<![CDATA[Comments from Ben Zvan]]> <![CDATA[Comments from Ben Zvan]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on A Robot Spider That Reads Your Mind]]> Skynet has a long way to go. That thing looks highly susceptible to buck shot.

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on Take the Simple Synaesthesia Test]]> @bluewyvern: I missed that 8s were purple. There's a triangle of 7s in the middle, but the 8s are probably screwing it up for you. Remove the 8s and it would pop more... I think.

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on Nulla Minimalist Bike Concept Dispenses With Spokes, Most of Frame]]> @rabiddachshund: Or you could just install the flashblock extension.

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on Drawing With Lasers, Art Class Was Never So Fun, Dangerous]]> @VoidingWarranties: As a laser hobbyist, I have been doing this specifically for 20 years. Kids these days would never think to do it on their own though, so it makes sense that Gizmodo would cover it. Besides, lasers are cool!

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on Take the Simple Synaesthesia Test]]> Somebody created a flash applet to try to share how her synesthesia works. I thought it was cool to see, especially since it was designed by a synesthete.

@bluewyvern: It's not too surprising that the block of numbers didn't do anything for you since it was tuned specifically to hakubak's list. Do you see colors like you do in our names?

If that's the case then maybe this one will work.

34589063845905683459086304
34058063489679048035869505
09504839605890495046908554
68504930475903975069509483
68504936089503909685903945
09865970930659049079684904
30860595489305068056859485
80573473078579473475079548
34589063845905683459086304

Sorry to belabor the point.

@happymisanthrope: @Grey_Area: I can't wiggle my ears, but I can wiggle my scalp. Does that count?

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on Take the Simple Synaesthesia Test]]> That's so cool.

Thanks for letting us grill you about it. It's something I've been fascinated by ever since I heard about it on Science Friday.

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on New Pics Show What It's Like To Live In The Doomed City Of Ember]]> "You are likely to be eaten by a grue" is all that comes to mind.

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on Take the Simple Synaesthesia Test]]> @Gann: Awesome question. What about //// or the word "em"?

@hakubak: And as long as we are asking detailed questions, since the red triangle above is a triangle, does it also look yellow?

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on Take the Simple Synaesthesia Test]]> @hakubak: Sure, I make a mean chewy chocolate-chip.

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on Take the Simple Synaesthesia Test]]> @hakubak: A crude rectangle? I'm hurt. That took me all of a minute to make.

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on Take the Simple Synaesthesia Test]]> @hakubak: Okay, that's kind of funny that I chose a rectangular shape for the numbers then used a rectangular set of 3s. A circle would've been better.

5128902158920581920589251298512905
5892058190285901689508129058901289
5821595829851920855908519128592085
8519258920528605189429510289502189
1020591285202899128951205989028191
5819108195482901592850621120520895
5819205890258902125820851925012819
5812085659402420659600455452810592
0951228058950198503928190289585208
8502958102958921029508920195821095

@silomunke: I tuned the number grid specifically for hakubak. Since 3s show as yellow, there are 10 3s arranged in a rectangle. This is a common test for that type of synesthesia. People who don't see numbers with color will see a bunch of numbers, people who do will see a colored pattern. Even going back and looking at it again, I had a hard time finding the 3s, but hakubak saw 10 yellow points.

Anyone with a different text/color synesthesia may or may not see a pattern depending on the text they see colors for.

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on Take the Simple Synaesthesia Test]]> @bitgod: Woah, didn't see that coming.

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on Take the Simple Synaesthesia Test]]> @hakubak: I'm guessing you've done the following test then?

5128902158920581920589251298512905
5892058190285901289508129058901289
5821395829831920853908519328592085
8519258920528905189029510289502189
1020591285202899128951205989028191
5819308195082901592850981320520895
5819205890258902125820851925012819
5812085059502920859100285902810592
0951328058930198503928190389585208
8502958102958921029508920195821095

Most people will just see a block of random numbers, you should see something else.

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on Stonehenge, The Analog and Digital Clock Robot]]> @stradric: What 12:0-something isn't good enough?

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on Best Nerdy Non-Computer Thing You Did This Summer?]]> I replaced my 1950s boiler with a new, 93% efficient one.

Oh, and I rode my bicycle 500 miles (so far) and graphed it using Numbers.

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on How it Feels to Fly a Jetpack]]> @MrBlahBlah: I don't know how you got that star... Did you see the video?

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on How it Feels to Fly a Jetpack]]> I was impressed too. He looks like he could use some practice, but at least he didn't pull a Tony Stark and go ass-over-teakettle into the fence behind him.

The Bell Rocket Belt looks more practical except that it probably only has a few minutes of fuel. And is extremely loud. And always has a news crew following it around.

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on How it Feels to Fly a Jetpack]]> For the haters, there's a video on the martinjetpack.com website of it going a good 5 feet into the air with spotters running along side. Obviously, this kind of thing can work and this one is in it's infancy.

Bell Rocket Belt]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on Images of Terminator Caught In Hi-Res Trailer]]> @jrghoull: "Clunkier" means "Looks like a dude covered in burlap"?

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on AT&T All But Confirms iPhone Exclusivity Extended Until 2010]]> This is great news for me. I won't feel any pain when I buy a 64G iPod Touch whenever they come out.

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on Video: Toyota's Winglet Advanced Scooter In Action]]> Just think how cool that would look with a woman in a hoop skirt that hides the wheels riding it.

@weatherman: Spike!

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on Phoenix Lander Has Touched Martian Water For the First Time]]> Why are they trying the cupboard? It's clearly bare.

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on iPhone Apps We Like: Here I Am Location Sender]]> Coordinates for 1 Infinite Loop. Nice.

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on Comcast Support is Watching You Complain On Your Blog RIGHT NOW]]> @Dr. Evil Genius: That clearly doesn't work. At least now we all know that the way to get a response from Comcast is to yell into the void and know that someone is listening. I wonder if he has control over pricing...

On a related note, I posted a picture of myself outside 1 Infinite Loop on flickr with a comment complaining that there were brutal "no tresspassing" signs outside and received a comment from someone saying "don't worry about it, come on in and visit the company store", so I guess this is useful as an arbitrary point of contact for customer service.

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on THEMIS Satellites Discover Northern Lights Are Powered By Magnetic Fields Snapping Like Rubber Bands]]> @ninjamurf, Griffehpoo: Yeah, what's up with that? I thought I was getting the whole story by reading it once and now it changes on me?
...
Woo hoo! Video!

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on THEMIS Satellites Discover Northern Lights Are Powered By Magnetic Fields Snapping Like Rubber Bands]]> @92BuickLeSabre: And the farther north, the more impressive. Even a few hundred miles makes a huge difference.

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on THEMIS Satellites Discover Northern Lights Are Powered By Magnetic Fields Snapping Like Rubber Bands]]> @johnnyabnormal: D'oh!

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on THEMIS Satellites Discover Northern Lights Are Powered By Magnetic Fields Snapping Like Rubber Bands]]> So why are the northern lights over Antarctica in the image?

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on It Took Comcast 20 Calls and 3 Visits Over 5 Weeks to Determine That No Cable Was Run to This Guy's House]]> @xint: I used to have Time Warner Cable and I was pretty happy with them. Then Comcast bought out the local market and they're my only choice. Rates have gone up astronomically since then. I'm on the edge of giving up on cable and switching to NetFlix and BitTorrent.

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on iShoe Prototype Assists Wobbly Elderly Folk and Astronauts Alike]]> My understanding is that most people who "fall and break their hip" really break their hip, which causes them to fall. It's brittle bones rather than lack of balance that would be needed. That would also help explain the number who die within one year with another explanation being that the statistics were global and include 3rd world hip fractures.

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on Darik's Boot and Nuke Securely Wipes Your System in an Emergency]]> And, for those of us on a Mac, don't forget the "Secure empty trash" option available from the Finder menu (Not DOD, but not bad). And the DOD+ quality formatting option available on the install disk and in Disk Utility.

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on Locksmiths Hate Geeks]]> @ekirsch: My understanding is that push-button locks are one of the lowest security devices out there. They're mostly just a deterrent rather than an access denial system.

A few years ago, there was an "incident" at a University of Wisconsin campus where a bunch of students got hold of some professors' keys and treated them as encryption clues to find and cut the master key for the entire campus. I can't seem to find an online reference though, sorry.

Go Geeks!

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on Panasonic Shows Off Surface-Like Digital Wall]]> I'd have watched the whole video, but the Midori ad was too in-your-face and annoying for me to bother continuing through. I'm going to go have a Midori sour now.

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on Fisker Karma Hybrid Sports Car Gets Production Plans]]> Does it come with free scissors and a Multi-plier?

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on The Frozen Waterfalls of Mars]]> 4000 meter waterfowl? Get my shotgun!

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on Um, About That Asteroid That Wasn't Going to Hit Us...]]> Is it just me or was whoever named this thing a Stårgate fan?

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on What's Keeping Me? Identifies Apps Locking Your Files]]> Why isn't this standard? The alert should say the "file is in use by [app name]".

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on Flee Throwable Camera Captures Your Girlish Tosses For Posterity]]> This is why there's a market for throwable cameras.

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on This is What it Looks Like When the Video Camera in Your Hand Gets Struck by Lightning]]> Looked like gun powder to me.

]]> <![CDATA[Ben Zvan commented on This Year's Terminator Will Be Jealous, Unstable]]> There was an explosion? I must have been spending too much time watching Summer Glau instead of paying attention to the "story line".

And what did he mean by "she's learned how to wear miniskirts"? I don't think there was a single episode in the first "season" where she didn't wear a miniskirt. Where was the learning part?

]]>