Archive for March, 2007

tigres

populardelujo

Synthetic Orchestras Not As Good As The Real Thing, But May Be Close Enough

There have been numerous instances of machines replacing humans to perform some tasks, though traditionally this phenomenon is associated with repetitive, unskilled labor that can be easily automated. More recently computers and robots have started moving into more professional areas associated with higher skill, like surgery. Increasingly, computers and synthesizers are able to replace whole orchestras, producing sound that’s impressively close to the real thing. This has caused some concern for trained musicians, worried that their skills will no longer be in demand, and in one case, a few years ago, it resulted in a formal complaint from a New York musician’s union. The fact that a machine can do what they do with some degree of success raises the disturbing idea that a trained musician (one who reads sheet music, and then plays it back) is actually more like a technician than an artist.

techdirt

mike jones

Yo… I been saying this for a good while…

what mugs like Prince Waleed drives

Somebody please tell me, what the chuck is going on with this vehicle! Goodness mercy. That would be the worst fenderbender ever.

timothytiah.blogspot

Plastic Little - The Remix of the remix of the remix contest

fiftyonefiftyone

Project SF

projectsf via theurbancritique

How to hang a confederate flag.

In a noose, that’s how:

"An art exhibit by artist John Sims, entitled ‘The Proper Way to Hang a Confederate Flag,’ is show on display at the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science, Friday, March 16, 2007, in Tallahassee, Fla. The exhibit has sparked controversy with the local chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and they have asked the museum to remove it."

John Sims - way to show the confederate flag as it should be - you’re definitely ninja-worthy!

[Ed Note: The Sons of Confederate Veterans and like-minded groups need to get over it, the confederate flag today is a racist symbol, period.AA It’s more than just a historical symbol - the flag has been used for decades by racists and bigots right alongside the swastika, making its meaning today clear.AA The swastika was once only known as a Buddhist symbol, but after being appropriated by the Nazis, its meaning is clearly, and connotation, is clearly different than it once was.AA How is the confederate flag a historical symbol worth celebrating anyway?AA Are we to mourn the loss of a time when one could own another man as if he was cattle?]
[Yahoo!News]

octane Dockitjet

with a high octane jetski, the Dockitjet provides versatility and practicality

uncrate

Private space enterprise offers endless expansion

Blue Origin, the secretive space exploration company founded by Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos, on Thursday announced plans to build a testing facility on a remote ranch in western Texas.

The facility will be built on land owned by Bezos located north of Van Horn, Texas, a community with a population of 2,400 residents as of 2000. In its first public statement about its ambitions, Blue Origin said it plans to build a suborbital spacecraft that can launch and land vertically with three or more astronauts, according to a report in the local Van Horn Advocate newspaper.

Bezos has already assembled a team of veteran rocket scientists who have worked on various aerospace and missile defense projects. The company will first build basic facilities such as an engine test stand, fuel and water tanks and an office building, and then begin flight testing in six to seven years, the report said.

news