Observe The Banana

This guy has redirected the water output from a jetski through nozzles on a jetpack. This is an amazingly awesome idea that I am surprised no one else had come up with yet (or had they?). I think you could do the same thing on land using a firehose or some other high pressure water source. This video makes it look like SO MUCH FUN, a jet pack that doesn’t run out in 30 seconds. Who cares if you can only go 25 feet high or so.





[ Reddit via Crunchgear]

A game review by B

Ben 10 Protector of the Earth

This game could have been so much more, but it seems almost like a feeble attempt to capitalize on the TV show. The menu looks great, but I wish I could operate it with the buttons and the D-pad, not just the stylus. The music, however, is flawless. It perfectly captures the mood of the moment.  In addition, it has a feature I value very much- 3 save slots!  One feature which it has is  just weird, attaching the silhouette of an alien of your choice to a save.  Ok…

The game play itself seems like it could be in an arcade without much change. And that’s a bad thing.  It’s chock full of side-scrolling “run to the right-fight some bad guys-run to the right-jump-use special power-fight more bad guys” action.  Each alien has a special power that lets you deal with a certain environmental challenge.  I assume this is supposed to make you change aliens so everyone is used, but sometimes all it really does is slow you down.  However, in combat the difference in attacks is wonderfully fun. It really makes combat with different characters a pleasure, except for the fact you have almost no long-range attacks, and a lot of the enemies do. And once you learn how to do the combos, combat becomes even more fun.  The platforming elements are strangely fun as well. By strangely, I mean they aren’t too well thought out, but they’re still fun.

The bosses are either very hard, pretty easy, or needing a gimmick.  Most of them are pretty easy to beat if you stand right next to them.  But you can’t block their shots, and sometimes they attack with a short-range attack and send you flying backwards.  Killing them often requires a specific alien.

The combos are hard to pull off.  They have a small window of effectiveness, except for the A-A ones.           Each alien has three combos: A-Y(almost impossible, the cheapest), A-X(easier, more expensive), and A-A(easiest, costs the most).  I’ve yet to get the hang of them.  In addition, the difference between characters is extreme.  They all attack with different speed and strength.

This game is good if you are an avid fan of platformers, but it needs some polish.  In order to fully enjoy the game, you need to know about the show, and accept the comic-book-like story.  It would be worth it used, but not new.

Firefighters: Flaming Squirrel To Blame In Jones Wildfire

I guess I could come up with some clever joke about swishy homosexual squirrels starting wildfires, but I think the headline speaks for itself. Actually I was at first picturing a squirrel with fur ablaze in flame running though the tall grass leaving a trail of fire, but alas it is not quite so interesting with it merely dropping to the ground after being electrocuted by touching two power lines. But the good news is, it seems to have boosted the educational level of the local kids:

Students Moved From Elementary To High School

I know, wildfires aren’t funny – so stop chuckling ok?

The story:

JONES, Okla. — A squirrel caught fire, sparking a blaze Wednesday morning that resulted in the evacuation of an elementary school in Jones, fire officials said.

Investigators said the squirrel touched two power lines at the same time and fell to the ground near Britton and Hiawassee roads.

That fire burned 5 acres in the Jones area, forcing the evacuation of the elementary school. Those students were taken to Jones High School.

Remember this fun viral video of the guy doing his goofy dance around the world? Put a smile on my face.



You can learn more about the original project at Where The Hell Is Matt? And see his dance videos from other years.
Now some clever person has extended the meme into the world of video games. I like the wide scope of the games, from Frogger to World of Warcraft. Enjoy!



[WeGame via BoingBoing]

Here is another video of some amazing maintenance workers / daredevils.  These men maintenance live high voltage power lines from a helicopter using a fire retardant “hot suit” made with metal fibers to act as a Faraday cage. Once they clamp on the line, their body, and the entire helicopter, are raised to the same electrical potential as the wire – 500 thousand volts. They remain safe as long as there is no path to ground. Even without the high voltage, just stepping off a hovering helicopter on to a little seat on the top of a pair of relatively thin wires strung high over the ground is quite a bold feat in itself. Nice mellow video, pleasant music and the guy has a sense of humor about it.

“I don’t give two hoots and a holler about flying inside a helicopter. Put me outside, that’s where I want to be. On a magic carpet.”

via [BoingBoing]

Video reported to be from Straight Up: Helicopters in Action.

The sea has taken everything.

But when much is taken, something is returned . . .

Mau left his home island to undergo a rite of passage to manhood. His child soul would remain behind on the other island, and his manhood soul was waiting for him at home. But on his return, the world is changed. A giant tsunami wave washes away his people and he is left, the soul survivor of his nation, somewhere between boyhood and manhood, without a soul, to try and rebuild. To succeed he will have to rely on ancient customs and beliefs, while at the same time learning to challenge the past, and question the superstitions that have guided his people. He rises to the amazing challenge. With the help of Daphne, a girl from across the world who is the soul survivor of a ship wreck left on his island, he overcomes the challenges and discovers a truth about his people which turns the world upside down.

I greatly enjoyed this book and found it left  me with a positive uplifting mood when I read it. The character in the book faces a great and terrible challenge when his world is washed away, and even though he loses sight of his path to the future, he never stops moving forward, becoming the person he needs to be to face whatever comes. In addition to the challenges of surviving in his new surroundings, he also faces a personal inner struggle to reconcile the beliefs and superstitions of his people with the tragedy that befell them. How could the Gods they honor and offer food sacrifices to, make this wave? He refuses to feel “grateful” for being spared when everyone was not and holds his ancestors and Gods accountable for the tragedy. This story offers a wonderful challenge to religion. It recognizes the importance of belief and ritual in helping someone deal with troubled times, and notes the practical benefits also. Properly disposing of your dead, and certain food prep rituals can prevent disease as well as provide emotional comfort. At the same time, it sharply points out the importance of continuing to learn and grow and challenge the world around you. A society deeply mired in the past and beholden to ancient ritual and superstition can stagnate and fail to advance in learning and technology, or even regress.

Terry Pratchett diverges from his Discworld series on this one, but manages to weave a compelling tale of adventure, survival and mystery. Add some philosophy, ghosts, cannibals, buried treasure, mutineers, sharks and beer you have a truly enjoyable read for Young Adults and Adults alike.

Nation

As of May 2008, Owners of the Nintendo Wii game console can now download free game demos to their Nintendo DS game system at home just like the Download Service available at some stores. The service is available as part of the new free Nintendo Channel on the Wii. You can purchase the Nintendo Channel (for free) through the Wii Shop Channel. The Nintendo Channel features Wii game videos and trailers. To find the DS Download service you will need to agree to allow “Data-Sharing” service that sends data on what games you play to Nintendo (Under Nintendo Channel settings, Data-Sharing Settings). Then go to “Find Titles for You” and the bottom choice will be “DS Download Service”. If the option is grayed out as unavailable, then you have not agreed to the data sharing. Once in the DS Download Service you will see a list of available demos, some of which appear to be permanent, some of which seem to be available only temporarily. I have noticed the “Distribution Ends:” date they give is not always accurate and the list does not update until at least a day after that date. After you download a game you can keep it on your DS until it is powered off. If you want to save a demo to play the next day, just close the DS to suspend it without turning it off (and consider plugging it in since the battery will slowly drain in this suspended state).

Since I have been unable to find a list on the web of what demos are available, I will post the new list on this blog as they change (which is usually a day or two after the “ends” date).
Enjoy!

Click here for the current list of available downloads

Here is an interesting video showing a Eurocopter EC135 being used for maintenance operations on giant offshore wind turbines in the UK. Gives a good perspective on the massive size of these turbines. Around here they work on land based turbines by just opening the door at their base and climbing up a bunch of stairs. These guys in the video appear to be part mechanic, part coast guard helicopter rescue diver. Considering how often these things usually need maintenance (at least monthly I believe) this looks like it could get expensive fast and reveals a potential downside to the otherwise excellent idea of offshore turbines which I have always believed in. Enjoy the video, although I recommend muting the poorly chosen soundtrack.

From Flight Global via Gizmodo