Yearly Archives: 2012

Gyroscopic self-leveling pool table on a cruise ship

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[caption id="attachment_20126" align="alignnone" width="325" caption="Gyroscopic self-leveling pool table"][/caption] As the ship moves, the pool table adjusts so the balls don’t move at all, even in rough weather. If you look closely you can see the balls remain still as the table moves, enabling you to play in almost any conditions.

SlotZ Racer for iPhone and iPad

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Many thanks to Strange Flavour for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed with SlotZ Racer, its free iPhone and iPad racing game. Strange Flavour are back with a new spin on their hit slot car racing game SlotZ Racer! SlotZ Racer … Continued

Compact slide-through toaster works in 90 seconds

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Gizmodo:

Conveyor belt toasters help restaurants keep up with the breakfast demand, but the compact QuikServe from WestBend is instead designed for home use using a motorized system to pull your bread through, toasting it in a mere 90 seconds.

There’s not much “cool” about toasters but this idea is clever. Just don’t buy it for your significant other for Valentines Day. Gizmodo says the list price is $60 but you can get it on Amazon.com for only $40.

Louis vs. Rick

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It’s the “story of a man who taught his cat to use instant messaging.” Funniest thing you’ll read today…..Thanks to Sian Meades and Jared Earle for the heads up.

Shamrock shakes are back!

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Gothamist:

It’s Shamrock Shake season, and the green stuff is already ready to be slung at your local McDonald’s, and this year all of America will be able to indulge in the seasonal treat. The chain announced today that the shake will go national this year, for the first time in its 42-year-long existence.According to the McDonald’s spokeswoman, Ashlee Yingling, the minty shake “is currently available at every one of McDonald’s 14,000 U.S. restaurants,” and will be available through March 25th.

Anyone else embarrassed to admit how much they look forward to these things each year?

100,000 Scovilles Naga Chili vodka

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[caption id="attachment_20090" align="alignnone" width="173" caption="100,000 Scovilles Naga Chilli Vodka"][/caption] Master of Malt:

We filled a carboy with vodka, and into it we poured so many Naga Jolokia chillies that there was nothing but darkness in that carboy, nothing but darkness. We left the chillies to infuse and impart their flavour, colour and deathly fire into the vodka, and we’ve bottled the result. We are sorry. We are truly sorry.This stuff smells like pure evil, like the very blood of Satan himself. Such a pungent nose of chilli, it makes your eyes water just sniffing it.

Not a fan of spicy food but if you are, why would you want to ingest something that can cause you this kind of pain?

What you need to know about Pinterest

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TIME:

Though Facebook’s SEC filings are dominating headlines, social neophyte Pinterest is gaining traction and plenty of buzz as the newest social media darling.According to comScore, Pinterest was the fastest growing independent site to hit 10 million monthly unique visits in the U.S., while a new report claims it drives more referral traffic to online retailers than Google+, YouTube, Reddit and LinkedIn combined.But is Pinterest just a digital arts and crafts bulletin board piggybacking off of a social phenomenon, or is there value in joining?

Secretive SEALs moonlight as movie stars

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[caption id="attachment_20069" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Act of Valor"][/caption]

Wired’s Danger Room:

SEALs are supposed to be secretive, stealthy killers. The public will probably never know the identities of the SEAL Team Six members who killed Osama bin Laden. But the Navy and the Pentagon had no problem letting the producers of a forthcoming action movie put active-duty SEALs on camera. Their faces are on screen and their names — first names, at least — are in the credits, along with their rank.“There were many precautions taken with the project to make sure our advantages on the battlefield would not be compromised to the enemy,” explains Amanda Greenberg, a Navy spokeswoman. Well, that and the fact that Act of Valor — in theaters next Friday! — is one giant, explicit recruiting pitch.

Not expecting great acting or dialog but am expecting things to blow up real good!

“Do Not Track” tool promises faster page loads

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PC World:

A free new tool released on Thursday was built specifically to address many of the concerns raised in that study and to go well beyond what standard private browsing modes can do. It’s called Do Not Track Plus, and it works seamlessly with Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, and Safari; not only that, but it can increase page load speeds by up to four times, its maker says.Users can decide at the individual website level whether they want to block or allow tracking. When they do want their activities to remain private, DNT+ blocks a growing list of 580 different tracking technologies and more than 200 tracking companies.

I’ve been using it for a while and it’s a bit scary to see how often and in how many different ways we are being tracked.

Is it worth seeing Star Wars in 3D?

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[caption id="attachment_20059" align="alignnone" width="470" caption="Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace"][/caption] CNET UK:

Lucasfilm has done a smashing job on Star Wars — it’s easily one of the best post-3D conversions I’ve seen. The key to this is that most of the 3D effects are relatively subtle. In other 3D post-conversions, the makers are so keen to make it clear it’s in 3D they make the effect too stark.So is it worth paying to see?

At this point, is there any point in even discussing it? If you’re a fan, you will, if you’re not, you won’t. What’s interesting is kids today won’t get to see the series the way we did (out of order) so it will be an entirely different experience and story for them.

Valentine’s Day dinner for two

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[caption id="attachment_20053" align="alignnone" width="470" caption="Creamy Pasta With Shrimp And Vegetables"]Creamy Pasta With Shrimp And Vegetables[/caption] Huffington Post:

There’s nothing more romantic than a private dinner for two when you want to spend some time with your significant other this coming Valentine’s Day. And you don’t need to make reservations weeks in advance or pay a pretty sum for dinner out.The following slideshow features quick, simple and easy recipes that are designed to serve just two people. Look for the classic filet mignon with compound butter, roasted mustard salmon, roast duck breasts with pomegranate, and more. Any of these recipes will impress your loved one and show them how much you care. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Some of these recipes look so easy to make, even someone who burns water could create a lovely meal.

Microsoft stores open next door to Apple stores

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New York Times: Analysts said the strategy of going head to head with arguably the most successful retail chain of the 21st century could be a smart move, although it is unlikely that Microsoft Stores will be money engines in … Continued

43% say random choices better than current Congress

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Rasmussen Reports:

With positive ratings for Congress at an all-time low, it may come as no surprise that a plurality of voters nationwide believes a group of people randomly selected from a telephone book would do a better job than the current legislators.The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters shows that 43% believe a group of people randomly selected from the phone book would do a better job than the current Congress. Thirty-eight percent (38%) disagree with that assessment, while another 19% are not sure.

Trust

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Ben Brooks talking about the Path/Address Book kerfuffle:

If you live and play in the Apple world, you need only trust Apple. This is what Apple tells us — it’s a ‘feature’ of the Apple ecosystem.The fact is, that in this instance, Apple broke that trust.

I read that a couple of times and thought about what my reaction was to this whole mess. I don’t think Apple broke my trust though. If Apple told me my Address Book data was safe and this happened, then yeah, they would have broken my trust.

However, my reaction to this was that there’s obviously something that needs to be fixed.

Tassimo coffee makers recalled

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Tassimo is recalling its one-cup coffee makers after 140 reports of problems involving people getting doused with the contents of the “T-discs.”

iPad is a nuisance for many Chinese parents

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TUAW:

A report from the Beijing Evening News suggests Chinese parents are scuffling with their kids over iPads. It seems the iPad was the gift of choice for many children this past Chinese New Year, and now those youngsters are having a hard time putting their tablets aside.Exasperated parents don’t know what to do when their tots refuse to hand over the iPad, and they’re afraid iPad use may impede their children’s education.

Interesting problem. They could use the solution my mom used in these situations. She said, “No.”

iWitness

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Jerry Manock Seven Days:

In 1977, when Jerry Manock was 33 and Apple had just five employees, Steve Jobs hired him as a consultant to design the Apple II, one of the first personal computers in history to be successfully mass produced and marketed. Manock gets credit for almost everything but the circuit board and the logic Board: the machine’s “thermal management, the structure, the outside aesthetics, the color — beige, Pantone 453, the color of the deep-space universe,” Manock says, rattling off his contributions to the once-cutting-edge Apple II, which now looks like a yellowing typewriter on a shelf in his office.Beside it sits the smaller, self-contained, revolutionary Macintosh. Manock was part of the original team of a half-dozen workers who designed the Mac.

An interesting interview with one of the original Apple II and Macintosh designers.

Super bowl commercials are even lamer in Canada

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Slate:

Canadians might love the Super Bowl, but we hate the commercials.Not the commercials you get to watch. I’m talking about the ones we get stuck with in Canada.What does that mean? When America got an overproduced Bud Light Platinum ad, British Columbia got a lightly droll spot for a domestic IPA, Alexander Keith’s. Around the time America was watching John Stamos peddle Greek yogurt, British Columbia was learning about job creation and infrastructure. Shortly after America watched a joyful promo for NBC shows such as Community, British Columbia watched a local advertisement for — I kid you not — an actual community college.

Americans have no idea how annoying this is. Canadians see and hear all the hype about the Super Bowl commercials and, come game time, we get ads for Speedy Muffler King.

Greed and Entitlements

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Federico Viticci, MacStories:

Today’s Tweetbot releases are just another example of a subset of users that think developers should keep on updating their apps, even adding completely new iPad versions, for free, forever. This kind of controversy seems to take place every time a major iPhone app is released as standalone on the iPad, or vice versa. So I’d like to formulate a quick thought on the subject.

As I said on Twitter when the tempest in a teapot over the $3 cost of TweetBot for the iPad started – it’s three dollars…you have an iPad. See the disconnect?

Apple is worth 56 RIMs

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Using today’s market cap numbers, Apple is worth $459.2 billion and RIM is worth $8.2. And RIM said in 2007 that the iPhone wouldn’t impact their business. Good call RIM.