This is the gun equivalent of slipping in the shower because you forgot to put the bath mat down. It's got nothing to do with intelligence. Be nice.

The thumbnail image for this video has been updated - thumbnail added by Ornthoron.

How close was that farm to Fukushima Daiichi?




Holy shit, I just thought to myself, "OMFG, what if that's not Japanese?" then I thought, "No, she said that 'cowie mat sha' thing you keep hearing in all the Japanese vids, so you're probably ok."

This looks really good the Cg / mat paintings / comps look fantastic.

Still have to remember to stop a trailer after first 10 seconds so i don't know the whole bloody film by the end of it.

Biography
Dr. Gerald Curatola graduated from Colgate University in 1979 and received his dental education from New York University College of Dentistry. After graduating in 1983, Dr. Curatola returned to join the teaching faculty in both the Division of Prosthodontic Science and Post-Graduate Department of Continuing Education from 1984-1995. Dr. Curatola also served on the hospital staffs of both New York University and Cabrini Medical Centers in New York City. As a researcher in dental materials and national lecturing clinician in the field of Restorative and Cosmetic Dentistry, Dr. Curatola has worked with many dental manufacturers including the Den-Mat, Kerr, Siemens, Brasseler, Colgate, and Oral-B Companies.

In a joint effort with the Jamaican Government and the Peace Corps, Dr. Curatola performed voluntary dentistry on the island of Jamaica, West Indies in 1982. He continued to volunteer his services to the Bowery Mission in New York City from 1985-1995. Since 1996, Dr. Curatola currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Pediatric Dental Fund of the Hamptons (PDF) whose mission is to provide voluntary dental services to indigent children on the East End of Long Island.

Dr. Curatola has maintained private dental practices in both Manhattan and East Hampton. In 1986, he established the Curatola Dental Group, a restorative and cosmetic dental practice in New York City. After settling his permanent residence in East Hampton, he founded East Hampton Dental Associates, a multi-specialty practice in 1999. Dr. Curatola continues to consult for several major dental corporations in the United States and Europe and lectures internationally on the techniques and benefits of new treatment modalities especially natural, therapeutic approaches to building dental health. He is Cofounder and Chairman of C.S.Bioscience, Inc., a dental biotech company which has developed and patented a nutritional- homeopathic oral care formula (NuPath TM Complexes).

Dr. Curatola has authored numerous articles on dentistry and health including a recent chapter on dental health for the book entitled, "Live Long, Look Young" by Lisa Trivell. Dr. Curatola is currently writing a book entitled "Smile for a Lifetime- An Integrative Look at the Role Your Dental Health Plays in Wellness and Longevity."

http://www.easthamptondental.com/curatola.htm

I can has traction?

Add a rubber mat and that dog would overshoot the ball.

GIMMICK! Gaming always has these cycles of little peripherals, control schemes, etc. that at best contribute a few fun experiences, but are always are advertised as revolutionary, incredible things that will forever change way we play games.

Some examples:
Nintendo Power Glove (NES) - worthless as a controller, for any purpose

Light Gun (NES) - Games worth playing that used the light gun: Duck Hunt

Super Scope (SNES) - the Super Nintendo version of the light gun, minus anything worthwhile to play with it

3D/"Virtual Reality" goggles, Virtual Boy (var.) - the next "big thing" is always 3D displays through glasses or head-mounted displays. Reality: the hardware has always detracted from the experience, ranging from mildly annoying at best to instant motion sickness / vomit-inducing nightmare. Good 3D software engines displayed on a flat 2D screen actually *did* revolutionize gaming in a way these likely never will.

Dance Pad/Mat control (Dance Dance Revolution, etc.) - Makes kids exercise! Watch all the fatties lose weight! Sound familiar? Reality: niche appeal, niche market, fatties stay fat

Guitar Hero guitar controllers - Kids learn to appreciate music! They can develop musical talent! Reality: learn to play a faster-paced, vaguely guitar shaped version of Simon!


I don't mean to suggest that some of these things aren't fun. However, I think this sort of thing is guaranteed to have at best a pretty quick flash-in-the-pan sort of popularity. The best ones are instances where the peripheral is designed to work and work well with one given game or type of game, and the cost of that niche input method is just added in to the price of the game it was designed for.

To me, Nintendo was insane to base the entire market viability of the Wii around motion control. Competitors will develop their own solutions (Kinect, for example) and steal away some of the surge of motion control novelty attraction. Once the novelty wears off people will realize that the controllers, keyboard and mouse, joysticks etc. that have been used as input methods for 30+ years have been around that long because they aren't gimmicks, they actually *(&%ing work.

/rant over
//get off my lawn

I just want to fill in the context for those who are unaware to explain just how epic this is (SPOILERS, obviously):

This was the main event of the final WEC show, before the whole roster gets folded into the UFC. This fight was for the WEC Lightweight Championship - the winner getting an automatic shot at the UFC Lightweight (155lb) Champion (to be determined in January, 2011).

Through four rounds of this 5-round fight most people had the fight scored even at two rounds apiece, and it was shaping up to be a fight-of-the-year candidate. The fourth round itself was possibly the round-of-the-year with incredible back-and-forth action on the feet and on the mat.

As the fifth round played out, Anthony Pettis started taking control of the round, but with just under 90 seconds to go, this happens. Benson Henderson, who is legendarily difficult to submit or KO survived the following onslaught, but this shot effectively closed out the round, fight, show, year, organization.

Anthony 'Showtime' Pettis won the fight by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46).

edit: It's now called the 'Showtime' kick.

Side note: Anthony Pettis is also tangentially famous for being featured in the 'World of Jenks' show on MTV.

The thumbnail image for this video has been updated - thumbnail added by radx.

I didn't have enough information when I initially commented on this video (because the video didn't provide it), and I jumped to conclusions - my bad!! In any event, it would definitely have been helpful if the video had indicated if the otter was a sea otter, river otter, or ...

Here's some fun and interesting information about otters from the World Famous San Diego Zoo web site:
Class: Mammalia (Mammals)
Order: Carnivora
Family: Mustelidae
Genera: 6
Species: 13
Length: largest—giant otter Pteronura brasiliensis, up to 7.8 feet (2.4 meters); smallest—Asian small-clawed otter Amblonyx cinereus, up to 3 feet (0.9 meters)
Weight: largest—sea otter Enhydra lutris, males up to 95 pounds (43 kilograms); smallest—Asian small-clawed otter, up to 11 pounds (5 kilograms)
Life span: 15 to 20 years
Gestation: from 2 months for smaller species to 5 months for sea otters
Number of young at birth: 1 to 5, usually 2
Size at birth: 4.5 ounces (128 grams) for smaller species to 5 pounds (2.3 kilograms) for sea otters
Age of maturity: 2 to 5 years
Conservation status: four species, including the sea otter, are endangered; three otter species are vulnerable.
Fun facts
• You can tell otter species apart by the shape and amount of fur on their noses.
• Unlike other marine mammals, sea otters do not have a layer of blubber to keep them warm; they rely on warm air trapped in their fur. Sea otters have the densest fur of any mammal, with about 100,000 hairs in a space about the size of a postage stamp!
• Most otter species capture prey with their mouths, but Asian small-clawed otters and sea otters have flexible fingers and grab with their hands.
• North American and European river otters have been known to share dens with beavers—but the beavers do all the building!

Mammals: Otter
Range: Africa, Asia, and parts of North America, Central America, and South America
Habitat: sea otters are found in the Pacific Ocean and along the coastline, but most otter species live in rivers, lakes, and marshes

Champion swimmers
Otters are the only serious swimmers in the weasel family. They spend most of their lives in the water, and they are made for it! Their sleek, streamlined bodies are perfect for diving and swimming. Otters also have long, slightly flattened tails that move sideways to propel them through the water while their back feet act like rudders to steer.

Almost all otters have webbed feet, some more webbed than others, and they can close off their ears and noses as they swim underwater. They can stay submerged for about five minutes, because their heart rate slows and they use less oxygen. They’re also good at floating on the water’s surface, because air trapped in their fur makes them more buoyant. Have you ever noticed that when an otter comes out of the water, its outer fur sticks together in wet spikes, while the underneath still seems dry? That’s because they have two layers of fur: a dense undercoat that traps air; and a topcoat of long, waterproof guard hairs. Keeping their fur in good condition is important, so otters spend a lot of time grooming. In fact, if their fur becomes matted with something like oil, it can damage their ability to hunt for food and stay warm.

Party animals
Otters are very energetic and playful. You might say they love to party! They are intelligent and curious, and they are usually busy hunting, investigating, or playing with something. They like to throw and bounce things, wrestle, twirl, and chase their tails. They also play games of "tag" and chase each other, both in the water and on the ground. River otters seem to like sliding down mud banks or in the snow—they’ll do it over and over again! Otters also make lots of different sounds, from whistles, growls, and screams to barks, chirps, and coos. All this activity is part of the otters’ courtship, social bonding, and communication, and since otter pups need practice, they tend to be even more playful than the adults.

Life as a pup
Most otters are born in a den, helpless and with their eyes closed. The mother takes care of them, often chasing the father away after their birth, although in some species the dad may come back after a couple of weeks to help raise them. The babies, called pups, open their eyes and start exploring the den at about one month, start swimming at two months, and stay with their mother and siblings until they are about one year old, when they head off on their own.

For sea otters in their ocean habitat it’s a little different—the pups are born with their eyes open, and they have a special coat of hair so they can float, even though they can’t swim yet. They are carried on their mother’s stomach until they are about two months old, when they start swimming and diving on their own.

For most otters, social groups are made up of a mother, her older offspring, and her newest pups; the males spend most of their time alone or with a few other males. During breeding time or where there’s lots of food, though, larger groups of otters may gather, especially among sea otters in kelp beds.

The seafood diet
Otter food may not all come from the ocean, but it is definitely fishy! River otters eat mostly fish, frogs, crayfish, crabs, and mollusks, with an occasional small mammal or bird. Sea otters eat many of the same things, but mostly sea urchins, abalone, crabs, mussels, and clams, which they crack open against rocks they hold on their stomachs. Otters have long, sensitive whiskers that help them find prey, even in murky water. Some species, like the Asian small-clawed otter Amblonyx cinereus, also use their hands to probe into mud or under rocks to find a tasty meal that might be hiding there. River otters use lots of energy and digest their food very fast, so they eat several times a day. Sea otters need to eat 20 to 25 percent of their body weight each day. That’s a lot of abalone!
The otters at the San Diego Zoo are fed carnivore diet, carrots, and either squid or trout. They also get small amounts of "treats" for enrichment, like crayfish, worms, potatoes, or yams.

How does the bounce off a buried fitness ball compare to a Bosu, which is basically a cut from a fitness ball with a flat solid base? I've seen guys at the gym do flips from that on to a crash mat.

Fitness ball is cheaper, but Bosu can be used for flips without burying it, and won't blow away if left on a windy beach

From what I understand, those road trains get it up into high gear, mat the accelerator, and then pile some bricks on top of that, all the while jumping up and down on the bricks, then disengage the brake system just because it might be holding them back.

Oh that's possible. I don't know when my sensei trained with Steven, but know for sure he trained under Ueshiba (my sensei, not Steven).

Honestly, I think Steven's contributions to martial arts has more to do with his outsized ego than his ability. Many of the practitioners in my dojo are probably just as skilled, if not more so, than Steven, but they simply don't have his charisma.

I don't think his size is really at cause for his power, however. In aikido, size can serve as a detriment if it is not embodied within the hara -- the center -- and moves with the hips, as in any athletic endeavor.

And as someone who has experienced the kind of qi he references here, the energy is in no way mystical. It is a real phenomenon with actual effects on the mat.

>> ^TheFreak:

>> ^Trancecoach:
My Aikido sensei, an 8th Dan, trained under the founder of Aikido with Steven. when you learn to embody the principles, the art is quite beautiful
His demo starts around 1:15 in this video.

Morehei Ueshiba died in 1969. Steven Seagal went to Japan in 1974. So Seagal never learned Aikido from the founder.
His accomplishments in Aikido are still impressive though. Undoubtedly the biggest influence in popularizing the martial art in the US.
And to elevate one of Westy's points, I suspect he gets more power from being 6'4" than he gets from any form of mystical, universal energy.

Trancecoach's door slams. Twenty two minutes later Trancecoach confronts his Aikido instructor at the dojo. Voices are raised. A struggle ensues. Trancecoach wrestles with his "8th dan" Aikido master. Eventually he gets the better of him when he finally pins his teacher's shoulders to the mat -- despite the fact he's only been taking Aikido for four and a half months.

The name of the guy is Isao Machii, he holds the Guinness World record for...I think number of cuts on a free standing tatami mat or something like that? He did a bunch of segments for this show ("Best123"), including slicing a BB in midair. See
http://videosift.com/video/In-which-many-things-are-cut-in-slow-motion-by-a-katana

Also, slicing an arrow in half in-flight: http://videosift.com/video/More-Amazing-Precision-Cutting-an-Arrow-mid-flight