John Farrier's Blog Posts

Kryptonite Candy Glows under Ultraviolet Light



Instructables user Britt Michelsen has lately been experimenting with fluorescent materials, including riboflavin. She decided to use it to make a food that looks like kryptonite. Michelsen made a mold out of aluminum foil, cooked riboflavin into sugar, and poured it into the mold. The result was a glowing candy that looked quite like the lethal substance in the Superman mythos.

Link via Make

Previously by Britt Michelsen:
Pixelated Trash Can
"You Killed Kenny!" Doorstop

Pencil Sharpening Drill Attachment



It's isn't as classy and refined as artisanal pencil sharpening, but it's nonetheless clever. A company called C.H. Hanson makes a power drill attachment that will sharpen pencils. You can watch a video of it at the link.

Link and Product Site via DVICE | Photo: NotCot

Evil Genius Simulator


(Video Link)


When I laugh manically and call out "Fools! I'll destroy them all!", people mostly just look at me funny. I mean, moreso than usual. I need this gadget developed by Tom Wyatt. The Tesla coils are controlled by a Kinect interface. Just shake your fists in the air and bellow out a diabolical cackle, and the coils turn on. Actually, you don't need to laugh to activate the coils, but it looks kinda pointless if you're not promising vengeance against your enemies at the same time.

via GeekDad

Super Mario Bros. as an Indie Film


(Video Link)


Angst, drug addiction, and unrequited love. Super Mario Bros., as Joe Nicolosi discovered, has always had the potential to be an indie film. This trailer was shown at the current SXSW festival in Austin.

via Geekologie | Director's Website

Previously:
Star Wars Retold By Someone Who Hasn't Seen It
Super Mario Bros. Intervention

Fast Food Final Fantasy



This great shot of two (presumably) cosplayers was shot by Steve Burt at Anime Expo 2008 in Los Angeles. Ronald Sephiroth battles Colonel Cloud. If Wendy joined in, what Final Fantasy character would she be?

Link via Popped Culture

Crocheted Cyanide & Happiness Figures



Are you familiar with Kris Wilson's delightfully morbid webcomic Cyanide & Happiness? It's great. Almost equally inspired are Annette Morrison's crocheted figures from that webcomic.

Link via Technabob

Hoof Shoes

If you need just the right item to complete your "What were you thinking?" outfit, I suggest these hoof shoes, available in ankle and knee lengths. These £1,300 ($2802) shoes feature synthetic hooves, but are made from 5,000 horse hairs each:

The knee-length and ankle-length shoes were commissioned to celebrate 100 years of the famous National Hunt festival, which begins on Tuesday.

Three pairs will be sold with proceeds going to the Prostate Cancer Charity.


Link via Born Rich | Photo: BBC

Penguins Walking Around a Jetliner


(Video Link)


Three days ago, on a Southwest Airlines flight from San Francisco to San Diego, penguins waddled around the plane. SeaWorld was transporting them to a convention and the penguins' attendants decided to give them some free time.

via Urlesque

Shuttle Astronaut Urine Ejected into Space



German astronomer Jens Hackmann shot this picture of what is thought to be the last waste water dump from the space shuttle Discovery on March 8 before re-entry. This waste water would, of course, include astronaut urine:

"When observing ISS and space shuttle Discovery with unaided eye, there was nothing special for me," Hackmann wrote in the caption of his video on YouTube. "But when I examined the video clip I wondered what that tail on Discovery was…Then I read in the internet about other sights."

Such water dumps are a usual event, allowing the spaceship to unload its dirty water and urine before returning to Earth. A similar disposal gave skywatchers a nice view during the shuttle Discovery's STS-128 mission in September, 2009 as well.


Link via Alphecca

Futuristic Peripheral Projects a Mousing Surface Anywhere


(Video Link)


Celluon has invented a new type of mouse that reads simple finger movements as mousing commands. The evoMouse also appears to respond to finger commands common to smartphones, like zooming. It's pretty cool, but I'm waiting for a Minority Report glove.

http://www.celluon.com/products/laserkey1_4.htm?sm=2_1 via DVICE

Sperm Whales Might Have Names

Whale researchers are tentatively suggesting that sperm whales might have names. Certain sounds emitted during their songs may be signatures:

Rendell and his collaborators, including biologists Hal Whitehead, Shane Gero and Tyler Schulz, have for years studied the click sequences, or codas, used by sperm whales to communicate across miles of deep ocean. In a study published last June in Marine Mammal Sciences, they described a sound-analysis technique that linked recorded codas to individual members of a whale family living in the Caribbean.

In that study, they focused on a coda made only by Caribbean sperm whales. It appears to signify group membership.[...]

That individual whales would have means of identifying themselves does, however, make sense. Dolphins have already been shown to have individual, identifying whistles. Like them, sperm whales are highly social animals who maintain complex relationships over long distances, coordinating hunts and cooperating to raise one another’s calves.


Link via reddit | Photo by Flickr user SidPix used under Creative Commons license

Jumbotron Improvised from Mobile Devices


(Video Link)


Rick Borovoy and his colleagues at MIT devised a means to use multiple mobile devices, such as cell phones and tablet computers, to create a large screen displaying a single image. It looks quite simple to implement. You don't need to download anything; just access his website.

Link via Boing Boing | Creator's Website

Hipster Trap



This photo of a hipster trap is allegedly from New York City. Contents: brightly-colored bike chain, American Spirit cigarettes, can of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, and plastic glasses. It just needs a Moleskine notebook to lure in more hesitant prey.

via Geekosystem

Dr. Frankenstein Now a Hospital Administrator



Well, in his defense, he is an outstanding scientist. Not many doctors can reanimate the dead. Oh, and he has other qualifications:

Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital has hired a new interim, part-time chief medical officer, a board-certified physician in the areas of pulmonology and internal medicine with a track record for evaluating hospital standards at the national level.


Link via The Agitator

Nikes Made from Old Computer and Typewriter Parts



Gabriel Dishaw is an artist as well as an employee of an athletic shoe retailer. One of his most recent projects was the construction of a pair of Nike Air Max sneakers made from:

[...] discarded parts including a motherboard, an old typewriter case, an USB port, chipsets, power connectors and even the oxygen mask from a 747 airplane.


It took him about 90 hours to complete. You can read an interview with him and view more pictures at the link.

http://features.freshnessmag.com/2011/03/10/junk-art-air-max-2011-an-interview-with-gabriel-dishaw/ via Gizmodo | Photo: Freshness Mag

Email This Post to a Friend

Page 1,053 of 1,334     first | prev | next | last

Profile for John Farrier

  • Member Since 2012/08/04


Statistics

Blog Posts

  • Posts Written 20,000
  • Comments Received 52,533
  • Post Views 31,894,229
  • Unique Visitors 26,171,457
  • Likes Received 30,107

Comments

  • Threads Started 3,802
  • Replies Posted 2,327
  • Likes Received 1,895
X

This website uses cookies.

This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using this website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

I agree
 
Learn More