Category Archives

Want

Needed in my life

There are some things that are necessary in one’s life.  This “Dress Up Bigfoot” magnet set is one of them.  To quote the manufacturer:

Why can’t we find him? We think its because he’s right under our very noses, hidden in plain sight. So we’ve created this fun magnet set to help you find clues to catching a glimpse of the mythical beast.

This really happened

Sometimes it’s good to be reminded that people are awesome.  Tonight the job is done Jarno Smeets, a inventor/engineer who has just created working bird wings for himself.

Where’s Leonardo da Vinci when you need him?

…or maybe it didn’t happen, in which case people suck.  Either/or.

Update: This guy is a douche.

Just wow

If my former car and my current car had a lovechild, it might look a bit like the 2013 Volvo V40.  Should this beast every make its way to America, I’m game.  Perhaps by 2015?

A long, strange journey

It’s been a very bizarre trip for cold fusion.

Odd topic, no?

Well, actually no as I’ve covered it once before.  At the time (March 2010) I was fresh off of watching a video clip that had infuriated me.  60 Minutes had interviewed several scientists who had been involved with the 1980s announcement by Fleischmann and Pons of their – several times now proven – findings with a room temperature fusion reaction.  The general consensus was that maybe, just maybe, the science actually worked and “oh, by the way” Fleischmann and Pons were perhaps the victims of some world class backstabbing.  The resigned look of both bitterness and “I freaking told you so” on Fleischmann’s face says everything.

But, looking back from where the field is now in 2012 does provide a little hope.  Dubbed “Low Energy Nuclear Reaction” or LENR now, cold fusion is bubbling back up to the mainstream.

I started hearing about LENR on some fringe-y sites here and there via the work of Dr. Andrea Rossi.  His E-Cat system caught my eye – and the eye of researchers, industrialists and politicians from Sweden to Massachusetts.  Skeptical myself, you can imagine my surprise when I started seeing it pop up in financial network reports.  And presidential candidate interviews.  And most recently in a ringing endorsement from NASA:

We could really use this one, Universe.  Please don’t let me down.

If I had $1000

I might just consider buying one of the lithographs from the 1969 illustrated Alice in Wonderland to which Salvador Dalí lent his talents, as pointed out by io9.  Because, you see, they look like this:

In looking up the price of a copy of the actual book (not found), I also turned up a video or three about the project:

With Xmas time just around the corner, feel free to take this post into account when considering how best to splurge on me…

Yes please, Ducati

Though Autoblog is decidedly on the fence about these ads being run in print by Ducati’s Ecuadorian operation, I can say without hesitation that I like them unequivocally.  It’s nice to see products like motorcycle’s being sold with a more sophisticated approach than just the usual humor, girls and big budget action sequences.  Bravo, Ducati Ecuador, for not assuming your customers are grunting oafs.

Fair warning

Should this perfectly preserved, weirdly still-stocked 1988 Canadian BMW dealer ever open its doors to the public – and, more importantly, its storage area – I will be taking at least three days off work to embark on a pilgrimage.  We can call it a religious obligation.

(Autoblog)

The art of science

I kind of want all of these scientific field notes as prints for my walls.  I’ve always loved the style and the way they are art that truly serves a purpose, even if just a personal one (mainly conveying information from site to office).  I’ve also thought about getting a tattoo of a cryptid on several occasions and this is the exact aesthetic I’d want it to employ.  This book on the topic (with lots of illustrations) may have just moved to the top of my coffee table list.

(Wired)

Salt in the wounds

Not only is Audi not bringing us the newest A3 until model year 2013, they are now on the fence about whether to bring the Q3 (a 2012 in Europe) to the US until even later.  This dithering has already swayed me to the Volvo camp for the next lease (test driving this Thursday to be sure) but now they are letting US auto journalists like Autoblog drive the forbidden Q3?!

Audi, you are a cruel temptress.  (And I think you know that.)