The Uncanny Valley

The concept for uncanny valley is important for animators and computer modelling of human characters, etc. According to roboticist Masahiro Mori, the core concept of the uncanny valley is that the more closely robots approximated human appearance and behavior, the more familiar they seemed to a human observer, until a point at which they resembled humans closely, but not perfectly. At this point, people would begin to react negatively to robots, citing feelings of eeriness or discomfort about their appearance. He called it "the uncanny valley," because of the way a graph depicting the correlation between familiarity and human likeness would dip suddenly and drastically, just before reaching perfect mimicry of the human appearance.



Image of the Uncanny Valley, courtesy of Karl MacDorman

Present computing power has developed to the point where simulation of 3D human characters especially in computer and video games are becoming more and more ubiquitous. Therefore the concept of the uncanny vally is important because it reminds animators of the "eerie models" that they may create, due to imperfect modelling of computer characters. Incorrect lip synching of characters and their speech can also be a problem. Remember that in warcraft 3, the main icons of the characters when speaking in the bottom left corner, do not sync with what is spoken? I really do feel odd about this effect.

In movies, this uncanny valley effect has also been applied, although it can be rather intentional, rather than a development flaw. For example, in horror movies such as Silent Hill, there is a monstrous figure in the film called Red Pyramid/Pyramid Head. He resembles human beings but his head is replaced by a pyramid instead of a human's head which is what makes him creepy.


A poster depicting the Red Pyramid.

Besides using the "Uncanny Valley" concept in horror movies and otherwise, the "Uncanny" effect can be used positively for humour and laughter such as in cartoons and simple animations. This example can be shown by speaking animals in movies. Although this does not model humans in any physical ways, the superimposition of human attributes onto animals, eg the ability to speak, makes animals seem to be able to relate more to humans especially children. An example is the animal film called Babe and its sequel Babe: Pig in the city. Making animals speak cause this film to be a rather popular children's movie although adults may enjoy it too as a family film.


1995 film Babe


1998 sequel Babe: Pig in the City

Inspired by Gamespot article at
http://www.gamespot.com/features/6153667/index.html?cpage=1#comments

A robot at the Toyama Robot Festival. It's called アクトロイ　ド-der (Akutoroi Do-der). Demonstrating the creepy effect of the Uncanny Valley.



Another robot in Japan

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-423501194722329023&q=creepy+robot

Brain Teasers

The Man in the Elevator
A man lives on the tenth floor of a building. Every day he takes the elevator to go down to the ground floor to go to work or to go shopping. When he returns he takes the elevator to the seventh floor and walks up the stairs to reach his apartment on the tenth floor. He hates walking so why does he do it?


The Man in the Bar
A man walks into a bar and asks the barman for a glass of water. The barman pulls out a gun and points it at the man. The man says 'Thank you' and walks out. Why?


The Man who Hanged Himself
Not far from Madrid, there is a large wooden barn. The barn is completely empty except for a dead man hanging from the middle of the central rafter. The rope around his neck is ten feet long and his feet are three feet off the ground. The nearest wall is 20 feet away from the man. It is not possible to climb up the walls or along the rafters. The man hanged himself. How did he do it?


Death in a Field
A man is lying dead in a field. Next to him there is an unopened package. There is no other creature in the field. How did he die?


Anthony and Cleopatra
Anthony and Cleopatra are lying dead on the floor of a villa in Egypt. Nearby is a broken bowl. There is no mark on either of their bodies and they were not poisoned. How did they die?

Look here for answers:

http://eluzions.com/Puzzles/Lateral/more.shtml

Inspired by Eechuan




Sun Tze's Art of War

This strategy is what I have been reading. The basis of the strategy is as follows:

When the force is trapped in an irredeemable position, where there is absolutely no escape route, every soldier would fight to the bitter end to avoid defeat. Under such circumstances, the officers and soldiers become undaunted by the thought of death and are compelled to do their utmost, hoping to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
When the army ends up in a hopeless situation, the soldiers become totally fearless. Having no way out, the soldiers become totally united. Trapped inside a critical territory, the troops become more cohesive; and finally when there is no other alternative, they simply have to fight ferociously for their survival.
Therefore, without being instructed, the soldiers will become vigilant; without being demanded, they will give their best; without being urged, they will be united; and without being told, they will become disciplined.
By banning all superstitious practices and dispelling all doubts, you can lead your force to fight to the death unreservedly.To ensure that there is no wealth left is not a sign that you suddenly dislike wealth. To tell your soldiers that they are doomed is not a signal that you do not treasure life. These are measures taken to reinforce their determination to fight to the death.
Minutes before the final battle, soldiers become emotional and tearful. Those who are sitting down wet their garments with their tears, and those who are lying down wet their cheeks. It is the spontaneous manifestation of poignant bravery when they realise that there is no way out other than to fight to the death. Their courage mirrors that of Zhuan Zhu and Cao Gui of ancient times.


Sourced from http://www.geocities.com/wangawanga7/aow.htm

In other word, put yourself in a desperate and irredeemable situation so that your fullest prowess and potential can be brought out and expressed. Interesting strategy to be applied in times of danger..



Wei Xiao Pasta Costume Intros

Cyndi and Zhang Dong Liang



Gino and Xiao Qiao



Wei Xiao Pasta Animation Intro

Wei Xiao Pasta Intros

Wei Xiao Pasta intro by:

Cyndi



Zhang Dong Liang



Gino



Xiao Qiao

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqGFdXO4m0U

Internet Firewall

Well, I just discovered the cause of my slow and insignificant internet download speed nowadays. The reason is the windows firewall that has been set up which limits the incoming connections to my computer. Not that after the firewall is disabled did I see any great improvement in speeds, but at least there is a slight improvement which is better than nothing.

How did I found out the cause of the problem? Basically, I did a compare and contrast method. I plugged in my USB cable for my previous internet connection which has settings that do not have firewall setup. And after that I remembered the settings for it, and replugged in the ethernet cable and set the same setup as that for the settings for the USB cable for the internet connection.



Zidane's headbutt courteousy of Hardwarezone forum

王心凌 - 彩虹的微笑 MTV and Wei Xiao Pasta Trailer

王心凌 - Cai Hong De Wei Xiao 彩虹的微笑



29 second trailer

微笑ＰＡＳＴＡ OST

Soundtrack information for 微笑ＰＡＳＴＡ OST is as follows:



According to Simply-Cyndi Yahoo Groups, the preorder gift for Taiwan version is a VCD with shots of the show, a diary of the show's cartoon spokesmen, and lastly, a Cyndi Doll[there will be 2 different designs] with 20+ interchangable outfits.

微笑ＰＡＳＴＡ

Notes:

@ This is Cyndi’s third official Taiwan idol series where she is the main character. The first being Westside Story and the second being Le Robe De Mariage Des Cieux.

@ Check out the official homepage for more goodies – the Pasta “Chao Ren” is a flash animator with fun links for the series.

@ OST for series is projected to be released on 14 July 06 in Taiwan. Preorder is from 7 July 06 onwards.

@ Check out also the trailer for the series on the homepage.

@ Full cast information can be assessed at the homepage of the series.

Official homepage:

http://www.settv.com.tw/metro/m102/#


Weblog:

http://vipblog.yam.com/pasta


Starts airing on 16 July 06 TTV Sun 9.30 pm and 22 July 06 Settv Sat 9pm.

微笑ＰＡＳＴＡ

Main Casts:

Zhang Dong Liang as He Qun
Cyndi Wang as Chen Xiao Shi
Gino as He Rui Zhe(Ah Zhe)
Xiao Qiao as Rita

Synopsis:


一對八竿子打不著的年輕男女，因為街頭的一次意外撞擊，不小心撞出漫天緋聞，也撞出一段趣味橫生的浪漫情緣，兩個平行的人生，從此交纏在一起，展開了一段浪漫而不凡的人生旅程...

A pair of mismatched young girl and guy, because of an accidental street encounter, resulted in rumours being spread about that encounter, and also contributed to an interesting romantic relationship. Two normal lives, since then are entwined within each other, developing into a romantic and extraordinary journey of life.

成曉詩，微笑Pasta的寶貝女兒，是個天真直率的平凡少女，帶點魯莽，帶點憨傻，總是以微笑面對人生，他總覺得，只要微笑，沒什麼事情大不了！縱使有挫折，難過一下，再笑一笑，也就雨過天青了，曉詩最喜歡的人是同校的阿哲學長，雖然阿哲從來不喜歡曉詩，甚至對曉詩下了「戀情永遠不會滿三個月」的魔咒，但是曉詩還不屈不撓，再接再厲，他相信，總有一天阿哲學長會看到他的真心，喜歡上他，直到他遇見何群那一天開始，曉詩一直相信和堅持的愛情信念產生了變化。

Chen Xiao Shi, Wei Xiao Pasta’s precious daughter, is an innocent/naïve and candid/frank common girl, a bit careless and not caring for the consequences, and a bit silly and foolish. Always facing her life with a smile. Because she feels that everything will not be a big problem as long as she smiles. Even when faced with setbacks, just be sad a little while, and then smile, everything will turn alright after that. Xiao Shi’s favourite person is her same school Ah Zhe senior. Even though Ah Zhe had never liked Xiao Shi, and even set down the rule of not letting a relationship last longer than three months for Xiao Shi, but Xiao Shi is unyielding. She believes that one day, Ah Zhe will see her sincerity and loves her. Until the day she meets He Qun, Xiao Shi always believes in the unyieldingness of the love that she insists on.


何群，歌壇小天王，也是現任議長何孟元的大兒子，因為青少年時與弟弟和女朋友Rita以及青梅竹馬的筱柔對音樂有著共同的理想，而投入音樂的領域中，儘管傳統而保守的父親反對，兄弟仍執著於自己對音樂的夢想和熱情一直往前走，但是，這樣的革命情感卻因為17歲那年的一次意外，這個夢想再也無法實現，因為，何群的錯誤判斷，他們失去了筱柔，阿哲跟哥哥何群也從此兄弟決裂，不再來往。何群後來因緣際會進入娛樂圈，成為今天的歌壇小天王，但是，他並不快樂，因為，這離他們當初的夢想還有一段距離，何群心裡從沒放棄過帶著弟弟一起完成夢想的心願。

He Qun, the small heavenly king of the pop idol scene, is the current minister’s He Meng Yuan’s eldest son. Because when young, he and his brother and girlfriend Rita and also his sweetheart, Xiao Ruo had a common dream/ideal towards music and therefore become involved in the domain of music. Even though his traditional and conservative father opposes, He Qun and his brother persisted in his dream towards music. But this revolutionary feeling towards music which due to an accident during his age of 17 years led to it becoming unable to fulfill. Because of He Qun’s wrong judgment, they lost Xiao Ruo. Ah Zhe and his brother also severed their brotherly ties from then on, no longer keeping in touch with each other. He Qun later joined the entertainment scene and became the small heavenly king of the music pop scene. But he was not happy, because it is far from his original music dream. He Qun has never given up fulfilling the music dream together with his brother.


這是何群新歌發表會的當天，也是曉詩試圖跟新任男友Peter完成戀情滿三個月目標的日子，但是，何群在這一天，眼睜睜看著女友Rita被阿哲帶走，曉詩也在街頭看著Peter擁著另一個女子離開，這兩條傷心的平行線在街頭偶遇，正在躲避狗仔隊跟蹤的何群，一不小心撞上在街頭失落獨行的曉詩，猛烈的撞擊使得何群的嘴唇意外吻上了曉詩，狗仔隊見機不可失，趕緊用相機拍下這難得的一刻，何群只好帶著曉詩逃跑。

This is He Qun’s new song announcement and demonstration day and also Xiao Shi’s attempt to complete her 3 months relationship with her new boyfriend Peter. But, He Qun on this day is helpless in letting his girlfriend Rita being taken away by Ah Zhe. Xiao Shi also on the streets saw Peter hugging another girl and leaving. These two sad souls met on the streets by chance. On the way of escaping from the paparazzi, He Qun accidentally bumped into a distressed and downtrodden Xiao Shi who was alone and lost in the streets. The impact of the knock led to He Qun’s lips accidentally kissed Xiao Shi. The paparazzi saw that the moment is crucial and quickly used their cameras to take down this moment. He Qun had only to take Xiao Shi and escape.

而曉詩因為和哥哥成銘打賭，不得不帶個「男友」回家，否則得在自家經營的「微笑PASTA」義大利麵店門口跳肚皮舞招客人。擔心出糗的曉詩沒有男友可以帶，所以不敢回家，央求何群收留他。同樣愛情受挫的兩人難免有點互相同情，何群收留曉詩，帶她回家，還答應假扮曉詩的男友，陪她一起回家。

Because Xiao Shi had a gamble with her brother Cheng Ming, she had to bring home a boyfriend or else she had to perform a tummy dance in her own Italy spaghetti shop “Wei Xiao Pasta” to entertain the customers. Afraid of displaying her worst because she had no boyfriend to bring, therefore she was afraid of going home and she begged He Qun to let her stay in his place. Because both of them had the same situation of having love lost, which makes He Qun take pity on Xiao Shi, he agreed to let her stay in his place and even agreed to act as her boyfriend and accompanied her to go back home.

沒想到第二天一早風雲變色，「小天王劈腿，街頭擁吻秘密情人」，何群和曉詩的「親吻照」上了頭版新聞，議長家被媒體團團包圍。經紀人Vincent為挽救危機，將計就計，否認何群和Rita的關係，宣布曉詩才是何群的正牌女友，兩人即將訂婚，全國轟然。緋聞一鬧，愛面子的何議長差點氣炸，勒令何群轉學，不料一轉卻轉到了曉詩就讀的鼎風大學，以為再也不會見面的緋聞男女變成同班同學。
這下可好，轉入鼎風大學的何群不但必須經常跟曉詩扮恩愛，也必須面對同校的阿哲和Rita。深愛Rita的何群，始終愛戀阿哲的曉詩，面對昔日戀人跟三年來始終如一的愛慕對象，該怎麼在同一個校園中和平相處？複雜矛盾的情愫，在四個人之間蔓延開來。阿哲對何群有著從高中到現在的不滿與怨恨，在同一個環境中，更讓阿哲如芒刺在背，忍不住處處與何群對立；Rita 對何群有著愧疚，卻又不相信何群在一夜之間喜歡上曉詩，甚至成為未婚夫妻，始終是阿哲頭號支持者的曉詩，礙於與何群協議保密的假未婚夫妻身分，而無法繼續追隨阿哲而痛苦，甚至遷怒何群；何群面對失去最愛，還必須在Rita面前跟曉詩演出恩愛戲碼而痛苦，轉化為一種高傲的冷漠，加上面對阿哲的憤恨，何群試圖想要化解兄弟之間的誤會與怨懟，卻不能在阿哲面前展現軟弱，這些，正考驗著何群。

It can never be anticipated that on the morning of the second day, on the cover of the newspaper, the headline reads “Small heavenly king is a double timer, on the streets hugging and kissing his secret lover”, and He Qun and Xiao Shi’s kissing photo had also being published on the headline news. The minister’s house had been surrounded by reporters from the media. The broker Vincent in order to salvage the situation, denies He Qun and Rita’s relationship and announced that Xiao Shi is He Qun’s real girlfriend and the two of them were soon to be engaged. The whole country was shocked at the news, with the rumour, Minister He who is largely a face saving person, almost exploded with his anger. He commanded He Qun to change school, but ironically He Qun changed to the school where Xiao Shi is currently studying which is Ding Feng University, and they became the same class classmates. Now, He Qun has to pretend to act as Xiao Shi’s boyfriend and also has to face Ah Zhe and Rita who are also in the same school. How is it possible for He Qun who deeply loves Rita and Xiao Shi who still loves Ah Zhe, to be able to coexist in the same school? A complicated set of relationship thus developed between the four individuals. Ah Zhe had always harboured hatred for He Qun ever since from high school and in the same school, a set of oppositional stance soon developed between the two. Rita had felt that she owed He Qun but unable to believe that overnight he had fallen in love with Xiao Shi and had even become engaged. Even more drastic is the situation for Xiao Shi, who still deeply adores Ah Zhe, but had to keep the secret of her “relationship” with He Qun, and thus unable to pursue Ah Zhe, ultimately this led her to anger He Qun. He Qun had to face losing his true love, and felt bitter having to act out his “love” with Xiao Shi, added to have to face Ah Zhe’s anger towards him, and wishing to resolve the conflict between themselves, but not being to appear weak in front of Ah Zhe, all these adds up to become a series of trials for He Qun.

何群跟曉詩這對歡喜冤家，從假未婚夫妻開始，逐漸被曉詩的樂觀微笑，微笑Pasta店所有成員的溫暖融化，找到原本被封存的笑容和溫暖性格，積極面對自己的人生，找回失去的親情與夢想。

He Qun, eventually being influence by Xiao Shi’s smile and the warmth of the employees of Wei Xiao Pasta, and found his inner locked smile and warm character, and finally actively faced his own life and searched for his lost relations and dreams.

阿哲雖然處處與何群對立，卻在一次次的挑戰、誤解之後，更加了解與認識何群，甚至喜歡上曾經以為是全世界最不可能被自己喜歡的女孩—成曉詩，甚至，還幫助她，破除自己曾經下給成曉詩的「戀情永遠不滿三個月」的魔咒。

Ah Zhe, even though has been always opposing He Qun, but in a fight with him, finally is able to find out more about He Qun and even fell in love with Xiao Shi who he though that he would never ever liked. He finally helped her, breaking his curse of “Love not lasting for more than 3 months” on Xiao Shi.

而曉詩呢？一個一直以為自己被「戀情永遠不滿三個月」魔咒的女孩，因為意外成為何群的假未婚妻，人生轉了一個大彎，但是曉詩依然樂觀面對，曉詩總是相信，人生就是這樣，沒有什麼事情解決不了，只要微笑，沒什麼大不了。

And Xiao Shi, always thinking of her cursed by “Love not being able to last more than 3 months” because of accident, became He Qun’s “engaged fiance”. Her life had turned a big roundabout, but Xiao Shi still believes that to face life is always to face it positively, because life is like this, there is nothing that cannot be solved. As long as one can smile, there is nothing that is unsolvable.

在微笑Pasta的真誠帶動下，這一群年輕人的愛情故事持續沸騰著，一道道風味特殊的Pasta正陸續上菜中。
微笑PASTA，一段愛與真誠的故事，夾雜著青春和美味，讓你邊笑邊感動，邊笑邊落淚。

With Wei Xiao Pasta’s sincere development, this group of young people’s love story continues feverishly, with every unique pasta continuously sold out. Wei Xiao Pasta is a story of love and sincerity, with a mix of youth and fragrance, making the audience laugh, feel touched, smile and cry.