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.
Monster Spider Web Spun In Texas
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.
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.
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)
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.
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.
A Life With Jazz
Wonderful photographs by Herman Leonard of some of the greatest names in jazz.
(via Information Junk)
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.
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.
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)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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)
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.
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.
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)
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)
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!
Bullet Proof Baby
Bullet Proof Baby Industries is a baby protection company. Stella Stevenson, founder and CEO, realised there was a gap in the market for a range of products to protect babies in today's increasingly violent society.
At first I thought this was a joke, but it's not. The company is for real. They sell bullet proof jackets, riot helmets, riot shields, gas masks, and bomb blankets for babies. As well as bullet proof strollers and yes, toddler tasers.
I have mixed emotions about all this. On one hand I think I would do anything to protect my baby, on the other I'm not sure whether this is the way to do it.
What disturbes me most is the video that you get to see when you go to the site. The 'Bullet Proof Baby Stroller' product test. A real live baby is placed into a stroller, then a woman shoots at the stroller with a gun. The baby is then removed,apparently unharmed.
(thanks Gary)
What's Yours Like?
The box says: What's yours like? Mine is tight. It's hot when I wear mine. The game that tells it like it is.
But it's not what you think it is. Or maybe you didn't think what I thought it was. Anyway, it's actually a fun party game which is explained on the back of the box:
Be clever, be witty, or be outrageous when describing your swimsuit, neighbor, closet, hair, or whatever Guess Word is picked. But, best of all, be creative so you don't reveal the word to the player in the Hot Seat. Get ready for some side-splitting laughs as players answer What's Yours Like?
The game was a winner of Bernie DeKoven's 2007 Major Fun Award in the category Party Games. You can read a full description of the game at my friend Bernie's site.
(via OKfuture.net)
Starring You!
Star in your own JibJab. Team up with another dancer and shake a leg to this classic from the days of prohibition. Capone would be proud! Select between five movies: Disco, Hula, La Cucaracha, The Charleston, or The Chiquita.
Upload a picture of yourself, a friend, or choose one of the JibJab heads. Starring You!
(thanks Phillip)
Star Trek Inspirational Posters
Based on those delightful inspirational posters which have become a fixture of dentist's offices everywhere.
Star Trek Inspirational Posters.
Truck Drivers 7UP Calendar
Oh my God! It's the end of the world!
The 7UP Truck Drivers Calendar.
You can see a video of the commercial here.
Warning: this may damage your eyes!
(via A Welsh View)
Britney's New Look: Unbelievable
The new ad for Britney Spears' latest fragrance Believe shows a Britney almost too beautiful to be true. It's a far cry from the shaved head, tantrum-throwing Britney making fashion faux pas that have been tabloid fodder for months.
In fact, Britney looks so suspiciously good that fragrance firm Elizabeth Arden have been forced to issue a statement refuting claims they used a body double.We recently shot Britney Spears for the print campaign for her new fragrance Britney Spears Believe, in Santa Monica. It is true Britney did leave the set; however, she returned after a brief time.
[Britney's assistant] as a stand-in so we could set up the lighting while Britney was off the set. When Britney returned, we shot the ad. The only person in the national print ad for Britney's Believe Fragrance is Britney Spears.
We used Cayli
(via adfreak)
Wikipedia Scanner
In November 2005, a Wikipedia user deleted some paragraphs from an article on voting machine vendor Diebold, removing a section critical of the company's machines. The changes came from an IP address that belonged to Diebold itself.
Wikipedia Scanner traces millions of Wikipedia entries to their corporate sources, and shows articles are manipulated.
Wikipedia Scanner is the brainchild of Cal Tech student Virgil Griffith and offers users a searchable database that ties millions of anonymous Wikipedia edits to organizations where those edits apparently originated.
What Does the Color Of Your Car Say About You?
In my opinion the color of your car doesn't say anything about you. According to this article however it does! The car shown above is not my car, although it does have the same color.The color car you drive actually says a lot about who you are to your friends, family, co-workers, potential dates and clients. There is some indication that the color car you drive can have as much impact on that 'first impression' as the make and model.
'Frozen Smoke' Will Change The World
In the 1930s we had Bakelite, in the 1980s there was carbon fibre and in the 1990s silicone. Now, a miracle material for the 21st century could protect your home against bomb blasts, mop up oil spillages and even help man to fly to Mars.
Aerogel, one of the world's lightest solids, can withstand a direct blast of 1kg of dynamite and protect against heat from a blowtorch at more than 1,300C. Scientists are working to discover new applications for the substance, ranging from the next generation of tennis rackets to super-insulated space suits for a manned mission to Mars.
Child Mullets
It definitely raises ethical issues.
It's a defenseless child, being shaped and 'mullded' into a life knowing nothing other than the mullet.
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: It's What We Need!
click on the picture for real size
Salad Alien
German artist Till Nowak has created a masterpiece 'Salad', a digital image of Alien made out of vegetables. His tribute to HR Giger and Giuseppe Arcimboldo.' Nowak modeled twelve digital vegetables in 3ds Max using classical polygon modeling techniques.
Photographs of fresh vegetables were used for the texturing process. Most of the vegetables started with a cylinder primitive and needed around 30 minutes of work. The modeling was easy – it was much more difficult to find the right places and orientations to build a monster with it.
(via Boing Boing)
How Much Is Your Blog Worth?
This is a re-post but I just wanted to see if the worth of this site had gone up since last year. And it has.
The Presurfer is now worth $248,962.14. My other site, The Generator Blog is even worth more, $321,223.26.
How Much is Your Blog Worth?
Which Transformer Are You?
For centuries, two races of robotic aliens - the Autobots and the Decepticons - have waged a war, with the fate of the universe at stake. Now it's your turn to engage in this epic battle. Will you Protect or Destroy?
I'm 64% Optimus Prime.
Which Transformer Are You?
Which Came First, The Chicken Or The Egg?
The chicken or the egg is a reference to the causality dilemma which arises from the expression which came first, the chicken or the egg?'' Since the chicken emerges from an egg, and the egg is laid by a chicken, it is ambiguous which originally gave rise to the other.
Which Came First, The Chicken Or The Egg?
You decide!
(via Dump Trumpet)
Car Number Plates
British car number plates where the last three letters form a word.
(via Grow-A-Brain)
The World's Smallest Cars
Great article on Dark Roasted Blend about the world's smallest cars. A product of traffic and parking problems in high-density urban areas, small cars have a lot of redeeming qualities.
They are endlessly practical, often cute and mostly easy on your wallet. While you'd need to sacrifice much of your space and comforts, you'll have a reward of being considered ecologically and street 'smart.'
Some of the models can go 40 km per liter (100 miles per gallon), which is advertised as 'almost cheaper than walking.'
Of course, soccer moms will still need vans and macho fathers will still need a Hummer statement, but if you live in the urban area these little critters may be just for you. They certainly speak to our sense of esthetic and evoke a strong desire to hug them and pat them on the back.
Superman's Identity Revealed! Again!
How many times has Superman's identity been revealed?
A lot of times!
Does My Butt Look Fat In This?
The Butt Cam at Hub Clothing in Scottsdale, USA, is capturing a side of shoppers they haven't seen. Shoppers are checking out their back half, not in a mirror, but on a TV screen. It's a new way to face an age old problem.
The 12 Worst Candidate Websites
Like religion, mediocre classic rock and 9/11, the Internet is the latest thing presidential candidates are 'all about' exploiting. The only problem is, the grandparent-ish crowd currently running for highest office has no idea what the Web is, let alone how to create a decent website on it.
Join Cracked.com on a depressing journey through the misguided, awkward campaign websites designed by the leading presidential candidates (and the bib-wearing, barely functional staffers who have so poorly advised them).
Hillary Nutcracker
The Hillary Clinton Nutcracker cracks the toughest nuts. An introductory price of $19.95 puts the Hillary Nutcracker in your hands. Order now for the Holidays and to insure you'll have Hillary-cracked nuts for those primary parties.
It's easy to use. Step 1: put nut between stainless steel thighs. Step 2: squeeze! Each Hillary Nutcracker comes in a handsome gift box.
(via Everlasting Blort)
Heineken Draughtkeg
Welcome to the Heineken Draughtkeg Futuristic Delivery System. Prepare for a cybernetic technophonic experience. Take part in a dance party by uploading a picture of your face to a dancing robot and watch yourself dance.
I didn't have a suitable photo of myself so I uploaded a picture of one of my girlfriends (she gave me permission). See her 'bust a move' in this video.
Wanna dance? Then join the party.
I Did Not Know That Yesterday
I Did Not Know That Yesterday is a knowledge repository where questions are answered.
Questions like:
* Does blowing on hot soup really cool it down?
* Who invented the shower?
* What does 'auld lang syne' really mean?
* Who was the smartest U.S. president?
* Why do we say 'pair of pants' when referring to one garment?
* Why is normal vision referred to as 20/20?
100 Things You Can Make Yourself
Convenience is certainly... well... convenient. Take a trip to just about any type of store and notice how everything is packaged and prepared. It seems the more we advance, the more stuff is done for us. Convenience is also expensive. If we put forth a little effort there are a lot of things we can make ourselves.
Therefore: 100 Things You can Make Yourself.
25th Anniversary Of The Compact Disc
Exactly 25 years ago today, on August 17, 1982, Dutch company Royal Philips Electronics manufactured the world's first compact disc at a Philips factory in Langenhagen, just outside of Hanover, Germany.
Development of the Compact Disk to replace vinyl records began in the 1970s with Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands and Sony Corporation of Japan. Philips produced the optical storage technologies, while Sony pioneered error correction circuitry.
Chinese Couple Tried To Name Baby @
A Chinese couple tried to name their baby @, claiming the character used in e-mail addresses echoed their love for the child.
The unusual name stands out especially in Chinese, which has no alphabet and instead uses tens of thousands of multi-stroke characters to represent words.
The whole world uses it to write e-mail, and translated into Chinese it means 'love him'," the father explained. While the @ is familiar to Chinese e-mail users, they often use the English word 'at' to sound it out - which with a drawn out 'T' sounds something like 'ai ta,' or 'love him,' to Mandarin speakers.
Dramatic Baby
Remember the Dramatic Chipmunk (which turned out to be a groundhog)? It was called the best 5-seconds-video on the internet. Well, here's the best 3-seconds-video on the internet.
The Dramatic Baby.
The Piss-Screen
The Piss-Screen is a pressure-sensitive inlay set within urinals, enabling users to play while they pee. This newfangled creation was installed in male restrooms across Frankfurt, Germany.
The game itself was displayed on a screen above each urinal, and would automatically start as soon as someone began to pee. The player could then control the car whilst relieving himself – if they wanted the car to go right, they simply peed to the right (and visa versa).
The Piss-screen project was created by advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi Germany to encourage people to take a taxi with Frankfurt Taxi Services after they've had a few drinks, rather than get behind the wheel of their own car.
Ostrich Racing
Ostriches are large enough for a small human to ride them, typically while holding on to the wings for grip, and in some areas of northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, ostriches are trained as racing mounts.
Ostrich races in the United States have been criticized by animal rights organizations; however, they continue to take place in the streets of Miami Beach. A lot of people like ostrich racing but the question is, do ostriches like ostrich racing? Not all of them do, it seems.
(via Grow-A-Brain)
Blabberize
A Blabber is a talking picture and you can make one yourself. All you need is a picture and a microphone. First you have to sign in but not really. Click on 'Make a Blabber' and login with 'guest' as both username and password.
Then upload a picture and follow the instructions on how to select the mouth. Click on the microphone button and start talking, or singing, or whatever. Here's an example of a Blabber, a llama singing Madonna's 'Like a Virgin.'
The Front Fell Off
An interview in response to an accident in the 1990s near Australia where the front fell of an oil tanker. It's not a real interview, it's comedians John Clarke and Bryan Dawe on The 7.30 Report.
Still Life
Martin Klimas, an artist from Germany, destroys a lot of clay to make his art. Combining the silence of Eadweard Muybridge's horse pictures with the association-rich composition of a still life, Klimas breaks recognizable objects so they become something else, and stops us just at the moment of transformation.
He drops his figurines from the same height in complete darkness while the lens of the camera is open. When the figurine hits the ground, the sound triggers the lights to go off for a fraction of a second.
(via Dump Trumpet)
The Godfather, Created Using The Entire Movie Script
A picture of Marlon Brando as The Godfather by the Los Angeles Pop Art Gang. The picture was created using the entire script of the 1972 movie.
Los Angeles Pop Art creates pop art images using the ancient technique of 'micrography,' the art of writing texts in very small letters to form the illusion of an image. Entire texts, such as a movie script or book, are used to form posters and other artwork.
Who's Dated Who?
Who's Dated Who? is an online community dedicated to relationships and couples. Who's Dated Who? is particularly interested in the social and demographic study of couples.
Like who's dating Adolf Hitler?
(via Cynx Cynical World)
Birthday Stars
The stars are so far away from us that their light takes a long time to reach Earth. The closest star apart from the Sun is 4.2 light years away, so its light takes 4.2 years to reach Earth.
Tell the Birthday Stars computer when you were born, and it will look for a star that is your age in light years away from Earth. This means that the light we're seeing from that star today actually left the star around when you were born, and has taken your entire life to reach Earth.
My birthday star is in the constellation Pavo. It has the name 'Iota Pavonis'. It has a visual magnitude of 5.47 meaning that you could just see this star with the naked eye under the best viewing conditions.
Living With Strangers
What if someone was living in your house and you had no idea? Impossible, you say! Not quite! It's called phrogging.To sneak into a house and live among its occupants without their knowledge. People who attempt this are referred to as phrogs. Phrogs try to respect the house's inhabitants as if they were roommates, by not breaking or taking, although mooching food is sometimes necessary for survival.
Phrogs rarely stay in a single house for more than a few days as the fear of getting caught settles in. Then it’s usually time to move on and the phrog will hop to a new pad. Phrogging can be attempted solo or in groups.
I'm not sure whether this is all true. I'm sceptical. It's either an interesting documentary or a prank.
What's Special About This Number?
Did you know that 6 is the smallest perfect number? And that 793 is one less than twice its reverse?
That 5664 is a Rhonda number, 8892 is a betrothed number, and that 292 is the number of ways to make change for a dollar?
What's Special About This Number?
Paper Critters
Paper Critters is an online application for creating and sharing digital paper toys. Choose the 'Toy Creator' if you want to start making a toy. Or go to 'The Colony' to view an interactive gallery of all the toys.
Lantern Fishes
Lantern fishes are small, deep sea fish of the large family Myctophidae. The Myctophidae are represented by 246 species in 33 genera, having a circumglobal distribution. They are aptly named after their conspicuous use of bioluminescence, phosphorescent light organs along each body wall.
Lantern Fishes is a beautiful animation by Adam Gault and illustrated by Stefanie Augustine. The short film details the various lantern fish in the sea.
(via Neatorama)
Joost
Joost (pronounced 'juiced') is a project that will completely revolutionize the way you watch TV. Joost brings you full-screen, high-quality TV on your PC or Mac - combined with the best interactive and community features of the Internet.
These features include search, and chat and instant messaging, built right into the Joost software (which you have to download) – so you find shows quickly and talk to your friends while you watch. And with no schedules to worry about, you can watch whatever you want, whenever you like – as often as you want. Joost is completely free, and works with most modern computers with a broadband connection.
However, Joost is not yet available for everyone. You have to be invited. I'm a beta tester of Joost and if you're interested, just email me and I'll send you an invitation.
Romantic Love Is A Hoax
At least according to this site who claims that most of those delightful, melting, transporting feelings of love belong to a complex romantic game, a cultural tradition of feeling and behavior that was invented about 800 years ago by the French troubadours.
Yeah right! As if I believe a site that is in purple and pink.
Hippopotamus!
There are a lot of sites on the Internet that have no purpose at all. Here is such a site. Go to hip.popotam.us and click on the picture of the hippo.
Who Shares Your Birthday?
At 'Born Today' you can look up your birthday and see who shares it. I found out I shared my birthday (September, 13) with US writer Sherwood Anderson, English writer J. B. Priestly, French actress Claudette Colbert, Welsh writer Roald Dahl, US actress Jacqueline Bissett, and US singer/songwriter Fiona Apple.
Who shares your birthday?
(via Grow-A-Brain)
10 Weird Religious Practices
Some religious practices may seem weird to us but you have to keep in mind that religious beliefs usually express the culture and values of a community and have done so for many ages. So, what seems weird to us may be totally excepted by others.
10 Weird Religious Practices.
Top 10 Most Expensive Paintings Of All Time
Millions and hundreds of millions of dollars are spent every year by the wealthy seeking a highly sought after piece of art.
Here's a list of the Top 10 Most Expensive Paintings of All Time and an explanation of what makes them so special and worth the exorbitant price.
(via Nag on the Lake)
11 Most Expensive Sh*t You'll Never Need
So why would you use your money to feed a starving country, when you can pay $1,500,000 for a Box of Chocolates, or buy a $1.3 Million Cell Phone (pictured left).
11 Most Expensive Sh*t You'll Never Need.
Rubik's Cube Generator
Create your own cool Rubik's Cube. You can upload a picture from your hard drive, or your Flickr, MySpace, Zooomr or Picasa account. What you get is something like this: a cube made from the logo of this website, and pictures of my Maria and myself.
Create your own Rubik's Cube.
More generators at my Generator Blog.
Bush Vs Zombies
The newest threat in the war on terror is terrifying; the undead!
The press conference reveals it all.
Cover Browser
Cover Browser is a website to explore and search comic book covers. You'll find everything from Superman to Spider-Man and from Vampirella to independent comics. Almost 50,000 covers are stored.
You can also find lists of the sauciest Manga covers, outrageous pulp covers, badly drawn comic covers and the worst album covers.
Cover Browser is a project by Philipp Lenssen of Google Blogoscoped.
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: The Last Dinosaur.
click on the picture for real size
Last Of The Quaggas
On this date in 1883, the last known quagga mare in the world died in the Amsterdam Zoo, where she had lived since 1867. Scientists have been trying to bring it back ever since.
The quagga looked a lot like a zebra but with stripes only on its front half.
The Quagga Project, started in 1987, is an attempt by a group of dedicated people in South Africa to bring back an animal from extinction and reintroduce it into reserves in its former habitat.
Pasta Slurpers
To get Mondo Pasta on everyone's mind, a bigger than life promotion was created at the most frequented place in Hamburg, Germany, the harbor.
Huge stickers of faces turned ships into permanent pasta slurpers.
(via OKfuture)
Men Are From Google, Women Are From Yahoo
On the Internet, as in life, men and women have different motivations for doing what they do. According to a recent report from Pew Internet and American Life, women view the Internet as a place to extend, support, and nurture relationships and communities. Men tend to see it as an office, a library, or a playground.
Women are more likely to use the Internet for emailing, getting maps and directions, looking for health and medical information, seeking support for health and personal problems, and getting religious information.
Men are more likely to use the Internet to check the weather, get news, find do-it-yourself information, acquire sports scores and information, look for political information, do job-related research, download software, download music, use a webcam, and take a class.
Source: WebProNews.
Pew Internet and American Life:
How Women and Men Use the Internet. (pdf doc)
Understand Your Mother Breath Spray
From the ceators of the 'Believe In God Breath Spray,' the 'Let's Pretend I Give A Shit Gum,' and the No Officer That's My Car Air Freshener' comes 'Understand Your Mother Breath Spray,' a discreet mouth spray that gives you insight to one of life's greatest enigmas - your mother.
Understand your mother instantly without having to meet or talk with her.
(via about:blank)
For Sale: Spirit Of Dead Man
This shows you can try to sell (almost) everything on eBay, waiting for someone dumb enough to buy it.My friend and I encountered a house that had been abandoned for over a century. There seemed to be some strange presence which was especially strong in the den area of the house.
We noticed a chest in the corner of this room; seeking explanation of the eccentricity of the atmosphere, we looked inside. There lied a jar that had been filled with the spirit of the man that lived there, Arnold McCaffery. His wife, Dolores, supposedly placed his spirit to rest into this very jar.
15 Strange Early Electronic Handheld Games
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, several companies made lightweight handheld electronic game devices.
The first true handheld game console with interchangeable cartridges was the Milton Bradley Microvision in 1979, and Nintendo has dominated the handheld market since the release of the Game Boy in 1989.
Here are 15 Strange Early Electronic Handheld Games.
Desirée Skylark's My Little Pony Rescue Home
Desirée Skylark's My Little Pony Rescue Home is a home for all sad, lonely and unwanted My Little Ponies.Here you go! The moment you've all been waiting for! Photos of the whole collection of Rescue Ponies who live at our home. I'll try to guide you around the living room as we go, but don't be shocked if your eyes take a while to adjust to the coloured pictures ahead!
Follow The Mouse Pointer
That's all she does.
She follows your mouse pointer.
Big screen is here.
And here's one with a creepy little doggy.
(via J-Walk Blog)
Castellers
A castell is a human tower traditionally built during festivals in many places in Catalonia, Spain. At these festivals, several teams - called colles castelleres - meet and try to build the most impressive towers they can. The tradition originated in the southern part of Catalonia at the end of the 18th century.
A castell is considered a success when it is properly assembled and dismantled, that is, when everyone has climbed into place, the enxaneta (the last one) climbs up to the top, raises one hand (with four fingers erect, said to symbolize the stripes of the Catalan flag), climbs down the other side of the castell, and then everyone else comes down safely.
Preparation For Parenthood
* Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems: first buy an octopus and a bag made out of loose mesh. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.
* Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street, Barney, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
* Can you stand the mess children make? To find out, first smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains. Stick your fingers in the flower beds, then rub them on the clean walls. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?
It's not just a matter of reading books and decorating the nursery. Here are 12 simple tests for expectant parents to take to prepare themselves for the real-life experience of being a mother or father.
Ted Truitt - Real Estate's Greatest Legend
Do you have what it takes to be a slimy Realtor?
Take the Ted Truitt Test! Or, as he calls it, the Tedst.
(via Miss Cellania)
Blimp
Blimps, natures floating balloon with steering. Thanks to Helium we can all enjoy them without fear of a firey death. At least it's less likely anyway.
Comically Large Things
James loves things that are comically large! Nothing makes his day more than finding a pad of sticky notes that are bigger than they have any right to be, or seeing a story on the news about a woman who won the lottery and got handed a ridiculously large check.
'Comically Large Things' was started as a way to show his love and appreciation for things that are comically large.
The Plants Have Your Number
Plants need water every now and then. What if the plants could call you by phone and tell you what they needed when they needed it? Impossible? Not any more.
The Botanicalls project is fundamentally about communication between plants and people. Plants that might otherwise be neglected are given the ability to call people and request assistance. When a plant on the Botanicalls network needs water, it can call a person and ask for exactly what it needs.
Here's a video to see how it works.
Murmansk's Garages
Many men in Murmansk build their own garages. Many women are mystified. The men of Russia's Arctic city of Murmansk have an unlikely passion - they love to escape to their garages, which are often built far away from the apartment blocks where they live.
It is strange that behind all these doors, inside all these garages without windows, there is so much going on, like it's a secret society.
How Much Can A Stray Cat Lift?
In this strange video the Japanese are investigating how much stray cats can lift. They do this by presenting heavy fish to the hungry wild cats.
Columnar Basalts
Columnar Basalts are rock formations resulting from the quick cooling of lava flow.
Fractures form in a random cellular network, though the average distribution of sides is six, giving the hexagonal structures an eerie man-made appearance.
Strange New Zealand: A Collection Of Amusing Pictures
Yesterday we had Wing. But Wing is not the only amusing 'thing' coming from New Zealand.
Long time Presurfer reader Ana - who writes for The New Zealand Herald - directed me to a compilation of funny pictures from her column Sideswipe.
Digital Tampering In The Media
In our world of digital information, everything is described by zeros and ones, even photographs. And it's incredibly easy to use computers to alter an image after it is digitized to produce fake ones. Photography lost its innocence many years ago. In as early as the 1930s, shortly after the first commercially available camera was introduced, Stalin had his enemies 'air-brushed' out of photographs.
With the advent of high-resolution digital cameras, powerful personal computers and sophisticated photo-editing software, the manipulation of digital images is becoming more common. Here's a collection of examples of digital tampering in the media, politics, and the law.
(via Dark Roasted Blend)
Motorized Pool Lounger
This inflatable lounger ($149.95) allows you to maneuver around your pool without paddling because it has two individually joystick-controlled electric propellers used in tugboats to provide vectored thrust, moving the lounger in any direction you desire, including 360 spins.
The Pool Lounger supports up to 250 lbs. and is constructed of durable thick PVC. It has large, comfortable arm rests, and includes a cup holder. The lounger inflates in minutes using the included air pump, and each thruster requires six batteries.
Wing
Wing Han Tsang, popularly known simply as Wing, is a New Zealand singer of Hong Kong origin. Having taken up singing as a hobby after emigrating to New Zealand, Wing gained an audience by entertaining patients at nursing homes and hospitals in and around Auckland. Wing also guest starred on South Park in an episode named for her.
Various times Wing has been advised to stop singing, but she continues to perform and record. Should she give up singing? You decide for yourself when you hear Wing perform the Beatles' 'I wanna hold your hand.'
Here's Wing's website.
Sunrise And Sunset Times Around The World
The Gaisma website provides sunrise, sunset, dusk and dawn times for thousands of locations all over the world. Sun data is shown in table format for selected dates and as a graph for the whole year. Possible daylight saving times are taken in the account. Gaisma is a Latvian word, meaning 'light.'
First select your continent, then your country and the city you live in (or the city nearest to where you live). Where I live, sunrise today was at 06:15 and sunset will be at 21:15 local time, resulting in 15 hours of daylight.
The Eight Irresistible Principles Of Fun
Canadian Michael Bungay Stanier is an acclaimed professional keynote speaker and he offers a wide variety of topics to help his audiences get unstuck and get going on the stuff that matters. He the author of 'The Eight Irresistible Principles Of Fun.'
With just a few simple rules you can enjoy life much more. His rules are a little contradictive because rule #3 says 'Stop following the rules.' Besides that it does make sense. He also an extra rule #9.
* 1. Stop hiding who you really are.
* 2. Start being intensely selfish.
* 3. Stop following the rules.
* 4. Start scaring yourself.
* 5. Stop taking it all so damn seriously.
* 6. Start getting rid of the crap.
* 7. Stop being busy.
* 8. Start something.
* 9. Don’t worry what others will think about you.
Here's a presention of The Eight Irresistible Principles Of Fun.
(via Grow-A-Brain)
41 Money Facts That Will Blow You Away
* Money is the leading cause of disagreements in marriages.
* For $10,000,000 most of us would do almost anything! 1 in every 14 would even murder someone for ten million bucks.
* Most people won't bend over to pick up money lying on the sidewalk unless it's at least a dollar.
* 83% of Americans still pay with checks instead of credit cards!
* People tip more on sunny days than they do on dreary days.
41 Money Facts That Will Blow You Away.
Pink Super-Stretched Hummer Limousine
This vehicle is fully loaded with all the comforts and extras you could ever wish for. This H3 Hummer is the most sought after Limousine for hire in the U.K. Take a look at this monster! This fantastic Super-Stretched Limousine finished in gleaming baby pink. Ready to go - be one of the first to hire this out-of-this-world Limousine.
The Hummer Super-Stretched Limo also has the latest touch screen climate control and heating system, a mirrored ceiling with optic lighting, changing colour twinkle lights, and a fully equipped bar with champagne flutes and tumblers ice buckets.
(via J-Walk Blog)
Have You Seen This Girl?
This is a cry for help. Not for me, but for 9-year-old Cedrika Provencher who disappeared six days ago and has to be found. I'm doing this for one of my daily readers, Isabelle from Canada.
I know this is not the content you can usually find here but Isabelle asked me to post this. There is a lot I do for my regular readers and since there's a missing child involved, I'm trying to help.
Please go visit Isabelle's website to get more information about Cedrika.
Ordinary Stars
On the left is Miss Pamela Anderson, fourth grade teacher in Provo, Utah. On the right is Mrs. Jennifer Aniston, Kansas City accountant and mother of two.
What if the stars were ordinary people like you and me?
Self-Sustainable Chair
Remember the Pillowig? From the same designer comes the Self-Sustainable Chair.The Self-Sustainable Chair is a dress made out of polyethylene, connected to shoes that pump air into an inflatable bubble attached to its rear part on each step. The dress slowly transforms into a chair with each step and holds the person to sit on it naturally.
The Self-Sustainable chair is a conceptual garment that motivates users to consistently switch between walking and sitting as a loop behavior on the street.
The chair is a project by Joo Youn Paek. Watch how the artist herself is using the Self-Sustainable Chair. Now isn't that comfortable?
(via Nothing To Do With Arbroath)
The Oracle Of Starbucks
Astrology is lame and Myers-Briggs is for losers. The omniscient Oracle of Starbucks can tell you everything about your personality by what you drink at Starbucks. Simply enter your full drink order - including size - and the all-knowing Oracle will tell you everything about your personality. Unlike other imitations, the Oracle is 100% accurate.
I entered Caramel Macchiato Extra and this is what the Oracle said about me:
You don't go to Starbucks much; when you do you just tag along with other people since you have nothing better to do. You would like to order a Tazo Chai Crème but don't know how to pronounce it. Most people who drink Caramel Macchiato are strippers.
The Oracle of Starbucks is absolutely right.
Indian Girl Skates Under Cars
This 5-year-old Indian girl is a roller skating genius. In this video that aired on Japanese TV, she skates under 40 cars.
Hoverwing
The Hoverwing, designed first as a normal hovercraft, is unique because of the ability to add wings for flight in ground-effect. In ground-effect it can fly up to an altitude of six feet above the earth's surface.
Dario Franchitti's Incredible Crash At Michigan
Dario Franchitti's crash at last Sunday's Firestone Indy 400. It happened on lap 141 and involved besides Dario were Sam Hornish, Dan Wheldon, Scott Dixon, Ed Carpenter, and A.J. Foyt IV.
Nobody got hurt.
A Major Embarrassment
In the video above you saw a very lucky racer. Here's a video of a very unlucky racer, although it was his own fault. It's a case of 'don't count your chickens before they are hatched.'
(via Say No to Crack)
How To Find And Search The Invisible Web
The Invisible Web is the Area 51 of the Internet. The Invisible Web refers to the vast repository of information that search engines and directories don't have direct access to, like databases.
Information from the Invisible Web is buried so deep that it doesn't show up in most search results. It is estimated that the Invisible Web is 500 times larger than the Visible Web, or Surface Web.
Those Dark Hiding Places: The Invisible Web Revealed.
When Hyphenated Names Are A Bad Idea
Some couples just shouldn't hyphenate when they tie the knot. Here's why.
Lucid Dreaming
Lucid dreaming is dreaming while being aware that you are dreaming, and then actively control what you do. Learning how to be conscious in dreams is hardly new. Aristotle mentioned the phenomenon and Tibetan Buddhists have been practicing lucid dreaming as a tool for spiritual development for more than a millennium.
Some believe that there is not such a state as lucid dreaming. They do not deny that sometimes in our dreams we dream that we are aware that we are dreaming. What they deny is that there is special dream state called the 'lucid state.'
More information:
The Lucidity Institute
The Official Lucid Dreaming Appreciation Page
Brilliant Dreams
Lucid Dreaming Mask
The Ten Best Bands That Never Existed
Some of the longstanding 'who's the best musician' arguments are so old they've grown tiresome. Who's the best guitarist that ever lived? Who's the best singer that ever walked the planet? Best band ever to ever play live?
Despite copious lists and countdowns, no definitive answers have ever been reached. To this day, we have no conclusive proof as to whether The Beatles were better than The Rolling Stones... or The Who... or U2. This list makes no attempt to resolve any argument over the best musicians who ever lived.
Rather, it resolves the question of ranking the best bands that never really existed.
Rubber Duck
There's a giant rubber duck floating in the river Loire in France. Its dimensions are 85 x 65 x 105 feet.A yellow spot on the horizon slowly approaches the coast. People have gatherd and watch in amazement as a giant yellow Rubber Duck approaches. The Rubber Duck knows no frontiers, it doesn't discriminate people and doesn't have a political connotation.
The friendly, floating Rubber Duck has healing properties: it can relieve mondial tensions as well as define them. The rubber duck is soft, friendly and suitable for all ages!
Rubber Duck is a project by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman.
(via DeepFUN)
Where Do You Stand?
It's a well-known fact the we - the Dutch - are the tallest people in the world. In a century's time, the Dutch have gone from being among the smallest people in Europe to the largest in the world. The men now average six feet one - and the women five feet eight.
The unofficial explanation is that we were kicked in the butt so many times when growing up. The official explanation is that it's a composite code for all the factors that make up a society's well-being. In other words, we live healthier lives. That's why the United Nations now uses height to monitor nutrition in developing countries.
Me, I'm 5 ft. 11 in. which makes me 1.5 in. shorter than the average Dutchman and 0.6 in. taller than the average American. Here are my results:
Where do you stand? Plug in your height to see how you compare with the averages of the world's tallest countries.
The Sun In Motion
Inside the core of our Sun hydrogen is being fused into helium at an astounding rate of 600 million tons a second. Energized particles are carried along by photons radiating outward from the core. These photons begin to ricochet throughout the radiative zone and continue to bounce off each other for hundreds of thousands of years before finally passing through the interface layer and into the convection zone.
Then it's a quick ride out to the photosphere where the intense glow of the photons create the visual surface of our Sun. Light, resisting all of our Sun's gravitational forces, radiates out into the corona and beyond. Traveling at 186,000 miles per second it makes the 93 million mile journey to our Earth in just 8 minutes to illuminate and nourish our planet with life.
View the dynamics of our Sun in mesmerizing IMAX style movies.
Learn To Speak Lolcat
Lolcats are funny pictures of fluffy animals, such as pets, accompanied by some strange text.
I Can Has Cheezburger? is a site dedicated to lolcats.
But lolcat is also a language. Your vet won't have heard of it, because it's not real - animals can't talk. But if they could, wouldn't you love to know how to communicate with them? Or maybe you just want to speak lolcat because it's funny. Give it a try with the Lolcat Translator.