Fantastic video on the progression of information technology.  Example: It is estimated that a week’s worth of the New Your Times contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century.  Example: It is estimated that 4 exabytes (4.0×10^19) of unique information will be generated this year [the year this post was made], which is more than the previous 5,000 years.

It’s the 5th of May, and if you live in Mexico, you probably don’t care as Cinco de Mayo isn’t really observed there.  However, if you live in the US, then Cinco de Mayo is a day to celebrate the culture and experiences of Americans of Mexican ancestry.  However, as you enjoy your food, music, and folkloric dancing, keep in mind the origin of the holiday.  May 5th, 1862 – The Battle of Puebla, where the outnumbered Mexicans defeated a much better-equipped French army.

Let’s talk about Mexican’s for a bit.

Bwa Ha, Haaah ha ha hehe heeeee…  I love it.  Who’d have thought you could embarrass yourself to such a degree that not only do you become a household phrase, but then you get immortalized in clockwork automation.  Sweet!

I especially like how it vibrates during the Tase phase.  Want to see the video?

This Victorian-era animation is clever, witty, and funny. Guaranteed satisfaction, or your money back. Hint: watch the credits.

Welcome back [Soviet] Russia!  We missed you…

May 9th, 1945 (Victory Day) – the day that Nazi Germany capitulated to the USSR.  It became an official Soviet holiday in 1965 and continues to be celebrated even after the fall of the USSR.  Traditionally, ceremonial military parades are held on the day, such as the one in Moscow on the Red Square.  However, on May 9th, 2008, the Russian Federation returned to the Soviet Union tradition of showing off its mobile nuclear weapons during the Victory Day parade, declaring its return to super-power status (Также неизбежное поражение тех американских капиталистических свиней).  This is the RT-2UTTKh Topol-M Mobile ICBM, NATO Designation SS-27 Stalin.

This is a brand new “modernized” version of the weapon system, with a whole new kind of ICBM.  Want to know why you should be concerned?

Got $342,275 USD to blow on a clock?  Look no further than a wind-up clock that writes the time on a piece of paper.  Bleeding-edge Swiss watch-maker Jacquet Droz invested ten years in engineering and building “La Machine a Ecrire le Temps” (the machine that writes time).  Personally, I was thinking that when I staff my mansion in New Zealand after overthrowing its government and installing myself as a dictator, I could use this machine for punching employee time-cards.

By some coincidence, in the 18th century, Jacquet Droz’s founder used to build automaton dolls to help sell his watches. Manuel Emsch’s idea was to build a similar machine that would be useful for the new millennium.

There are more than 1,200 components, including 84 ball bearings, 50 cams and 9 belts inside the machine. Wind it up, press the button, and the time is written on a small pad using a stylus. Manuel Emsch, creative head of Montres Jacquet Droz, came up with the idea and passed it on to the engineers and artisans of the company. The mechanism is kept inside a case made of liquid crystal, so that you can conceal or reveal it whenever you want.

Via DVICE

[Narrator Voice-Over] In a time…  of post-apocalyptic destruction.  Mechanical ragdolls have risen from the ashes of the old world to replace mankind.  But in the darkness lies an evil robot monster that feeds on the souls of slain ragdolls.  Only ragdoll #9 is left to fight alone in a desperate attempt to save their dystopia, and free the undead.

This is now a big-budget film with Tim Burton’s name stamped on it.  It was based on a short film of the same name.  The little mechanical ragdolls are cool.  The big movie website, and the original short-film on YouTube.  The plot (Wiki) is compelling, and the movie trailer makes it look very interesting.  I’m certainly going to see this on the big screen.  Oh, and watch the above trailer all the way through, because there are two of them one after another.

Now here’s how you do SteamPunk art, with imagination.  The technology is really at the edge of the story, and the story centers on the woman.  Looks like a space where a person really lives.  The attention to detail, all the little objects, and nick-nacks; it’s very well done.  This is a win.

She is trapped and hidden from the world. In this cozy, but gloomy room she has spend myriads of minutes that have turned out in one moment into single continuous thin cord. The only bond with the reality is that magic mirror on the wall. It shows her in some strange perspective everything that happens beyond this prison.

The robot is interesting, and I like the train.  The double boiler implies a double fire-box, and the catwalk on the side is a nice touch.  But a steam locomotive requires fuel and water, always pulled right behind the engine; I don’t see that here.  It must be somewhere.  While nobody is going to question the giant robot, I think most SteamPunk fans have a good idea how a steam train works.  Attention to detail is important to me.  The community demands to know where the fuel and water is!

OMG, this is so funny.  I love these College Humor guys, and this parody of Billy Joel’s “We didn’t start the fire” masterfully captures the modern internet.  Also, I saw Billy Joel’s video debut on MTV back when they played videos.  For anyone over 30, this should be a scary wake-up call.

I remember a world populated with Commodore 64s, VCRs the size of microwave ovens, microwave ovens the size of dog houses, cassette tapes coming in as 8-tracks went out, and you could smoke anywhere (bus, airplane, library, work, you name it).  I’m an IT professional, and the modern Internet is a very scary place.  The future is cloud computing, wireless video and power and everything else, throw-away data centers, and vertical farming.  Whoa, I need to live a life of solitude in my airship as it floats along the air currents high above civilization; kind of like that world in BioShock, but up in the sky…