declaration of independence
Latest
Hyperspectral imaging reveals Declaration of Independence rough draft dubbed citizens 'subjects'
Imagine, if you will, Thomas Jefferson sitting down to pen (or quill) a rough draft of the Declaration of Independence early in 1776... you know, when the colonies that would become the United States of America formally explained their decision to become independent states, and thus not be a part of Great Britain any longer. Imagine him writing the words "our fellow citizens" -- but know that, thanks to hyperspectral imaging, the Library of Congress has confirmed that he originally wrote "our fellow subjects" -- but then scrubbed it out and replaced it with the word "citizens." Personally, we feel pretty happy with the knowledge that the founding fathers chose their words so carefully -- after all, "we hold this stuff to be super obvious 'cause all dudes are like, basically the same" just doesn't have the same ring to it, now does it? Hit up the Boing Boing source link for far more photos.
Five app ideas for the Fourth of July
Whether you're just hanging around your back yard, going to the beach, or waiting to set off a huge cache of fireworks, there are always a lot of fun things to do over the Independence Day holiday in the U.S. Here are some apps that can help you enjoy the fun during the holiday. Grilling: Weber's On the Grill (US$4.99 - separate apps for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad). One of the staples of the holiday weekend is the family barbecue, with friends and family enjoying the outdoors and stuffing themselves with grilled delectables. The app has 250 classic recipes, an additional 40 recipes for rubs, marinades, and sauces, and more. You can store ingredients from any recipe in a grocery list for quick shopping, send the grocery lists to others (good if you're sharing the picnic duties), read tips on grilling, and even watch short grilling videos. Last, but not least, there's a grill timer right in the app that tells you when to flip that steak. I personally use this app with my Weber Genesis gas grill and it's a winner.
Declaration of Independence reading gets perfect vocal score in Rock Band 2
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Declaration_of_Independence_gets_100_vocals_in_Rock_Band_2'; Back in July, a GameSpy preview for Rock Band 2 claimed "the phoneme detection system used for the 'talkie' parts [in Rock Band] has been completely stripped and a new one has been put in place [for Rock Band 2]." Well, Harmonix definitely stripped out the old system, but it seems to have forgotten to put a new one in its place, as the new game seems to award perfect vocal points if it detects any noise during the "talkie" parts.We first became aware of this problem when we saw this video of a singer using a bunch of gibberish to pass the Beastie Boys' "So Whatcha Want" with a 100% rating on Expert difficulty. It's an impressive illustration of the faulty phoneme detection, but it's not wholly satisfying -- the singer is occasionally on rhythm and his voice occasionally does kind of match with the on-screen words. We wondered: how bad would a vocal performance have to be to fail this song?The answer, apparently, is "worse than a monotone recitation of the U.S. Declaration of Independence." As shown in the above video we've put together, even a dry reading of a 200+-year-old political treatise can be victorious in a Rock Band 2 vocal battle. Rest assured, there's no computer trickery going on here -- this video was taken as a direct feed from the Xbox 360 and has not been edited in any way. Now we only have one more question: when will Harmonix put in that improved phoneme detection system it's long been promising.
