So, this is something I’ve been playing with in Illustrator and Flash – a recreation of my watch. Obviously it’s not finished yet, it needs some serious restyling and gradients, and the chronograph function doesn’t work yet. But I fancy a break from it, so here’s what I’ve got so far.
I should also note that the design is probably copyright Swatch so don’t steal it / please forgive me for stealing it.
http://www.rathergood.com/small_worlds
I’m trying to get away from posts that aren’t much more than links, but I couldn’t not post this! One of the most beautiful games I’ve ever played.
Go explore!
This is an article I originally wrote for Wikinews here.
Researchers have found a crucial genetic difference between humans and chimps that could help explain our language and speech abilities. The difference lies in a gene called FOXP2 which encodes for a protein of the same name. This acts as a transcription factor, controlling the activity of other genes.
The human and chimp versions of the protein differ in only two of their 740 amino acid components, but when researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, replaced the human gene with the chimp version in neurons grown in the laboratory, they found it affected the expression of at least 116 other genes.
The results are detailed in a paper published on Thursday in the scientific journal Nature.
Author of the study Dr. Daniel Geschwind, of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, said the gene had a “major role” in differences between chimps and humans. “We showed that the human and chimp versions of FOXP2 not only look different but function differently too.”
Some of the affected genes control the formation of connections in the brain, whilst others relate to facial movements. Several have already been found to be involved in language disorders. Mutations in FOXP2 itself were also known to affect speech and language; the gene was first identified in members of a family suffering from language problems who were found to share a genetic mutation.
Frances Vargha-Khadem at University College London has studied patients with FOXP2 mutations, and agrees with the new research. As well as language problems, some of her subjects have changes in the shape of their jaws, mouths and tongues. She thinks that chimps may also have these differences.
“We believe FOXP2 is not only important for the higher order cognitive aspect of language but also for the motor aspect of speech and language,” said Genevieve Konopka, one of the authors of the paper at UCLA.
Previous research indicates that the changes in FOXP2 occurred around 200,000 years ago with the rise of modern humans. Geschwind also suggests that several of the related genes may have evolved together. Preliminary studies have shown signs that they too emerged relatively recently.
Scientists are now keen to further study FOXP2 and the genes that it affects. Geschwind believes this could eventually lead to breakthroughs in treatment for disorders such as autism and schizophrenia, which affect language skills.
The study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the A.P. Giannini Foundation and the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression.
That will be $250,000 plz WMF
Ever since I heard about Twitter, and even since I joined it, I’ve been wondering just what it is FOR, and why it is so popular and fun. And today I think I figured it out. It’s global MST3K.
Of course that’s only part of the story. It was designed to update family and friends on your life, and many still use it for that (as well as celebrities updating their fans). And it provides an alternative to email for sharing news/links. And of course there are the spammers and self-promoters.
But, just look at the trending topics. When X-factor was on earlier, it was almost entirely X-factor related tweets. Thousands upon thousands of jokes, comments, riffs, all delivered in real time, supplementing the show itself. Or the Peep Show characters – that turned out to be a fan, watching the show and throwing out more jokes in sync with what was happening on screen.
It’s not just limited to TV of course. Riffing of bad movies is popular obviously, but there’s also people’s experience of technology (Windows 7, Google Wave) and current events (Balloon Boy!). Sure, commentary, satire and parody always happened before, but never at this breakneck real-time pace. Except in things like MST3K.
In the 1960s, American rail companies were falling behind developments overseas, such as the famous Japanese Shinkansen. So how did they attempt to experiment with new high speed rail?
They took a diesel car, gave it a more streamlined nose, and stuck two military surplus jet engines on top.
Awesome.
From Wikipedia and Dark Roasted Blend
I think I may have found the finest example of a Youtube comment thread. On the video for ever controversial comic Frankie Boyle’s Most Offensive Jokes (of course, a hilarious video in itself) the following exchange takes place:
MrHeadingley (-9)
Please somebody write something on here which pertains to English. I am skimming Frankie’s videos and am yet to find an intelligent statement from anyone, or from Frankie himself. Frankie Boyle is full of comments for other people: straightforward insults that were funny for about 7 people back in 1976. He laughs at his own jokes and looks painfully nervous; he tries to dominate everything and repeats almost every joke night after night in his stand up. Val Doonican was more entertaining.truemansparks (+1)
Dear Mr headingley the impression i get from your comments makes me think that you are nothing more than a vile turd chewing pile of putrid lizard excrement with the mental capacity of a slow worm on pot,so shut the fuck up you disgusting necrophiliac baboon felcher!p.s how dare you drag Val Doonnican into this his live shows were fucking blistering !!MrHeadingley (0)
truemansparks,
Only one ‘n’ in the middle of Doonican
It helps that the middle comment was the first I saw, which made the sudden leap from foul-mouthed invective to a passionate defence of Val Doonican all the more entertaining. And MrHeadingley’s comeback is exquisite.
My new mission: To write a short article on ticket stubs. Then I can put at the bottom “this stub-related article is a stub”
Wow, has it really been that long since I posted?
Anyway, this post is going to be about stupid things I see on Twitter. And I’ll update it over time. GO!
“Major Breakthrough in cancer research is trending topics! If cancer was to be eradicated, that would be the greatest gift from our God!”
link
“#tmobilesucks becuz its for black people”
link
(in fact anything said by “BeastialityestBeast”)
“wtf. Lil Wayne is going to jail. fkjdnfgbk;jdnfbdfjknbdf. dumb. best rapper thats alive bye.”
link
W1F3Y_B_R3AL DAAAMMM: BEN OF 4 AN HR AND #rihannasforehead STILL A #TT … OWELL BACK @ !T {IM GOIN !N}
link (oh god! the background!)
Oh hell yeah.