March 28, 2013
Not Brand Echh was a satiric comic book series published by Marvel Comics that parodied its own superhero stories as well as those of other comics publishers. Running for 13 issues from 1967 to 1969, it included among its contributors such notable writers and artists as Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Gene Colan, Bill Everett, John and Marie Severin, and Roy Thomas.
With issue #9, it became a 68-page, 25¢ ‘giant,’ relative to the typical 12¢ comics of the times. Its mascot, ‘Forbush Man,’ introduced in the first issue, was a superhero wannabe with no superpowers and a costume of red long johns emblazoned with the letter ‘F’ and a cooking pot, with eye-holes, covering his never-revealed head. His secret identity was eventually revealed in issue #5 (Dec. 1967) as Irving Forbush, Marvel’s fictitious office gofer. Continue reading →
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March 28, 2013
In American football, a lateral pass or lateral, officially backward pass (onside pass in Canadian football), occurs when the ball carrier throws the football to any teammate behind him or directly next to him (i.e. on or behind a line running through the ball and parallel to the line of scrimmage). A lateral pass is distinguished from a forward pass, in which the ball is thrown forward, towards the opposition’s end zone. In a lateral pass the ball is not advanced, but unlike a forward pass a lateral may be attempted from anywhere on the field by any player to any player at any time.
While the forward pass is an invention of the North American game, the lateral and backward pass is also a part of rugby union and rugby league, where such passes are much more common. Compared to its use in rugby, laterals and backward passes are less common in North American football, due to a much greater focus on ball control in American football strategy; they are most commonly used by the quarterback, after taking the snap, to quickly transfer (‘pitch’) the ball a short distance to a nearby running back (or, rarely, wide receiver) on a rushing play. Laterals are also often seen as part of a last-minute desperation strategy or as part of a trick play.
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March 28, 2013
In several forms of football a forward pass is a throwing of the ball in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team’s goal line. The forward pass is one of main differences between gridiron football (American football and Canadian football) in which the play is legal and widespread, and rugby football (union and league) from which the North American games evolved, in which the play is illegal.
In some football codes, such as association football (soccer), the kicked forward pass is used so ubiquitously that it is not thought of as a distinct kind of play at all. In these sports, the concept of offside is used to regulate who can be in front of the play or be nearest to the goal. However, this has not always been the case. Some earlier incarnations of football allowed unlimited forward passing, while others had strict offside rules similar to rugby.
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March 27, 2013
Rick Berry (b. 1952) is a contemporary American expressionistic figurative artist based in the Boston area. Berry creates art for galleries, illustration, and paintings for theatrical performances. Berry’s work has appeared in many science fiction, fantasy and comic books, including Neil Gaiman’s ‘Sandman,’ ‘Magic: The Gathering’ cards, and Stephen King novels. In 1985, Berry created the first digitally painted book cover worldwide for William Gibson’s ‘Neuromancer.’
Berry was born in San Bernardino, California. His father, an air force fighter pilot, was frequently stationed in China. Berry’s childhood home was populated with Asian art which fascinated Berry and later found its way into his works.
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March 27, 2013
Phil Hale (b. 1963) is an American figurative painter who currently resides in London, England. Prior to turning to fine arts he worked as an illustrator, doing mostly figurative work. He was apprenticed to/ partnered with American painter Rick Berry. His current work focuses on figure as well, in depictions of slightly surreal scenes with strange characters performing various physical feats, usually in a confrontation of some sort. He seems to take keen interest in tension and emphasis of angular and dynamic aspects of the figure, almost always incorporating slight anatomical distortions to great effect.
A portrait of former UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair by the artist was unveiled in Westminster in 2008. Mr Blair sat for the portrait during his final months in office in 2007. Hale recently formed the movie production company ‘unprofessional.com’ with his son Callum Hale Thomson. It specializes in bespoke analogue filmmaking.
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March 27, 2013
Genetic algorithms are a kind of algorithm used to find approximations in search problems. Genetic algorithms are a class of evolutionary algorithms (algorithms that simulate evolution: each generation of solution is subjected to some kind of fitness function; those that survive are then recombined in some way to make the next generation of solution).
The concept of genetic algorithms is a search technique often used in computer science to find complex, non-obvious solutions to algorithmic optimization and search problems. Genetic algorithms are categorized as global search heuristics, and have a wide variety of applications, particularly in generating useful Artificial Intelligence agents in computer games.
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March 27, 2013
In Computer Science, especially in artificial intelligence, evolutionary algorithms (EA) are a kind of algorithm that simulate evolution to optimize something.
Each generation of solution is subjected to some kind of fitness function; those that survive are then recombined in some way to make the next generation of solution. This is done until a certain level of fitness is reached, or a determined number of generations have been used. Continue reading →
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March 27, 2013
The 2000 Year Old Man is a persona in a comedy skit, originally created by Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner in 1961. Mel Brooks played the oldest man in the world, interviewed by Carl Reiner in a series of comedy routines that appeared on television, as well as being made into a collection of records. In a Jewish accent, Brooks would improvise answers to topics such as the earliest known language (‘basic Rock’). The inspiration for the skit was a tape-recorded exchange between Brooks and Reiner at a party. The tape recorder was brought into the mix shortly after the opening salvos, as the two comics soon had the party audience in stitches.
In 1961, when the duo began doing the skit on television, Brooks had just undergone surgery for gout. Because of his post-surgical discomfort, Brooks quipped, ‘I feel like a 2000-year-old man,’ which led Reiner to begin questioning him about what it’s like to be a 2000-year-old man and to describe history as Brooks saw it. Many of the jokes (especially the caveman jokes) were eventually brought to the screen in Brooks’ film ‘History of the World, Part I.’
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March 25, 2013
A tontine [ton-teen] is an investment plan for raising capital, devised in the 17th century and relatively widespread in the 18th and 19th. It combines features of a group annuity (recurring payments) and a lottery. Each subscriber pays an agreed sum into the fund, and thereafter receives an annuity. As members die, their shares devolve to the other participants, and so the value of each annuity increases. On the death of the last member, the scheme is wound up. In a variant, which has provided the plot device for most fictional versions, on the death of the penultimate member the capital passes to the last survivor.
The investment plan is named after Neapolitan banker Lorenzo de Tonti, who is credited with inventing it in France in 1653, although it has been suggested that he merely modified existing Italian investment schemes. Tonti put his proposal to the French royal government, but after consideration it was rejected by the Parlement de Paris. The first true tontine was therefore organized in the city of Kampen in the Netherlands in 1670. The French finally established a state tontine in 1689 (though it was not described by that name because Tonti had died in disgrace, about five years earlier).
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March 25, 2013
A number of self-balancing unicycle have been created which are self-balancing only in the forwards-backwards direction, and still need a human being to balance them from side to side.
Aleksander Polutnik’s Enicycle (2006) is probably the first two-axis balancing human-ridable unicycle. In 2009, RYNO Motors of Portland, Oregon created a one-wheeled electric motorcycle called the Micro-Cycle. According to the company, a commercial version is scheduled to go into production in mid 2013.
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March 24, 2013
A monowheel is a one-wheeled single-track vehicle similar to a unicycle. However, instead of sitting above the wheel, the rider sits either within it or next to it. The wheel is a ring, usually driven by smaller wheels pressing against its inner rim. Most are single-passenger vehicles, though multi-passenger models have been built. Hand-cranked and pedal-powered monowheels were built in the late 19th century; most built in the 20th century have been motorized.
Some modern builders refer to these vehicles as monocycles, though that term is also sometimes used to describe motorized unicycles. Today, monowheels are generally built and used for fun and entertainment purposes, though from the 1860s through to the 1930s, they were proposed for use as serious transportation. Continue reading →
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March 24, 2013
Chifir’ is a type of strong tea brewed in Russia. The etymology is uncertain but is thought to come from the word ‘chikhir” meaning a strong Caucasian wine, or a Siberian word for spoiled wine that has become sour and acidic. Chifir’ is typically prepared with either two or three tablespoons of loose tea per person poured on top of the boiled water. It is brewed for 10–15 minutes without stirring – until the leaves drop to the bottom of the cup. Chifir’ drunk without sugar is highly unpleasant; sweets can be held in the mouth before, during or after drinking to soften its bitter taste.
It is similar to Egyptian Sa’idi tea, a somewhat similar beverage (essentially a 1/9-strength recipe, but consumed in larger quantities).
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The Daily Omnivore 