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2011/09/04

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The Unseen Sea

Posted: 04 Sep 2011 12:24 AM PDT

The Unseen Sea is a lovely time-lapse video of the (foggy) skies over the San Francisco Bay Area, shot over one year by Simon Christen.

Simply marvelous! Hit play or go to Link [Vimeo] – via bb-blog

At the Age of 61, Man Returns to College Football

Posted: 03 Sep 2011 08:08 PM PDT

When he was 18, Alan Moore played college football for a year before leaving school to serve with the US Army in Vietnam. When he got back, Moore got a job, got married, and eventually had three children and five grandchildren. He never stopped dreaming of football. Now he’s back, 43 years later. Moore is now a student and a football player at Faulkner University, a small college in Montgomery, Alabama:

Eagles Head Coach Gregg Baker says Moore “got on me the first couple times we talked, because I kept calling him, ‘Yes sir.’ And he said, ‘Coach, you’re not supposed to call me “yes. I’m supposed to call you ‘Yes, sir.”‘[...]

Says Baker, “Alan came to us back in the spring and said, ‘My story is showing these kids there’s no reason to give up on your dreams, and there’s no reason not to continue trying to get your education.”

Moore lives in the dorms, eats in the cafeteria and attends class, proving, observes “Early Show on Saturday Morning” co-anchor Russ Mitchell, he has the mind, the heart and foot to compete with players young enough to be his grandchildren.

Video at the link.

Link -via First Things | Photo: Yahoo! Sports

Parkmobile: Park-in-a-Dumpster in San Francisco

Posted: 03 Sep 2011 02:32 PM PDT


Photo: Mark Boster/LA Times

Drivers looking for parking space are going to be dismayed, but the many San Francisco residents are enjoying this clever idea, a tiny "parkmobile" made from modified dumpsters:

The two bright-red dumpsters, 16 feet long by nearly 6 feet wide and filled with greenery, have been placed in a busy downtown neighborhood where they throw a little shade, elicit regular double-takes and fill curbside spots that otherwise would go to cars.

The grandly named "parkmobiles" were rolled out earlier this summer, the first in a fleet of itinerant oases in one of America's densest cities.

"The more crowded a city is, the more new ideas come squeezing out of the ferment in a combination of need and opportunity," said Peter Harnik, director of the Center for City Park Excellence at the Trust for Public Land. "New York and San Francisco are two of the most innovative places."

Not everyone's into the it, though:

When parking spots began turning into parkland, retailers and drivers groused: "So where do we put the cars?" Those who advocate for more green space in the city worried that the miniatures would replace traditional parks. Even former Mayor Willie L. Brown Jr. got into the fray, deriding in a recent newspaper column the "overgrown flower boxes" that he said were a magnet for the homeless.

"The first one I came across had obviously been used as a bathroom," Hizzoner carped. "The second one I visited, a guy and gal were 'socializing' in the bushes."

Link

I, For One, Welcome Our New Demon Bat Overlords

Posted: 03 Sep 2011 01:31 PM PDT


Image: HNHM/Fauna & Flora International

Meet Murina beelzebub, a newly discovered bat species from the tropical forests of Vietnam. And why yes, it is named after the Lord of the Underworld:

The etymology of the species is explained in the Journal of Mammalogy, in which the citation appears: “Beelzebub commonly appears as a high ranking personality of the underworld in Christian texts, in both Old and New testaments, although one of the presumed original meanings of the name is ‘Lord of the Flies’.” Dr Gabor Csorba of the HNHM further clarifies, “We chose the name Beelzebub to reflect the dark ‘diabolic’ colouration of the new species and its fierce protective behaviour in the field.”

Link - via Wired

See also: Satanic Gecko and Prehistoric Giant Frong Named After the Devil

Travel Guide to 10 Fictional Worlds

Posted: 03 Sep 2011 12:30 PM PDT

Where would you live, if you can live in any fictional universe? Joel Meares of Wired posted this entertaining guide to living life in 10 fictional worlds, from the hellish pit of despair that is Sodor (from Thomas the Train - my 3 year old would heartily disagree with this choice) and the most habitable place of Catan.

I'd personally pick Risa, but sadly it's not listed.

Link

Steampunk Barbershop Vocal Group

Posted: 03 Sep 2011 10:43 AM PDT


(Video Link)

Brass Farthing is a barbershop harmony vocal group that performs in steampunk-style costumes, including aviator goggles and copious amounts of the color brown. Here they are performing a song about a rascally trombonist who seduces the narrator’s wife.

Official Website -via Make

Death in the Workplace

Posted: 03 Sep 2011 08:43 AM PDT

If you are a supervisor in your workplace and you die at work, there is a 10% chance that it was murder. If you’re not in management, the chances of your case being a murder drops to 7%. Gizmodo crunched the statistics on the 4,547 American workplace deaths in 2010 and found some other interesting tidbits:

Overall, “Transportation and material moving occupations”—people who work operating vehicles—dominated the death list, with 1,115 killed on the job. Only seven percent of them were murdered.

The 45-54 year-old bracket made up the plurality of deaths, with a full quarter. 16% of them plummeted to their demises.

The deadliest state to work in? Texas, with 456 fatalities. The safest? New Hampshire, with only 5. West Virginia won the explosion death contest, with 34—likely from all that coal mining, which is extremely dangerous and explosion-prone.

Happy Labor Day! Link -via the Presurfer

Pickle Finger

Posted: 03 Sep 2011 08:21 AM PDT

Pickle Finger – $0.95

Are you on the lookout for a new Finger Puppet to taunt hungry coworkers with? You need the deliciously strange Pickle Finger from the NeatoShop.  This great rubber finger puppet is shaped like a pickle.

Pickle Fingers are sold per piece.  Be sure to buy 5 to get a complete hand’s worth.

Don’t forget to check out the NeatoShop for more fantastic Gag Gifts & Pranks!

Link

Rope Sculptures

Posted: 03 Sep 2011 07:24 AM PDT

Mozart Guerra is a Brazillian-born, Paris-stationed artist with previous experience as a set designer. Using nylon rope and styrofoam, he builds surrealistic sculptures of candy-striped skulls, smoking monkeys, and geisha. Much more beautiful than my sisal rope basket.

Link -via Beautiful Decay

Homeowner Flies over Own House, Notices Thieves Breaking in

Posted: 03 Sep 2011 06:36 AM PDT


(Video Link)

David Hudson of Jonesboro, Arkansas, took his friend Steve Lynn for a ride in his airplane. Lynn wanted to see what his house looked like from the sky, so Hudson flew there. While looking down, they noticed that people were loading items from Lynn’s home into a truck. They had spotted a burglary in progress.

Hudson and Lynn immediately contacted the police. The burglars tried to get away, so from the air, Hudson and Lynn gave the police turn by turn directions that led them directly to the suspects.

Link -via Ace of Spades HQ

Official Regulations for Hunting Yetis

Posted: 03 Sep 2011 06:24 AM PDT

What are the rules for hunting the Abominable Snowman? The government of Nepal was very clear about what people on mountain climbing expeditions should do if they encounter a Yeti. In 1959, Ernest H. Fisk, counselor of the US embassy in Kathmandu, summarized the rules for American travelers in Nepal. You can read the full memo at the US National Archives.

Link -via Say Uncle

This Week at Neatorama

Posted: 03 Sep 2011 06:03 AM PDT

Labor Day weekend, the traditional time to say goodbye to summer. The holiday is a day of tribute to the working people who built our country and who continue to make things run. Let’s also remember so many who want to work, who need jobs when the jobs just aren’t there right now. If you work and have Labor Day off, you may need some reading material to relax with between activities, and we have them here at Neatorama!

Stacy Conradt brought us the stories of Six Celebrities and their Alter Egos.

Jill Harness rounded up a bunch of Smurfingly Smurftastic Facts About The Smurfs.

Eddie Deezen contributed some timely trivia in 11 Facts You May Not Know About Jerry Lewis.

Now Hear This: Radio War Propagandists was our post this week from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader.

From the Annals of Improbable Research, we saw Mankiw's Ten Principles of Economics, Translated.

The Political Hot Potato was the latest from mental_floss magazine.

Every once in a great while, our readers contribute something so neat in the comments that we have to post it to make sure everyone sees it. That happened this week when Stubb filled us in on Pattern Baldness in Russian Leadership.

The Star Wars Lightsaber Mini Hunt popped up suddenly, to give some Neatoramanaut a Darth Vader Force FX Lightsaber from Habro! That contest is still open, so check it out.

In the What Is It? game this week, the object pictured is an ice chipper. Craig Clayton was the first of many with the correct answer, so he wins a t-shirt from the NeatoShop. The funniest answer came from Maxx McIlhargey, who said it was a toothpick for crocodiles, used by wildlife conservationists to get the drug runner bones from between the crocodile's teeth from a distance. He did not select a shirt.

It’s a long holiday weekend, so after you catch up on these posts, you may want to browse through The Best of Neatorama, where we have feature article going back six years! Happy Labor Day, everyone!
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