6.09.2008
6.06.2008
Nessy In Minnesota
LAKE CITY, Minn. (WCCO) ― There's one creature in Minnesota that's so hard to track that $50,000 reward is out for proof it exists.
Ever since the 1800s, residents around Lake Pepin in Lake City, Minn. say they've spotted a sea monster. They call him, Pepie.
"It was very strange," said Larry Nielson, who says he's seen the mysterious creature. "We watched it for quite a while and we watched it for about 15 minutes and could not figure out what it might be."
Steve Raymond shares the same story.
"Now, I'm the third person who's reported it. I distinctly remember three humps, with one hump looking like a head," recalled Raymond about his experience on Lake Pepin.
The first sighting of the creature was in April 1871. An artist has tried to show what the monster, with a hypnotic red-eye and demon-like head, might look like. It's said to live within the depths of Devil's Abys. (Full Story at wcco)
I like to think that there are still creatures that hide right under our noses.
Johnny Appleseed Has a New Bike
The Bloom device is meant to be a subversive and inspirational tool for our concrete jungles. Similar to the tuft of a dandelion as the wind carries the seedling, we propose a way of dispersing seedlings with bubbles and bicycling. Seeds are co-mingled with a bubble mixture and upon pedaling to your destination , you release the floating seeds which land in cracks and crevices throughout the city streets. Over time, the seeds grow into flowers and plants to create a green "fringe" to our sidewalks and streets.
Using natural ingredients; vegetable based soap and seeds, combine together to make a dissolving "nugget". The resulting mixture resides in a reservoir inside Blooms aluminum housing. The housing is attached to the lower frame near the rear tire, similar to a exhaust pipe. Upon pedalling, air enters the front of Bloom and spins a pinwheel inside which picks up a small drop of the seed/bubble mixture and blows a bubble carrying a seed out the back as "exhaust".
Our inspiration comes from the tale of Johnny Appleseed, where he would spread seeds everywhere he went planting apple trees for future generations. (From design21sd via makezine)
I like it. I have no clue as to whether or not it would work, but I still like it.
Sites To Know
This week I'm highlighting lookybook. Lookybook is a website designed to let you look through children's books before buying them, and yes, you get to read the whole thing. Its free, and if you register you get some extra features such as keeping a "library" of books you like. Its my guess that they make their money on click throughs. When you finish a book it gives you links to places from which you can order the book. Sure, they aren't doing anything for you that a trip to the book store wouldn't take care of, but you can use the site whenever and from the comfort of your PJs.
Go give lookybook a try and tell me what you think.
IM In The Work Place
ScienceDaily (Jun. 4, 2008) — Employers seeking to decrease interruptions may want to have their workers use instant messaging software, a new study suggests. A recent study by researchers at Ohio State University and University of California, Irvine found that workers who used instant messaging on the job reported less interruption than colleagues who did not.
The study challenges the widespread belief that instant messaging leads to an increase in disruption. Some researchers have speculated that workers would use instant messaging in addition to the phone and e-mail, leading to increased interruption and reduced productivity.
Instead, research showed that instant messaging was often used as a substitute for other, more disruptive forms of communication such as the telephone, e-mail, and face-to-face conversations. Using instant messaging led to more conversations on the computer, but the conversations were briefer, said R. Kelly Garrett, co-author of the study and assistant professor of communication at Ohio State. (Full Story at sd)
I happen to use Gtalk at work. Even though my co-workers sit within earshot of me, I would rather instant message them. It also comes in handy when you want to ask a question when you are on the phone with someone. There is also the added bonus of being able to vent frustrations without having to worry about someone overhearing.
6.05.2008
Garfield Minus Garfield
Garfield is just an OK comic in my opinion. At some point an individual realized that the comics were much funnier if you take Garfield out of them. I have to agree. In there words:
Who would have guessed that when you remove Garfield from the Garfield comic strips, the result is an even better comic about schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and the empty desperation of modern life? Friends, meet Jon Arbuckle. Let’s laugh and learn with him on a journey deep into the tortured mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness in a quiet American suburb.
Check out the site (with the "improved" comics of course) here.
More Pyramids Found
June 5, 2008—The foundations of a pyramid long lost under the sands of Egypt lie exposed on June 2, 2008. Archaeologists today announced the rediscovery of the ruins in Saqqara, south of Cairo.
The so-called Headless Pyramid was reported in the early 19th century by a German archaeologist, but its exact location was subsequently lost.
With its recent rediscovery, archaeologists have determined that the pyramid probably belonged to Pharaoh Menkauhor, who ruled from 2421 to 2414 B.C. Teams also found a new part of a sacred road at the site that is thought to have been used for processions of mummified royal bulls. (Full Story at nationalgeographic)
Seconds Please
Police in Russia are investigating after pupils stripped off their clothes, climbed walls or lay on the floor laughing after their school dinners were spiked with drugs.The teenaged students were given ecstasy in their soup and drinks at their school in the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in eastern Russia.
Doctors who were called in said the students showed signs of intoxication and prosecutors later found traces of ecstasy.
The students ranged in age from 13 to 15-years-old. (From 13wham)
I would assume this was a prank done by one of the students, but whose to say. I would like to hear how this eventually turns out.
Just Eat Real Food To Recover
The New York Times interviews experienced athletes and researchers and finds that the wealth of so-called "recovery" drinks and protein bars, are mostly over-hyped. During and after a long exercise period, like a marathon or lengthy bike ride, you don't need specialized products, or a four-to-one carbohydrate/protein mix, to boost your performance:
Dr. Rennie said that 10 to 15 grams of protein is probably adequate for any adult. And you don't need a special drink or energy bar to get it. One egg has 6 grams of protein. Two ounces of chicken has more than 12 grams.Fruit, water, and fruit juice also work well after hard workouts, the article notes, and don't have to be taken within any certain window after the exercise. (From lifehacker | nytimes article here)
Should have guessed it. So stick to little league wisdom: have an orange slice or half a banana and a juice box.
A Blind Sherlock
ANTWERP, Belgium: Sacha van Loo, 36, is not your typical cop. He wields a white cane instead of a gun. And from the purr of an engine on a wiretap, he can discern whether a suspect is driving a Peugeot, a Honda or a Mercedes.
Van Loo is one of Europe's newest weapons in the global fight against terrorism and organized crime: a blind Sherlock Holmes, whose disability allows him to spot clues sighted detectives don't see. . .
When police eavesdrop on a suspected terrorist making a phone call, van Loo can listen to the tones dialed and immediately identify the number. By hearing the sound of a voice echoing off of a wall, he can deduce whether a suspect is speaking from an airport lounge or a crowded restaurant. After the Belgian police recently spent hours struggling to identify a drug smuggler on a faint wiretap recording, they concluded he was Moroccan. Van Loo, who has a "library of accents in his head," listened and deduced he was Albanian, a fact confirmed after his arrest. (Full Story at iht)
Burried In a Pringles Can
I first heard this story yesterday via the How Magazine blog.
Frederic J. Baur, the designer/inventor of the tube shaped Pringles package recently died and, to honor his wishes, his children buried him in the container he invented. (i.e. put some, but not all, of his ashes in a Pringles can.)
Since then I’m noticing the “Buried-in-a-Pringles-Can” story quite a few other places. I guess you’d say it was “viral.” (And here I am, jumping on the band wagon.)
Not surprisingly, the majority of the blog pieces you’ll find play this for laughs with a lot of Pringles-related puns.
One blog mocked the idea that creating the Pringles container was Fred Baur’s “proudest achievement”—but it isn’t like that blog’s writer has, himself, discovered a cure for cancer or anything.
A funeral industry blog called Final Embrace also featured the story.
Time magazine’s Jeremy Caplan did a more thoughtful piece. Dr. Baur died of Alzheimer’s. His children stopped at a Walgreen’s on the way to the funeral home. Time quotes Dr. Baur’s son, Larry. “My siblings and I briefly debated what flavor to use," Baur says, "but I said, 'Look, we need to use the original.” Time also included a brief appreciation of the ground-breaking nature of Dr. Baur’s contribution and it’s influence on subsequent packaging innovations. (Full Story at boxvox)
You know I want to make a comment about how trite it is that your legacy is a chip packaging device, but then I have to think about my own legacy. . .
Pilo Pilo Ring
Do you hate getting that imprint of your ring on your face. . . Can't say it has ever been an issue for me, but in case it is for you we now have the Pilo Ring. (From yanko)
6.04.2008
Who Needs Disney
This American Life did a piece on this guy (or someone very similar) a good while back. Anyone know which episode that was? If so, just link it in the comments.
Cigarette Prices In NYC
"New York has traditionally had the highest cigarette taxes in the nation," said Patrick Fleenor, chief economist at the Tax Foundation, a non-partisan tax research group in Washington, D.C. "It's also the state with the most significant smuggling problems."
The state tax on a pack of cigarettes jumps today from $1.50 to $2.75, making it the highest tax in the country. In Central New York, a typical pack of smokes will cost about $7.
New York City charges an additional $1.50 excise tax, so the cost of a pack of cigarettes there will hover around $9.
At those prices, experts predict that many smokers will try to find ways to buy cheaper, untaxed cigarettes. Historically, when taxes surge, so do black-market cigarette sales. (Full Story at syracuse)
I'm not for people smoking; its just a bad idea in general. That said, I have a serious problem with the government policing my choices. They aren't banning smoking in NYC, but the tax is a round about way to force people to quit. Add to this the fact that they are knowingly creating a black market and this just becomes a ridiculous tax.
