This is an incredibly majestic video of a black vulture landing on a selfie-stick during a paragliding excursion. It’s one of the most relaxing videos I’ve seen in awhile and makes me want to take up paragliding. Is there a way to guarantee an experience like this? Do I just strap dead carcasses to my body? Because I already do that every morning, it’d just be nice to know if I could get a cool paragliding video out of it.

Man. pic.twitter.com/XTzXMda5Wy

— Kris Tapley (@kristapley) October 14, 2020

Source: Geekologie – Black vulture lands on selfie-stick during paragliding outing

This is a short video of a kid sound effect-ing his mom. “Sound effect-ing”? Meh, you know what I mean. It’s pretty charming, and makes me wonder if you could actually hire somebody to follow you around doing this. Although for me it would be 90% sad trombones and 10% the guy being too embarrassed by my life to actually play anything. “Is this guy eating cereal for dinner again?” *womp woooomp*

Source: Geekologie – Kid makes sound effects for his mom doing stuff around the house

For the second time in two months, somebody in a jetpack has been spotted flying near Los Angeles airport.

A China Airlines crew said it saw what appeared to be someone in a jetpack on Wednesday at 6,000ft (1,829m), seven miles (11km) north-west of LAX, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

“The FBI is in contact with the FAA and is investigating multiple reports of what, according to witnesses, appeared to be an individual in a jetpack near LAX,” FBI Los Angeles Field Office spokeswoman Laura Eimiller was quoted as saying by US media.

Keep going for the air traffic controller audio during the incident, as well the audio from the previous incident. It’s impressive how calmly everybody handles the situation especially considering all the other chaos happening with normal air traffic control. I guess it’s just a testament to the times we’re living in that people can talk about seeing jetpacks randomly flying around with total calm and normalcy.

Source: Geekologie – ‘Person in jetpack’ spotted flying again near LA airport

To celebrate 5 years on YouTube, The Brick Wall assembled this Lego pizza-assembler using Legos. I wasn’t expecting much, but the end result actually looks impressively like a pizza that wasn’t put together by plastic toys. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the pizza I made using Legos. I didn’t use Legos to assemble the pizza, I just threw the pieces on like they were toppings. I used to think anchovies were the worst thing you could put on pizza. I was wrong.

Keep going for the full video.

Source: Geekologie – This guy built an automated pizza assembly line out of Legos

Researchers have figured out a way to use AI to fill in gaps in images, essentially automating the ability to seamlessly erase objects from photos or video. You have to watch the demonstration to truly appreciate how amazing it is. Their detailed mumbo-jumbo explanation:

We present a new flow-based video completion algorithm. Previous flow completion methods are often unable to retain the sharpness of motion boundaries. Our method first extracts and completes motion edges, and then uses them to guide piecewise-smooth flow completion with sharp edges. Existing methods propagate colors among local flow connections between adjacent frames. However, not all missing regions in a video can be reached in this way because the motion boundaries form impenetrable barriers. Our method alleviates this problem by introducing non-local flow connections to temporally distant frames, enabling propagating video content over motion boundaries. We validate our approach on the DAVIS dataset. Both visual and quantitative results show that our method compares favorably against the state-of-the-art algorithms.

I never have any idea what these guys are talking about, but the results speak for themselves. I’m just glad I finally have a way to remove my ex-girlfriend from all of my old pictures. Haha just kidding, I’ve never had a girlfriend. What…does love feel like?

Keep going for the full video demonstration. It’s so impressive it seems fake.

Source: Geekologie – Using AI to remove objects from photos and video

This illusion won second place in the 2019 Best Illusion of the Year contest and it has sufficiently made me question reality:

In this illusion, either downward or rightward motion perception for the dots is possible. Depending on the perceived motion direction, color changes: red and green dots with downward motion, and yellow dots with rightward motion. This suggests that our perception of color is not simply the result of limitations in temporal resolution of the visual system.

I’ve never been more deceived by my brain. It’s like the dress all over again, only the color is flipping in real-time. Is color even a thing?! If this illusion has taught me anything, it’s that traffic lights aren’t real and I’ll be driving as such.

Keep going for the full illusion. The actual video is frustrating because it keeps being interrupted by text, so I also included a repeating loop that actually has a visual aid to help facilitate the switch.

Source: Geekologie – Can you change the color of the dots with your mind?

This is the first take from a commercial shoot of an actor who was absolutely terrified of roller coasters trying to keep it together and perform. At one point it actually looks like he passes out from fear and reboots. Ah, the things we’ll do for money. For instance, I’ll eat an entire shoe if you’ve got $20 on you. $25 and I’ll eat a boot.

Keep going for the full video as well as the final commercial they actually used.

Source: Geekologie – Actor terrified of roller coasters trying to pretend like he likes them for a commercial

Duke librarian Jamie Keesecker (who goes by MicrOpaqu3) made this song about their Library Takeout system and it’s way better than it has any right to be. Apparently Keesecker has actually been making music for more than 17 years but decided to go into…librarianing intstead.

Keesecker started making music as a teenager, when a friend handed him a floppy disk with music editing software.

And he kept writing music, for more than 17 years. He got a master’s in music composition from Duke in 2011 and a doctorate in 2016, but worried constantly about his career. He realized he would make a better hobbyist composer than professional.

I wonder if Duke asked him to make an ordinary instructional video and he came back with this. That when they asked to see the script he dumped out a bunch of drawings of stick figures and started going, “Untz untz untz untz.”

Keep going for the full Library Takeout video which goes even harder than I’ve been saying. You can also listen to the song on Spotify, but your first experience really should be with the visuals because they make it at least twice as good.

Source: Geekologie – A university librarian made this song about their Library Takeout system and it’s way too good

Ah, the age-old question: how many potatoes does it take to run DOOM? Turns out it’s a lot. Here’s the description of the video, which might actually be more impressive than the video itself:

Now, this is a story all about how

My life got flipped-turned upside down
And I’d like to take a minute
Just sit right there
I’ll tell you how I ran Doom on some potatoes when nobody else cared
In western America born and raised
On the floor of my garage I spent most of my days
Chillin’ out maxin’ relaxin’ all cool
And boiling some potatoes, bought a big wire spool
When a Raspberry Pi turned out no good
And wouldn’t boot up, I tried hard as I could
I spent one little night and the potatoes smelled weird
I said ‘I better get this thing working or I’ll pull out my hair’
I added more potatoes here day after day
But I lacked the amps to take me all of the way
So I gave it some thought hoping I’d find the ticket.
I kept going and said, ‘I might as well stick with it’.

First pass, yo this is bad
Stinky potatoes have more power, can’t explain that.
Is this what it takes to play this game tonight?
Hmmmmm this might be alright.
But wait I fear I’m missing, something isn’t quite grand
Is this the type of place I just end my cool plans?
I don’t think so
I’ll see where it goes
I hope they’re prepared for Doom on potatoes
Well, the plan panned out and affirmed my doubt
The Raspberry Pi needed amps at a higher amount
I ain’t trying to get invested so deep in this idea
I could buy more potatoes, or try again next year
I sat for a minute and then it became clear
I’d use a graphing calculator and finish this here
If anyone says that’s not Doom that’d be fair
But I thought ‘Nah, forget it’ – ‘Yo, homes get the TI-84 prepared’
I pulled up the game at about 7 or 8
And I yelled to the potatoes ‘Yo homes smell ya later’
I looked at my kingdom
I was finally there
To sit on my throne as the first potato Doom player

So now that somebody has powered DOOM on potatoes, the next step is for somebody to compute DOOM on potatoes. I’ve always said modern CPUs are super fast but they’re just not smelly enough. Also, they taste terrible.

Keep going for the full video of a guy with too much time potatoes on his hands.

Source: Geekologie – How Many Potatoes Does It Take To Run DOOM?

Apparently if you play a video of a wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man in reverse it looks like they’re actually dancing. Not just dancing, but dancing really, really well. The footwork could use a little work, but it’s moves like these that get all the wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube women. Or so I hear. The only thing my dancing attracts is pepper spray and inquiries if I need medical attention.

Keep going for the full video of a wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man showing off his moves.

Source: Geekologie – Playing a wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man in reverse actually makes them look like good dancers

Because Steven Spielberg has decided he doesn’t already have enough money, he’s reviving Animaniacs on Hulu (premieres November 20) and they put together this Jurassic Park spoof to announce it. The biggest compliment I can give is that it feels like the original Animaniacs. The humor, the tone, they nailed it. And of course they did, because it’s all the same people just with fancier technology and deeper pockets. I think Mr. Hulu sums it up nicely when he says, “We are gonna make a fortune with this show.” Yes you are, Mr. Hulu. Yes you are. Wait, $12 and some Arby’s coupons is a fortune, right? Because that’s all I’ve got.

Keep going for the full announcement video, as well as Yakko’s classic Nations of the World song from the original series.

Source: Geekologie – Animaniacs made this Jurassic Park spoof to announce their glorious return

Japanese musicians ELECTRONICOS FANTASTICOS! make music with weird instruments, and their latest creation is scratching with barcode scanners. It’s not all that original though, since I used to do this all the time when I worked at Trader Joe’s. Did they fire me after one day? Of course. But I think it was their way of supporting my dreams of becoming a barcode musician and I’ll never forget their parting words of encouragement: “What the hell are you doing?! You’re fired. Get out of here and never come back!”

Keep going for the full video, along with another one with barcodes and one of them playing a fan. Like those things that spin and blow air. Yeah, they played one of those like an instrument.

Source: Geekologie – Scratching with barcode scanners

Because Pepsi has either lost its mind or is a genius or both, they put out this streaming YouTube channel featuring lo-fi beats for chilling or studying. It doesn’t sound that weird, except the stream only has songs featuring lyrics about Pepsi. For example, the lyrics to one of the songs is:

Pepsi hits different when you need a drink
You’ll take one sip and be cleaning the sink
Pepsi hits different when you’re trying to think
You’ll do your homework in only one blink
Pepsi hits different
It’ll get your mind in sync
You’ll write a whole novel and use up all the ink

If you can’t appreciate how beautiful and insane this is, I pity you. And yes, obviously I’ve had this on loop 24/7 since discovering it. Do I currently have more Pepsi in my fridge than any human has ever had? Of course. Am I attributing all my current and future success to Pepsi? Undoubtedly. Will I dropkick you if I see you drinking Coca-Cola on the street? You bet. Look, I don’t make the rules. I just know that Pepsi is my only God now.

Keep going for the stream of beautifully chill Pepsi magic.

Source: Geekologie – 24/7 streaming lo-fi beats to sip Pepsi to

Merchandise designer Justin Bryant reimagined six children’s board games as horror movie posters and the results are incredible. Each of them look like they could be from an actual Blumhouse or SyFy movie and, considering Hollwood’s obsession with adapting properties, might actually be. Let’s not forget they did make a Battleship movie and are actively working on adapting Tetris. I’m not even sure these are reimaginings anymore or if Bryant just leaked Hollywood’s actual film release schedule for the next two years.

Keep going for the rest of the series which include Chutes and Ladders, Candyland, Hungry Hippos, and more. You can buy prints from Bryant’s site.

Source: Geekologie – Children’s board games reimagined as horror movie posters

Boom has unveiled their XB-1 supersonic jet, despite it clearly being the absolute worst time in history to be in the airplane business. And since the obvious concern about supersonic jets are the sonic booms they create, here’s what Boom has to say about it:

Overture flights will focus on 500+ primarily transoceanic routes that benefit from supersonic speeds–such as New York to London or San Francisco to Tokyo. Overture won’t generate a sonic boom over land cruising at subsonic speeds. Its passengers won’t even notice breaking through the “sound barrier,” which will be inaudible and uneventful.

I’m glad there are people still pursuing the dream of supersonic travel because I’m the kind of busy jetsetter that needs to get places fast. Sure, the only travel I’ve done the past seven months is between my bed and sofa, but you should see how I do it. “Don’t you roll? Don’t you roll between your bed and sofa?” Yeah, but I do it really fast.

Source: Geekologie – Unveiling of Boom’s supersonic XB-1 jet

NVIDIA has developed a technique of video compression using AI, replacing video codecs with a neural network. Instead of sending a compressed video stream, their algorithm sends the location of key facial points and then essentially animates a deepfake of yourself on the receiver’s computer. Additionally, their technique can also align faces so that you’re avatar is actually looking at the person you’re video conferencing with instead of appearing to stare off screen because your camera and monitor aren’t aligned right.

So obviously I’m replacing my face with Chris Hemsworth on all future Zoom calls because why would I use my own face when I can use his face? My girlfriend already makes me tape a printed out photo of him to my face so this feels like the next logical step.

Source: Geekologie – Nvidia creates AI video compression for video conferencing

17-year-old Maci Currin of Cedar Park, Texas, has been certified by Guinness World Records as having the world’s longest female legs. Currin is 6’10” (2.08 meters) and each of her legs measures about 53″ (1.35 meters). Now it’s just a matter of time until she sets her next world record: most miserable person in an airline seat.

Keep going for Guinness’ announcement video, as well as video of the previous record holder: 6’9″ (2.05 meters) Russian model Ekaterina Lisina.

Source: Geekologie – Guinness World Records holder for longest female legs

Apparently Home Depot sells a giant 12 ft tall Halloween skeleton and it’s pretty damn glorious. It costs $300, but every penny goes to the skeleton being really big and awesome. They’re also sold out, because obviously something this necessary would be sold out. The second I get my hands on one I’m setting it up at the dinner table so I can pretend I’m a Hobbit and I’ve been dining with Gandalf the Grey’s corpse for the last thirty years.

home depot skeleton holding baby skeleton by ankle pic.twitter.com/ePwamQ1ycg

— samantha (@samanthaaa_14) September 26, 2020

When your bf comes to meet dad, a 40 ft skeleton pic.twitter.com/7E7Ie48yOc

— 👀 (@peeps_burge) September 30, 2020

Or you could just be this person pic.twitter.com/2KCK3wDxG5

— Shut the fuck up, Donny (@Whtamihere4) September 30, 2020

Source: Geekologie – Home Depot’s giant 12 ft tall Halloween skeleton decoration

Star Trek: The Experience was an immersive themed attraction which opened in 1998 at the Las Vegas Hilton and closed in 2008. For anybody who ever experienced it, this is incredible behind the scenes footage of them building the set, including a lights-on view of the transporter room mechanism at around 11:45.

For those unfamiliar, you basically walked into a simulator loading area, and then using a bunch of lighting and mechanical trickery felt like you were being beamed onto the Enterprise. It was an incredible effect, and actually seeing how it was done has solved a mystery that has plagued me for years. I may or may not have notebooks filled with “transporter room” and question marks scribbled from cover to cover.

Keep going for the full video, as well as as a promo video showing what the original attraction was like.

Source: Geekologie – Raw behind the scenes footage of the construction of Star Trek: The Experience in Las Vegas

TikToker Christian Hull has a series of videos of him trying to frantically guess what color paint will be as it mixes. It sounds stupid because it is stupid, but it’s also weirdly compelling and maybe needs to be turned into an actual TV game show.

main source of joy is this guy who frantically guesses what color the paint is going to be pic.twitter.com/T1dQrTRWIK

— rebecca jennings (@rebexxxxa) September 29, 2020

Source: Geekologie – Guy tries to guess what color paint is going to be