Nov 10 2009 No: Roombas Programmed To Play Pac-Man
Been waiting for someone to hack a bunch of Roombas to play Pac-Man? Me neither, but somebody did AND YOU'RE GOING TO WATCH THEM OR I'M GOING TO TOOTHPICK YOUR EYES OPEN AND MAKE YOU.
The vacuum, long an instrument for chasing cats, has now been turned against its own. What better use for automatic home appliances than to have them chase each other in classic video game style?
Built using our spare time, Roomba Pac-Man is designed to showcase the extensive Unmanned Aerial System software suite that we have developed to support our personal research. It was also a great opportunity to use some of our skills for our own entertainment.
Neat idea, but did you have to use robots? Why not kittens? I mean, you just handed over like $1,500 to the iRobot company. Which, despite the number of emails I've sent, the government still refuses to classify as a terrorist organization. OPEN YOUR EYES YOU BUREAUCRATIC BUTTPLUGS! Unless....OMG the government's in bed with the robots! Initializing expatriation! New Mexico here I come.
Thanks to Jonny S, mary, Jackie and Boomer, who vacuum the old fashioned way: with a shaggy dog taped to a broken tree branch.
Aug 26 2009 Smoke Bud: Another Hacked Roadsign
Another day, another hacked roadsign, this time in Raleigh, NC outside North Carolina State University. Honestly, I have no idea what this bud is of which the sign speaks (you hear that, mom -- no idea!), but if it's anything like banana peels and grape leaves, you count me in. Whee, I see stars! I mean it -- I'm passing out somebody catch me.
Tampered sign promotes pot [abc]
Thanks to Milkman, who better stop using the backdoor.
Jun 19 2009 Over The Line!: Road Sign Hacked In DC
Apparently somebody hacked a couple DC traffic signs to say dirty words. In case you were wondering, there's a UC missing in the first line and an ALL in the third. Some people, no class.
If you think your commute can be offensive, you should have been driving northbound on the Virginia side of the Key Bridge Thursday morning.
It appeared that someone hacked into an electronic sign near the Rosslyn exit for the Key Bridge and posted an inappropriate message.Another sign at Chain Bridge Road and the GW Parkway had a similar message but was turned off earlier.
Oh hell yeah GW Parkway. I OWN YOUR ROADZ! You hear that, George Washington -- it's mine now. Put that in your cherry pipe and smoke it!
Hackers steer commuters toward offensive sign [wtop]
Thanks to Zekcus, who hacked a Circus of Values vending machine in Bioshock to stop making that scary laugh.
Apr 27 2009 They Were Everywhere!: ESPN Gets Hacked, Konami Coded, Unicorned And Rainbowed
Somebody hacked the ESPN.com site to accept the Konami code (↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ← → ← → B A) and then to start adding unicorns and rainbows to the page every time you hit ENTER. I can attest to it working because two tipsters hit me up with the goods before ESPN caught on. Suffice it to say, I unicorned the hell out of that shit and then cooked pork chops on the grill. Unfortunately, when I came back to write this it had already been fixed. So if you're the one that did it, do it again (but not to Geekologie) so everyone can play with it. Then, I want you all to write your congressman about the unicorn olympics and sick that would be.
Hit the jump for another screenshot of the site from a reader who also wanted to display his bacon loving pride.
Continue Reading " They Were Everywhere!: ESPN Gets Hacked, Konami Coded, Unicorned And Rainbowed "
Jan 29 2009 Aaaaand The Roadsign Hacking Has Begun
Are you surprised? Of course not. What's there to be surprised about? You post an article about how to hack something, and people try it. Simple as that.
(Traffic Controller Bruce) Jones, who has one of only two keys to the locked access panels on the portable signs, said that the hacker broke into the panels [arguable] on each sign and bypassed the passwords before leaving five different zombie messages and even changing one of the passwords. Jones said he had to wait until 8 a.m. to call the manufacturing company to figure out how to override the hacker's work [Bruce, please see original article]. He speculated that the hacker could be a computer genius from UT.
A computer genius from UT! Or, I dunno, somebody who read an article on the internet. Whatever the case, the zombie thing was cute in the beginning folks, but it's time to start thinking outside the brain. The robots are coming too, you know.
Hit the jump for the other five messages left on the signs and the link to a video news report.
Jan 2 2009 DIY: Make Your Own SNES Cartridge Wallet
Some guy went and made a wallet out of an old SNES game cartridge (that shit better not have been A Link To The Past). The cartridge comes packed with emergency LEDs, videogame sound effects, and enough room to carry cash, cards, keys and a USB memory stick. Granted, it's not the coolest wallet I've ever seen, but I'm biased since I made one out of an entire Wii console. Plus, if i rock it in a front pocket, it makes my junk look bigger. And rectangular-er. Which, according to my latest poll, 6 out of 5 women on the bus find freaky deaky.
Hit the link for a picture of the insides and a link to the Instructable.
Continue Reading " DIY: Make Your Own SNES Cartridge Wallet "
Sep 15 2008 Uh-Oh: Large Hadron Collider Hacked, Countdown To Destruction Initiated !!
Last week a group of hackers busted all up in the Large Hadron Collider's network and did stuff. Okay, so they didn't really do anything. That we know about.
Calling themselves the Greek Security Team, the interlopers mocked the IT used on the project, describing the technicians responsible for security as "a bunch of schoolkids."
However, despite an ominous warning "don't mess with us," the hackers said they had no intention of disrupting the work of the atom smasher."We're pulling your pants down because we don't want to see you running around naked looking to hide yourselves when the panic comes," they wrote in Greek in a rambling note posted on the LHC's network.
Of course they're not going to disrupt the atom smashing. They have to make sure the LHC is fully functional before they bust back in. Then they'll use the system's time machining capabilities to travel back in time and fulfill man's quest to have sex with dinosaurs. Lizard people yo, lizard people.
Hit the jump for a video explaining the experiments conducted using the LHC.
Continue Reading " Uh-Oh: Large Hadron Collider Hacked, Countdown To Destruction Initiated !! "
Jun 16 2008 Wii Fit Balance Board Hack Uses Movement To Explore Google Earth, World Of Warcraft
Tired of only playing Wii Fit on the balance board? Want to use it for something else? Well look no further.
A couple of guys from DFKI (the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence) took a Balance Board and connected it to a regular old laptop PC. A custom C# application communicates with the controller via Bluetooth, translating simple leaning movements on the board into 3D moves on the computer.
There's a video after the jump showing how they use the board to navigate Google Earth and World Of Warcraft. But if you can't watch videos at work the picture above gives you a pretty good idea of what it looks like: some geek humping an imaginary woman from behind.
Hit the jump for the demo video, and the slightly NSFW video of a chick playing the Wii Fit hula-hoop game in her underwear in case you've been Bin Ladening it up in a cave for the past month and haven't seen it yet. Note: Try your best to ignore the idiotic pantstain that's filming it, he's one ugly bastard.
Apr 16 2008 Guy Proposes To Girlfriend Via Hacked Video Game, She Says Yes, My Wife Divorces Me
Bernie Ping is a computer programmer that proposed to his girlfriend Tammy Li by hacking her favorite game, Bejeweled. After she reached a certain score a special screen with the message popped up, and she said yes. PopCap, the maker of the game, was surprisingly unpissed (companies typically discourage hacking their games), and is even flying the couple to Seattle as part of their honeymoon and handing out copies of the game to wedding guests.
Wow, that's so awesome. But not nearly as awesome as the way my girlfriend thought I was proposing to her. I'll tell you about it. You see, my girlfriend and I were really big into those claw machines (crane games) where you try to pick up stuffed animals and dump them down a chute. Well some of the machines in the bars around here have jewelry and other crap stuffed in there. So there we were playing when I noticed there was already something in the prize chute. I told my girlfriend to investigate, and it was a little ring box. She started tearing up as she removed it, thinking I was proposing. You should have seen the look on her face when she opened it up and it was a chintzy key fob -- priceless.
From matching gems to the perfect match [yahoo]
Thanks to Alastair, who no woman could refuse, for the tip
Apr 9 2008 Mario "Frustration" Levels With Commentary
This video has been around for a while, so you may have seen it already. And if you have, that's awesome, you should definitely mention it the comments section. I saw it some time ago myself, but not with this guy's voice-over, which made it better. It's probably NSFW though, since every other word the dude says is a curse word. Oh, and it's unbearable long, so let it download and then just skip around for about 30 seconds or a minute (depending on how you feel) to get the gist. If you like it there are about a million other videos on Youtube of hacked Mario levels that are unbelievably impossible (search mario impossible or mario frustration and feel free to post links to any good ones). While it does look tempting to give playing one a shot, I know exactly how it'll end -- with my leg stuck in the television and bleeding (yes, I had to buy an old CRT from the thriftstore after my ladyfriend traded the LCD for "the most comfortable pair of shoes ever").
Thanks to Randomnigel, whose blog I found this on, for having it there
Jan 15 2008 Hate Waking Up: Fire Bell Alarm Clock Hack
I don't have trouble waking up in the morning because I have a cat that lets me know it’s time to rise by sticking his b-hole to my face. But if you don't have such a considerate cat then maybe you need something a little more serious. How about a fire bell alarm clock? I can guarantee it's loud enough to wake you up or give you a heart attack. While it looks pretty easy to make, I wouldn't suggest it unless you're really hard of hearing or just hate life. While I may install one in my girlfriend's shed to ensure she's not late for work, I'll be sticking (literally) to my kitty’s suction a-hole alarm.
Video tutorial after the jump.
Continue Reading " Hate Waking Up: Fire Bell Alarm Clock Hack "
May 25 2007 Opening A Combination Lock With A Stick Pin
This is a little tutorial on how to open a combination lock with a stick pin. It's not very informative, but at least it looks somewhat legit. Although once again I've gotta stick with my own personal method of opening a combination lock: biting through it with my teeth.
May 15 2007 How to hack a suitcase lock
This video shows how to hack a suitcase lock in under 60 seconds. Although I've developed a way to hack them in under 6. And yeah, maybe my way involves a hammer, but that's how you know it's effective.
Mar 26 2007 Making coffee with a laser
This crazy bastard decided to make his morning cup of coffee with a powerful laser. Now all he has to do is try shaving and maybe cleaning his ear wax with it and he'll officially be a mad scientist.
Mar 22 2007 Gun operated alarm clock
Roger Ibars has designed a gun operated alarm clock that you have to keep shooting until it turns off. Right now it's just a hack made from a retro gaming light gun and a vintage digital clock radio, but I would buy this in a second if it became retail. You'd get the satisfaction of shooting your alarm clock with the wakey uppyness of having to aim and fire. And yes, "wakey uppyness" is a word. Can't find it in the dictionary? Maybe you should look it up in my fist!
