Daily OpusEverything I write is freely rebloggable. Just keep the source and tell people about my books :D [Until I decide otherwise, my pronouns are Ze/Hir/Hirself. As in "Ze went to the shops to get hir medication hirself". Thank you for the respect.]
Leonardo da Vinci was credited in 2004 with anticipating the car when a model of one of his drawings was hailed as the first self-propelling vehicle conceived. The wooden model, featured in an exhibition at Florence’s Science History Museum, is driven by springs. It is also the first projected vehicle with programmable steering. It took technicians 7 years to make it.
“It’s absolutely typical of Leonardo,” said Prof Carlo Pedretti, one of the world’s leading authorities on Leonardo (1452-1519). “He was always providing options with all his inventions.” Beside being one of the greatest artists of his day, Leonardo dreamed up a variety of extraordinary inventions.
this seven year old girl got half an arm (just like lusie in the gifs) 3d printed and it only cost $50
can we just compare that with the average price of buying a prosthetic
3d printing is gonna help so many people holy crap
No no no, guys, this gif set leaves out the literal best stuff from the video.
So a few years back, this guy who accidentally cut off his fingers, teamed up with a special effects artist/puppeteer and created a 3D printable prosthetic hand, that used the movement of the wearer to be able to grab things. The guys who did this said they were just going to post the schematics online, which in turn lead to creating a network of people with 3D printers, who were willing to print prosthetics for people. The network of volunteers, turned into an organization that gives prosthetic arms/hands to kids who need them. They have science types improving the designs and creating new ones, they got a grant from Google, classrooms and scout troops are getting involved and making prosthetic hands for people.
Here is the reasoning, that drive execs and marketers to pro-actively exclude women from their audiences and to pro-actively encourage a culture in which women do not feel welcome. This is why we can’t have nice things… or can we?
This is an excellent piece, by someone inside the industry, outlining quite clearly how and why so many games all but refuse to acknowledge women gamers even exist.
And it really is tough sometimes, in games. Perfectly good, reasonable people just succumb to the prevailing wisdom, feeling helpless. I’ve written female characters in games with attitude and agency, then been required to tone it down for fear of offending male players.
In one (unreleased) game, I was told to change a cut scene because “the woman NPC can’t try to save herself, the male PC must save her.” And the number of times I’ve had to remove snarky comebacks from a female NPC (“the player won’t be attracted to her”), I can’t even count.
And these were not horrible, raging sexists. But they were following market wisdom, doing what they knew publishers would require of them.
(I should add that these are all AAA games I’m talking about. The indie/mobile space I’ve worked in is so, so much more progressive.)
(Also saddening: almost exactly the same reasoning applies to the comic market’s obsession with superheroes.)
Anyway. Great article, well worth a read.
Interesting!
Game makers: “We have never really tried to market games to women. Let’s not bother with them at all.”
Women: Buy and play games anyway.
Marketing department: “Lets ostracise women and exclude them from gaming. That is sure to increase our revenue.”
Male gamers: “Fucking fake geek girls won’t jump on my dick when I aggressively quiz them about nerd trivia.”
Female gamers: “Uh. Just so you know, this is a really hostile environment. How about letting a few ladies play the lead?”
For people who don’t have time to bathe or access to fresh water, a South African college student has a solution: a shower gel users simply rub onto their skin. One small packet replaces one bath, and users never need any water. Ludwick Marishane’s inspiration was a lazy friend, but his invention will be a boon to people who live in areas where clean water is in short supply.
Found this wonderful old orange juice stand, long closed, on Hwy 441 just about a block and a half north of the intersection with Hwy 46 on the right. My husband tells me they used to sell all the OJ you could drink for 10 cents at these stands in the 40s, 50s and early 60s. it was apparently part of the old Giant Orange chain that peaked in popularity in the mid 50s. It’s just outside Mount Dora,Andrea Pauline
I love the look of this. Like it could be the entrance to another dimension, or a different TARDIS, or the secret entrance to an underground mega-complex of weirdness…
BUT I have too many springboards already and never enough time.
Someone lovely and creative please run with this? And then share it with me?
