Happy Ada Lovelace Day

Happy Ada Lovelace Day, which celebrates the achievements of women in technology and science. Who was Ada Lovelace?

Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace was born on 10th December 1815, the only child of Lord Byron and his wife, Annabella. Born Augusta Ada Byron, but now known simply as Ada Lovelace, she wrote the world’s first computer programmes for the Analytical Engine, a general-purpose machine that Charles Babbage had invented.

The image above is courtesy of Media Molecule.

William Gibson's excellent novel about Lovelace is $8 at Amazon.

Little Big Planet cake topper

New from Paul Pape, Little Big Planet bride and groom cake toppers made as a commission, and Weighted Companion Cube tree ornaments on sale for $15 each (or at a discount if you buy in bulk).

Relatedly, if you've never played Portal, the Wikipedia entry will explain what the cube is, and why the cake is a lie.

*Previously: Weighted Companion Cube cake.

*Buy cake toppers at eBay.

Horrifying Sackboy costume

Little Big Planet cosplay from this Halloween gallery.

*Previously: Little Big Planet Sackboy costume.

*Buy sackboy toys at eBay.

Little Big Planet/Watchmen desktop wallpaper

I took the liberty of creating widescreen and fullscreen desktop wallpapers using the Watchmen designs for Little Big Planet.

*Previously: Silk Spectre I and II cosplay.

*Buy Little Big Planet collectibles at eBay.

World of Warcraft and Little Big Planet cake toppers

World of Warcraft and Little Big Planet bride and groom cake toppers by Paul Pape.

*Previously: Professional Warcraft III players to carry Olympic torch in China.

*Choose from thousands of cake toppers at eBay.

George Washington flexes (link roundup)

George Washington flexing for a Little Big Planet sticker pack by Jim Unwin. See also: Boudicca, deformed T-Rex, and owl with frikkin laser beams for eyes. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Disturbing Batman illustration by Todd McFarlane. Via.

2. Squig cake (Warhammer). Via.

3. It's long overdue that I linked to items tagged Amazon WTF.

*At Toycutter: Warhammer 40K custom action figures.

*Buy painted squig miniatures at eBay.

Tokidoki-designed skin for Need for Speed (link roundup)

Need For Speed Nitro will include skins designed by various artists including tokidoki. I can't remember ever liking a tokidoki toy half as much as this car design. Via.

And a few more links:

1. For what it's worth, some guy claims NBA stats like assists and steals are intentionally falsified to increase national media coverage for a team and/or specific player. Via.

2. Media Molecule posted images of Little Big Planet's Sackboy as various historical figures, including Genghis Khan, Boudica, and proto-hacker Ada Lovelace.

3. Nice photos of the Perseids meteor shower.

*Previously: Tinkerbell car.

*Buy William Gibson's novel about Ada Lovelace at Amazon.

Romance novel cover shoot (link roundup)

Slideshow of photos taken at the cover shoot for romance novel The Lord of Devil Isle. Worth a look if for nothing else than to be dumbfounded as to how the model, Charles Paz, could possibly have been chosen Mr. Romance 2009. Excuse me while I go work on my pecs. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Apparently the CIA and Mossad have scored some great successes against Hezbollah recently.

2. NFL football contracts are rather ephemeral, but at least for the moment, the last player chosen in the 2009 draft was signed by the Chiefs.

3. Mini Billboard ad for the game Little Big Planet stuck in the grass in Union Square. Via.

4. Big furry monster cradling a little boy.

*Previously: A Steampunk Romance.

*Buy NFL bobbleheads at eBay.

Little Big Planet/Shadow of the Colossus desktop wallpaper

Media Molecule recently posted images of the Team Ico Pack for Little Big Planet, including images of Yorda and Ico from Ico and Wander, Quadratus, and Gaius from Shadow of the Colossus. I took the liberty of creating a widescreen desktop wallpaper with the Shadow of the Colossus images. If you've never played Ico or Shadow of the Colossus, you can read detailed descriptions of the plots at Wikipedia. Also, here's a description of an alternate ending that was considered for Shadow of the Colossus.

While I'm talking Team Ico, here's the trailer for The Last Guardian, which I never got around to posting:



And finally, Penny Arcade predicts the ending of The Last Guardian.

*Previously: Lots of Last Guardian screenshots.

*Buy Shadow of the Colossus toys at eBay.

Sackboy as the Burger King (link roundup)

Little Big Planet's Sackboy as the Burger King by Alex Barbeau for a contest at GameArtisans (reg reqd).

And a few more links:

1. American Academy of Pediatrics will publish a new official policy statement, recommending that schools work vigorously to prevent bullying. Via.

2. What do you do for a living? Oh, I write "lesbo historical romps." Via.

3. Creepy version of Ronald McDonald.

4. Wolverine goes to the beauty salon.

*Previously: "Lois Lenz, Lesbian Secretary."

*Buy sackboy toys at eBay.

Little Big Planet/Metal Gear desktop wallpapers

I used the Little Big Planet/Metal Gear images recently posted by Media Molecule to create a few widescreen desktop wallpapers featuring Old Snake, Raiden, and Screaming Mantis.







*Previously: Metal Gear Gekko made out of Lego.

*Buy Metal Gear Solid toys at eBay.

Thumbody - - the bank mascot? (link roundup)

Meet Thumbody, a mascot for a bank according to the comments here. Found amidst a vintage logo gallery. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Media Molecule posted what looks like Sackboy/Ico desktop wallpapers.

2. Neat idea - - a map that shows where you'd end up if you dug through the Earth until you came out the other side. But I had trouble interpreting it. Via.

3. A response to the claim that the Middle East's problems would be solved if Israel and the Palestinians made peace.

4. Enjoy photos of 7-foot-9 Chinese center Sun Mingming. And read about him here.

*Previously: The TSA has a new mascot.

*Buy Little Big Planet collectibles at eBay.

Coraline doll and Emo Sackboy (link roundup)

Coraline doll and "Emo" Sackboy from Little Big Planet by Jasmin Chappell. Here's her Etsy shop

And a few more links:

1. Speaking of Coraline, recent posts at Evil Buttons include photos from the MCC Theater's Coraline musical.

2. I recently received excellent customer support via email from D-Link for my out of warranty router. It was kind of stunning actually - - within less than 12 hours, I had a concise, easy to follow answer that solved my problem.

3. On the other hand, I don't think I ever got around to mentioning the terrible customer support I got from Pro-Form for my new treadmill. When I put it together, I discovered that several of the holes were too small for the screws. My wife emailed Pro-Form, asking for advice, but received no response. I pretty quickly found reviews about various Pro-Form products complaining about the same problem with the screws. So, buyer beware. (Eventually, I forced the screws more or less in. And the treadmill works fine.)

4. Cosmic Lily Serv-O-Matics chase figure. You can preorder Serv-O-Matics at Tenacious Toys, which is giving away a Dunny with orders this week.

*Previously: Emo dating chat.

*Buy Coraline toys at eBay and Amazon.

Found item Enterprise (link roundup)

Found item Enterprise. It lights up. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Sculpture of some creepy folks in love.

2. The crew of Futurama in their ship animated emoticon.

3. "The Vulcan greeting is based upon a blessing gesture used by the kohanim (koe-hah-NEEM) during the worship service. The kohanim are the genealogical descendants of the Jewish priests who served in the Jerusalem Temple." Link.

4. Little Big Planet's Sackboy dressed as Dracula, Lady Vampire, Werewolf, and Zombie.

*Previously: Sackboy as Kratos desktop wallpaper.

*Buy Futurama toys at eBay.

Sackboy t-shirt (link roundup)

Pretend you're a Sackboy from Little Big Planet in this t-shirt on sale here. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Society of Publication Designers' finalists for its yearly magazine design awards are tremendously boring.

2. A warning against using Blik decals.

3. Family of vampires by Graham Annable.

4. Popa Taungkalat temple, Myanmar. It's built on a volcanic plug. Via.

*Previously: Video of underwater volcano erupting.

*Buy sackboy toys at eBay.

Emergency parachute for high-rise workers (link roundup)

The Evacuchute is either a rescue parachute specifically designed for building evacuation, or just a good joke. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Little Big Planet's Sackboy as Judge Dredd desktop wallpaper.

2. New carved book by Brian Dettmer.

3. New airship painting by Myke Amend on sale.

4. A movie poster with Oprah Winfrey's name on it that I'd still consider hanging in my office.

*Previously: Autopsied books by Brian Dettmer.

*Buy Judge Dredd toys at eBay.

Sackboy is Judge Dredd (link roundup)

Teaser poster featuring Little Big Planet's Sackboy as Judge Dredd.

And a few more links:

1. Oprah to give Jenny McCarthy, who advocates not giving kids vaccines, her own show. I can't find it at the moment, but someone once put together a list of all of the stupidity Oprah had supported. It was an impressive list. And speaking of Oprah, how does this paragraph end up in an AP article about the colossal screw up that is the KFC free chicken giveaway?

Known for generosity, Winfrey has doled out impressive giveaways for her studio audiences, from books to cars, and her comments or support have caused distinct spikes in the popularity of everything from consumer goods to political candidates. She also has hosted a televised philanthropy competition, "Oprah's Big Give," where contestants help people in need.

Uh, yeah, she was promoting KFC out of generosity.

2. Terrific opening sentence to a blog post: "Still embedded somewhere in the shores of California, buried by more than a century of sand, are lost hydroelectric machines."

3. The Top 8 ‘Oh Shit!’ Moments from Mixed Martial Arts.

4. Cute drawing of Spider-Man and Venom.

*Previously: Church of La Sagrada Familia as a sand castle.

*Buy Judge Dredd toys at eBay.

Street Fighter, God of War, Anubis desktop wallpapers

Media Molecule recently posted images of Little Big Planet's Sackboy as Egyptian God Anubis, God of War's Kratos, and Street Fighter's Ry, Chun-Li, Zangief, and Guile. I took the liberty of creating a few jumbo desktop wallpapers:





*Previously: Greek Mythology Little Big Planet desktop wallpapers.

*Buy Little Big Planet toys at eBay.

Sackboy as Lobo (link roundup)

Little Big Plante's Sackboy as Lobo (DC Comics) amigurumi by Maggie Wang. She also recently posted Sackboy as The Nameless One from Planescape Torment (a game I wish they'd put on the DS).

And a few more links:

1. Burger King promotions this summer will include Transformers and G.I. Joe.

2. Tenacious Toys is giving away a Billy Bronze Pink figure with every order May 1st - 8th.

3. Everything other than new and preorder items are 15% off at The Big Bad Toy Store.

4. Example #37 for why I rely on Google to host my websites.

*Previously: It was ok for Lobo to be in the JLU cartoon, but not for there to be a Lobo toy.

*Buy Lobo toys at eBay.

Minotaur and Medusa desktop wallpapers

Little Big Planet's Sackboy as Medusa and a Minotaur from God of War. I took the liberty of turning them into fullscreen and widescreen desktop wallpapers:






*Previously: Valentine-themed Little Big Planet desktop wallpapers.

*Order Sackboy figures at The Big Bad Toy Store.