Owl Accessory Holder - $5.95

Do you know a wise old bird in need of some organization? Get them the Owl Accessory Holder from the NeatoShop.  The desk will probably stay just as cluttered, but now you will have a cute owl to distract you from that horrific mess.

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more Office & Desk fun!

(YouTube link)

The Animal Humane Society put words in the kitties' mouths to make you go "awww" and adopt a feline friend. Link -via Best week Ever

I'd like to meet the SEALS that took out Bin Laden some day and buy them all the beer they can swill. Navy SEALS are so badass; they are the only thing Chuck Norris fears. Just look at this SEAL blowing stuff up on the battlefield with a giant gun. That is one of the most awesome photos I have ever seen. This SEAL was testing some new night-vision system, and the photo was snapped way back in 2004. It really makes you wonder what sort of awesome goodies they play with now, don't it. Link

Joe Liles, among other media, creates art from printed circuit boards. This is the lovely and appropriately-named "Circuit Tree." You can see three other examples at the link.

Link via Make

How does Peter Bristol's Cut Chair work? The secret is that the one solid leg is firmly anchored to a steel plate beneath the carpet:

A plate concealed by a thick carpet allows a robust cantilevered seat. Three well placed leg “stumps” and the chair looks as though it has just been magically sliced apart.

Bristol hopes to put the Cut Chair into production.

Link via Geekologie | Photo: Peter Bristol

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YouTube user maculifrons says that it's possible to desensitize young wasps to human fingers. I'm not sure about that, but clearly the wasp is somewhat domesticated.

via reddit

The US military is making ever more use of unmanned fighters and intelligence
gathering aircraft. The great thing about this type of aircraft is that they can loiter over some far away battlefield for a long time, and if they are shot down, no lives are at risk. The Being Phantom Ray Stealth UAV made its first flight this week and is on its way to becoming the first stealth UAV in the arsenal. The Phantom Ray is the size of a fighter aircraft, and its maiden voyage took it to 7,500 feet and a speed of 178 knots.

“The first flight moves us farther into the next phase of unmanned aircraft,” said Craig Brown, Phantom Ray program manager for Boeing. “Autonomous, fighter-sized unmanned aircraft are real, and the UAS bar has been raised. Now I’m eager to see how high that bar will go.”

Link

The Southern Pudu is the smallest species of deer in the world, and one was recently born at a zoo in Belfast, UK. When fully grown, Pudu are about 17 inches tall. This baby weighs only as much as a pint of milk! You can view more pictures at the link.

Link via NotCot | Photo: Belfast Zoo

The photo of President Obama and senior officials watching the live feed of the killing of Osama Bin Laden from the White House Situation Room has gone viral and produced some hilarious works of photoshoppery. My favorite, so far, is one featuring Michael "The Situation" Sorrentino from Jersey Shore.

Link via Super Punch | Image: Alexis Madrigal

Say goodbye to the bland Ford Crown Victoria taxi and meet the future New York cab, a minivan by Nissan called the NV200, which won "The Taxi of Tomorrow" competition:

... the announcement by Mayor Bloomberg that within the next few years, all new taxis in New York will be a special model, manufactured by Nissan, called the NV200. Nissan won an official city competition to design a new prototype to replace the Ford Crown Victoria, the banal, inefficient, and uncomfortable sedan that for the last decade or more has been the vehicle of choice for most taxi-fleet owners.

Link

How many things do you own? Whatever it is, it's probably a lot more than the things tech entrepreneur Andrew Hyde owns. The extreme minimalist was photographed above with the 15 (or so) things that he owns:

The first question someone asks me when I tell them about the project is “How do you define something you own?” Great question, but that is a lie. The first question is always “Do you do laundry? How many pairs of underwear?” I’ll never get a stranger’s obsession with my knickers, but that is *always* question #1. Question #2 is the “What do you own?” countdown, which is both fun and annoying to answer.

I don’t have a permanent address or a second pair of jeans. Forgive me if I don’t want to answer it, but it takes a bit of emotion to go from an overconsumer to a minimalist, and perhaps even more emotion to think about it all the time. When I get up in the morning, I wear what is clean. That is my thought process. Then I’m out the door. When I am asked about what I own, I have to think about it deliberately. Imagine everything you own? Name it. Longer list than mine, but you still have to justify things as you list them, which is exhausting in a way that makes you pair emotion with physical objects. [...]

So, back to everything I own. The “rule” of ownership is the express-lane checkout rule. If you were checking out in a grocery store, what would be counted as one item in your bag? A six-pack of beer would be one, right? I count my things as resellable items I would be pissed if someone took.

Coffee cup? No. Jacket? Yes. iPhone and headphones? One thing. Simple enough?

Here is the list, as of May 2, 2011. I made a similar list in Colombia. Scott Berkun also did an interview around that time too.

Arc’teryx Miura 30 backpack
NAU shirt
Mammut rain jacket
Arc’teryx tshirt
Patagonia running shorts
Quick Dry towel
NAU wool jacket
Toiletry kit
Smith sunglasses
Wallet
MacBook Air
iPhone 3GS
NAU dress shirt
Patagonia jeans
Running shoes

Link (with podcast of interview with ABC Radio News' Dan Patterson)

Update 6/14/2012: Andrew just published a book "This Book Is About Travel" (Website | Amazon) - Thanks Andrew!

Mike Bouchet of Cumulus Studios in Miami converted steel shopping carts into functional lounge chairs:

They are constructed from existing supermarket shopping carts. The metal is bent back and forward to create the shape of the seat and the child’s seat is reconfigured into an adjustable head rest. Sensible yet comfy cushions complete the lounge. Several versions will be presented including one chair fitted with a parasol and another tricked out with a night time reading light.

Just add some cushions and it'll look like a good patio chair.

Link via OhGizmo! | Bouchet's Website | Photo: Cumulus Studios

Storm chaser Steven Green had this custom car built so that he could drive it directly into tornadoes -- which he did so in 2004. The chassis was originally from a desert racing vehicle which was converted by Green into its current incarnation at the price of half a million dollars. The Tornado Attack Vehicle, as it's called, is now covered with 16 gauge steel and the bulletproof windows can withstand a .38 bullet if necessary.

Link via DVICE | Green's Website

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Due to his fashion choices, a beer thief in Florida got away, but not with the beer:

Surveillance video shows a man rushing from the EZ food store in Lake Wales, trying to steal two cases of beer.

But his pants were too droopy, he tripped, and the beer went everywhere.

He jumped into the back of a Chevy Malibu and the driver took off.

Link via Lowering the Bar

Cute alert! Meet Busch Gardens Tampa Bay's newest addition: a baby aardvark!

The young male aardvark was born at Busch Gardens on April 10. Busch Gardens’ animal care experts stepped in when they saw that the mother was not attentive.

There are only about 35 aardvarks in zoos in North America.With fewer than a dozen successful births each year, aardvark births are not common. They are solitary by nature, only Busch Gardens is home to a male and female, with the cub making three. He will be raised in Jambo Junction – located in the Nairobi area of the park – and will become one of the park’s educational Animal Ambassadors.

More photos at the official webpage: Link (Photo: Matt Marriott/Busch Gardens Tampa Bay) - via Laughing Squid

If you've been wondering, "Aardvark" means "ground pig" in Afrikaans/Dutch. It is not, however, actually related to the pig.