December 2007
101 posts
Easy-bend teaspoon →
Should Uri Geller ever lose his remarkable ability to bend spoons, he should stock up on these special spoons that are made with a piece of nitinol, which gets soft under hot water.
The liquid does not need to be boiling - the spoon will also bend if placed under the hot tap. To reset the spoon, just cool it under the cold tap, and straighten it again. The spoon can be used many times, as...
ohnotheydidnt: Pic post: Sleevefaces →
Pilot to TSA: Let my people go! →
Patrick Smith, the airline pilot who co-writes the NY Times’s Jetlagged Blog has written a corker of an editorial railing against the bullshit “security” procedures that the TSA has put into place. Smith is hopping mad and stops just short of calling for a revolution. Man, I’d be with him at the barricades.
No matter that a deadly sharp can be fashioned from virtually...
Can you trust your mind? at hvattum.net →
The Bush administration's dumbest legal arguments... →
WGA Update: Writers Strike a Deal with Late Night →
As we previously mentioned, the late night heavyweights have been angling to make a return in early ‘08. Letterman has been leading the pack by working on a deal with the WGA through his own production company, WorldWide Pants Inc. Yesterday they reached an agreement which will allow his show to return to the air next week, writing staff and all. The independent agreement he made with the...
The Death of High Fidelity →
Ponca City, We Love You writes “Rolling Stone has an interesting story on how record producers alter the way they mix albums to compensate for the limitations of MP3 sound. Much of the information left out during MP3 compression is at the very high and low ends, which is why some MP3s sound flat. Without enough low end, ‘you don’t get the punch anymore. It decreases the punch of...
TSA's new forbidden item: >2 gm lithium... →
The TSA has discovered that on January 1st, 2008 lithium batteries are going to become more dangerous than they were on December 31, 2007. Thankfully, they’ve taken action by forbidding them beginning in 2008. Lithium Metal Battery, Spare or Installed (over 2 grams lithium): In checked bag? Forbidden Carry-on? Forbidden
The Department of Transportation’s web site doesn’t say...
Schneier on Security: Airport Security Study →
Snorting a Brain Chemical Could Replace Sleep →
Scientists are reporting that a nasal spray of a key brain hormone cures sleepiness in sleep-deprived monkeys. With no apparent side effects, the hormone might be a promising sleep-replacement drug.
Stupid Idea of the Day Year: License to Bike →
Obviously lots of bad ideas get floated publicly and go nowhere, so I’m not going to be turning pedals in anger on the trainer tonight. Not yet. But if either Seattle or Washington decides to start requiring bike licenses, on the phony premise that cyclists devour public resources and need taxing, my response won’t be merely blogging aimlessly about it. I may have to get politically...
For $2.5 Million, MTA Token Clerks Get New... →
On the heels of the recent fare increase approval, it has come out that the MTA has spent about $2.5 million on changing the uniforms of New York City Subway token booth clerks, or as the MTA calls them “station agents”. That breaks down to $738 per employee for white shirts, grey pants or skirts, grey and black ties or ascots, and a burgundy vest, sweater and coat. A MTA...
Space to Nurture Obsessions - New York Times →
If Tobacco Regulation Works, Why Not Regulate... →
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Video of the Day: "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa... →
One of the most famous editorials of all time appeared in September 21, 1897 issue of the The NY Sun. Ten-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon’s letter asking, “Is there a Santa Claus” was published with a response by editor Francis Pharcellus Church that now appears reprinted in newspapers year after year (though many times with one paragraph - the third to last - deleted). The...
Christmas Back Home →
TSA is as unpopular as the IRS →
The TSA is now tied with the IRS for least popular government agency in America, according to an AP poll. They’re even less popular than FEMA — the bunglers who brought you the Hurricane Katrina disaster.
In 2007, I spent many, many hours in TSA lines. I went through dozens of secondary screenings. I had toiletries stolen from me. I had a TSA agent break a one-day-old, $400 camera at...
World of Wonders - Jet Lagged - Air Travel -... →
WORDCOUNT / Tracking the Way We Use Language / -... →
Cops begin Fingerprinting every traffic stop →
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Sunday Morning Bobblehead Thread →
(SNL skit from 1990. Looks like ol’ Dino took Sagan as seriously as the GOP takes Al Gore. h/t AlterNet)
Another Sunday, another bunch of bloviators. Gen. Petraeus makes a return visit to the friendly halls of FOX News. Ron Paul will get the Tim Russert treatment this week on Meet The Press. Will Timmeh resort to prop comedy again?
Here’s the schedule:
ABC’s “This Week” - Former New York...
Looks like the Oscars and Golden Globes will be... →
Well, no one wants to say it but you will be reading this shortly: The Golden Globes and the Academy Awards will be cancelled.
On Monday December 17th, the WGA turned down requests for waivers by the Oscars and the Golden Globes to put those telecasts on air without the Guild’s writers. With the rejection of the waivers for the Academy Awards (ABC), set for Sunday February 24th, and the much...
First carrot, now stick →
Another update. Now they are really pissed. Just got another PDF letter from the same Rambo attorney (photo above; but I won’t print his name) saying that in response to my last post about doing things transparently he wants to remind me that while this “course of action” is of course mine to take, he feels it is his duty to inform me that Apple’s lawyers have identified...
Pawel+Fabjanski+-+fabjan12.jpg (image) →
Pawel+Fabjanski+-+fabjan12.jpg (image)
Six Years Ago Today One Jackass Tried to Light His... →
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Late Night Music Club with The Call →
How to cook a batch of pure, unstepped-on science fiction geek musical heroin:
Mix one part flawlessly-edited video from Battlestar Galactica [The good one; not the Lorne Greene “Battlestar Ponderosa” version] with one part “Let The Day Begin”.
Serve hot. And loud.
The Call — “Let The Day Begin”
Evidence →
I’m currently in the midst of an Evidence final exam, but I instructed the robots to give you a general impression of what I’m doing. Here, through music and legos, is a seemingly accurate representation of my answer to at least one question on this test:
Incidentally, what I learned in class and what this video teaches are not identical. Who should I trust?
The Explainer’s Unanswered Questions →
Slate’s The Explainer’s yearly recap of questions not answered is, as always, entertaining. Questions that I’d be willing to ponder:
Why don’t we drop medical waste and nuclear waste into active volcanoes, the “ultimate high-temperature incinerators”?
How often are presidents born, and how often do they die? Do they die in bunches, or on average every four years?
When a fly lands on a...
"Daily Show" and "Colbert Report" To Return In... →
Writers Strike →
The Amazingly True Story of Christopher Cringle by... →
The Amazingly True Story of Christopher Cringle by P0YKPAC. I never realized how much Santa and Superman had in common.
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THE GAUNTLET HAS BEEN THROWN DOWN →
AND “GAUNTLET” is a bingo. WON’T YOU PLEASE JOIN US on January 19th at 826NYC in Brooklyn for the upcoming SCRABBLE FOR CHEATERS? AT WHICH the renowned and goodhearted tutoring center/superhero supply company hosts a SCRABBLE COMPETITION featuring many teams, including one composed of: 1) ME 2) the foreigner, JOHN OLIVER THE CHEATING PART can be explained thusly: in order to...
Outi Headphones →
Good news for all of us living in crowded urban areas: you no longer have to crank your headphones up to max in order to ignore the onslaught of sirens, car horns, and diesel engines! Of course, you do have to put up with wearing something called “bone-conducting headphones.” Anyone else find that terminology a little bit creepy?
The Outi bone-conducting headphones supposedly allow you to crank...
219 - Found: a Map of the Island in ‘Lost’ «... →
The Honda Civic did 57 MPG in 1987, so why can't... →
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Vinotagz - Mark your stemware! →
If your parties are anything like ours, at some point in the evening everyone loses their wine glass. “Is that mine?” “Were you wearing red lipstick, Joe?” To solve this pesky problem, Modern Twist invented Vinotagz, non-toxic translucent silicone stemmarkers. Each pack of six comes in retro or solid colors. After a couple of glasses of wine I don’t expect our...
eyescapes →
Real boy energizes wonderful 'Peter Pan' - Jonah... →
"I am not afraid of terrorism, and I want you to... →
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The Root of the Problem →
By Pete Holmes
Written Wednesday, Dec 31 by Jonita Griffith from School of Visual Arts
3 likes
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Peter Jackson is Returning to the Shire! →
It’s official: Peter Jackson will executive produce not one but two Hobbit films that will be shot back-to-back (echoes of LoTR), with production beginning in 2009.
This is monumental news, considering the very public fallout between Jackson and New Line Cinema.
Peter Jackson, lord of lore, had this to say:
“I’m very pleased that we’ve been able to put our differences behind us, so that we may...
No Scribes for Globes and Oscars →
With the writer’s strike still going strong, the WGA has denied invitations to prepare material for the Golden Globes on January 13 and the Oscars in February. If both events didn’t seem crappy enough last time, they should be craptacular this time around.
(See what happens when you don’t get pros to make jokes for you?)
This situation raises a red flag for the Oscars in particular. With Jon...
Organization of Cartographers for Social Equality →
This is my regular Tuesday West Wing clip:
You assign your West Wing clips days of the week?
Ribcabs high tech hats warm and protect your head →
Ribcabs are basically the next-generation in hat design. They serve two important purposes: the typical “keep-my-head-and-ears-warm,” and the unexpected “keep-my-head-safe” in case of a major collision on the busy Christmas slopes. The hat collection uses a special material called “StructUre” that has the ability to immediately harden on impact to ensure the protection of your skull The impact...
How to Spot a Cylon →
These posters are a steal at $19.95, when you think of all the human lives they might save. A few of the cylon-spotting tips displayed: ★ Do they exhibit sociopathic behavior around other humans, especially defenseless children?
★ Are they unusually adept, almost empathic, with machines?
★ Does their spine glow red when they get… excited?
Link. (Thanks, Bonnie)
Skull Helmet →
If I had a motorcycle, or at least knew someone who would bring me along for some fun rides, I would totally want this skull shaped helmet. Not sure how weird and annoying it would be to look at the world through two skull sockets, or if the coolly shaped helmet actually impairs your peripheral vision, but for the sake of the funky-looks, I would still try it out. The Santiago Choppers Skull...
Truth and Beauty Bombs :: View topic - Garfield →
Reason Magazine - Hit & Run > Silencing the Cat →
