GPS Leads Couple Astray

I finally gave in and got a GPS about four months ago. I had one in my phone before, but decided to get a Garmin that does turn by turn. It does a fairly good job, but I'm always cautious of it's directions (despite my wife telling me I should trust it and being right), but I know someday it's gonna mess up. You'd think being a person whose life is so filled with tech, that I'd be OK with it, but I still keep maps and an atlas in my vehicle just in case. With that long introduction, here is a story about a couple who was led 400 miles astray by their GPS. As with most technological errors, it started off with a human error (a typo), but it still happened. As for the picture... this story reminded me of the episode of "The Office" where Michael ran his car into a lake following his GPS.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

When you combine Darth Vader and MC Hammer, you get.... well, this and something that I'm going to blog about. Nothing like Storm Troopers breaking it down Hammer style.

Tanning Beds Cause Cancer

As a husband of a physician, I guess I'm kind of expected to tell you things that make you think about your health. A few weeks ago, someone mentioned to me they were considering going to a tanning bed, in which I responded "That's a bad idea". Whether or not they will heed my warning, I do not know. Any how, yesterday a study was released directly linking them to cancer (as opposed to saying they probably cause it). I guess I can take this opportunity to say that it's most likely better to be alive and pale, than tan and cancerous.

Life Sized "Mouse Trap" Game

I'm not quite sure when the game came out, but when I was a kid, the game "Mouse Trap" was fairly popular. I only remember playing it a few times, but it seemed like a fairly decent game. Here is a story about a group of people who built a life sized "Mouse Trap" game. On the link there are two different videos. The second one is a little better (mainly because of the sound, and you get a better idea of what's going on. I'm not sure how they did it, but they managed to raise money for sick kids out of the whole thing, so in the end, it's beneficial.

NomNom Song

I'll go ahead and admit, this song/video is a little annoying, but if you stick with it, the video gets a little funny. I'm guessing this is inspired by the Om Nom Nom website.

Eating Blue M&M's Can Help in Spinal Injuries

OK, maybe not, but perhaps someday? Here is a CNN article that talks about the link between the food coloring used in blue M&M's and Gatorade and reducing the severity of spinal injuries. I love when obscure links like this are found in medicine. Fortunately for me, I like blue Gatorade and M&M's (preferably peanut) despite the color. Perhaps my ATP is already oxidized.

*OK, fine you caught me, I blogged about this because of the cute picture of the blue mouse, now I'm buying a mouse and feeding it only blue M&M's and blue Gatorade.

Tweeting Too Hard

I was reading this month's issue of Wired Magazine and a site called "TweetingTooHard.com" was briefly mentioned. It sounded like something I would find interesting so I checked it out and was correct. Sometimes those who are too arrogant need to be called out on it. TweetingTooHard does just that. It gives people the recognition they deserve, so it claims.

ATAT Bed

This may go down as one of the coolest bed a kid could have. Unfortunately (or fortunately) the kid is doomed to a life of geekdom. If this was for sale commercially, I may have to replace my bed with it, and it'd be even better if it was made functional.

Poor Horses

I came across this weird link earlier called poorhorses.com. This is one of those links you click on and say "What is this about????? I love the Internet!". It's been a while since I've seen one of these odd sites like this, so I thought I'd share.

The Crows Know

I'm always surprised to learn just how intelligent crows are. I posted a video a few months ago featuring how crows crack nuts (just search for "crow" on here and you'll find it), but I'm continually amazed by their intelligence. Here is an article, along with a really nice video, showing how crows can recognize us. Since I've moved, I no longer have a battle with crows and my garbage (and them playing the part of the rooster), so maybe I can grow fond of them.

3-D Projections on Buildings

I won't really try to describe this, only say that it's much cooler than it sounds. If something like this became popular and cheap to be done, it could really add some life to buildings at night.

Wedding Entrance

This has been all over the Internet all weekend, so I'm a little late to the game in posting it. If you haven't seen this yet, it's great to watch. The friends and family not only made these people's wedding one to remember, but made it spiral to Internet stardom.

WD-40 Facts and Myths

We all love WD-40. It's one of those things like duct tape or a hammer, that seems to fix everything. Here is an interesting article showing some facts and myths surrounding the wonderful substance. The article is kind of short, but filled with good content.

100 Things Your Kids Will Not Know About

There are many things in today's culture that are a dying breed. Things we grew up on, that the next generation just won't get to experience due to newer/better technologies. Wired posted this article about the 100 Things Your Kids Will Not Know About. I imagine trying to explain to my kid how blowing in a video game works will make as much sense to him as when my Dad tried to explain to me how to plow a field with a donkey.

The H in Jesus H Christ

I was reading something the other day and it contained "Jesus H. Christ" and that made me wonder what the "H" stands for. There is an old joke that says "Our Father, which art in heaven, Harold be thy name", but that couldn't be it. It's not a term you hear in church, but usually used by someone in jest. Here is an explanation I found and thought, I wonder who else didn't know, and now I'm sharing. I'm not sure if this is the perfect answer, but it makes sense to me.

Rick Astley Meets Nirvana

Since the Rick Roll is dead, I guess it's not really a bad thing to link to this video of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana mixed in with "Never Gonna Give You Up". It's just awkward, yet it fits.

Sweep The Leg

Here is a longer video a friend sent me today, but well worth watching. It features the entire Male cast of Karate Kid except Pat Morita. It also has a cameo by Mr. Belding from "Saved by the Bell" at the very beginning. If you want to know more about this, there is a really good Wikipedia page about it. This video has been on the Internet for a few years, but it's new to me, so I thought I'd share

Hardcore Animal Fighting

On Friday I was sent an article about an ex-marine who fended of a mountain lion with a chainsaw. I was going to blog about it, but kind of forgot. It's a good thing because the next day I found this article that goes hand in hand with it, about an ex-marine who killed a bear with a log. I thought the first story was pretty hardcore until I read the second. The first story, you have a guy with a chainsaw (my weapon of choice when fighting wild animals), against a mountain lion. The mountain lion escapes temporarily with just a wound. The next guy only has a log and some rocks and not only wounds, but kills a massive bear (not massive as far as bears go, but bears are massive any way). Moral of the story is, don't make an ex-marine mad even if you have a chainsaw.

Blue = Green

It's always fun when your brain plays tricks on you. Believe it or not, the green and the blue in the picture above are actually the same color. Here is an explanation of this occurrence that my wife sent me the other day. You've heard it said "I'll believe it when I see it". Now you've seen it, but don't believe it. Very cool stuff.

11 Obscure Taco Bell Facts

If you haven't already noticed, I love obscure and useless knowledge. I read this article a few moments ago on Digg called 11 Obscure Taco Bell Facts and was really surprised and how good an article it was. My peak of Taco Bell eating hit in high school and declined when I realized much of their food (no matter what form it comes in) tastes the exact same. It's not that it's a bad taste, but sometimes I don't like thinking outside the bun.

Wasting our Time on Facebook

Here is an interesting article from Computer World about how most of our online time is spent on Facebook. I must admit, I enjoy checking out the site. I can go there of the evenings knowing a lot of my friends are going to be there updating their profiles or available for chat. It's also a great way to get to know people you already know a little better. I went to a dinner a few weeks ago where I talked to someone I hardly knew in person, but saw on Facebook and said, "I enjoyed some of your Facebook photos you posted, I hope that's not creepy". He laughed and said "Nah, I've been Facebook stalking you too". Being social is an entirely new ballgame now.

Japanese Spider-Man

It's always just a little strange when you learn how other cultures do some of your favorite things. Case in point.... Japanese Spider-Man. And of course he gets his own special Voltron-ish robot. Obviously this was in the 70's so you have both 70's coolness and Japanese coolness to make one sweet Spider-Man. Before you criticize though, keep in mind our Spider-Man of the 70's

Meeting Ticker

I've been a part of some boring meetings. They are essential to keep the company up to date, fill everyone in on details, or other various things, but occasionally there are just meeting to be meeting that are a waste of money and company time. Here is a "Meeting Ticker" that estimates just how much money the meeting is costing the company. When you look at it this way, it makes you wonder just how important some of these meetings are anyway. I'm sure the person who made this app, thought it and the source code up during a boring meeting.

The Hotel Baseball Players are Scared Of

In baseball (and sports in general), there are a lot of superstitions. This may be taking it a little too far, but there is a hotel in Milwaukee that seems to haunt baseball players. This sounds like a great way to get the edge in tomorrow's game, just rob the competition of some sleep.

Geek Essential Skills

If you're going to claim to be a geek, some feel certain skills are required. Here is a wired article showing 100 Essential Skills for Geeks. Although these aren't necessarily a barrier to entry to geekdom, they sure can come in handy when interacting with other geeks. Some of these are more essential than others.... you should at least be able to use Google and be able to get a good chuckle from the irony of #42 on the list.

Dr. Who Theme on Tesla Coils

Speaking of birthdays, today is also the birthday of Nikola Tesla, inventor of the Tesla coil. Here is a magnificent video of Tesla coils being used to play the theme from Dr. Who.

Happy 500 John Calvin

Today is the 500th birthday of one of the greatest theologians... John Calvin. His article was actually a feature on the Wikipedia homepage earlier today. It's a very good and informative Wikipedia article. As a Presbyterian, I'm quite a fan of his teachings, and highly respect the things he did for the church.

14 Basic Skills You Should Possess

Here is a well written article titled "14 Basic Skills All Men Should Possess". I'll drop the sexist part and go out on a limb to say, everyone should probably have these. Just because you're a woman doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to change oil or a flat (the same as men should wash dishes and clean house). Often times when I do one of these "manly skills", and get it right, I get a sense of accomplishment. I'm a "do it yourselfer" within my limits, and enjoy the sense of adventure some of these things give me (OK, laundry doesn't give me a sense of adventure, but fixing a flat, changing oil, or hooking something up correctly does).

Like a Monkey

This video may actually change your life. No more looking silly when you pack a banana that isn't quite ripe, in fact, you may even look quite clever.

* not quite worth a blog entry itself, but speaking of bananas.

United Breaks Guitars

Today on lunch I was checking links from twitter and found this video. It's a musician's attempt at justice when United Airlines broke his guitar. I'm not a serious musician, but if I saw someone throwing my guitar around, I'd get pretty angry. To break a guitar like that (Taylor)is tragic. This is the first of three videos to be released on the subject, but this one was really well done. After I watched the video, I checked out the "Sons of Maxwell" site and they're a pretty good band. It's not the type of music I would usually listen too but sometimes that's a good thing. Anyway, I hope the word gets out and the guy gets his justice.

i.Saw

When I first saw this site for a USB powered chainsaw, I had the brief thought of "Who would want one of those" quickly followed up by "Who wouldn't want one of those!". Perhaps I'm a little weird, but I went ahead and signed up for the pre-order and received a confirmation email. Because you never know when you'll need to take down that overgrown office shrub.

ASCII pOrtal

ASCIIpOrtal Update 2

For an early birthday present (really early actually), a friend got me a copy of "The Orange Box", which features the game "Portal". I immediately fell in love with the game! It's everything a gamer like me could want. It makes you think to figure out the puzzles throughout the game. One thing about the game though, is it leaves you wanting more. This guy has done a great job of making a less graphical job of the game, but in many games, graphics don't matter. I'd buy it, if it is commercially released, or even released on mobile devices.

The Potato Incident

A little over a week ago, I went to a Minor League game at "Historic Bowman Field" featuring the Williamsport Crosscutters. I wondered what was so historic about this bowman field, so I pulled out my phone during between innings and looked it up on Wikipedia. Amongst the information on the page, they had a story called "The Potato Incident". Below is the text copied from Wikipedia:

The potato incident
Dave Bresnahan was catching for the 1987 Williamsport Bills, who were in seventh place in an eight-team league, playing the last-place Reading Phillies in late-August game. With a runner on third base, Bresnahan switched catcher's mitts and put on a glove in which he had secreted a shaved-down potato. When the pitch came in, Bresnahan fired the white potato down the third-base line, enticing the runner to sprint home. Bresnahan then tagged the runner with the baseball, prompting the umpire to award the runner home plate for Bresnahan's deception.

The president of the Eastern League took offense to what he perceived as Bresnahan's affront to the game, banning the grandnephew of Hall of Famer Roger Bresnahan from the league. However, the citizens of Williamsport applauded Bresnahan for his ingenuity, eventually prompting the club to retire his number 59. At the retirement ceremony in 1998, Bresnahan was quoted as saying, “Lou Gehrig had to play in 2,130 consecutive games and hit .340 for his number to be retired, and all I had to do was bat .140 and throw a potato.”

As a baseball fan, I love to hear about these obscure incidents in baseball history, and enjoyed the read. Thought I'd share.

Smile Training

At almost any company, customer service skills are important. If the customer likes your business, they'll give you more money. Here is an article about a Japanese company that requires a "smile scan" to start the workday. I guess this takes the "Check your Attitude at the Door" phrase one step further, but I guess it's a good idea in theory. A better solution may be to give the workers a better work environment, which will improve customer service. There's actually a really good book out there that I had to read in college called "Fish" about improving work morale, but then again, why not use technology.

Never Oversleep Again

I don't often oversleep, but I understand how it can be a problem for some. I really dislike getting out of the bed of the mornings. Here is a link showing a perfect way to guarantee that you don't oversleep. Any alarm clock that requires an air compressor, you may want to avoid, but check out the link and the video. The guy says he's been waking up with it for four years, and he's still alive, so I guess it's safe.

Creepy Vintage Ads

Ads are annoying, occasionally fund, but sometimes, you'll come across some that are just creepy. Here are some vintage ads that are really odd. Fortunately, they don't make ads like they used to.

Fishing like a Gull

I saw this video a couple nights ago and it was sent to me again today. It's some really hardcore fishing. It starts a little slow so it may be best to fast forward to about a minute in.

The Beauty of Money

Money may look good to you, but is it because of it's artwork. Here is an article featuring some really nice looking money from around the world. Some of these could be pleasant to spend. I don't think US currency is that great to look at, but it may be because I see it everyday (not that I want them to change it). With that said, I really like what they've been doing with the coins over the past 10 years or so.