Tuesday, September 30, 2008

8 Ways to Cross the English Channel (without a boat)


When people attempt new ways of crossing the channel, they do it at the Strait of Dover, which is the narrowest point of the channel at only 34 kilometers between Dover and Calais. The cachet of crossing the channel is way out of proportion to its distance. There is something symbolic about making the trip, particularly if you do it in a new way.

read more | digg story

Fun Links

78 Stupid People Who Tattooed Celebrities Onto Their Bodies. (via Grow-A-Brain)

American Circus and Carnival Slang. If you've ever wondered what these guys were saying, now you can look it up.

What Campaign Ads Would Look Like if the Voting Age was 6.

Awaiting Your Correspondence -Important Business Matter. (via Everlasting Blort)

How neat is this? I got interviewed by Elite Choice as part of the Elite Blogger series.

The Geek Guide to New Fall TV. Science fiction is gaining a foothold in your cable lineup.

A Shadowy, Wet World of Squirt-Gun Assassins. StreetWars invades New York City.

A dog figures out how to open his own cage. When he breaks out, he goes back to free his buddies, too!

Monday, September 29, 2008

Information Links

Five Things You Didn't Know About the Accordion. Probably because it never occurred to you to ask.

This Won't Take A Minute.

Why it's dangerous to be a witch in a recession. Bad times have to be blamed on someone.

Pinhook Bog in Indiana has many unique plant species, including three that eat insects. It's not open to the public, because the bog itself can eat people!

Gut Instinct’s Surprising Role in Math. New research suggests that math teachers might do well to emphasize the power of general reckoning.

Meet Dave, the Man Who Never Takes Out the Trash. Lucky for his family, he doesn't produce as much as most of us.

The new California Academy of Sciences has more environmentally-friendly features than you can shake a stick at. If you are really into shaking sticks.

Research on the "geography of personality" finds that certain regions of the US correlate with certain personality traits. Some of these traits feed into stereotypes; others don't.

Stop for a minute and admire the beauty of Scotland. You'll thank me after a few pages.

How to develop a taste for fermented horse milk. Ah, the joys of Mongolian cuisine.

My Dad the Crocodile Hunter


By Bindi Irwin. I wish my kids had such great memories of their father. (via Arbroath)

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Friday, September 26, 2008

Friday Fun Links

LOLfed is the image macro version of the current economic crisis. (via Metafilter)

A kitten and a remote control mouse. Tink is both funny and adorable.

Wario Land. Now THIS is an advertising! You'll enjoy it even if you never play video games.

The customer is not always right. Tales of stupidity from the retail business. I hope you don’t recognize yourself in these stories. (via Metafilter)

What it takes to legally immigrate to America. In easy-to-follow flow chart form. (via Boing Boing)

The fact that you're on TV doesn't necessarily mean you dress well. Take a look at dork couture.

Google map marker causes accident.

Cat vs. Printer


(via Arbroath)

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Politics

Palin's performance for Katie Couric made everyone cringe. (via Simply Left Behind)

So MaCain had to pull out of Letterman. Oh yeah, he says it was about the economy, but we know it was damage control.

Letterman made hay out of the situation.

Obama drawing a crowd.

Why this lifelong Republican may vote for Obama.

Craig Ferguson recently became a US citizen. As such, he is taking his civic responsibilities very seriously.

The ABC News Match-o-Matic Quiz will test how your political views line up with the two major party presidential candidates. Just in case you haven't been paying close attention so far.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Fun and Funny Links

Ten Unforgettable Evil Twins. We've all had the fantasy of blaming our faults on the "other one that looks like me."

The show must go on... even if the studio is on fire! That's what you call dedication -or maybe attention deficit disorder.

A beam of light plays the piano. Short, sweet, and pretty darn cool.

The object is to click on the ball. If you do, it will change color. Honest. (via Phil's Phun)

Are You Man Enough?

How to Get a Free Haircut (from strangers). Worth every penny, too!

Ascension. An award-winning short film about a guy who walks in on a cult sacrifice.

The 6 Most Horrifying Ways Anyone Ever Got Rich. Murder, extortion, fraud, these folks took them all to the extreme.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

11 Weird and Wonderful Wedding Rings


Once upon a time, wedding bands were plain gold, or more likely gold plated. Their value was in the symbolism. Today many who tie the knot want something that also symbolizes their individual styles, or rings to set this pair apart from other couples. These individualistic rings not only tell you who is married, they can tell you who they are married to.

read more | digg story

Monday, September 22, 2008

Information Links

Psychologist John B. Watson had a theory that humans are not afraid of anything until something causes us to fear. To test that theory, in1920 he went through the process of teaching an infant (known as "Little Albert") to be afraid.

Through weather and neglect, abandoned vehicles and structures take on a beauty of their own. Here is a gallery to prove it.

How to avoid convicting people for crimes they didn't commit. It happens all too often.

Experiments show that loud music in bars increases alcohol consumption. Scientific research can be such demanding work.

The History of Aerial Photography, from cameras lifted on kites to the moon missions. We once even had birds take pictures for us!

10 Extraordinary Tales of Extraordinary Twins. The overarching theme is the amazing and lasting bonds between wombmates. (via Euba)

10 Overused Words in Writing. I plead guilty! Forgive me!

People read screen text in a completely different way from print sources. This may explain why reading scores go down when computers are introduced into the classroom. (via Metafilter)

Friday, September 19, 2008

Friday Fun Links

Arrrr! It's once again Talk Like A Pirate Day! Enjoy some pirate kitties for the occasion, and check out the pirate jokes, links, pictures, and videos I've posted over the years. Also see some pirate songs and stuff over at YesButNoButYes.

Beavis and Butthead sell candy for their school. Well, not really, but they make a lame attempt.

Impossible Fractals. Really, they're only impossible in a three-dimensional world. They look great on the internet! (via Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories)

8 Classic Movies That Got Away With Gaping Plot Holes. I had a couple in mind before I read the list, and apparently others wondered about those, too.

Awesome Guitar Tapping. This guy makes it look and sound like a whole new instrument.

How well do you perceive colors? Arrange these in order, and compare your score to others. Zero is perfect.

The 10 Best Celebrity Pratfalls. The bigger they are, the more views they get coming down.

The weirdest news stories of the week.

Spike Jones

Thursday, September 18, 2008

The Odd, Odd Octopus

You know octopuses are strange creatures. They’ve always been part of our nightmares and scary stories, but that’s mainly because they look so odd. The more you know about them, the stranger they seem. How do they move around without bones? Why doesn't that hard beak cut into their flesh? And what's in that ink, anyway?

read more | digg story

Informative Links

In Search of the Mongolian Death Worm. Reported to be between two and five feet long, the deep-red coloured worm is said to resemble the intestines of a cow and sprays a yellow acidic saliva substance at its victims. Yeah, right.

5 People You've Never Heard Of Who Saved the World. Most never got any profit from their actions, either.

Leonardo, the mummy dinosaur, will be presented to the public next week. Meanwhile, scientists are studying his guts to see what his last meal might have been.

How and When to Cancel a Credit Card.

Read personal stories of Texans surviving Hurricane Ike, including the group of people who took shelter in a church along with a full-grown lion.

Instruments Not Found in Your High School Orchestra. Unless you are determined to field an orchestra with no budget.

Have you ever seen a giraffe sleeping? It's a strange site, as you'll se in this article about animals' sleeping habits.

Pictures of the Texas coastline before and after Hurricane Ike. Where did all those houses go?

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Fun Links

Dali Clocks exist in real life (although they didn't before The Persistence of Memory). You can have one in your home, too!

The Word Fragments Game asks you so assemble parts of words. Your score will be measured in words completed, number of errors, and time spent; then you can see how your scores compare with others who have played the game. (via b3ta)

Ninja Cat comes near without moving. This will either creep you out or make you laugh hysterically.

The lyrics to Enter Sandman by Metallica illustrated by LOLcats. Much more clever and enjoyable than you would think.

Bible In a Minute. It's all there Not that you'll learn anything, but it's all there.

The Hall of Technical Documentation Weirdness. You know how they produce manuals and instruction sheets: They assign the most useless worker to write them, because they can't spare anyone who knows what they are doing. (via Metafilter)

Little Red Monkey. Music by Rosemary Clooney with Tony Mottola and his Orchestra. (via Everlasting Blort)

Why We Drink. The narrator's confidence and lovely accent obscure the fact that we don't know what he's talking about.

Inflatable... Slide


Whoever designed this must have thought they were running one past us. See a picture here.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

12 Things You Can Do On A Segway


Early on, Segways developed a reputation for being useless and nerdy, but in the last few years people have found plenty of things you can do with, or on, a Segway. The personal transporters are becoming more popular as gas prices rise and more uses are found. Keep in mind, these are things you can do IF you have the skill and the balance to ride one!

read more | digg story

Information Links

If you avoid black and white movies, you're missing out on some serious art. And entertainment. (via Metafilter)

The Evolution of the College Dorm. This may explain some of the outlandish rise in tuition the last few years.

The World's Best Places to Live 2008. Hmm, maybe we could learn a thing or two from the many European cities listed. (via the Presurfer)

An eight-year-old weighed 420 pounds! But guess what -she lost 320 pounds at an obesity clinic.

Marrying a person who shares your attitudes about money might just be the smartest financial decision you will ever make. It will at least make the divorce settlement easier to negotiate.

12 money-management tips for college students. Assuming you've got any money left at all two weeks into the school year.

No more "Coffee, Tea, or Me?" Flight attendants don't have it so easy these days, as this undercover journalist found out.

See the very first photograph of a planet orbiting around a sun-like star that's not in our system. It's not easy getting a good picture from 500 light years away!

Too Much Exposure


(via Everlasting Blort)

Monday, September 15, 2008

The Dream Car 123

The exterior is covered with bulletproof plexiglass. The entire vehicle is lined with bubble wrap. Yes, bubble wrap. It lights up at night, and it's shaped like a pyramid. Still, it goes 240 miles on one electrical chargeup. It's the Dream Car 123!

read more | digg story

Funny Links

The 11 Coolest Wheelchairs In The World. I don't know what kind of mind came up with the flame-throwing wheelchair, but the result is tough to beat. (via Gorilla Mask)

A collection of videos of people playing with snakes. Not what you'd call the some sensible pastime ever.

The Rocket War of Vrondados. Doesn't it make perfect sense to celebrate Easter with a fireworks battle between two churches?

The Sarah Palin Baby Name Generator. It said if Sarah Palin were my mother, my name would be Copper Catfish Palin! (via Everlasting Blort)

6 Things Inspired by Einstein. He was always an inspiring kind of guy!

The 6 Most (Certifiably) Insane Tales of Rock Star Behavior.

The Pensioner's Playlist: The 25 greatest songs about aging and mortality.

Freestyle Rap Battle Translated. However you want to say it, those are fightin' words!

The weirdest news stories of the week.

Fountain of Salmacis -Genesis


It's hard to believe they were ever that young. (via Metafilter)

Friday, September 12, 2008

Information and Good Reads

The toughest creature on Earth has survived a trip into space. Tardigrades, also known as water bears, were launched into orbit, came home, and went about normal life again.

10 Things About the Large Hadron Collider You Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask.

eBay has launched an environmentally-friendly shopping site, WorldofGood.com. Your conscience will thank you.

Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia was designed to make prisoners penitent and to encourage their reform. Instead it drove them nuts.

The Gentleman’s Guide to the Calling Card. This charming and extremely useful custom is making a comeback!

When Oliver Sacks writes a book review, it's worth reading even if you never sample the book in question. In this article, he makes psychosis come alive -which might be scary.

Ten things you don’t know about the Earth.

70 Amazing Houses from Around the World. If you lived in any of these, you may as well forget about blending in or hiding out.

The Evolution of National Flags. It may surprise you to learn there's a reason for every symbol and every stitch.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Blue People


There have always been tales of blue people in mythology, popular fiction, and in the news. Yes, blue people exist here and there in the real world. Two conditions cause people to live and be (literally) blue. Methemoglobinemia is a condition in which the blood carries less-than-normal amounts of oxygen, making the blood appear blue. Argyria is caused by the ingestion of silver, usually for medicinal purposes. The effects of silver ingestion are permanent, and if the consumption of silver continues long enough, can be fatal.

Digg this!

Political Links

John McCain gets BarackRoll'd at the Republican National Convention.

John McCain is voting for Barack Obama. (via NYC Educator)

McCain-Palin slogans. (via Everlasting Blort)

Ten Women Who Would Have Made Better Veep Picks for McCain. (via Grow-A-Brain)

Get your Sarah Palin Action Figure before they're all gone!

On Sarah Palin as the VP pick for the republican party: Feminism has never been about getting a job for one woman. It's about making life more fair for women everywhere. It's not about a piece of the existing pie; there are too many of us for that. It's about baking a new pie. (Thanks, Duke!)

The rest of the world is starting to get a bit nervous about this election.

Michael Palin for President!

Never Forget


From WTC 9/11.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Fun and Funny Links

The Large Hadron Collider is scheduled to fire up today, so to calm your fears by reading 8 Fictional Doomsday Devices More Dangerous Than the Large Hadron Collider. If a black hole swallows us today, there’ll be no one left to day “I told you so.”

Enjoy a short story by Croatian author and illustrator Darko Macan about a bookseller who has every book in the world ...except one. Despite a site warning, this particular page is SFW. (via Metafilter)

Watch a short tutorial on English spelling. It's a wonder we ever learn to do it at all! (via Boing Boing)

Tumbleweed Vortex. So weird to see, but folks are driving by like this is normal.

5 Real World Criminals Who Were Certified Super-Villains.

Extended Post-It Notepaper Experiment. How come my Post-It Note pads don't come nicely accordion-pleated?

How to Cook an Alien. Hey, it's either them or us! (via Dark Roasted Blend)

Google Mobile. A group of unsuspecting young men get more than what they bargained for. Another bizarre look at Google from The Vacationeers.

Intermission in the 3rd Dimension


By Don Hertzfeldt.

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

6 Utterly Loyal Dogs


Faithful, loyal, devoted, steadfast -that’s a good dog. It’s part of what they are. Here are six who give a new meaning to the word loyalty. Get your hankies ready.

read more | digg story

Informative Links

Which is the fastest browser: Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Google's new Chrome? Safari is sadly missing from these tests. Also: what does that logo remind you of?

6 Questions to Ask Yourself to Get the Most Out of Life. The question I ask myself most often is, "What did I come in here for?"

Why it's so hard to swat a fly. This high-tech explanation makes me respect them more. Not really.

Fermilab physicists discover 'doubly strange' particle. The Omega-sub-b contains two strange quarks and a bottom quark. That's pretty strange if you ask me.

Facebook Ads Target You Where It Hurts. Contextual ads know where your insecurities are, and someone is always willing to sell you something for it.

A pictorial history of the monowheel. These vehicles never caught on, but inventors are still fascinated with perfecting them.

How to survive your first college roommate. Most of them won't be back for sophomore year, anyway. Mine was kicked out.

Woolly Mammoths found in Russia have North American genetic markers. The evidence points to migration across the land bridge going both ways, but the question remains: what killed off the Siberian strain of mammoths?

How to dispose of the body. I'm amazed at how many people have thought this through. (via Boing Boing)

The Egg and I


Selected clips from the 1947 film The Egg and I, starring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray. Based on a true story. This film introduced the world to Ma and Pa Kettle.

Monday, September 08, 2008

Fun Links

Look for gorillas to take over the streets of London on September 27th. It's the fifth annual Great Gorilla Run to benefit Mountain Gorillas in Africa. (via Arbroath)

The Ten Oddest Travel Guides Ever Published. It's not surprising that most didn't have a second edition.

The Post-It Note Race. A lot of time and effort went into this Nike ad, but it pays off.

What happens when you combine Star Trek: The Next Generation and The Love Boat? Just about what you'd think.

Custom Made 1989 Batmobile. It's 12 feet long and eight feet wide, and cost around $300,000 to build.

How Beer Works. I hate to admit it, but I saw myself in there somewhere. (via Bits and Pieces)

The 8 Most Obnoxious Internet Commenters. I don't see them around here, but then again, I don't see hardly ANY commenters around here!

A Dog's Perfect Day. (via Unique Daily)

Terminator vs. Robocop vs. Predator. A great editing job makes a whole new movie. A very violent movie.

Wassup, Holmes?


Hound of the Baskervilles in rap form. (via b3ta)

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Milk


Mr. Milk (1930-1978) was an activist and politician, and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in America; in 1977, he was voted to the city supervisors' board of San Francisco. The following year, both he and the city's mayor George Moscone were shot to death by another city supervisor, Dan White.

Sean Penn stars as Harvey Milk in the movie premiering December 5th.

Saturday, September 06, 2008

The GOP Vetting Emporium


When you really don't want to spend a lot of time and money.

Friday, September 05, 2008

Fun Links

The 50 Most Stylish Men of the Past 50 Years. (via Dump Trumpet)

Control a Roomba with a Wii Balance Board and clean your carpet as you virtually surf! See, make it into a geeky project and you can get anyone to do housework.

A giant spider invades Liverpool! But instead of running away, this one should attract people to it.

In the game Hexium Connect, you can given a set of hexagons with colored links on one or more sides of each. You rearrange them so that all colored connections are linked to each other properly. (via Dump Trumpet)

License Plates for Geeks. (via Grow-A-Brain)

The Disturbing Origins of 5 Common Nursery Rhymes. Even the most nonsensical are based on politics and gossip.

The Top Ten Weird Things Sent Into Space. In a list like this, the sky is nowhere near the limit.

The weirdest independent candidates in the 2008 presidential election. You can't get weirder than the Vampires, Witches, and Pagans Party.

Billy's Balloon


By Don Hertzfeldt. SFW, but not for children.

Thursday, September 04, 2008

9 People Who Refused to be Limited


It’s part of human nature to test one’s limits, even for those who have extraordinary limitations. All over the world there are people with disabilities who work to do exactly what they are not supposed to be able to do. This is the fourth article in a series about people who set their goals and achieved them despite disabilities.

read more | digg story

Informative Links

The Edsel was unveiled 51 years ago today. It such a flop that it became a metaphor for failure.

A video look at the life of Don LaFontaine, a voiceover artist you've heard all your life. He died Monday at age 68.

Memphis is all about music. Take a virtual tour and relive the early days of blues, rockabilly, gospel, and rock and roll. But that's not all Memphis has to offer.

In the 1930s, Nazis were already using the new medium of television for propaganda purposes. See the hour long documentary Television Under the Swastika. For a preview, see a short clip here. (via Metafilter)

How GPS navigation is now used to solve crimes. Keep this in mind next time you lie about your whereabouts on the night in question.

Psychologists are studying and experimenting with three critical psychological techniques used by magicians. Would you fall for these mind tricks?

Marcus Eriksen and Joel Paschal sailed from Long Beach to Hawaii on a raft made of 15,000 water bottles and other plastic junk. Also check out the trip blog.

33 Disturbing But True Facts About Eugenics. As if the word "eugenics" doesn't already creep you out enough.

The Most Expensive Item in Antiques Roadshow History


Surprise -you have been sitting on a real treasure! (via VideoSift)

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

10 Odd Things Swallowed, with X-ray Evidence


You’re gnawing on something for one reason or another, and sometimes instinct takes over and whoops you’ve swallowed it! If an inedible object is small enough and somewhat round (coins and stones), it will often pass through the digestive system on its own. Others need surgical intervention.

read more | digg story

Information Links

I collect antique cobalt glass, and I would love to have this old poison bottle! It's part of the The Antique Poison Bottle Hall of Fame, where you'll find all kinds of poison bottles submitted by owners from all over. (via Everlasting Blort)

The Magpie in the Mirror. If birds can be self-aware, maybe other animals are, too.

Spiegel TV has tracked down rare Nazi TV footage, complete with everything from bizarre cabaret acts to interviews with people like Albert Speer. Pop culture done by Nazis, the banality of showbiz evil. See Michael Kroft's hourlong documentary Television Under the Swastika. For a preview, see a short clip here. (via Metafilter)

Don't be surprised if your doctor orders a vitamin D test during your next physical. We really don't know how much it can benefit us, but research on the matter has gone into overdrive.

The Ups and Downs of Competition. The serious side of the World Yo-Yo Contest.

Famous People With Mental Illnesses.

On Campus, Legal Drinking Age Is Flunking the Reality Test. When doing something even a little is illegal, overdoing it doesn't seem any worse.

Undecided voters aren't really undecided. In many cases, they have secretly made up their minds, unbeknownst even to themselves.

Monday, September 01, 2008

Fun Links

Variations on American Gothic by Grant Wood. (via Dark Roasted Blend)

Looking in the Mirror.

A purple frog with a pig nose, a seal with an inflatable face, and penguin with yellow eyes! They sound like tall tales, but they are just some of the unusual endangered species described at WebEcoist. (via the Presurfer)

The German magazine Stern has 150 photographs from the Olympics showing the angles you didn't see on TV. Some make you wonder WTF is going on, and a couple are NSFW. If you'd rather not deal with a slideshow, the best are on one page here. (via Metafilter)

How NOT to Erect a Monument.

Ten Plundering Politicians. These guys make American politicians look like amateurs.

The Avenging Narwhal Playset. Read the full description from the back of the package at the West Virginia Surf Report.

I guess that’s one way to get a deer....

Moving Update Updated

We've been in the new place a week now, and I've solved my three major problems. We have cable TV and internet, we have hot water, and now we have a refrigerator!

Of course, it wasn't as simple as that. I called the appliance guy to see when he could move my old refrigerator to the new house. He was out of town, but said he would be back and move it Friday. So Thursday night, I cleaned out the old fridge and got rid of any questionable food. Has it really been 15 years since I cleaned out the refrigerator? Of course not; I just bought the thing about five years ago. Then I remembered I cleaned it thoroughly in the spring. But two kids who are learning to cook can make a monumental mess in a short time!

Friday came and went with no word. Most of Saturday, too. I got the idea he really didn't want to do this. It's getting quite expensive to eat out every day, and even with a big bag of ice, milk was going bad in the cooler too often. Mom encouraged me to just buy a new refrigerator, so I sighed and said OK. At the store, I found that new units cost way more than I thought! I'd never bought a new refrigerator -just used ones. I selected one that would fit the space alloted with the features I wanted. Then whaddaya know, Mom paid for it (bless her)! This being Saturday night, I figured it wouldn't be delivered until Tuesday, but the clerk said they could bring it on Sunday. Hoorai!

So not only did I get a new fridge, I also saved 1) the money I would've paid the appliance guy to move mine around, b) the $20 the city charges to haul off the old unit, 3) eating out bills for who-knows-how-long, and 4) ice costs. Also, I still have a refrigerator at the old house which will make it marginally more sellable. And it's clean! Very clean, while the rest of the old kitchen is covered in tomato juice. I'm finishing up the canning there, because I don't want to hose down TWO kitchens.

Sunday morning, the delivery guy calls at 10AM. He said they had two stops before mine, so it would be around 1PM. They came at 6PM. The wait was not extremely difficult this time around, because the kids watched TV and I surfed the net. Yeah, I had plenty of unpacking to do, as always. Anyway, the delivery guys had to take the handles off the old monster-sized non-working refrigerator just to get it out the door. They said it was at least 20 years old (no wonder the appliance guy didn't want it, even for parts). The new one didn't even have to be brought in sideways. After all, a family of three females doesn't need a meat locker, just a place to put our yogurt. We celebrated with a trip to the grocery store, where I let the kids buy what they wanted. What they wanted were the things they missed over the past week -butter, milk, orange juice, Kool-Aid, eggs, and cheese. They've had their fill of warm soda pop.

Oh yeah, there was an interesting coda to the cable story. Friday morning, a cable installer shows up. He found it hard to believe that I already had cable, since he was supposed to put it in. He apparently suspected piracy, because he asked for the names of the installers. I said I don't know, it was dark. Maybe they weren't really installers. Maybe they were angels sent in answer to a prayer. Then I explained that they had rescheduled my install for Thursday and probably never bothered to take it off the schedule. Mind you, it was Friday when he showed up.

Today, my brother and sister-in-law are coming over to help me load those furniture items I can't wrap my arms around. That will be a load off my mind. But I will have to call the pros to move the piano. They only brought it to my house a couple of months ago, said it was the heaviest upright they'd ever moved, and also mentioned they never wanted to move it again. They are going to hate me.