More fun with Star Wars™ baking! This sequel to our first collection of Star Wars™ cookie cutters features Rebel and Imperial starships plus the Empire’s legendary Death Star™ battle station. Even the youngest Padawan bakers will have fun creating a fleet of cookies to re-enact their favorite galactic battles.
[Source: Star Wars Cookie Cutters | Via]
While the videos we’ve shown you of some of the new features of Windows 8 may make it look promising, odds are the OS will suck if we take this picture into account.
[Via CB]
[Source: Jason Ernst | Via FG]
Grad student-turned-visual artist Greg Dunn studies neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania. In his spare time, he creates these almost-landscape prints of neurons–extreme close-ups of the hippocampus, retinas and plant-like pyramidals.
You can find (and purchase) more of Greg Dunn’s work on his website, including these along with some actual landscapes with real trees and flowers, if neurons aren’t your thing.
Etsy user The Octopus Treehouse has a series of pretty awesome Star Wars-themed prints in his shop featuring everybody’s favorite baddies. Check these out! (Click to enlarge)
[The Octopus Treehouse | Via BF]
“The primary weakness in any modern security mechanism tends to be the modern consumers utilizing it.”
If you’ve got security issues, there’s a nonzero chance it’s your fault. Or, if you’re especially vigilant, the fault of another person in the chain of people who control account security. In this new video from our friends at World Science Festival, security expert Brian Snow discusses the prevalence of fatal user error in encryption.
This video is part of the Keeping Secrets series on WSFtv — check out other great posts and videos about encryption, security, and privacy on World Science Festival.
As a person with a sleep cycle that is best described as erratic (but more accurately, nonexistent), I’m fascinated by body clock studies. In this short TED Talk, Jessa Gamble talks about the influence of circadian rhythms on culture, and vice versa.
In today’s world, balancing school, work, kids and more, most of us can only hope for the recommended eight hours of sleep. Examining the science behind our body’s internal clock, Jessa Gamble reveals the surprising and substantial program of rest we should be observing.
YouTube has added an automatic convert-to-3D tool for uploaded flicks. In a less gimmicky move it’s also vastly increased the number of users who can upload clips without a time limit.
The 3D tool is an addition to an existing suite of editing tools, which can be accessed by clicking on “Edit Video.” They include options to add a soundtrack from a library, clip out the start or end of a clip, correct color inbalances, or switch to sepia or black and white.
Rather confusingly the 3D option isn’t in this menu. Instead you have to open the clip itself, then click on “Edit Info” (not “Edit Video”), and then 3D video. You also need to make sure to click on “save changes” after checking the 3D box.
The original clip is left untouched, but a new one will be created with what is at least an attempt to produce a 3D effect. Viewers will be able to instantly switch the playback to fit one of a range of 3D display systems, from interleaved monitor to old-school red and cyan glasses.
Unlike a previous tool on the site, this works for any clip and doesn’t require the user to provide dual feeds. I’ve not yet discovered exactly how long the conversion takes, but it certainly isn’t quick.
A tool that’s likely to be more useful to many viewers is that clips longer than the standard 15-minute limit can now be uploaded to anyone who verifies their account by providing a valid telephone number. However, those of you thinking this is your opportunity to upload full-length TV shows in a single clip should be aware the feature is only available to users who haven’t been flagged for copyright infringement.
The site has also added a resumable uploads feature, meaning you don’t need to start again if your connection cuts out midway through.
Finally, the site has added access to a couple of extra external editing tools, Vlix and Magisto. It’s the usual collection of on-screen text effects and animations, but with six different external packages now available, we stand a greater chance of avoiding the sheer tedium of yet another Windows MovieMaker intro.