Nice super computer *animation
Of course we will never know if it’s correct.

There is actually a bowling robot that bowls strikes all the time, but it doesn't look much like this, and they have it surrounded in plexiglass panels for SAFETY (something you'd need even more if that computer animation thing were real).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUKUXGrY91w

I actually knew a few of the people involved. DigiPen (where the students who designed Portal went) was just up the road (and my second choice for a CGI school) from where I got my education in computer animation. I used to hang out with Ben Morris who built level design tools for Doom and Quake back in the day and went on to build the level design tool for Valve that they used on Halflife and Portal.

I also worked on Navy Seals, the project Gooseman did before Counter Strike.

Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and keep collaborating with some of those folks instead of finding a different path (animating for TV shows).

I dunno, the concept is plausible. Model jet engines can give up to 25 kg of thrust (off the shelf, more for custom built). He has six of them, so that's plenty of thrust.

I have over ten years of experience in computer animation and his movements are exactly what I'd expect. The engine effects are perfect, everything is just as I'd expect even things at a good distance disturbed by the wind. If this is fake it's the highest level of fakery and the concept is very plausible.

IMO this is probably real.

Why is the father of Alyx a computer animation?

I've already seen stunning examples of computer animation,used to advertise games, surpassed on modern consoles. I look forward to the day I'll be playing games with this level of graphic realism.

Looks computer animated to me (not stop motion). How come the sky never changes and the shadows don't move? I would think something like this (done via stop motion) would have taken hours and hours and you would have seen the sun moving (and the clouds).

>> ^notarobot:

>> ^ant:
Do I assume this has spoilers? I haven't seen the movie yet.

Save your money. The computer animation and cinematography were very well done. I really wish I had more good thing to say than that, but that's all I got.
The thing that is probably most annoying to fans is that there were plenty of element present to make a great film, and then they roll out this quasi-polished turd.


I wasn't planning to see it in theater. I will wait for home release. I still need to see The Avengers.

>> ^ant:

Do I assume this has spoilers? I haven't seen the movie yet.


Save your money. The computer animation and cinematography were very well done. I really wish I had more good thing to say than that, but that's all I got.

The thing that is probably most annoying to fans is that there were plenty of element present to make a great film, and then they roll out this quasi-polished turd.

Yeah, this is all fine and dandy but, I'm pretty sure the in latest McDonald's commercial I've seen, the burgers and fries are computer animated (given away by the horrible shading and colour saturation) -- burgers do NOT look like that.

It's funny because the watch probably doesn't even exist anywhere. This is a computer animation of a watch that someone thinks COULD be built, and are trying to sell the idea to watch manufacturers, as well as gauge interest. Afterall, why waste the effort if no one is willing to buy one?

This ANIMATION probably cost them that much to produce...

>> ^gorillaman:

>> ^zombieater:
"This is the way a normal penis was designed to work."
Uh... no. That is how the penis evolved and changed along with man.
I wish people would stop doing this. Did we just watch a creationist video? No, serious people use the word 'designed' in relation to evolutionary processes all the time because it's a useful shorthand.


Yeah, I know it's not a creationist video. It's just annoying for me. As a teacher and biologist, it's more than just a common shorthand, it implies a misunderstanding of biology and I feel that this misunderstanding by anthropomorphizing evolution can lead to problems in comprehension of the concept.



Perhaps I should just bite my tongue and fight the good fight when it counts, eh?

Agreed. Culture adapts more quickly than evolution.

Now the deserts are paved and irrigated, and little boxes made of ticky-tacky dot the hillside. All with AC and all just the same. Culture can adapt again.

>> ^dag:

I think it could be that STDs have evolved quicker than us. Therefore we use culture as a way to beat their faster microbial evolution. The same goes for dietary laws. There were probably pretty good reasons for not eating shellfish, if you lived in the desert without refrigeration. >> ^notarobot:
I've never understood the argument that a normal body part, found on pretty much every mammal species on earth, evolved over millions and millions of years is flawed.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

I don't think it's the right thing to do now - but maybe in biblical times when hygiene was a real issue, it was a way to give a male offspring a head start against the many ailments that were around at the time. I don't think it's a practice that was just pulled out of a hat- it has some practical background, just like dietary laws. >> ^hpqp:

@dag and @lucky760
Don't be fooled by the studies saying circumcision prevents the transmission of HIV etc. Several factors render those studies' results doubtful and/or moot. For one, many of them concern 3rd world countries where simple hygiene is still an issue (e.g. Kenya). The odds ratios are very low. I would also add (with reserves though) that cultural bias may play a role in some of those studies (look at the names).
Most doctors and doctor associations disprove of neonatal circumcision btw: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_analysis_of_circumcision.
But even if circumcision were proven to drastically reduce the transmission of STDs and/or penile cancer, I would still be against it. How many kids have sex when they're babies? Can't they be given the choice when they reach their teens? As for penile cancer, it tends to develop in old age (60 and on), so plenty of time for a "preventive" chop if one chooses to do so to one's own body.