Olympics auction site confuses Korean flags (again)

After confusing the North and South Korean flags during a football match, you'd think the Olympics would have learned their lesson, but no.

Today on the official auction site (where you can buy items used during the Olympics) one can find both the North and South Korean flags from the opening ceremony for sale.

Click for full-size image

That's the North Korean flag, currently selling for a handsome £415 (not including delivery).
http://memorabilia.london2012.com/iSynApp/auctionDisplay.action?&auctionId=21672

Click for full-size

And here's the uh... South Korean flag. Only £1 so far.
http://memorabilia.london2012.com/iSynApp/auctionDisplay.action?&auctionId=21935

Just to remove any doubt (the official names of the Koreas can be confusing), the text refers to Yoon Kyung-Shin, the famous South Korean handball player.

So once again the Olympics have fucked up by confusing the Korean flags although it's the other way round this time, so maybe that balances it all out.

Update: They spotted the error (after I emailed them) and have now corrected it, but didn't acknowledge ever making the error in the first place. Hopefully the South Korean nationalist nutjobs will be all over them.

DayZ - Graphics comparison: ArmA 2 Free & ArmA 2 (full)

A lot of people ask me about the difference in graphics between using ArmA 2 Free and ArmA 2 (full) and it's hard to persuade people that there really isn't much difference. So I've taken some screenshots of the different versions in order to show the difference.

Now before I start, I should show you what my graphics settings are. I keep mine fairly low in order to keep a good framerate even on a dodgy server in the most heavily-populated, dense urban environments.

Now on to the screenshots. Note that I went out of my way to find the most stark examples that I could. For the most part, the differences aren't that marked. DayZ uses Operation Arrowhead for its game engine and most of its graphics, models and textures. ArmA 2 is mostly used for the level map (Chernarus) and a few models and textures. You can click each screenshot to see it at full size.

ArmA 2 (full)

ArmA 2 Free

Building textures look the same, roads look slightly better, wrecked (decorative) vehicles have better textures.

ArmA 2 (full)

ArmA 2 Free

Inside a red brick building. Wall textures slightly improved, debris texture much better, some (but not all) furniture has slightly better textures and the floor is a little nicer.

ArmA 2 (full)

ArmA 2 Free

Another interior from a red brick building. Wallpaper and door textures are much better, furniture and ceiling a bit better, outdoors largely unchanged.

ArmA 2 (full)

ArmA 2 Free

Inside a log cabin. Floor debris much better, furniture and fittings better, pictures on the wall oddly unchanged.

ArmA 2 (full)

ArmA 2 Free

Vegetation and barrier unaltered, road slightly better.

So there you have it. That's the difference between ArmA 2 Free and full. Most of the time you're going to be running through trees and undergrowth and won't see a bit of difference. The most obvious variance comes with the interiors of certain buildings and you're probably not going to be hanging around long enough to be admiring the décor.

The Addons folder from ArmA 2 Free is 1.54GB and the same folder from ArmA 2 (full) is 8.21GB. So that's six and a half gigabytes of extra disk space and fifteen pounds/dollars/euros of extra expense. Is it worth it?

Vi Hart explains the Higgs Boson

As regualr readers will know, I very much enjoy the work of Vi Hart. The recent discovery of the Higgs boson (probably) is something that has rather amused me. It's been quite hilarious listening to newsreaders desperately try to deal with the science despite clearly not having a clue what the frigging thing is.

So here to the rescue is Vi Hart with a rather clever little sonnet explaining the place of the Higgs in the whole scientific scheme of things.

Chinese pirate DVDs: Star Wars

Over in mainland China, DVD piracy is rife to the point where the pirates actually have their own shops. Far from offering shoddy service and poor quality as those childish anti-piracy adverts allege, the Chinese pirate DVD stores offer money-back guarantees and excellent service. However, the English on the packaging can leave a lot to be desired.

These are the first three Star Wars movies as obtained from a Beijing pirate DVD store (thank you, Ally!). Click the images to read the text properly. It seems like someone has cut and pasted them in there with little regard for what the English actually says.

F1 Rejects - the best of the worst

There's a number of Formula 1 websites that I read, but a warm favourite is F1 Rejects. This is a site where they have a special interest in the least successful drivers in Formula 1 history. It's a true affection though and they don't mock the drivers, as they say themselves:

"...we know that even the worst driver on our site has bucketloads more skill than we could ever hope to have, and represent the best of the best in the international motor racing scene.
Let us take this opportunity to state that this site is about F1's least successful drivers - not those whom we consider to be its least talented. There is a BIG difference."

I've got a real soft spot for several drivers who have never troubled a podium, such as Takuma Sato and Eppie Wietzes so it's great that F1 Rejects caters to the fans of the bottom runs and provide profiles, articles and insights into these unsung heroes of F1.

As well as a lively forum, the guys who run the site do a semi-regular podcast which is a terrific antidote to all the very serious coverage out there.

The main site is here:
http://www.f1rejects.com/

The forum is here:
http://www.f1rejects.com/forum/index.php

The podcast link is here:
http://www.f1rejects.com/podcasts/

Alnwick Olympic Flame Day 2

Day two of the Olympic flame in Alnwick and it was early in the morning and raining quite hard. But the older generation were more than happy (well, one of them was) to carry the torch.

PC Awesome and the Alnwick Olympic Torch

The Olympic Torch visited Alnwick yesterday and passed directly outside my house. There were a lot of vehicles, cyclists, PR people oh and some guy carrying the torch itself. I didn't think much of any of them to be honest, but there was one guy who I simply loved and that's PC Awesome, the world's best motorcycle cop.