If..Else Log

Via ShaunInman: A couple of useful favelets.
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Engadget:

Kyoto University's Robo Garage has announced what may be the first bipedal robot that doesn't walk like it has a bad back. The Chroino is able to keep the leg in contact with the ground straight as it walks, instead of the awkward both-knees-bent shimmy common to brethren from Honda's Asimo to Sony's Qrio.

More than that, it looks like it has come straight out of an anime series.

Another interview with Nintendo's Eiji Aonuma, this time courtesy of Gamespy.

simon.incutio.com:

TheyWorkForYou.com is the finest example of a political hack I've ever seen. It's basically an ultra-user-friendly front-end to the Hansard public record of all speeches and debates in the houses of commons, with each MP getting their own page complete with a summary of their recent performance and member's interests and a list of their recently recorded parliamentary appearances.

The community features are pretty impressive as well: you can add comments to any speech made in any debate, and there's also a user-populated glossary which is automatically linked in to the speech transcripts.

But with all that, the most useful feature is probably the most subtle: you can subscribe to an RSS feed of your MP's appearances, meaning you can keep track of everything they say on your behalf. It's simple, powerful and a perfect example of the political hacker ethic at work.

A great collection of photography links.

I want this.

Wired:

…But, in 2001, all that changed. Hoffman stumbled upon a tiny, obscure cranny of the American space program — the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts, or NIAC. In this $4 million-a-year agency, Hoffman found a place where the wildest of ideas were not only tolerated, they were welcome.

Shape-shifting space suits? Step right up. Antimatter-powered probes to Alpha Centauri? No problem. Robotic armada to destroy incoming asteroids? Pal, just sign on the dotted line. Weather control seemed downright down to earth in comparison…

Design By Fire
A well written piece on how to redesign Jacob Nielson's site.

How long till we see a CSI episode on this?

NYPost

A boat party in an exclusive area of Long Island Sunday night was interrupted - when a severed human hand mysteriously dropped out of the sky onto the deck of a boat, police said yesterday.

The bizarre incident occurred in the water just off the Lawrence Village Marina, where a group of boats had gathered to have a party.

One owner was in the cabin when "he heard a noise, goes out to check and finds the hand on the rear deck of the boat," said Nassau Detective Sgt. John Azzata. "At this point, we don't have a clue where it came from. It's a mystery."

An interesting photoshop effect. Incidentally, the rest of the site is a nice introduction for "ethical" photo manipulation.