General
Car Craft
September 7th, 2010 | Published under General | No Comments
James Corbett uses the remnants of old cars from the 1950s and 1960s to create the amazing sculptures you see here, some having sold for thousands of dollars. The 46-year-old artist lives in Ningi, Queensland, with his wife Jodie. One of the sculptures, a ram created from spark plugs, sold for a huge $23,000.
James spends weeks locating the necessary parts to make a sculpture, before cleaning them and welding them together. He says that finding the parts is by far the most time consuming part of the process. His sculptures are made of gears, spark plugs, exhaust, radiators and anything else the artist can find. French and British cars are his favourite to retrieve parts from. James says, “On average each piece takes a little over two weeks, but the larger pieces can take much longer.”
The sculptor is exhibiting his work in the Gallery John Davies in Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, England, until December 19. “My two favourite pieces I’ve created for this exhibition are the ram and the wild boar,” he says.
Air Transport
September 5th, 2010 | Published under General | No Comments
It’s a bit old, but here’s when Amber, a former FedEx 727, was moved from Fort Lauderdale airport to North Perry where it is now used at an aviation school. Wonder how much the freight cost for this one?
In Your Sight
August 29th, 2010 | Published under General | No Comments
How would you like it if creatures lived in your eyelashes? Well, chances are they already do. The demodicid is a small mite measuring less than 0.4mm that finds pores and hair follicles, and especially the roots of your eyelashes, the perfect place to live. Nearly everyone has a few of these creatures living somewhere on their bodies and those that use a lot of make-up or have very oily skin and the most vulnerable.
Their main meals are your skin dead skin debris and certain fluids expelled from your body. And they breed on you too. A female can lay up to 25 eggs, which then hatch and move to other hair follicles on your body to continue the breeding process. Sounds scary? Generally these creatures are harmless, and are a normal part of the human and many other species.
The pictures below show what these creatures might look like if you had microscopic sight.
Still worried? When you go to bed tonight think of the millions of dust mites living in your bed!
Help Close Puppy Factories
August 19th, 2010 | Published under General | 1 Comment
While factories the world over have recently been forced to shut down due to the economic crisis, puppy factories continue to boom.
Mass-producing puppies for profit, their operators are simply business people with little or no concern for the animals they force to breed in appalling facilities. It’s not uncommon for female dogs as young as six months old to churn out litters constantly for their entire lives.
When they’re no longer able to breed, they’re euthanised. But perhaps the most shocking truth about puppy factories is that they’re operating right here, in towns all across Australia.
How can you help to close down puppy factories?
With your signature of support petition.php the RSPCA can approach the Government requesting to have the laws and legislations regulating puppy factories tightened, ultimately closing them down for good.
There are also other ways you can help to put these awful businesses to a stop. Make sure you know how and where to buy a puppy, and if you aware of a puppy factory in operation, make sure you report it.
You can find out more at RSPCA – Help Us Close Puppy Factories.
Advanced Search
August 17th, 2010 | Published under General | No Comments
It’s a search engine, calculator, currency converter and much more. Anyone who uses Google on a day-to-day basis (which is most of us) is quite aware of the extensive features integrated into Google searches. It really is much more than just a search engine. But it’s not all serious business, with these cool and funny tricks hidden inside Google search. Give them a try!
- Try some of the “other” measurements Google accepts, such as the beard-second (5mm), Potrzebie (2.2633mm), ngogn (11.5938151ml), blintz (36.4253863g) and donkeypower (0.3353hp). For example, type “1 donkeypower to hp” in the search box.
- What’s the loneliest number? Let Google calculate it by searching “loneliest number.”
- Find out the real probability of “once in a blue moon” through a Google search.
- Search for “the answer to life, the universe, and everything.” The result is a reference to Douglas Adam’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
- Search for “the number of horns on a unicorn”
- All of the above are stored as actual numbers, so you can add, subtract, multiply, etc, on them. You can even convert them to a currency. For example try “number of horns on a unicorn + 5”.
In early March this year a town called Topeka in Kansas temporarily changed their name to Google. On April Fools’ Day, Google issued a joking statement that they would be changing their name to Topeka in honour of the gesture and changed their logo for the day.
- Google the words “recursion” and “anagram.” Pay attention to the resulting “Did you mean?” suggestions.
- See if you can spot this one: search “ascii art.”
- If one sets the iGoogle theme to the “Beach” option, then at 3:14 AM every morning, the Loch Ness Monster surfaces for 1 minute, then at 3:15 dives back under. The reason for the timing of 3:14 is rumoured to be a tribute to the number pi. Additional 3:14 eggs include the “Seasonal Scape” showing off the Northern Lights, the “City Scape” with UFOs, the “Spring Scape” with a monster, the “Sweet Dreams” with the stars aligning to the shape of the symbol pi, and the “Tea House” that has spirits in the mist.
- Use Google Translate to translate “James Bond” from English to Chinese.
- Press up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A in Google Reader to release some Ninja action.
- Google offers multiple languages not common in other applications, such as Google in Pirate and Pig Latin.
And that’s just a few! In addition to these tricks, Google are also famous for their various hoaxes over the years. You can see the full list at Wikipedia.
Nice to see one company not taking things too seriously!
Red Fridays
August 5th, 2010 | Published under General | 6 Comments
If the red shirt thing is new to you, read below how it went for one man…
Last week, while travelling to Brisbane on business, I noticed an army sergeant travelling with a folded flag, but did not put two and two together. After we boarded our flight, I turned to the sergeant, who’d been invited to sit in Business Class (across from me), and inquired if he was heading home.
“No”, he responded.
“Going home”, I asked?
“No. I’m escorting a soldier home.”
“Going to pick him up?”
“No. He is with me right now. He was killed in Afghanistan; I’m taking him home to his family.”
The realisation of what he had been asked to do hit me like a Rock to the head. (I felt sick in the stomach) It was an honour for him. He told me that, although he didn’t know the soldier, he had delivered the news of his passing to the soldier’s family and felt as if he knew them after many conversations in so few days.
I turned back to him, extended my hand, and said, “Thank you. Thank you for doing what you do so my family and I can do what we do.” He took my hand and said “Thank You.”
Upon landing in Brisbane, the pilot stopped short of the gate and made the following announcement over the intercom.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to note that we have had the honour of having Sergeant Jamison of the Royal Australian Army join us on this flight. He is escorting a fallen comrade back home to his family. I ask that you please remain in your seats when we open the forward door to allow Sergeant Steeley to deplane and receive his fellow soldier. We will then turn off the seat belt sign.”
Without a sound, all went as requested… I noticed the sergeant saluting the casket as it was brought off the plane, and his action made me realise that I am proud to be an Australian.
So here’s a public Thank You to our military Men and Women for what you do so we can live the way we do.
Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing Red every Friday. The reason; Australians who support our troops used to be called the ‘silent majority.’ We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers. We are not organised, boisterous or overbearing.
Many Australians, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognise that the vast majority of Australians supports our troops. Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that every red-blooded Australian who supports our men and women afar, will wear something red.
By word of mouth, press, TV – let’s make Australia every Friday a sea of red much like an AFL Grand final game in the MCG Stands. If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family, it will not be long before Australia is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once ‘silent’ majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more than the media lets on. Don’t let this be like it was for our poor Vietnam Vets.
The first thing a soldier says when asked “What can we do to make things better for you?” is “We need your support and your prayers.” Let’s get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example, and wear something red every Friday.
Senator Online
July 20th, 2010 | Published under General | No Comments
Are you still not sure who to vote for this upcoming election?
If you’re like me and realise the enormous opportunities the Internet can bring to people of all walks of life, you should consider voting for Senator Online (SOL). Senator Online does not have any policies; instead they seek to implement a system where a poll will be available online for all registered voters to vote on any bill that passes before the Senate.
SOL states their purpose on their website:
- Senator Online is not-for-profit and Australia’s first (and only) internet-based registered political party.
- Senator Online is dedicated to providing everyday Australians like you a voice direct in parliament.
Here’s how it works:
1. The SOL post-election website will provide you balanced, unbiased information on all the issues, bills, and policies in Parliament;
2. You vote on the SOL website how you want our senators to vote – every bill, every important issue, every time;
3. SOL senators in Parliament then vote exactly how the majority directs.
Where a 70% majority vote exists, senators will be required to vote in accordance with the clear majority. This gives you a direct voice into what is passed or rejected in the Senate, and means everyone can have their own say from the comfort of their own homes.
Find out more at Senator Online and show your support at the polls on the 21st of August!
World Cup 2010
July 13th, 2010 | Published under General | No Comments
The World Cup has come to an end for another 4 years, and well done to Spain who (unfortunately) beat the Netherlands in a 1:0 final score to take away the biggest prize of them all. The game dragged on, with the one and only winning goal being scored four minutes before the end of extra time.
It was the first ever World Cup win for Spain, only ever coming close with a 4th place in 1950. As for the Netherlands, who have been runners-up in 1974, 1978 and 4th in 1998, that World Cup still seems like a hard place to reach. So now, as the World Cup comes to an end, we can finally get to sleep without 4:30am alarm clocks and hear the end of where Australia went wrong.
So where do we get our soccer fix now? The Hyundai A-League officially starts its first game on August 5, and will see the introduction of a new team, Melbourne Heart, alongside the other Melbourne conterpart, Melbourne Victory. This season is going to be bigger than ever, so make sure you check it out for some great local soccer!
Check out Hyundai A-League and Melbourne Victory for fixtures, news and more.
Come Play!
July 9th, 2010 | Published under General | No Comments
In less than 60 hours it will all be over as the final two games are played of another World Cup, and although everyone is firmly placing their predictions, nothing can be officially said until the whistle blows at the end of the match. The semi-finals saw Uruguay get defeated by the Netherlands 2:3 (which I was very pleased to see) and the big guns Spain take out Germany with a simple 1:0.
For the final and biggest weekend of World Cup soccer make sure you check out:
Sunday 4:30am will see Uruguay take on Germany for third place.
Monday 4:30am will see Netherlands take on Spain for the World Cup itself.
As usual both games will be shown live on SBS Television, so get to bed early, set you’re alarm even earlier and wake up fresh and ready for all the action.
This has been the first World Cups where I’ve actually paid attention to the games and it’s been fantastic. I’ve been lucky enough to see the Netherlands come through to the final game of the World Cup and have a chance and winning the biggest soccer title of them all. Comon Holland! And hopefully one day Australia will be up there too!
If you’re like me and think the World Cup deserves to be right here at home in Australia, make sure you add your name to the Australia World Cup Bid 2022. There’s currentely 211,533 names and 146 days until the official word from FIFA will be made. Check out Come Play for more information on how to support our bid.
Let’s show the rest of the world what the World Cup is really about!
Light Shows
June 17th, 2010 | Published under General | No Comments
The amazing phenomena known as auroras produce these natural light shows as shown in the pictures below. It’s sometimes known as northern lights or polar lights and creates a natural light show in the atmosphere. Auroras can be spotted throughout the world and on other planets. It is most visible closer to the poles due to the longer periods of darkness and the magnetic field.
Auroras are caused by the bombardment of solar electrons on oxygen and nitrogen atoms. The electrons literally excite the oxygen and nitrogen atoms high in the atmosphere to create the beautiful light show in night sky. Like neon lights, they work by exciting gases with electricity. This results in the expulsion of colours of the different gases being affected. The colours are actual wavelengths of light from gases in the atmosphere.
Down our end of the Earth, you’ll have to visit the continent of Antarctica to be able to see this show, where it can be commonly seen near the South Pole. Another unique spectacle to be seen here is diamond dust, a ground-level cloud composed of tiny ice crystals. Enjoy the pictures!
From Wikipedia.
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