Pages - Menu

Friday, August 31, 2007

Monster Spider Web Spun In Texas

Entomologists are debating the origin and rarity of a sprawling spider web that blankets several trees, shrubs and the ground along a 200-yard stretch of trail in Lake Tawokoni State Park in Texas.

Spider experts say the web may have been constructed by social cobweb spiders, which work together, or could be the result of a mass dispersal in which the arachnids spin webs to spread out from one another.

A better picture of the giant web can be found here.

300+ Tools And Resources For Firefox

As the second biggest browser out there, and the biggest open source one, Firefox has a tool for just about anything you can dream up. In this list, Mashable has collected over 300 of the best.

Maps For Us

Maps For Us has all sorts of strange maps. Like maps of Super Mario World, the Migration of the Wildebeest, Bear Density In Ontario, Rio De Janeiro's Lunatic Asylum, One-Eyed Willy’s Treasure, and many, many more.

Linkdump

America's Top 7 Most Hated Substances

With the ever encroaching nanny state movement in America, let's stop and look at some of the most silliest things the feds have decided to disallow the use, importation, possession and/or sale of to protect you from yourself.

(via Nag on the Lake)

When Construction Goes Wrong

In many cases the architectural horrors shown on this page were left 'as is,' without any fixes. The tenants and businesses moved into these structures, leaving passersby and photographers to marvel at their idiotic construction.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Glowing Fingernails

Mini glow sticks are built into the plastic finger nails. Bend the nail gently, attach the included two sided tape to both your own finger nail and the plastic one and watch the reaction.

This product is packed in a great looking counter display box which contains 10 nails. Please note: This item will glow 1 time only.

(via Spluch)

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Miss Teen South Carolina Strikes Back

We've all had our fun at her expense, watching and re-watching her incredible and bizarre answer during the Miss Teen USA pageant.

Now, 18-year old Lauren Caitlin Upton offers you the chance to show how smart YOU are! Get the right answers to 7 questions and let your expert geographic knowledge impress even the toughest judge.

Everybody laughed at her, but now People magazine has this seven question 'Miss S.C. Teen USA's Geography Pop Quiz' on their website. She's turning this 'mishap' into a way of earning some money. Seems she's not so dumb after all.

My Posh Twin

Ever wondered how you'd look when you were born posh? Find out with enduring years of public school or ever having to wear a cravat.

Upload a photo, create your blue-blooded doppelgänger and experience centuries of breeding in a matter of minutes.

Sleepy Rats


From Rats Are People Too, pictures of yawning rats.

(via J-Walk Blog)

Nasubi

Nippon Television's producers have obviously never heard of the Geneva Convention. If they had, they wouldn't have treated poor Nasubi the way they did. They wouldn't have stripped him naked and shut him in an apartment, alone with no food, furniture, household goods, or entertainment.

They wouldn't have kept Nasubi there for over a year until he had won $10.000 in prizes by sending in postcards to contests. They wouldn't have cut him off from the world and they would have told him that he was on nation-wide TV.

Knight Vs Viacom

Christopher Knight is a writer, photographer and film maker. Multimedia giant Viacom is claiming that he has violated their copyright by posting on YouTube a segment from it's VH1 show Web Junk 2.0... which VH1 produced -without permission -from a video that he had originally created.

Viacom used his video without permission on their commercial television show, and now says that he is infringing on their copyright for showing the clip of the work that Viacom made in violation of his own copyright. The clip in question was pulled by YouTube earlier this morning, at Viacom's insistence.

Indian Superman

Superman, with Indian actor Govind Arun Ahuja.



(thanks nikhil)

A Life With Jazz

Wonderful photographs by Herman Leonard of some of the greatest names in jazz.

(via Information Junk)

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Panda Bear Cub Development

Here's an amazing series of photographs documenting the first three months of a panda bear's growth.

Miss South Carolina Teen USA Explains

Remember the video I showed about Miss Teen South Carolina fumbling up a question about why a fifth of Americans can't locate the US on a map?
The answer she gave has become an Internet sensation.

I did show the video because it was rather funny but I also realize it's not fair to enjoy Miss South Carolina's mishap without knowing why that happened.

Fortunately, she, Lauren Caitlin Upton, will have a second chance to answer it on Tuesday morning's Today show. I didn't do anything wrong, I wasn't expecting the question. I lost my train of thought, she said.

Mario Lopez, the show's host said I believe that she misunderstood it. She went down the wrong road and couldn't figure out how to get back to the right one. I felt really badly for her.

Steely McBeam

National Football League team The Pittsburgh Steelers announced their new mascot on August 8. Steely McBeam was the winning entry among more than 70,000 names submitted by Steelers fans around the world. He is a contemporized version of the former Steelers logo, a steelworker, representing Pittsburgh's rich history in the steel industry.

But not everyone is happy with the mascot's name. Some believe the name is ridiculous, others have described Pittsburgh as 'a drinking town with a football problem.' Many feel this mascot is not representative of the city or the fans.


Ryan Valdiserri has started an online petition to rid the city of this stupid idea once and for all.

And Stinky Boodle has started a t-shirt site called Steely Mc Stupid to protest the introduction of the new mascot.

Russian Disco


Do they have discos in Russia?
Yes, they do!

Dust Storms

Dark Roasted Blend has an interesting article on dust storms.
Dust storms are strong, turbulent winds carrying large clouds of dust.

In a large storm, clouds of fine dust may be raised to heights well over 10,000 ft and carried for hundreds or thousands of miles. They are known by many names: Haboob, Simum, or Black Blizzards.

Cappuccino Coast

It was as if someone had poured tons of coffee and milk into the ocean, then switched on a giant blender. Suddenly the shoreline north of Sydney were transformed into the Cappuccino Coast.

Foam swallowed an entire beach and half the nearby buildings, including the local lifeguards' centre, in a freak display of nature at Yamba in New South Wales. One minute a group of teenage surfers were waiting to catch a wave, the next they were swallowed up in a giant bubble bath.

Scientists explain that the foam is created by impurities in the ocean, such as salts, chemicals, dead plants, decomposed fish and excretions from seaweed.

(via Neatorama)

Strange Things In Google Maps

The MapOfStrange website is a way of recording strange, wacky, weird and wonderful anomalies, sights and oddities from Google Maps and Google Earth.

Whether someone has written something in a corn field, or there is an aeroplane flying over rural England, it's all on MapOfStrange.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Thank You

It's time to say thank you to all my loyal readers.
Here are Hoops and Yoyo with a million thank you's.

Don't believe they'll make it to a million?
Here's proof.

Coffee Drinks Illustrated

The coffee shop ordering experience can be intimidating. Here are a few small illustrations to help you wrap your head around some of the small differences.

Baby Ticker



Congratulations on your pregnancy! Start your baby countdown with a free baby ticker for your signature, message boards, blogs and webpages. You can customize your own pregnancy ticker with the Babystrology baby ticker creator.

Babystrology offers a free ticker to add to your blog. They even have tickers for twins, triplets, quadruplets, etc.

(via Random Good Stuff)

Lisa Simpson For President

Lisa Simpson, the young, dynamic woman is determined to change the outcome of the '08 Presidential race.

If we can elect a 61 year old with the reading level of an eight year old, surely we can elect an eight year old with the reading level of a 61 year old.

(via Miss Cellania)

Linkdump

The World's Ugliest Cars

Hagerty Insurance, a specialist in collector cars, surveyed its policyholders for their picks of the worst car designs of all time.

Here are the top 10 worst design picks, with comments, from the nearly 2,500 Hagerty customers who participated.

(via Tom McMahon)

Sleeping Cats

Can you imagine an Internet without pictures of cats? I can't! So, here are some pictures of cats in various sleeping positions.

(via J-Walk Blog)

The Diet Fork

Ah yes, this will certainly help you loose some weight. The Diet Fork. And why? Because the Diet Fork allows dieters to 'scoop less' food during meals.
The Diet Fork is shorter and dulled teeth are inhibiting users from grasping larger pieces of food at any one time.

It has a smaller triangular shaped surface area allowing dieters to hold less food than many other forks. And the uncomfortable grip is compelling users to put the fork down between bites, slowing the user's eating speed.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Covini C6W

Covini is a small car company from Castel San Giovanni, Italy, and founded by Ferruccio Covini in 1978. Currently the company is developing the new Covini C6W, a six wheeler car.

The six wheeled design offers many advantages over a conventional design as it gives more traction for cornering and braking and reduces the risks of punctures and aquaplaning.
The Covini C6W is powered by an Audi 4.2 litre V8 motor which powers it to a top speed of 190 mph.

A Nice Gesture

A Nice Gesture is a website by my countryman Jeroen Arendsen who is currently working on a gesture recognition project at the Delft University of Technology here in the Netherlands.

The language of gesture is rich in ways for individuals to express a variety of feelings and thoughts, from contempt and hostility to approval and affection. Every country in the world has its own set of gestures. The way people gesture is part of the culture of a country. A gesture which looks very normal to you might be offensive in another country.

For instance, here's an example of verbal and non-verbal communications when you meet someone from my country, the Netherlands.

When you meet someone for the first time in the Netherlands, you would start off by shaking hands. Generally you would remain at about the same distance as while still shaking hands. People tend to make eye contact, but while talking, one can look away occasionally in order to create a comfortable situation.

The Dutch are considered to be very direct in conversation. Foreigners often tend to interpret this Dutch directness as rudeness, yet the Dutch never realise that others might feel offended. This directness is a well-appreciated form of openness in the Netherlands.


In other words, we ask straight questions and we want straight answers. Oh, and when greeting someone of the opposite sex, it is customary to give three alternating pecks on each other's cheeks.

A Nice Gesture.

Find out about gestures in your country with this list of communication styles from countries all over the world.

(via plep)

Hongkong By Day/Hongkong By Night


Move your mouse pointer slowly from top to bottom.
Be patient, it takes a while to load.

Big Hand

The man with the largest hand in the world will be looking forward to a normal life after undergoing radical plastic surgery at Shanghai No. 9 People's Hospital. Liu Hua, a 24-year-old Jiangsu Province native, was born with a left thumb, index and middle finger much larger than normal.

Liu was suffering from a rare disease called macrodactyly, a birth defect in which toes or fingers are abnormally large.

The Shoe Project

The Shoe Project, by Norwegian photographer Ellen Ugelstad, pairs head and shoulder shots of people with shots of their shoes. All pictures are taken in San Francisco.

World Of Solitaire

Play a game of online Solitaire. Games to choose from are Canfield, FreeCell, Klondike, Pyramid, Seahaven Towers, Spider, or Yukon.

Loads of options and decks to keep you busy for a while. Keep in mind that playing this online version of Solitaire can be very addicting.

Home Schooled

Home Schooled is a comics series by American artist Ash Jackson.
Co-writing by Silas Jackson.
The Presurfer will feature a Home Schooled cartoon every Monday. This is an absolute exclusive cooperation between The Presurfer and Ash Jackson.

Home Schooled is more or less a reflection of the wacky and occasionally interesting adventures of the artist, Ash Jackson, himself, with the aid of his friends, family, and other cohorts.

Title: Turtles Near By.

click on the picture for real size

WatZatSong?

WatZatSong is a community website that allows you to name a song that you have stuck in your head but of which you know neither the artist nor the title, or help other people when they are looking for a song name.

Sing or hum a tune in your microphone or, if you already have a sample of the song in a file, upload it. As soon as your recording is confirmed, it becomes available for listening on WatZatSong. Anyone can then guess at the title and artist.

(via Ursi's Blog)

Best Of Presurfer

It's been almost a year ago that I started hosting this site on blogspot. Here are the 6 most viewed post from the past year.

500 Years Of Women In Art. A great morphing video of 500 years of female portraits in western art.

Ethan Haas Was Right. A series of very difficult puzzles. You'll see a pattern of popping triangles. Memorize the pattern, then click on them in order and you'll see a distorted video message, then you'll end up seeing some sort of cryptic combination lock that you have to crack.

Simpsonize Yourself. To promote the launch of the first full-length Simpsons feature film, Burger King and Fox have created The Simpsonizer. Turn a photo of yourself into a Simpsons character. Use a closeup of your face with a minimum resolution of 640x480. Color only. Then follow the instructions.

Do Fairies Live At The Bottom Of Your Garden? Don't be silly! Of course they don't! Or, do they?

Heavy Seas. Footage from a helicopter of the passenger cruiser 'Voyager' caught in heavy seas.

Driver Destroys Entire Cornfield. A driver who was high on cocaine destroyed an entire cornfield in an attempt to escape from the police. Four police cars were destroyed before the 35-year-old crashed into a ditch and was arrested, near the village of Dussen in the south of the Netherlands.

New York City Panorama


Beautiful panorama picture of New York at night.

What Did She Just Say?

Question to Miss Teen South Carolina: A fifth of Americans can't locate the US on a map. Why do you think this is?

Answer: I personally believe that US Americans are unable to do so, because, uh, some... people out there in our nation don't have maps.

Thumbalizr

With Thumbalizr you can take screenshots of any webpage you want. Use it for your presentations, documentations, visualisations or your webpage.

Just enter the target-URL and press the 'thumb it'-button. Wait a moment and a screenshot of the desired page will be taken. You can choose between a screenshot with a fixed height of the screen or the complete webpage. Users can customize the dimensions of each screenshot taken, from standard sizes through to a custom option.

Airports, Runways And Air Traffic Control

Interesting facts about airports like the world's steepest runway at Courchevel airport in France. The world's shortest commercial runway at Yrasquin airport in Saba. The world's most insane runway location at Princess Julianna international airport in Sint Maarten.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

The Greedo Assassination Conspiracy Page

Remember the original 1977 Sci-Fi classic Star Wars? Remember the scene where an alien bounty hunter named 'Greedo' tried to assassinate the legendary Han Solo? But failed!

The McGill University Department of Exopolitics took it upon themselves to examine the vapourization of Greedo, the clueless bounty hunter. After minutes of intensive research, the department are proud to present their findings.

Top 10 Physically Modified People

There are some extraordinary human beings intent on changing their appearance permanently for reasons that will forever baffle most people.

Body modification is the permanent or semi-permanent deliberate altering of the human body for non-medical reasons, such as spiritual, various social, BDSM, or aesthetic.

Top 10 Physically Modified People.

Paris Hilton In Animated Cartoon

Famed writer Stan Lee (Spider-Man, X-Men, Silver Surfer, Fantastic Four) is bringing the world another Superhero: Paris Hilton. Lee says he plans to make an animated cartoon TV show with Paris Hilton.

I have a first-look deal with Disney. That means I don't know who'll be behind this until I at least show them the finished product and see how they feel. But the plan is to make an animated cartoon show with her on TV. A hip comedy in the superhero comedy-adventure genre.

We get on very well. This is a charming, very likable person. Sophisticated. Great comedic sense. A fine voice. And seriously hard-working. Totally unlike whatever the public is led to believe. And she has input. She attends every meeting. What we plan to do is truly tasteful.

And what's that I see in the photo? Paris Hilton reading a book? Sun Tzu: The Art of War? What's she up to?

Top 10 Deadbeat Celebrity Relatives

Al Gore's son was arrested last month for flooring a Prius full of weed and pills down a California highway. But Albert Gore III is hardly the first celebrity relative to embarrass his more important, less frequently arrested family members.

Let's see how the newcomer measures up against these notable drunk/stupid/greedy/lazy celebrity relatives.

Top 10 Deadbeat Celebrity Relatives.

Evolution

Self-Adhesive Sunroof

Not all of us can afford to check the option box for a sunroof when buying a new car. But now the days
of cruising with unadorned sheetmetal over your head are over, even for the cheapest tight wads among us.

The self-adhesive sunroof is a miracle of technology that's comprised of a 'series of flexible laminated layers, weatherproofed and framed with a self-adhesive tape.' When affixed to the roof of your car, you'll be known around town as the guy with enough bucks to buy a sunroof. The public will never know your sunroof is actually a giant black sticker with a frame around it.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Spy Letters Of The American Revolution

The Revolutionary War was not fought by proclamations and battles alone. A major component of the war was the challenge of organizing military strategies over thousands of miles of battlefield. From the very beginning of the war, a complex network of spies, double agents, and traitors began to emerge in an effort to learn the plans of the enemy before they were enacted.

The preservation and availability of the Sir Henry Clinton collection at the Clements Library provides an amazingly complete look at the everyday intelligence operations of both the British and American armies.

Many of the letters highlighted in this digital exhibit were pivotal to the success and failures of sieges, battles, and surprise attacks.

One Of My Sites Got Ripped Off

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But when that imitation goes as far as copying the complete content of one of my websites, including my email address and even using my name in the 'posted by Gerard' line, it's not flattery. It's a rip-off.

That's exactly what happened with my site The Generator Blog. The Generator Blog is a very well visited site (2,500 unique daily visitors on average).

Thanks to one of my readers my attention was drawn to a site called The Generator Kid. The site is maintained by someone called Karthik from India. Karthik copied the complete content of my site and only changed the template.

I can't contact Karthik directly since, like I said, he/she uses my email address. The comments system was als copied but doesn't work. I already contacted Google Blogger about this and they asked me to send them a written complaint.

OMG


Is there anything worse than this?

(thanks Brian)

Linkdump

Big Huge Thesaurus

Don't know what to write about? Big Huge Thesaurus provides 'millions of possible story plots.' The site serves up good, bad, but most of the time completely silly ideas, like:

* Close friends miss an important meeting in Paris.
* A witch must return money stolen from the mob.
* A bellhop finds herself at the circus.
* A talking cat accidentally eats poisoned food in Heaven.
* An Aztec warrior finds love at a party.
* A politician saves the world in a taxi.

Synonyms, antonyms, rhymes, story plots, and even blog post ideas, get them at the Big Huge Thesaurus.

(via Twists & Turns)

Alabama Potter Jerry Brown Throws A Jug



(thanks David)

You Can Get Arrested For That?

Did you know that in the United States it's illegal to fish while wearing pajamas in Chicago, Illinois? Or enter a theater within three hours of eating garlic in Indianapolis? Offer cigarettes or whiskey to zoo animals in New Jersey? Fall asleep in a cheese factory in South Dakota?

Englishman Rich Smith discovered these little-known laws during a great American crime spree that took him from coast to coast in search of girls to kiss (it's illegal to kiss for longer than five minutes at a time in Kansas), oranges to peel (which the law says shouldn't be done in hotel rooms in California), and whales to hunt (unlawful in Utah).

13 Of The Worst Fake Accents In Film

Sometimes a movie is released where someone speaks an accent so bad you can't help but notice.

Deputydog posted a selection of 13 of the worst fake accents in film.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Moan My IP

This website shows your IP number and some other additional information about your system. But it doesn't only show your IP number. No, a sexy girl is moaning your number. That's right. Moaning!

Google Earth With Sky View

In the newest version of Google Earth you can explore the heavens like never before. Switch your view to see the sky above your Earth location, and explore far-away galaxies, nebulae, and more.

Zoom in to see imagery from the Hubble Space Telescope, learn about the lifecycle of a star, or even view the constellations.

Photography About Photographers

A series of funny and unusual situations in which photographers (and their gear) find themselves, in search for that all-around perfect shot.

From Dark Roasted Blend.

Browser Share

Here are some browser statistics from this site. Microsoft's Internet Explorer is still the leading browser if all browser versions are combined. Numbers are in percentages.


But The Presurfer is most visited via Firefox 2.

Virginia Is For Lovers

Virginia is still for lovers, but the state's tourism agency will eliminate images of people making heart symbols with their hands in its upcoming advertising campaign because the gesture is also used by a violent street gang.

The Virginia is for Lovers 'Live Passionately' campaign will remove images of models making the hand gesture, one of several signs associated with the Gangster Disciples, a Chicago-based street gang. The gesture shows thumbs and index fingers formed into a heart.

(via adfreak)

Imagining The Tenth Dimension

Most of us have gotten used to the idea of there being four dimensions: but how can we possibly imagine the tenth? This project starts from the unique argument that time really is the fourth spatial dimension.

The ideas in this 11-minute animation come from chapter one of a new book called 'Imagining the Tenth Dimension' by Hugo and Nebula award-winning author Greg Bear.

Fun With Labels At The Asian Market

Gnaritas Monstrum

Gnaritas Monstrum by Seth Kendall is an animated piece where two young girls flee a terrifying monster. The monster corners the girls and they are forced make a difficult choice. It is essentially a 'loss of innocence' story.

Gnaritas Monstrum was the winner of the Graduate Experimental Category in the Greater Philadelphia Student Film Festival.

(via Ursi's Blog)

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

The Secret History Of The Nazi Mascot

The story of Alex Kurzem, now living in Australia, who at the age of five, had been adopted by the SS and became a Nazi mascot. He was paraded as 'the Reich's youngest Nazi' and he witnessed some unspeakable atrocities. But his SS masters never discovered the most essential detail about his life: their little Nazi mascot was Jewish.

It was not until 1997 that he finally told his family, and along with his son, Mark, set about discovering more about his past life. After visiting the village where he was born, they found out his real name was Ilya Galperin, and even uncovered a film in a Latvian archive of Alex in full SS regalia.

YouTube-Style Embeddable Google Maps

Yesterday Google Maps announced a new feature that allows you to add maps to your blog or website just by copying and pasting a snippet of HTML. And once you embed the map, it has all the same functionality of the Google Maps; clickable, draggable, and zoomable.

Go to Google Maps and pull up the map you want to embed. Then click 'Link to this page' in the top right-hand corner. Copy the text that you see in the second box. Paste that text into your blog editor or into the HTML of your webpage.

Here's an example, a map with some places where I spend my life. You have to scroll to the right first to see the placemarks.


View Larger Map

The 10 Most Awesome Movies Hollywood Killed

Hollywood is a slaughterhouse where cool movie ideas go to die. Here are ten films that were tragically cut down before their time, simply because they were just too friggin' awesome.

(via Dark Roasted Blend)

Superdaad!

A 78-year old one-legged Emirati father is lining up his next two wives in a bid to reach his target of 100 children by 2015. Daad Mohammed Murad Abdul Rahman, 60, has already had 15 brides although he has to divorce them as he goes along to remain within the legal limit of four wives at a time.

In 2015 I will be 68 years old and will have 100 children, Abdul Rahman said. After that I will stop marrying. I have to have at least three more marriages to hit the century.

10 Things Your Restaurant Won't Tell You

If you think that Monday, when restaurants tend not to be crowded, is a great time to eat out, think again. You're being served all of the weekend's leftovers.

Distributors typically take Sunday off and make their last deliveries Saturday morning, which means that by Monday any food not used over the weekend is at least three to four days old. And it will be served before the same ingredients arriving in Monday's delivery.

10 Things Your Restaurant Won't Tell You.

The 1000-Hand Goddess Of Mercy

A once-in-a-year event in Japan. 24 hours of TV, a lot of artists, a lot of events, and the funds are all for charity and the disabled. This is the show of the 'Senju Kannon,' The 1000-hand goddess of Mercy.


(via Neatorama)

Google Maps With Clouds

Google Maps with cloud cover satellite imagery. Cloud images are updated every 3 hours. See your own weather from above!

(via Grow-A-Brain)

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Scary For Kids

Scary For Kids, the website that brings you all the scariest things on the internet, designed to spook you, creep you out, freak you out, chill your bones and tingle your spine.

They've got Scary Pictures, Scary Games, The Scary Maze, Scary Videos, A Scary Podcast, Scary Stories, True Ghost Stories and much, much more.

And it's not only scary for kids, you could get creeped out too. You have been warned!