Wednesday, April 30, 2008

What Car Do You Have? A Red One.

My friend Kim can be a little absent-minded. Driven to the shops by her husband last week, she popped in to buy something, leaving him at the wheel. Then out she bustled and leapt into the passenger seat of the waiting car. It did not move. “What's all that hooting from behind us?” she asked, as the car behind flashed its lights and sounded its horn.

“Maybe it's your husband,” said the driver. “I'm not your husband. This is not your car.”

Monday, April 28, 2008

Please Explain Yourself MORE CLEARLY



How I laughed. I CAN REALLY RELATE TO THIS.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Boycott China Over Tibet?



What a lovely sentiment.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Pope & Pomp



Does this picture not suggest that something might possibly have gone wrong with Catholicism?

Click to enlarge

Thursday, April 24, 2008

63-year-old solves riddle from 1970

Israeli mathematician unravels puzzle that baffled scientists for decades
JERUSALEM - A mathematical puzzle that baffled the top minds in the esoteric field of symbolic dynamics for nearly four decades has been cracked — by a 63-year-old immigrant who once had to work as a security guard.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

What's that you're drawing in your moleskine notebook?



A chance to have a look at some excellent sketches sent in to skineart.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

How to Age-Proof Your Memory

An interesting little video on a growing area of understanding. Giving your memory a work out keeps you going as you get older.

http://pokedandprodded.health.com/poked_prodded/2008/03/how-to-age-proo.html

Monday, April 21, 2008

British Army Officer Advert

While the NUT shamelessly votes to ban army recruitment in secondary schools, here is a fantastic advert from the armed forces, doing what they do best.


Sunday, April 20, 2008

Careful Which Hotel You Book...



You may get more than you bargained for.

9 hotels you won't believe

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Scientifically Proven! People who wear glasses aren’t geeks

And we are even more agreeable as people. Must be all that extra brain power.
So there.
Latest research into myopia or shortsightedness reveals that people who wear glasses are not stereotypical geeks or nerds.

“We have literally busted the myth that people who wear glasses are introverted or have particular personality characteristics. They are more likely to be agreeable and open, rather than closed and introverted,” said A/Prof Paul Baird of the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Eye Research Australia.
Myopia or shortsightedness is a complex eye condition which affects about one in four Australians.
In the word’s biggest study into factors linked to myopia, and utilising the University’s Australian Twin Registry, 633 twins and a comparative group of 278 family members were involved in the study over a four year period.
For the first time in a study into personality and myopia, participants were analysed using a state-of-the-art measure of the five major personality factors (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism), administered by psychologists from the University of Melbourne.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Smile you're on ele-vision: How a camera attached to an elephant's trunk captured amazing jungle views


The Dailiy Mail revealed the amazing story of how four tiger cubs were captured on special cameras in logs carried by elephants - giving the most intimate insight into their early lives ever recorded. Now, they show for the first time other creatures of the jungle caught in this extraordinary - and pioneering - way.

Cheeky langur monkeys, a rare sloth bear, spotted deer and a leopard with her cub are just some of the other animals that film-maker John Downer came across in his fascinating experiment.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Autograph Mania

Boston Red Sox pitcher Hideki Okajima is asked for his autographs from the outfield fence before the Major League Baseball regular season game between the Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
What is it about autographs that people are so keen to get hold of them? I can only guess that it is because people want a piece of you that is unique. But to my mind it still means nothing. If I saw someone famous, I'd rather have some kind of little conversation with them. That would be my memento.

Whoever you are, people want some small piece of you. What autograph do you leave?

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

25 Photos Taken at the Exact Right Time

It's not often I can get the phone on my camera to take the picture I want it to, because there is about a 2 second delay from the time you press the button. So if I wanted to take any of these shots I would have needed to be able to look into the future.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Girl Dies After Parents Pray for Healing Instead of Seeking Medical Help

WESTON, Wis. — An 11-year-old girl died after her parents prayed for healing rather than seek medical help for a treatable form of diabetes, police said Tuesday.

Everest Metro Police Chief Dan Vergin said Madeline Neumann died Sunday. "She got sicker and sicker until she was dead," he said.

Vergin said an autopsy determined the girl died from diabetic ketoacidosis, an ailment that left her with too little insulin in her body, and she had probably been ill for about 30 days, suffering symptoms like nausea, vomiting, excessive thirst, loss of appetite and weakness.

The girl's parents, Dale and Leilani Neumann, attributed the death to "apparently they didn't have enough faith," the police chief said.

Richest Man in the World: Invests like a Girl

Warren Buffett Invests Like a Girl

For as long as I can remember, adding the phrase "like a girl" to the end of whatever you were saying was a put-down, an insult, something to come to fisticuffs over. Little boys the world over hated being told that they, for example, "threw like a girl." I'm not defending the statement, and as a member of the fairer sex, I certainly don't agree with its intent, but hey, that's been the case from the playground on up.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Lovely Dawn Chorus: Nature's Morning Alarm

It's an ever-present feature of spring and summer mornings, but many people are only aware of the dawn chorus through insomnia or a chance encounter during an early start. Very few of us set the alarm to listen to one of the musical wonders of the natural world.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Scientists unveil revolutionary 'racetrack' computer memory

The prospect of iPods that can hold millions of songs and PCs being able to turn on instantly, rather than taking minutes to "boot up", comes much closer today.

A Californian team has developed a new generation of memory that combines the high performance and reliability of solid state "flash" memory, stored in microchips, with the high capacity of the PC's hard disk drive, which is cheap but contains moving parts and is slow.In two papers in the journal Science, Dr Stuart Parkin and colleagues at the IBM Almaden Research Centre in San Jose describe a revolutionary technology dubbed "racetrack" memory, or RM memory.
The team believes that it marks a milestone that could lead to electronic devices capable of storing far more data in the same amount of space than is possible today, with lightning-fast boot times, far lower cost and unprecedented stability and durability.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Odds of Dying

While not wanting to sound morbid, there are two certainties in life, death & taxes. This pretty little diagram illustrates your comparative odds of dying (1in 1 - a statistical certainty) in a number of interesting ways. (Click to enlarge).

'Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.' Proverbs 4:23


Thursday, April 10, 2008

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Lion Lessons Part II




This was the horrific moment a British teacher was savaged by a lion - coming within inches of death.

The big cat pounced on Kate Drew from behind and dragged her to the ground, sinking its teeth into the back of her neck.

As wardens on a Zimbabwe game reserve rushed to help, the 400lb lion kept the 28-year-old tourist firmly in its grip - but, mercifully, its jaws just missed her brain stem.

Read More & at the Telegraph

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

The Choir: Boys Don't Sing



Choirmaster Gareth Malone fulfills his dream of leading a 100 strong, all boys choir out on the stage at the Royal Albert Hall.

If you want to catch the very last episode on BBC iPlayer, as of today you've got one day left to view it.

Monday, April 07, 2008

Caption Competition Part IV


Photography by Cosmin Bumbut


"What do you mean, 'I'm not my usual happy self?'"

Karate Expert Gets Taught Lion Moves

Nature sometimes has a great way of pricking the bubble of our awful, overweening pretentiousness. Gitanjali Kolanad is a self-proclaimed expert in so-called Kalaripayat, a Karate style that supposedly emulates the moves of a lion. So when Kolanad decided to do a photo-shoot with an actual lion, the lion decided she needed to learn Lion Move lesson 101, and almost killed her.

The video itself is both hilarious at pricking this lady's presumptious pomposity - I cried with laughter at the seriousness with which she related the events - and also terrifying when you see people having to relearn basic lessons about lions. Here are those lessons learned once again, just in case you might need reminding:
1. Being in a room with a lion is a MISTAKE.
2. The lion is not just being playful. It is just trying to kill you.
3. Pretending to be an expert in lion moves next to a lion and prancing around one like a prize prat may well provoke a lion to kill you.
I hope you've learned something today. If you're religious, turn to holy scriptures. It's there too. 1 Peter 5:8-9.

Watch how the lion in 2 seconds flat sweeps the woman clean off her feet & disables her in step one before a bemused keeper has to kick it in the neck to remove it from its prey. Then have a look how it wants to act like a pussy cat with a mouse. Rolling on to its side so it can go in for the kill. Terrifying. And absolutely hilarious. All at the same time. For a real treat, the link at the bottom is to a TV quality video clip. Definitely worth the extra time it takes to download.




And don't say I didn't warn you. Here's that lesson again. Never play with lions.

Not All Birds Of A Feather Should Flock Together


Just because you are the same genus doesn't mean you are the same species. People make this category error all the time. This picture illustrates clearly: choose who you partner with carefully. You may not be well suited.

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Parent Leaves Child In New York To Get Home On Their Own

What is the world coming to?
__________________________
I left my 9-year-old at Bloomingdale’s (the original one) a couple weeks ago. Last seen, he was in first floor handbags as I sashayed out the door. Bye-bye! Have fun!

25 Worst Ever Answers to Elementary School Test on Bible Knowledge

These answers come from an elementary school test. Kids were asked questions about the Old and New Testaments. The following statements about the Bible were written by children.

They have not been retouched or corrected. All the (incorrect) spelling has been left in.

1. In the first book of the bible, guinessis. God got tired of creating the world so he took the sabbath off.

2. Adam and Eve were created from an apple tree. Noah's wife was joan of ark. Noah built and ark and the animals came on in pears.

3. Lots wife was a pillar of salt during the day, but a ball of fire during the night.

4. The jews were a proud people and throughout history they had trouble with unsympathetic genitals.

5. Sampson was a strongman who let himself be led astray by a jezebel like delilah.

6. Samson slayed the philistines with the axe of the apostles.

7. Moses led the jews to the red sea where they made unleavened bread which is bread without any ingredients.

8. The egyptians were all drowned in the dessert. Afterwards, moses went up to mount cyanide to get the ten commandments.

9. The first commandments was when eve told adam to eat the apple.

10. The seventh commandment is thou shalt not admit adultery.

11. Moses died before he ever reached canada. Then joshua led the hebrews in the battle of geritol.

12. The greatest miricle in the bible is when joshua told his son to stand still and he obeyed him.

13. David was a hebrew king who was skilled at playing the liar. he fought the finkelsteins, a race of people who lived in biblical times.

14. Solomon, one of davids sons, had 300 wives and 700 porcupines.

15. When mary heard she was the mother of jesus, she sang the magna carta.

16. When the three wise guys from the east side arrived they found jesus in the manager.

17. Jesus was born because mary had an immaculate contraption.

18. St. john the blacksmith dumped water on his head.

19. Jesus enunciated the golden rule, which says to do unto others before they do one to you. He also explained a man doth not live by sweat alone.

20. It was a miricle when jesus rose from the dead and managed to get the tombstone off the entrance.

21. The people who followed the lord were called the 12 decibels.

22. The epistels were the wives of the apostles.

23. One of the oppossums was st. matthew who was also a taximan.

24. St. paul cavorted to christianity, he preached holy acrimony which is another name for marraige.

25. Christians have only one spouse. this is called monotony.

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Back To The Future: ZX Spectrum Fun


Photography by rvnix

Do you remember Arcadia? Galaxians? Orbiter? Jet Pac? It seems such a long time ago that these prototype PC games were being loaded into the miniscule 48Kb RAM of the Spectrum my parents had scrimped & saved to be able to afford.

This Spectrum Emulator loads all those golden oldies onto a JAVA emulator and you can play them all again! The sights & sounds it evoked took me right back to those days when I was just 11yrs old. And the games are still great fun too.

20 Actors & Actresses Who Missed Great Opportunities

For every celebrity winning critical acclaim or an Academy Award there’s another celeb or two who turned down that same meaty role. While we’re sure they had good reasons for their decisions, we’re also wondering how hard they kick themselves after realizing they passed up “The Big One.” Behold celebrities who turned down the roles of a lifetime.

Friday, April 04, 2008

Evolution of Car Logos

This should come in handy for the next time you’re stuck in traffic: have you ever wondered why the Audi in front of you has a logo of four interlocked rings? Did you know that the Cadillac emblem was inspired by a family crest of a nobleman who later turned out to be a fraud? Or that Volkswagen was Hitler’s idea?

The 100 most beautiful cars of all time: Beauties and beasts

Telegraph readers were asked to nominate the most beautiful cars of all time (in an online poll that began last autumn). The response was as substantial as it was diverse.



Read More



20 of the Best News Sites


Photography by msct66



Everybody has their preferred news sources. Here are mine in the order in which I keep up with current affairs. It has a UK bias for two reasons.

Firstly there's a rich newspaper tradition forged over hundreds of years in England; traditionally there was never much space in UK newspapers so editors were always pushing journalists to write more concisely. It led to a quality of writing that still exists today. Compare the more expansive NY Times or Washington Post with the Times or Telegraph in a like-for-like article and you will get a sense of what I mean. That said, there are some very significant US news sites in my list and they are vital for keeping up with what is happening 'stateside.'
Secondly, I live in the UK. 'Nuff said. So here's my list.

1. Daily Mail
The Daily Mail, known to some as the Daily Rail. This is the paper that knows something has gone wrong with the UK. It's probably got something to do with the Left being in power but honestly it could perhaps tone down its outrage sometimes. No wonder the UK is suffering more professionals emigrating than any other nation in the world (other than Mexico. There's a happy statistic!). Good quality reporting from some heavyweight hacks though with a real feel for what's going to make Britain splutter into their cornflakes in the morning. Don't read if you suffer from outrage fatigue though.

2. Daily Telegraph
Excellent coverage from this broadsheet and a real heavyweight presence in the marketplace. Very good in the morning for putting its finger on the key goings on in the world. Generally doesn't miss a trick with some in-depth pieces.

3. Times Online
I used to read the Times first before both the Mail & Telegraph but then their Web designers did a disastrous re-design and did everything in their power to hide the real news. Either you couldn't find all the news on the front page (what is it with that? Don't they understand headlines?) or you had to take a lucky dip by clicking on the headlines with no description to go on at Times Newspaper Edition. Just goes to show even the biggest organisations can really stuff up on the basics of Web Site design: if only they hadn't done that. Still, the Times is what British people have been reading for hundreds and hundreds of years. Quality analysis of the news & commentary and some of the biggest beasts in journalism report on it. Good blogs too. If you can find any of it, that is.

4. Sky News
This is pretty much our only 24/7 non-state rolling news organisation (run by Rupert Murdoch, of course) but pretty good at being first with Breaking News. Have to say though that not everything that is 'Breaking News' on Sky is breaking news, if you know what I mean but you can't avoid Sky News, particularly if you're not the greatest fan of the BBC, which I am not. And when they are on their game and there's real news to report they do a first class job.

5. The Huffington Post
You cannot ignore Arianna Huffington, no matter how bizarre her plans for world domination. This is the place that really gives you the low down on what is going on in the American political scene. You know that the people that matter in the States are reading this. Some great contributors make this American site fifth in my list.

6. BBC News
I have to put the BBC here but only in sufferance. I can't stand how unbelievably biased they are while pretending to be a) unbiased and b) the voice that speaks for Britain. They are insufferably arrogant but unspeakably left wing and have been so for almost 50 years. And why wouldn't they? They are tax-payer funded after all. In hoc to Labour, simultaneously by choice and terror, they have perpetuated a war against the foundations of this country for years. And it's worked.

Now I have no choice about their existence. If I want to watch any television channels I have to pay them about £10 a month of my money. If I don't pay I get a huge fine. So seeing as I have to pay, I visit their site for the parliamentary coverage they are statutorily obliged to broadcast. It is also impossible to stay intelligently informed about the UK without watching or reading BBC news broadcasts so I have to click on. But if I had my way I would break it up in an instant. And no BBC, the world would not implode.

7. Guardian
The newspaper that rues the day Thatcher was born and lives solidly in its own worldview. It lost many battles over the last few decades but it's winning the war to make Britain a socialist state with its party now in power and its ability to influence the decision makers at the media-arm of the government. If you want a job at the BBC, you'll find the job section carries all the latest vacancies. I read it only to violently disagree with everything it says.

8. CNN
Almost the state broadcaster of the American nation. I was wondering why Americans had such a global outlook till I realised I was looking at the International edition. CNN is my first port of call though to have a look into the big wide world of America.

9. The First Post
A quirky little site with an interesting design feature: it tries to keep all its information at the top of the Web page and doles up some left field articles.

10. Channel4 News
This is the companion site to the news programme of the same name, which has more time to analyse news. As such it sometimes serves up some in-dpeth researched pieces.

11. Newsweek
An absolute classic with world-class journalism.

12. Spectator
Another dreadfully-designed website but because the Spectator is a news magazine (and not a newspaper) its columnists produce top quality editorials.

11. Google News
Cannot be beaten when you want to see the paucity of journalists' editing of the newswires. Good for seeing if different countries have differing slants on news items. And excellent for searching for specific news stories.

12. The Independent
The Independent finds real news far too daunting so I only occasionally dip in just to see what it thinks is going on in the world. Really, it is on another planet altogether. I am sure that if there was some global nuclear tragedy occurring it would do an exclusive on proportional representation or something. And no, it's not independent. Kind of lib-dem lefty-trendy.

13. New York Times
Really it's an outrage that NY Times is below the Independent but this is a personal view: I find it a little 'Financial Times' in its top news stories & a little too interested in political process for my liking. But you can't ignore the NY Times. I remember when I was in Washington DC and I really got into reading it then.

14. Fox News
Unashamedly crusading with Bush. Angry, conservative & dogmatic. But millions of Americans allow it to profoundly shape their worldview.

15. The Drudge Report
An influential blog in the States whose news splashes have changed American history. Two things have botted Matt Drudge's copybook in recent times. First of all getting into bed with the Clintons and allowing them to use his blog to place negative news stories is a scandal all of its own. I mean, who's being more cheap? Drudge or the Clintons? Secondly, what was it with him deciding to release to the world the fact that Prince Harry was on operations in Afghanistan, endangering his safety and the safety of many other British soldiers? Aren't we supposed to be allies? The man is shameful & a blot on the landscape. Can't ignore him, though.

16. ITN News
When ITN had its public remit watered down it shut down its 24hr news channel pronto. But it still has some good journalists working on it. Its disastrous decision to destroy its institutional 10-o-clock news saw it overtaken by BBC who shrewdly moved to its previously unassailable position on telly & parked there. When you make a bad decision, you should correct it quick. Not keep going. It was years before they picked up on their mistake.

17. Washington Post
Get close to the Pennsylvanian Avenue Action with this American institutional broadsheet.

18. WorldNet Daily
One of the stickiest news sites on the Internet (meaning once you go there, you get hooked on their stories). Just discovered it and I'm still looking.

19. MSNBC News
I notice that Diggers are often digging their stories. A little less highbrow but concerned with real life America.

20. Daily Express
The spiritual resting place of Princess Diana, the Express is still in denial over her death. Believe you me, she may be dead for over a decade but as far as Express readers go, she's still front page news. Years ago I used to read the Express as it covered the main stories and was a bit less heavy than the Mail but it got left behind when it balked at the idea of letting people read it free on the Web and has lost market share as a result. Still, if you're after some Diana Kitsch, you'll find it here.

So there's my list; full of holes no doubt. Which news sites did I miss out?

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Caption Competition Part III


Photography by Cosmin Bumbut
"What do you mean? 'I'm not driving safely?'"

Incredible 'Photographs' Drawn in Biro


They may look like pin-sharp photographs - but these amazing pictures are actually drawings created with the humble ballpoint pen. The stunning pictures, measuring up to 10ft high, were drawn by a rising star of the art world, Juan Francisco Casas.

Casas, 31, can use up to four 14p ballpoint pens for a canvas and his works are already a sell-out at exhibitions.

What Colour is Red? And Other Questions



When does red become purple or green become turquoise? This visual colour map (you can view it bigger by clicking on it) gives something approaching an answer to this intriguing question.

The methodology was simply to ask as a survey question of various people, "What colour is this?" of many different swatches of colour. These were then mixed together to give the answers we see here on this elegant colour map.

You can see more at the Dolores Labs Blog.

Ten things you don’t know about the Milky Way Galaxy


Photography by Chandra Xray Laboratory

So you’ve lived here all your life — in fact, everyone has — but what do you really know about the Milky Way galaxy? Sure, you know it’s a spiral, and it’s 100,000 light years across. And of course, Bloggees are smarter, more well-read, and better looking than the average population, but be honest: do you know all ten of these things?

The Mystery of Pi

It was Pi Day on Friday March 14th (03/14), a celebration of the mathematical ratio that man has been trying to unlock for millennia. But why are we driven to find the answers behind it? As we're all taught at school, pi represents the number you get when you divide the distance around a circle (its circumference) by the distance across (the diameter).

With just a string and a ruler you can quickly measure that pi must be just over three-and-an-eighth (3.125). With more precise measurements, you may be able to narrow it down to 3.14.

Introducing flickrvision

Flickrvision is a Flickr App which shows photos & the location of their poster around the world as they are posted to Flickr.

It's of minimal use but still there's something rather elegant about it.

Flickrvision

My Brain Jumping Ahead of Itself

Sometimes when I am writing with a pen & paper I notice that instead of writing the next letter, my hand writes the letter after that. I wonder whether it is connected to the fact that occasionally when I am talking fast, I stutter over my words. When I slow down I don't have the same problem.
It is strange though because I know which letter should come next when writing and I end up leaving it out.
Quite odd.