Swans on Tea

Oregon State “crushes” Pitt in the Sun Bowl. 3-0
(More squeaking, actually)

Blake’s mention of a “First Night” celebration in Boston, coupled with memories of many stories about similar celebrations in upstate New York (Albany and Saratoga), have triggered this.
The problem: “First Night” celebrations are held on New Year’s Eve, which is the LAST night of the year. I mean seriously, WTF? After midnight, [...]

Man: Well… I was about seventeen and some mates and me went to a party, and, er… we had quite a lot to drink… and then some of the fellows there … started handing … cheese around … and well just out of curiosity I tried a bit … and well that was that.
Interviewer: And what else [...]

Here’s a wonderful claymation video of a chess match
You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video
via

Examples of GPS drawing
The drawings and maps are made by recording location and movement using Global Positioning System technology. GPS data contains latitude, longitude, altitude, and precise time information that can be rendered, sculpted and animated.

The science du jour is physics of weight loss, which is useful for this time of year when some of us tend to act as sanctuary for some extra mass (those poor, persecuted cookies and brethren, seeking asylum)
Here’s my own The Physics of Weight Loss
Matt has just posted on the topic over at Built on [...]

ask a silly question… at Abstruse Goose.
The Pulp Fiction reference reminds me, peripherally, of the time I spent living in Vancouver, Canada. Do you know what they call a Quarter-Pounder with cheese in Vancouver?

At that point, I had the right to remain silent … but not the ability. Ron White
Eight reasons even the innocent shouldn’t talk to the police
~45 minutes of video of a defense lawyer and a cop explaining why anyone in the US should never, never, never talk to the police. I assume this [...]

CSI lies and suspicious science over at Cocktail Party Physics
Forensic science has come a long way since Sherlock Holmes bragged that he could identify 140 types of tobacco from their ash. And far be it from me to diss one of my favorite shows on the TV I don’t own, the original CSI, which is [...]

You can find anything on the internets.
Flickr: Far side Reenactments

Siberian diamond mine
Google sightseeing page
This is the worlds biggest open cast diamond mine in Mirny, north eastern Siberia. It’s more than 1 km in diameter and half a km deep!

But I am so tempted to acquire …
You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video
In order to accomplish this feat, the guys from Manapotions increased the voltage to the firing motor using 2 x 9.6v battery packs. More juice equals a faster spinning motor. A faster spinning motor means that toy [...]