Bees & Bombs. Global Game Jam asks developers to use the public domain, in Aaron Swartz's honor. Susan writes, "Over 22K game developers from all over the world (72 countries) came together this past weekend (January 24-26) at the annual Global Game Jam (GGJ). This year's event was record breaking, having churned out over 4K games with the theme 'We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.' The yearly event focusing on collaboration, experimentation and innovation in games challenges developers of all skill levels. The jam is about creating community as well as creating games, all jams are physical jams where you have a chance to grow your skills and your network. Add to that the event prides itself on being hardware and software agnostic -- open to digital and analog games that are open source adhering to a Creative Common's license.
"As if making a game from start to finish with your new found friends at one of the 400+ local jams isn't hard enough, the GGJ offers diversifiers help challenge developers just a bit more. Global Game Jam (Thanks, Susan!) Downworthy: A browser plugin to turn hyperbolic viral headlines into what they really mean. The 10 strangest musical instruments. 1 The Great Stalacpipe Organ Leland W Sprinkle was an electronic engineer whose day job was at the Pentagon. Sprinkle spent three years, armed with a small hammer, a tuning fork and an angle-grinder, searching for good-sounding stalactites in Luray Caverns, Virginia, and then altering them so they played in tune. The resulting organ can play 37 different notes, with the reverberance of the cave adding an ethereal quality. 2 The Blackpool High Tide Organ There are only a few examples of permanent sonic art in the world, and three of them are wave organs – in San Francisco, Zadar in Croatia, and Blackpool. 3 The road that plays Rossini Just outside the city of Lancaster in California is a road that plays Rossini's William Tell Overture. 4 Musical ice Terje Isungset, a Norwegian drummer and composer, makes instruments out of ice extracted from frozen lakes by chainsaw. 5 The Cat Piano 6 Aeolus Acoustic Wind Pavilion Aeolus is a 10-tonne instrument created by artist Luke Jerram.
DRM-free comics of excellence from Image Comics. The rise of Marvel's Comixology has meant that DRM -- Digital Rights Management -- has become the norm for comics, meaning that your collection is forever locked to Comixology's platform, and it is illegal for anyone except Comixology (and not the artists and writers who created the comics!) To unlock them so that they can be viewed on non-Comixology players. It's as though Comixology had come up with a scheme to get us to buy our comics in a form that could only be put into special longboxes that they alone can sell -- longboxes that can only be stacked on the shelves they choose, and comics that can only be read under the lightbulbs they authorize, in the chair they approve.
Every penny you spend on Comixology increases the cost of your switching away from it -- and increases the extent to which a single company (now owned by Disney) controls and sets the rules for making, publishing, retailing and reading comics. Some comics creators are pushing back. (via Kadrey) Alternatives to the Singularity.
Subtly Powerful Illustrations Highlight Body Image Issues Faced By Women. Eat Seasonably. How To Make 8-bit Popup Cards. Stay-home mom Kate Lilley has created a tutorial on how to make 8-bit minimalistic popup cards. The steps are easily crafted—suitable for teenagers and adults to do. To make the card, you would need: paper, a craft knife, ruler that’s preferably metal, a cutting mat, and a needle. Download either card templates from Lilley’s website: Space Invader, Skull; and the envelope template. Use scissors to trim around the edge of the template. Using a needle and ruler, cut and score along the lines on the template.
Then fold the card in half—ensuring that the shape pops out. For more details on how to make the card, visit Lilley’s blog at Mini eco. [via Mini eco] Receive interesting stories like this one in your inbox. Universal design. Universal design (often inclusive design) refers to broad-spectrum ideas meant to produce buildings, products and environments that are inherently accessible to older people, people without disabilities, and people with disabilities. The term "universal design" was coined by the architect Ronald L. Mace to describe the concept of designing all products and the built environment to be aesthetic and usable to the greatest extent possible by everyone, regardless of their age, ability, or status in life.[1] However, it was the work of Selwyn Goldsmith, author of Designing for the Disabled (1963), who really pioneered the concept of free access for disabled people.
His most significant achievement was the creation of the dropped curb - now a standard feature of the built environment. Universal design emerged from slightly earlier barrier-free concepts, the broader accessibility movement, and adaptive and assistive technology and also seeks to blend aesthetics into these core considerations. Futur en Seine 2013. Le reportage intégral de l'agence Ondine Retrouvez les photos de Futur en Seine 2013 sur Flickr Une forte présence internationale Prix Futur en Seine : le palmarès Jean-Marc Ayrault et Fleur Pellerin à la découverte du Village des Innovations Etat, Région, Paris - Ensemble pour le numérique ! Vous aider à rebâtir le rêve français ! Jean-Marc Ayrault et Fleur Pellerin soutiennent les entreprises du Futur La visite guidée de Futur en Seine en vidéo. WELCOME TO ADDICTLAB. The Brick Bible - The Most Fun and Educational Illustrated Bible in the Wolrd.