RoboAction

I think it's Java? Just really, really bad Java

One of the Huffington Post's article on the GOP convention included this at the end.

I want to see an adventure story set in medieval Bologna

Or Assassin's Creed

The city of Bologna in the 12th-13th century - the closest we can get to a medieval skyscraper city; because nobles used to build high towers as a symbol of power and also for offensive/defensive purposes, at one point there were around 100 such towers.

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Remember back in August when the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) asked for the public’s input on where future subways in the city might run by means of an interactive “draw a subway map” tool? 

Well, thy’ve just released the collated results of that survey – wich had some 2,600 respondents – as a heat map, and the results are certainly definitive. It would seem that almost everyone wants a subway line along the length of Geary Boulevard, with another major “crosstown” connection running south along 19th Avenue. An extension of the Central Subway to Fort Mason also seems popular, as is – if you combined all the disparate routes into one – a second Transbay Tube. 

Though these corridors have been identified, there’s still a lot more planning and funding work to be done before any concrete plans start to take shape. Still, an interesting conclusion to this little public outreach exercise! There’s also an online GIS-based version of this map showing all of the submitted ideas, but it takes forever to load all 2,600 of them!

Source: SFconnect website

Like Britain, Seattle also takes it as a sign of weakness to use an umbrella

In the early 1750s, an Englishman by the name of Jonas Hanway, lately returned from a trip to France, began carrying an umbrella around the rainy streets of London. People were outraged. Some bystanders hooted and jeered at Hanway as he passed; others simply stared in shock. Hanway was the first man to parade an umbrella unashamed in 18th-century England, a time and place in which umbrellas were strictly taboo. In the minds of many Brits, umbrella usage was symptomatic of a weakness of character, particularly among men. The British also regarded umbrellas as too French—inspired by the parasol, a Far Eastern contraption that for centuries kept nobles protected from the sun, the umbrella had begun to flourish in France in the early 18th century when Paris merchant Jean Marius invented a lightweight, folding version that, with added waterproofing materials, could protect users from rain and snow. In 1712, the French Princess Palatine purchased one of Marius’s umbrellas; soon after, it became a must-have accessory for noblewomen across the country. Later British umbrella users reported being called “mincing Frenchm[e]n” for carrying them in public.

Bacteriophage. This is one of a few pieces I’ve submitted to a gallery show I’m having with my friends/coworkers at Tr!ckster in Berkeley. Tried a somewhat different approach than my usual on this one, and I like it. 

Probably will have little prints available soon. 

I'd never heard about this before

Islam is the toughest religion to leave because of the restrictions and consequences associated with leaving. I know there are a lot of people out there contemplating leaving Islam and are already feeling agnostic. My piece of advice to them would be to not come out publicly with your apostasy. You can leave Islam if it feels like the right move, but if you are afraid of the consequences, then keep a secret. There are many ex-Muslims on tumblr, such as myself, you can speak to anonymously if you just need help or someone to share your views with.

Now we know the (proposed) names of the four new elements, here’s an updated graphic with more information on each! High-res image/PDF: http://wp.me/p4aPLT-1Eg

This graphic shows how fast a rocket must go to leave every planet

Hugh Herr: The new bionics that let us run, climb and dance