Archive for October, 2009
Make A Meat Hand For Halloween
Posted By Ben Goulding, 31 October, 2009 | permalink

This delicious meat hand would make a nice little treat for you and your friends this Halloween – Not Martha shows us how to make it.
1 Comment | Posted in: LifestyleStupid Criminals Caught Wearing Permanent Marker Disguise
Posted By Ben Goulding, 30 October, 2009 | permalink

When God was handing out brains, these guys were definitely at the end of the queue. They came up with the idea of scribbling on their faces with permanent marker to protect their identities when they tried to rob a man’s house in Carroll, Iowa.
2 Comments | Posted in: NewsPolice received a call Friday night that two men with hooded sweatshirts and painted faces had tried to break into a man’s home in Carroll, Iowa.
When police stopped a vehicle matching the caller’s description blocks away, they were stunned by the men’s disguises.
There were no ski masks or stockings pulled over their heads; instead, Matthew Allan McNelly, 23, and Joey Lee Miller, 20, streaked their faces with permanent black marker.
Google Maps Navigation (Beta)
Posted By Ben Goulding, 29 October, 2009 | permalink
(Youtube Link)
A demonstration of Google Maps Navigation (Beta), an internet-connected GPS navigation system that provides turn-by-turn voice guidance as a free feature of Google Maps on Android 2.0 phones.
1 Comment | Posted in: Internet | Sci/TechThe Ultimate Treehouse
Posted By Ben Goulding, 29 October, 2009 | permalink

Forget the wooden box at the top of a moderately sized tree – this has taken treehouse architecture to a whole new level. Built by Horrace Burgess of Crossville, Tennessee, this treehouse is 97 foot tall! It covers a floor space of 8,000 square feet, spread over 11 stories.
A building of over 11 floors would be expected to have some extra amenities – and the treehouse Horrace has established is no exception. This particular one comes complete with a mini basketball court – if you thought playing you would never live to see guys playing basketball on top of a tree!
The owner of the edifice is a 56 years old landscape architect by the way, and he say an upwards of $12,000 has gone into building thetreehouse . Asked about where he got the inspiration to build the edifice, he cites a prayer vision he got in the early 90s – going further to say that he built it ‘for God.’ Nobody is arguing with him – and nobody is contesting the assertion that it is the world’s greatesttreehouse either. Meanwhile, building work has not stopped at the 11th floor…the building is still a ‘work in progress!’
Click the link for more pictures of the treehouse.
No Comments | Posted in: EntertainmentIncredible Windows 7 Dominoes
Posted By Ben Goulding, 29 October, 2009 | permalink
(Youtube Link)
Some of the best dominoes I’ve ever seen in celebration of the launch of Windows 7, although it took 4 minutes to complete … is it trying to tell us something?
No Comments | Posted in: Entertainment | Sci/TechGrieving Chimpanzees
Posted By Ben Goulding, 29 October, 2009 | permalink

This incredible photograph, shows chimpanzees observing (and perhahps grieving) the loss of one of their own, as he/she is taken to burial. It was shot for National Geographic by Monica Szczupier at the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center in Cameroon.
Here’s the the story behind the photo.
No Comments | Posted in: NewsPepsiCo Misses Court Date, Costs Them $1.26 Billion In Default Judgement
Posted By Ben Goulding, 29 October, 2009 | permalink
This has got to be the most expensive legal secretary PepsiCo ever employed – she cost them $1.26 billion. How? Well, she forgot to deal with a lawsuit noticed that was put on her desk. Consequently, PepsiCo’s lawyers didn’t show up to court, so the judge handed down a $1.26 billion judgement against the company.
2 Comments | Posted in: Business | NewsIn court papers, PepsiCo claims it first received a legal document related to the case from the North Carolina agent on Sept. 15 when a copy of a co-defendant’s letter was forwarded to Deputy General Counsel Tom Tamoney in PepsiCo’s law department. Tamoney’s secretary, Kathy Henry, put the letter aside and didn’t tell anyone about it because she was “so busy preparing for a board meeting,” PepsiCo said in its Oct. 13 motion to vacate.
Strange City Block Optical Illusion
Posted By Ben Goulding, 27 October, 2009 | permalink
(Youtube Link)
These city block lines really mess with your mind.
1 Comment | Posted in: Entertainment‘Bloody Brain Shooter’
Posted By Ben Goulding, 27 October, 2009 | permalink

The ‘Bloody Brain Shooter’ has got to be the best Halloween shot out there. The ‘brain tissue’ in the drink is made by mixing acidic lime juice and Irish cream, which causes the cream to curdle, leaving strands of ‘brain’. Want to make one? Recipe and preparation details available here.
2 Comments | Posted in: EntertainmentFather Abducts Daughter’s Killer 27 Years After Her Murder To Get Justice
Posted By Ben Goulding, 27 October, 2009 | permalink
This is an extraordinary story about a father who took justice into his own hands after authorities refused to extradite the suspect accused of killing his daughter 27 years ago.
A retired accountant whose daughter was killed 27 years ago was facing charges last night over the alleged abduction of the man he always blamed for her death. The man was left bound, gagged and injured outside a French courtroom.
André Bamberski, 72, is suspected of taking justice into his own hands over the German authorities’ failure to act against Dieter Krombach, a German cardiologist, after a French court convicted him of manslaughter in his absence.
Mr Krombach, 74, was found trussed up with head injuries in a lane near the criminal court in the eastern city of Mulhouse on Sunday after an anonymous caller with an Eastern European accent tipped off police. Mr Bamberski, who is of Polish origin and lives near Toulouse, was in Mulhouse at the weekend and is suspected of making the call, police said.
This father will have been suffering in silence for the past 27 years, and he clearly felt that his daughter had not got justice. Do you support the father’s actions? Put yourself in his shoes, and let us know what you would do.
Link (Photo: Remy Gabalda/AFP/Getty Images)
No Comments | Posted in: NewsFiance Floors 3 Punks After They Assault His Lady In Times Square
Posted By Ben Goulding, 27 October, 2009 | permalink
(Youtube Link)
This really makes me happy – three fools get taught a lesson after they assault a woman in Times Square. Her fiance steps in to protect her and decks the three punks one after the other. Respect for that man!
No Comments | Posted in: NewsKFC’s Colonel Sanders Tricks His Way Into Posing For Official UN Photos
Posted By Ben Goulding, 27 October, 2009 | permalink

A man posting as KFC’s Colonel Sanders tricked his way into the UN headquarters in New York to pose and have his photograph taken with a senior official.
The impersonator, who looks shockingly like the real Colonel, managed to avoid tight security to gain access to the restricted areas of the complex. He even got as far as shaking hands with Ali Treki, the president of the UN General Assembly, before the alarm was raised and he was ejected.
Quite unsurprisingly, Dr Treki denied that he held a meeting with the Colonel Sanders impersonator, claiming that he only shook his hand out of courtesy during the incident on Thursday.
No Comments | Posted in: Business | PoliticsAs part of its campaign to promote its new menu range, KFC is “lobbying” the UN for the fictional Grilled Nation to be accepted as a member state.
The fast food giant has written to Mr Ki-moon personally asking for grilled chicken lovers to get a seat, in a letter dismissed by Mrs Montas as “absolutely void”.
Man Smuggles 14 Pythons Into Norway By Taping Them To His Body [PICS]
Posted By Ben Goulding, 27 October, 2009 | permalink

We’ve all heard about the extremes that criminals will go to to try to smuggle drugs into a country, but what about python smuggling? Well one Norwegian man thought his pythons were so important that he taped 14 of them to his body and boarded a ferry from Denmark to Norway. When he arrived, he was stopped for a random search, when officials found he was hiding 14 pythons and a live tarantula.
The 22-year-old had tied 14 stockings to his chest – one for each snake, and had placed a live tarantula in one of his bags. On top of that, he had 10 cans attached to his legs, each containing a lizard.
A Norwegian newspaper is quoted as saying, “Customs officers quickly realised the man was smuggling animals, because his whole body was in constant motion.” It just makes you wonder how he got that far in the first place. Maybe he was mistaken for Octoman or something.
No Comments | Posted in: NewsAutonomous Indoor Robotic Helicopters
Posted By Ben Goulding, 26 October, 2009 | permalink
(Youtube Link)
No Comments | Posted in: Sci/TechAdvances in autonomous helicopters have been many over the years, but as far as we can tell, there’s essentially no limit to how awesome they can get. MIT’s recently developed an autonomous, robotic helicopter which is also able to navigate itself intelligently through a changing environment. The helicopter, which is equipped with a dual-camera array and a laser scanner, maps its terrain in real time, identifying changes along the way. An integrated autonomous exploration module allows the heli to interact with the changing, unknown environment it is mapping.
Harry Potter Like Van De Graff Levitation Wand
Posted By Ben Goulding, 26 October, 2009 | permalink
(Youtube Link)
“Todays magic is tomorrow’s science”, and Harry Potter just turned science with this amazing Fly Stick Van de Graaff Levitation Wand.
The battery powered wand features a mini Van de Graaff generator inside. Push a button on the handle and the static charge built up in the wand causes the included 3D mylar shapes to levitate at your command. You can also do some cool tricks causing the shapes to jump back and forth from your hand to the wand.
The wands are available at ThinkGeek.
Via Neatorama
No Comments | Posted in: Sci/TechXKCD Pays Tribute To GeoCities
Posted By Ben Goulding, 26 October, 2009 | permalink
Online comic site, XKCD, have done a perfect GeoCities redesign on the day Yahoo closed the web hosting site forever.

Here are some more GeoCities tributes, for all you old school kids. It brings a tear to my eye.
No Comments | Posted in: InternetWorld’s Smallest Working Model Train Set
Posted By Ben Goulding, 26 October, 2009 | permalink

Here is the world’s smallest working model train set, which measures 1/8th of an inch by 1/4 of an inch.
Model train enthusiast, David Smith created the 1-35200 scale train set, which features a five-carriage train traveling around an oval route, with a ride through a tunnel, using just a craft knife and a very steady hand.
Powered by a standard two-inch-long rotating motor head and carved out of mouldable plastic, the model train cost Mr Smith just over £6 to make. Accompanied with a powerful telescope and it’s the perfect gift for Christmas.
(Youtube Link)
Best Apple iPhone Costume Ever!
Posted By Ben Goulding, 26 October, 2009 | permalink
(Youtube Link)
This has got to be the best costume ever – a real life, walking iPhone.
Reko Rivera and John Savio created the walking iPhone which has a 42″ display and 1.5 hours of Battery Life. On top of this, the “real” iPhone can charge when connected to the USB on the display.
No Comments | Posted in: Entertainment | Sci/TechiPhone App Can Drive Your Car
Posted By Ben Goulding, 26 October, 2009 | permalink
German researchers have developed an iPhone application that allows motorists to drive a car using their mobile phone.
iDriver converts your iPhone into a real-life video game controller capable of steering and directing a vehicle, as well as controlling it’s acceleration and braking.
Take a look at it in action:
(Youtube Link)
Language Map Of Europe
Posted By Ben Goulding, 23 October, 2009 | permalink
A spectrum of European languages. Click the link for a more detailed view at the source.
1 Comment | Posted in: Lifestyle