Corn Starch and Water!
If you've never played with this stuff, you need to do it today. Get a bowl. Fill it half-way with water. Then start adding corn starch. At some point, it'll start acting very weird. If you slowly dip your fingers into it, it's a liquid. If you quickly jab your fingers at it, it's a solid. It's what you call a non-Newtonian Fluid. (And for the record, this is a snap to clean up. Just let it dry then vacuum it.)

When I first saw this stuff, I was a healthy adolescent boy. So the first thought through my head was that it would make fantastic body armor. Well, someone else developed it before I got around to it. Now, if you have a lot of time and maybe the budget of a TV show, you can fill a pool with this stuff. (Not that as long as they're quick, they can run on it. Once they stop, they sink.)

Put this weird stuff in a container and vibrate it, and it gets even weirder. (The writhing mass at the end of the video is right out of a horror movie.)

And if you replace the water with vegetable oil, it'll react to electrical fields!
- posted by His Daveness @ 10:37 PM   (3) comments

 
Stuff you should check out
How to draw Steampunk Machines - You know, like a steam powered bicycle.
DIY Rechargable Flashlight in a Tic-Tac case!
I think I might've posted this before, but it's still cool. It's the crazy giant robot costume.
Paper plate hovercraft
- posted by His Daveness @ 10:29 PM   (1) comments

 
Wish Lists!
Why don't more people have a wish list? You can see mine, prominently displayed to the right. My friend Scot doesn't like wish lists. He maintains that the best present is the one you didn't know existed. (Let alone thought to put it on a list.) I agree with that, but some of us aren't very good at finding such presents! People who are good at that type of thing are free to ignore the lists. But people like me, we need a little help.

So yeah, this year I'm championing two new Christmas traditions. Wish lists, and Furoshiki.
- posted by His Daveness @ 5:05 PM   (0) comments

 
Is Foley a Republican or a Democrat?
I guess that depends on whether or not you watch Fox News. (Thanks for the link, Diganta.)
- posted by His Daveness @ 5:04 PM   (0) comments

 
Terrorism Procedures Reduced to C++ Code.
Saw a post on BoinBoing pointing out this article over at Wired. The Author says that he's figured out why law makers don't want accused terrorists to receive fair trials. It's a simple coding bug:

if (person = terrorist) {

punish_severely();
} else {

exit(-1);
}

My act of sedition for today will be to point out that most rights given to defendants are not there for guilty people. Those rights defend innocent people. Those rights give them a chance to prove their innocence. Without those rights, I can lock up anyone I don't like with a well worded anonymous tip.
- posted by His Daveness @ 4:50 PM   (0) comments

 
Stuff you should check out.
Border Volleyball!
Tales of Future Past! - Makes me want to dig up some 50 year old SciFi.
The USA's approach to Terrorism: Been there, done that, nation colapsed. (Get a password here.)
Some intelligent discussion on the TSA's fluids ban.
Armstrong's quote from the Moon set straight.
Buckeyegg breaks Chemistry and FIFA Soccer laws.
Low Cost Panoramic Views From 112,000 feet
- posted by His Daveness @ 4:28 PM   (0) comments

 
Romeo & Juliet, with FIRE!
Mid-January in Oakland, CA. It looks incredible! Check out the trailer at the bottom.
- posted by His Daveness @ 10:35 PM   (0) comments

 
One-Armed Boxer vs. The Master of the Flying Guillotine
Jurgo sent me this to prove that he was actually talking about a real movie. We must watch this. And there should probably be beer involved.
- posted by His Daveness @ 10:33 PM   (0) comments

 
What makes music catchy?
I ask this because I recently stumbled on something online. (Follow the link at your own risk!) I forget where I found the link, but where ever I came from, I ended up here. After about five seconds, I thought to myself that it was an interesting little song. (Not that I even know what language it's in.) After about 20 seconds, I thought to myself that it was catchy. Psychotic that I am, I left it up in the background. After a couple minutes, I could feel its tendrils reaching into my consciousness. About a half hour later, I realized I still had it on and I COULDN'T TURN IT OFF.

Pray for me.
- posted by His Daveness @ 10:27 PM   (0) comments

 
Stuff you should check out.
Next September 26th, raise a glass to Stanislav Yefgrafovich Petrov for saving the world.
Induction Launchers (aka Mass Driver) - Don't miss the video links at the bottom.
- posted by His Daveness @ 10:22 PM   (1) comments