Alex Santoso's Blog Posts

Twittering Towards Gomorrah

Add this to the list of social ills blamed on web 2.0 social networking sites Twitter and Facebook: they could harm your moral values!

Today's fast-paced media could be making us indifferent to human suffering and should allow time for us to reflect, according to researchers.

They found that emotions linked to moral sense are slow to respond to news and events and have failed to keep up with the modern world.

In the time it takes to fully reflect on a story of anguish and suffering, the news bulletin has already moved on or the next Twitter update is already being read.

As activities such as reading books and meeting friends, where people can define their morals, are taken over by news snippets and fast-moving social networking, the problem could become widespread, researchers warn.

Children could be particularly vulnerable because their brains are still developing.

"If things are happening too fast, you may not ever fully experience emotions about other people's psychological states and that would have implications for your morality," said Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, from the University of Southern California, and one of the researchers.

Link


Beaded Electrical Cords by Nathalie Costes

French artist Nathalie Costes threaded large wooden beads through electrical cords to turn your cord chaos into decorative elements instead (or trip hazard, depending on your age and point of view): http://www.nathaliecostes.com/nathalie_costes/2009/03/nouveaux-sautoirs-%C3%A9lectriques-en-vente-dans-happy-new-home-.html - via Apartment Therapy


Anatomical Bed Cover


Photo: Taiyo Onorato and Nico Krebs

This anatomical duvet cover (or is it blanket?) is titled The Hypochondriac (2004) and is the work of Taiyo Onorato and Nico Krebs of TONK. The duo are great photographers, but their website has atrocious navigation - via Who Killed Bambi?


Decriminalizing Drug Use in Portugal: 5 Years Later

While people in the United States endlessly debate what should be done with the country's drug problem, Portugal went ahead and decriminalize the use and possession of illicit drugs 5 years ago.

Here's what the country learned:

In the face of a growing number of deaths and cases of HIV linked to drug abuse, the Portuguese government in 2001 tried a new tack to get a handle on the problem—it decriminalized the use and possession of heroin, cocaine, marijuana, LSD and other illicit street drugs. The theory: focusing on treatment and prevention instead of jailing users would decrease the number of deaths and infections.

Five years later, the number of deaths from street drug overdoses dropped from around 400 to 290 annually, and the number of new HIV cases caused by using dirty needles to inject heroin, cocaine and other illegal substances plummeted from nearly 1,400 in 2000 to about 400 in 2006, according to a report released recently by the Cato Institute, a Washington, D.C, libertarian think tank.

Brian Vastag of Scientific American has more on the story: Link


The King of Bling


Photo: Steve Bourget

A team of archaeologists co-led by Steve Bourget of the University of Texas discovered a treasure-filled tomb of the Moche Culture in Peru. They found this gem amongst the content: a 1,500-year-old funerary mask of Lord Ucupe, dubbed the "king of bling" because he was covered head to toe in shiny jewels and metals.

Kelly Hearn and Ted Chamberlain of the National Geographic News have the story: Link


The Birdcage Dress


Photo: Suzan and Kelly Jones

Conceptual artist Kasey McMahon (whose works CompuBeaver and Text-o-Possum have been featured on Neatorama before) sent us her latest creation: the Birdcage Dress (yes, it's a fully functional wearable brass bird cage - notice the birdies?)

http://www.yourpsychogirlfriend.com/birdcage/index.html - Thanks Kasey!


Waking the Baby Mammoth

This is pretty cool: National Geographic Channel has a fantastic feature titled Waking the Baby Mammoth, about the discovery of a well-preserved body of a baby woolly mammoth:

Only a handful have ever been found before. But none like her. Her name is Lyuba. A 1-month-old baby mammoth, she walked the tundra about 40,000 years ago and then died mysteriously. Discovered by a reindeer herder, she miraculously re-appeared on a riverbank in northwestern Siberia in 2007. She is the most perfectly preserved woolly mammoth ever discovered. And she has mesmerized the scientific world with her arrival - creating headlines across the globe.

Link | More Videos - Thanks Minjae!

Previously on Neatorama: Scientists Took CT Scans of a Baby Mammoth


Passenger Landed Plane Safely After Pilot Died Mid-Flight

When the pilot of the twin-engine Beech aircraft passed out and died mid-flight, passenger Doug White of Archibald, Louisiana, took over the plane and landed it safely:

"We've had situations where passengers land airplanes before, but this is the first time I actually heard a controller actually tell the passenger to push this button and turn this knob," said Steve Wallace, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers in Miami. "It's a heck of an Easter story."

Wallace was working in the Miami air traffic control center when his air controllers couldn't reach the plane's pilot at 2 p.m. Sunday. The Miami center deals with planes at high altitude - 10,000 or more feet - in South Florida.

"We tried a couple times and didn't hear anything," Wallace said. "Then all of a sudden, we hear a passenger say, 'This is November 55 Niner Delta Whisky and my pilot is passed out. We need help now.'"

Link - Thanks Sharyn!


Country's Only Cage-Free, No-Kill Animal Shelter Needs Your Help

There's no question that in today's tough economic climate, many worthy causes are facing trouble.

After it was broken into by a drunk man, the country's only cage-free, no-kill animal shelter, The Saint Francis Animal Rescue Center, has gone into tailspin and needs your help:

Now, with almost no volunteers and two staff members, the shelter might have to consider permanently closing its bashed-in doors.

"It's just been horrible," said shelter director Charlene Rodriguez. "My assistant and I have been using our own funds, and I don't mean trust funds, but as in paycheck to paycheck.

"It's been extremely difficult."

http://www.zootoo.com/petnews/nationsonlycagefreenokillshelt-1302 - Thanks Jill!

According to Amy Lieberman of ZooToo Pet News, you can donate to the Saint Francis Animal Rescue Center through their paypal email of StFrancisAnimalRescue@yahoo.com.


Snuggling with Puppy May Have Saved a Wandering Toddler

When 2-year-old toddler Nathaniel wandered away from his home, his mother Ashley Teafatiller and fellow searchers frantically looked for him ... thankfully the story has a happy ending, and an unlikely hero: Nathaniel's puppy Stanley who kept him warm (and probably alive) during the cold night:

About 150 searchers spread out look for Nathaniel, who had managed to walk more than a mile away from his home, Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield said.

By 11 p.m., a Toldeo firefighter with a portable infrared scanner spotted a heat signal that turned out to be the boy.

"They think Stanley is what kept him going because it was obviously really cold last night," said Teafatiller. Nathaniel was found laying on the cold ground with Stanley snuggled next to him. During his adventure, the boy stripped off his pants and diaper and was found in only a t-shirt and socks.

Link - Thanks Tiffany!


Caption Monkey 58: Win This Original Laugh-Out-Loud Cat Comic Panel!

My, my, my - it has been a month since we last had a Caption Monkey contest on Neatorama! Thankfully, our pal Adam Koford reminded me of my lapse (sorry, guys) and even provided the image (and prize) for today's game.

Funniest caption (as judged by the esteemed Mr. Koford himself) will win the original Laugh-Out-Loud Cat panel above, with the winning caption inked in. Contest rules are simple: Place your caption in the comment section below - one caption per comment, but you can enter as many as you can think of.

For inspiration, be sure to visit Adam's blog. Good luck!

Update 4/15/09 - Wow! Great submissions, guys! Adam has picked the winner ... Congrats to Orkahm52 who won with this gem:


Signspotting: Stickman to the Rescue!

The following is a collaboration with Signspotting, a website dedicated to weird and funny signs by Doug Lansky

Somehow we're expected to navigate the road and pick up the traffic nuances - perhaps even adjust to a steering wheel on the opposite side of the car while driving on the opposite side of the road - all before the first lane change.

All this is, of course, before you even throw a few wacked-out signs into the equation: the road-side traffic symbols that look more confusing than psych-test ink blots, mangled English, and the occasional screwball posting that almost stops us in our tracks (if we could just locate the brakes fast enough in that rental car!).

At least the stickfigures are easy to understand, often suffering miserably so that we might stay safe.

1. Way Off Piste


Location: Pilatus Mountain, Switzerland
Credit: Regina Meyer

2. Wheelchair vs. Alligator


Location: St. Lucia, South Africa
Credit: Kelly Daigle

How many unattended relatives, you suppose, rolled to their tragic fate before local officials were prompted to put up this sign?

3. Officers Can Get a Little Frisky


Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Credit: Caroline Born

4. Messiah Crossing?


Location: Glendaloch, Ireland
Credit: Karla Richards

5. World's Most Uncomfortable Ski Lift


Location: Chamonix, France
Credit: Belinda Hillard

You decide: uncomfortable chairlift or ski-in/ski-out medical clinic

6. Um, No Lap Dancing? No Red Underwear?


Location: Split, Croatia
Credit: Caitlin Thomas

May look like a “no lap dancing” sign, but this is actually asking women not to urinate here. Presumably topless urination is common in this part of Croatia.

7. Warning: Giant Spikes!


Location: Southwold, Suffolk, England
Credit: Daniel Swallow

C’mon, jump in! It’s not like there are giant spikes in the water specially placed to spear you in the nether regions.

8. It's Raining Men

Location: Mertola, Portugal
Credit: Sarah Eriksen

__________

If you like the funny signs above (and who doesn't?), head on over to Signspotting website for hundreds more. Or get the book, Signspotting: Absurd & Amusing Signs From Around The World and Signspotting 2 : The World's Most Absurd Signs , both compiled by Doug Lansky.


Giant Microbes: Cute Plush Toys of Deadly Diseases

Anthrax Plush Toy - $7.95
Common Cold Plush Toy - $7.95
Ebola Plush Toy - $7.95
Flesh Eating Bacteria
Plush Toy - $7.95
Herpes Plush Toy - $7.95
HIV Plush Toy - $7.95

A few years ago, Drew Oliver got a Eureka moment. He was reading a memoir by scientist Richard Feynman. In it, the physicist wrote about being amazed looking at a water droplet through a microscope to see a microbe swimming about. This gave Drew a multimillion dollar business idea: a line of plushy germs for the scientifically-minded.

With the help of his brother, Drew launched Giant Microbes, which makes dozens of cute plush dolls of germs that cause some of life's most miserable diseases like ebola, HIV, flesh eating bacteria, ... and yes, even STDs!

We've recently gotten our shipments of Giant Microbes, so if there's someone close to your heart that could use a little herpes, mad cow, or even the black plague, here's your chance: http://shop.neatorama.com/store.php?giant-microbes-plush-toys-pg1-cid85.html


It's Not a Tumah! It's a Tree!

Doctors operating on 28-year-old Artyom Sidorkin was expecting to find a tumor in one of his lungs, but they got a big, green surprise during the surgery:

Doctors x-rayed his chest and found a tumor in one of the lungs. Suspecting cancer, they made a decision to perform biopsy, but when they cut the tissue, they were amazed to see green needles in the cut.

“I blinked three times, and thought I was seeing things. Then I called the assistant to have a look,” says Vladimir Kamashev, doctor at the Udmurtian Cancer Center.

The five-centimeter branch was removed from the patient’s body. [...]

It is obvious that a five-centimeter branch is too large to be inhaled or swallowed, doctors say. They suggest that the patient might have inhaled a small bud, which then started to grow inside his body.

http://www.mosnews.com/weird/2009/04/13/firtree/ (Photo: Komsomolskaya Pravda)


Darwin's Egg Found

If you've ever damaged your stuff because you packed it wrong, take heart: even Charles Darwin made the same error.

When a volunteer was cataloging a collection at University of Cambridge's Zoology Museum, she ran across a curious egg with writings on it:

... Lowe and Curator of Ornithology Dr Mike Brooke, traced the specimen's origin in the notebook of Professor Alfred Newton, a friend of Darwin's and Professor of Zoology in the latter 19th Century.

Prof Newton had written: "One egg, received through Frank Darwin, having been sent to me by his father who said he got it at Maldonado (Uruguay) and that it belonged to the Common Tinamou of those parts.

"The great man put it into too small a box and hence its unhappy state."

Link

Previously on Neatorama: 10 Fun Facts About Charles Darwin


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Profile for Alex Santoso

  • Member Since 2012/07/17


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