Blurring the Boundaries of Reality: Photo Realistic CGI

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Tomato: Fruit or Vegetable?

Botanically, a tomato is the ovary, together with its seeds, of a flowering plant: therefore it is a fruit or, more precisely, a berry. However, the tomato is not as sweet as those foodstuffs usually called fruits and, from a culinary standpoint, it is typically served as part of a salad or main course of a meal, as are vegetables, rather than at dessert in the case of most fruits. As noted above, the term "vegetable" has no botanical meaning and is purely a culinary term.

This argument has had legal implications in the United States. In 1887, U.S. tariff laws that imposed a duty on vegetables but not on fruits caused the tomato's status to become a matter of legal importance. The U.S. Supreme Court settled the controversy in 1893 by declaring that the tomato is a vegetable, based on the popular definition that classifies vegetables by use, that they are generally served with dinner and not dessert (Nix v. Hedden (149 U.S. 304)). The holding of the case applies only to the interpretation of the Tariff Act of March 3, 1883, and the court did not purport to reclassify the tomato for botanical or other purposes other than paying a tax under a tarriff act.

Due to the scientific definition of a fruit, the tomato remains a fruit when not dealing with US tariffs. Nor is it the only culinary vegetable that is a botanical fruit: eggplants, cucumbers, and squashes of all kinds (such as zucchini and pumpkins) share the same ambiguity. [source]

Editor's Note: Tomato is a great source of Vitamin C with 100 grams (3.5 oz) containing 13mg, serving 22% of daily intake recommendation for adults. Speaking of personal experience, when I get the common cold I eat two mid-sized tomatos -- instantly my nose stops running and I get well (miracoulously) the next day. Highly recommended fruit vegetable whatever it is!

BONUS: Caption me! =)

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2 Ghosts 1 Belt

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No Brand: The Zen of Living

Is the ultimate brand, no brand at all? It may seem strange, but in this world of pervasive advertising and relentless globalization a quiet movement is underway that rejects distinctive branding in favor of pure, unadulterated design. In Sweden, there is IKEA. In Canada, No Frills. In Japan there is Muji. What these three companies have in common is, outwardly at least, a single "no brand" for all the products they sell. Surely they are brands themselves. However, at the end of the day, the product comes first and foremost.

For example, No Frills' products maintain distinct design ethos: black on yellow with a set type face, regardless of the type of product. Taco mix, tuna cans and tapioca pudding are all very different on the inside yet outwardly they look the same – first among equals. Even the shopping carts at No Frills are yellow! What the "no brand" revolution seeks to project is a concept that establishes a brand from within.

Muji has arguably been the most successful in pushing their brandless agenda – the company sells pretty much everything a homeowner needs, even (in Japan) the home itself! Every Muji item possesses a common... well, Muji-ness. Here's how Muji itself frames their image: "Muji's natural and simple design proposes rational lifestyles for today's world." Muji products embody "the confident awareness that modesty and discretion are, together, the better part of style."




What exactly does that mean, in plain words? Muji products are simple, yet not plain. Neither are they cheap or cheesy. They're designed to perform their function smoothly and efficiently without distraction. Therefore, the design is primal, timeless, light, uncluttered. They do not depend on added decorative flair nor obtrusive detailing just for the sake of reinforcing a bespoke brand identity.

Muji's lead designer, Naoto Fukasawa, labels (pardon the pun) the aesthetic "Supernormal," with a deliberate nod given to the ancient Japanese concept of shibui, or "an unobtrusive beauty." Their products' free-flowing functionality reminds one of certain futuristic Fellini films or independent, avant garde productions set in an undated time and space. In this respect, they transcend time, eschewing passing trends and in doing so, have reached what some say is the end point of historical design vectors.

Beyond post-modern; almost anti-materialistic with a familiar look and feel approaching the organic, these products strike a deep-seated appeal that makes the need for an outward identifying brand irrelevant.

Think about it... do you yearn to break free from the constant product placements, blaring "new & improved" promotions and the frantic, constant pressure to buy/sell Our Brand instead of Brand X – when both are basically the same? The alternatives – the IKEAs, the No Frills' and the Muji's of the World seem to be a cool, calm, common-sense alternative that offers society way out while still providing good looks, good products and good value.

Article by Steve Levenstein from Inventor Spot. Submit your thoughts - click here!

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Malware: The Difference Between Quarantine and Delete

Just wanted to share a nifty information I found while trying to decide whether I should quarantine or delete malwares from my computer today. Apparently, the idea of having the "quarantine" option when an antivirus detects an infected file is to avoid false positives. If by chance the antivirus software wrongly flags a file as "bad" when the file is actually something you need, like a critical program (for example Explorer.exe in Windows) such that deleting it might cause the computer to stop working, quarantine allows it to simply restore it back.

Anything in quarantine is safely segregated from the rest of your computer, it cannot run from there, so it can do no harm. So the general advice is to put the infected files in quarantine for a while you go about your normal computer activities. If everything continues to run properly after a reasonable period of time (say, about a week or two), then delete the files in quarantine permanently.

Be safe and always quarantine first!

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Indomitable Turks Stun Euro 2008

"Expect Emotions" goes the slogan to Euro 2008. People certainly experienced some. What no one expected was that Turkey would deliver the biggest emotional wallop. Go up a goal against "The Comeback Kings" and you will lose. Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and now Croatia. The scoreline yesterday said 4-2 but something much more was achieved as Turkey reached the semi-finals for the first time. Just six years ago they accomplished a similar feat at the World Cup in 2002.

Now they're up against Germany. Depleted and without most of its squad, Turkey looks to shake the soccer gods. Germany better watch out. Their reputation as a team that can never be counted out is seriously being challenged.

Support for the Turkish team in Turkey is as incredible as it is in Europe's stadiums. Almost all the commercials on TV show some form of red and white glory. There is one that really stands out in every aspect. It depicts the Turkish players as powerful robots with real hearts and gives them a collective brand name called "Turko." Apparently it is the biggest Turkish CGI (Computer Gaphics Interface) project made to date. Take a look at this epicness:

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Guitar Hero Clones: Play Online (Flash) or Download for Free

Guitar Hero. The legendary game series that sold over 14 million units, earning over US$1 billion, since it was first released on PlayStation 2 in 2005. The franchise has made a significant cultural impact, such that it became a cultural phenomenon, making regular appearances in parties and locales. Several bars in the United States are offering "Guitar Hero nights" as an alternative to karaoke. Even an entire South Park episode was dedicated to the game!

Such a popular game is bound to have some clones. Well, in fact we found 14 of them! Surely there must be more, and if you know please comment, but we found Frets On Fire to be the best. It's simply the most advanced; It has a built-in song editor that allows editing and creating songs, it works on Windows, Mac, and Linux - last but not least - it's open source. Please indulge:

UPDATE: Jam Legend







Shred Master [Play]






Tenacious D [Play]






Flash Hero [Play]







Super Crazy Gitar Maniac Deluxe [Play]







Super Crazy Gitar Maniac Deluxe 2 [Play]







Super Crazy Gitar Maniac Deluxe 3 [Play]






Coolio Beat [Play]






Coolio Beat 2 [Play]






Another Guitar Hero Clone [Info | Download]






Rock Star [Info | Download]






Unsigned [Info | Download]






Guitar Zero [Info (link currently down) | Download]






Frets On Fire [Info | Download]






BONUS: Accordion Hero [Play]

Are you ready to accept the Wii challenge? Play nintendo wii competitions for real money now!

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The Dual Mind: Which Part of Your Mind Dominates Your Brain?

Observing or own minds would not truly be objective. Standing in front of a mirror is essentially subjective in nature. The pursuit of understanding our minds is much like looking at a mirror. It is essential to analyze the human mind with our own minds’. It seems apparent that this aspect poses as a negative variable to such a study, but don’t we know best as to what using the human mind is like? We most apt for carrying out self-examination, hence we are most suited to analyzing the dual nature of our own minds.

In his book called 'Human Mind', Professor Robert Winston added his thoughts on the tests in question and delivered his interpretation as such:

When a patient was asked orally ‘What job would you like to do?’, his reply was 'I want to be a technical artist' because he would be using the left side of his brain where his language centre would be located. When the patient was asked the same question in writing and asked to reply through Scrabble letters, he would form the words ‘car racer.’

Basically it was observed that the patient's right-brain had developed its own pleasures and desires. This then brings the question: "Do we all have dual-personalities in our brain? Does one of these sides survive without a language because it does not have a language center?"

Logic or Reason and Intuition or Emotion

As the word "dual" implies there are two components of the human mind, as there are also two hemispheres of the human brain. Many individuals have summed up a collaboration between these dualities. We have realized that our mental divisions consist of {logic or reason}, and {intuition or emotion}. Moreover our brain is divided into the left and right hemispheres. Studies conclude that when specific mental tests were carried out people who were more engaged in rational logical thought had more activity or domination in the left hemisphere of their brain.

Nevertheless, when experiencing strong emotions the right brain sparks more rapidly. There a many resources for study on this subject and results appear to be quite consistent. Indeed there seems to be a connection between mental/emotional states and the hemispheric dominance of brain wave activities. So it seems as though our brains' twofold structure relates directly to the dual nature of the human mind.

It's All About Hemispheric Dominance

Each one of these components appears to integrate into the minds of almost all human beings with variation on the possibility of combinations. This leads to an excess in human personalities, in part depending on the extent of hemispheric dominance. These combinations are separated into three distinct types of mixtures based on which part of the hemispheres dominates.

Most of us are dominated by either the left brain or the right brain, and only a minority are dual brained. Dual brained (Dual minded) people’s thought processes are dominated by neither hemisphere, but are evenly balanced between both hemispheres. We must take into consideration that we use both hemispheres commonly, thus the designation of dominance only measures where someone's brain activity occurs most successively, not exclusively.

This is very important because being left brain dominant, for example, does not mean someone uses only their left brain because it only means that left brain usage is higher than right brain usage.

The Types of Brain Dominance

The 3 types of brain dominance can be labelled as L-dominant, R-dominant, and D-dominant.

- L-dominant represents the Left-brain dominant individuals: Someone who is L-dominant has the personality type of someone who spends most of their mental energy on logic focused rational thought. The essence of their brain activity occurs in the left side of their brain and logic is their primary filter. Those on the far end of this type can sometimes seem cold or even emotionless.

- R-dominant represents Right-brain dominant individuals: On the other hand R-dominant personalities show more brain activities in the right hemisphere and mean that these type of people are more emotional. They usually look at life through the filter of their passions. Those at the extreme end of this personality type might sometimes seem too emotional or even irrational, most especially to the L-dominant.

- D-dominant represents Dual-brain dominant individuals: D-dominant individuals are people whose personality is made up of a balanced blend of both mental components. Their minds are dominated neither by logic, nor by emotions. Tests conclude these types of people use their brain hemispheres equally, and they view life through both logical and intuitive filters. D-dominants are hemispherically balanced.

Which Filter Do You Use to Approach Life?

Those who have left brain dominance take a much more scientific clinical approach towards life, whereas right brained individuals tend to see life through the filter of their "heart". What if brain dominance is in the middle?

When I took tests that measure hemispheric dominance, I've always found myself in the middle. Neither my left, nor my right hemisphere dominates; instead I use both equally. I fall into the group that scientist’s call dual brained. That doesn't mean I use more of my brain than anyone else, but when my synapses spark they are more spread out than most, with neither hemisphere dominating. This means I’ am a scientist and a poet, both an analyzer and an artist. I’ am someone who uses both logic and intuition equally and without any difficulty. As an advocate of balance, I believe that we should aim at perfecting our minds into a dual brained state. A polarized brain means a polarized person. Likewise, a balanced mind means a balanced person.


Should we desire this balance more than polarization?

With this question we are forced to reckon with objectivity; which seems improbable for me. As I have persistently tested as D-dominant, no doubt, this influences my perspective in favour of seeing "hemispherical balance" as a positive, hence a desirable mind set. However, here is a simple that will show a major issue in favour of this stance.

Imagine a large ball on display in a special showroom. The left half the ball is blue and the right half of the ball is red. The ball has been designed with the blue half facing west and the red half facing east. Indeed this sounds very much like the beginning of word math quiz, but believe me its not.

Now imagine your self standing south of this "Big Blue Red Ball" and looking at it northwards. To your left you see the blue half and to your right you see the red half. Then to the left of the ball you notice a man facing eastwards and who is looking directly at the blue side only.

Meanwhile on the right of the ball there stands a woman who can only see the red side.

The man says: "I don't understand why there is a big blue sphere here?"

Then, the woman says: "Wow that is a really huge red ball!"


In the Middle you will find the Wider Perspective

These extremists limit their vision by going either all the way left or the right even though in the middle you can gain a wider perspective. From unique perspective of the middle the ball is much more visible overall and acknowledged as being blue and red not just one or the other. Therefore the wider perspective from the middle becomes a much more desirable place from which one can view and even experience life. Consequently this is why the "hemispherical balance" is such a significant concept.

If we polarize ourselves to either left or the right, we restrict our perceptions with limits. Thus we fail to see all that life can offer to us. With dual minds we broaden our perspective and achieve a desirable balance which can undoubtedly enhance our livelihood. If you find yourself observing life only through the filter of logic or if you only depend on intuition without logic, it is apparent that you must reach out towards being balanced.

Work the tendency you now neglect; expose yourself to a broad outlook from the middle. Pace towards a hemispherical balance and your life will be enriched. You will find heightened rationality and pleasure in life as a result.

So, which part of your mind dominates your brain?

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Creative, Captivating, Crazy: MUTO Graffiti Animation

By BLU

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Pictures Worth A Thousand Words - Post 17

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"Pictures Worth A Thousand Words" series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16.

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