John Farrier's Blog Posts

Tree Has Far Too Much Pollen


(Video Link)


This tree in Lewisburg, Tennessee has a lot of pollen. A gentle shake reveals how much.

via Geekosystem

Wood-Burning El Camino



We've posted about wood gas burning cars before, but those were cars not inherently cool, namely a Yugo and an old Citroën. An El Camino, on the other hand, is awesome even if it can't run. This one, however, dubbed the El Kamina, works quite well on a wood-burning engine:

Juhas Sipilä’s 1987 El Camino, affectionately dubbed “El Kamina” (The Stove), features a very steampunk-like woodgas generator taking up about half of the truckbed. El Kamina’s 400 Chevy engine can take the 4,400 pound truck about 125 miles on 175 pounds of biomass, or about 1.4 pounds of biomass-per-mile. The truck itself can carry enough fuel for around 800 total miles of travel.


Video at the link.

Link via Glenn Reynolds | Photo: Juha Sipilä

Cadbury Creme Egg inside a Chocolate Cupcake



Melissa Smith of Zoey Cakes has made what may be the ultimate Cadbury Creme Egg creation. It's baked with an egg inside, covered with vanilla buttercream frosting, and then topped with a mini egg.

Link via Craft | Zoey Cakes

Previously: Giant Cadbury Egg

Axe Guns



It's hard to find much information about this type of firearm. Steve of The Firearm Blog suspects that these weapons were decorative rather than practical. There are apparently a couple examples on display in the armory at Castle Eltz in western Germany.

Link | Photo: RC-MIR.com

Philosophical Debate Referee Signals



This handy chart was created by Landon Schurtz, a graduate student in philosophy at the University of Oklahoma. I'm curious about what would constitute a personal foul in debate.

via Marginal Revolution

Book Bed



Now you can literally curl up in the pages of a good book! Yusuke Suzuki made this bed with sheets forming the pages and pillows serving as bookmarks.

Link via Doobybrain | Designer's Website | Photo: Fubiz

Armenia Makes Chess A Mandatory Subject in School

Chess is very popular in Armenia. In a move to become globally known for prowess in the game, the government of Armenia has made the study of it mandatory for school children:

The authorities led by President Serzh Sarkisian, an enthusiastic supporter of the game, have committed around $1.43 million to the scheme - a large sum in the impoverished but chess-mad country.

Children from the age of six will learn chess as a separate subject on the curriculum for two hours a week.

Aivazian said the lessons, which start later this year, would "foster schoolchildren's intellectual development" and teach them to "think flexibly and wisely".


Do you think that the children will benefit from this time spent studying chess?

http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/armenia-makes-chess-compulsory-in-schools/story-e6frfku0-1226039947579 via reddit | Photo (unrelated) by Flickr user Andréia used under Creative Commons license

Default Facebook Avatars



Paris-based photographer Thomas M. made a set of pictures showing people as the default Facebook profile image. He writes "The aim of this project is to humanize the Facebook default avatar provided at the first login." Mission accomplished.

Link via Walyou | Artist's Website

Measuring Tape Stiletto Heels



If you want to say 'I'm a practical person' while still wearing high heeled shoes, these stilettos by Christian Louboutin should do the trick. It's just a pity that they're only in metric.

http://us.christianlouboutin.com/shoes/evening/police-100mm.html via Craft | Photo: Christian Loutoubin

How to Make Bacon Roses



Modern love is best expressed with bacon, but for the traditionalist, there are always bacon roses. Instructables user kaptaink_cg explains how to make them. You'll need a broiling pan, a mini muffin pan, marbles, and a drill. It'll be necessary to actually destroy the muffin pan, but it'll be worth it.

Link via Geekosystem

Motorcycle Models Made out of Watch Parts



deviantART user dkart71 doesn't offer a lot of verbal detail about this work, but his level of artistic detail is impressive. His gallery is filled with similar pieces, including choppers and trikes.

Link

This Civil War Reenactment Seems Completely Plausible



Yes, the Ghostbusters were there at the Second Battle of Dantooine. Check your history reference books if you're skeptical.

Link via Popped Culture | Photo: Columbus Dispatch/Jeff Hinckley

Just in Time for Easter: Chocolate Cthulhu



There are some minor differences between the activities of the Easter Bunny and the Easter Cthulhu, but both make the holiday memorable for children. Jason McKittrick made these chocolate Cthulhu figurines to mark the occasion.

http://ghost111381.blogspot.com/2011/04/chocolate-cthulhu-idol.html via Boing Boing

Wrecked SUV Somehow Still Roadworthy


(Video Link)


This video, allegedly of a Chinese-made SUV in Russia, shows a driver who is either very brave or very desperate. Also a testament to Chinese design quality. I mean, even the tail lights still work just fine.

via Jalopnik

The Harmonica Pistol



Here's one early solution to the problem of limited magazine capacity. Between 1859 and 1862, a French inventor named Jarre patented several so-called harmonica pistols. As often as the user needed a fresh round, s/he could just push the magazine laterally. The pinfire example pictured above could hold nine 9mm cartridges.

Link via The Firearm Blog (which has pictures of other early high-capacity firearms) | Image: Rock Island Auction Company

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Profile for John Farrier

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