unique and interesting: August 2009

Monday, August 31, 2009

Analytics According To Captain Kirk

You've all heard about the 'Red-Shirt Phenomenon' in Star Trek. If you are wearing a red shirt and beam to the planet with Captain Kirk - you're gonna die. At least, that's what everybody thinks is going to happen. But is it actually true?

An analysis of the Red-Shirt Phenomenon.

Instant Office

How to hide around the office in 5 seconds.

The Strange Summer Jobs Of 23 Famous People

Who was a gravedigger before his music career took off?
Who earned some cash in her early days mopping floors at a local Dairy Queen?
Who dressed as a giant chicken to promote an el Pollo Loco restaurant while he tried to start his acting career?

The Strange Summer Jobs Of 23 Famous People.

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A collection of pictures showcasing the amazing work of artists around the world using just pencil and paper to create stunning masterpieces.

Timp-Harley Police Motorcycle Competition

Honda, BMW, and Harley face off in a police motorcycle competition, on the driving range at the Timpanogos Harley Dealership in Lindon, Utah.

(thanks Cora)

English Is Toughest European Language To Read

English is the most difficult European language to learn to read. Children learning other languages master the basic elements of literacy within a year, but British kids take two-and-a-half years to reach the same point.

In the most extensive cross-national study ever, Philip Seymour of Dundee University and his team compared the reading abilities of children in 15 European countries. They found that those learning Romance languages such as Italian and French progressed faster than those learning a Germanic language such as German and English.

Toy photography provides great opportunities for clever composition, creative lighting and a chance to really have some fun. When done right a photographer can breath life and personality into the inanimate objects being shot.

related posts:
Beautiful Shadow Photography
10 Top Photography Composition Rules
100 Websites To Teach Yourself Photography

It seems everyone, even the most pacifist of us, enjoys watching things blowing up. A great explosion inspires awe by it's destructive power and laughter by the absurdity of something whole no longer existing.

Yet we can't blow things up every day. What we can do is watch videos of things large and small being blown up, thanks to the pervasive web. Here are some sites to watch things blow up real good.

Tower Made Of Human Teeth

Meet the dentist who's made an 8-foot tower out of 24,000 human teeth.

(thanks Cora)

The Dullest Blog In The World

A window was slightly open. I decided that I did not need it to continue to be so. I closed it and securing it using the window handles.

I was seated in my computer chair. I reached out my hand and pressed the ‘on’ button. After a moment the computer turned itself on.

A light in one of the rooms of my house was on. I decided that I didn’t need the light on any longer. I pressed the light switch thereby turning off the light.

The Dullest Blog In The World.

The Animatronic Flesh Shoe, created by artist Adam Brandejs, is stitched together with multiple pieces of latex rubber, cast out of molds made from his own skin. The shoe's toe and heel raise and lower as it occasionally vibrates/pulsates, and twitches on the floor as if it were still alive.

In our modern world of fast and easy consumption we rarely pay any thought to where products actually come from and how they were produced. The reality is that we usually exploit other humans to produce goods as cheaply as possible. We place our well being over that of others, and usually for trivial objects.

As this piece deals with issues of sweatshop labor and content ownership, each piece of skin is different in color, size, and texture and the Nike Logo is done in white and placed prominently overtop.

Business Guys On Business Trips are a series of cartoons full of embittered workplace humor.

(thanks Pierre)

A guy takes photographs of the way his hair looks every morning.

New from CMMG. Tactical Canned Bacon. Fully cooked and fully prepared, it lasts for 10 years. Perfect for any of the end of the world scenarios.

(via Everlasting Blort)

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: Your Maze Controller Is With You: Unseen To Your Eyes

click on the picture for real size

Visit the Home Schooled Webcomic.

Designer Hector Sos made a photo shoot for the Torres Paper Swatch Book company.

(via Notcot)

image credit

The world's largest salt flats, Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, is an unearthly place that has to be seen to be believed. It's one of the strangest areas the third rock from the sun has to offer.

Have you ever wanted to visit another planet but don't quite have the wallet power? If you want an out of this world experience you could try, as an alternative, Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. It's one of the landscapes on planet Earth where you may feel that you are somewhere else in the universe entirely.

(via Robert-John)

Lucky The Turtle Gets New Legs

A North Bay turtle is now scooting around thanks to an innovative veterinarian. Lucky's owner, Sally Pyne, believes the box turtle's font legs were chewed off by a racoon.

(thanks Cora)

The internet has revolutionised the speed at which people communicate. Now the Swiss postal service is hoping to do the same for regular snail mail. The company offers a service called Swiss Post Box to customers wanting to receive their physical letters over the internet.

This system was first developed by the Seattle-based company Earth Class Mail, which has its own subscribers around the world. For $20 a month, letters are redirected to a secret location in Zurich where the envelopes are scanned and an image is e-mailed out to customers. They can then decide whether letters should be opened and scanned by vetted personnel sworn to secrecy, or simply shredded.

50 Online Communities For Lifelong Learners

Whether you are looking for a little added information on what you are already studying in school or would like to connect with others who share your interests as a business professional or avid hobbyist, these online communities all offer an excellent opportunity to continue your search for knowledge.

From reading to learning a new language to becoming a financial wizard to travel to saving the Earth, these groups offer a chance for learning as well as reaching out to others online.

The detailed chemical structure of a single molecule has been imaged for the first time. The physical shape of single carbon nanotubes has been outlined before, using similar techniques - but the new method even shows up chemical bonds.

Understanding structure on this scale could help in the design of many things on the molecular scale, particularly electronics or even drugs. A team from IBM Research Zurich in Switzerland used what is known as an atomic force microscope to capture the image.

Otamatone

The Otamatone is a new sound toy designed by CUBE works and Maywa Denki, Japan's new-media artist.

Glum Councillors is a British site that will doggedly collate images of councillors looking glum whilst pointing at holes in the road, sometimes wearing hard hats or presenting oversized cheques.

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What do you say you would do if you could but then wouldn't because you would just have to roll over and play chicken? Mix your metaphors?

You've heard it all before, the testosterone fuelled boast that, hell yeah, if they were just given the chance they could do that. Plus they would make a great job of it too - much better than most. Of course it is mostly to impress women but does it?

(via Robert-John)

Well, he actually didn't do it yet, but Canadian palaeontologist Hans Larsson at McGill University in Montreal says he can. He aims to develop dinosaur traits that disappeared millions of years ago in birds. Larsson believes that by flipping certain genetic levers during a chicken embryo's development, he can reproduce the dinosaur anatomy.

The research is funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canada Research Chairs programme and National Geographic.

1). Tape your face.
2). Take your picture
3). Submit it to 'Tape Yourself.'

Linux Baby Rocker

Baby rocked to sleep by CD rom tray on computer.

(thanks Cora)

70 Outstanding Out Of Bounds Photos

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Out of bounds photos are post processed photos where the contents are taken outside the boundaries, presented in creative 3-dimensional perspective.

(via J-Walk Blog)

Recipe Puppy is an ingredient based recipe search engine. Is your fridge nearly empty? You can use Recipe Puppy to find recipes that don't require a trip to the store. It can find recipes that fit your dietary requirements or combine two seemingly unrelated ingredients.

You can also learn how to make any food. Pick a dish (ie pasta, green curry, pizza, chocolate chip cookies), select the ingredients you want to use, and get a list of recipes you can make.

Dream Cat Venus

It's the perfect pet for owners who have allergies and don't want the hassle of clearing out a litter tray. The 'Yume-Neko Venus', or 'Dream Cat Venus', is a robotic feline that is equipped with touch sensors that help it react like a real cat.

Made by Sega Toys, it moves its head, closes its eyes and purrs as you stroke it and can sit up and lie down. Like most moggies it will curl up and go into 'sleep' mode if left alone for long.

(thanks Cora)

The Geography of Coffee is the confluence of two of professor James Hayes-Bohanan's great passions: learning about the world and enjoying a hot, bitter beverage.

For him, coffee is an excellent jumping-off point for understanding natural resource conservation and exploitation, equity in international trade, the geographic displacement of environmental problems, and global patterns of colonization and post-colonial economic relationships.

The lowly appendix, long-regarded as a useless evolutionary artifact, won newfound respect two years ago when researchers at Duke University Medical Center proposed that it actually serves a critical function.

The appendix, they said, is a safe haven where good bacteria could hang out until they were needed to repopulate the gut after a nasty case of diarrhea, for example.

(via Look At This...)

Are you the ultimate Pac-Man fan? Envy Pac-Man for his dot chomping ability? Show your love by donning the Pac-Man Plush-Head.

(via Everlasting Blort)

Just over 100 years since the first sustained and controlled heavier-than-air powered flight, flying machines are now commonplace, used for transport, freight, warfare, rescue and pleasure just for starters.

Aerospace technology is still the realm of both big business and entrepreneurs - Moscow recently hosted an airshow in which contracts totaling $10 billion were signed, and Virgin Galactic is still working toward a private spaceliner business. Here are recent photographs of various flying machines in action or on display around the world.

Since childhood, Haiti-born French artist Junior Fritz Jacquet is fascinated by paper. He explores and experiments with different techniques of folding and crumpling to create new forms and poetic objects that decorate his life.

Who could have thought that those toilet paper rolls that we use to throw away into a garbage bin, could be turned into fascinating face sculptures? Oh, and the best thing is that you can make them while sitting comfortably on your toilet.

(via Reality Carnival)

How To Actually Make Coffee

You probably brew coffee, like most people, the most insipid way possible: Using a Mr. Coffee that you fill with pre-ground coffee from the supermarket. There's a million other ways to make coffee, and they're all better.

Here's a briefcase that keeps you going. It will surely inspire the business-savvy men and women of the world climbing the corporate ladder who will stop at nothing to get an edge… not even to take a dump.

In today's fast paced corporate market every minute counts. No longer is it feasible or convenient to take time out for toilet breaks, especially in taxis, subways or rail systems where facilities aren't always provided. Now there's the Gotta Go Briefcase. A full functioning briefcase that also doubles as a portable lavatory.

(thanks Cora)

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A look at the work of Dorothea Lange who captured the Great Depression through her lens and created some of the iconic images of that era. At a time when women had had the vote for less than twenty years, Dorothea Lange was a pioneer. A professional woman who took photographs for a living.

The Great Depression of the 1930s is best remembered, photographically, by the work of the FSA, for which she worked. She travelled the USA recording the deprivations caused by the failure of the economy as well as taking many uplifting images that showed that, despite the hard times, life and love went on.

(via Robert-John)

13 Best Sites To Get Your Questions Answered

The Internet is a huge resource of knowledge and information where you can find virtually anything. But, very often there are situations where you aren't able to find the answers to your questions. Your question may require local knowledge or particular expertise.

Fortunately there are sites out there that can not only be used to find peoples thoughts and opinions about a particular topic but will also will help in finding experts in various fields. Here are 13 sites where you can ask questions and get answers from real people online.

Read on Earth is a collaborative art bookmarking project where photos are stashed inside of books with the goal of seeing other readers discover them.

If you want to participate, all you have to do is choose a book that is available to the public. Take a creative/artistic/awkward photo of its cover in situ. Submit your photo to Read on Earth.

(thanks Ben)

Cliff Pickover, creator of one of my favorite blogs, Reality Carnival, has just released his newest book.

The Math Book - From Pythagoras to the 57th Dimension, 250 Milestones in the History of Mathematics. Beginning millions of years ago with ancient 'ant odometers' and moving through time to our modern-day quest for new dimensions, it covers 250 milestones in mathematical history.

For example: cicada-generated prime numbers, magic squares from centuries ago, the discovery of pi and calculus, and the butterfly effect. When did humans tie their first knots? Why was the first woman mathematician murdered? Is it possible to turn a sphere inside out? and many more fascinating math subjects.

More than $10,000 worth of cucumbers have been stolen in 11 separate robberies in the past three months. Thieves have targeted market gardens north of Adelaide, Australia, with police saying the latest robbery - of 50 bags of cucumbers - was reported from a glasshouse at Virginia at the weekend.

(via Neatorama)

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Japanese woodblock printing is a technique that finds its origins in the Buddhist temples of China, where it was used for centuries before being adopted and refined by Japanese artists during the Edo Period. The method involves transferring hand-drawn images onto wooden blocks, cutting into the wood, and then printing with inks from these relief images.

The Japanese printing genre of 'ukiyo-e' produced many of the most stunning examples of this artwork, and this list concentrates on artists working in that era. During its evolution, woodblock printing developed to enable full-colour imagery to be mass-produced and widely distributed.

(thanks Andy)

Heaven Of Delight

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Take a look at that beautiful ceiling. It is know as 'Heaven Of Delight' and can be found at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Belgium. The ceiling was the brainchild of controversial Flemish artist Jan Fabre.

What material do you think was used to create the beautiful green sections of the room's ceiling? You wouldn't believe it if I told you.

Tezcatlipoca from Robin George is a 3-minute short inspired by the music from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and based on the Aztec myth of the deity who descends from heaven in the form of a jaguar.

(thanks Cora)

Security company McAfee has declared Jessica Biel as the most dangerous celebrity to search in cyberspace.

Fans searching for 'Jessica Biel' or 'Jessica Biel wallpaper,' 'Jessica Biel screen savers,' and 'Jessica Biel photos' have a one in five chance of landing at a Web site that's tested positive for online threats, such as spyware, adware, spam, phishing, viruses and other malware.

Every day, cybercriminals use celebrities' names and images to lure surfers searching for the latest stories, screen savers and ringtones to sites offering free downloads laden with malware.

(via Interesting Pile)

A hot bath - just you and Prince William? A dream which comes true at last. Relax with a cup of tea in the bosom of England's royal family.

(via J-Walk Blog)

A group of atheists founded Eternal Earth-Bound Pets. They say it's a serious offer to their Christian friends who believe in the Second Coming and honestly care about the future of their pets after the Rapture occurs.

You've committed your life to Jesus. You know you're saved. But when the Rapture comes what's to become of your loving pets who are left behind? Eternal Earth-Bound Pets takes that burden off your mind.

For $110.00 we will guarantee that should the Rapture occur within ten (10) years of receipt of payment, one pet per residence will be saved. Each additional pet at your residence will be saved for an additional $15.00 fee. A small price to pay for your peace of mind and the health and safety of your four legged friends.

CSI Miami - Endless Caruso One Liners

Just to annoy you, here's a video with loads of the corny one-liners used by David Caruso just before the Who song starts on CSI Miami.

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Every year farmers, gardeners, hobbyists, chefs, cooks, and vegetable lovers compete for the coveted title of the largest vegetable, food, or fruit on record for that particular year. Interestly enough, each grower uses his or her own secret recipe of fertilizers whether that be a mixture of cloves and garlic or horse manure from the local field.

One never knows what makes these freaks of nature explode into various shapes and sizes, however they do make for a pretty good story or possibly even a feast for a huge group of friends and family.

(via Lauren)

Now you'll always be able to find the toilet paper, even in the dark, with this new Glow in the Dark Toilet Paper.

Perfect for power cuts, this groovy glowing toilet roll means that if you don't want to wake anyone up in your household by turning on the light, it'll cast its green glow over your bathroom, so you can find your way around.

(thanks Cora)

related posts:
Colored Toilet Paper
Mind Trainer Loo Roll

Rockers And Hipsters Wigs

Complete your stage act. Get yourself a rock wig.

(via Everlasting Blort)

Lobster Boy Goes Wow

A little buy sees lobsters for the first time and gets pretty excited.

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Let's face it, some people like their pets big! If you are looking for a large dog, there are a number of 'giant' breeds. Be careful, though - you should only consider these breeds if you have lots of space, lots of time and a good deal of money. Here's a look at the some of the giants of the canine world.

(via Robert-John)

Winkers is a business that specializes in decorating pants, usually jeans. They decorate pants in such a manner that they wink as you walk. Your wink is the crease between your buttock and the top of your leg.

(via Laughing Squid)

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The realm of the dead and the otherworld have consistently been seen as sections of one region representing various aspects of the afterlife. Caesar believed that the Celtic Druids of the Otherworld preached immortality of the soul, and that would allow them to be fierce warriors. However, many believe that their souls migrate to different vessels, allowing them to live for centuries.

This belief of reincarnation is quite different than Hinduistic rituals where reincarnation affected all those that were worthy. The druids believed that their souls, even when they were long gone, would be able to control their body in the otherworld.

(via Lauren)

Applause Machine

Want to feel awesome? Get yourself an applause machine - it will make everything you do feel like an accomplishment. Just press the button and the Applause Machine enthusiastically claps its hands for you.

The Applause Machines, designed by Martin Smith and manufactured by Laikingland, are available in a range of five colors. They are a beautiful and original way to say Well Done, Congratulations or quite simply Thank You.

(thanks Cora)

Self-preservation is something that most humans take quite seriously, and that a few take to extremes. Faced with the real or imagined threat of attacks levied by nuclear, biological, and chemical weaponry, some people opt to head 25 feet underground, surrounded by concrete and complex air-filtration systems, surviving off rations and waiting, so to speak, for the end of the world.

That's the subject of Waiting for the End of the World by Richard Ross. Ross spent five years traveling over three continents, photographing the interiors of bomb shelters.

(via Dark Roasted Blend)

There seems to be a growing trend amongst fast food restaurant advertisers to try and pull the wool over their consumer's eyes. The description of the items do not necessarily have to match the name.

Now KFC has introduced a sandwich without any bread. Apparently you don't need bread, a roll, a bun or even a croissant to deem a sandwich a 'sandwich.' The new double down sandwich consists of two fried chicken fillets wrapped around bacon, cheese and Colonel's sauce. Don't run to your local KFC yet as it's only being tested in Rhode Island and Nebraska.

(thanks Larry)

Tic Tac Music

See and hear what you can do with empty or filled tic-tac boxes.

(thanks Cora)

The size of your pay packet may be important, but so is its purchasing power. Here's a handy guide to how long it takes a worker on the average net wage to earn the price of a Big Mac in various cities.

Fast-food junkies are best off in Chicago, Toronto and Tokyo, where it takes a mere 12 minutes at work to afford a Big Mac. By contrast, employees must toil for over two hours to earn enough for a burger fix in Mexico City, Jakarta and Nairobi.

(via Boing Boing)

Equality is something that women (and their supporters) have striven for over centuries of male dominated history. Every now and again, though, the fairer sex let the side down. There is a lamentably short list of female assassins in the annals of history and - more often than not - they fail to kill their intended target.

Perhaps that is nothing to be ashamed of, after all, and perhaps part of the proof we need to justify the pole position of the female as the gentler of the sexes. Here, though, are history's female assassins and their intended victims.

(via Robert-John)

The 6 Types Of Crappy Hugs.

The Heavensfield Retreat Center in Fall City, USA, announced that it has opened the first recovery program for Internet Addiction Disorder in the U.S.
Called reSTART, the 45-day program is designed to take serious sufferers of IAD and bring balance to their lives. It already has its first patient, a 19 year old who could not remove himself from World of Warcraft.

The reSTART Internet Addiction Recovery Program is specifically oriented towards launching tech dependent youth and adults back into the real world. Our individually tailored program is designed to assist participants with an Internet and/or computer based behavioral addiction to break the cycle of dependency.

Our 45-day abstinence based recovery program exposes participants to a variety of activities and everyday life skills which are often avoided or underdeveloped as a result of excessive ongoing computer, video game play and internet use.

(via Mashable)

After enduring sloppy punctuation on the street sign outside his home for more than a year, Stefan Gatward could stand it no longer. The 62-year-old former soldier decided to launch a one-man crusade against 'dumbed down' Britain, and picked up a paintbrush to insert a missing apostrophe. This turned the incorrect St Johns Close into the correct St John's Close.

But he was immediately accused of being a vandal by one neighbour, and his amendments have been scratched off by others who apparently prefer the wrong version.

(via Neatorama)

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: I'm Going to Take his Face... Off.

click on the picture for real size

Visit the Home Schooled Webcomic.

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Monday, August 31, 2009

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Monday, August 24, 2009

Sunday, August 23, 2009