Bye bye Hummer

THE HUMMER IS DEAD!

GM are finally killing off the Hummer, following appalling sales figures. The struggling car company, announced that it will wind down production of its Hummer SUV line after a deal to sell the brand to China's Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery fell through.

Aside from my obvious hippy thoughts on the matter, it's about time! Hummers emit three times more carbon dioxide than a normal car and eke out just 14 miles to the gallon in city driving.

Hummer's military version, the Humvee, may have reached the end of the desert track as well - the US army provided no new money for the Humvee in its recent budget proposal.

Full story: Guardian

WANT!

This floppy disc pillow is total awesome geekness.

via GeekSugar

How genetics works

via Kottke

Deep deep DEEP blue

I watched The Abyss just the other night, but you don't really get a good understanding for how deep the ocean really is.

Damn the ocean is DEEP! Seriously, click the image to see it full-size.

DEEP!

Blow that filter. Hard.

Ok, I get it. I understand that shock value is now the new Mecca in advertising, but come on - there is a limit.

These new anti-smoking ads from France have a very clear message - smoke cigarettes and it's just like giving a blow job to a tobacco executive. The tag line makes it even worse - 'Fumer c'est etre l'esclave du tabac = Smoking is like being tobacco's slave'.

Lovely. Fellatio being used as a negative incentive to stop people being killed by a highly addictive substance. I find this as offensive and useless as those ridiculous NSW ads with women wiggling their little fingers. Ahhhhh I get it, she's saying I've got a small penis. Well, I'd better drive responsibly - that'll show her.

Oh and before you jump on the sexism bandwagon, there is also a male version. And a small boy version. I really hate advertising sometimes.

via BuzzFeed

Reds under the loos

Excuse me, I've off to make giant copies of this poster and put them up in the toilets of Trades Hall.

via BB

Hershey's is the shiz

Those geniuses the Sniper Twins are back at it again. Following on from the awesomeness that was Computer Friends, they've convinced Hershey's to help them create a viral rap about the giant chocolate company.

WANT!

From Out of Print - specialising in t-shirt prints of out of print or otherwise hard to find book covers. I love this Brave New World t-shirt.

The best bit? For every t-shirt sold, they donate a book to Books for Africa.

via Cool Hunting

Mapping your life

I'm a big fan of data collection and display. I loved the phenomenon of Daytum when it first came out, and I've been involved in a project designed to collect and monitor individual carbon pollution levels. If I weren't so lazy, I'd be fascinated to see my own life data.

Actually, that's not true - I'd happily log all the data, day-to-day. It's the integration that is required that I don't like. I don't have a fully linked google account. My email, calendar, notes, blog and iPhone are largely unconnected, and I like it that way. Partly it's a growing fear of Skynet - I mean Google - but mostly it's personal preference and control. I run my own mail server and like it that way.

Anyway, rant aside, this guy has mapped his entire 2009 and made a cute little video about it. Awesome. Plus he's a high school teacher. Those are some lucky kids - it's rare these days to find a truly creative mentor working in a school who hasn't been sucked up and burned by the system.



via BB

Spreading the love online

My new favourite pastime?
Replacing the feed from my webcam with a video.
A video of a dude in a dog costume dancing in front of his webcam.
Then going on Chat Roulette and streaming the video on constant repeat.
And watching people's reactions.
I love the interwebs.

Latest on Lolcats

Fashion hits back

Love it. Finally, a clothing company who are willing to stand up against the horror of wearing tights in public. American Apparel tights now come with a label inside that reads 'Warning: these tights are not pants."

via Clem Bastow

Unfortunately, this IS cool, but not cool enough to top my favourite clothing label:

Distributed by an American company who sell their products in France during the terrible rein of George W, the French section reads:

Wash with warm water.
Use mild soap.
Dry flat.
Do not use bleach.
Do not dry in the dryer.
Do not iron.
We are sorry that our president is an idiot.
We did not vote for him.

The garden haul from today

Temple of Bloom

I forgot to add this at the time; my latest submission to Tanks A Lot - Temple of Bloom in Preston. Unfortunately no longer in business, but still pun-tastic!

Google Map Envelope

Epic awesome! Originally mooted by graphic designer Beste Miray, this envelope design opens up to reveal a printed graphic showing the location of origin on Google Maps.

Craftbits has a tutorial on how to print these from a standard sheet of paper, or you can use the fully automated Map Envelope. Either way, it's awesome.

via LifeHacker AU

Google's video speed test

This is going to be handy. Google have just launched their video speed comparison test, allowing you to benchmark your ISP's performance.

Here is my performance rating, which personally I'm pissed about. TPG have been a good provider for years, and were the first company I found that had a reasonably priced, giant bandwidth that could handle our net needs. Now, to have confirmation that their performance has gone drastically downhill is bloody annoying.

Now is when you can use the market forces of the internet user in your favour. Do the test, and if the results are below the average levels, contact your ISP and tell them to lift their game. Throw in a few threats about taking the story of their performance to a few IT publications and you might be surprised by their response.

I've contacted TPG about their woeful service levels on my ADSL+2 account - we'll see where this ends up...

The Pun: call for contributors

Are you a budding writer? Got a passion for live performance? The Pun is now accepting applications to be a part of our team for 2010.

We’re searching for reviewers, writers and sub-editors to cover the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. To apply, send your resume and two samples of your writing (including one live performance review) to lefa@anewleaf.com.au by 28 February. For more information about The Pun visit www.thepun.org

Admiral Ackbar overload

Epic want this t-shirt. And then I want to wear it at this coffee shop:



via Laughing Squid

Planetary posters

These posters by Ross Berens are beautiful. I hope my little boy gets into astronomy and space so I can justify buying them all at some stage.

via Kottke

We Love the Interwebs!

This is sweet. That genius of the interwebs xkcd once did his own take on Discovery Channel's boom-di-yadda ad (which I've seen far too much of lately, what with all my TV watching at the moment).

Now, there's a YouTube version, featuring as many interwebs celebrities as they could pack in: Neil Gaiman, Wil Wheaton, Cory Doctorow, Lawrence Lessig, Bruce Schneier, Jason Kottke, Google Zurich, Hank Green, MC Frontalot, Patrick & Teresa Nielsen Hayden, Mr. Toast, Miss Cellania, Team Genius, Phil Plait, Allan Amato, Maddy Gaiman, Charissa Gilreath, Belinda Casas, Chuck Martinez, Jeremy James, Joanna Gaunder, Lee Israel & Octavio Coleman Esq. of The Jejune Institute.

via BB

Can't sleep - Elmo chair will eat me

Found in Kmart today. No wonder kids cry.

Latest on TotallyLooksLike

Going back in time... and spacial distortion

Nothing is more awesome than a 3D optical illusion made with painter's tape. Oh wait, yes there is - if it's an illusion of a DeLorean!

Tomato

After a few seasons of cherry tomatoes, I've finally grown my own full size fruit. Yay!

Slurpee stomach

Here's a terrifying fact:
At any one time, the average human stomach can hold a maximum of 946.35 millilitres.
The Double Big Gulp available at 7-11 in the USA holds 1.89 litres.
I love American food facts. Nation-wide obesity problem? What nation-wide obesity problem?

via Today I Found Out

WANT!

Actually, this guy has heaps of awesome t-shirt designs.

Ice is in yo hood

Genius. Pure genius. I now have to do this to every ice cube dispenser I see from now on.

I think this actually tops the Tom Hanks trashcan.



via Urban Prankster

Happy dog is happy

I love this dog. I want this dog. I predict that I know lots of people who will also want this dog. Paris, Flick, I'm looking in your direction.

Dude. Karma.

Since I forgot to blog about it at the time, I'd like to point out that late last year I met with the Dalai Lama.
Look past the boring Parliamentary delegation that is getting in the way, and observe - middle: Dalai, top back middle: me, bottom left: Lefa.
Awww yeah. Hangin' wit' the Lama.

TV I'm enjoying at the moment

Since we're largely house-bound at the moment, looking after the little guy, the TV intake has dramatically increased. Here's some of my hot picks for watching hours and hours of television when you're exhausted and sleep deprived.

Quantum Leap
One of my favourite shows growing up - made all the better since I realised it was written by Donald Bellisario, who also created JAG, Magnum P.I. and NCIS.

Star Trek: The Next Generation
Yeah I said it. I have admitted that I'm a trekkie. Well, I'm not truly - I can't stand the original series, and as much as I try to get into Enterprise or Deep Space Nine... it sucks. Voyager is ok, but I'm yet to be totally convinced.

Stargate SG1
I loved the movie, and the few times I've tuned in when this has been on TV, I had no idea what was going on. Starting from the start seems to have helped - it's ok.

No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
This is awesome. It's like Poirot set in Botswana with an awesome leading lady. We're only on episode two and I love it.

Dirty Jobs
There is something really nice and honest about the way Mike Rowe talks to people who have filthy, disgusting, hard jobs. Plus, it taps in to my love of understanding how things are made, produced or taken care of. I think it stems from those awesome bits on Sesame Street where they visit bottling plants, or show how crayons are made.

18 Kids and Counting
Awww yeah - crazy Christians in the US who just keep breeding. Freaks galore.

Little People, Big World
See above, just add midgets.

Destroyed in Seconds
How can you go wrong with this one? It's like America's Funniest Home Videos but condensed down to 15 second skits, all narrated by an energetic ex-footballer. Awesome.

UPDATE
How could I forget River Cottage!?!?
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is my favourite chef/lifestyle enthusiast/sustainability advocate/awesomely cute man. I want to live on his farm and make gooseberry pies, or produce spiced butter, or raise free-range chickens. Love it.

UPDATE 2
Damnit. This is going to keep annoying me as I remember other shows I'm loving.
Grand Designs. Kevin McCloud is so wonderfully passionate about good, different architecture and design, this show is always interesting.

Zen Kitty is so much more zen than you

Wanna go to Yale?

Wow. This recruitment video for Yale is goddamn awesome.

via Washington Post

Avery

My son, Avery Singleton Norton - born 3.15pm Wednesday 20th January 2010.