So my rather slow day turned a little more exciting around 11:30 am when I saw black smoke drifting outside of my office window. After some peeking through locked office doors and windows I finally went outside to see what was going on. The parking lot was full of people and over on the other side of the road, the roof of Landmark II was engulfed in black smoke with the occasional flare-up of flames. Fire engines soon arrived and it didn’t take long for them to get things under control. It was interesting nonetheless and thanks to cell-phone technology, here’s some pics and a video clip.

So my rather slow day turned a little more exciting around 11:30 am when I saw black smoke drifting outside of my office window. After some peeking through locked office doors and windows I finally went outside to see what was going on. The parking lot was full of people and over on the other side of the road, the roof of Landmark II was engulfed in black smoke with the occasional flare-up of flames. Fire engines soon arrived and it didn’t take long for them to get things under control. It was interesting nonetheless and thanks to cell-phone technology, here’s some pics and a video clip.

These unbelievable photos are chalk drawings done by Julian Beever. Beever uses his drawings to create an amazing 3D illusion. Julian Beever is an English artist who’s famous for his art on the pavement of England, France, Germany, USA, Australia and Belgium. Most of his artwork it is impossible to tell whats real from what’s an illusion. Very cool stuff.

There’s three photos below and a lot more here.

How about playing Quake 3 on a 24 monitor wall? Yes, that’s exactly what the guys over at plastk did by running the game on a 12-node Linux cluster with two monitors per server.  This is just plain crazy. The bevel between the monitors detracts a little from the effect but it’s still a lot cooler than my single monitor…

These unbelievable photos are chalk drawings done by Julian Beever. Beever uses his drawings to create an amazing 3D illusion. Julian Beever is an English artist who’s famous for his art on the pavement of England, France, Germany, USA, Australia and Belgium. Most of his artwork it is impossible to tell whats real from what’s an illusion. Very cool stuff.

There’s three photos below and a lot more here.

How about playing Quake 3 on a 24 monitor wall? Yes, that’s exactly what the guys over at plastk did by running the game on a 12-node Linux cluster with two monitors per server.  This is just plain crazy. The bevel between the monitors detracts a little from the effect but it’s still a lot cooler than my single monitor…

The story is this. A group of college students got together and decided to hold I-285 traffic to the posted speed limit (55). (I-285 makes a complete circle around Atlanta.) The Atlanta Journal quotes a spokesman for the DOT as saying that if the students weren’t blocking emergency vehicles and were going the speed limit, “they didn’t do a thing wrong.� He added, “In Atlanta… we expect the people going 75 to move over so the people going 95 can have the right of way.�

Definitely take the time to watch this video.

The story is this. A group of college students got together and decided to hold I-285 traffic to the posted speed limit (55). (I-285 makes a complete circle around Atlanta.) The Atlanta Journal quotes a spokesman for the DOT as saying that if the students weren’t blocking emergency vehicles and were going the speed limit, “they didn’t do a thing wrong.� He added, “In Atlanta… we expect the people going 75 to move over so the people going 95 can have the right of way.�

Definitely take the time to watch this video.

Ok, this video is pretty funny. Turn your volume down though because it is loud. Oh and please spare me the comments about how you think this is me 15 years ago. I see the joke there, ok? I get it. Save it.

Enjoy the video:

Ok, this video is pretty funny. Turn your volume down though because it is loud. Oh and please spare me the comments about how you think this is me 15 years ago. I see the joke there, ok? I get it. Save it.

Enjoy the video:

Designed for “scientists, geologists, archaeologists or adventurers”, Nissan’s 4×4 Terranaut features a “spherical laboratory” that is accessed from a 360 degree swiveling seat. Unfortunately, all these workstations leave room for only one passenger side door.carfuture

What’s the chance of seeing the Terranaut on the street? Pretty good if you own a Holodeck.

Source: Autoblog

Designed for “scientists, geologists, archaeologists or adventurers”, Nissan’s 4×4 Terranaut features a “spherical laboratory” that is accessed from a 360 degree swiveling seat. Unfortunately, all these workstations leave room for only one passenger side door.carfuture

What’s the chance of seeing the Terranaut on the street? Pretty good if you own a Holodeck.

Source: Autoblog

This photograph was posted on Digg earlier today and it’s pretty damn amazing. There’s a lot of discussion about whether it’s a fake or not but the exif data in the image seems to indicate that it’s a legitimate photo.

“Within 0.5 seconds of me pressing the button, I had jumped at least 2 metres in the air, as I heard a tremendously loud crack of thunder, and see this amazingly bright beam of electricity right in front of me. I had then landed, grabbed the camera, and was inside the house within 2 seconds.”

This photograph was posted on Digg earlier today and it’s pretty damn amazing. There’s a lot of discussion about whether it’s a fake or not but the exif data in the image seems to indicate that it’s a legitimate photo.

“Within 0.5 seconds of me pressing the button, I had jumped at least 2 metres in the air, as I heard a tremendously loud crack of thunder, and see this amazingly bright beam of electricity right in front of me. I had then landed, grabbed the camera, and was inside the house within 2 seconds.”

CNN.com – Hunter wounded by Cheney ‘doing well’

Ok, I’m officially fucking scared now.

The campaign contributor accidentally shot and wounded by Vice President Dick Cheney during a weekend quail hunt is “doing well” and will be released early this week, a spokesman at Christus Spohn Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas, said Monday.

CNN.com – Hunter wounded by Cheney ‘doing well’

Ok, I’m officially fucking scared now.

The campaign contributor accidentally shot and wounded by Vice President Dick Cheney during a weekend quail hunt is “doing well” and will be released early this week, a spokesman at Christus Spohn Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas, said Monday.

Winter here has been really wet this year, not much snow, not that cold, quite atypical for our area. So looking at these images showing the result of a freezing snow storm in Switzerland, I’m glad that it’s been this mild around here. Brrrrrr!

Source: Dvorak Uncensored

Winter here has been really wet this year, not much snow, not that cold, quite atypical for our area. So looking at these images showing the result of a freezing snow storm in Switzerland, I’m glad that it’s been this mild around here. Brrrrrr!

Source: Dvorak Uncensored

We know we’re not supposed to put metal in the microwave. Not even those frozen juice cans… But have you ever wondered what would happen if you put some CDs in the microwave? Someone decided to find out and took a video of it. I don’t suggest doing this at home.

We know we’re not supposed to put metal in the microwave. Not even those frozen juice cans… But have you ever wondered what would happen if you put some CDs in the microwave? Someone decided to find out and took a video of it. I don’t suggest doing this at home.

Google execs keep $1 salaries | Tech News on ZDNet

Top executives of Google have once again agreed to be paid annual salaries of $1 each in 2006, counting instead on stock options and grants of the company’s volatile stock for their pay.

In a regulatory filing on Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Web search leader said it had approved a base salary of $1 for Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt and its two co-founders and co-presidents, Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

The three were paid $1 a piece in salary during 2005.

The action–which was approved by Google last Tuesday but only disclosed this week–occurred ahead of the 14 percent decline in the company’s stock price last week amid investor concerns over the Internet sector’s growth outlook and revelation of a legal spat with the U.S. Justice Department.

But before anyone offers to spring for bus fare for Google executives, note that the 7 percent rebound in the price of the company’s stock on Monday alone means that Schmidt’s shares had recovered $413.8 million in value during the one-day trading session, according to CNET’s CEO Wealthmeter site. As a result, his total wealth in shares is roughly $6.3 billion.

Google execs keep $1 salaries | Tech News on ZDNet

Top executives of Google have once again agreed to be paid annual salaries of $1 each in 2006, counting instead on stock options and grants of the company’s volatile stock for their pay.

In a regulatory filing on Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Web search leader said it had approved a base salary of $1 for Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt and its two co-founders and co-presidents, Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

The three were paid $1 a piece in salary during 2005.

The action–which was approved by Google last Tuesday but only disclosed this week–occurred ahead of the 14 percent decline in the company’s stock price last week amid investor concerns over the Internet sector’s growth outlook and revelation of a legal spat with the U.S. Justice Department.

But before anyone offers to spring for bus fare for Google executives, note that the 7 percent rebound in the price of the company’s stock on Monday alone means that Schmidt’s shares had recovered $413.8 million in value during the one-day trading session, according to CNET’s CEO Wealthmeter site. As a result, his total wealth in shares is roughly $6.3 billion.

Hot Points – A blog by Go Daddy founder and president Bob Parsons

Apparently GoDaddy has been trying to submit a TV commercial for this year’s superbowl. However, even their 10th submission has been rejected by ABC. Or maybe it’s the NFL. The NFL apparently has the right to review every TV commercial considered for airtime during the superbowl. I think everyone’s being a bit uptight, it’s football afterall, but you should check out GoDaddy’s commercials on their website (especially the 2005 superbowl web version!) and make up your own mind.

One of Heidi Klum’s legs worth less than the other

You have to wonder who made this determination. Not a bad job to have though, evaluating super models’ body parts. I’d like a piece of that, please. I originally read about this at Dvorak’s Blog at, to quote the man himself, dvorak.org/blog.

One of Heidi Klum’s legs is worth less than the other. Klum’s gams are insured for two-point-two (M) million dollars. She knows what you’re thinking and she thinks it’s “crazy,” too. She says her left leg has a “stupid little scar” from when she fell on glass when she was a kid. So that leg is worth only a (M) million dollars, while her right leg is insured for 200-thousand more.

Hot Points – A blog by Go Daddy founder and president Bob Parsons

Apparently GoDaddy has been trying to submit a TV commercial for this year’s superbowl. However, even their 10th submission has been rejected by ABC. Or maybe it’s the NFL. The NFL apparently has the right to review every TV commercial considered for airtime during the superbowl. I think everyone’s being a bit uptight, it’s football afterall, but you should check out GoDaddy’s commercials on their website (especially the 2005 superbowl web version!) and make up your own mind.

One of Heidi Klum’s legs worth less than the other

You have to wonder who made this determination. Not a bad job to have though, evaluating super models’ body parts. I’d like a piece of that, please. I originally read about this at Dvorak‘s Blog at, to quote the man himself, dvorak.org/blog.

One of Heidi Klum‘s legs is worth less than the other. Klum’s gams are insured for two-point-two (M) million dollars. She knows what you’re thinking and she thinks it’s “crazy,” too. She says her left leg has a “stupid little scar” from when she fell on glass when she was a kid. So that leg is worth only a (M) million dollars, while her right leg is insured for 200-thousand more.

St. Augustine, a volcano located approximately 300 miles southwest of Anchorage has been showing signs of erupting. The Alaska Volcano Observatory has two live cams showing the volcano and a ton of seismic data available, too.

St. Augustine, a volcano located approximately 300 miles southwest of Anchorage has been showing signs of erupting. The Alaska Volcano Observatory has two live cams showing the volcano and a ton of seismic data available, too.

This is seriously ridiculous:

A German tech company has found itself on the receiving end of legal action by Apple over the word ‘spod’.

The company behind iTunes has filed a preliminary action in a Hamburg court against Liquid Air Tab, the company behind Spodradio, a service which allows users to download podcasts to their Nokia mobiles.

Apple’s suit concerns the rights to both ‘Spodradio’ and ‘spod’, which are used as dot-com URLs by Liquid Air Tab.

The injunction states that the company must stop marketing its services under the brand Spodradio, alleging the inclusion of the word ‘pod’ infringes Apple’s trademark.

I vote that the apple orchards of the world rise up and sue the hell out of Apple for infringing on their fruit’s name…

This is seriously ridiculous:

A German tech company has found itself on the receiving end of legal action by Apple over the word ‘spod’.

The company behind iTunes has filed a preliminary action in a Hamburg court against Liquid Air Tab, the company behind Spodradio, a service which allows users to download podcasts to their Nokia mobiles.

Apple’s suit concerns the rights to both ‘Spodradio’ and ‘spod’, which are used as dot-com URLs by Liquid Air Tab.

The injunction states that the company must stop marketing its services under the brand Spodradio, alleging the inclusion of the word ‘pod’ infringes Apple’s trademark.

I vote that the apple orchards of the world rise up and sue the hell out of Apple for infringing on their fruit’s name…

Slut-o-meter evaluates the promiscuity of the subject you enter by comparing the number of Google search results with and without “safe-search” enabled. A complete slut would return unsafe results and no safe results. Alternatively, a clean name should produce the same number of safe and unsafe results.

Try it out for yourself. Interestingly enough, my first name is 9.49% slutty…

Canadian telecom service provider Rogers Communications has been the victim of numerous number-cloning operations by the terrorist group Hezbollah — in which even the phone number of CEO Ted Rogers was “borrowed� — but steadfastly refused to address consumer complaints about the problem, insisting that customers were liable for outsized bills. However, all that changed after aggrieved consumer (and law professor) Susan Drummond — who was stuck with a bill for over $10,000 for calls to countries such as Libya, Pakistan, Russia and Syria — recorded comments made by a Rogers security exec, who admitted that the company had suffered cloning problems at the hands of Hezbollah going back as far as 1997. Drummond took the company to small-claims court, publicized the incident, and eventually received a public apology from CEO Rogers himself. At least we think it was Rogers. After all, it could have been Sheik Hassan Nasrallah running up the CEO’s bill one more time.cellphone

More.

Slut-o-meter evaluates the promiscuity of the subject you enter by comparing the number of Google search results with and without “safe-search” enabled. A complete slut would return unsafe results and no safe results. Alternatively, a clean name should produce the same number of safe and unsafe results.

Try it out for yourself. Interestingly enough, my first name is 9.49% slutty…

Canadian telecom service provider Rogers Communications has been the victim of numerous number-cloning operations by the terrorist group Hezbollah — in which even the phone number of CEO Ted Rogers was “borrowed� — but steadfastly refused to address consumer complaints about the problem, insisting that customers were liable for outsized bills. However, all that changed after aggrieved consumer (and law professor) Susan Drummond — who was stuck with a bill for over $10,000 for calls to countries such as Libya, Pakistan, Russia and Syria — recorded comments made by a Rogers security exec, who admitted that the company had suffered cloning problems at the hands of Hezbollah going back as far as 1997. Drummond took the company to small-claims court, publicized the incident, and eventually received a public apology from CEO Rogers himself. At least we think it was Rogers. After all, it could have been Sheik Hassan Nasrallah running up the CEO’s bill one more time.cellphone

More.

The age old myth that cheese gives you nightmares has finally been laid to rest this week following the release of a new study carried out by the British Cheese Board.

The in-depth Cheese & Dreams study, a first of its kind, reveals that eating cheese before bed will not only aid a good night’s sleep but different cheeses will in fact cause different types of dreams.

85% of females who ate Stilton had some of the most unusual dreams of the whole study. 65% of people eating Cheddar dreamt about celebrities, over 65% of participants eating Red Leicester revisited their schooldays, all female participants who ate British Brie had nice relaxing dreams whereas male participants had cryptic dreams, two thirds of all those who ate Lancashire had a dream about work and over half of Cheshire eaters had a dreamless sleep.

It seems that selecting the type of cheese you eat before bedtime may help determine the very nature of often colourful and vivid cheese induced dreams�.funny

Local officials said Thursday they were shocked to learn that Emerald Hills Golfland, a three-acre theme park with two miniature golf courses, had been placed on a Homeland Security watch list.

“The moment we realized it was on the list, it was taken off,” said San Jose police officer Rubens Dalaison, who handles “critical infrastructure assessment” for the department. “I myself took it off.”Funny

The age old myth that cheese gives you nightmares has finally been laid to rest this week following the release of a new study carried out by the British Cheese Board.

The in-depth Cheese & Dreams study, a first of its kind, reveals that eating cheese before bed will not only aid a good night’s sleep but different cheeses will in fact cause different types of dreams.

85% of females who ate Stilton had some of the most unusual dreams of the whole study. 65% of people eating Cheddar dreamt about celebrities, over 65% of participants eating Red Leicester revisited their schooldays, all female participants who ate British Brie had nice relaxing dreams whereas male participants had cryptic dreams, two thirds of all those who ate Lancashire had a dream about work and over half of Cheshire eaters had a dreamless sleep.

It seems that selecting the type of cheese you eat before bedtime may help determine the very nature of often colourful and vivid cheese induced dreams�.funny

Local officials said Thursday they were shocked to learn that Emerald Hills Golfland, a three-acre theme park with two miniature golf courses, had been placed on a Homeland Security watch list.

“The moment we realized it was on the list, it was taken off,” said San Jose police officer Rubens Dalaison, who handles “critical infrastructure assessment” for the department. “I myself took it off.”Funny