⇒ Nokia research

check out Nokia's morph concept and more here: http://www.nokia.com/

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⇒ tennis at the olympics

Rafa defeats Novak Djokovic 6-4 1-6 6-4 to reach the Gold medal match. He will play Fernando Gonzales, who edged out James Blake 4-6 7-5 11-9. Blake wasn't happy about that.

Yahoo's coverage here and here.

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⇒ AMD cinema 2.0

THIS. IS. REAL-TIME!

more on the impressive tech here:
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/AboutAMD/0,,51_52_15438_15106,00.html?redir=cin01
and here:
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/12/amd-cinema-2-0-tech-demo-real-time-photo-realistic-human-models/

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⇒ weekly 19 d4

new theory of headlines:
if you read all your headings/sub-headings together, they should form a semi-cohesive sentence (provided you use headlines appropriately)

AMD kicked serious ass with it's Cinema 2.0 announcement here, here and here
'eye-definition'. I agree with that. They rode a stonking rocket ship across the uncanny valley with one of the images. I'm shocked as to how good the CG is. Think about the future of cinema, with digital actors, the director could puppeteer.
Yes, I know, I'm late to the party on this one, but better late than never, right?

Speaking of CGI, China faked it! The opening ceremony was a sham! They duped us on the fireworks, and they duped us on the 'cuteness' of the little girl. WTF?!?!? Damn you, China!

summer up by better writers:

Greetings, roundeyes.  The People's Republic of China hopes that you are enjoying this most thoroughly authentic of Olympic experiences.  We're very proud of our most perfect fireworks in the clear Beijing sky, the beautiful little girl who sang our national anthem, our team of 16-year-old gold medalist gymnasts, and our rich ethnic history displayed in the opening ceremonies.

[The children] were dressed in costumes associated with the country's ethnic minorities, including those from troubled areas such as Tibet and the muslim province of Xinjiang... But the children were all from the Han Chinese majority, which makes up more than 90 per cent of the population and is culturally and politically dominant, according to an official with the cultural troupe from which they were selected...

The official guide to the opening ceremony said that the children did not just represent but "came from" China's ethnic groups. "Fifty-six children from 56 Chinese ethnic groups cluster around the Chinese national flag, representing the 56 ethnic groups," it said.

Yeah, apparently this is tradition in China.  Non-minorities dressing in the minorities' traditional garb as a way to "honor" the culture.  We have that in America, too.  It's called "blackface."
from withleather - china faked it
more here:it's good to know that the Chinese girls all have valid passports saying they have valid ages. The only way they could get their ages faked would be if an iron-fisted communist government hellbent on Olympic domination deliberately altered their birthdays on official documents. Thank God there's no way that could happen."
And here.

I bet correctly this time:
http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/364235972/
http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/02/03/consoles-in-the-home-theater-the-game-has-changed/
http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/06/06/sonys-playstation-3-gets-re-reviewed-blu-ray-abilities-smiled/
Dad wanted HD, we got it.

Criterion Collection philes know the score: DVIGear HDMI cable

speaking of HDMI, I was shopping around for one yesterday, and some dou--er, dude from Dick Smith Powerhouse tried to sell me a $300 cable. WTF??!? I was like, 'psssh, yeah, I'll have a look around...' Trying to sell me a $300 cable. What an asshat. This v. helpful bro from JB (Pitt St, not Galleries Victoria [GVJB]--they've gone down in quality HEAPS!) gave me a sincere opinion of HDMI cables. For once an honest answer. Thank God!

eat this, Monster Cables: http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/03/03/audiophiles-cant-tell-the-difference-between-monster-cable-and/
http://www.gizmorepublic.com/accessories/monster-hdmi-cable-scam-830
http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/11/28/report-reminds-us-dont-get-burned-by-overpriced-cables/

More on the GVJB staff: All the guys and girls that work there: they're in some kind of hubris--they think they're too cool to serve or something and just act all detached and bored all the time. What a bunch of emo-fashionista-fag-assholes! One dude even tossed me my purchases like 'meh, whatever, I'm emo, I don't care'. Dude, do not throw stuff I just paid for! I used to think highly of GVJB but now that an alternative has opened up, with great service, I no longer need them.

Exceptions to the rule: the bald guy w/ glasses who actually serves people, the skull-rag wearing urban style dude who's actually helpful and that girl who served me when I bought John Safran's Music Jamboree DVD (she knows who she is). BTW, Chatswood Westfield's JB: staff are very good.

dance floor visualisation http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/13/video-sensacells-interactive-floor-shows-trail-of-led-footprin/

polygon lamps
http://www.curbly.com/DIY-Maven/posts/2944-How-to-Build-a-Polygon-Lamp-Shade

designer DIY lamps
http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/05/24/icff-2007-emulator-battery-lamps/


mole surfing game
http://www.addictinggames.com/dangerousdavebrutalbob.html

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⇒ web tools

cssedit and Coda

Google's down right now...wtf?!?!

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⇒ utilities for ps3

video conversion:
http://www.redkawa.com/videoconverters/
http://www.redkawa.com/
http://www.download.com/3001-2194_4-10779504.html?spi=3ca16e9f1f733c048f27d998aa25876f&part=dl-PS3Video9

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⇒ how tos

stream media from MAC to PS3. How to
adobe media player
how to secure your mac

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⇒ PS3 day

PS3 finally arrived! Actually very excited (I've studied the specifications--it's impressive). A number of things I continually griped about though: multiple SKU debacles, is/isn't backwards compatible, number of ports constantly dwindling, offensively high price, no HDMI cable bundled in box, etc.

Anyhoo, I upgraded it right out of the box and got it running with a tasty 320GB HDD. 40GB my ass! Btw, download the latest firmware (v. 2.42) here: PS3UPDAT.PUP

I suppose after I get a game and HDMI cable, I'll let you know how things are, but so far, as a media jukebox, it's not doing too bad (not able to handle media as diverse as my lappy, but much more powerful--then again, my lappy cost 5 times as much!).

Register it here Sony rego

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⇒ weekly 19 d1

zhang yimou directed Beijing's opening ceremony!

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⇒ withering away

i'm a good person, BUT sometimes the world doesn't appreciate a good person. Sometimes he gets pushed too far, taken advantage of too many times, passed over for that other motherfucker or just sidelined because of his perceived 'niceness'. Fuck that, FUCK YOU and FUCK YOU!

No more favors, no more borrowing, no more arguments, no more meaning. It's all about me. And there's no going back. Why does any of this matter anymore...I'm not bitching cause I'm an emo fag or anything, but I can't help it if it appears to me that I'm running blind through a cornfield.

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⇒ games schedule

full events schedule here: http://au.sports.yahoo.com/olympics/schedule/


SBS' day to day coverage of the games:
http://www.sbs.com.au/article/108100/Beijing%202008%20Olympics%20Coverage%20on%20SBS

let's see what's coming up (on SBS, that is):
Tuesday 12th August, 2008
4:00PM Beijing 2008: Mens Handball CHN v FRA


Thursday 14th August, 2008
4:00PM Beijing 2008: Mens Handball KOR v ISL

Mens Handball - Korea v Iceland
5:30PM Beijing 2008: Table Tennis Teams


Friday 15th August, 2008
2:00PM Beijing 2008: Badminton Semi Finals

Badminton Semi Finals
3:00PM Beijing 2008: Table Tennis Teams Day 7

01:00AM Beijing 2008: Wom Badminton Doubles Gold


Saturday 16th August, 2008
4:00PM Beijing 2008: Wom Badminton Single Final

6:15PM Beijing 2008: Table Tennis Day 8

9:45PM Beijing 2008: Table Tennis Semi Finals


Sunday 17th August, 2008
1:50PM Beijing 2008: Table Tennis Day 9

7:30PM Beijing 2008: Mens Tennis Singles Gold

9:30PM Beijing 2008: Wom Table Tennis Team Gold


Monday 18th August, 2008
7:30OM Beijing 2008: Table Tennis Day 10

1:00AM Beijing 2008: Men Table Tennis Team Gold


Thursday 21st August, 2008
12:00PM Beijing 2008: Table Tennis Day 13 Morn
01:30PM Beijing 2008: Taekwondo Day 13 Morning
02:30PM Beijing 2008: Womens Volleyball Semi 1
04:00PM Beijing 2008: Taekwondo Day 13 Afternoon
05:00PM Beijing 2008: Table Tennis Day 13 After


Friday 22nd August, 2008
12:00PM Beijing 2008: W Table Tennis single semi

2:00PM Beijing 2008: Taekwondo Day 14 Morning

7:30PM Beijing 2008 Table Tennis Day 14 Evening

8:30PM Beijing 2008: Taekwondo Day 14 Evening


Saturday 23rd August, 2008
11:00AM Beijing 2008 Highlights Day 15

12:00PM Beijing 2008: M Table Tennis Single Semi

11:15PM Beijing 2008: Gymnastics Day 15


I'll try to catch most of the Athletics, running, and racquet/paddle events.

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