io9 has taken the standard self-improvement list and turned it on its ear, listing the success secrets of leaders from science fiction. My favorite:

5. Just because you have a crappy ship doesn't mean you're a loser. Everyone knows that Han Solo, captain of the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars, is piloting a souped-up bucket. And yet his seemingly-crappy ship is probably the very best thing for helping out a group of covert resistance fighters like Obi Wan and Luke. Plus, he knows his ship so well that he can totally slam those Stormtroopers in their McFighters. Lesson learned? Every crappy PC is a lean, mean Linux box waiting to be born. Oh, and in case that didn't make sense: It's not the tools; it's what you do with them.

Link -via Geek Like Me

This couch is an exact replica of an Aston Martin DB6 rear end. It’s painted in a classic Aston Martin color, Silver Birch. The red leather is finished off with a Y-stitch on each cushion. Polished to perfection, this couch would look good in a garage full of Astons.

James Bond would be proud to lounge on it. Headrests are not included in the base price of over $7,300. http://news.windingroad.com/etc/aston-marting-db6-couch/ -via Unique Daily

47-year-old Edward Trevor Aldridge pled guilty to assault charges in Christchurch, New Zealand after an altercation in a mens restroom.

...[the victim] used a urinal next to Aldridge who accused him of looking at him and punched him twice in the face.

Defence counsel Liz Bulger told the court: "This incident arose from a breach of what I understand to be urinal etiquette."

The judge sentenced Aldridge to 300 hours incarceration and 50 hours of community service. Link -via Arbroath

(YouTube link)
A new ad for the Ford Focus used music produced from instruments made out of car parts! Audioporn Central has the story behind the ad.

Composer Craig Richey, sound designer Bill Milbrodt, and friends used a five-door Focus fresh from the factory floor, took it apart, then used the car's many parts to create 31 musical instruments. We're not talking flutes and trombones here, folks. The musical maestros used Focus parts to create such original works as a Rear Suspension Spike Fiddle and Door Harp.

ff -via Geek Like Me

(YouTube link)
A personal Valentine from Phil Hansen (featured previously at Neatorama). He posted the lyrics and the elaborate process of writing the song and making the video at Goodbye Art. http://philinthecircle.com/goodbyeart/2008/01/29/abc-love-song-pictures-made-with-sweethearts/

Korean fast food chain BBQ Chicken has introduced the Col-Pop, a cup that holds both food and drink. The lower part of the cup holds soda, with an attached straw. The upper part holds chicken nuggets (and other foods in South Korean restaurants). This innovation could make eating while walking or driving easier, if not safer. BBQ Chicken has outlets in New York, New Jersey, and North Carolina. http://www.seriouseats.com/required_eating/2008/02/bbq-chicken-all-in-one-chicken-nugget-drink-cup.html -via Geek Like Me

Here’s something you probably didn’t know about the White Cliffs of Dover. Inside the cliff above the town of Dover lies a shaft carved through the rock, with three concentric spiral staircases. These were built between 1806 and 1809 in order to get troops down to the harbor in a hurry. Take a look at this marvel of engineering at deputydog. http://deputy-dog.com/2008/02/04/the-grand-shaft-amazing-military-engineering/

Conventional wisdom says that communities will save on health care by getting people to lose weight and quit smoking. But a recent Dutch study finds that, compared to obese people and smokers, healthy people place a greater burden on health care systems! The reason: it costs more to care for people who live longer. The study found that healthy people lived about 84 years, costing $417,000 in health care from age 20 on. Obese people live about 80 years, costing $371,000, and smokers lived 77 years, at a health care cost of $326,000.

"This throws a bucket of cold water onto the idea that obesity is going to cost trillions of dollars," said Patrick Basham, a professor of health politics at Johns Hopkins University who was unconnected to the study. He said that government projections about obesity costs are frequently based on guesswork, political agendas, and changing science.

"If we're going to worry about the future of obesity, we should stop worrying about its financial impact," he said.

http://news.wired.com/dynamic/stories/O/OBESITY_COST?SITE=WIRE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2008-02-05-02-58-08

German digital artist Till Nowak (featured previously on Neatorama) created this funny image of a newly-shaven bumblebee and his friends.

This image is telling about the bumblebee Bernard who wanted to impress his friends with an experiment. It was one of these boring days and they were as usual looking for some nonsense to get involved in and succeeded in switching on an electric shaver. And Bernard, for the first time in his life, completely freed himself from his beautiful yellow and black fur. But then, under the shouting and cheering of his mischievous friends, he watched in the mirror and had to recognize that the result didn`t please him as much as he expected. But hey, it will grow again....

There's also an article (in pdf format) about how the image was made. Link -via Dump Trumpet

I don’t know about you, but that sign would make me keep my distance! -via Bits and Pieces

First, computers took real-life sports and made them virtual. Now you can reverse that and bring your videogame skills to 3D. The USB Boxer plugs into your computer and responds to your keystrokes! A counter keeps track of the punches thrown, and he even generates crowd noises and bells. http://www.thumbsupuk.com/products/USB-Boxer.htm?id=1&subid=0&prodid=248&cc= -via Gizmodo

A one-year-old rare South China tiger at the Nanchang Zoo in Jiangxi province, China had been blind since birth, but can now see. The surgery was performed by Liu Fei, an eye surgeon with Nanchang University. Although Dr. Fei had operated on hundreds of human patients, this was his first veterinary surgery. It was also the first eye surgery ever done on a South China tiger.

The baby animal had been suffering from cataracts, most likely caused by inbreeding. Many of the tigers suffer from genetic defects. Most of this is due to a lack of genetic diversity. There are 72 South China tigers that have been born in captivity in China. Almost all of these exotic animals are directly descended from just six tigers, all of which were captured in the wild in 1955.

It is estimated that only about 30 South China tigers survive in the wild. Link -via Digg

(image credit: Shizhao)

Here’s a diagram that may help you learn the difference between England, Great Britain, the British Isles, and the United Kingdom.

The Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom are the only two sovereign states in this image. They are shown in red. Ireland and Great Britain are both islands and are shown in green. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are constituent countries of the United Kingdom and are shown in orange.

There are other complicating factors, stemming from politics, history, and geography. The author explains these as simply as possible, including the fact that this is actually a Euler Diagram instead of a Venn Diagram. Now if they could only explain North America/USA/America! Link -via reddit

Artist Dylan Kehde Roelofs creates individually handblown incandescent lights that appear antique and thoroughly modern at the same time. Standard pieces are for sale, and he also makes custom lights. When they burn out, he can replace the filaments for you. Link -via Dark Roasted Blend

(Break.com link)

I was expecting someone to pull the truck over on top of himself, but no, no one gets hurt (I think). Still, the result is not what these guys expected! -via Grow-A-Brain