google guess

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via Invisible Shoebox

zoom

after the bumpers not dodgems trip a bit of racing that boynton can handle. Not.
(via newthings)

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Comments: zoom

Not quite the same as Grand Tourismo, you know, boynton. I suspect you don't own a Playstation somehow.
Posted by Scott Wickstein at August 23, 2003 07:34 AM

You're right, and never have done ;)
I like this though.
Posted by boynton at August 23, 2003 11:44 AM

mind reading

Nora just sent boynton this mind-reading link.
(More amazing to boynton is that at the time she was surfing in vain for such a diversionary thing to post.)

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Comments: mind reading

Has anyone explained how this works to you? i.e. the maths involved? I have to admit, this really confused me the first time...
Posted by joh at August 13, 2003 05:11 PM

I was trying to work it out with my dodgy year 11 maths, Joh, then advanced the theory: must be magic .
Posted by boynton at August 13, 2003 05:17 PM

actually I've just had it explained to me.
the mystical ball has been demystified.
Now it's just graphics.
to misquote Alice: who cares for you! You're nothing but a pack of cards!
Posted by boynton at August 13, 2003 05:33 PM

Well, if it's on-line mind-reading magic you want:

http://www.composmentis.com/dotpoints/vol1_no1/

click on the "A puzzling thing" button.
Posted by Gummo Trotsky at August 13, 2003 05:54 PM

Pretty good Gummo, for a pack of cards ;)

I thought the old Fido one that I linked to once was quite good too - more mysterious numbers

http://www.digicc.com/fido/
Posted by boynton at August 13, 2003 06:23 PM

Quite good.

Now I'll have to track down that book of self-working magic tricks to see how it's done.
Posted by Gummo Trotsky at August 13, 2003 06:42 PM

please explain!!!
Posted by wen at August 14, 2003 01:56 PM

oh - its ok - worked it out myself.
How disappointing.
Posted by wen at August 14, 2003 02:00 PM

exactly what I thought - sometimes you just don't want to see the wires.
Posted by boynton at August 14, 2003 02:05 PM

It was wrong. I was thinking of saxty-tree.
Posted by Tony.T at August 14, 2003 11:29 PM

"exactly what I thought - sometimes you just don't want to see the wires."

Personally I enjoy it more, knowing that the wires are there. As a former amatuer conjuror in my youth, I like seeing people perform the tricks I always aspired to learn with a lot more artistry than I ever managed.
Posted by Gummo Trotsky at August 15, 2003 05:21 PM

Illusion in the Performing Arts is a different er...kettle of fish, perhaps, Gummo?
of course we don't approve of hidden wires there anymore ;)
But I'm still slightly awestruck (is that "a dummy") when it comes to this machine. Simple interactive tricks just get me in.


Posted by boynton at August 15, 2003 05:33 PM

squally

In the last few hours the weather hasn't been quite so unfriendly as predicted:
Showers with local hail and thunder. Possible snow on the nearby hills tonight. Squally west to southwesterly winds.
Belief in the bureau being unseasonally high, we missed that small window of lull to stroll out and terrorise the park with pack, always expecting squalls. Boynton was focused on this window instead. Maybe a font that morphs with weather conditions could be quite handy. (via fimoculous)
(update: thanks to Gummo Trotsky for alerting dumb boynton to the font-al activity of the link)

Meanwhile this is a lovely inside game to play when the storms do hit. (via Sublimate)

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Comments: squally

Oh what a find, Boynton, and what a pleasant way to spend the last 20 minutes of the day (thanks goodness I work in multimedia and can justify it!)

Thanks for the link. Most enjoyable.
Posted by mcb at July 29, 2003 05:29 PM

Obviously I need to do something about the lack of sound on my PC.
Posted by Gummo Trotsky at July 29, 2003 07:00 PM

Adds:

http://design.umn.edu:8080/cgi-bin/ltrstr/tcdc/tcdcImager?font=v003&nocache=1059475699.538692&bgcolor=white&text=Tug+Boat+Potemkin&align=center&c_informal=50&height=120&width=600&c_weird=150&textcolor=black&c_formal=50
Posted by Gummo Trotsky at July 29, 2003 08:50 PM

mcb - yes I love it - even though I'm pretty hopeless and haven't yet completed it!

Gummo - I think while the sound is not technically neccessary for the game it's almost essential aesthetically!
And thank you for that link. As you can see I've added your addition to the post. (I can't believe I missed that bit of input diversion that I like to throw in round here in lieu of content!)
The font lends an almost Russian look to the tugboat?
Posted by boynton at July 29, 2003 09:37 PM

Plenty of storms are on your way Miss B. They dumped a heap of rain and hail on my car while I was at work.
Posted by Scott Wickstein at July 30, 2003 12:44 AM

alas, it won't play with me....attractive image though...
Posted by Gianna at July 30, 2003 11:20 AM

that's a shame Gianna - it's rather diverting - especially (I would imagine) on a fast connection.

and Scott - I may forget about the font as forecast and check into the Bureau of Mr.Wickstein for reliable weather updates from now on. Always good to have an Adelaide "eye" on the sky.
Posted by boynton at July 30, 2003 02:00 PM

monsters

Alas, Flo beats boynton soundly in the first round of the battle of the Giant Battle Monsters (via bluejoh)

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Comments: monsters

I suspect your problem is that you are only a tiny battle robot rather than a giant battle monster...

At least you are unstoppable.
Posted by joh at July 27, 2003 01:00 AM

True - and I also took heart from the fact that I had a higher Intelligent rating than the Giant Lizard herself. I have, at times,doubted this.
Posted by boynton at July 27, 2003 12:55 PM

http://thesurrealist.co.uk/monster.cgi?att=boynton&def=Gummo+Trotsky&a=S

Seconds out, round two.

(and of course you can also take on my Fruit Eating Killer Monkey incarnation at:

http://thesurrealist.co.uk/monkey.cgi

Hmmm, this combativeness is a bit of a worry. Might be a good time to lie down for a little while.
Posted by Gummo Trotsky at July 27, 2003 01:57 PM

Once again I direct you to the Intelligence score, Gummo. Must be all that thick slime?! ;)
(too bad boynton's score doesn't seem to travel along to Trivia)
Yes and I'm a Sausage-Eating Peace Monkey from way back, so I think I'll just forfeit all further combat there.
Posted by boynton at July 27, 2003 02:14 PM

more games

there is nothing to approach jiggle-joggle - indeed it promises to become quite a feature of festive gatherings…

(From another wonderful old games site .Thanks Gummo. Don't miss the puppets.)

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Comments: more games

Them's big frogs.
Posted by Tony.T at July 17, 2003 04:13 PM

they'd sure give carpet bowls a run for their money
Posted by boynton at July 17, 2003 04:21 PM

Looks more like "Jiggle Joggle" meets "Cluedo". "Miss Scarlett in the ballroom with the frog" - a case of jiggy-jiggy?
Posted by Nora at July 17, 2003 06:40 PM

well miss boynton has turned miss scarlett now with that blush-inducing observation, Nora.
Though perhaps there was something rather sus about it all, which might explain why the frog is safely trussed up out of harm's way. Poor thing.
Posted by boynton at July 17, 2003 06:53 PM

games

Sometimes boynton's two major mt categories - dogs and ephemera - coalesce.
Checking out the dog nose gallery (as you do) (via the Presurfer) she found one that resembled poor old 15 y old Abby - on her last legs. Maybe Abby shall now officially be known as Spilli-wobble - but then guess it won't be long till we're all playing that game.

The latter was found shortly after the noses at a marvellous vintage toy site that features so many gems including Flipping the Kipper and Tipsi
Boynton had been searching for creepy critters that old plastic version of the beetle game. This site featured an earlier version of the set that boynton used to own - ( or is that- an entomological ancestor) which did at least show the potential hazard of small parts. Never very neat, boynton kept misplacing legs and antenae so that eventually players had to vie for a compound multicoloured critter. The non-plastic version, that "old favourite", on which these creatures were based seems to have faded from public consciousness, but boynton did play and participate in that olde folk custom of the beetle drive once upon a time. Interesting that the best info on this comes from Activities for Guides, and indeed under the Quiet section. Good to see they include the instruction: To make sure you have a quieter time (and anyone else who maybe in the same building) stop all screaming before it starts.
Sounds like a strange guide sub-cult of beetlemania. Not that boynton doubts the link between board games and acts of hysteria, or even violence. As discussed here before she was well schooled in the combative games of canasta, croquet and creepy critters and got to learn the warning signs of imminent sibling war.

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Comments: games

"Spilli-wobble" is certainly a preferred nick-name to "Cloudy-eyed Ugly"!
Posted by Nora at July 15, 2003 06:13 PM

Yes and the dog in the nose shot certainly looks a lot less cloudy than Spilli-wobble too. The resemblance is to her inner puppy.
Posted by boynton at July 16, 2003 12:00 PM

Wow how weird. We had that insect construction game too (or a similar one). Gave me an odd flashback to see it there.

Boynton- on the subject of dogs, I have recently noticed a number of people walking their dogs, after dark, with flashing lights attached to them, presumably so they can keep track of them. At first I thought that Faulkner park was being invaded by low-flying aliens, but no, it was definitely dogs. Do you know anything about this? They look like common-or-garden variety bike-lights but I'm wondering if some enterprising person has been marketing them as dog lights (perhaps "tail lights", it occurs to me, just now.)
Posted by mcb at July 16, 2003 03:01 PM

I used to see the LFAliens walking round the Boulevard mcb, the strange lights and often the white glow of the shoes were the only signs of presence. If Doug was up to a nocturnal stroll now I'd probably invest in a lead and a collar:
http://www.spectrallusion.com/pet_collars.htm

(but then I might also need a glow light for my beanie or pom-pom-less tam.)
Posted by boynton at July 16, 2003 04:49 PM

Old games - just wasted half an hour searching the Web for the Waddington's classic "Buccaneer" - now sadly about as readily available as all those old Avalon Hill games.
Posted by Gummo Trotsky at July 17, 2003 11:40 AM

"Buccaneer" sounded intriguing enough Gummo, for me to google-chase it up, which led to another great vintage site.
I thought that a tugboat might favour this one:
http://vzone.virgin.net/vintage.games/seawink.jpg
Posted by boynton at July 17, 2003 12:54 PM

plates

Challenging English number plate spotting game (via bluejoh)
The boynton family used to play a simple version - A-Z - on long journeys into town, but those were in the pre de-regulated days before the anarchy of so many sad sexi's, cheap shots, bad puns, crude slogans, damn lies, corporate mobile sandwich boards, or the rapid turnover of state propaganda. Yesterday boynton spotted a few genuine (as in non customised - the pure truth of the random) plates that equated with her initials, and those would be the only personalised plates she'd ever contemplate possessing. On her imaginary car.
Closest thing she's ever had to the customised was the AAH sported by the car she drove on her P plates.
Some examples of the Vic genre can be seen here.

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Comments: plates

I was followed round yesterday by a strangely initialled car.
Posted by Tony.T at July 11, 2003 03:33 PM

Sounds intriguing TT. Did it look like this?

http://www.justice.vic.gov.au/BEST/BESTimages.nsf/Images/p_pol/$File/p_pol.jpg
Posted by boynton at July 11, 2003 04:31 PM

Pictures!!! How clever! What ever could have given you that idea? Anyway, the number plate stole some of the coppers' letters.
Posted by Tony.T at July 11, 2003 05:36 PM

Some of the coppers' letters?
O I C
Posted by boynton at July 11, 2003 05:40 PM

traffic jam

As an update to thatlast freeway observation of a few posts ago, this traffic microsimulator also simulates the experience of walking in the park with dogs a mere fence away from eight lanes of cars. We'd be found freely running somwehere on the green island( via incoming signals)

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Comments: traffic jam

"In summary, traffic simulation can contribute to reduce traffic congestions without building new infrastructure!"

Not here. In Melbourne they just build another round-a-bout. Or a speed bump. Or walky lights. Or any pissy new thing to slow down the traffic and keep the council budgets on target.
Posted by Tony.T at July 8, 2003 02:47 PM

You would have liked some new additions to Whitehorse Rd (way out in the country) spotted today then Tony.
Better be like boynton: go by foot, or go by bike. Good for the writing y'know.
Posted by boynton at July 8, 2003 06:07 PM

Tony,

The way it works, is if we all sit around simulating traffic, we get to see how terrible it is inevitably going to get out there on the roads, so we decide not to drive, which reduces the traffic. Obvious when you think about it.
Posted by Gummo Trotsky at July 8, 2003 08:26 PM

But I like my car. It's silver and has wheels and a radio and little red and blue stickers on the back. I can see it now through the window. It's calling "Tony. Ignore the round-a-zealots! I'll always be your friend. Take me for a drive. NOW!!"
Posted by Tony.T at July 9, 2003 01:59 PM

tardis tennis

Haven't been watching Wimbledon overnight, but did watch John Lennon try to win a point against Shakespeare in this match (via Oink)

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Comments: tardis tennis

Fantastic game - just can't get a point!
Posted by Nora at June 27, 2003 03:45 PM

Like the concept - hate the fact that I can't even play tennis as a video game.
Posted by Gummo Trotsky at June 27, 2003 05:11 PM

The concept is good - and if it were on TV I'd be up all night watching it.
I enjoy a hit of tennis, but simply cannot get this version. Poor old John Lennon did woefully as boynton's proxy. I think it has something to do with the arrow keys.
Posted by boynton at June 27, 2003 05:39 PM

Neither Shakespeare nor Lennon were much chop as mine. Maybe I should try "We who are not amused".
Posted by Gummo Trotsky at June 27, 2003 10:01 PM

tartan check

Boynton still has not fully checked whether she has in fact... lost...her tartan tam o shanter, (as referred to here where you may see the article modelled by douglas.) She suspects it is gone for good, but will forestall meeting the awful truth for a while longer. It probably went the way of the matching scarf that flew away one day on a walk (and she didn't even notice). However a lucky find at the local means that she has found an adequate replacement. A smaller tam, all wool, but no pom-pom. It means swapping tartans, which is probably not done. It is probably bad form to casually swap from Lindsay to Royal Stewart. Boynton has no Scottish blood. Just Irish, Welsh and lots of Somerset. She'd better study her guess the tartan game.

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Comments: tartan check

Bad form or not, it's a definite improvement ;)

Still, if it is bad form, the best thing to do is go the whole hog and team it with an Oxford rowing scarf or something similar.
Posted by Gummo Trotsky at June 25, 2003 06:33 PM

it is certainly an improvement on a black balaclava worn backwards.
And should I run with scarf, won't I be committing another sartorial/cultural transgression if I opt for the wrong educational and/or sporting clan?
Posted by boynton at June 25, 2003 07:06 PM

Oh dear, this is getting comnplicated. I think you're OK to run with the rowing scarf, as long as it's beside a river with a coxless four in the water and you're carrying a megaphone. Or does that only apply to riding a bicycle?
Posted by Gummo Trotsky at June 25, 2003 07:21 PM

That's fine then. Oddly enough that is often the exact scenario when I go out walking.
Posted by boynton at June 25, 2003 07:35 PM

Glad we got that sorted out.
Posted by Gummo Trotsky at June 25, 2003 07:41 PM