionally heavy on the exposition, fairly routine plot of a boy whisked into a fantasy world on an epic quest. Still, attractively animated, and the score by Juno Reactor was most effective. Whilst nothing timeless, a good enough diversion. (Curiously, the soundtrack only saw one release, a limited edition, in Japan) Good for a group gathering/housecon, where concentration's not the order of the day. Angel's Feather: a yaoi OVA, and particularly nicely done. Initially, nothing revolutionary in the plot or character designs, but the attractions were portrayed with warmth, affection, and humor. The storyline takes some surreal twists early on, making it an engaging short even aside from the prolific cuteness.

Now here's a character set you won't see all that often.. I'm guessing that wasn't a natural creation. ^_^