d i g i t t a n t e getting clever online since 1998

PirateBox is a self-contained file sharing device that blankets the area around it with an anonymous and secure file sharing network. Build one and set up a free and anonymous wireless network wherever you go. More »

This mind-blowing image is a model of a sunspot.

Scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research produced this simulation by plugging the newest sunspot data into a 76-teraflop supercomputer. The image required nearly 2 billion data points to simulate the magnetism, temperature, and other features of a sunspot; it models the phenomenon down to a depth of nearly 4,000 miles.

That's just one of the pictures in Discover's collection of the Most Psychedelic Images in Science. Definitely worth a peek!

The internet! We've all spent enough time burrowing down the rabbit hole to know that it's really, really big. But it's not until you give its manifold parts some perspective that you understand how truly massive it is. More »

It has World War II intrigue. An unsolved puzzle hiding a historic fortune. A Rube Goldberg machine escape. And it's all gorgeously rotoscoped. The Thomas Beale Cipher, a short film by Andrew Allen, is worth your next ten minutes. More »

Vladimir Nabokov studied butterflies, and he came up with a sweeping hypothesis that, 65 years later, DNA analysis has proven correct.

What do you get when you mix a simple X/Y plotter, a Flyback transformer, and an unhealthy disregard for safety? Possibly the worlds most dangerous jumbo Etch a Sketch! [Kalboon] started off by making an imprecise X/Y movement device, similar to a CNC machine setup, but with less emphasis on precision. This rig is powered by some commonly salvagable materials, including an old scanner, a remote control car, and some hobby servos. We like this approach because most of these materials could be scrounged from a parts bin, surplus sale, or craigslist for little to no actual cost. The flyback transformer comes from an old TV or monitor, though if you have common sense safety concerns, we would recommend just mounting a dry erase marker and a dry erase board to substitute out the high voltage bits. For people wanting a low cost introduction project to making a CNC or Makerbot style build, this isn’t a bad place to start.

Filed under: cnc hacks

Xavier Antin's installation piece "Just in Time" uses four devices spanning 100 years of desktop printing to generate a rather lovely book; each printer's output is the input for the next one down the line.

A book printed through a printing chain made of four desktop printers using four different colors and technologies dated from 1880 to 1976. A production process that brings together small scale and large scale production, two sides of the same history.

* MAGENTA (Stencil duplicator, 1880)
* CYAN (Spirit duplicator, 1923)
* BLACK (Laser printer, 1969)
* YELLOW (Inkjet printer, 1976)

Just in Time, or A Short History of Production

(via Neatorama)

[Video Link] I can't think of a better soundtrack for this video of a gentleman paddling his canoe through a flooded Brisbane McDonald's than "Fish Heads."

Here's an animated dramatic reading of "Axman13"'s angry, illiterate review of an RPG called Super PSTW. The reader really brings it to life.

i reley dont wan to say this, but i have to now.
this game is so esey. i mean, all you do is hit the spacebar. thats it! how is this an RPG anyway? you cant contrail anything but what it says on the screen! what if i didnt want to buy the potion? what apout quests? all you can upgrade is stranth? there is no way you can lose to the boss at the end! this game is crap! its not even an RPG at all! i mean look at it! in what way is this supposed to be an RPG if you can do quests and stuff? all you do is press one butten the entier time! explain to me! the athore coments al totol lies! is it supposed to be stick dudes? i dont even know how this damn game got the daily 3rd prize, or a rating of 4.26!
pepole think this review is worthles.
go ahead! say it! i dont care! im just trying to make a point here!
blam this piece of crap!!!!

P.S the only reson im giving this a 1 is beacuase the voices where pretty good. but thats it!

Dot Dot Dot

(via JWZ)

The story is here:

The satellite that detected the particles was over Egypt; the storm that ejected the particles was over Zambia.

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