Lemon Harangue Pie

Jimmy Fallon and Brad Pitt yodeling over the rooftops of NYC

2013-06-19T22:17:00.001-05:00

An updated, more accurate Google logo

2013-06-17T08:35:00.000-05:00

(from Watchdog.org)

Find a dirty bomb? Don't try to wash it!

2013-06-14T10:12:00.000-05:00

But that's exactly what one woman in the U.K. did when she discovered an unexploded World War II bomb in her garden:

Photo: ALAMY

Carole Longhorn, 65, took a number of unusual safety stops after discovered the explosive - including putting a plastic chair on top of it - before bomb disposal experts took it away.

She hit the metal object with a spade while she was gardening at her home and when she looked closer realised it was in the shape of a shell.

The gardener then put a plastic seat on top of the bomb just in case it went off while she shouted for her husband Clive, 60.

Once she had dug it up she took it inside their house and left it on the coffee table, before Mr Longhorn heard a rattle and turned around to see his wife washing mud off the bomb in the sink.

Police were called and experts confirmed they believed that the bomb was still live. They took it to a nearby quarry where a controlled explosion was carried out.

Yikes!

This plumbing commercial will crack you up

2013-06-12T23:51:00.000-05:00

Here's the latest commercial from Rhett and Link. And yes, it's a real commercial for a real plumbing company:

Candidate Obama debates President Obama on the issue of government surveillance

2013-06-11T16:12:00.000-05:00

In my opinion, it's no contest.

(via The Tea Party Economist)

Amazing video of a rotating supercell in Texas

2013-06-11T00:01:00.000-05:00

Read about it here.

(via Colossal)

Sushi restaurant delivers food on a flying tray

2013-06-10T17:39:00.000-05:00

Why have a waitress carry your tray of sushi when you can have it flown to your table at speeds of up to 25 mph?

Famed for being the first Sushi chain in the UK to deliver food to customers on a conveyor belt, iconic Japanese restaurant YO! Sushi has gone one-step further with the introduction of the world's first flying tray to deliver their new range of Japanese rice burgers to customers.

The 'iTray', which is now being trialled in the flagship Poland Street restaurant in London with a view to rolling it out across the UK next year, is a high-tech flying platter custom built using the most advanced RC Drone quadicopter technology and is remote controlled through an on-board Wi-Fi system and iPad software.

Canadians trying to jump an above-ground pool with a Jeep

2013-06-10T14:13:00.000-05:00

It's nice to know that America doesn't have a monopoly on stupidity. But at least they had sense enough to wear helmets.

Handy site tells you if your favorite site is down

2013-06-06T23:36:00.000-05:00

Having trouble with Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, or YouTube? You may want to check out DownRightNow.com:

You know the feeling: you're happily using one of your favorite web sites when, all of a sudden, you're interrupted by an error message. It can be frustrating. Is there a bug in the web site, or is your Internet provider acting up again? Where can you turn to find out if others are having the same problem?

downrightnow was created to tell you when popular web services are experiencing trouble. It pulls together information from several sources to determine when there's an outage or other disruption:

Reports from users who visit downrightnow

Public messages on Twitter from users who are having service trouble

Official company announcements and status reports

Other third-party web sites that monitor service status

Just visit downrightnow to stay informed. You'll get real-time updates on the status of your favorite web services, both official and unofficial, all in one place. And don't forget to file a report whenever you notice a service issue -- it's easy and you'll let others know they aren't the only ones having trouble.

Of course, if DownRightNow.com happens to be down...well, then you're kind of on your own.

Universal Studios opens 'The Simpsons' Fast Food Boulevard

2013-06-03T18:33:00.000-05:00

Universal Studios Florida has expanded The Simpsons Ride area to include some of the more iconic locations from the popular TV show. Hungry customers can visit formerly fictional eateries like Krusty Burger, Cletus' Chicken Shack, the Frying Dutchman, and Luigi's Pizza. They can even stop by Moe's Tavern for a cold Duff Beer.

Coming attractions include the Duff Brewery, Lard Lad, a statue of Jebediah Springfield, and Kang & Kodos' Twirl 'n' Hurl ride. They are still under construction and are set to open within the next couple of months.

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Dog's incontinence causes truck to crash into house

2013-06-01T17:55:00.000-05:00

From KRCR TV

Nothing all that interesting here. Just your average "dog pees in truck, slips onto accelerator, causing truck to crash into house" story.

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Nanny Bloomberg hates movie trailers and social media

2013-06-01T06:50:00.000-05:00

You can always count on Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York City's head nanny, for a good laugh. Known for his quixotic crusades against soda and salt, he discussed a couple of his latest pet peeves in a recent interview with M magazine:

It was the second day of the last year of his mayoralty, and Mike Bloomberg was in a mood. He had spent a portion of New Year's Day watching Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, and Amanda Seyfried battling injustice in the streets of Paris. By early afternoon on January 2, he still was kvetching about his night at the movies.

"Listen," he said. "I sat through an hour of trailers, and every one was stupider than the other. And then there were these ads for video games—for adults! And you want to know why we're dumbing down politics."

Ah, yes. Those blasted movie trailers. I'm sure we can expect some sort of ban addressing that problem soon.

Another thing that irks Nanny Bloomberg is social media:

"The essence of good government is that voters hire people with the values you respect, then when they get into office, they make decisions by leading from the front," he said. "They convince legislators to go along with them, they pass bills and then make improvements so that, by the time the next election comes around, you show that it works or you get thrown out. But with social media, there is an instant referendum on everything. It's much harder to lead from the front. I'm worried how government can survive this."

I admit that I worry about a lot of things. The survival of government isn't one of them.

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The 'Harlem Shake' video to end all 'Harlem Shake' videos

2013-05-31T15:29:00.000-05:00

A fitting end to yet another ridiculous meme.

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Starbucks in Hong Kong uses toilet water to make coffee

2013-05-30T17:15:00.000-05:00

"Yes, I'd like a venti half-caf, non-fat, vanilla latte, please. Wait...uh... You use water from a dirty bathroom to make your coffee? Oh. Just make it a grande then."

(via Gizmodo)

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Extreme Barbie Jeep racing

2013-05-28T16:45:00.001-05:00

Those of you who thought those kid-sized Barbie Jeeps were just for little girls, think again.

(via The Poke)

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'Don't try to fix it. I just need you to listen.'

2013-05-24T15:54:00.000-05:00

Come on, guys. Why do you always insist on trying to fix the problem when all she really wants you to do is listen?

(via 22 Words)

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Don't expect quidditch to be an Olympic sport any time soon

2013-05-23T13:51:00.000-05:00

Fans of Harry Potter are familiar with the game of quidditch, a rather violent game played by kids flying around on magic brooms:

Author J. K. Rowling claims to have invented the game in a small Manchester hotel after a fight with her boyfriend. Makes sense.

Believe it or not, quidditch is also played in the real world. There is even an International Quidditch Association, complete with its own set of official rules. The IQA is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, and its "mission is to promote, develop, and govern the sport of quidditch and inspire young people to lead physically active and socially engaged lives."

In case you're wondering what a game of quidditch played by a bunch of muggles might be like, take a look at this match between UCLA and Emerson:

OK, so it's much more exciting in the world of fiction. But then again, what isn't?

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Recent tornado outbreak a result of 'global cooling'?

2013-05-22T21:45:00.000-05:00

That's what scientists were saying four decades ago, as this 1975 Newsweek article shows:

It's worth reading through the entire article, but here's the relevant excerpt:

In England, farmers have seen their growing season decline by about two weeks since 1950, with a resultant overall loss in grain production estimated at up to 100,000 tons annually. During the same time, the average temperature around the equator has risen by a fraction of a degree – a fraction that in some areas can mean drought and desolation. Last April, in the most devastating outbreak of tornadoes ever recorded, 148 twisters killed more than 300 people and caused half a billion dollars' worth of damage in 13 U.S. states.

To scientists, these seemingly disparate incidents represent the advance signs of fundamental changes in the world’s weather. The central fact is that after three quarters of a century of extraordinarily mild conditions, the earth's climate seems to be cooling down. Meteorologists disagree about the cause and extent of the cooling trend, as well as over its specific impact on local weather conditions. But they are almost unanimous in the view that the trend will reduce agricultural productivity for the rest of the century. If the climatic change is as profound as some of the pessimists fear, the resulting famines could be catastrophic.

Any wonder why so many scientists and politicians now opt for the more ambiguous term "climate change"?

(via The Tea Party Economist)

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Elderly tornado survivor finds her missing dog during TV interview

2013-05-21T14:32:00.000-05:00

Barbara Garcia survived the devastating tornado that ripped through Oklahoma and destroyed her home, but her dog was missing. This is what happened during her interview with a local TV reporter:

(from Slate.com)

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Star Trek: The Middle School Musical

2013-05-20T19:45:00.000-05:00

In a word: fascinating.

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Scientists find a cure for earworms

2013-05-08T09:51:00.000-05:00

Whenever I hear the term "earworm" I think of that creepy scene in Star Trek II in which Khan goes after Captain Terrell and Commander Chekov with a couple of Ceti eels. Not a pretty sight.

In reality, earworms are annoying tunes that get stuck in your head. But like Ceti eels, they burrow into your brain and drive you crazy. Fortunately, it seems someone has finally discovered a way to remove them.

According to a report in The Telegraph, researchers believe the best way to get rid of an earworm is to solve anagrams. If you don't have access to a book of anagrams, reading a novel may also help alleviate the suffering.

According to Dr. Ira Hyman, a music psychologist (that's an actual job?) at Western Washington University who conducted the research, the trick is to make sure the anagram isn't too difficult, otherwise the earworm may return:

The key is to find something that will give the right level of challenge. If you are cognitively engaged, it limits the ability of intrusive songs to enter your head.

Something we can do automatically like driving or walking means you are not using all of your cognitive resource, so there is plenty of space left for that internal jukebox to start playing. Likewise, if you are trying something too hard, then your brain will not be engaged successfully, so that music can come back. You need to find that bit in the middle where there is not much space left in the brain. That will be different for each individual. It is like a Goldilocks effect – it can't be too easy and it can't be too hard; it has got to be just right.

Interestingly, the research found that Lady Gaga (whose name cannot be spelled without "GAG") was the artist most responsible for creating dreaded earworms. Seems rather fitting to me.

Protect yourself by printing your own handgun

2013-05-03T09:48:00.001-05:00

That unregistered, untraceable 3D-printed handgun you've been waiting for is finally here.

The world's first entirely 3D-printed gun (photo: Michael Thad Carter, Forbes)

OK, it isn't pretty. In fact, it looks like the spray nozzle on a bottle of Windex. But it works. And you can bet the gun-control crowd will be up in arms about it (no pun intended).

Final pieces hoisted atop new World Trade Center building

2013-05-02T17:53:00.000-05:00

The final section of the spire is raised to the top of One World Trade Center. (CNN)

The last two sections of the 408-foot spire that will sit atop One World Trade Center have been hoisted onto a temporary platform earlier this morning. The spire, essentially a giant antenna, will put the building at 1,776 feet, making it the tallest skyscraper in the nation.

We can put a man on the moon, but we can't make a decent zero-G barf bag

2013-05-02T16:26:00.001-05:00

Did you know that half of the astronauts who travel into space throw up from space sickness? Neither did I, nor did I really care. However, I was intrigued when I saw this video of Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, commander of the International Space Station, demonstrating the overly complicated barf bags NASA developed to deal with the problem of zero-G hurling. Talk about complicated! By the time you get one of these things open, you'll already be flailing around in a floating cloud of your own stomach contents.

Expert analysis: Could the eagles have flown Frodo into Mordor?

2013-04-29T18:00:00.001-05:00

You may recall this scene toward the end of The Return of the King in which Frodo and Sam are rescued from certain death by the Eagles of the Misty Mountains after destroying the Ring in the fires of Mount Doom:

Everyone who has seen the movie or read the book has asked themselves the same question: Why didn't the Eagles just fly Frodo into Mordor and save him from the perilous journey on foot? If the Ring's destruction was absolutely necessary to save the world, then sending a Hobbit on what was sure to be a long, drawn-out suicide mission wouldn't be my idea of a winning strategy.

Sean Crist has done the research and envisions how a plan involving the Eagles might have unfolded:

After the Council of Elrond, but before the Company departs from Rivendell, Gandalf goes up to the Misty Mountains, hails the eagles, and discusses the matter with them to secure their cooperation and to coordinate the plan.

The Grey Company travels as they did in the text, passing thru Lórien and traveling down the Anduin on boats.

At some point on the Anduin, the company lands on the east bank, abandons the boats, and travels on foot north of the Emyn Muil thru the uninhabited Brown Lands. They then turn south and end up at some point along the Ered Lithui around a hundred miles east of Cirith Gorgor, directly north of Mount Doom on the north side of the mountains.

The eagles rendezvous with the company at some pre-arranged spot just north of the Ered Lithui. It's likely that Aragorn (or someone else) would have previously traveled in the Brown Lands and would be able to designate some landmark as a suitable meeting place.

An eagle carries Frodo to Mount Doom in a single flight, possibly accompanied by other eagles and by other members of the Grey Company. Frodo goes into Sammath Naur and throws the Ring into the Cracks of Doom.

Probably something like this:

Crist came to the conclusion long ago that this was simply a plot hole that Tolkien never bothered to address:

My contention is that there is nothing in the text to rule out such a plan, and that it is simply a hole in the plot of an otherwise excellent book that the issue is never brought up. This is not to say that LoTR is in any way a bad book; it merely shows that even as excellent a writer as Tolkien does not always succeed at perfectly harmonizing the various entities which he has placed in his world.

He goes on to address 12 objections one might raise in defense of the story as originally penned by Tolkien. If you're in a geeky mood, it's well worth the read.