Song of the Day: Tom's Diner

Suzanne Vega. Both original acapella version and remix.  

I learned, while listening to Leo Leporte's Tech Guy podcast, that the acapella version of Tom's Diner was used as the test song for the engineering of the MP3 audio format. More from Wikipedia below:

The song "Tom's Diner" by Suzanne Vega was the first song used by Karlheinz Brandenburg to develop the MP3. Brandenburg adopted the song for testing purposes, listening to it again and again each time refining the scheme, making sure it did not adversely affect the subtlety of Vega's voice.

Karlheinz Brandenburg used a CD recording of Suzanne Vega's song "Tom's Diner" to assess and refine the MP3 compression algorithm. This song was chosen because of its nearly monophonic nature and wide spectral content, making it easier to hear imperfections in the compression format during playbacks. Some jokingly refer to Suzanne Vega as "The mother of MP3".

Amazing demonstration of Space Shuttle thermal tiles

Pretty amazing video showing the tiles' heat dissipation. More explanation from Gizmodo:

These tiles, made out of a material called LI-900, are basically sponges of highly refined quartz sand. That ability to still be cool to the touch—which looks like literal witchcraft—is actually due to the fact that each tile is 94 percent air by volume and 99.9 percent silica glass by composition. That combo makes it laughably bad at conducting heat, which is why those edges are cool to the touch. It's not new tech, but it's incredible to see in action.

Cool. 

Random Access Memories is here. Go give it a listen.

A little different from what even I was expecting. All I can say is it's 36 hours later and I'm still listening to it with a sense of intrigue, exploration, and enjoyment. Strangely, the songs I'm currently gleaning the most enjoyment from are the same songs I didn't much care for upon first listen-through. Weird. 

Song of the Day: Where Is My Mind

Yoav feat. Emily Browning. 

I just finished reading Ender's Game for the first time since elementary school (it's still an amazing work of literary art). I was inspired to buy and read the iBook edition after seeing the trailer for the new Ender's Game movie. Much as 'Exile Vilify' came to symbolize the emotional exhaustion felt by Abraham Lincoln while reading Team Of Rivals, 'Where Is My Mind' became my anthem for Ender and his battle against isolation, loneliness, and depression. 

Add 'Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon' to the list of games I desperately want to play but probably never will

Blood Dragon is a standalone expansion for the video game Far Cry 3. Below is a live-action short made to promote Blood Dragon. Just take my money already and make a full-length movie, please. 

Update: Below is the first 15 minutes of the game with commentary.