Lego pirate video

Here we have a very cool Lego pirate video. It was done with computer graphics rather than stop motion but is still worth watching.

A pop-up urinal

This blog post is about some new urinals in Victoria, BC that rise up out the ground in the evening and then hide away again in the day. There are some photos.

I was in Victoria this summer but didn't notice any vanishing urinals.

via slashdot

A Wing Chun video

In Wing Chun Kung Fu we do an exercise called chi sau. I have tried to explain this exercise to people several times without success and it can't easily be demonstrated by one person. In future I can point people to this video on youtube.

This still probably isn't the best video as both people have quite high skill levels but I think my readers will get the general idea. The person on the right in the video is Augustine Fong. He is my teacher's teacher.

Print your own graph paper

pdfpad.com will let you print your own calendars as well as various types of graph paper. They basically let you download a PDF file. They also have sudoko puzzles.

New Lego gadget

Here we have an ice cube tray that makes ice cubes shaped like Lego blocks. I don't know if you can build things with the ice cubes or not though.

Risk perception

Bruce Schneier links to a Los Angelos Times article on the perception of risk. Among other things the article compares the risks from terrorism, which are very low but very worrying, to the risks of global warming, which are high but not upsetting.

Schneier's post about the article includes the amusing quote:

Many people believe that their children are at risk of being given poisoned candy by strangers at Halloween, even though there has been no documented case of this ever happening.

via slashdot

Sidewalk art

A great picture of some sidewalk art.

Surviving an air crash

The BBC has an article about surviving air crashes. Interestingly, a common problem is that panicked passengers often have trouble releasing their seatbelts as they try to push on them, as in a car, rather than pulling on the handle.

A view of the earth

Continuing the space theme, we have another picture from Astronomy Picture of the Day. This one shows the earth as seen from Saturn.

The world at night

Astronomy picture of the day has a composite photo of the earth at night. It is interesting to compare areas that are brightly lit with those that are dark. Notice North Korea - the black area to the east of Japan above brightly lit South Korea.

Would it have worked?

The Register has an article about how hard it would have been to mix an explosive out of liquids carried on a plane. I liked the part about taking several hours to combine the chemicals drop by drop.

Of course I still can't take a bottle of water on a plane.

via slashdot

A talking postcard

I'm not really sure what to do with this site but it is a great timewaster. It basically lets you drag and drop words that are then spoken in a British gangster style voice.

Official seal

Courtesy of the Official Seal Generator, this blog now has a seal. Now I just have to figure out what to do with it.

Camels

Snopes has an article on an amazing picture from National Geographic that shows a group of camels in the desert. Note that what you first think are the camels are really their shadows.

What the terrorists want

Computer security guru Bruce Sneier has an article about the reaction, or over reaction, to recent terrorist attacks.

We are fitter than our grandparents

The New York Times has an article comparing the health of present day Americans and their grandparents. In addition to living longer, people today are larger, fitter and much less likely to be chronically ill.

via slashdot

Robot kayaks

Robot Gossip has an article (with a picture) about a new robotic kayak developed by MIT as a testbed for aquatic robots.

Fan death

According to this article on Wikipedia, people in Korea believe that it is dangerous to sleep in a room with a running electric fan. There are regular reports in the Korean media of people dying from fan death.

Strangely these deaths only seem to occur in Korea and most people outside Korea consider the idea to be somewhat ridiculous. This makes me wonder if there are any similar things that we in the West believe that are laughed at elsewhere.

Fake Identities

This site offers a "False Identity Generator". It is mainly intended for use on website registration pages. It returns a valued, though not necessarily existing address, as well as an appropriate zip code and phone number. It also provides a birthdate and mother's maiden name.

An interesting web comic

Gunnerkrigg Court is a web comic with excellent art and interesting stories. Don't let the vaguely Harry Potter-esque setting put you off.