>> ^ABTechie:
Title, tag or video is wrong. I watched Will Ferrell in "The Landlord.


That's because of Internet Explorer. Seems that FoD is still not able to serve millions of users that use IE. But i guess that's ok because IE is a rather unusual and exotic browser. Sarcasm.

Loved the "out of touch" comment followed by the description of the exotic dishes, a fish wrapped in sea weed, fascinating...

Well, I see we've all already piled on the hate train, but..
I've experienced exactly what they're talking about with various anime shows. When I first watched FLCL I felt genuinely depressed for about two weeks when the show was over. Likable characters combined with seeing a young kid with friends having an adventureful life made me acutely aware of the things missing in my geek life.

I just saw Avatar this past week. It was a good movie; there were only three things that struck me as not being sensible while I was watching it(compare this to Terminator Salvation, which I also saw this past week. It had at least 10 things that jumped out at me as either plot holes or just nonsense). Avatar gets away with things that wouldn't work in movies set on Earth because being set in a foreign planetary system gives them access to phenomena like a unique evolutionary history or the presence of the superconducting mineral as explanations for aspects of the plot.

While I did not feel depressed after seeing Avatar, I did experience a sensation similar to missing someone for a minute or two after leaving the theater. A relatively believable story, likable characters, a female lead with sex appeal, exotic environment, the fact that I strongly want to see travel to other stars happen within my lifetime, the fact that I'm single, and the fact that the movie was over two and a half hours long; I guess all that could have added up to create the sensation I felt.

These monkeys and I could have a productive relationship - I'd be glad to let them eat the disgusting fruit out of my Jello™.
Exotic monkey diseases are a small price to pay for chunk-free flavored gelatin.

This is extremely beautiful. Too bad religionists had to step in and pollute it all. >:[ They make the world and everything around us feel ugly and tainted. Believing in a heavenly creator that just... MADE us be, is like taking the easy way out, without having to think and wonder at the grandeur of the universe.

Their contrived, depressing, mechanical tale disgusts me because the truth is so much more grand and magnificent. Isn't it just so much more beautiful and exotic to think of all the things that had to occur in order for us to have accidentally been bestowed upon the Earth? I think so.

>> ^dystopianfuturetoday:
Do the yanks who seem to be able to see this (yes, I'm looking at you Netrunner and poolcleaner) want to share their secret for viewing this exotic and forbidden European video?


The secret is that I found and posted this video while at work, which is located far beneath Cheyenne Mountain on the other side of a stargate. We don't suffer region blocking.

Do the yanks who seem to be able to see this (yes, I'm looking at you Netrunner and poolcleaner) want to share their secret for viewing this exotic and forbidden European video?

Yeah our professor is kind of hard on people who come into the program who only want to be bladesmiths. Not only because it's a fine art program but he also stresses over an over how hard it is to make it as a bladesmith. Knives are hard work! Personally, it took me FOREVER to forge and finish them.

In reply to this comment by Sagemind:
I have made many custom decorative knives. (though haven't in a while)

I got my steel from the huge carbide blades used by the mills.
I drew out my pattern, and cut out the shape using a cutting torch.
Then it was grinding, wet-sanding and polishing. I used 3/8-1/2" thick brass plate to decorate the handle and then finish with bone or exotic woods. Brass welding rod, cut and used as a rivet, held the handle together. Then more polishing, and then some more, sharpen it up and you got a knife.

I gave every single one I made, including a great dagger, away as gifts. I only ever kept one of them. A 10" hunting knife with a deer antler handle. It has a great pattern on the blade but it was more functional than decorative.

100s of hours of work and nothing to show for it...

Edit: I didn't forge my own steel - though who wouldn't want to get into that - this guy is so lucky to have made a career of it!

I have made many custom decorative knives. (though haven't in a while)

I got my steel from the huge carbide blades used by the mills.
I drew out my pattern, and cut out the shape using a cutting torch.
Then it was grinding, wet-sanding and polishing. I used 3/8-1/2" thick brass plate to decorate the handle and then finish with bone or exotic woods. Brass welding rod, cut and used as a rivet, held the handle together. Then more polishing, and then some more, sharpen it up and you got a knife.

I gave every single one I made, including a great dagger, away as gifts. I only ever kept one of them. A 10" hunting knife with a deer antler handle. It has a great pattern on the blade but it was more functional than decorative.

100s of hours of work and nothing to show for it...

Edit: I didn't forge my own steel - though who wouldn't want to get into that - this guy is so lucky to have made a career of it!

...or she didn't have money to burn on exotic fashion, and now she does?

>> ^osama1234:
Does this mean her current incarnation (weird makeup, hair etc) is nothing more than that, just a front to promote sales.
She seems much more likable like a normal human being.

Milkman dan is exactly right. It's not quite as free a baldur's gate, but baldur's gate was by no means a fully open world either. It's easier to crank out maps and locations in a BG style environment hence easier to create a game and make good profit from the work you put in.

Have we had a PERFECT reincarnation of BG using modern day gaming standards? Not yet, but it was close. Maybe it's a holy grail we're looking for, all us die hard BG fans.

I will however admit that the side quests and storyline in BG were so incredibly involved and engorging. Dragon age did not drag me in as much. I was absolutely infatuated with Leliana's accent and when i realised i could get my sexy redhead elf girl to get it on with the sexy orlaisian bard temptress, i was obsessed with getting that to happen.

I don't think that counts, though. I believe it was Durlag's Tower that i always remember most of all from any game, ever. The story and depth of that place was immense, you were slowly taken through the dwarf's footsteps and his eventual decline into insanity which led him to kill all his loved ones. That storyline really blew my socks off, and it didn't need lesbian sex or a hugely attractive exotic accent to do it.

Alright, Dragon Age isn't QUITE our new baldur's gate, but it's been the best contender by miles and miles. Maybe if this one does so well and we show our appreciation for the display of quality in areas that we most wanted it, they'll be able to improve on it and give us more. And maybe then we'll have our new baldur's gate.

>> ^glomer8888:
I appreciate all of the interesting ideas as to what I do or if I'm loaded...

C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!

All I have to say is 14 years....if you've been alive for 30, 40, 50 years and you don't have any "exotic" looking memories like whats shown in this video; then you probably need to re-evaluate what you are spending your money on. Almost anyone regardless of income can afford to see a baseball game, to skydive, to go on a deep sea fishing trip, and take a once a year trip to some faraway location...maybe not every month but in 14 years??

I mean come on people, you can fly to almost any region of the world for under $1000 last I checked.

If they do things like horseback competitions, yachting, exotic vacations, and he RENTED A FREAKING MOVIE THEATER, on top of the fact he hired actors, a production crew, AND filmed in exotic locations, then yeah, I'd say he is a freaking hugely rich showoff douchebag.
Oh, and I'm a recently engaged girl, btw. I just found it pretentious and self-important.

>> ^cybrbeast:
Why did the technology die with him? Surely more could be built?


One person with extraordinary vision, coupled with technological know-how, engineering brilliance and the ability to get his hands dirty and plain-and-simple build what he imagines is a rare thing.

In the case of the Britten bike, this is a partial list of what made his bike special:

1) Partial girder-link front suspension with adjustable anti-dive properties.
-fork-type suspensions compress under braking and extend during acceleration, changing the geometry and handling characteristics of the machine quite drastically during the different driving modes. Britten's suspension design allowed him to control pretty much all variables of suspension geometry under changing load, making the bike behave however the rider wished.
- The rear suspension, while perhaps not as revolutionary, was a beautiful piece. It was essentially a carbon-fibre banana swing-arm with a linkage to the adjustable shock/spring assembly. If you look at the bike you'll see that there's no spring/shock assembly near the rear suspension, rather note the spring/shock assembly directly behind the front wheel- this is for the rear suspension! The front shock assembly is hidden in the front suspension linkage and cowling.

2) The engine itself was a stressed-member.
-While certainly not unheard of, Britten took the concept to an extreme, essentially eliminating the frame from the motorcycle. The front and rear suspensions essentially bolted directly to the engine, thus saving many kilos over contemporary designs. Take a look at any current MotoGP or Superbike- most use the engine as a partial stressed-member, but they all have frame members linking the engine, steering heads and seat-assemblies. Britten really only had a vestigial sub-frame for the rider's seat.

3) Well-controlled aerodynamics and fully-ducted cooling system
-Britten paid close attention to airflow over, around and through his bike. Look how cleanly the rider's body tucks into the bodywork. He paid close attention to details, notice how clean the entire assembly is- no exposed wiring, nothing dangling into the airflow, that incredibly sleek rear swing-arm and rear tire hugger. This keeps the airflow smooth and un-disturbed. Motorcycles aren't terribly aerodynamic machines in the first place, but a wise man once said God is in the details.
-The engine itself is a water cooled design, but where's the radiator? It's in a fully-sealed duct directly beneath the rider's seat. High-pressure air is inlet from the front of the bike, through the radiator and is exhausted into the low pressure area beneath the rider and above/ahead of the rear wheel. Greater cooling equals higher power potential.

4) The motor
- 999cc 60 degree V-Twin, belt-driven DOHC design, twin injectors per cylinder, sophisticated electronic ignition, hand-made carbon fibre velocity stacks, wet sump. The motor was designed to breathe hard, pumping out torque and horsepower (166 hp @ 11800 rpm- not sure about the torque figures), and run cool and reliably under racing conditions. Nothing here that any other manufacturer couldn't have figured out on their own, but Britten had the insight and the will to make the best motor in the world at the time. The 60 degree configuration was, I assume chosen for packaging reasons. Normally this configuration would have bad primary balance characteristics, but Britten engineered his to such tight tolerances that the engine ran smoothly right up to redline (12500 rpm) without using a balance shaft.
I'll also point out here that Britten wasn't above using someone else's part if it was better than he could make himself- the gearbox was from a Suzuki superbike, and the cylinder liners and voltage regulator (both of which failed at the Daytona race in '92- the latter costing Britten the win) were from Ducati.

5) Carbon Fibre
- While Carbon Fibre had been around for 2 decades or so at this point, nobody had used it so extensively. Britten used the material for bodywork, wheels, engine parts, suspension girders and the rear swing-arm. There is still no other bike, not even the current Ducati Desmosedici MotoGP bike, that uses so much of this exotic material. The stuff then, as it is now, was hugely expensive and challenging to engineer for different applications. Britten made everything himself, in his garage, figuring it out as he went. This kept the total weight of the bike to a hugely impressive 138 kg.

Keep in mind that he did all of the above in 1991 and 1992, with the help of several neighbors and one part-time machinist, in his backyard shed! He made the bodywork by hand, using a wire frame and hot melt glue, crafting the wind-cheating shape and cooling ducting purely by eye. He cast the aluminum engine parts himself, heat-treating them in his wife's pottery kiln, and cooling the heat-treated parts with water from his swimming pool!

Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki... any one of these manufactures could today reproduce and expand on what Britten accomplished almost single-handedly. None of them will- there's too much at stake for them. It's far safer to stick with the tried-and-true, making small evolutionary changes over the years. A true visionary achiever (to coin a term) like Britten comes along only every once in a great while.

I suppose that this is what was really lost when John Britten died... vision, engineering acuity, hands-on knowledge, and pure will. Touched with a little craziness.

In reply to this comment by cybrbeast:
Why did the technology die with him? Surely more could be built?

>> ^cybrbeast:
Why did the technology die with him? Surely more could be built?


One person with extraordinary vision, coupled with technological know-how, engineering brilliance and the ability to get his hands dirty and plain-and-simple build what he imagines is a rare thing.

In the case of the Britten bike, this is a partial list of what made his bike special:

1) Partial girder-link front suspension with adjustable anti-dive properties.
-fork-type suspensions compress under braking and extend during acceleration, changing the geometry and handling characteristics of the machine quite drastically during the different driving modes. Britten's suspension design allowed him to control pretty much all variables of suspension geometry under changing load, making the bike behave however the rider wished.
- The rear suspension, while perhaps not as revolutionary, was a beautiful piece. It was essentially a carbon-fibre banana swing-arm with a linkage to the adjustable shock/spring assembly. If you look at the bike you'll see that there's no spring/shock assembly near the rear suspension, rather note the spring/shock assembly directly behind the front wheel- this is for the rear suspension! The front shock assembly is hidden in the front suspension linkage and cowling.

2) The engine itself was a stressed-member.
-While certainly not unheard of, Britten took the concept to an extreme, essentially eliminating the frame from the motorcycle. The front and rear suspensions essentially bolted directly to the engine, thus saving many kilos over contemporary designs. Take a look at any current MotoGP or Superbike- most use the engine as a partial stressed-member, but they all have frame members linking the engine, steering heads and seat-assemblies. Britten really only had a vestigial sub-frame for the rider's seat.

3) Well-controlled aerodynamics and fully-ducted cooling system
-Britten paid close attention to airflow over, around and through his bike. Look how cleanly the rider's body tucks into the bodywork. He paid close attention to details, notice how clean the entire assembly is- no exposed wiring, nothing dangling into the airflow, that incredibly sleek rear swing-arm and rear tire hugger. This keeps the airflow smooth and un-disturbed. Motorcycles aren't terribly aerodynamic machines in the first place, but a wise man once said God is in the details.
-The engine itself is a water cooled design, but where's the radiator? It's in a fully-sealed duct directly beneath the rider's seat. High-pressure air is inlet from the front of the bike, through the radiator and is exhausted into the low pressure area beneath the rider and above/ahead of the rear wheel. Greater cooling equals higher power potential.

4) The motor
- 999cc 60 degree V-Twin, belt-driven DOHC design, twin injectors per cylinder, sophisticated electronic ignition, hand-made carbon fibre velocity stacks, wet sump. The motor was designed to breathe hard, pumping out torque and horsepower (166 hp @ 11800 rpm- not sure about the torque figures), and run cool and reliably under racing conditions. Nothing here that any other manufacturer couldn't have figured out on their own, but Britten had the insight and the will to make the best motor in the world at the time. The 60 degree configuration was, I assume chosen for packaging reasons. Normally this configuration would have bad primary balance characteristics, but Britten engineered his to such tight tolerances that the engine ran smoothly right up to redline (12500 rpm) without using a balance shaft.
I'll also point out here that Britten wasn't above using someone else's part if it was better than he could make himself- the gearbox was from a Suzuki superbike, and the cylinder liners and voltage regulator (both of which failed at the Daytona race in '92- the latter costing Britten the win) were from Ducati.

5) Carbon Fibre
- While Carbon Fibre had been around for 2 decades or so at this point, nobody had used it so extensively. Britten used the material for bodywork, wheels, engine parts, suspension girders and the rear swing-arm. There is still no other bike, not even the current Ducati Desmosedici MotoGP bike, that uses so much of this exotic material. The stuff then, as it is now, was hugely expensive and challenging to engineer for different applications. Britten made everything himself, in his garage, figuring it out as he went. This kept the total weight of the bike to a hugely impressive 138 kg.

Keep in mind that he did all of the above in 1991 and 1992, with the help of several neighbors and one part-time machinist, in his backyard shed! He made the bodywork by hand, using a wire frame and hot melt glue, crafting the wind-cheating shape and cooling ducting purely by eye. He cast the aluminum engine parts himself, heat-treating them in his wife's pottery kiln, and cooling the heat-treated parts with water from his swimming pool!

Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki... any one of these manufactures could today reproduce and expand on what Britten accomplished almost single-handedly. None of them will- there's too much at stake for them. It's far safer to stick with the tried-and-true, making small evolutionary changes over the years. A true visionary achiever (to coin a term) like Britten comes along only every once in a great while.

I suppose that this is what was really lost when John Britten died... vision, engineering acuity, hands-on knowledge, and pure will. Touched with a little craziness.