Mr Coo: El Laberinto Esférico

Nacho Rodriguez, a 27-year old animator out of Barcelona, the #1 winner of Flash Animation 10: Best Animated, have put up his first Mr Coo game: El Laberinto Esférico.


I always like this type of 'choose your own adventure' game :D And this is just a perfect example of it ! With just a simple click and there, with a little bit of mini game inside, and multiple endings ! And not just that, look at the artwork ! It's awesome :D

You will be taken to a labyrinth where Mr. Coo falls to his death, and so the adventure begin :D Simply click and play ;) Once you've beaten a path, click play again. You must complete all paths to get the real ending ;)

Have fun ^_^ and choose your own way at the El Laberinto Esférico ;)


Oh, if you're curious of Mr. Coo's winning Flash Animation, here you go :)


[via: Jay is Game]

What's Your Blog Looks Like in Words ?

Ever wonder yourself ? Well, here's zlythern in words via Wordle - Beautiful Word Clouds !


This little fun tool will generate the so called 'word clouds' from any given url ^_^
Actually there are 3 input type that Wordle can accept ;) You can give url, text, and a del.icio.us username :)

As with any good tool, it must be simple to use, yet it gives wonderful result ! :D


After you provide the text / url / del.icio.us username, wait a while for the java applet to run it's job, and voila ! You can play around ! Experiment with the Layout and Color menu ;) Or simply hit the Randomize button if you're lazy enough :P

But be sure to put your work into the gallery ;) Just like i did with mine :D If you'd like leave a link to yours in the comment ;) I'll take a look of your art :D

Go ahead, make one Wordle yourself ! Have fun with this one ! I sure am having fun ^_^ I think i'm gonna print this one and stick one up on my desk :D

And a little donation to Jonathan Feinberg will keep this nice tool up ;)

Spam Can Be Fun

Don't we just hate SPAM, but well i received this funny picture on my mailbox. SPAM now can be Fun ^_^

(click the picture to see the bigger version)









(click the picture to see the bigger version)

If any of you know who is the brilliant artist for these, please let me know.

And have a fresh Monday everyone ^_^

How Well Can You Hear Shapes ?

Now after you know that you are not Tone Deaf, it's time to see whether you can hear the shapes ?!

So, what is this test called AMVI all about ?

What is AMVI? Associative Musical Visual Intelligence (or "amvi" for short) is a type of intelligence that's difficult enough to define, let alone test. Many creative people can associate across sensory domains: they "hear" hints of shapes and can "taste" the essense of colors. At its most extreme this phenomenon is called syntesthesia. However, I believe that creative people subconsciously employ elements of syntesthesia every day when attempting to think of things in new ways. This test attempts to measure one's ability to associate musical phrases with abstract shapes and symbols.

This is entirely a different thing then the Tone Deaf Test I've blogged before. Surely is another piece of good test from Mr. Jake Mandell!

After the overwhelming success of the Tone Deaf Test Mr. Jake Mandell done a research with Dr. Schlaug at the Music and Neuroimaging Laboratory at Beth Israel / Harvard Medical School. And they gave birth to this awesome test.


As usual, you'll be given a piece or two music, and you'll have to answer, what could be the appropriate shapes that represent the music ;)

It's quite challenging and fun ! On some questions I had to hit the Replay button for more than 10 times ! :P

Anyway, here's my score for the first try :P


Give it a try ;) And don't forget to pay Jake a visit ;)

Have a nice weekend everybody ^^

GROW nano vol. 3

I'm a little surprised when i found out that i haven't been blogging about Eyezmaze's GROW !! How can i not share this one with you guys and gurls ?!

GROW originally was in Japanese, but the game was very popular so that the maker is kind enough to made an English site ^^

GROW is a series of puzzle game type. A unique one i might say :D It's a puzzle which is simple to play and hard to beat ! And have multiple solutios ! That's the kind of puzzle that makes you come back and play again :D

Yesterday, after a long wait, they launch a simple Grow nano vol.3 ^^ Seems the author is sick for this time, so i wish the best for him, hopefully he will get better soon :)

(click the image to play)

This GROW nano vol.3 is an easy one ;)

And after you get some clue of how to play, you can try the other series which can be more challenging ;D

• GROW v.1
• GROW v.2
• GROW v.3
• GROW CUBE
• GROW RPG
• GROW ISLAND

Enjoy the game ^^

Blogging = Dangers !

Apparently one can die when blogging :|

(image source: the brilliant xkcd)

Have a nice weekend everybody ^^

Don't do anything dangerous ! ;)

How Well Do You Know Your World

TravelPod.com made a very nice game called Traveler IQ Challenge. It's about How Well Do You Know Your World.

This nice game is very easy to play, but hard to beat ;) You will be given a city name, and you have to click on the whereabout is the city's location.


There are total of 12 Levels to complete. The interface is very simple to understand. Although there are some area you need to pay attention too ;)

• The city name will appear on middle-top, with a background of red bar running across indicating the time left for you to click the city's location on the map. The red bar is synchronized with the Time left on the right (see the yellow arrow)
• There are a minimum score requirement to advanced to the next level. You can see it on the upper right corner, titled Score to advance.
• After you click on somewhere around the world, there'll be a Red Flag which indicate what you clicked. The correct area are shown with the Green Flag. And there's a detailed information of how far you clicked from the correct place, and how much time you need to dig all those Geography lessons back in elementary school :P And after several attempts, i got a You rock! Nice job :P
• But then again, be aware, the time is still ticking ! You see the Next button there ? It has the same Red bar which is running. So, unless you hit the Pause button, after the time runs out, you'll be taken right to the next place. If you wanted to have some time remembering the place, feel free to hit the Pause button ;) Or, if you're a genius, hit the Next button immediately to bring you to another place :D
• If you really really really care, then try to remember some description of the city in the very bottom of the map :P
  

And apparently i'm not even half way to beat the game :P Only 5 out of 12 :P


But this is considered "Pretty good! Someone paid attention during geography class. Your traveler IQ: 87". According to the game ;P

Another plus point for this game is that it allows you to embed it to any page ;) You can find the code here (on the bottom right below the game screen).

Also with the hype of Facebook thing, it's as easy as the game to add it to your profile page :) just click ;)

The advantage of installing this Traveler IQ Challenge app on Facebook ?

• Save your high scores
• Compete against your friends
• Create your own challenges
• Play 1,000's of challenges created by other people

So, what are you waiting for ;) Either play/embed it or install it on your Facebook, let's just have the knowledge and the fun ^^

The Golden Compass - What's Your Dæmon ?

7 December 2007 worldwide, The Golden Compass movie is scheduled to launch, but at Thursday night on 6 Dec 2007, me and my girlfriend watched it already ^^

Hehe.. dunno why but on 6 Dec, we already can saw the movie here in Singapore :)

Anyway, this movie is nice, the whole CG thing was very good, everything looks very natural and real ^^

But be aware that the movie's plot are those of fantasy world ;) LOTR, Narnia kinda thing ;) In my opinion, it's quite nice, although some says that the movie is below average, with hanging ending (ops, spoiler alert!), short plot, bad battlefield scene, etc. But i don't see any of those mentioned :P

Here's some excerpt from the official site:

There is a world where witches rule the northern skies, where ice bears are the bravest of warriors, and where every human is joined with an animal spirit who is as close to them as their own heart.

But this world is dominated by the Magisterium, which seeks to control all of humanity, and whose greatest threat is the last remaining Golden Compass and the one child destined to possess it.

My girlfriend was very amazed with how real the CG is being rendered, and i have to admit that it indeed IS !

All humans in Lyra's world have a Dæmon, which is an animal spirit, much like our other half ^^ and all of these Dæmon looks VERY GOOD in the movies :D you can almost be sure that those were the real animal being used in the movies, and trained to do some lip-sync :P

And for being a geek, i go through the official site directly after watching the movies :P I got lotsa things from it, and most importantly i got the answer for my curious questions

What's My Dæmon ?


[RSS Reader may not be able to see the Flash]

So here it is ;) She is called Onthia :)

You can take one too ;) Find out What's Your Dæmon Is :)

Despite all the bad words of the original source of this movie taken from :

Director Weitz said "in the books the Magisterium is a version of the Catholic Church gone wildly astray from its roots" but that the organization portrayed in his film would not directly match that of Pullman's books. Instead, the Magisterium will represent all dogmatic organizations.

Weitz said that religion would instead appear in euphemistic terms, yet the decision has been attacked by some fans, anti-censorship groups, and the National Secular Society (of which Pullman is an honorary associate), which said "they are taking the heart out of it, losing the point of it, castrating it".

The Atlantic Monthly said also that "With $180 million at stake, the studio opted to kidnap the book’s body and leave behind its soul."

I feel that the movie is 'safe' ^^ well maybe I'm not too expert on this kinda thing,

I just enjoyed the movie :D

Take A Look. Click The Book.

Lookybook is a really nice concept in bringing books for parents and kids. They bring you nice illustrations from all around the world ^^

We know that nothing will replace the magic of reading a book with your child at bedtime, but we aim to replace the overwhelming and frustrating process of finding the right books for parents and their kids.

You can also create your very own bookshelf ;) What is a bookshelf for ? Well, to put your favourite books of course :D


Another interesting idea is that if you are a new or self-published author or illustrator, or a publisher and you want more eyes on your book, you can send it to them ;) And hopefully they will put it on our shelf for everyone to look at ;)

Lookybook currently features over 200 titles and is growing daily.


And here's another catch, you can EMBED the books to your blog, myspace, friendster, or anywhere on the net ! NICE ! :D

But of course, you can always consider to buy the book ;) After all, what picture books is bad for a gift ?! ;)

And it's almost Christmas too :D

Well, then, here we go, i've embed one for you ;)

First Snow
Written by Bernette Ford | Illustrated by Sebastien Braun
9.875 x 10.75 | 32 pages | Ages 4-8 | Holiday House | Published in 2005 | ISBN 9780823419371

(RSS reader, click through my post to see it)


[via: Drawn!]

Congratz ! You're All Genius !

According to The Blog Readability Test that is ;)

_________________________________________

If you wanted to know more on How to Measure Your Post's Readability, feel free to check my old post :P

What Kind of Blogger Are You ?

Professor Blogstein have 7 simple questions :)

Fun little badge will be given as a reward ;)

	Greed: -4 (Passion VS Profit) You're not in this for the money, for you blogging is all about the passion! Sure you might make a little pocket change now and again, but you know that it's the content, the audience and the people that are what makes blogging great!
Experience: 2 (Newbie VS Experienced) You've been blogging since Nick Denton was in diapers. When it comes to blogging experience, you are the authority on blogging. Heck you probably even have a blog where you give advice about blogging!	Sociability: 5 (Hermit VS Social) You love web 2.0 stuff like Digg and Delicious and you're involved in more blogging groups, networks and activities than anyone else you know. With all your connections, you make Neil Patel look positively anti-social!

[via: CSS Juice]

Build Your Wild Self

I'm an Ibex-po-sha-ger-li-flam-peacock

Ibex horns - Your Ibex horns can grow up to three feet long. Unlike antlers, which are shed every year, you get to keep your Ibex horns for life.

Polar bear ears -It gets cold in the Arctic (down to 35°F below). For warmth, your polar bear ears are small and covered in fur—even on the inside. When diving, the ears close to keep cold water out.

Sand tiger shark teeth - Your smile is deadly. Your spiky sand tiger shark teeth are perfect for gripping fish and other slippery prey.

Siberian tiger paws - It's no fun getting stuck in the snow. That's why your Siberian tiger paws are extra large. They work just like snowshoes and prevent you from sinking.

African lion legs - Your African lion legs are extremely powerful and have long, retractable claws to help you bring down prey. Careful not to poke your eye out with those things!

Chilean flamingo wings - Your Chilean flamingo wings have dark feathers on their underside. Males use them in courtship displays by flapping their wings to make black flashes that attract the ladies. Ooh la la!

Peacock male tail - Your peacock tail feathers can grow to be 60 inches long. Each feather has what looks like an eye on it. They help scare away other animals that might want to eat you.

Build Your Wild Self !

And have a Fun WILD weekend ^^

[via: The Presurfer]

Grow a World from Network Traffic

Packet Garden captures information about how you use the internet and uses this stored information to grow a private world you can later explore.

With each day of network activity a new world can be generated, each of which are stored as tiny files for you to browse, compare and visit as time goes by. You can think of packet gardens as pages from a network diary.

Each time we use a computer and connect to the internet, there are ports that were open and sending out tiny little packets all around your network.

It can be Peer to Peer applications, Instant Messaging applications, checking an email, browsing on the web, uploading a file through FTP, or even playing games online.

All of that generates information which is used and presented with a beautiful visualization called Packet Garden.

Packet Garden was developed by Julian Oliver, originally an experimental artwork that seeks to provide an alternative and accessible approach to visualizing daily internet use. It runs on every platform that we had Windows, Linux, and even OS X computers :D

You will have a unique 3D virtual world that built to your network usage :) For example, if you download something, then it will be represented as valleys with the size matching how big the data are ;) and vice versa for uploading which represented in hills :D


For each type of traffic, you'll see a different type of plant for each type of traffic ;)


After you installed the Packet Garden, you need to capture a traffic first, and then you can grow a world :) you can load it the next time you wanted to visit this world :) if you go inside the world, you'll become a little ball :P and can move around, too bad you cannot zoom out/in :P

Anyway, if you have a decent PC, this will run pretty smooth ;)

Have a try :) it's fun :D




[via: o'reilly radar]

The War of the Worlds

But who shall dwell in these worlds if they be inhabited?
. . .
Are we or they Lords of the World?
. . .
And how are all things made for man?

KEPLER (quoted in The Anatomy of Melancholy)

The War of the Worlds (1898), by H.G. Wells, is an early science fiction novella which describes an invasion of England by aliens from Mars. It is one of the earliest and best-known depictions of an alien invasion of Earth, and has influenced many others, as well as spawning several films and a television series based on the story.

Dark Horse Comic has a really nice War of the Worlds Comic version ^^ packed in 125 colourful pages.



If you wanted to have a soft-copy of the novel, then grab in on Project Gutenberg, The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells.

Or perhaps you prefer War of the Worlds in an audio-book so that you can listen to it using your iPod in your daily traffic jam :P

Either way, it's a really good read, otherwise it won't be continuously in print for over 100 years wouldn't it ? ;)

Cut and Glue a Toypaper Yourself

Toypaper.co.uk has a collection of cute little paper toys for girls and boys :D They provide a .pdf file on the Archive section for download. And after that it'll only take 10-30 minutes to cut and glue the paper ;)



It all started when John McGhee create a monster on one rainy Sunday in 2006. And the name is Humbles. Humbles was a lonely Love Monster, he is a very sociable and happy character, and likes being on desks, coffee tables or inside refrigerators - anywhere where he can say hello.
And now throughout the year, Humbles is receiving many friends to accompany him ;) Each have it's own profile and story too :)

So, have yourself a cute little paper toys ^^ a nice weekend ^^

More eBooks From Professor Solomon

Have you finished reading The Book of King Solomon i introduced to you ?

If you do, then Professor Solomon have another 2 ! Yes ! TWO ! For you ;)

Japan in a Nutshell
At last, the unknown Japan. The traditional Japan. The real Japan.

Who are the Japanese? Where did they come from? What are the origins of this unique people?

Professor Solomon give us a brief yet depth detail of Japan. In this Japan in a Nutshell book, you'll find enormous information regarding Japan, you will know the dos and don'ts, places for sightseeing, a general info on where to stay, enjoying an o-furo ;) having a nice tea ceremony, and whole lot more !

Go and download the 6 MB Japan in a Nutshell to print out and read ;)

Now from the East, we switched to the West ;)

Coney Island
A tribe called the Canarsie dwelt in the forest that the urban wilds of Brooklyn have replaced. That forest has utterly vanished; and so, too, those for whom it was home and hunting ground.

I probably will never heard Coney Island if it wasn't for Professor Solomon. Actually maybe it's because i was more interested in the East culture, China, Japan, Mongolia, Persia, etc. :P

Once renowned as a funspot, Coney Island has been largely forgotten. Does it still exist? What has survived of the place? And what was it like? In his book CONEY ISLAND, Professor Solomon takes us there to find out.

Go and download the 6 MB Coney Island to print out and read ^^

All of this eBooks are brought to you by Professor Solomon :)

Thanks for the tip Professor ;)

Happy Programmer Day

Happy (Belated) Programmer Day. Just found out from stii that yesterday is a Programmer Day :D Phew! Been a very busy week nowadays!

Having a programmer background, this truly is a joy to share :D

Programmer Day is the 256th day of every year, September 13th or the 12th on leap years.

To all the programmers out there, KC have the same questions as me ;)

If we’re celebrating the 256th day, why does the logo have 1111 1111 (255) instead of 1 0000 0000 ? What are programmers if not detail oriented?

Can you answer it ? :D

It's fun to read on How do you say Happy Programmer Day :D

Lotsa geekiest way to say Happy Programmer Day :D Anyway 3B858B9E5DBA7739EF8EC98D2808490D41EEC527 ;)

WEB 2.0 Design Quiz

Take a minute to complete our new special Web 2.0 quiz and figure out how smart you are on this issue. We have composed this quiz with the help of the world’s best Web 2.0 experts - although they most likely have no idea they were involved. Even so the results are believable. After you take this test you will receive a special code with the results on an icon that you can place on your website so that every visitor can see how aware of the Web 2.0 issues you are.

I had 2 wrong answers :P

How bout you ? ;)


[via: CSS Juice]