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2012/03/04

Neatorama

Neatorama

Disability Assessment Office is Upstairs

Posted: 04 Mar 2012 03:49 AM PST

Does this make sense? In order to get a “blue badge,” the UK’s disabled parking permit, motorists must go to a disability assessment office. In Liverpool, England, that office is on the 13th floor of a parking garage. And the elevator only goes to the 11th floor! Applicants must climb two flights of stairs to reach the office. But after a complaint, officials say the office will be moved.

Liberal group leader Cllr Steve Radford, who received the complaint from a Tuebrook resident, said: "For the council to say it's not ideal must be the understatement of the century."

Graham Footer, of blue badge awareness group Disabled Motoring UK, said the situation was "absolutely unbelievable" but that he was glad "common sense had prevailed".

It is not yet known where the new assessment office will be located but the move is expected to be within the next four weeks.

A council spokesman said: "We recognise it's not the most satisfactory arrangement. We will be getting a ground floor office.

Link -via Arbroath

If Adventure Time Was a Video Game

Posted: 04 Mar 2012 12:49 AM PST

(Video Link)

If you love classic side scrollers and you love Adventure Time, then you’ll certainly appreciate this great intro for an imaginary Adventure Time game. I don’t know about you guys, but I desperately wish this was made into a real game  because it would be freaking awesome.

Via The Daily What

First World Dog Problems

Posted: 04 Mar 2012 12:46 AM PST

The first world problems meme might be a bit old right now, but first world dog problems is all new and seriously funny. Personally, I love the “I have to pee, but it’s raining outside,” as that’s what my dog does all the time.

Link

Mock Dr. Seuss Movie Posters

Posted: 04 Mar 2012 12:41 AM PST

If you’re hesitant to see the new Lorax movie because you worry it will completely compromise the integrity of the book, well, you’re probably right. But just in case you thought Dr. Seuss books couldn’t get any worse, io9 has a great series of fake titles that show just how bad things could get without too much more effort.

Link

Fascinating Pictures of Berlin’s Abandoned Amusement Park

Posted: 04 Mar 2012 12:31 AM PST


The decrepit Spreepark PlanterWald amusement park of Germany is located right in the heart of Berlin with practically no security barriers to keep out the public. As a result, many intrepid urban explorers have taken trips to the park, returning with stunning photo souvenirs. Dark Roasted Blend has a great collection of such images, along with a brief history about the park itself. If you like photography of abandoned places, don’t miss these images.

Link

This Kitty Really Needs a Smoke

Posted: 04 Mar 2012 12:20 AM PST

(Video Link)

It’s just so sad when they get addicted that young. I guess those ad campaigns really are targeted at minors.

Via Laughing Squid

Swaddling Baby Sloths

Posted: 03 Mar 2012 05:54 PM PST


(Video Link)

This baby sloth has mange, so his caregivers shave his body, butter it with a mixture of sulfur and lard, then swaddle him in strips of cloth. He’s one of 160 sloths at a facility in Costa Rica dedicated to creating a black hole of cuteness.

-via Geekosystem | Sanctuary Website

Robotic Fish Accepted by Real Fish as Leader

Posted: 03 Mar 2012 03:04 PM PST

Researchers at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University have created a robotic fish that have been accepted as leader by real fish:

The researchers designed their bio-inspired robotic fish to mimic the tail propulsion of a swimming fish, and conducted experiments at varying tail beat frequencies and flow speeds. In nature, fish positioned at the front of a school beat their tails with greater frequency, creating a wake in which their followers gather. The followers display a notably slower frequency of tail movement, leading researchers to believe that the followers are enjoying a hydrodynamic advantage from the leaders' efforts.

In an attempt to create a robotic leader, Marras and Porfiri placed their robot in a water tunnel with a golden shiner school. First, they allowed the robot to remain still, and unsurprisingly, the "dummy" fish attracted little attention. When the robot simulated the familiar tail movement of a leader fish, however, members of the school assumed the behavior patterns they exhibit in the wild, slowing their tails and following the robotic leader.

So it has begun: Link

New Roller Coaster Is So Fast That It Rips the Arms off of Crash Test Dummies

Posted: 03 Mar 2012 02:35 PM PST

Totally awesome or totally horrifying? The Swarm, a new roller coaster at Thorpe Park in London, is tearing up crash test dummies:

The self-described “flight through apocalyptic devastation on Europe’s tallest winged rollercoaster” propels up to 28 riders at a time with their arms and legs dangling freely at 62 miles per hour and includes trips through an inverted 127-foot drop and several close encounters with walled structures that are designed to make passengers feel like they are about to crash.

Even former fighter pilots find the coaster a bit much:

The ride’s designers ran some test runs with crash test dummies, leaving many shocked when the dummies returned from the experience missing arms and legs. A team of former British fighter pilots were then brought in as the coaster’s preparation neared completion. Mark Cutmore, team leader of the Blades, a stunt pilot organization, told the Metro: “I am a self-confessed adrenaline junkie, but even as a pilot used to G-force there were some gut-wrenching moments, and I have to admit the near miss element is eye-watering — you really do feel as if you are going to crash into the structures.”

Link -via The Agitator | Official Website | Photo: Rod Kirkpatrick

Human Skin Struck by Lightning

Posted: 03 Mar 2012 01:37 PM PST

It’s been a month since Winston Kemp was struck by lightning, but the pattern of the electrical discharge is still visible on his skin. This is a Lichtenberg figure — the branching pattern made by electricity. Kemp didn’t see a doctor at the time, but he feels fine, although he thinks that his skin will keep this awesome scar.

Link -via io9

Carrot Crescent Rolls

Posted: 03 Mar 2012 01:15 PM PST

Beth at Hungry Happenings made these ingenious snacks with canned crescent roll dough. She wrapped the dough around horn molds and painted them with orange food coloring. After she baked them, she removed the molds, stuffed the rolls with egg and ham salad, and then topped them with springs of dill. From a distance, they really do look like carrots.

Link -via Tasteologie

Melted Mirror Balls

Posted: 03 Mar 2012 01:09 PM PST

These groovy mirror balls were made by a Rotterdam-based art collective named Rotganzen. After a long night of spinning around at the disco, here they are relaxing on the floor.

Link (Google Translate) -via Walyou | Artists’ Website

The IKEA House

Posted: 03 Mar 2012 01:04 PM PST

If you love IKEA so much that you want to live in one, your dream is about to come true. Soon you can buy an IKEA house:

The Swedish company hasn’t begun renting out its showrooms just yet, but it has partnered with Oregon architectural firm Ideabox to launch a line of prefabricated homes. Dubbed “aktiv,” the one-bedroom homes will be decked out entirely in hip IKEA decor. Expected to sell at $86,500, the homes are “Swedish inspired” and “full of personality,” according to the Ideabox website.

Don't worry, you won't have to put the house together with Allen wrenches - it comes already assembled: Link

SpeechJammer Stops People From Talking

Posted: 03 Mar 2012 12:05 PM PST

You've got a cell phone jammer to jam those annoying people who talk loudly on their cell phones, but what about real life yakkers?

Enter Japan and this diabolical - or genius, your pick - invention of the SpeechJammer:

The design of the device is deceptively simple. It consists of a direction-sensitive microphone and a direction-sensitive speaker, a motherboard, a distance sensor and some relatively straightforward code. The concept is simple, too — it operates on the well-studied principle of delayed auditory feedback. By playing someone’s voice back to them, at a slight delay (around 200 milliseconds), you can jam a person’s speech.

Geeta Dayal of Wired has the story: Link | YouTube clip

The Gray Divorce Revolution

Posted: 03 Mar 2012 11:03 AM PST

Divorce rate in the United States is actually on the slight decline, except for one noteable segment of the population: people ages 50 and older.

Divorce rate for baby boomers has doubled over the past two decades, and the phenomenon, dubbed the "Gray Divorce" by sociologists Susan Brown and I-Fen Lin of Bowling Green State University, has got experts scratching their heads:

So what is going on with these baby boomers? Are they finally seeking adventure, now that their kids are out of the house? Are the women exacting their revenge, at last, against the feminine mystique?

The trend defies any simple explanation, but it springs at least in part from boomers' status as the first generation to enter into marriage with goals largely focused on self-fulfillment. As they look around their empty nests and toward decades more of healthy life, they are increasingly deciding that they've done their parental duty and now want out. These decisions are changing not just the portrait of aging people in the U.S., as boomers swell the ranks of the elderly, but also the meaning of the traditional vow to stay together until "death do us part."

Susan Gregory Thomas wrote this intriguing article over at The Wall Street Journal: Link (Photo: John Kuczala/Wall Street Journal)

World’s Largest Human Mattress Dominoes Record Toppled!

Posted: 03 Mar 2012 09:03 AM PST

The world record for largest human mattress dominoes has been broken: you now have to assemble and then topple over 850 humans to claim the title World's Largest Human Mattress Dominoes. Aren't you glad that you're alive to see history being made?

Hit play or go to Link [YouTube]

Martin Luther Insult Generator

Posted: 03 Mar 2012 07:21 AM PST

“You are like mouse-dropping in the pepper.” I couldn’t agree more. The Sixteenth Century German theologian Martin Luther has a lot to say to you, it’s all bad, and you deserve it. Click on the link to begin the tirade from Luther’s collected works.

Link -via @BrainPicker | Image via CTSWyneke
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