Digital Solecism

itnews.com.au reports a new study published that reports that playing some games can reduce stress and violent tendency levels.

The sample size is small, but consisted of 292 people between the ages of 12 and 83. Essentially the study found that after playing the game (World of Warcraft) people felt more relaxed as opposed to more violent. I guess running around killing things helps blow off steam as opposed to turning you into a serial killer. Who knew?

Of course, one has to take it with a grain of salt. After all, not only is the sample size tiny, but the article doesn’t even have a true reference to the study.

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It is quite an odd name, isn’t it?

But whether or not you know the term, you probably know what it is without realizing it. There have been rumors of it for a long time, and there has been a lot of talk lately about the Sprint “Airave” which unfortunately is only available in limited markets.

So what is it exactly?
Well, in simple terms, it turns your home internet connection into a cell phone repeater. I would like to stress that this is not the same as T-Mobile and similar wifi phones, this is not a wifi connection. FemToCell devices actually broadcast cellular signals over short distances, and route the calls over the internet (which is pretty much how many cell phone calls work anyways, just they use big old towers as opposed to tiny things in your home).

Sounds pretty cool, huh? Furthermore, they tend to be cheap. The Airwave only costs a few dollars a month if you have Sprint. Furthermore, it will cut down on your costs. Using Sprint again as an example, they provide unlimited calling for all calls made on your Airave.

Or if you live in the back hills of Virginia and thanks to a lack of Analog you now get no cell service.. you can get service once again!

(Click for larger version)

Either way, in the next couple years it will become far more common, even though there’s a rather large amount of issues it has to work through. Look for the Sprint Airave coming soon and for the other carriers to follow suit. It might be in your home, or that giant building that no one gets reception in might suddenly have multiple FemToCell units and everyone will be happy.

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Click on the picture below and take a good look at it:

Not bad at all for a piece of computer generated art, eh? I guess this goes to show just how far things are coming. It was created by an artist named Max Edwin Wahyudi of Indonesia and he has a tutorial of it over on CGArena that shows exactly how he did it using various composites of her plus his own additions.

Before it started looking all beautifu, it looked like this:

And this guy turns it into something that looks like that original pic above. I just find it completely fascinating how easily some people do stuff like this.

I makes me wonder, however, how long before all of our celebrities are completely computer generated. Find some great models, make complete full body CG versions of them, then use any voice and body actors they want and they can get a full movie done. Sure, the technology isn’t there right now to make it all look and act completely lifelike. But I’m sure we all saw Beowolf and what they did with Angelie Jolie there. How many years before every actor/actress becomes a perfect bodied piece of computer generated art?

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So I recently received an interesting little email in my box.

It looks as if Best Buy starting a new service similar to Second Rotation. Second Rotation is like all those other sites online where you can get paid for old electronics, working or not - but Best Buy takes it a step further. They will take almost anything, not just specific models like Second Rotation, and they pay you in the form of a Best Buy Gift Certificate, which may not seem that great, but it lets them offer you a little higher dollar amount than other places because they know you will have to spend it at their store.

I’m a big fan of these services for a couple reasons.

1. You get some money! And…
2. You help the environment

Things could be worse than that! The process itself is pretty simple:

• Step 1 — Use the Estimator to receive an instant estimate of your trade-in value.
• Step 2 — If the value is acceptable, register with the Best Buy Trade-In Center.
• Step 3 — Complete the transaction, print a prepaid shipping label and ship your items to our trade-in center.
• Step 4 — Receive a Best Buy gift card about 7 days after the item arrives at our trade-in center.

Just to check things out I put in the stats on my nearly 3 old laptop, and Best Buy offered me abour $300 for it, which is probably about what I would get for it on craigslist or eBay. Not bad, really, since it is a lot less hassle and no chance of dealing with scammers and the like.

To go along with this service they have also opened an Outlet store featuring refurbished products (go figure) as well as just general sale items they are overstocked on and wanting to get rid of. You can find all sorts of stuff there, including some fantastic deals and not so great ones. Best of all, you can find stuff like this:
Only $3.99!

Anyways, if you have a bunch of old electronics sitting around, it might be worth checking out. Trade them in, get some gift cards and buy yourself something newer. Not bad at all for crap you aren’t using anyways, right?

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For those who haven’t heard, or are a little behind.. the contest over at WinningTheWeb.com is almost over. Basically you have a chance at winning a ton of prices worth about $15,000.

You can check out the first post here and the last post here. Just throwin it out there in case anyone wants to get in on the action

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Imagine this:

The year is 2009. The world is torn asunder by World War 3 which started when China invaded Poland because some official ate a bad Polish Hot Dog and died. Most major utilities are out. You flush the toilet with water hand pumped from the back yard. You ate canned baked beans and wieners for the 30th night in a row. And….

You’re listening to Britney’s latest album (from last year) on your MP3 player.

That’s right, folks. Your MP3 player still has juice. Why? Is it because you were smart and invested in a solar powered and expensive charger?

Heck no! Everyone knows that when the world blows up, the skies will be forever overcast.

You bought yourself your very own hand-cranked MP3 player! That’s right, the folks over on UberGizmo hunted this thing down, and it will save you from decades of boredom in a post-apocalyptic electricity-less world. It is available from GeekStuff4U.com for approximately 6000 Yen. I’m not sure what that equates to dollarwise (And I’m too lazy to type “convert 6000 yen to dollars” to Google), but I’m sure it’s cheaper now than it will be post-apocalypse! So run on over there and check it out and save yourself from a torturous Britney-less experience after the world ends!

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Alright, making this short and sweet, although I’m sure a lot of you have already heard it.

This story is a testament to the power of the internet, and online forums and blogging in general.

• New member regretfully posts that his car has been stolen by someone with a fake ID that took a permanent test drive. Describes vehicle and thief.
• Thief encounters another forum member at Chinook mall, member recognizes stolen vehicle as described in this post. Snaps pictures, posts on beyond. Even in a city of 1 million people, thief is spotted within hours due to internet exposure
• Thief is found on facebook using said pictures, recognized by multiple members
• Full name, address, and workplace is found via facebook
• Multiple forum members drive to known address at 2:30am, car is parked outside. Dude peeks out the window, sees posse, gets scared.
• Car disappears at some point.
• Another member drives by later, finds car. Boxes car in, calls cops, calls rightful owner
• Hilarity ensues
• Cops show up 2 hours later, pictures and youtube video posted of stolen car, and Dr. Claw the fail car thief getting arrested
• Car is now safe at home, back up for sale, with a new test drive policy. Bonus: Thief leaves $22 in change, and a shitty wanksta hat.

All I have to say is.. pretty freakin’ cool! In one day’s time they recovered a stolen car, still in great condition, and arrested the twirp who stole it. Gogo gadget internet-friends!

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