Links for 30-08-2007
Virtual architecture, gaming etiquette, random numbers, cyborg hearing aid, Japan’s internet cafe homeless, more album reviews …
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1 – The Image of the Undercity
“… there are important reasons why virtual architecture need not, and perhaps ought not, look like real architectures.”
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“Kids get taught to share and play nicely, learning to blend with people and not upset them. So in a joint game of something that requires the rules to be followed in order for the game to continue where should the line be drawn? Should any line be drawn?
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3 – RANDOM.ORG – True Random Number Service
“The randomness comes from atmospheric noise, which for many purposes is better than the pseudo-random number algorithms typically used in computer programs.” Well, you never know when you’ll need a random number.
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“It’s invisible and waterproof because all of its circuitry–including its battery and microphone–is in the user’s head.” Whoa.
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5 – The internet cafe refugees – no friends or prospects, and only a cubicle to call home
“The Japanese Government announced yesterday the results of a survey on this new class of homeless people: at least 5,400, it concluded, live out their lives in the tiny cubicles of 24-hour coffee shops and “comic cafés”.”
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6 – The Ultimate Craphound Score: Gemini Space Suit
“To be in the presence of this artifact is thrilling. It’s like seeing Lincoln’s stovepipe hat, except Lincoln’s hat was never worn by a freakin’ ASTRONAUT.” Amen to that.
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7 – The blog haters have barely any idea what they are raging against
“Bloggers aren’t any better than Johnny Deadline at getting facts right the first time around, but they’re a lot more efficient at correcting their own, and everyone else’s, goofs.”
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8 – Album review: Entombed – Serpent Saints
“Lots of bands claim to have a unique sound, but Sweden’s Entombed are one of the few who can do so with little risk of being called liars.”
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9 – Album review: Coliseum – No Salvation
“Pure unbridled hardcore aggression from the American deep South.”
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10 – Album review: Zonaria – Infamy And The Breed
“Savage young Swedes tread the traditional paths of death metal with confidence.”
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11 – Album review: Menendez – Menendez
“Have you had a hard day? Or a hard night, for that matter? Then you could probably do with a bit of blissful monged-out hangover music. You could probably do with a bit of Menendez.”
