The Matrix Screen Saver

In 1999, when The Matrix came out in theaters you could purchase a screen saver that emulated the visual themes of the film. The screen saver would tell you that the Matrix has you or prompt you to follow the white rabbit, just like Neo's computer told him. The trouble was that this program cost money, and that information ought to be free.

I was recently hanging out with my good friend Stephan, who, eleven years later, is still rocking his The Matrix screen saver, and it's still one of the best screen savers I've ever seen. Meticulous Software developed a freeware version that looks incredibly authentic, and that's the one that Stephan linked me to.

If you're interested in this screen saver, simply go to Meticulous Software and click on the Downloads navigation button. Download the best version of the file (as of October 16, 2010 the best version is 1.11b since 1.14 seems to be experiencing some problems) and then place the screen saver file (TheMatrix.scr) into your Windows folder. From there, you need only activate the custom screen saver via your display settings. Since this process is different for different operating systems, it is probably best to follow the instructions included in the zip file or on the web site. If you can't figure out how to install this screen saver on your computer, drop me a line with your problem and your operating system and any other pertinent information and one of the technicians at Cavemengo will be sure to help you out.

One feature that I was personally impressed by is that you can manipulate the settings to customize the screen saver. For example, you can start with The Matrix title sequence and trace program, or you can decide not to. You can display the current date and time or the date and time in the movie. You can change the trace phone number displayed. You can choose as your display name from either Neo, the name of the current computer user or any other specified name. This is the most impressive screen saver I've ever seen. It makes me both sad (because nobody uses cool screen savers anymore) and committed (to bringing back the use of 90s screen savers). Join me, friends. Download today.

China's Straddle Bus

In order to reduce the nation's production of Greenhouse gases and energy as well as reduce automotive congestion without widening roads, Shenzhen Huashi Future Parking Equipment in China has developed a 4-meter high "Straddling Bus." It is essentially a bus on a track that can drive over any automobile 2-meters high or shorter.

I'm still not certain how the bus will cope with turns in the road or tall vehicles, or how automobiles will deal with lane changes, but I have to say that this is almost as smart as cars with stilts, springs, or raccoon buses.

More information on the straddling bus can be obtained here or here.

Future Man Arrested at Large Hadron Collider

I found this article from incredibly interesting. Thank you, CNET UK.

A would-be saboteur arrested today at the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland made the bizarre claim that he was from the future. Eloi Cole, a strangely dressed young man, said that he had travelled back in time to prevent the LHC from destroying the world.

The LHC successfully collided particles at record force earlier this week, a milestone Mr Cole was attempting to disrupt by stopping supplies of Mountain Dew to the experiment's vending machines. He also claimed responsibility for the infamous baguette sabotage in November last year.

Mr Cole was seized by Swiss police after CERN security guards spotted him rooting around in bins. He explained that he was looking for fuel for his 'time machine power unit', a device that resembled a kitchen blender.

Police said Mr Cole, who was wearing a bow tie and rather too much tweed for his age, would not reveal his country of origin. "Countries do not exist where I am from. The discovery of the Higgs boson led to limitless power, the elimination of poverty and Kit-Kats for everyone. It is a communist chocolate hellhole and I'm here to stop it ever happening."

This isn't the first time time-travel has been blamed for mishaps at the LHC. Last year, the Japanese physicist Masao Ninomiya and Danish string-theory pioneer Holger Bech Nielsen put forward the hypothesis that the Higgs boson was so "abhorrent" that it somehow caused a ripple in time that prevented its own discovery.

Professor Brian Cox, a former CERN physicist and full-time rock'n'roll TV scientist, was sympathetic to Mr Cole. "Bless him, he sounds harmless enough. At least he didn't mention bloody black holes."

Mr Cole was taken to a secure mental health facility in Geneva but later disappeared from his cell. Police are baffled, but not that bothered.

Of Technology and Magic

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

-Arthur C. Clarke's third law

Skinput

Skinput uses body acoustics - sound signatures resulting from different types and densities of tissues - to convert your own body into a computer interface. Imagine surfing the web by means of touching yourself. Good work, Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University. This technology will sell itself.

Skinput Article at The Huffington Post

Personal Soundtrack T-Shirt

I saw this shirt on Big Bang Theory and it fulfilled several of my dreams simultaneously.

 

 

Personal Soundtrack Shirt