Oct 16 2009 Coool!: Earth And Jupiter In The Same Photo
This is an amazing photograph of the earth (and moon) and Jupiter (and a few of its moons) in the same frame. Now I know what you're thinking, and no, God didn't take this one.
Sometimes the planets line up in such a way that you can see Earth and Jupiter in the same wide-angle shot. That is, if you were aboard the Mars Global Surveyor on May 22, 2003. When the Mars Orbiter Camera snapped this unique view, Earth was 86 million miles away, and Jupiter was 600 million miles away.
Wow, that really gets you thinking, doesn't it? Like about how far objects in space are from one another. Really far. And speaking of which -- will one of you be so kind as to walk the remote over here?
Hit the jump to see a diagram explaining how the planets were aligned.
Continue Reading " Coool!: Earth And Jupiter In The Same Photo "
Sep 11 2009 9/11: The World Trade Center From Space
This is a picture of the World Trade Center after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, taken by current commander of the International Space Station at the time, Frank Culbertson. Damn, has it really been eight years? Remember.
The World Trade Center Terrorist Attack from Space [gizmodo]
Aug 29 2009 Bokeh Filter Turns Light Blurs Into Shapes
The Bokeh filter is a $10 physical filter for your camera that turns out of focus light blurs in the background into shapes like hearts and stars and spirals (separate filter required for each). It works by magic. But not black magic, because you don't want to eff with that shit unless you absolutely have to.
One of the fastest growing fads in modern photography is bokeh shapes. Bokeh shapes are shapes of light in the blurred background of photos. These shapes are achieved by using a bokeh filter over the camera lens. Bokeh is a photography term derived from the Japanese word for blurred. Bokeh refers to the unfocused background in a photo.
The Bokeh Filter is a simple filter that clips onto the end of your lens. This filter blocks out pieces of light that cause the bokeh (blur) in your images to take the shape of the filter.
Neato. Now if they could just create a camera filter that makes my face look like Brad Pitt's, maybe I wouldn't be losing so many Facebook friends. I'M A MONSTER! Truck, monster truck. VROOM VROOM, I AM CRUSHING YOUR CAR!
Hit the jump for a video of the filter in action, directly from a camera.
Continue Reading " Bokeh Filter Turns Light Blurs Into Shapes "
Aug 26 2009 Microsoft's Questionable Photoshop Job
These pictures come from Microsoft's Business Productivity websites. The top picture is from the US version, and the bottom is from Poland's. Apparently Poland isn't as hip to diversity as other parts of the world. Which reminds me, how many Polish people it takes to Photoshop a black man into a white one? Poles using computers -- BWAHAHAHAHA!
Thanks to Curtis, Norman, Lewis, Chrissy Poopy Pants McBacon Lover, draw and jawn, who once Photoshopped themselves into a picture of Dora the Explorer and Bob the Builder so they could pretend they have celebrity friends.
Jun 27 2009 First Image Of A New Memory Being Formed
Allegedly, this is the first image captured of a new memory being formed on the cellular level. If your brain were dinner, new memories would be the glowing noodle appetizer.
The image shows that proteins are created at connections between brain cells when a long-term memory is formed. Neuroscientists had suspected as much, but hadn't been able to see it happening until now.
Scientists still want to understand more about how our brains translate memories made on the go into long-term storage. Since synapses are connections between cells, experts think that fortifying these connections, or perhaps even making new ones, helps our minds associate different ideas and form memories of connected events.
Speaking of memories, you remember the time we snuck off and made out in that house that was being built? Yeah, that was really, um -- that wasn't you, was it? Oh synapse!
First Image of a Memory Being Made [livescience]
May 21 2009 Ghost Caught On Film In British Museum
Some BBC employee allegedly took a picture of a ghost at a museum in England. This is the picture, and, quite frankly, I just don't see it. Unless it's an Arab smoking a hookah with a hand down his pants. That I can see.
Mr Sandys, 30, was photographing at the reputedly haunted Edward Jenner Museum in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, and captured the image on his camera.
"It was a bizarre formation of light showing a mystery figure in a doorway," he said. "I am sure it was not caused by sunlight or dust in the air."I checked again and looked in the doorway but I could see nothing."
He went on: "As a BBC employee I wouldn't dare doctor an image or I would lose my job."
Same here, Mr. Sandys -- I would never doctor an image for fear of losing my job. BWAHAHAHAHA! No but seriously, how can you be sure it wasn't the sunlight and dust? What are you, some kind of dustologist? And, if so, is it true dust is mostly fly assholes and eyeballs?
Mystery figure shocks cameraman [bbcnews]
Thanks to Romeo, who would have kicked that ghost in the nuts and stolen its shoes.
May 9 2009 Kill It!: How A Roomba Cleans A Room
This is the path a Roomba took to clean a room. As you can see, it's pretty haphazard. But what did you expect -- it's just a stupid robot. Honestly, I'm surprised the little deviant didn't spend the whole time pleasuring itself in the corner by repeatedly running over a power cord.
The shot was taken by shutting off all the lights in the room for 30 minutes and taking a long exposure of the path the Roomba took while cleaning up.
While I despise all things robotic, I've got to admit -- whoever took the pic must have balls of triple platinum. Leaving a robot alone in a dark room for a half hour? That's crazy talk.
Long-Exposure Shot of a Roomba's Path Shows Beautifully Organized Chaos [gizmodo]
May 7 2009 Good News: Disney Relocates Employees Normally Responsible For Finding And Deleting Boobs In Roller Coaster Pictures
You know how there's a camera that takes a picture of you on the steepest drop of a roller coaster? And then the park tries to peddle said photo after you get off the ride? Yeah, well Disney used to have boob-scanning personnel that would look at all the pictures before they appeared to patrons so no child would catch an eyeful. But now, thanks to the economy, not any more! So get out there and flaunt it! Boobs. I'm talking boobs, not penises.
And, since I love you, I included the NSFW NSFW NSFW uncensored version of the picture above after the jump.
Apr 14 2009 'God's Hand' Spotted Using Space Telescope
That's right, son, spotted for the first time since like the year -5 billion: God's hand!
The image, taken by NASA's space-based Chandra Observatory telescope, shows an X-ray nebula 150 light years across.
NASA says the display is caused by a young and powerful pulsar, known by the rather prosaic name of PSR B1509-58.The finger-like structures are apparently caused by "energizing knots of material in a neighboring gas cloud," NASA says.
DAAAAMN! But seriously, God, you might want to have that pinky looked at.
NASA photos show giant cosmic hand [cnn]
Thanks e., I would walk 150 light years, and I would walk 150 more, just to be the man who walked 300 light years to fall down at your door.
Apr 2 2009 Apple iPhoto, You're Almost Too Good
This is a picture of some delicious cookies waiting to be baked, and as you can see, Apple iPhoto spotted a face in the crowd. ZOMG -- is that you, Mr. Cookie Bear?! OM NOM NOM NOM!
Thanks to Duan, who once tried to bake a real bear but the tranquilizer dart wore off and it broke out of the oven and destroyed his kitchen.
Feb 28 2009 Astronomers Photograph the Eye Of God
Finally, a clear shot of God's eye.
The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, aka (mercifully) ESO, has released an impressive image of the Helix Nebula captured by La Silla Observatory in Chile.
The nebula, lying at around 700 light-years away in the constellation of Aquarius, has quickly been dubbed the "Eye of God", for obvious reasons.
I've got news for you folks: this is not, in fact, God's real eye. How do I know? Well you remember in Raiders of the Lost Ark when the Germans finally opened the Ark of the Covenant? What happened? Precisely -- ghosts and shit flew out and shot through their stupid Nazi faces and killed them all. That one dude even melted. So, you still alive? Exactly.
Stargazers peer into the 'Eye of God' [theregister]
Thanks to Tim, who knows the true eye of God burns like a laserbeam.
Feb 20 2009 Bowtie Camera: Spy Pic Of The New Mac Mini
Is this the rear of the new Mac Mini? Is it just part of an elaborate Photoshop hoax? What's a Mac Mini anyway? Are those real hardwood floors? Did I eat breakfast this morning? Is blogging with the heat exhaust from my laptop blowing on my junk giving me wang cancer?
Answer key: Probably. Probably. Little McDonald's burger. Wood is good, but plastic is fantastic. Sam Adams and Miller Lite. Does a Yeti have two snowballs?
Revealed, the Back End of the Next Mac Mini [uberrreview]
Also, Happy Birthday Cam, the beer's on me! No seriously, I missed my mouth.
Feb 10 2009 Sorry LHC, Google Beat You To It: Street View Van Rips Hole In Space Time Continuum
Ha, and all along we thought the Large Hadron Collider would be our doomsday machine. Little did we know it would actually come in the form of a free candy van outfitted to take pictures of the world's roads. That's right, as evident from these photos, a Google Street View van operating in Missouri has torn the very space time continuum we depend on to make our clocks work. So, what happens now? Your guess is as good as mine. Unless you guessed 'massive orgy', in which case, okay, yours was better.
Google Maps street view rips hole in space-time fabric [neowin]
Thanks to sean, who runs thetechpit and an illegal casino in his basement.
Jan 20 2009 Wow, What A Go-Getter: Kid Buys Back Car To Prove Speeding Ticket Was Falsely Issued
One day Dale Lyle got a speeding ticket in the mail issued by one of those automatic ticketing cameras. It claimed he was doing 98MPH in his 14-year old Honda Civic, a car he insisted could only do 85MPH max on a downhill slope with a tailwind. So what did he do? He did what any badass would do -- he stuck it to the man like dogshit under a cardoor handle.
Mr Lyle, 21, who has a clean driving license, had already sold the car to a friend for £600. He had to take out a bank overdraft to buy it back. Then he had to pay an independent driving expert £600 to test the 1.3litre Civic's top speed at a circuit in Bedfordshire.
The result was as expected. Even when driven flat-out, the Honda could still only do a top speed of 85.4mph in fourth gear and 81.3mph in fifth.Next, Mr Lyle obtained the mobile speed-camera footage of his alleged offence - travelling at 98mph on a 70mph three-lane carriageway of the A38, near Plymouth, on December 13, 2007.
The three-minute film shows three other cars in the frame at the same time, he said, which he believes means his vehicle was mistaken for another.
Nice, Dale, way to make us all proud. Now make the court give you back all the money you spent. I swear, I wish I was more like you. I probably would have just paid the fines and then vandalized the ticketing camera. Yay, passive-aggressiveness!
Also, somebody make this website a freaking Wikipedia page already. Geekologie demands Wikognition!
Hit the jump for a picture of the test report Dale had run.
Jan 17 2009 FAKE! This Is A Complete Photoshop Job. You Can Tell It's A Fake Because I Went To Block Your IP Address But Accidentally Locked Myself Out Of The System (I've Been Drinking, Somebody Call IT)
Some adbuster in Berlin (that's Germany, for those of you who failed remedial geography) added a touch of flair to some ads in a subway station featuring Britney Spears and some other wankers by making them look like they were a Photoshop interface. And I think I speak for all of us when I say their work really speaks volumes -- about how ugly celebrities really are. And also, about subway security.
Hit the jump for a bunch more of the Photoshoppery.
Dec 11 2008 LED And Time: A Photographic Gallery
I don't have much more info on these pictures except they were made by Picasa user magnus mouse using LEDs and lasers with a really long exposure. Just like they used to do in the olden days except with a flashlight or a sparkler. So yeah, a laser + long exposure = cool effect. But a laser + my penis = an even cooler effect. PEW PEW! Oh, careful -- don't wanna blind you.
Hit it for a bunch more and a link to the gallery.
Oct 28 2008 Dynamics Of A Cough Caught On Film
That's right, what you're looking at is some nasty bastard coughing, and the resulting air turbulence. Sick!
Schlieren photography involves shining collimated light past a knife edge onto a target, and variations in the refractive index of moving air create "shadows" of a sort in the image captured on film, and it's most often used to solve aeronautical air-flow problems, or weapons in action.
Okay, I don't understand what that means. But scientists plan to use the data gathered from these photos to study the spread of diseases like SARS, AIDS, the herp, the clap, the snap, the shocker, the Spocker, the body rocker, gingivitis, crabs, and hangnails. Just kidding, not SARS.
Cough Captured on Film Using Supersonic Photography Technique [gizmodo]
Oct 20 2008 Explorers Find Alleged Yeti Footprint
On the left, a human footprint, and on the right, an alleged Yeti footprint. And possibly a turd. Japanese explorers stumbled across the print on an expedition in the Himalayas to track down the elusive beast.
The large hairy creature resembling a human or bear is said to live in the regions of Nepal and Tibet. While the scientific community largely regards the creature as folklore, given the lack of evidence, reports of the yeti go back hundreds of years.
Yoshiteru Takahashi, the leader of the Yeti Project Nepal, made the discovery leading his Japanese team's third attempt at tracking down the half-man-half-ape.
Half-man, half-ape, huh? Somebody's developing a new crush!
"Yeti" Footprints Discovered, Japanese Explorers Claim [huffingtonpost]
Sep 24 2008 Yikes!: A Creepy Pinhole Camera Skull
This pinhole camera was made out of a skull by artist Wayne Martin Belger, mwho may or may not dress entirely in black and scrawl pentagrams on the floor of his apartment in virgin's blood.
This work entitled Third Eye, a study of "the beauty of decay," uses precious metals like titanium and silver to expose the memory of time onto film, sheering the 150 year old skull of a 13 year old girl.
Wow, it doesn't get much creepier than that. Well, unless the skull still had a jawbone and said "Say cheese!" Jesus, I just gave myself goosebumps.
Hit the jump to see a scary picture taken with the thing.
Aug 14 2008 Is This Really Bigfoot? (Hint: Hell If I Know)
First the Montauk Monster, then a chupacabra, and now....Bigfoot?
Two Bigfoot hunters claim they have the body of one and plan to release a photo and what they claim is DNA evidence at a news conference in Palo Alto on Friday.The Bigfoot is claimed to have been found in the woods of northern Georgia by Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer, and the claim is being supported by a Bay Area Bigfoot researcher Tom Biscardi, a multiple local Democratic candidate.
I copied the entire press release for the news conference after the jump, so you can check out all the claims, but I'll post a couple of the more interesting ones here:
*The creature is seven feet seven inches tall. *It weighs over five hundred pounds. *It is male. *Its footprint is sixteen and three-quarters inches long and five and three-quarters inches wide at the heel. *From the palm of the hand to the tip of the middle finger, its hands are eleven and three-quarters inches long and six and one-quarter inches wide. *The creatures walk upright. (Several of them were sighted on the same day that the body was found.)
So folks, what's the deal? I'll continue to follow the story and hit you with an update if there's anything groundbreaking revealed at the press conference tomorrow, provided it's not, "Haha, tricked you!" If that's the case I'll bury this post and pretend I never wrote it. Geekologie Writer: 1, Journalistic Integrity: 0.
Hit it for the press release and a video news report, and yes, that is supposed to be a photo of the thing stuffed in a freezer.
Continue Reading " Is This Really Bigfoot? (Hint: Hell If I Know) "
