May 2012
Futulele goes live for iPad, ukelele serenades... →
Futulele has come a long way since we saw it in March; it’s now on the App Store and has put on a lot of sheen in return for slipping past the original April release target. Along with a few more flowers to reinforce the Hawaiian vibe, Amidio’s definitive ukelele app has since gained the requisite support for the new iPad’s graphics and a fully automatic mode, just in case you’re not yet a...
Midnight At Every Stage Of Life [Comic] →
(via CollegeHumor)
read more: http://bit.ly/JKl83N
“Mr. Mann’s wish was to restore the good old... →
“Mr. Mann’s wish was to restore the good old custom of having the rich and poor educated together; and for that end he desired to make the public schools as good as schools could be made, so that the rich and the poor might not necessarily be coincident with the educated and the ignorant.”
– Mary Peabody Mann, Life of Horace Mann, 1865 (via popularhistory)
read more: http://bit.ly/JKl5VE
Light Left On For 77 Years Racked Up $17,000... →
This
is what happens when someone forgot to turn off the light:
A long-forgotten neon lamp that was switched on during the Great
Depression and left burning for about 77 years has been discovered hidden
behind a dusty partition at Clifton’s Cafeteria. The find was made amid
an extensive renovation of the downtown eatery, according to the building’s
...
Inhabitat’s Week in Green: Jake Dyson’s lamp,... →
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week’s most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us — it’s the Week in Green.
This week Inhabitat has been reporting live from New York Design Week, where we’ve witnessed countless innovative green designs from around the world. To kick things off, we were pretty impressed with this desk lamp designed by Jake Dyson (son of the...
‘Triggers’ iOS app uses your phone or tablet’s... →
We’re always open to tools that help with automation or basic tech literacy, so our test of iOS app Triggers entailed a swift journey from joy to disappointment. Triggers uses the same basic idea as web automation tool If This Then That, allowing users to set a condition (“phone hears noise greater than 10″) and define an output. Unfortunately, while If This Then That integrates a wide range of...
50 years later, the coal fire beneath Pennsylvania... →
Fifty years ago today, a coal seam caught fire in Centralia, Pennsylvania, causing the mines beneath the town to catch fire. While the decades-old fire has caused most residents to abandon the town, a few holdouts remain. More »
read more: http://bit.ly/K12qJh
Gender Balance on Social Networking Sites →
Oh boy, what does it say about me that I am a member of reddit, Digg, del.icio.us, and G+, but not Pinterest? I don’t know if you can actually say that “chicks rule” just because there are more of them on social networking sites. I don’t even know if there actually ARE more females on social networking sites, since Livejournal, Tumblr, myYearbook, Catster, and other sites are not represented at...
The Alien Chestburster Red Shirt Cake →
I know the chestburster covered in blood is supposed to look horrifically disgusting, but given that it’s cake, my mind automatically starts thinking about raspberry syrup and that just makes me hungry.
Link Via That’s Nerdalicious
read more: http://bit.ly/JOujhW
Solid state solar panels are more affordable, say... →
Researchers at Northwestern University have found one way to stop a leak: get rid of the liquid. A new variation on the Grätzel solar cell replaces a short-lived organic dye with a solid alternative. The molecular dye the solid substance replaces was corrosive, at risk of leaking and only lasted about 18-months — by replacing it, researchers plan to pave the way for a more affordable (and less...
Autocowrecks: You’ll Never Tell, Will You? →
I bet the cat is sick of hearing it too.
read more: http://bit.ly/KMKQmd
Steve Wozniak describes his ideal PC in 1977... →
This year marks the 35th anniversary of the Apple II, and if you’re still in the mood for nostalgia, you can check out a lengthy piece on the computer written by none other than Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. In 1977 Wozniak penned a feature for Byte magazine that goes into great detail about the machine, and the piece has since been re-printed online for your browsing pleasure. Wozniak opens up...
PSA: Fake ‘Canabalt’ clone for iPhone and iPad in... →
There’s a big update on the horizon for iOS classic Canabalt, but unfortunately it appears that a developer is trying to take advantage of the game’s popularity by offering a fake version on the iTunes App Store. Being sold by Picks Mano, the game goes under the name Canabalt HD — the sanctioned Android port of the game uses the same title, while on iOS the official game continues to be known...
Wood Cassette Table →
After five years of planning and work, Jeff Skierka completed this beautiful 12:1 scale audio cassette tape table. It’s made of maple, walnut and lucite. And presumably magnetic tape. The table is reversible, so you can play both sides.
Link -via Dude Craft
Previously: Wood VHS Cassette Table
read more: http://bit.ly/LSp3ko
Star Trek: Voyager Cake →
This delicious-looking Voyager cake definitely won’t require 75 years to complete its journey into my belly. Regali Kitchen made it to help Maya and Barry celebrate their eleventh anniversary. The ship’s navigation lights and warp nacelles light up appropriately and the crew is completely edible.
Link -via Bit Rebels | Regali Kitchen’s Website
read more: http://bit.ly/L3TNtt
Visualizing Tweets With Raphaël JS →
I’ve posted more than 3,700 tweets since early 2009, when I began archiving my data. This chart, made with Raphaël JS, shows which days and times were most common (see the interactive version):
TweetShare
read more: http://bit.ly/L4d8L2
One-Step Frozen Yogurt Pops [Food Hacks] →
If you’re like me you want your treats to be economical, easy to make, and somewhat healthy. A great way to hit all three of those targets is to buy a multipack of yogurt and push a popsicle stick through the foil lid. Freeze for a few hours and you’ll have a dead simple treat. More »
read more: http://bit.ly/LmVULz
Cash Cats →
Ca$h Cats is a simple Tumblr blog with one theme: cats rolling around in piles of money. And sometimes guns.
Never give a cat a gun. Also, monkeys. That is, never give a monkey a gun.
Are we clear?
Link -via Everyday, No Days Off
read more: http://bit.ly/JsSck8
Woman Marries Self →
File this under who-needs-a-man: Tired of waiting for someone to come
along and make her happy, 36-year-old Nadine Schweigert realized that
she’s already got that someone … herself! So she decided to get married:
Nadine Schweigert says her wedding went so perfectly that it left
her in awe.
The bride wore a long, satiny dress in peacock blue and carried
...
the shitty singularity →
2012-04-30 17:30:08 pfsc archives will be back up in a week or two fyi
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read more: http://bit.ly/JwDntH
If you are elderly and poor, prison is better than... →
If you are in old age, with no family and little money, your options are slim if you need living assistance. More »
read more: http://bit.ly/MDfB0J
DIY Hovercraft →
Photo: David Clugston
This looks like something fun you can build for/with your dad on Father’s
Day weekend: Adam Savage of Mythbusters built his own hovercraft out of
plywood, leaf blower, shower curtain, duct tape (of course), and my favorite
part, lawn chair!
Wired’s GeekDad has the instructions: Link
For the rest of us who don’t know the difference...
InstaCRT puts all other photo filter apps to shame... →
To hell with Instagram. Seriously. It’s not that we don’t understand the appeal of the photo filter standard bearer, it’s just that it lacks a cleverness and visceral quality that InstaCRT has in spades. See, rather than simply recreate retro effect with some software trickery, InstaCRT actually uses the aging titular tech to achieve its goals. The concept, while clever, is actually pretty...
The Legal Battle Begins Over Dish’s Ad-Skipping... →
As was predicted when Dish Network announced its Hopper DVR would allow users to skip commercials on recorded prime-time network TV shows, the so-called “holy grail for TV viewers” has ended up in court, with both sides racing to sue each other.
There are actually four separate lawsuits going on over the matter, with Fox, NBC, and CBS each filing separate copyright violation lawsuits in a U.S....
Insert Coin: PressurePen stylus lets you make all... →
In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you’d like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with “Insert Coin” as the subject line.
If you’re like Charles Mangin, you love your iPad or Android tablet, but wish it was a little more Wacom-esque. But why wait for hardware manufacturers to bring the styli to you? Mangin has...
Facebook could be looking to buy Opera browser →
Since its IPO earlier this month, Facebook has wasted no time in expanding its empire — it’s already purchased the Karma mobile gifting service and launched a standalone camera app — and talk about the social network’s next steps doesn’t seem to be quieting down. The latest rumor, from Pocket Lint, says Facebook is looking to buy the Opera browser as part of its larger effort to compete against...
The Awkward Friend Breakup [Comic] →
(via Explosm)
read more: http://bit.ly/JZ1pls
19-Year-Old Lives In AOL Offices For 2 Months, No... →
You know that co-worker who’s always there when you come in in the morning and also when you leave at night? Maybe their work ethic isn’t as amazing as you think. Maybe they don’t even work there, and are squatting in the office as a free place to sleep, eat, work out, bathe, and work on launching their own tech startup.
He got in the building as part of an incubator program hosted at the AOL...
Google’s Project Glass… it’s spreading (sample... →
Now, we’re not saying Google’s elite are actually aliens managing human social affairs, but if you were our reader Ben who ran into a crew of Project Glass-equipped Googlers breaking for drinks at a Los Gatos wine bar, it might seem like a possibility. Beyond filing tons of paperwork, the team is clearly expanding quickly and most recently took part in the Google+ photographer’s conference to...
Salt Made From Various Types Of Human Tears →
Who knew the tears that we cry could be used to make a variety of different salts? The people at We Made This, that’s who!
They’ve bottled our pain, pleasure and culinary sacrifice and created a line of salts suitable for various occasions and functions.
Slap on a label with literary flair and flavor suggestions and you’ve got a product that’s perfect for a store called Huxton Street Monster...
Charge Your Phone with a DIY Candle-Powered... →
So the power’s out, and you’ve broken out the candles to keep things well-lit—but your phone’s about to die too, with no working wall outlet in sight! DIY weblog Tinkernut shows us how to power your phone with the heat of one of those candles. More »
read more: http://bit.ly/KZCd9S
iOS 5.1.1 Untethered Jailbreak Now Available... →
iOS: The Chronic Dev Team has just released its new jailbreak too, Absinthe 2.0. The jailbreak works with the new iPad, iPhone 4S, and all previous models running iOS 5.1.1. More »
read more: http://bit.ly/KKVRqy
You Suck At Photoshop: Donny Hoyle Helps You With... →
You Suck At Photoshop: Donny Hoyle Helps You With Color Balance
Cursing Stone →
Say
your prayers! An ancient “cursing stone” used by Christian pilgrims
to curse their enemies has just been found in the island of Canna, Scotland:
The round stone with an early Christian cross engraved on it, also
known as a “bullaun” stone, is believed to be the first
of its type to be found in Scotland, and was discovered by chance in
an old...
The Boss Short Film →
Attention, cube dwellers! Tired of the daily oppression from The Boss? Check out this short clip by Alex Emslie of Amok Film which features the final epic confrontation between a tough boss and his underling.
Bump app for Android and iOS adds desktop photo... →
If you have an Android or iOS device, Bump is an application that is nearly magical.
Bump has been available for some time. It enabled two users who have the application installed to exchange contact information by bumping phones together. This is accomplished by using the phones accelerometers to make a request to the server. If two users were in proximity and their requests were issued at...
John Malkovich and Siri star in new iPhone 4S ads →
First Zooey Deschanel, then a faux Chris Brown, now John Malkovich posing pithy questions to Siri. Malkovich is so alone, so very alone.
Every one of Dean Pelton’s costumes from Community... →
Celebrating Dean Craig Pelton’s cosplay on Community, cartoonist Dennis Culver has drawn each of the 34 costumes Pelton has worn on the show.
John Scalzi’s Star Trek Spoof: Even Cleverer and... →
The love of Star Trek and other classic space operas is built on compromise, and a certain amount of irony. So many tropes in these shows are stylized to the point of unreality, and things happen to punch up the story, rather than for any real reason. Especially the deaths of “redshirts,” or random extras. More »
read more: http://bit.ly/KXKjzU
What to Do When “Doing What You Love” Isn’t an... →
We’ve always said that you should do what you love—so much that if you wouldn’t do your job for free, you should quit. When that isn’t an option, though, writer Patty Azzarello recommends a slight change in philosophy. More »
read more: http://bit.ly/Kk3fK7
Hipster Habit App Is a Pocketable, Printable... →
Killing a bad habit is easier said than done, but the Hipster Habit App—which is less of an app and more of a miniature printable book for your wallet—can help you through the process. All you need to do is make a few choices, stick with the plan, and you’ll have a well-formed habit in 30 days. More »
read more: http://bit.ly/JN2GLT
There’s more water on Jupiter’s moon Europa than... →
Remember that image from a few weeks back that showed Earth with all its water gathered up in a sphere beside it? Well here’s that image again, only this time, it also features Jupiter’s moon Europa, along with all of it’s water. Notice anything interesting? More »
read more: http://bit.ly/KXFtmq
Dataland: MIT’s ’70s media room concept that... →
In research for our latest Future Passed piece, I came across the mention of “Dataland” and a spatial data-management system. Hardly the most exciting-sounding concept, couched in academic technobureaucratese from the late ’70s, but I started digging around in old forums and email lists, with the hope of finding more about this photo mentioned in The Computer Age: A Twenty Year View. I eventually...
New Yorker’s science fiction issue features a... →
The New Yorker’s first ever science fiction issue comes out May 29, and it includes a new story by Jennifer Egan, author of the award-winning A Visit from the Goon Squad. But if you can’t wait until Tuesday, you’ll be able to read Egan’s story on Twitter, starting tonight, via @NYerFiction. A new 140-character extract from the story will appear every minute between 8 and 9 PM, and this...
No Globe →
The Dorothy art collective designed this snow globe that features a coal-fired power plant. When shaken, black pollution floats around instead of pristine white snowflakes.
The single greatest threat to the climate comes from burning coal but despite this a whole new fleet of dirty coal-fired power stations are on the verge of being built in the UK (the first for 30 years). The snow globe was...
Happy Birthday, Maru! →
Maru, the internet’s favorite cat, is 5 years old today. At his blog, you’ll see a video showing the highlights of Maru’s past year. Link -via Buzzfeed, where you’ll see a picture of Maru at one year old.
read more: http://bit.ly/KXxSEn
Cordlets Shorten Cables and Attach Them to Your... →
It’s one thing to attach cables to your desk for easy access and mild organization, but it’s another to make sure they’re the right length and stay where they’re supposed to go. Cordlets solve both of these problems by providing an easy grip for your cables and a small neck that you can use to wrap them, keeping them as short or as long as you want. More »
read more:...
Investment Firms Warned Off Facebook IPO In... →
In the days leading up to last Friday’s initial public offering for Facebook stock, the company raised the IPO price by several dollars a share, leading many small-level and amateur investors to wonder if maybe there was something more to the company than a place to post photos of you and your friends waiting in line to see Men In Black III. But at the same time, large investment firms were...
Magical Bed Hovers in Midair with Magnets →
Frakking beds — how do they work? Redditor mememetatata’s design is simple but brilliant. It’s just two wooden frames with opposing magnets inside. When assembled, the bed hovers a few inches off the ground.
It looks like the biggest problem that mememetatatta faced was that two of the magnets were shipped together. Each one had several hundred pounds of force, so he spent considerable effort...
Use Binder Clips as Photo Displays or Note Stands... →
As you know, we love the humble binder clip for its endless versatility and plenty of clever uses. Here’s one more simple way to put the clips to use: as holders for your photos or notes. More »
read more: http://lifehac.kr/JfzTtT