Daily Bits

Gmail Motion – The Real-Life Version

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Remember Google’s April Fools’ prank? Gmail Motion was – is – so ridiculous that we all knew that it was nothing but a prank. In case you missed it ((Have you been living in a cave???)), Gmail Motion is e-mail which can be controlled using your body. With this innovative Google development, all you need is your body and you can do whatever you need with your mail. As one person put it, be careful when you sneeze, though, as you may end up deleting all of your e-mails! Here’s the video of the Gmail Motion in action.

Anyhow, prank or not, the idea is actually realizable. Consciously or not, the guys behind the prank may have started something. You know how it is with creative minds, don’t you? When a bunch of guys from the Institute for Creative Technologies ((ICT at the University of Southern California)) saw the video above, their minds started working overtime.

I can just imagine them as they were watching the video. Hey, this is actually technically possible! Why don’t we give it a shot and give Google a dose of their own medicine while we’re at it?

Armed with a sensor taken from Microsoft’s Kinect (talk about the irony of it), they started a projected called the Software Library Optimizing Obligatory Waving, or SLOOW. You don’t have to be slow to use the set up, but you do have to move your butt (and other body parts). Check out the video the guys created to demo their project.

Now this isn’t exactly your run-of-the-mill scientific proposal, but it seems to work, doesn’t it? While it is real, I doubt that we’ll be seeing this kind of setup available to the general public any time soon.

Awesome Video Game Player Can Back His Words Up – With His Mouth!

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How good are you at Super Street Fighter IV? How about Super Smash Bros. Melee? Some of you may be pretty proud of what you can do, but after watching this video, I am willing to bet that you will have a different perspective.

This guy, Broly Legs is one of the best players of the two games I mentioned above. His real name is Mike Begum, and he has a condition called arthrogryposis. Also called Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita, the condition places a lot of limitations on the person who has it. Basically, the person will have limited use of his limbs due to the shortening of the muscles in the joints. It is also characterized by muscle weakness and fibrosis.
Broly
Broly cannot use his legs and hands. Well, he can use his left hand a little bit, but that’s not what he uses when he plays Street Fighter or Smash Bros. So what does he use? Believe it or not, he manipulates the controller using his mouth and cheeks! And this guy isn’t all talk, mind you. He says he thinks he is pretty good, and he can actually back that up with some action. A lot of action.

In this video, Broly shows just how he can kick the butt of people who have the use of both hands. And yes, you can see how he uses cheek, mouth, and tongue in a way that will put many a gamer to shame.

His words of inspiration: find what you can do and just keep at it. The next time you feel like saying “FML”, think of Broly.

Have Your Book, and Eat It Too!

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Have you ever read a book that was so good that you wanted to actually eat it? Probably not, but if there are such things as edible underwear, why can’t we have edible books? I have no idea if that ever occurred to the founders of The International Edible Book Festival, but the event is held in various parts of the world – Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxemburg, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, United States of America, Romania, Russia, Singapore, and Sweden – on the first of April, or thereabouts.

Everyone may be busy thinking of April Fools’ jokes and hoaxes, but unbeknownst to many April 1 is also Edible Book Day. The idea was born to commemorate the birthday of French gastronome Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), who became really famous for his book . The festival is attributed to Judith A. Hoffberg and Béatrice Coron, who thought of holding an event where books that can be – literally – eaten are made, displayed, and of course, devoured.

Anyone can hold his own Edible Book Festival, as long as the following rules are followed: ((Books2eat))

  1. The event must be held on April 1st (or close to that date)
  2. All edible books must be “bookish” through the integration of text, literary inspiration or, quite simply, the form.
  3. Organizations or individual participants must register with the festival’s organization (go to Registration) and see to it that the event is immortalized on the international festival website.

Check out these fun edible books that have been created in the past years.



If that isn’t enough to entice you to hold your own Edible Book Festival…

Happy Birthday, Mr. Bunsen Burner!

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What’s the best way to start your morning? Aside from a cup of freshly brewed coffee, that is.

A few minutes after I got up, I did what I normally do – I turned the laptop on. And I was greeted by a colorful sight – today’s Google Doodle, paying tribute to Robert Bunsen. For sure, this name is familiar to everyone who has taken at least one chemistry class. The German chemist was born on March 31, 1811, making today his 200th birthday!

Many a chemistry student probably struggled (and still struggles) with all those contraptions in the lab, and of all those contraptions, the Bunsen Burner is one of the most memorable. So today, Google has decided to remind everyone of this great scientist by creating the Doodle.

After the disappointing Harry Houdini Doodle a week ago, this one is definitely an improvement. As far as I can see, it is not interactive, but it does have some animation. Upon opening Google’s home page, you see a set up that you can normally find in a chemistry lab.

Bunsen1

The liquids in the image move through the tubes and the containers, to add to the Doodle’s appeal.
Bunsen2

It’s still not one of the best that Google has come up with, but I suppose it will do. In any case, chemistry enthusiasts might get a kick out of it.

DIY Super Mario Coin Block

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Every person who has played Super Mario has probably dreamed about having real life versions of some of the items found in the game. What better item to have in real life than the coin block that spits out coins when hit from the bottom? I mean, come on, we could all use a few extra coins here and there.

An Instructables member, who goes by name brunoip, has created a do-it-yourself Super Mario coin block and by golly, it works!
Real-life-coin-block
At first glance, the box may seem unassuming. Indeed, the main material that was used to create it can be described as “blah”: cardboard. If you gut this thing, though, you’ll find some interesting things inside:

  • An mp3 player
  • A servo motor
  • A couple of circuit boards

The mp3 player gives you that oh-so-familiar sound that the box in the game makes when coins pop out. The other elements give you the possibility of gaining real coins when the box it tapped. Here is the block in action.

You’re probably reeking with envy now – wanting your very own coin block. If you have the time and the skill, you can actually make one for yourself. The brilliant Super Mario fan who is behind this project has provided all the information that is necessary to make a real life coin block. ((Instructables)) And if you’re just that good, then why not create more than one and give them away? I am pretty sure that this coin block can come in handy. You even get to choose what currency to use!

Need a Girlfriend? Cloud Girlfriend Is the Answer!

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Calling all the Howard Wolowitzes ((The Big Bang Theory)) and Morgan Grimeses ((Chuck)) of the world. A new web site is launching soon, and it promises all the lonely men of Facebook all the benefits of a virtual girlfriend. Dubbed Cloud Girlfriend – The Social Network Girlfriend, this site just might be the answer to the prayers of those men who have been desperately wanting to change their status to “In a relationship with —” on Facebook.

So how does it work? From what can be seen on the site, there are only four steps to the perfect relationship.

  1. Define your perfect girlfriend.
  2. The site will bring her into existence.
  3. Connect and interact with your perfect girlfriend (who has been brought into existence by the guys at Cloud Girlfriend) on Facebook, or whatever your preferred social network may be.
  4. Enjoy a public long distance relationship with your girlfriend.

I kid you not – take a close look at the screen shot below or simply visit Cloud Girlfriend.

Cloud Girlfriend

You won’t be able to do anything on the site except to sign up for when they launch. ((Yes, I did sign up to see if it will work.)) And when you do sign up, you get this message.

Invites

I suppose that if you were to sign up, the assumption is that you will also have at least seven other friends who would want to sign up! (Oh yeah, if you do decide to sign up, do you mind using that link in the image so you can be my referral?)

Going back to the “perfect girlfriend” – believe it or not, there is going to be a real person behind the creation. I guess there is no going around that – I don’t think there is a program smart enough to be the perfect girlfriend. 😉

Do you think that this site will gain traction once launched? More importantly, do you think it will last? Personally, I am wondering if it can be an alternative to playing The Dating Game on Facebook. Oh, and why is it only about girlfriends and not boyfriends???