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2016/04/22

Neatorama

Neatorama

Florida's Dragon Problem

Posted: 22 Apr 2016 04:00 AM PDT

(Photo: Malcolm Manners)

Arkive describes the Nile monitor:

The Nile monitor (Varanus niloticus) is not only Africa’s largest lizard but also one of the continent’s most voracious predators (3). Stout-bodied and powerful, this formidable reptile has an elongated snake-like head, sharp claws, and a long, compressed tail which it uses to great effect when under threat (3) (4) (5).

These dangerous predators can grow up to 2 meters long. So, naturally, people want to keep them as pets.

Wildlife experts in the United States are worried. They're looking at Florida, the Australia of America, which is already packed with animals that want to kill you, including alligators, snakes, and spiders. It's also the adopted home of many invasive species, such as cane toads and Burmese pythons.

Florida is prime real estate for invasive reptiles and amphibians. And pet Nile monitors, should they ever escape or be set free by terrified owners, would like the place. Then they could sweep across the United States. Ed Yong of The Atlantic talked to biology doctoral student Stephanie Dowell:

It can survive through the cold and frosty winters of southern Africa by hibernating. If it got into the U.S., Dowell’s simulations predict that it could make itself comfortable across the eastern and western seaboards, especially if the climate continues to warm.

“If, for example, we decided to crack down on the trade in West Africa, and the exploitation shifted to south Africa, that lineage could spread very quickly,” says Hekkala. “Its invasiveness is much greater. It is so pre-adapted to the North American climate that it could spread almost to Chicago, even without climate change.”

-via Dave Barry

Ride A Shooting Star - Like A Little Pink Ball Made Of Pure Magic

Posted: 22 Apr 2016 02:00 AM PDT


Ride A Shooting Star by FortuneCake

So you wanna learn to ride a shooting star? Well you'd better make sure you're feeling light on your feet that day because shuttling along at a hundred miles an hour on a star ain't as easy as Kirby makes it look. That little superstar can do things we can only dream about, and it doesn't matter how full he is when he steps onto that star because ring-a-ding-ding, that little pink thing can really fly, baby!

Send geeky spirits soaring with this Ride A Shooting Star t-shirt by FortuneCake, it's the ultimate way to show the world that Kirby really makes you swoon!

Visit FortuneCake's Facebook fan page, official website, Twitter and Tumblr, then head on over to his NeatoShop for more high flying designs:

Mario's Vault
To Judge And Punish
PonderingThe Freak Returns

View more designs by FortuneCake | More Video Game T-shirts | New T-Shirts

Are you a professional illustrator or T-shirt designer? Let's chat! Sell your designs on the NeatoShop and get featured in front of tons of potential new fans on Neatorama!

He-Wars: Knights of the Galaxy

Posted: 22 Apr 2016 02:00 AM PDT

Artist and Star Wars fan Sillof is back with a new line of custom action figures! His latest project is a series of figures that illustrate the connection between Star Wars and Masters of the Universe.

Most kids, myself included, did not realize at that time that the Masters of the Universe was essentially a mash up of Conan the Barbarian and Star Wars with some of the style of Frank Frazetta and elements of Flash Gordon (of course Star Wars already owed much to that universe as seen here.)  This line is intended as a commentary on the similarities of both toy universes.   This in not a mash up or intended be “Look at this character dressed as that character”.    Rather, it imagines a world in which the similarities are extended to place the Star Wars archetypes inside the Masters of the Universe world.    

Get a closer look at all the figures at Silo’s site.

And see previous projects by Sillof.

Clever Music Video Designed Specifically to Be Viewed Vertically on a Smartphone

Posted: 22 Apr 2016 12:00 AM PDT


(Video Link)

I watched this video on both my desktop computer and a smartphone. The difference is striking. When played on my iPhone, this music video appears to hijack the phone, taking over its utilities and interface to illustrate the song. It's especially surreal at 2 minutes in, when a human finger appears and interacts with the phone.

This is "Run and Run," a new music video by the J-Pop girl group Lyrical School. The song itself is vibrant, but it's the video that makes it so arresting.

The above video link is for YouTube. You can also watch it on Vimeo.

-via Spoon & Tamago

The Victorians Who Flew As High As Jumbo Jets

Posted: 21 Apr 2016 11:00 PM PDT

Scientist James Glaisher and balloonist Henry Coxwell took a trip in a balloon on September 5, 1862. More than just the thrill of travel, Glaisher wanted to explore the upper atmosphere to determine how weather phenomena developed. While most aeronauts stayed within sight of the ground, he wanted to fly higher than ever. But no one knew what conditions were like miles above the earth. It almost cost him his life.

As they rose beyond five miles, however, the temperature dropped below -20C, and he began to notice difficulties with his vision. “I could not see the fine column of the mercury in the wet-bulb thermometer; nor the hands of the watch, nor the fine divisions on any instrument.” Clearly, they needed to descend – yet the balloon’s valve-line had become entangled in the other ropes. Coxwell had to climb out of the basket to release it, but while he was dangerously clambering among the rigging, Glaisher was slowly losing consciousness.   

Glaisher and Cowell survived that flight, although not all of the experimental pigeons they took with them did. Read the story of how Glaisher went to an estimated altitude of 37,000 feet in an open balloon at BBC Future. -via Digg

Study: Circumcision Does Not Reduce Sensitivity of the Penis

Posted: 21 Apr 2016 10:00 PM PDT


(Photo: Jason Hutchens)

Routine infant circumcision used to be the norm in the United States. In the 1960s, about 83% of newborn boys were circumcised. That's fallen to about 24% as of two years ago.

One of the arguments against infant circumcision (and the practice in general) is that removing the foreskin reduces the sexual sensitivity of the penis. It thus directly impacts the pleasure of sex for men.

But now a study of men who were circumcised as babies finds that circumcision does not lead to significantly reduced penile sensitivity. Nicholas Bakalar writes for the New York Times:

The scientists tested the men for tactile and heat sensitivity of the penis at four points: the midline shaft, the area next to the midline, the glans and, for the uncircumcised, the foreskin. As a control, they also tested a site on the inside of the forearm.

Uncircumcised and circumcised men did not differ in sensitivity to touch or temperature at any of the four sites tested, and sensitivity at the forearm was lower than any penile site for both groups. [...]

“Neonatal circumcision doesn’t make the penis less sensitive,” said a co-author of the study, Caroline F. Pukall, a professor of psychology at Queen’s University in Ontario. “We can conclude that there are no significant differences in sensitivity between the circumcised and uncircumcised groups.”

-via Glenn Reynolds

Purple Prince Tributes

Posted: 21 Apr 2016 09:00 PM PDT

Tributes are lighting up all over the U.S. tonight in honor of Prince, who died this morning at age 57. The city of Minneapolis and the state of Minnesota in particular are mourning their homegrown music star.

Google responded quickly with a doodle in purple, with purple rain falling in the background. See a roundup of the many purple places at Buzzfeed.

Drive-In Tracks Turn Cars into Snowmobiles

Posted: 21 Apr 2016 08:00 PM PDT

It's called Track N Go. AD Biovin, a company that manufactures snowmobiles and related equipment, developed the system. It converts 4-wheeled drive vehicles, such as conventional trucks and SUVs, into tracked vehicles that go over and through snow as easily as snomobiles.

The company says that the installation takes only 15 minutes. Just drive into one set of tracks, then the other. Secure them to the truck with chains, attach the track tensioner to the wheels, and flip in the snow deflectors. The motion of the wheels drives the tracks.

-via Gizmodo

Polaroids From Original "Rocky Horror" Set Found On Subway Platform

Posted: 21 Apr 2016 07:00 PM PDT

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is one of the most beloved musicals of all time, especially to those who like shows with a little more bite, but when the iconic movie came out in 1975 it was overlooked by critics.

However, everyone who worked on the production knew it was pure magic, and all the fun taking place on the set and behind the scenes was captured on a series of now historic Polaroid photos.

 

These precious Polaroids (original photographer unknown) were used in The Rocky Horror Scrapbook then later purchased from a private collection by Larry Viezel.

Trouble is, a few of them fell out of Larry's bag at a New York City subway platform back in 2011, and could have been lost forever if a guy named Brady Marter hadn't shared them on Collectors Weekly:

Founds these on the platform of the C train in TriBeCa in 2011. They are photos of Tim Curry and the cast of Rocky Horror during the making of the film. Some have writing on the back and Frankenfurter kissed the back of one.

Larry commented on Brady's post and was able to convince him to return all but one of the Polaroids, a small price to pay to make this irreplaceable collection whole again.

Read Man Finds Vintage Polaroids From The Set Of "Rocky Horror" On NYC Subway here

When Did "a Thing" Become a Thing?

Posted: 21 Apr 2016 06:00 PM PDT

Lots of things are things now. For example, micro braids for hair are now a thing. At a certain point in time, they transitioned from not a thing to a thing.

But when did a thing become a thing? That is: when did it become popular to describe an emerging, popular trend as "a thing"? Alexander Stern writes at the New York Times:

Speakers and writers of American English have recently taken to identifying a staggering and constantly changing array of trends, events, memes, products, lifestyle choices and phenomena of nearly every kind with a single label — a thing. In conversation, mention of a surprising fad, behavior or event is now often met with the question, “Is that actually a thing?” Or “When did that become a thing?” Or “How is that even a thing?” Calling something “a thing” is, in this sense, itself a thing.

The linguists at Penn State's Language Log have been able to trace the expression back to 2002:

I don't have time this morning for a serious search, but on a quick scan, the first possible example that I've found is in a web forum query from November of 2002:

What actually 'is' a flame?  is it the em radiation emitted by burning gas? Or what? Is a flame actually a 'thing'.

Anything can become a thing. But, specifically, what things would you like to see become things?

-via Ace of Spades HQ

20 Beautiful Outdoor Stone Fireplace Designs

Posted: 21 Apr 2016 05:00 PM PDT

An outdoor fireplace is akin to what we once called “barbecue pits” (or even “bonfires”) except that they are sturdy and attractive and make your neighbors jealous -unless the reason you got one is because the neighbors already did. If you have the money to spend, you can make your backyard an elegant and inviting place with something like this lovely outdoor living room. Kitchen, too -notice the grill to the left of the fireplace. This is just one of 20 outdoor fireplaces that will make you hunger to live outdoors that you can see at Housely.

Baby Tortoise Uses Its Egg as a Shell

Posted: 21 Apr 2016 04:00 PM PDT


(Video Link)

The little fella still hasn't left his egg shell. Instead, he's carrying it around as extra armor around his own shell. It's sturdy and fashionable.

-via Nothing to Do with Aborath

TR-8R - Shining Despite The Shade They Be Throwin' His Way

Posted: 21 Apr 2016 03:00 PM PDT


TR-8R by Nertee Designs

He made his choice on the battlefield that day, but the former trooper now designated TR-8R knew the Empire was full of haters and that they were gonna hate. But their hating didn't faze him, because he knew he was born for bigger things, so he simply slipped off his helmet and walked away from the Imperial assault like a total boss. Of course, his actual boss Captain Phasma wasn't feeling his rebel stroll, so she started blasting him with shade on the intergalactic social media streams, claiming he'd been fired by the big man Kylo Ren himself. TR-8R fired back, claiming Phasma used illegal Jawas to keep her armor so shiny, and a new kind of war began on Instargram...

Show the world you're mighty comfortable with the skin you're in with this TR-8R t-shirt by Nertee Designs, it's the perfect attire whether you're heading to the movies or staying in your quarters to watch the original trilogy.

Visit Nertee Designs's Facebook fan page, then head on over to his NeatoShop for more mighty geeky designs:

Crichton PropagandaInner DarknessLink WarsViva La Imp

View more designs by Nertee Designs| More Funny T-shirts | New T-Shirts

Are you a professional illustrator or T-shirt designer? Let's chat! Sell your designs on the NeatoShop and get featured in front of tons of potential new fans on Neatorama!

The Real Meaning Behind Popular IKEA Product Names

Posted: 21 Apr 2016 03:00 PM PDT

The names IKEA uses for their products may seem strange, and the direct translations may be a bit off at times, but most IKEA names are perfectly appropriate for the product.

Take the BILLY bookcase and ELLY kitchen tea towels for example- the designs are supposed to be youthful and whimsical, so they were given popular names for kids.

The DUKTIG line translates to “capable”, which is how kids feel when they play with the tiny kitchen set, and this colorful plastic dinnerware below is appropriately named KALAS, the Swedish word for “party”.

See The Meaning Behind All Your Favorite IKEA Products' Names here

Player Two

Posted: 21 Apr 2016 02:00 PM PDT

(vimeo link)

John Wikstrøm saw a YouTube comment that particularly touched him, and felt compelled to make a video out of the story. It’s less than two minutes long, how touching can it be? You might want to bring a handkerchief, because a big story can be told in a small number of words. -via Geeks Are Sexy  

 

Picard/Riker 2016

Posted: 21 Apr 2016 01:00 PM PDT

As a Starfleet veteran, Twitter user @LibrarianShipwreck sometimes wears a Next Generation-era communicator badge shaped like the Starfleet insignia. Her patriotism got her into some trouble at the polls.

-via Billy Hoya

R.I.P. Prince

Posted: 21 Apr 2016 12:00 PM PDT

Prince Rogers Nelson, known for most of his life as Prince, died this morning at his Paisley Park home in Chanhassen, Minnesota. According to a representative, he had been battling the flu, and his plane had to make an emergency landing last week due to his illness.

One of the most iconic musicians in music history, Prince's extensive career grew out of the music scene of his native Minneapolis, where he lived his entire life. His 1978 debut album For You and self-titled second LP, released in October 1979, kicked off an incredibly prolific run of albums that included 1999, Purple Rain, Around The World In A Day, Sign O The Times and Batman, among others, throughout the 1980s at a clip of nearly one per year, evolving with each release.

It was 1984's Purple Rain -- his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 -- released in conjunction with the film of the same name, that cemented him as one of the greatest artists of his generation, earning him two Grammys, and Oscar and a victory over Michael Jackson's Thriller for Favorite Pop/Rock Album at the 1985 American Music Awards. Along the way, he worked with several bands under a series of pseudonyms, including The Time, the New Power Generation and The Revolution, as both frontman and producer.

Prince was 57. -via Uproxx

(Image credit: penner)

Artist Adds Cartoon Monsters To Images Of Everyday Life

Posted: 21 Apr 2016 11:00 AM PDT

Your world may already be full of colorful characters and terrifying monsters, and depending on where you live these critters may make great subjects for photos, if they'll stand still long enough to take a pic.

But if your town/village/city is relatively critter free congratulations on living in a good place! And enjoy these images by animator Jasper StAubyn West that show what living in a literal world full of monsters would look like.

Jasper created these monsterrific images as part of a “doodle a day” project for the month of March, and here's hoping he brings them back soon because they totally rock!

See more images from this fun series at design you trust

What It’s Like to Write for Reality TV

Posted: 21 Apr 2016 10:00 AM PDT

Reality TV started to take over when producers realized they could save lots of money on actors and still draw an audience. That doesn’t mean the show doesn’t need writers. Jean Burnet worked as a writer for reality TV for a few years, and gives us a little insight into how a narrative story is assembled from hours of reality footage. She uses an example from the show Rural Cops, in which a call comes in about a wild lynx in a neighborhood.

This is what actually happened: The cop drives up to a man, who directs him down the icy road to the family who reported the lynx. Right away, you can see on camera that the lynx appears to be injured in the snow, maybe 100 yards away. The discarded carcass of a half-eaten rabbit is nearby, the snow stained red around it. The lynx isn’t moving much. Because it has already wandered too deeply into the neighborhood and because it is fatally injured, it must be put down. The cop gets his rifle, approaches the large cat. A gunshot later, he retrieves it from the snow.

This is the TV version: The cop gets the call. He drives up to a man, who tells him the lynx is nearby. The voiceover surmises the cop is hot on the lynx’s trail, so he hunkers down to start searching. The music climbs. As he drives, the voiceover reminds the viewer there are kids in this neighborhood, likely playing outside in the snow right now. The voiceover also reminds the viewer how dangerous lynx are, and explains what they generally look like for those at home who don’t know. Insert a soundbite about the possible but not yet realized danger. After a tense search, the cop arrives at the house where the call originated. The lynx doesn’t make it on camera yet, but the bloody carcass of the half-eaten rabbit does. The snow blooms red. The voiceover instructs the viewer to note the evidence: the lynx must be close, and who knows, it may still be hungry—because it didn’t finish eating. (Note the voiceover does not explicitly say the lynx will attack.) The music crescendos as the camera finally reveals the main event: the lynx, entrenched in white snow.

There is one important change, one made precisely because of our innate desire for neat narrative order. In the unedited version, you can see how the lynx reacts to the man approaching him with a rifle, paws clawing backwards as he tries and fails to escape; on television, the footage is reversed. The lynx claws forward, as if ready to leap. A moment later, the gunshot splits the air in two. You see: x-thing happens, and y-thing is the result.

So while you don’t have to come up with an original story, you must take the parts you are given and create a story around them. Burnet was surprised to eventually learn that many people think “reality TV” is all real, and didn’t know they used writers. The reality is quite different from “reality.” Read more about her erstwhile career at The Toast. 

(Image credit: Flickr user Jana Vanden Eynde)

Blacksmith Creates Crucible Steel Knife From Wrought Iron Wagon Wheel

Posted: 21 Apr 2016 09:00 AM PDT

photo bylosmdlb0xb4n4xours_zps5dzblm3o.gif

Working away at a forge all day can make a smith feel moody, as they sweat every last ounce of hope out of their body while hammering away on a piece of metal which doesn't care about your pain.

This is the reality blacksmith Niels Provos is faced with every day, which is why he approached the prospect of forging a knife out of wrought iron wagon wheels with such "enthusiasm".

(YouTube Link)

Niels should record his own series of relaxation tapes, because I found his fairly monotone drone to be quite soothing and a heck of a lot better than twenty minutes of hammer head hitting steel!

-Via Sploid

Happy Birthday, Queen Elizabeth!

Posted: 21 Apr 2016 08:00 AM PDT

 

Queen Elizabeth II turns 90 years old today. She was born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary on April 21, 1926 to Prince Albert, Duke of York, and Elizabeth, Duchess of York. Her father ascended to the British throne when King Edward VIII abdicated in 1936. Elizabeth’s father took the name George VI. Elizabeth became Queen when he died in 1952.

 

The Queen’s “official” birthday celebration is in June, however. The monarch’s official birthday is a tradition kept since 1748, and was begun as a reaction to the weather. June is a better month than most to hold a parade.

In honor of Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday, Buzzfeed has a collection of photographs from her life, from her christening as an infant to a portrait with her five great-grandchildren.

Keeping Up with the Queen is an interactive site that invites you to enter your age and find out what Queen Elizabeth was doing at that age. Of course, you can enter any number up to 90.

Despite the "official" parade scheduled for June, Elizabeth has a full shedule of events for her actual birthday.

The Ship Monsters of <i>Star Wars</i>

Posted: 21 Apr 2016 07:00 AM PDT

Artist Jake Parker imagined the most famous ships and vehicles of Star Wars as, well, perhaps not monsters, but at least terrifyingly non-human. The X-wing fighter looks like something dragged out of the swamps of Dabogah and the incomplete Death Star like an Ewok science experiment gone wrong.

You can buy this print at here or view detailed images at Geek Art.

Helpful Video Demonstrates How To Unclog A Bathroom Sink

Posted: 21 Apr 2016 06:00 AM PDT

It can be a real pain to live in a house with pipes that are constantly clogging up, and unless you know your way around the underside of a sink those clogs mean paying more money and calling a plumber.

But there are lots of helpful tutorials and DIY videos online that can help you avoid having to call in help, like this visual demonstration of how to unclog a bathroom sink from This Old House.

(YouTube Link)

The use of a clear pipe in the demonstration is a nice touch, and hopefully the pipes at our house won't clog up anytime soon but when they do I'll certainly give this a try!

-Via Boing Boing
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