Category Archives: Lists

Lists/summaries of interesting news, articles, videos or photos.

Lists

Condensed knowledge for 2007-06-01

Here are the weekend-ready goodies:

  • MS releases the Surface touchscreen computer. Previously code-named Milan, this puppy is manipulated using our hands — no mouse, no keyboard. You might say, whoopee, these displays have been around for years. True, but this is the first time they’re coming to the mass market, and what sets this device apart is that it interacts automatically with other wireless devices. If you put your wireless camera on the Surface, it’ll know to download all of the photos from the camera, wirelessly. If you put your cellphone on it, and it’s got a wireless connection, you can then drag that same photo to your cellphone. Same thing with videos. The built-in, automatic interaction is really, really cool.
  • Have you heard about the MINI Cooper D? It’s a sweet little car! (I have the Cooper S myself, but I’m already drooling for the D). The revised model will get up to 72.4 mpg! Wow!
  • Xerox has developed paper that you can re-use up to 50 times. You can print on it using UV rays, but the characters will start to fade after 24 hours, and when they’re completely faded, you can use it again. Now that’s what I call recycling!
  • A completely innocent American was arrested, handcuffed to a pillar, his feet were chained, and he was interrogated by the Secret Service, all for trying to pay with legal, new $2 bills. The man went to Best Buy to pay an outstanding balance for a stereo installation on his son’s car (after the store promised him it would be free, but charged him regardless), and when he decided to pay it with $2 bills, the clerk called the police, who then took him into custody and interrogated him. What’s more, he was handcuffed inside the store, in full view of everyone! Here’s my take on this… First, I don’t like Best Buy, because their prices are always higher than Circuit City and CompUSA. Second, their employees are rude and haven’t got a clue about the technology they sell. Third, that pathetic cashier owes the man a huge apology. Fourth, that cop who hancuffed and arrested the man shouldn’t be on the force. His powers of judgment are obviously subpar and he has no common sense. And fifth, the excuse of the police spokesman, Bill Toohey, is absolutely inadequate: “It’s a sign that we’re a little nervous in a post 9/11 world.” Just what does a $2 bill have to do with 9/11? That was their apology to the man? That’s it?!
  • The Rattlebuster is a really cool CD that plays vibration-inducing sounds at certain frequencies, helping you pinpoint the annoying rattles and vibrations in your car’s interior. As a MINI owner who’s had a persistent rattle in his dashboard for the past four years, a rattle that countless trips to the dealership couldn’t resolve, I can safely say that every MINI dealership ought to make this product a standard part of their diagnostic procedures.
  • Richard Marcus wrote a really nice piece for BlogCritics detailing what happens to the water in our environment when all of the medications that we take pass from our bodies into the sewers, then into lakes and rivers. The effects of the metabolized drugs on wildlife are shocking, and do not bode well for us, either.
  • Want to know the top ten passwords people use? Have a look at this, and try not to use one of them yourself, eh?
  • It pays to know your photographer’s rights!
  • Steve Jobs and Bill Gates met on the same stage and talked publicly for the first time in decades. What’s more, they complimented each other! 🙂
  • This is why I think public education is getting to be rotten to the core. The public school system endorses events like the one where Joel Becker (irresponsible dolt extraordinaire) from UCLA speak their dirty minds. This dude actually advised kids as young as 12 years old to have sex, do drugs and masturbate… Kids were forced to attend this event by their school, and it was only months after the fact, when pressed repeatedly by parents for an explanation and apology, that they admitted the subject matter was inappropriate. I have to wonder, where is our responsibility as adults to educate our children properly? How can we let the school system continue to chip away at the values we try to instill in our kids? How screwed up is this world when a person as irresponsible as Joel Becker is not only allowed to hold a professorship at UCLA, but also allowed to expound on the virtues of sex and drugs to young, impressionable children?
  • Hey, look, Screaming Beans! 🙂
  • A new spoofing/phishing technique has been spotted in the wild, where some sort of DLL attaches itself to IE, and when people surf legitimate URLs (like their bank website or PayPal), they get asked for unusual extra, private information. This thing isn’t yet detectable by anti-virus/anti-spyware programs, so be sure to follow this story as it develops. And if you get asked some strange questions the next time you visit your bank’s site, don’t answer them, call the bank to verify why they need that information.
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Lists

Funny videos

Here’s the classic “Who’s on first?” routine from Abbot and Costello. Must-see comedy — still funny after all these years. It’s interesting to see how they distilled bits and pieces from their earlier routines into this.

Graham Chapman was part of that seminal group of British comedians known for “The Monty Python”, and other wonderful pieces of comedy. He died in 1989. Here is a segment from his funeral service. (Yes, it’s funny.)

Richard Pryor, on kids telling lies.

Have a look at how authorities respond to perceived terrorist threats in Australia. Not much different from the US, really.

Weird Al Yankovic’s “eBay” song, mashed up with a user-made video:

Here’s Bill Cosby on dentists (absolutely hilarious):

… and on natural childbirth:

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Lists

Great ads

I like to save great ads. I guess I’ve always been interested in cool advertising — the kind that gets the message across in a catchy, entertaining sort of way. Here are a few of my favorites. I’ll probably post more like these in the future.

This one’s for Ameriquest Mortgage. The title on YouTube is “I’m Her Daddy”.

This is a Women’s Health ad filmed in Australia and shown in Germany. A phone rings in a woman’s purse, and she… answers it.

This next ad is for the classic VW Beetle, and it’s from South Africa. Although very touching, the concept isn’t new, and is likely inspired by an old Disney cartoon. I have it at home, and I’ll try to look for the title.

A funny ad for L’Equipe, a French sports newspaper, actually asks parents to spend more time with their kids.

This next ad’s been making the rounds since last summer. It features a dancing midget. I can’t figure out what it’s advertising, but that dancing midget makes the ad really sticky. Just try and turn away while it’s playing… Overall, high on the weird factor.

This is an unfinished ad featuring 3D animated rabbits. It’s not in any language I know or understand, but I think it’s one of the Nordic languages. Great atmosphere, good warmth and the animation works very well.

Yes, I know, alcohol ads push alcohol, and that’s not cool, but this Bud Light ad is pretty funny. You’ll think the ending is predictable, but there’s a nice twist.

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Lists

Music videos

This is the original Jerry C video. For those of you who don’t know about it, he’s a teenager from Taiwan who plays the guitar. It goes without saying that he’s good, or else he wouldn’t have gotten over 20 million views. Judging by his later videos, he favors rock pieces, but fortunately (for him) he decided to play a classical piece in his initial video.

The wonderful combination of a classical score with a rock guitar struck a chord with people, and he became famous overnight. He’s gotten invited on TV shows, and also held concerts. If what I heard was right, he’s also been offered record deals. Here’s his official site.

Richard Hyung-Ki Joo and Aleksey Igudesman are a funny musical duo. They do stuff like this in their shows. Their site is here.

Flight of the Conchords is a New Zealand band that likes on-stage banter just as much as playing whimsical music.

Quinn Sullivan is a little boy that can play the guitar and sing. It’s funny to see him sing adult lyrics. I have to wonder if he knows what they mean.

The Yoshida brothers play the Shamisen, which is a traditional three-string Japanese instrument related to the guitar. But they play it very differently, and that’s what sets them apart. They’ve got a TV show appearance video here, but I prefer the more polished music video below.

This pan flute music video from the Andes, called “Espiritu Andino” is pretty cool.

The pan flute is also a traditional Romanian instrument, but the playing style differs there. Here’s one of the undisputed masters of the instrument from Romania, Gheorghe Zamfir, in concert.

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Lists

Condensed knowledge for 2007-05-14

Today’s calorie-free serving:

  • Clive Thompson from the NYT has a detailed write-up of what’s involved if small bands want to get their name out there these days. The almost-requisite MySpace page is a given… But while the web makes it easy for them to get their names out there, keeping up with the fans becomes a full-time computer job — just what they were trying to avoid when they became musicians. And at some point, the relationship reaches a plateau. A single human being can only keep up with a limited number of fans before they are overwhelmed. But the fans don’t care, they each want personal interaction. Sounds like a very non-fun experience for the musician.
  • Mandy Sellars in England suffers from a very rare condition called Proteus Syndrome. She will likely lose her legs. The article talks about her desire to experience life, and daily struggles.
  • This is good reading for us IT geeks: Top 7 things system administrators forget to do.
  • The NYT has a great profile of Walt Mossberg. The article not only talks about his career, but also about where things are going in terms of journalism when you factor in this “new media” we keep hearing about…
  • Mental_floss talks about the world’s most wanted (and expensive) poo. It’s ambergris. Yuck.
  • Look At This has posted a full-length movie called “When the Wind Blows“. It’s about an elderly couple who build a bomb shelter. When nuclear war breaks out, they survive, but unfortunately succumb to the fallout radiation while waiting for the government to help them. Here’s a direct link to the video.
  • According to this article, Bill O’Reilly uses old propaganda techniques to bias his listeners toward those he doesn’t agree with. Interesting stuff.
  • A pair of falcons has made their nest in the building of the San Jose City Hall, and they’ve installed a falcon cam for us web visitors. Neat!
  • Some charlatan who claims he’s Jesus Christ incarnate is fooling plenty of people down in Orlando. Don’t these people bother to read the Bible?
  • A brave little terrier saved 5 New Zealand kids from being torn up by violent pit bulls. Unfortunately it ended up so injured they needed to put him to sleep, but the children weren’t hurt.
  • Apparently ceiling height can affect how people think and act. A taller ceiling can make you more creative and artistic. Very interesting stuff!
  • Weirdomatic has a post with examples of old, creepy ads. I don’t know, Max Factor’s beauty micrometer seems reasonable enough, given the need to look fairly perfect on screen. Have a look and decide for yourselves.
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