If computing history is really your bag, Bletchley Park is apparently well worth a visit. Home to father of modern computing Alan Turing during the war and a vital part of the Allied war machine, the site’s buildings are now in dire need of repair (and in desperate need of your cash).

The Guardian have a nice little round-up of all the net’s best sports games.  Perfect for wasting a few minutes of your busy busy time.

Such biological shenannigans may be too much for your sensitive stomach, I realise. Many would feel more comfortable pitting man against fellow man in an epic battle for global domination. Sound like you? Get involved in a game of Online Risk or in a similarly strategic vein but with less bloodshed Dice Wars is good for a few minutes of casual gaming.

Maybe you’re more of the peace loving type. For you I bring Sprout, a beautifully designed game of nature, where you start out life as a coconut. When you’ve finished with that may I recommend the fiendish puzzles of Totem Destroyer to go with your afternoon coffee.

Magic Pen is definitely worth a look, it’s kind of like golfing with crayons and in a way very similer to Fantastic Contraption, both of which have enough depth and gameplay to keep you up late into the night.

If you still want more and don’t plan on going to work in the morning then get clicking over to Jay is Games where you’ll find plenty more to keep you entertained and unproductive.

Actually, “acousto-tap” (as the technique will be know from this point forward) seem to be in vogue at the moment: Eric Mongrain should be familiar to anyone who’s been on the internet for more than 5 minutes, John Butler has been doing a similar thing for a while now, and even new boy Newton Faulkner is having a go.

There are other ways of playing your axe of course. On you lap (skip to about 2:40 to avoid a bunch of self-indulgent chat) and behind your head seem like popular options.

And if you can’t be bothered to do it all yourself, why not invite a friend:

Seriously guys, just buy another guitar, they’re really not that expensive.

This Boing Boing Gadgets post reminded me of a great little article on Gizmodo from few months back showing some side-by-side comparisons between 60s and 70s Braun products and more modern output from Apple.

All the products were designed by two men: German design legend Dieter Rams, who was chief of design at Braun for over 30 years, and Brit Jonathan Ives, responsible for the iMac, iPod and iPhone. Displayed next to each other like this, it’s not hard to see the influence Rams’ philosophy has had on Ives, although whether the latter’s work will become museum pieces remains to be seen.

[via Gizmodo]

Photo by Squeakyrat. [via]

To kick things off we have great little documentary about the ‘Amen Break’, the basis of pretty much every Jungle and Drum n Bass track ever written.

Obscure 60s RnB act The Honey Drippers (they don’t even have a Wikipedia entry!) are responsible for scores of Hip Hop and (modern day) RnB tunes thanks to the intro of Impeach The President.

Last, and by no means least, is the inimitable James Brown’s Funky Drummer – a hip hop producer’s dream.

While I’m posting hip hop, have some old skool classics. Check yo’ bad self.

Delia he ain’t, it’s true. Here he is again,, selling things. If you like all that, then scope out his set at the recent London Beatbox Convention, performing with a mic and two kaos pads. Impressive.

Now it may be that I’ve been playing a bit to much Metal Gear Solid recently, but that thing scares the crap out of me.

I can’t really make a robot post without at least a mention of the Yellow Drum Machine over at Let’s Make Robots. The videos went a bit viral a month or so ago so you’ve probably seen it before, but it’s well worth another look.

And on the subject of drumming robots:

Monkey Drummer by the magnificent Chris Cunnigham. If you don’t already own a copy of his Directors Label DVD, well, frankly you should be ashamed of yourself.

(Snake Robot via Make and jwz)

I’ve tried to work out how to embed the video here, but my skillz aren’t up to scratch, so you’ll have to click an old-fashioned link.