Interesting Links for 07-11-2015

• The best way to learn math is to learn how to fail productively
  • Oh God, so much better than how I was taught. I got 3/4 of the way through leaning calculus before anyone explained what on earth it was for!
  • (tags: learning school education )
• Two genes that make people react more to high-calorie food
  • (tags: food genetics )
• Self-stirring pots - using vortices!
  • (tags: cooking technology )
• F.A.Q. About the Saudi Women Driving Ban
  • (tags: saudiarabia driving women OhForFucksSake )
• Why humans are the cutest animals
  • (tags: humans cute funny )
• Neat video takes you through a history of makeup
  • (tags: makeup history video )
• Study Suggests Women Are Bisexual Or Gay, But Almost Never Straight
  • (tags: LGBT sexuality women )

Apocalyptic Edinburgh: Kaiju and Deathclouds

Very misty last week, which has been pretty, even when it was a bit scary on the way home from Dundee last Saturday night.

I did get this photo of Arthur's Seat, looming out of the mist as I wandered through town:


Which largely reminded me of this kind of thing:


And then on the 5th a bunch of us wandered into the park and watched the fireworks from nearby Meadowbank stadium. There was almost no wind, so the smoke was going straight up and hovering there. After about fifteeen minutes the view was largely of a giant cloud, illuminated by flashes of light, and the occasional point of brightness streaking out of the side of it:


Better in video:

"Fireworks inside a big cloud of smoke" (Watch on YouTube)

Computer game music: a modest proposal

Many computer games generate music algorithmically depending on your situation. They have a bunch of themes for different situations, and then mix them in depending on what's going on.

Many other computer games allow you to point them at a folder full of MP3s and use them as background music for the game, allowing you control over your own soundtrack.

My suggestion would be - rather than just giving you the option of playing your own MP3s as background music, let you define themes for characters, events, etc. and then have the normal music algorithms use them instead of the built-in ones.

For instance:
Helicopter sections: Airwolf Theme
Bombing runs: Ride of the Valkyries
Escaping on foot when it's all gone wrong: Benny Hill Theme