87% Zombie Proof

87%

Mingle² - Free Online Dating

I must admit though that I cheated - I was only 44% the first time through (too soft-hearted).

Transformer Thinking

Imagine if we actually built everyday vehicles so they could transform to kickass robots?

The Pasha Bulker would be off Nobby's Beach:

The Singapore Navy would need far less recruits:

Aussies would actually want to go buy a Citroen car (especially if we had ice to skate on!):

A fear of flying would become much more rational too:

Scary avatar

This is my son's avatar (courtesy of dookyweb), he likes science-fiction because aliens look scary like this ...

Dave Thomas of The Pragmatic Programmers on Writing

Dave Thomas, one of the guys behind The Pragmatic Programmers has a series of blog posts on Writing a Book. Given that he's a techie (like me) who has written a book or two himself (like I want to), and the books these guys publish are without a doubt some of the best in their class - so it seems to make sense to check these out.

The perfect bacon sandwich

Apparently British scientists from Leeds University have found the formula for the perfect bacon sandwich:

The formula is: N = C + (fb (cm) . fb (tc))+ fb (Ts) + fc . ta, where N=force in Newtons required to break the cooked bacon, fb=function of the bacon type, fc=function of the condiment/filling effect, Ts=serving temperature, tc=cooking time, ta=time or duration of application of condiment/filling, cm=cooking method, C=Newtons required to break uncooked bacon.

It's funny what some people do for a living. I guess these university researches will be in high demand with fast food giants.

NCIS: Homage to Gibbs

I missed my favourite TV show this week (hint: NCIS) but found this fun homage to Gibbs at YouTube:

300: The Movie

I discovered a great action movie coming out this year, based upon the Frank Miller comic of the same name, which is a mythic re-telling of the actions of Leonidas king of Sparta and his 300 strong bodyguard at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC.

Gerard Butler, who stars as King Leonidas, states, “It’s almost like somebody who was there and witnessed the battle went to sleep and dreamed the whole thing again because a lot of it is very representational … a lot of it exists in the imagination, so it allows us to take it so much further. It’s an incredible story, which has been an inspiration to so many people throughout history, but it’s not a documentary. It is a fantastic story full of passion and politics and brutality and so many more things, existing in this hyper-real, beautiful, emotional world.”

It does seem to have lots of gore and a bit of sex, but reports so far seem to indicate that the highly stylised nature of the action scenes makes it acceptable. It always stood out as one of the more interesting moments in history when I was at school - it was the first example I saw of men defining heroism by what they tried to do, rather than what they actually achieved.

Watch the trailer for yourself:

Seeing the style of the art for the movie reminded me of another great poster which Chris Achilleos created for another take on the Battle of Thermopylae:

“Madness? This is Sparta!”