Travelling the Web

Famous in Japan?

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:24:08 +0800

The other day I was watching a show about strange and unique world records people had achieved, and there was a segment featuring Takeru Kobayashi, the renowned competitive eater who won the World…

Creepy

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 03:13:03 +0800

Creepy:

Anti-Cthulhu PSA for young netizens

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:04:32 +0800

Anti-Cthulhu PSA for young netizens:

I don’t know anything about this PSA advising young people to stay away from chat rooms lest the cute boy on the other end turn out to be Cthulhu, waiting to take their sanity, but I certainly…

Red dawn in Australia

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:52:29 +0800

Red dawn in Australia:

This amazing image shows the apocalyptic look of Sydney, Australia this morning due to a massive storm of red dust. (Click image to see Hooper’s full photo.) From ABC News Australia:

…

September 23, 2009 - chainsawsuit

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:28:34 +0800

September 23, 2009 - chainsawsuit:

1882 deep-sea diving suit

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:28:33 +0800

1882 deep-sea diving suit:

Calling Cory Doctorow! Calling Cory Doctorow! Mister Doctorow, please proceed to a brass courtesy bathysphere.

19th Century Deep-Sea Diving Suit

September 22, 2009 - chainsawsuit

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:16:27 +0800

September 22, 2009 - chainsawsuit:

Star Wars considered as an environmental feel-good movie

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:44:02 +0800

Star Wars considered as an environmental feel-good movie:

In “What If Star Wars Was Made By Environmentalists?” the movie is reimagined as “Star Non-Violent Resistance” and eco-tourism is used to establish independence from the empire; Vader is…

Camouflage Your Scanner as a Book [DIY]

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:26:25 +0800

Camouflage Your Scanner as a Book [DIY]:

If your scanner doesn’t really go with your office décor, why not camouflage it to look like something else? Here’s a great example of spending very little to give your workspace a unique look.

…

Monkey see, monkey do: computer animations make chimps yawn

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:26:24 +0800

Monkey see, monkey do: computer animations make chimps yawn:

What makes yawning so contagious? Empathy, as it turns out, causes us to respond to a friend’s boredom. Children as young as two can display the basic capacity to understand how others…

The Jet-Propelled Couch: true story of a physicist who thought he was a science fiction hero on another planet

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:50:33 +0800

The Jet-Propelled Couch: true story of a physicist who thought he was a science fiction hero on another planet:

This is the incredible true story of a physicist who believed he could project himself to another solar system and live as a swashbuckling interplanetary adventurer. When he was a teenager and living…

Working handcuff keys printed on a 3D printer

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:31:55 +0800

Working handcuff keys printed on a 3D printer:

German hacker Ray has shown that he can print working Dutch police handcuff keys from plastic on his 3D printers, and has released the 3D files so you can print your own:

He used a 3D printer…

RFID Rube Goldberg device

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:09:26 +0800

RFID Rube Goldberg device:

London design firm Berg (formerly Schulz and Webb) is working on a series of provocative videos exploring “designerly applications for RFID.” The first one is this lovely Rube Goldberg…

Hyperforeignism

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:08:29 +0800

Hyperforeignism:

Hyperforeignism is the mispronunciation of words borrowed from foreign languages…but it’s actually a sort of an over-pronunciation, so correct that’s it circle back around to incorrect again.

…

Charles Bukowski's hatred of Mickey Mouse

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:01:08 +0800

Charles Bukowski's hatred of Mickey Mouse:

I got a kick out of this short video clip about writer Charles Bukowski’s loathing of Mickey Mouse, that “three-fingered son-of-a-bitch who has no soul, for Christ’s sake.” The fact that…

Charles Bukowski's hatred of Mickey Mouse

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:31:09 +0800

Charles Bukowski's hatred of Mickey Mouse:

I got a kick out of this short video clip about writer Charles Bukowski’s loathing of Mickey Mouse, that “three-fingered son-of-a-bitch who has no soul, for Christ’s sake.” The fact that…

Federer between the legs shot at US Open

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:31:09 +0800

Federer between the legs shot at US Open:

This is the most ridiculously implausible tennis shot you’ll ever see.

Federer says “it was the greatest shot I ever hit in my life”.

Tags: Roger Federer sports tennis US…

Young adult writers! Detroit teacher of blind kids wants your ebooks for her Braille printer!

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:30:57 +0800

Young adult writers! Detroit teacher of blind kids wants your ebooks for her Braille printer!:

Back in August, I got a surprise in the mail: a long Braille computer printout and a letter. The letter was from Patti Smith, who teaches visually impaired middle-schoolers in Detroit’s public school…

New book on conspiracies and Shermer's skeptical take on the topic

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 03:07:53 +0800

New book on conspiracies and Shermer's skeptical take on the topic:

In Scientific American, skeptic Michael Shermer presents his take on why people believe in conspiracies, even the most unlikely ones. Shermer raves about a new book on the subject by Arthur Goldwag,…

Boing Boing's September 11, 2001 archives.

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 03:07:53 +0800

Boing Boing's September 11, 2001 archives.:

Very early that morning, as the smoke was rising, Boing Boing re-blogged this eyewitness account by Teresa Nielsen Hayden:

I just climbed back down from my Brooklyn rooftop. An airplane has…