Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Play the addictive game of Mushroom Life (based on John Conway's "Game of Life" applets): "seed" select squares on the Flash site grid with virtual "mushrooms" - making sure not to isolate or overcrowd them (neighborless mushrooms will "die," and those with more than three neighbors will be "crowded out"). Then click "start," and watch as dozens of generations of mushrooms sprout and disappear before your eyes (using a cellular automata algorithm) into ever-changing patterns.- Echoing the Japanese trend of "Black," "Super Black" and "Black Black" ("HI-TECHINICAL EXCELLENT TASTE AND FLAVOR") confections, Coca-Cola is reportedly launching coffee-flavored Coca Cola Blāk, starting in France in early 2006:
"Coca-Cola Blāk is not just a flavor extension. It is a blend of unique Coke refreshment with the true essence of coffee and has a rich smooth texture and has a coffee-like froth when poured. We believe we have created a new category of soft drink – an adult product in a carbonated beverage – and a whole new drinking experience."
Unicode perfectionism aside - wouldn't "Blāk" be pronounced "Blake", not "Black"? Wouldn't it be "Coke Blăk"? - Love fishing, but hate sitting around in a boat? Try the new Kamome remote-controlled automatic fishing boat by Coden Japan: you'll be reeling in the big ones while sipping caipirinhas on the shady shore. [Gizmodo]
- Thanks to Cripes, Suzette! for tipping us off to Thom Reaves, a New Jersey artist whose unique Trenton-centric designs include the charming Porkroll Baby. Okay, you have to have lived there once to really get it...oh, and thank you for this gem:
It's not so much how busy you are - but why you are busy. The bee is praised. The mosquito is swatted.
-- Marie O'Connor - Apparently, humans have been busy much longer than we thought: new archaeological discoveries point to the fact that the Mayan civilization existed over 2,000 years age (700 years older than previously thought) and Northern Europeans settled the British Isles 700,000 years ago.
- You heard it here first (or second or third, if you're a true geek): the Next Big Thing is old-school handsets for cell phones. The kids in Japan love it, and DIY modders do too. Even the New York Times has a piece on retro handsets for cellies: "A Cellphone for Calling BUtterfield-8" [reg. req.] Gizmodo says,
It's a cute hack -- although I doubt there's a burgeoning trend in it -- and I have to say I agree with the general sentiment. Who wouldn't like to see a phone made out of wood, or copper, or meat?
After all, who hasn't seen a meat phone in their nightmares at some point?
farkleberries Links du Jour 129: The Meatphone Edition
