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Photons have mass? I didn't even know they were Catholic.

Tokyo in Twilight

Click the pic for the full size. Click the link below to see the haunting collection of photos of downtown Tokyo at Sunset:

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Via LAT

Mini-motor

I'm not a fan of the internal combustion engine but this NYT article is pretty damn cool:

DOWNSIZING may be a chilling concept nearly everywhere, but not in the workshop of George Luhrs, a machinist in Shoreham, N.Y., with an affinity for the very small. Mr Luhrs has built a single-cylinder engine you could lose in a pocketful of nickels and dimes.

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Via Boing

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A proud supporter of Crusty the Clown's Telethon for Motion Sickness.

Keeps Getting Better...

Apple just announced via a promotional video some new features available on the iPhone. Is there anything this machine cannot do?

...to unveil a collection of new and unexpected iPhone features, including support for viewing Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel documents that have been sent via e-mail.

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Via Digg

Questions for Sunday

Dennis Diehl went to a Christian University and is a former pastor of 26 years, who outgrew the teachings of the bible. These are some great questions that every human should consider. Click the link below to read the full article:

Why does the Apostle Paul, who writes most of the New Testament, NEVER quote Jesus, tell a story of his life or death, discuss a miracle or teaching?

Did Paul ever spend five minutes with the real human Jesus?

Isn't it strange the man who writes most of the New Testament and tells us all how to live, think and believe about Jesus, never met him, while the Twelve who did, vanish into thin air and write nothing?

How come Jesus never wrote anything himself while alive, but then writes perfect Greek after he is dead in the form of the Book of Revelation?

If Herod killed all the little children under two to get at Jesus, who escaped, can we not say the little children had to die for Jesus before he died for them?

How could Mary leave town after being warned of Herod's intentions and never tell the women in the town, their kids were about to be butchered?

Do you think Mary thought, 'I know something you don't know,' as she left town?

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Via J

Flatiron Building (1910)

Click on the pic to see the full size:

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iPhone, tPhone; uPhone, wePhone

The world will forever be changed in six (6) days when Apple releases its new iPhone. Will we still need mobile phones, iPods, and laptops? A few years ago books, videos, and television were the only places to find information outside of museums. On June 29th, for a few hundred dollars we can have the Information Superhighway crammed up our asses everywhere we go.

I can remember August of 1995 when Windows 95 was being released! There were ads in Newspapers and people sleeping in front of the stores to plunk down their hard-earned money to own a copy. Will there be the same hysteria on June 27 for the iPhone?

To be honest, since I've been watching the commercials, I now want one too!!! Am I brainwashed by their marketing, or is it a cool product?

There is only one thing I do NOT like about it:

"To set up your iPhone, you'll need an account with Apple's iTunes Store."

How many different music accounts do I need?

The tPhone is a Chinese knock-0ff and it uses a T-Mobile chip which means any similar chip should work. I predict in twelve months every company will be coming out with a handheld "iPhone" type device. Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung, Sony... Then the price will start coming down.

Link to the tPhone video...

Via K

WTF?

Via B&P

Strippers are Salespeople Too

Ten (10) Interesting Sales and Marketing tips from the pros:

She knows she has to have a great product. If she put on 30 pounds or hadn’t showered for the past 4 days, she would likely not get as many customers. Regardless of how great of a salesperson you are, you can’t do much with a crappy product/service.

I've been saying that my whole life...

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Via Digg

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There is a $imple $cience to exploitation.

El Dorado - The City of Gold

New evidence shows that there was once a great empire that stretched across the Amazon Basin from Bolivia to Brazil. Pottery and archeology dating back 2000 years prove that the civilization was so advanced they actually transformed the earth they inhabited. Peacefully they existed for over a thousand years until the Europeans came in search of gold. The people who dominated this landscape for centuries disappeared in decades almost without leaving a trace.

But what they left behind is far more valuable than some crappy pyramids, or broken down coliseums. I watched this (49 minute) BBC Documentary video twice:

Via Ursi

Three Things

Then there was the soldier who was talking to Chelsea Clinton.

She asked him about fear.

He said there were only 3 things he was afraid of ....

....Osama, Obama, and Yo Mama.

Mexican White Boy

A little Mexican boy goes into the kitchen where his mom Is baking. He puts his hand in the flour and wipes it all over his face saying, "Mom look, I'm a white boy." His mom slaps him in the face and says, "Go show your father."

He goes to his dad in the living room and says, "Look dad, I'm a white boy." His dad slaps him hard in the face and says, "Go show your grandmother."

The boy goes in his grandmothers room and says, "Mira abuelita, I'm a white boy." His grandmother slaps him in the face and sends him back to his mother.

His mother says, "See. Did you learn anything from that?"

To which the boy replies, "Sure did. I have only been white for 5 minutes and I already don't like you Mexicans."

Finger Boarding

This guy literally has way too much time on his hands. It takes a few seconds for this video to load up, but it's worth it...

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Thanks Yawen

Urbanization of a Desert

The three NASA photos above are a clear display of how fast and how large the city of Dubai is spreading. Click the link below for a full description and the incredible Large Satellite Images:

The city of Dubai is home to more than 1.2 million people, and it is still growing rapidly. The city’s emergence as a major metropolis and tourist destination is evident in these images.

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Snowskiing in the Desert

The Burj al Arab building can be seen in the background. Click the link below to see all five pics of this enormous air-conditioned, snow skiing arena built in the sands of Dubai:

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For more detailed and accurate diagrams of all the superstructures being erected in Dubai click here.

Thanks Mom

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Best viewed on my computer.

Health Care Ranking

Houston is home of the Texas Medical Center, the largest medical center on planet Earth, yet Texas ranks almost last on a list of states' health system performance:

The top five states in order are Hawaii, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. The bottom five states are Nevada, Arkansas, Texas, Mississippi, and Oklahoma.

Link to the entire list.

Via NM

Will it Flop or Fly?

Cell phones are rude instruments always demanding your attention and affecting the way you drive. Considered a "communicator," combining the technology of a cell phone, Ipod, and WiFi capable computer for surfing the internet, the Apple iPhone has some mobile phone corporations shaking in their shoes...

On June 29th the Apple Corporation will have 3 million iPhones ready for sale at an introductory price of $499 (in addition to monthly phone charges). They are betting the new iPhone is going to be a hit. Only time will tell:

...the iPhone has the potential for adding a totally new, $10 billion-a-year business within just a few years. If Apple can expand so-called smartphones from a luxury carried by corporate road warriors into an everyday tool for the masses—combining the functions of a BlackBerry and an iPod—Apple could soon see a new growth tear.

Er, I think he meant to write, "tier."

Link

Via DI

The M81 Galaxy

As seen from the Hubble Telescope. Click on the pic for the impressive full size:

Via Digg

This Old House sucks

If you are interested in Real Estate, or if you have ever owned a home, you will love this Photo Gallery of Home Inspection Nightmares. If the crappy advertising comes up just click through it (there are more Galleries to the lower right):

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Via Boing

Basketball Robot in Taiwan

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Hurricane season is here. Loot peacefully.

Tallest Hotel Lobby

Click on the pic to see the full size:

Shanghai Grand Hyatt hotel occupies floors 53 to 87 of China's tallest building - and standing at the reception desk, you can look up approximately 115 meters to the top floor.

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Via Digg

Face-Plant Videos

The best thing about Face-Plant videos are that they happen real fast. Most are only 30 seconds or less. This collection of ten videos is hilarious and a little disturbing:

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Via LAT

Hotel Implosions

This awesome collection of (nine) videos will make you want to jump on a plane and go to Vegas. The first two times I visited Las Vegas in 1988 I stayed at the Sands Hotel and Casino and from what I can remember we had a really good time:

For decades, The Sands was the epitome of cool on the Strip. The Rat Pack performed together for the first time on the stage of the Copa Room while filming “Ocean’s Eleven” during the day. For over thirty years it was one of the most recognizable hotels in Vegas. It took less than 30 seconds for it to come crashing down on June 30, 1996 to make room for The Venetian.

I never liked the Venetian...

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Via C

Photo a Day

Here is an entire collection of people who have taken a picture of themselves everyday for years:

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Madness takes its toll. Please have exact change.

Bitchslapping...

Via: Flixya

Tunnel House

This cool-ass sculpture house was located very near my house on Montrose Blvd. It's not there anymore but this website has some great pics:

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Via UD

Fish Condo

Brutus is a Betta fish and he lives in a three-bedroom condo. I wonder if he financed the $85.00?

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Scraping the Earth

Now that is one big digging machine! Click on the pic to see the full size:

When in Rome...

Even the goddamn Pope is going green:

Pope Benedict XVI is to become the first pontiff to harness solar power to provide energy for the Vatican, engineers say.

I wonder if solar power will become affordable enough for everyone to use?

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Via J

Green Buildings

Buildings that generate their own power is an excellent idea (that I came up with a long time ago). I couldn't get enough of this article about The Top Ten Green Skyscrapers from around the world. Too bad there are no "green" buildings in Houston:

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"The dumber people think you are, the more surprised they're going to be when you kill them." - William Clayton

40 Tons Flying

The full story and additional pics are located at the link below:

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Via Digg

Tough Question

I don't know the whole story here so I will refrain from commenting. Click the link below to read the story yourself and watch a video clip of what happened at last night's Republican debate in New Hampshire. Apparently a reporter asked one of Guiliani's goons a question he didn't want to answer:

It was at this point that Lepacek, who was streaming a live report, asked a staff member about Giuliani's statement to Peter Jennings that he was told beforehand that the WTC buildings would collapse. Giuliani's press secretary then called over New Hampshire state police...

Hilarity ensues.

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Via Digg

What Do You Eat?

I could live for a week on $6.38 but the goddamn Namgay family of Shingkhey Village has me beat by a mile (Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03)! This online Time Magazine photo gallery about, "What the World Eats," is very interesting. Here's my grocery list for the week (excluding coffee):

Box of instant pancakes $2.00
Cheap maple syrup 1.38
Loaf of bread $1.50
Peanut butter 1.50
I drink water straight from the tap $0.00

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Via C

125 Miles Per Gallon

Toyota had better watch out or they are going to put the oil companies out of business. "The Future of Things," has an article along with a picture of the snappy new Prius with outrageous gas mileage:

The new model is based on advanced lithium iron phosphate battery which allows the hybrid car to travel up to a distance of 125 miles per gallon of fuel – making it possibly the most efficient mass-produced car in the world.

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Via Digg

Work For Sale

Mark Luthringer is a professional photographer in Northern California. I really like the layout of his website and the unusual suburban typologies he's created. This group (above) looks slightly similar to my collection of doors.

Go to the link below and click on "Ridgemont Typologies" to see many more of Mark's cool collections like Recreational Vehicles, Office Parks, Mall Rooflines, Tail Lights, and more:

Link

More on the Debate

Comedian Jon Stewart makes fun of the softball questions from CNN during the Democratic debate the other night:

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Link to my light take on the mixer.

Via NM

New Species of Frog Found

Colorful!

Scientists said Monday that they have discovered 24 new species of wildlife in the remote plateaus of eastern Suriname, including this frog with fluorescent purple markings discovered by Surinamese scientists Paul Ouboter and Jan Mol.
(AP Photo/Conservation International/Paul Ouboter)

Via DI

Never Forget...

It was less than twenty years ago today that the protests in Beijing ended in bloodshed. The participants were mostly young people and students, and although they were not unified, they only wanted peaceful dialogue with their government:

The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 were a series of demonstrations led by students, intellectuals, and labour activists in the People's Republic of China (PRC) between April 15, 1989 and June 5, 1989.

Following the violence, the government conducted widespread arrests to suppress protestors and their supporters, cracked down on other protests around China, banned the foreign press from the country and strictly controlled coverage of the events in the PRC press. Members of the Party who had publicly sympathized with the protesters were purged, with several high-ranking members placed under house arrest, such as General Secretary Zhao Ziyang.

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Link to Time article about the "The Unknown Rebel"

Thank you Yawen

Spoon Fed News

These screen shots of the Yahoo front page were taken today at the same time. Click on the pics to see the bigger view which includes today's date:
The Yahoo Telemundo version (from Mexico City) declares Osama Bin Laden to be, "Active, Alive, and Well." Which, of course we all knew...

The lead story for Yahoo USA is about a talking robot, which looks eerily similar to most people in Hollywood.

If Osama Bin Laden so EVIL shouldn't we be interested in finding him? I guess they thought the story is not newsworthy?

Link to the article on Yahoo Telemundo.

Mr. Invisible

It's nice to know that while innocent people are being killed for the sake of a lie, our VP is making a handsome profit! When the New York Times is purchased by Rupert Murdoch, insightful articles like this one will finally be silenced:

From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Cheney received “deferred salary payments” from Halliburton that far exceeded what taxpayers gave him. Mr. Cheney still holds hundreds of thousands of stock options that have ballooned by millions of dollars as Halliburton profited handsomely from the war in Iraq.

The taxpayers don't stand a chance! How can a politician be impartial when he is being paid off? In the New America it must be legal to accept bribes from corporations? When will our people realize that our country has been bought by Defense Contractors and sold to Halliburton in a no-bid contract?

I guess this is just another issue where I'm supposed to put my fingers in my ears and look the other way?

Link

Via Digg

Outsourcing Your Life

The Wall Street Journal Online has a long, and informative article (including links and graphics) on how to simplify your life by outsourcing small tasks to India, China, or Bangladesh:

They're also outsourcing some surprisingly small jobs, including getting a dress designed, creating address labels for wedding invitations or finding a good deal on a hotel room, for example.

Link

Via Digg

A Brilliant Strategy

I don't understand why everything has to be so negative? This guy is the chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party, Dennis Milligan. Do you think he's been brainwashed?

"At the end of the day, I believe fully the president is doing the right thing, and I think all we need is some attacks on American soil like we had on [Sept. 11, 2001]," Milligan said to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, "and the naysayers will come around very quickly to appreciate not only the commitment for President Bush, but the sacrifice that has been made by men and women to protect this country."

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Via DI

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“Like they say, politics is show business for ugly people.” - Susan DuQuesnay

Five Days Later...

She looks tired:

Ten-year-old Zainab Ali, a victim of a mini bus bomb explosion, look on in the Shiite-dominated neighborhood of Amil, Baghdad, Iraq, on Sunday, June 3, 2007. A parked minibus packed with explosives blew up in a busy section of central Baghdad,on Tuesday, May 29, 2007, killing 17 people and injuring 53 others. Zainab, was in her home the time of the blast and is one of many residents made homeless by the bomb attack. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

Via DI

Democratic Debate in New Hampshire

Red or blue? Some democracy! Sounds like a two-party system to me!

Welcome to democracy in the New America, where you are free to choose the brainwashed, war-loving, millionaire politician in the red corner, or the brainwashed, war-loving, millionaire politician in the blue corner (they love war because the Defense Contractors are secretly paying them Big Bucks).

Last night’s Democratic debate (mixer) included some well rehearsed, softball questions from some (not-so) random people. Social Security was never brought up and the poor were never mentioned (except when Sen. Edwards said, “We forgot to mention the poor.”).

Interestingly enough I saw plenty of stars in the room, but not a single American flag. Here is the impression I got from each candidate:

Dennis Kucinich - “I have goofy ears but have you seen my wife?” He didn’t say that but have you seen his wife? She’s got my vote for First Lady.

Joe Biden - “I was there!” “I’m angry and I love war!” “We should pull out of Iraq, make peace with Iran, and bomb China!” Okay, he didn’t say those last two parts but he was pretty mad!

John Edwards - “How do I look?” He didn’t say that but you could tell he was thinking it! He did say that we should, “Reestablish alliances around the world.” He mentioned the world a couple more times and kept talking about the “Moral Authority.” That's all I need! A politician preaching about Moral Authority. This dude admitted he was wrong (about supporting the war). I hope George was watching?

Hillary Clinton - “My husband, my husband, my husband…” I guess she forgot we impeached that ass-hat. In all fairness, when asked about what she would do if elected she said, “Bring the troops home.” Perfect political posturing. Slick Willy would be proud.

Barak Hussein Obama - “I’m the black John Kerry!” He didn’t say that, but he was the only person to say anything worthwhile on Health Care. It's a good thing no one asked him any details. This guy slipped and blurted out, "New global economy," at one point. It's a good thing no one asked him any details...

Governor Bill Richardson (New Mexico) – “Let’s smoke a joint and talk about it.” Yeah, he didn’t say that but he was thinking it! He actually seemed very grounded and locally minded and talked about education and the arts. A classic pot-head.

Sen. Chris Dodd - “I raised my hand!” He did say that but I think he was being funny. “Spending, spending, spending.” I don’t know what he was talking about but he kept saying the word over and over again. When asked what he would do if elected he said, “Restore Constitutional Rights.” Sounds like music to my ears. Too bad he’s a politician.

Senator Gravel - “Who are these people?” This guy has my vote.

Randomly Cool

This chick took a picture of herself everyday for over three-years and put them all in one trippy video:

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Baby Hedgehogs

I can't tell if it's ugly or cute? More images at the link:

These tiny newborn hedgehogs are proving a handful for carers at a rescue centre - after the mild weather triggered a string of early orphaned arrivals.

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Via J

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Democracy is an English word meaning, "Fairness for Sale."

The Corporation

Corporations are collections of people pulling in the same direction; to make the owner money at anyone's expense. Corporations buy governments and in turn do what the government tell them to do. This three-hour video documentary will open your eyes to how the world really works:

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Via TorT

I am the President

This is from the Dallas Morning News commenting on the war in Iraq:

But by all reports, President Bush is more convinced than ever of his righteousness.

Friends of his from Texas were shocked recently to find him nearly wild-eyed, thumping himself on the chest three times while he repeated "I am the president!" He also made it clear he was setting Iraq up so his successor could not get out of "our country's destiny."

Our country has a destiny? What the hell does that mean? I think the guy is losing his marbles!

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Via DI

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"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a man and a dog." - Mark Twain

Triumph Insults Nerds (Very Funny)

TRIUMPH AT THE OPENING OF STAR WARS II - The best bloopers are here

More Yemeni Music

This song by Yemeni artist Abo Baker Salem starts off a little scary but is actually not a bad song. It's got a nice beat to it:

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Camel Jumping

When in Yemen, do as the Yemeni. Go jump a camel!

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Link to Nader Bro's latest version of "Yemen Music" to put you in the mood.

Via UD

HTML Head

If you know HTML code then you are probably laughing your ass off at these sterling silver earrings. For everyone else, please excuse this bit of nerd humor.

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Via C