unique and interesting: July 2008

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Shouting Vase

Turn your loudest, most urgent frustrations into mere whispers with the Shouting Vase ($79.00).

The plastic jug is designed to fit over the contours of your mouth and absorb your screams and shouts, 'storing' them in the vase and emitting a softer version of your angry cries through the tiny hole at the base.

With the click of a button this site estimates your gender using your browser history. They look at your history to find out which of the Quantcast top 10,000 sites were visited. They then apply the ratio of male to female users for each site and with some basic math determine a guestimate of your gender.

I tried it and they say that the likelihood that I am male is 50% and the likelihood that I am female is also 50%. Thank God it's just something to play around with and not to take seriously, otherwise the psychological consequences of this could put me in a Gender Identity Disorder.

(via The Daily Digresser)

A mysterious creature washed up on a Long Island beach near New York has led to a frenzy of online speculation. Dubbed the Montauk Monster after the Long Island town where it was found, the creature has prompted speculation it was part of a secret mutant breeding program undertaken by the US Government.

Four government biologists were unable to identify the species of the animal from its photo and they came to the conclusion that no such creature exists, putting forth the possibility that the photo may have been doctored.

Bodybuilder Robot

Either you like bodybuilders or you don't. I fall in the latter category but that's probably because I don't look like a bodybuilder at all. And because I don't know much about bodybuilding, I won't make any ignorant comments. I just thought this 'robot' routine looked funny.

(via afrojacks)

Promote Your Blog (13)

SKIP'S HOUSE OF CHAOS

Skip is a negotiation trainer from Los Angeles who started his blog off a few years ago as a lark. It's part humor, part political, part personal stuff.

Skip's House of Chaos.

Promote Your Blog (14)

ePIFFUNNIES

The motto of ePIFfunnies is: 'We will all become wiser if we share our wisdom with each other.' Besides the daily 'ePIFfunnews' and ePIFfunnies from Mr. ePIFfunny, we post Guest ePIFfunnies and the ePIFfunny of the Week.

We also have a page of 'ePIFfunnus Rex' (links to useful information). Plus, once a week, we send out a 'Vitamin ePIFfunny' (a 'secular sermon of encouragement') to everyone on our mailing list. ePIFfunnies is not only family friendly; it's pro-family!

ePIFfunnies.

Creative Coffins provide a green solution for those who want a distinctive and practical funeral. Environmentally sympathetic and certified non-toxic, their cartonboard coffins are suitable for both burial and cremation.

Creative Coffins was formed in response to a genuine demand for an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional wooden coffins, that were more than just plain white.

(thanks Ashley)

This image shows the first Google storage system. In 1996 Google had its headquarters in one of the founders' dorm. At that time 4 GigaByte hard disks were the largest available, so they assembled 10 of these drives into a low-cost LEGO cabinet.

The equipment is currently on display at the Stanford University Museum.

(via Zootrópole)

10 Immense Internet Phenomena That People Ended Up Hating

The internet meme is no longer a new phenomena. A meme is when a hyperlink or file is spread from person to persons. A meme has as many faces as your average politician - it can be a website in its own right, a joke, an image, a video, a weird and wonderful news story - or even an unexpected link.

There have been huge phenomena on the internet over the years. Many enjoy huge popularity and then, as ever, familiarity breeds contempt: some we just hate from the word go. Here is a selection of internet phenomena that people ended up hating.

(thanks Robert-John)

Grass Flip Flops

Doughnut maker Krispy Kreme designed the world's first grass flip flops to relax city workers by giving them their own mini-park to walk around in.

The al fresco flip-flops take up to three weeks to grow and each shoe is covered with over 5,000 blades of grass. If watered regularly the unique footwear can remain in season for over four months – meaning they are the perfect, head-turning summer-accessory for stressed-out men and women.

Burning Cigarette

Rafael Rozendaal is a visual artist from Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Rozendaal creates digital playgrounds, bringing a kind of non sense aesthetism.

One of his projects is 'Burning Cigarette,' a page with three YouTube videos. Click the videos from right to left as fast after another as you can to see the effect.

Authority For Universe Ownership

Ever wanted to rule the Universe? Well, now you can! Authority for Universe Ownership allows you to purchase deeds to an entire parallel universe - a universe customized exactly as you want it.

For a limited period you can get a free instant gift certificate. First you must fill in the details for your universe ownership certificate. This should only take a few moments. None of these details are recorded. Then print your certificate.

Bubbloo

The Denver Art Museum in Colorado, USA, has a project called Bubbloo. Bubbloo is an interactive space where people step or jump on projected bubbles. Popping the bubbles flip over parts of a mosaic that are part of a wall projection to reveal objects from the collection.

When the object is totally revealed, there's an end screen which gives some detail about the artwork, where it's located in the museum, and a credit line for the experience.

Promote Your Blog (11)

SAGAVIDEOS

SagaVideos is about music, lyrics and information, and about many different music artists. Lots of music videos, and all safe for work.

SagaVideos.

Promote Your Blog (12)

@HOME

@home is a blog from Palma de Mallorca, Islas Baleares, Spain. It's a blog with practical and interesting things, and frequently updated.

@home.

Linkdump

11 Things You Shouldn't Leave For School Without

The Bureau of Atomic Tourism

8 Great Anti-Hacks to Fundamentally Change Your Life

The Art of Working Out Alone

Traffic frustrates. Sunken traffic frustrates absolutely. Most of these photos were taken during flooding in Sofia, Bulgaria, in Minsk, Belorus, and in Moscow and Kazan, Russia.

These recent events show a few stubborn drivers going against the flow... and even making it to the other side sometimes to the amazement of those who thought that their cars were only good as anchors.

The United States Secret Service is a federal law enforcement agency with headquarters in Washington, D.C., and more than 150 offices throughout the United States and abroad. The Secret Service was established in 1865, solely to suppress the counterfeiting of U.S. currency.

You can help guard against the threat from counterfeiters by becoming more familiar with United States currency. Look at the money you receive. Compare a suspect note with a genuine note of the same denomination and series, paying attention to the quality of printing and paper characteristics. Look for differences, not similarities.

Senior Citizen Bumper Stickers

There may be nothing you can do about growing old, but that doesn't mean you can't laugh about it. PM Caregiver has a neat collection of humorous bumper stickers about growing old.

(via Neatorama)

Cuil

In her two years at Google, Anna Patterson helped design and build some of the pillars of the company's search engine, including its large index of Web pages and some of the formulas it uses for ranking search results. Now, along with her husband, Tom Costello, and a few other Google alumni, she is trying to upstage her former employer.

Yesterday their company, Cuil (pronounced cool), unveiled a search engine that they promise will be more comprehensive than Google's and that they hope will give its users more relevant results. I think it will be better, Costello said in an interview. But there is no question that the public has to decide.

Strange Architecture

A slideshow of some of the world's wierdest architecture.

(via Everlasting Blort)

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and so is the quality of femininity. Exploring this for many artists takes on a diversity of themes.

This article showcases different styles, different ideas, different approaches to the illustration of a girl and a woman. Some examples are very funny, some are very sad.

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TYWKIWDBI

Tywkiwdbi is an acronym for 'Things You Wouldn't Know If We Didn't Blog It,' a blog created to house 'an eclectic mix of trivialities, ephemera, curiosities, and exotica...' in part to entertain my family and friends, but also to create a repository of enjoyable items I can revisit frequently if/when I lose my short-term memory.

Tywkiwdbi.

Promote Your Blog (10)

SUZELYNQS

My blog is a compilation of interesting tidbits I find on the intertubes, mixed with random recaps of my life. I enjoy reading other people's blogs, and hope that mine gets a view or two.

SuzeLynqs.

Round-the-world flying adventurer Steve Fossett may have faked his own death, investigators have claimed. Fossett went missing last September in a light plane over the Nevada desert.

Lieutenant Colonel Cynthia Ryan of the US Civil Air Patrol has said Fossett, whose body or plane was never found, could still be alive. She said: I've been doing this search and rescue for 14 years. Steve Fossett should have been found. It's not like we didn't have our eyes open. We found six other planes while we were looking for him. We're pretty good at what we do.

(via Arbroath)

Built in the beginning of July in Toronto with 465,000 bricks, it's 96.12f high. It took three attempts to put the last section in place, due to strong winds. This is a new world record registered by the Guinness Book.

The LEGO tower was completed under the supervision of professional LEGO builders Per Knudsen and Erik Therkelsen, but the construction was done by kids and families who were visiting the C.N.E. fair (where the tower was constructed).

(via Zootrópole)

Weird And Bizarre Japanese Soft Drinks

What is it with Japan and weird drinks? Part of the answer lies in the love Japanese have for soft drinks – surveys show that about 40% of the nation's citizens drink at least one soft drink every day. That's about 50 million people!

In addition, trends come and go very quickly in Japan. What's cool today is as flat as warm Pepsi Ice Cucumber tomorrow... so soft drink companies are constantly coming out with something new and (hopefully) attention-grabbing 'cause one success more than makes up for dozens of failures.

InventorSpot has a list of the bad, the even more bad and the downright ugly.

Is Obama President?

Is Obama President?
See for yourself.

(via Everlasting Blort)

Italian Motorcycle Police 1953

A display by the Italian Motorcycle Police in 1953.

(via Grow-A-Brain)

After seeing my post about Zombie Harmony last Saturday, Presurfer reader Ryan told me about his site called Lost Zombies.

Lost Zombies is the first ever community generated zombie documentary. Their goal is to gather definitive proof that zombies are real and to compile that proof into a feature length documentary film. Lost Zombies are asking the general public to assist by submitting any proof of zombies they may have.

Promote Your Blog (7)

BOLIBIC BLOG

My name is Bolibic and I am a biro from an office. My site is in Spanish language but everyone understand the power of drawings.

BoliBic Blog.

Promote Your Blog (8)

WORDS & PICTURES

Words & Pictures is about the adventures of a creative team in a large advertising agency. We've been around for almost 3 years and are read in 43 countries. New strips are posted every Monday.

Words & Pictures.

A Worth1000 Photoshop contest.
Detouching: removing the retouching from airbrushed celebs.

People are as numerous and diverse as pebbles on a beach. Most, though, will have some sort of morning ritual, designed to start the day.

For many of them, that will involve the wondrous potion known to the world as coffee.

Here are ten things that people do while they take their morning coffee. Do you recognize yourself here?

(via Robert-John)

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: A Day in the Life of Pat.

click on the picture for real size

Fetch

Ever wondered what the dog is thinking when you throw that stick?

OpenPhotoVR

OpenPhotoVR is a pseudo-3D photo browser in Flash. Users create photo albums by uploading pictures, taken at different angles, and linking them together by hand. You can use the mousewheel to zoom, click-and-drag to pan, click 'hotspots' with hand cursor to navigate between images.

Try the photo below for example. Use your mousewheel to zoom in, click and drag to pan about, and simply click on any of the hotspots to change your view or move deeper into the scene.

(via Ursi's Blog)

RSS, or Rich Site Summary, is an easy way to stay informed of the latest updates to your favorite sites without having to actually visit them each individually. For those who have sites, it can be a great way to increase readership and get information out about your blog, website or business.

Either way, RSS enables users to navigate the Web in an easy, fast format and to access information at the click of a button. This collection of RSS tools will give you everything you need to get started or improve how you're working with RSS.

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QUINTOH

My blog is basically on design, but as not only of Pantones he lives the designer also there is very much of one zapping on the visual world, tendencies, tutorials, videos, photography. The cool along with the uncool.

QuintoH.

Promote Your Blog (6)

THE WORLD OF STUFF

I'm a 19-year-old college student in Florida, USA. In my blog, The World of Stuff, I write about technology, current events, and my day-to-day happenings with a touch (or more) of humor.

The World of Stuff.

Do not press the button.

(via The Thinks I Think)

Rock In A Hard Place

Zombie Harmony

Zombie Harmony is a dating service for zombies, and for zombies only. You can sign up for Zombie Harmony only if you lack a pulse, have limited motor skills, or feel an intense desire to feast on human beings.

Zombie Harmony is not responsible for lost or ingested loved ones. If you go on a date with a zombie, Zombie Harmony cannot be held liable for contributing to the apocalypse.

List Of Unusual Personal Names

A Wikipedia list of people who have received media attention because of their name, or are otherwise widely recognized as having names that are unusual. This list includes both names given at birth, and people who have legally changed their name.

Some examples:

Tarquin Fin-tim-lin-bin-whin-bim-lim-bus-stop-F'tang-F'tang-Olé-Biscuitbarrel. A British political candidate self-renamed after a Monty Python character. Born John Desmond Lewis.

Louis George Maurice Adolphe Roche Albert Abel Antonio Alexandre Noë Jean Lucien Daniel Eugène Joseph-le-brun Joseph-Barême Thomas Thomas Thomas-Thomas Pierre Arbon Pierre-Maurel Barthélemi Artus Alphonse Bertrand Dieudonné Emanuel Josué Vincent Luc Michel Jules-de-la-plane Jules-Bazin Julio César Jullien was a French conductor.

Promote Your Blog (3)

MICAMAN'S THOUGHTS

My name is Pedro Marrucho and I'm from Portugal. I own a blog called 'Micaman's Thoughts' where I post about all the interesting, strange and funny stuff I find on the web.

My blog is written in Portuguese, although I've managed to link to Google's translation services for my blog to be available in other languages. Hi-tech news, hilarious videos, strange facts, images, jokes and all kinds of information that I find interesting.

Micaman's Thoughts.

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AMYOOPS

Where funny is a 4-letter word... Oops. Funny is as funny does and being the only person who was 'swept' out of a Rocky Horror Picture show presentation, Amy brings her humor to the world of blogging.

Amy searches the world over to bring you her version of funny things. She knows they are funny and knows you will laugh till its time for a diaper change – well some of you anyway.

AmyOops.

Worlds Most Amazing Instrument

I have posted this before but Presurfer reader Mark reminded me about this amazing instrument, so here it is again. The instrument is not real but the work of computer animation. The video is a piece called Pipe Dream that was created by Wayne Lytle, and Dave Crognale and their team at Animusic, a content creation company located in Austin, Texas.

(thanks Mark)

AfraidToAsk

Have you ever had a medical question that you were too embarrassed to ask a friend, family member, or even your doctor? Are you tired of the establishment medical sites that sugar coat their information and won't show you the pictures you need to see?

Unlike most healthcare web sites, afraidtoask.com offers in-depth information and graphic photographs that will give you a better understanding of highly personal health issues.

Entertainer Charlie Chaplin was probably the most well-known actor of the early 20th century. After adopting his trademark Little Tramp costume, consisting of baggy pants, bamboo cane, bowler hat, and over-sized shoes, Chaplin became a Hollywood icon.

Most Hollywood scholars know the basics of his life, yet there are many interesting facts about Charles Spencer Chaplin that the general public does not know.

(thanks Tony)

e-MANcipate!

Yes, this is about pantyhose for men. e-MANcipate! is a project to accelerate the acceptance of male pantyhose as a regular clothing item.

Surprise or not - many men do wear pantyhose as a regular clothing item. Why? Why not? If you think a bit you see nothing gender-specific in this garment, except that it was worn mostly by women during the last fifty years.

Men who wear pantyhose do it to improve athletic performance, energize and revitalize tired, aching leg muscles, and to stimulate circulation if they sit all day. In addition, compression can help reduce swelling and decrease the dangers of circulatory problems. And of course there are many men who simply like the soft material and the comfort that sheer pantyhose provides.

Crystal Girl

Hasnah Mohamed Meselmani, a 12 year-old Lebanese girl has baffled medical experts by producing crystals from her eyes. Coming at a rate of seven a day, the crystals are razor sharp, but do not harm her eyes.

Read Hasnah Mohamed Meselmani's story.

Promote Your Blog (1)

Yesterday I asked if you were interested in promoting your blog on The Presurfer. Until now I have had 20 32 requests. I will post two blogs each day. First come, first served. So, it could take a couple of days until your site appears here. Thanks for your cooperation.

BONTE GAMES

As a fan of Gerard's blog I wouldn't miss the opportunity to promote my own blog, so here goes: I'm a casual games designer trying to create original simple webgames that usualy require some logic to solve.

If you're into casual webgames do checkout my blog where I'm presenting my own games as well as new casual games for other game designers from over the world. Cheers!

Bonte Games.

Promote Your Blog (2)

COWGIRL IN THE CITY

My name is Mallory and I'm an Oklahoma-born country gal trying to survive the big city life as an NYU student.

My blog is called Cowgirl in the City. It's mainly about the things going on in my life, methods of survival for New York City living , relationships, partying, and pop culture.

Cowgirl In The City.

Former Apollo 14 moonwalker Edgar Mitchell claimed, in a recent radio interview, that not only have aliens been visiting the Earth for the past sixty years since the Roswell incident, but that Earth governments are aware of this fact and are covering it up.

Mitchell claims that sources at NASA, the military, and the intelligence community have described these aliens as, 'little people who look strange to us.' The aliens have a small body frame, a large head, and large eyes as has been traditionally depicted in popular films and television.

International Music Score Library Project

The International Music Score Library Project attempts to create a virtual library containing all public domain musical scores, as well as scores from composers who are willing to share their music with the world without charge.

IMSLP also encourages the exchange of musical ideas, both in the form of musical works, and in the analysis of existing ones. Therefore, feel free to create/edit a page with your analysis of a particular piece.

(via Zootrópole)

Linkdump

20+ Tools for Finding Coupons Online

35+ Examples of Corporate Social Media in Action

The Aliens Have Landed

20 Great Ways to Find More Free Time

Gale Franey has been creating digital art, graphics and web design since 2001. Her digital illustrations are featured in an award winning childrens' book. She has worked extensively with refugees and the homeless.

It is those immensely rich experiences that have shaped her ideas and influenced her style of art and design, which ranges from fantasy to complex social issues.

(thanks Yves)

Russian Car Art.

Oh My God! It's A Giant Cow!

His name is Chilli and he's described as a gentle giant. His owners have contacted the Guinness Book of Records who are currently assessing his credentials and comparing them to other big bovines. The black and white Friesian bullock weighs well over a ton and is the same height as a small elephant.

The heifer, who is almost as high as he is long, lives at the Ferne Animal Sanctuary in Chard, Somerset, England, after he was left on their doorstep aged just six-days-old. Nine years on, Chilli has kept on growing, and staff believe the giant will smash a record for Britain's tallest ever cow.

Here's something I want to give a try. I get lots of emails of starting - and even experienced bloggers - who ask me to take a look at their site, tell them what I think about it, and/or add them to my blogroll. I want to give you a chance to promote your blog in your own words.

All you have to do is send me an email (webmaster@presurfer.com) and tell me in your own words what your blog is all about. You can add some personal info if you want. I will then publish a post on The Presurfer with the info you provided me and a link to your site.

But remember, the choice whether your blog is promoted here is mine, and mine alone. Sites with questoniable content will not be accepted because this is a child-friendly blog. Comments for this post are closed because the only way you can promote your blog is via the email adress mentioned above.

Yawning Lions

Amazing yawning lions. Warning: there's a half-eaten animal appearing in this video.

(thanks Brian)

With his dashing chiselled features, swept back hair and perky bouffant the resemblance is unmistakable. But incredibly this carving of Elvis Presley was created around 1800 years before the King of Rock and Roll first warbled his first note. The amazing likeness has come to light as part of a sale of ancient antiques by the auction house Bonhams.

(via Neatorama)

The northern hemisphere is feeling the summer heat. A number of heat waves have already rolled across parts of southern Europe, the United States and Asia.

From swimming pools to rivers, wave pools, ocean beaches and more, here are some recent photos of people around the world having fun, competing and keeping cool in the water.

PeopleFinders.com, the premier online service that helps consumers quickly find and connect with anyone, announced the launch of Criminal Searches. It's a free website that provides consumers with detailed information on people with criminal histories, including sex-related offenses, violent crimes and theft.

Babysitter, nanny, cleaning service, janitor, neighbor, construction workers, school teachers, electrician, plumber, gardener, locksmith, acquaintances, your children's friends. Do you really know who these people are? We associate with them and even invite them in our homes. Do they have a criminal background? Are your children safe with them?

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Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Monday, July 28, 2008

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Wednesday, July 23, 2008