The most valuable supply of worthlessness on the web
Anything that catches my fancy as a topic I want to cover. Truly random crap.
(view MAKEzine blog)
A graphical look at graphical and semi-graphical user interfaces on Apple and PC systems from 1984 to present. See what you have missed, if you just entered the computing world recently. Shoot – I was into computers since way back then, and I even missed a lot of these interfaces.
[tags]Graphical interfaces, User interfaces, Computing interface evolution[/tags]
[tags]Eye Candy, Meg Ryan[/tags]
The idiocy continues. Our government has made a public relations move and disallowed all liquids on flights. Rather than continuing to do real work that improves safety for travellers, they have made things worse by forcing anyone travelling with a dangerous liquid to pour it in a large receptable and expose *EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO COMES NEAR THE RECEPTACLE* to that liquid. In other words, our government has increased the power terrorists have for disrupting our daily lives – moreso than they have already disrupted it by giving the government reasons to implement stupid policies that they’ve probably wanted to do any way.
But in same locations, the current levels of stupidity are not enough. No, in same places, the inspectors are making people peel bananas to prove that there are bananas.
At Dulles International Airport near Washington on Thursday morning, one traveler reported that screeners were also making passengers remove all food items from their carry-on luggage for inspection, and one passenger was told to peel her banana.
[tags]Our government is staffed by idiots, Lose of rights continues in America, Let’s not let people take food either because they would be a way to top the idiocy of no liquids[/tags]
(via boingboing)
Pardon the departure from the normally less-adult-oriented language for the site. I just couldn’t pass up this image.
[tags]Samuel L Jackson, Liquids on a plane[/tags]
(via boingboing)
People, understand this – the newest travel restrictions are absolutely not increasing your security. In fact, they are probably making things worse by fooling millions into thinking something positive is being done while simultaneously stripping away rights and increasing your potential exposure to dangerous materials at the airport instead of in the air. So, since our government is gladly giving us nothing while reducing our rights and taking away safety, isn’t it time to ponder just what it is that the enemy is really doing? Well, here is a bizarrely accurate view of what’s happening that no one in charge can seem to see.
[tags]Losing our rights for travel, Less safety under the guide of more, Terrorists disrupt America and the idiots in government are too stupid to get it[/tags]
(via LifeHacker)
This is utterly useless knowledge to most folks I know. Therefore, I shall file it thusly, and continue on. With that out of the way, go to the Geomac web site and find out what’s burning in your neck of the, ummm, woods.
[tags]Realtime forest fires, Geomac.gov[/tags]
A picture and build details on the making this:
into this:
I’d like to build one of these myself, just to have around and show off my geekiness in a more visible way.
[tags]LEGO, Escher’s Relativity[/tags]
(via Cool Tools)
Since we covered the online how-to build sandcastles a few days ago, it seemed only appropriate to point out this book on building sandcastles recently highlighted at the Cool Tools web site.
Book Description
A crenellated turret here, a winding, arched staircase there, maybe even a giant turtle-fairy tale ideas are at the heart of every sandcastle. Summer after summer, children and adults alike make valiant efforts to infuse their sandy structures with such inspiration, but the results are generally disappointing.
With Sandcastles Made Simple, Lucinda “sandy feet” Wierenga, a renowned sand sculptor, puts a permanent end to less-than-perfect beach creations. She provides the ultimate step-by-step guide to building impressive sandcastles, and shows that with a few simple tools and a basic understanding of sand, building dream castles can be easy.
[tags]Sandcastles[/tags]
Mmmmmmmm. I need something from my locker.
[tags]Eye candy, Alyson Hannigan[/tags]
If you find yourself thinking “I wanna be a cowboy” then this is the thing for you. Get your very own Red Ryder carbine from Daisy Air Rifles. Ad originally seen in the October 1940 Popular Science magazine.
[tags]I wanna be a cowboy, Modern Mechanix, Red Ryder, Daisy Air Rifles[/tags]
While doing a microphone check before his weekly radio address, on this date in 1984, President Ronald Reagan makes the joke:
“My fellow Americans, I’m pleased to tell you today that I’ve signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.”
Since this was pre-speech, it was not aired, and all was good. Later, however, detail of the joke were leaked, and humorless idiots everywhere over-reacted, accusing Reagan of everything possible except the truth – having a sense of humor.
. . . In Paris, a leading newspaper expressed its dismay, and stated that only trained psychologists could know whether Reagan’s remarks were “a statement of repressed desire or the exorcism of a dreaded phantom.” A Dutch news service remarked, “Hopefully, the man tests his missiles more carefully.” Other foreign newspapers and news services called Reagan “an irresponsible old man,” and declared that his comments were “totally unbecoming” for a man in his position. In the Soviet Union, commentators had a field day with Reagan’s joke. One stated, “It is said that a person’s level of humor reflects the level of his thinking. If so, aren’t one and the other too low for the president of a great country?” Another said, “We would not be wasting time on this unfortunate joke if it did not reflect once again the fixed idea that haunts the master of the White House.”
Reagan’s tasteless joke provided additional ammunition for commentators at home and abroad who believed that the anticommunist crusader was a reckless “cowboy” intent on provoking a conflict with the Soviet Union. Ironically, the man who also referred to Russia as an “evil empire” went on to establish a close personal relationship with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev after the latter came to power in 1985. The two men later signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1987, which eliminated an entire class of nuclear weapons.
Reagan was a great President, and honestly, if the worst thing he did was joke about outlawing Russia, I think that’s not a bad legacy to leave behind.
[tags]Ronald Reagan, Today in History, Outlawing Russia[/tags]
Obese people more likely to pass out in heat.
ATLANTA (AP) — Obese people face a higher risk of passing out — or worse — during heat waves, some health experts say.
Layers of fat make it extra difficult for a body to dissipate heat, or to move to a cool location. Add in diabetic dehydration and other conditions common in the obese, and it’s a recipe for trouble.
“ER physicians will tell you that they (obese people) are the ones collapsing,” said Thomas Adams, a Michigan State University physiologist.
Continue reading “Surprise science headline of the century?”
