Gizmodo introduces us to the Maxus Life Home V90 Villa, a Chinese-made van RV. It's vertically huge over a tiny footprint. The second story (please lower before driving) has a dining area and a balcony.
John Farrier's Blog Posts
There is snow on the ground here in Texas. But, I have heard, it also snows elsewhere. So it is hard to know precisely where this video was recorded. The man featured acts very Texan, so we shall claim him as our own.
True story: a few nights ago, when the heaviest of the snowfall was upon us, my wife commented that it was odd that one of our neighbors, who is prone to shoot off fireworks at seemingly random moments, had not decided that a record-braking blizzard was not the perfect moment for a fireworks show. 30 seconds later, the fireworks started. Because Texas.
-via Born in Space
In the 1991 horror film The Silence of the Lambs, Jame "Buffalo Bill" Gumb is a serial killer who captures, mutilates, and murders his victims in grotesque methods. His home was Hell on Earth. Soon, you'll be able to stay there!
Chris Rowan, a theater professional, has purchased the house outside of Pittsburgh used for the movie. He plans to open it to guests as a bed and breakfast. The New York Post reports:
Rowan won’t have to do much to restore the four-bedroom, one-bathroom house to its horror glory — the home outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, already has many of its original features, including its old-fashioned wallpaper, hardwood floors, pocket doors and dark wood trim. And the exterior of the three-story house is the same yellowish-red brick with a wraparound porch as seen in the movie.
For movie fans, though, the house will prove to be a fixer-upper:
But the most important renovation will be the infamous well in the basement where Hollywood’s original psychopathic B&B, played by Levine, traps his victims.
Filmmakers shot the basement well scenes off-site — the house doesn’t actually have a creepy hole in the ground — but the new owner reportedly plans to add one to give guests the full Buffalo Bill experience.
-via David Burge | Photo: Realtor.com
Instructables member Jade Pullen made this amazing globe that turns on and off live radio broadcasts around the world based on how the globe is physically oriented. It's a whole world filled with many different voices available with the flick of a finger. Sometimes, Pullen writes, the experience of using RadioGlobe is quite jarring:
Part of the magic is the the tension between familiarity and the unfamiliarity: It's both shocking how many radio stations play Western pop music, but then with a turn of the jog wheel, you find an alternatives (in the same location) - and you navigate from Boosh FM's Drum & Bass, to listening to a native dialect of New Zealand. [...]
News is another revelation - it's all too easy to lapse into thinking my 'international' news is 'the benchmark'. I found myself listening to the same global updates on COVID-19, but rather than my usual BBC News, I heard a local DJ discussing it in a chat radio station in South Africa - framing things in, frankly, a more gritty take... It's certainly different to what I'm used to, and that's the point.
-via Laughing Squid
The vast majority of work by Mike Batz, an erotic artist, is not for suitable for Neatorama, but his inspired underpants design is a notable exception. He applies the inherent roominess of the croc shoe to the anatomical requirements for male clothing. On hot days, the ventilation is an added bonus.
It has been unexpectedly rough this week here in Texas. We're not set up with the infrastructure necessary to easily endure sub-freezing temperatures for several consecutive days.
It has been especially difficult for the sea turtles who live off the south Texas coast. But Sea Turtle, Inc., a conservation organization, along with many volunteers, nonetheless managed to pull 3,500 turtles out of freezing waters off South Padre Island. KXAN News reports on how the rescuers have been trying to find suitable space anywhere for the turtles:
Sea Turtle Inc. was using the South Padre Island Convention Center to shelter the turtles as they work to rescue as many as possible.
The Beach Resort at South Padre Island will be taking in some of the turtles, due to space issues at the Convention Center.
“We will house the turtles in our indoor water park and the conference room.” said Natin Kasan, owner of Beach Resort.
My mom is retired, & she spends her winters volunteering at a sea turtle rescue center in south Texas. The cold snap is stunning the local turtles & they’re doing a lot of rescues. She sent me this photo today of the back of her Subaru. It’s *literally* turtles all the way down. pic.twitter.com/xaDRNjLDoQ
— Lara (@lara_hand) February 15, 2021
On a temporary basis, the human heroes are putting the turtles anywhere that isn't filled with freezing water.
-via Marilyn Terrell | Photo (top): Sea Turtle, Inc.
When the TARDIS is ready for s crossover episode, she heads straight for the Star Wars universe. Here she is portrayed by Tinker Bre as Princess Leia in her slave outfit from Return of the Jedi. Sometimes she poses with her husband, who dresses as a Eleventh Doctor Han Solo.
Well, yes: the first question would be "Why would anyone do this?" Let us set that aside now and instead ponder "How would anyone do this?" For the answer, we consult the nail artists at Nail Sunny in St. Petersburg, Russia (and growing internationally to other cities). At Nail Sunny, you can get a very pretty set of nails or you can get an attention-grabbing work of art applied to your fingers.
Core 77 introduces us to the snow roller, an old piece of technology that was used to clear roads before diesel-powered snowplows roamed the streets, hunting for powdery prey. Snow rollers were often weighted with stones to pack down the snow. This particular images dates to 1930 in Maine, so such machines exist within living memory.
A fully-functional one still exists, thanks to the restoration work of craftsmen associated with the Bartlett Historical Society in New Hampshire. You can find process photos and descriptions of this amazing reconstruction here.
This morning, I greeted the dense blanket of snow in Texas with a bike ride. The snow did not make for easy travel. Perhaps this product called reTyre might help. The company of the same name, which is based in Norway, makes snow treads that zip onto bike tires.
You start with a base tire which has half of the zipper. Then you can add one of three different treads for ice, snow, and, I think, mud.
-via Toxel
Yes, that's Thanos. His entire head fits neatly on a coffee bean carved by Valeriano Fatica.
Fatica lives in Oratino, a small town in central Italy where he was born and raised. He worked in his family restaurant and began exploring art by carving watermelons for the buffet. This led to a food sculpture career that includes cheese, truffles, fruits, and, recently coffee beans. You'll recognize many characters from Fatica's favorite comic books.
-via Born in Space
It's in a bar in Germany, but, having worked a public libraries, I wish that this appliance was more widely available outside of German bars. Andrew Bulkeley, a journalist who has spent a lot of time in Germany, explains that you use a speibecken as a hygienic place to vomit. He learned this while getting drunk at a particular bar in Germany:
“It’s for when you drink too much and you have to puke,” he announced, as if every bar in the world had a Speibecken. The entire bar looked at me with great sympathy, wondering with their eyes if this was the first bar I’d ever been in.
This must happen to every ex-pat every now and then – you stumble into something the natives think is part of the human condition but isn’t. It’s that weird moment where Germany doesn’t know it’s doing something strange and you have to be the one to break the bad news.
The handle on the left side is an excellent feature, given that users may feel unbalanced while using the speibecken.
-via Core 77 | Photo: jingjangjones
#Amsterdam #ijsnietoveralgoed #keizersgracht pic.twitter.com/mhZAuCQ9x6
— Geertje (@ikkomuitdrenthe) February 14, 2021
The Dutch, for whom ice skating is both a tradition and a weapon, know their craft well. This video from Amsterdam shows a man skating over too-thin ice and crashing into the cold water below. He's one of many Dutchmen enjoying perfect urban skating weather right now.
Breaking through the ice is no big deal. I suspect that he actually intended to crash (since he's in a swimsuit) and views crawling out of the wintery waters as, at most, an annoyance rather than a life-threatening emergency. His bow, at the end, shows perfect aplomb.
-via Aaron Starmer
When does the next flight to the park bench leave? When does my friend's flight from the skyscraper arrive? Check out the pigeon schedule from Michael Pederson, the artist who goes by the moniker "Miquel Marquez Outside." Click through all of the photos to know your options.
I'd like to take a flight to "nowhere specific." It might be fun for an airline to offer tickets for a flight in which the destination is never announced even after landing. Your first opportunity to learn where you are is when you enter the terminal after getting off the plane.
Do you have any romantic ideas for what you can do with a pair of handcuffs this Valentine's Day?
The Sheriff of Nash County, North Carolina does. In a Facebook post, the Sheriff's Office suggests that if you have an ex who is currently wanted on an outstanding arrest warrant, give them a call:
This Valentine’s Day Weekend Special starts off with a set of limited-edition platinum bracelets, free transportation with a chauffeur, a one-night minimum stay in our luxurious ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ accommodations, and this special is capped off with a special Valentine’s dinner.
We know this special is so incredible that you may be tempted to provide additional referrals. We don't blame you, this special is too sweet to pass up. Operators are standing by!
-via Dave Barry | Photo: Max Pixel
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