A blog by Rob Cruickshank.

 
Magic Eyes!

posted 9:05 AM

 
Are you supposed to invite your friends to inspect your mouth with a flashlight and a dental mirror, or do you pull out a saliva-covered Scooby Doo or Hello Kitty and wave it in their faces? Or is it just your little secret?

posted 1:07 PM

 
Before Pong, there was table hockey. I can't accept the new sets with plastic players. The only ones worth playing are the ones where you can cut yourself on the guys.
(via thingsmagazine)
Update: They show you how to make your own metal men. A similar technique could be used to make metal women, too!

posted 11:28 AM

 
Czechoslovakia radiomuseum.

posted 4:08 PM

 
Mister Jalopy's Hoopty Rides. It's like a vehicular Heavy Little Objects . Anyone who lusts after old gauges, fiber washers and bookmobiles from ebay is my kind of person. If he sells that Curta I can stop clicking on it. I don't need it, idontneeditidontneedit

posted 10:21 PM

 
"Legend has it that while on a tour of the home pong manufacturing facilities, the Sears people were shown the Video Music prototype. One of the people from Sears asked what they were smoking when they designed it, and one of the technicians stepped out from the back room and produced a lit joint. "

posted 9:58 PM

 
Go to a Starbucks during the "holiday season". Look at the wreath on the door (the one that swings around and hits you.) Tell me that doesn't look like a spray-painted pangolin.

posted 3:32 PM

 
"Emerging Infectious Diseases is not about art. The journal has a cover to protect the scientific content from the elements. But as a communication tool, art seems to work. Our readers enjoy the covers. We don't know exactly why. But as Georges Braque once said, 'There is only one valuable thing in art: the thing you cannot explain.' "
(via coudal partners)

posted 10:05 PM

 
This is the beginning of the end. For god's sake, don't give them guns.
(via MeFi)

posted 7:09 PM

 
Hermit crab housing crisis.
(via boing boing)

posted 5:30 PM

 
Calder's Circus. I probably would have known about this if I'd gone to art school but better late than never. There's some video here- the mpg clip works, but the Real player stuff crashes my computer. Maybe you'll have better luck. Those of you who've seen the puppet shows that I do with Von Bark will understand why I think this is cool. Plus, I've been ripping off a lot of Calder ideas lately.

posted 11:45 AM

 
Science geeks rejoice. Google Scholar is very cool. Now you can do fun searches like this. And scary searches like this.

posted 11:28 AM

 
Everyone and their dog has been blogging this one, but if you haven't seen it yet, here y' go.
It really should be titled How Computers Should Look, and How IT People Should Dress.

posted 11:45 AM

 
An interesting article about Ferranti Canada, and their early computers. I did not know that the trackball is a Canadian invention! What I was actually looking for was information about flip disc displays which, it turns out, are also Canadian! I always thought they were British. You've seen them on buses and game shows. Paul Davies made a beautiful artwork out of them.

posted 1:06 PM

 
If you spend much time in downtown Toronto, you've seen the Rat Guy. He's an old guy in a long coat, who always has some rats perched on his shoulder, or, if you're lucky, a whole row on his arm, like songbirds on a telephone wire. He'll sell you a rat if you want one. I bet he'd have a really good time at this.
(Thanks, Ron!)
UPDATE: just noticed this in the FAQ:
"We strongly caution against the purchase of rats outside in the parking lot as these animals were not registered and we cannot be assured of their health or viral status. If you do decide to purchase a rat outside the show arena, please do so after you have been inside to ensure you do not bring a virus in with you on your clothing or hands."


posted 5:09 PM

 
I saw this the other night. All the sadness was outweighed by the sight of a bunch of teenagers in leather jackets, in the next row, who were jumping up and down, shushing eachother, and singing along to all the songs.
posted 7:23 PM

 
Electromechanical telephone relays.
I still use a rotary phone. I like to imagine it connected to these things, even though I know that it's not so.
posted 7:17 PM

 
A really complete Mainzer Cat site.
posted 7:07 PM

 
Story of the General Instruments pong-on-a chip. I just got a Coleco Telstar on ebay for a penny!
posted 2:28 PM

 
I'd always wondered if this would work. I guess it does.
Fish highway!
There's a "skate" (read: expensive clothing) shop downtown that has a similar setup, made from dryer duct, for their ferrets.
(via grow a brain)

posted 1:26 PM

 
"Some parts of the internet should be nice, for the nice people."
Adorablog is a blog about cuteness. We're not nice people, but hey, we won't say no to kittens and stuff like that.

posted 1:00 PM

 
Half of them are sorry. That's a start.
(thanks, Sarah!)

posted 2:51 PM

 
Got 'im, got 'im, need 'im..
Trading cards featuring champion athletes and war heros. All of them are pigeons.
(via coudal partners)

posted 9:17 AM

 
Interesting approaches, loose pitbulls, and more Unusual Aviation Pictures.
(via The Cartoonist)

posted 2:09 PM

 
All your frog are belong to us.
(The first time I saw this, I was too dumb to click on the main page. You're smarter than that.)
(via everyone)

posted 1:55 PM

 
The Rolling Ball Web
An Online Compendium of Rolling Ball Sculptures, Clocks, Etc.
Just like it says.

We had one of these as kids. (caution, tripod site, sorry)

posted 1:20 PM

 
A request: I'm looking for references to new media or kinetic art (or any art, for that matter) using phosphorescent or fluorescent pigments. Stuff like this, and this, and this. Anything. Even if it's not a link, even if it's "some guy, um, in Europe, um, made this thing, that like, glowed, and stuff".
Yes, I'm working on something, yes, it glows, and no, I won't tell you what it is. Not right now. It's that cool. Soon. I promise. Thanks.

posted 5:02 PM

 
A FPS flash game where you shoot kittens with rubber bands.
Do I even have to tell you that it's via b3ta?

posted 2:01 PM

 
Yay CBC for adding an audio stream in Ogg Vorbis format.

posted 1:42 PM

 
I've been fascinated by FLIP ever since seeing it in the book that turned me and my sister into fish freaks. Up till now, I'd never seen the inside, although I spent many hours as a kid imagining what a living space that had to rotate 90 degrees would look like.

posted 10:39 AM

 
"Blendie 2000 is a free standing blender as seen in the video documentation. Any person may walk up and try to talk with Blendie. If they make their voice sufficiently blender-like then Blendie 2000 will begin to pitch-track and power-match their voice. For example, if the person growls low pitch low volume at the blender it will spin slowly. If they want to mix sticky peanut butter or crush ice slowly they may need to keep the same pitch but increase volume for more torque. To ask Blendie 2000 to whip some cream fast the person will have to make a higher pitched blender sound for Blendie to match and whip with."

Even if you are on dial-up, and have to leave your computer on all night to download it, watch the video. No, really. You must.

One thing that occurred to me, watching it, is that if you somehow get your hand caught in the blender, you can't scream.

(via Eyebeam ReBlog)





posted 3:26 PM

 
This SO kicks the sorry ass of the Barbie Country Camper. Because it's REAL.
(via Sachs Report)

posted 8:26 PM

 
"The Cloud Harp is a meteo-electronic installation that converts real-time, thanks to an infra-red laser beam and a telescope sharing the same optics, the height, density and structure of clouds into sounds and musical sequences. "
(Thanks, Maria!)

posted 7:29 PM

 
World's smallest pong.

posted 7:18 PM

 
Remember the Fairlight CMI? If you were poor, you had a Yamaha CX5M instead.

posted 2:42 PM

 
LittleFilm.org has an excellent page about preserving and archiving your home movies.

posted 1:40 PM