Whiz of the Web: Wednesday Whiz-Up

The best of the internet, squirted out in flavorful neon globules, just for you.

• Let's start out today with a bunch of Nintendo mods. First there's a NES gamepad turned into a 12-in-1 card reader (via) - and its on Instructables, so you can make your own! Also on Instructables is a Game Boy CD player (via), so you should be able to make that one, too, theoretically (although you may have to be an accomplished electrician to even understand what's going on). And finally, the NES modded to look like an upright Playstation 2 (via; check out the original French blog post here). All pretty cool stuff, but the snazziest and most useful item looks to be the card reader.
• And speaking of making snazzy new things out of old Nintendo products, check out this Flash mash-up game, Megaman vs. Ghosts 'n Goblins. You play as Megaman in an old-school style platformer, complete with music, graphics, and enemies from the original games. In the climactic finish, you face-off against Arthur from Ghosts 'n Goblins. The game is a bit challenging, but as far as Phillyist can tell you get unlimited lives, and Arthur's AI isn't that great, so we were able to complete it relatively quickly. It's a good way to waste some time, and fans of either game are certain to get a kick out of it. (Via)
• Researchers at the University of California-Irvine have discovered what they think is the first case of a new superior memory syndrome which they're calling hyperthymestic syndrome. The woman they've been studying for 5 years is a 40-year-old whom they refer to as "AJ." Give her a date and she can tell you with complete accuracy what day of the week that was and exactly what she was doing, and she uses no mnemonic devices to keep track of all this information. Is it possible to have the opposite of this condition? Because Phillyist thinks we've got that. We wouldn't remember what we had for breakfast this morning if it wasn't for the fact that the dirty dishes are still lying right next to us because we've forgotten to clean them up yet. (Via)
• France might actually do something useful! Oh, sorry Parisist, that was harsh. The point is, they're voting on a law there this Thursday that would force proprietary systems to open up so that their content would be playable on any device, and make it legal to crack digital rights management if it's in order to convert a file from one format to another. In other words, you could download your iTunes Music Store purchases onto any device, not just an iPod. Yeah! Rock and roll revolution, man!
• This five-minute-long fan-made movie of a lightsaber duel seriously rivals some of the best fights in the actual Star Wars films. We kid you not. The choreography is clever, impressive, and even funny, and the execution is smooth and professional. You need to check this out. It's so much fun, it's criminal. (Via)
• We don't in any way claim to understand this article, which covers some new theories about black holes in mind-crushing detail. We just like the idea of black holes as the quantum computers of highly advanced future civilizations. (Via)

Image Credit: http://www.g-rad.org/hiho/archives/2004/08/