Stochastic reconstruction of images

The Evolution of Mona Lisa by Roger Alsing has inspired a lot of people including myself. So, I have spend a few hours during my Christmas vacation to make my own software version :-)

In short, the algorithm is a simple stochastic hill-climber similar to Roger's (although he claims that it is related to genetic programming - which is not the case). A candidate solution is represented by a set of geometric shapes (either polygons, rectangles, squares, or circles). Each polygon is represented by a set of points (a rectangle is represented by a position, width, and height etc). Moreover, each shape has a color (r,g,b) and an alpha value. The candidate solution is modified using a set of simple variation operators (e.g. change shape color, change position of shape, add or remove shape, etc.). A new candidate solution replaces the previous one if it is better (with repect to a scoring function rewarding pixel color matches and penalizing pixel color deviations). The current scoring function used is the same as the one Roger Alsing uses (I am currently working on other alternatives to the scoring function and optimization algorithm).

I have posted a screenshot of my forthcoming 'Reconstructor' application below. I will post binaries and source-code as soon as I have implemented a few new ideas that I got earlier this week...

Until then you can browse some of the images that I have 'reconstructed'...

Reconstructor prototype

Minifigs dissected

Jason Freeny just dissected a LEGO minifig...very cool stuff - if you are a LEGO nerd. You can order a printed copy of the picture below from Moist Productions website.

XBox media center for Mac

Are you also frustrated by the limitations of Front Row? Then you might want to take a look at XBMC. The porting of the XBox media center has matured a lot lately and the latest version looks very promising. Plex is another port of XBMC that is also worth looking into.

NuevaSync: Sync Google contacts and calendars on your iPhone

NuevaSync makes it very easy to do over-the-air, native synchronization of your iPhone or iPod touch with your Google calendars and contacts without the need of third-party software. NuevaSync is currently in beta but it works perfectly fine on my iPod touch (and it is free!). The only drawback at the moment is that you can only edit and add calendar events to the first calendar listed in Google Calendar - all other calendars are read-only...

Upgrading your household equipment

The Bier Maxx beer dispenser is certainly worth looking into. I think I will get one of these ASAP so that I can consume my homebrew beers in a more cool manner :)

Prepare for geek war

The USB Missile Launcher just got wireless - prepare for fun battles at the office :)

More information

Photographs by Nick Brandt

Check out his gallery for more stunning photographs.

Stephane Halleux sculptures

I just browsed by some really amazing sculptures made by Stephane Halleux - a French sculpture artist.

Robot spider by Stephane Halleux. Don't forget to check out all the other creations.

Asciimation - ASCII animated Star Wars

I stumbled upon the Beer Brewing Bender Project and found out that Simon Jansen also previously worked on an ASCII animated version of the Star Wars movie. I remember browsing by the Asciimation webpages years ago thinking that this guy had too much spare time. Looking at his other projects it seems that he has way too much spare time :)

Awsome- although I personally prefer the real stuff.

The art of beer making - part 1

After months of speculation I finally went to the local supermarket and bought a Micro Brew Kit from Coopers. The total costs were about 55 USD and the kit included the following:

• 1 plastic fermenter (30 liter)
• 1 airlock
• brewing sugar
• carbonation drops
• 1 adhesive digital thermometer
• 1 hydrometer
• 1 plastic spoon
• 30 plastic bottles (740ml)

The kit also included an instructional video (VHS) which turned out to be completly useless since I don't own a VCR anymore (it broke down ages ago). More importantly, the kit included a can of Coopers Lager Home Brew (1.7 kg malt extract and some yeast) for making the first brew. Since I'm not a big fan of regular lager, I will save the lager can for some future experiements and try out a wheat beer or a stout instead (I will report back when the brewing will commence).

Finally ready to unwrap my pre-Christmas present.

The beginners kit in all its glory.

Top-down view.

Binary marble adding machine

Some people just have too much spare time. Check out this website for more information.

Win virtual money...

Try out this Flash-based Blackjack game. Watch out - it is very addictive.

Also, check out this website for more information about Blackjack strategies and odds.

Virtual slipstick for Mac

Why use modern calculators when it is more fun playing around with slide rule devices. Caveman’s Calc for Mac OS X makes it possible to play around with this incredible device while still having the comforts of modern technology nearby.

Caveman’s Calc.

Stick figures fight by Xiao Xiao

You can find more animated movies by Xiao Xiao here.

Stickmen by Christopher Ford

Apple.

Spikes.

Want more? Check out http://www.fordcomic.com

Roller Coaster Tycoon slaughter

Quote from The Last Boss:

Anyone who has purchased a Roller Coaster Tycoon game has made a demonically evil or outright broken roller coaster on purpose before, just to see dozens of carnival casualties, but this video has to be the one that defines them all. Watch as an amusement park is constructed of only one small walkway that methodically aligns itself with the dead end of the uncompleted roller coaster killing machine. He politely waits for the amusement park to fill up, giving them all free balloons, and then . . . kills every single person.

Exact + attitudes = exactitudes

exactitudes.

Make your own Pong arcade game

Ronald Dekker has managed to make the world's smallest microcontroller based Pong game. For more details and downloads to diagrams and PONG code check out µPONG.

Complete &microPONG with control units.

Flash Earth - satellite and aerial photos of the Earth in Flash

Flash Earth is a Flash-based application providing an interactive map of the world using satellite and aerial data from Google Earth, Microsoft Virtual Earth, NASA, etc.

Flash Earth.

mimobots - USB flash drives for rich kids

Just stumpled upon this weird collection of mimobots - expensive USB flash drives for people with an urge to spend money on weird gadgets. I particularly like the Darth Vader mimobot although it reminds me more of a mixture between Cat Woman and a Pokémon character :)

Darth Vader minobot by mimoco.