2012

Have you seen Roland Emmerich’s 2012 yet? Me neither, even though it hit the theaters back in 2009. But it think I’m going to watch it now. Not because it’s 2011 and everybody should get ready for the upcoming apocalypse, but because it just received an award by NASA: The most scientifically flawed film ever made.

The film, which was released in 2009 to groans of guilty pleasure and the healthy ringing of cash registers (it took nearly $800m from a $200m budget), was deemed the silliest and most scientifically flawed film at a conference in California.

[…]

The Day After Tomorrow (global warming, accelerated), The Sixth Day (insta-clones), Chain Reaction (bubble fusion), The Core (magnetic field trouble), What the Bleep Do We Know? (billed as a documentary) and Volcano (LA sprouts a volcano) were also singled out for their factual shortcomings. Armageddon – in which an asteroid the size of Texas is blown to bits to save our planet – was the most surprising inclusion on the damned list, as Nasa originally supported the film.

Evidently, stupidity pays.

The agency had praise, however, for the attention to scientific accuracy exhibited in Gattaca (recruitment via DNA), Blade Runner, Metropolis and Jurassic Park.

Damn, I’ve already seen those.

Don’t fuck with a hackers machine

’nuff said.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4oB28ksiIo

Having your place broken into and your computer stolen can be a nightmare. Getting revenge on the fucker who has your machine can be a dream come true. I had the opportunity to experience both of these when my machine was stolen in Boston and then showed up in Las Vegas 2 years later. Come share some laughs at a lamer’s expense, participate in the pwnage, and learn some resulting insights into the implications of certain security decisions.

The talk starts a bit slow, but it gets better by the minute.

Also seen on Gizmondo, slides for the talk are available here.

Which religious book will save you in a holy war?

Finally someone decided to re-visit the popular and much discussed myth of which religion will save you in an upcoming holy war. Namely, by stopping a bullet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvXvlM5KY_U
Of course, being an atheist, I’d rather put my faith in science and get myself some Kevlar and a pair of armor inserts. But that’s just me.