Nov 16 2009 Bacon Sunrise Is The New Tequila Sunrise
I love tequila sunrises. You know why? They're fruity, come with a little umbrella, and go down great with breakfast. Which, more often than not, is two quarts of mimosas I mixed into an orange juice carton. I SHOULD WRITE A BOOK ON EATING HEALTHY. But, for those of you that prefer a solid breakfast, maybe you'll be interested in this bacon sunrise, which is actually just some bacon, an egg and a couple sprigs of inedible greenery. Now imagine if you were miniaturized and walking those rolling bacon hills. Would you stop to enjoy the eggrise or would you be too busy driving bacon into your mouth to notice? No need to answer, I've got your number.
Hit the jump for another one of a bacon road.
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Nov 16 2009 The Sky Is Falling!: Leonid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight/Early Tommorrow Morning
For those of you that like to get high and lie in the middle of a field staring up, the Leonid meteor shower is supposed to reach its peak tonight from 1AM to dawn. Great, I'll be hiding in the back of the hallway closet waiting for the apocalypse. It, uh, is 2012, right?
The best seats are in Asia, but North American observers should be treated to an above average performance of the Leonid meteor shower, weather permitting. The trick for all observers is to head outside in the wee hours of the morning - between 1 a.m. and dawn - regardless where you live.
"We're predicting 20 to 30 meteors per hour over the Americas, and as many as 200 to 300 per hour over Asia," said Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. Other astronomers who work in the nascent field of meteor shower prediction have put out similar forecasts.
Listen, I've been disappointed by these things before. Those NASA Meteoroidoligists are almost as bad as the cloud and rain ones. Still, I recommend everyone that hasn't seen the Leonid Shower to get out there and check it out. Me? I'm holding out for the Girl's Locker Room Shower.
Strong Leonid Meteor Shower Peaks Early Tuesday Morning [yahoonews]
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Nov 14 2009 Impressive: 300,000 Birds Perform Air Ballet
I have no idea who the hell can tell that's 300,000 birds, but I'm running with it. And by running I mean flying. Just like those birds. Except less graceful. But equally naked! Think of me as like the Eleventh Plague of Egypt, if the Eleventh Plague of Egypt were a naked man standing on the roof flapping his arms. I'm coming for you, Pharoah! *caw caw!*
It's a bird! It's a cloud! It's a bird cloud [yahoobuzz]
Nov 13 2009 Yes...YES!: Tyrannosaurs Doing It Dino-style
Now THAT'S what I'm talking about. Except I'm not so much talking as fantasizing. God I'd love to be in the middle of those two. Ha -- I guess I AM talking about it! Now one of you put those little arms to use and make me a sandwich.
Tyrannosaurus skeleton casts mounted in a mating position, Jurassic Museum of Asturias [wikipedia] (high-res version)
Thanks to Kelly, who just convinced me to buy a one-way ticket to Asturias, Spain.
Nov 13 2009 I'll Be The Prettiest Girl At The Ball And Everyone Will Notice Me!: LED Dress
Just to let this chick know that her LED wedding dress doesn't hold a lumen to a REAL LED dress, somebody went and created the GalaxyDress, which is being touted as the world's biggest LED-covered dress. Yay? Hip hop hooray? Ho -- hey -- ho. I'M NAUGHTY BY NATURE!
The GalaxyDress was constructed using 24,000 LED lights and, to add an extra bit of glitter, another 4,000 Swarovski crystals were included in the silk garment's design.
The dress is currently on display at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry as part of the FastForward: Inventing the Future exhibit.
Funny story about inventing the future: God did it. There used to only be past and present when he thought to himself, "God, you know what would be super sweet? Flying cars". POOF!: the future. This is the word of the Geekologie Writer. Boomshackalacka.
GalaxyDress: The biggest LED dress in the world debuts [dvice]
Nov 2 2009 Mmmm, That's Milky: 648 Megapixel Milky Way
This is a 648 megapixel composite (higher-res version HERE) of the Milky Way created by physicist (and all around badass) Axel Mellinger. Good lookin', Axel.
Physicist Axel Mellinger spent nearly two years traveling 26,000 miles across South Africa, Texas and Michigan. What does he have to show for it? Well, he's cobbled together a stunning 648 megapixel panorama of the Milky Way as seen from Earth, using 3,000 individual photographs. The Central Michigan University professor wants to make the image available for planetariums, as it's large enough to serve educational purposes. It even shows stars that are 1,000 times too faint to be seen by the human eye, so this is a Milky Way like you've never seen.
That IS a Milky Way like I've never seen. Get it? BECAUSE THERE'S NO CHOCOLATE OR NOUGAT LIKE THE CANDY BAR! Yep *cracking knuckles* I can already tell today's gonna be a good day.
Photo: stunning 648 megapixel image of the Milky Way [dvice]
Thanks to Closet Nerd, who sends enough tips to be out already.
Oct 9 2009 Cool!: Beluga Whales Can Blow Bubble Rings
So apparently beluga whales know how to blow bubble rings, making them perfect for children's birthday parties and arguably the smartest creatures in the ocean. You hear that merfolk? Your finned asses just got demoted!
And while they chug through the water at a sluggish 2 to 5mph, their mental power more than makes up for their slowness. Scientists don't really know why Belugas - like their fellow marine mammals, the dolphins - are fond of blowing bubbles and then chasing them. But it's likely that, just like children, they simply enjoy messing about.
Some scientists have called Belugas the most intelligent creatures on earth. But don't confuse that large forehead with a huge brain.It is actually filled with a lump of wax, which is thought to help the whales communicate. In fact, they are so talkative - using chirps, squeals and squeaks - that their nickname is 'the canary of the sea'.
Yes, 'the canary of the sea'. Not to be confused with 'the poisonous chicken of the sea', which is the Japanese Puffer Fish. I ate twelve and still lived! NOW WHO'S THE DEADLIEST CATCH COMPETITIVE EATER?! This guy.
Hit the jump for several more of the ring-blowing fun.
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Oct 7 2009 New Giant Ring Discovered Around Saturn
Because space is awesome and full of mysteries (and butt-naked aliens), scientists just recently discovered a freaking huge new ice-and-dust ring around Saturn. I want it for engagement!
Although the ring dust is very cold -- minus 316 degrees Fahrenheit -- it shines with thermal radiation.
No one had looked at its location with an infrared instrument until now, Clavin said.The bulk of the ring material starts about 3.7 million miles from the planet and extends outward about another 7.4 million miles.
The newly found ring is so huge it would take 1 billion Earths to fill it, JPL said.
1 billion earths -- that's a lot! Not as many as you could fit in my stomach, but I've been expanding it with balloons. I'm gonna be a drug mule!
NASA telescope discovers giant ring around Saturn [comcastnews]
Thanks to Calabasa209, who has been to space and knows things. Things you wouldn't even believe. I'm talking wormhole shit. Makes great fertilizer!
Oct 2 2009 Serious Eye Candy: Amazing Photograph Of The World's Tallest Rocket Blasting Off
This is a photo of the world's tallest rocket blasting off for outerspace without me. Damnit, I packed a sack lunch and everything! HOLLER AT YOUR BOY, NASA. Come on -- I'll bring you back an alien corpse!
You're looking at the 253.2-foot Delta 4-Heavy lifting off from launch complex 37B at Cape Canaveral, and yes, that's actually a photograph. Good thing the camera was remotely triggered by photographer Ben Cooper, who used sound activation to snap this shot while he was safely ensconced 3 miles away.We feel sorry for that camera, though, whose lens was destroyed. The good news is, the camera itself somehow survived this hellish inferno as the world's tallest unmanned rocket roared away from its launchpad.
Impressive, huh? We've certainly come a long way since people thought the world was round, am I right? IT'S A D-20 YOU IDIOTS. God loves D&D! Now, gimme a roll for drunkenness, big guy. 19! BLAAAAAAAHH!!
World's tallest rocket roars away, captured in spectacular photo [dvice]
Sep 23 2009 Beautiful Shot Of The Pinwheel Galaxy
The Pinwheel Galaxy (higher res version HERE) got its name because it looks like a pinwheel. Geez, it doesn't take a rocket surgeon to figure that one out. Or maybe it's cause it loves Little Debbie Pecan Spinwheels so much. Well guess what -- so do I! And Starcrunches? Don't even get me started!!
This new three-color composite image was captured by the Isaac Newton Telescope in La Palma, Spain.
Known more officially as Messier 101 or NGC 5457, this classic spiral galaxy is 27 million light years from Earth in the Ursa Major constellation, also known as the Big Dipper. Its slight asymmetry is thought to be the result of an encounter with another galaxy in the recent (astronomically speaking) past. This event also left many huge clouds of glowing gas and plasma known as H II regions.Though the galaxy, which measures 170,000 light-years across, is visible with the naked eye as a fuzzy spot, large telescopes are needed to see any detail.
You know what I love most about outerspace? I heard it's super quiet. What do you mean, "space is a vacuum"? Those things are loud as shit!
Aug 24 2009 Eye Candy: Beautiful Dancing Smoke Video
This is a video created by Esteban Diácono to the music of Olafur Arnalds' Ljósið using "Adobe After Effects, particular v2, soundkeys and a little starglow". It's basically a bunch of smoke dancing around. But not like that shit in Lost!
i first imported the audio and set up 2 sounkeys layers, one for the piano and one for the strings. Then i worked the particles and the particle subsystem and linked things like the emission, the turbulence, the velocity, the spin amplitude and the strenght of the fields to the soundkeys outputs. Then i set up the colors with 2 different palettes, and well, after that there was a lot of trial and error in order to achieve what i was looking for. There's a lot of randomness involved in here, so there was also a lot of luck, of course.
I don't really understand any of that, but what's new? The important thing is that you just got paid for watching a three and a half minute video at work. High five!
The most amazing, beautiful and realistic piece of computer art I have ever seen [thenextweb]
Thanks to Andrew, who once inhaled some of that smoke and got all high as a kite and forgot to catch the bus.
Jul 23 2009 By Popular Demand: Novelty Eagle Heads
Due to to the excessive interest in the novelty eagle heads available in Ghetto Baskets, Geekologie loyalist Pew³ managed to track down some relatively inexpensive ($5.68) ones for all your bird head needs. Per the review I just wrote and submitted:
By far one of the best novelty eagle heads I've owned. The beak is yellowish, I swear the eyes follow me around the room and it's plumage cascades down the rocks like a waterfall. 4.33 (repeating of course) out of 5 CAWS. CAW CAW CAW CAW C!
Wow, I should really write product descriptions. Also, romance novels. So a dinosaur walks into a bar....
Thanks to Pew³, who knows a quality resin eagle head when he sees one.
Jun 29 2009 I'm In Love
I have never felt feelings like this before. Marry me?
Hit the jump for a couple more of the before and after.
May 22 2009 Dude -- Compared To Our Galaxy, We're Just Like, Little Ants Man. Little Ants That Are High
This is a time-lapse video of the center of the Milky Way Galaxy rising over Texas from 9:20 PM to 6:43 AM on April 21-22, 2009, during a star party. Now I have no idea what a star party is, but if it's anything like the last bachelor party I went to, I want in. We could even shoot the hooker's body into space like they did Spock's in The Wrath of Khan!
Tuesday Diversion: The Milky Way Time-lapse [chicagoist]
Thanks to Danny, who reminds you all: shoot for the stars. Even if you miss, you might bag an alien.
May 16 2009 Outerspace Eye Candy: Space Shuttle And Hubble Telescope Silhouetted Against Sun
This is a photo of the space shuttle Atlantis and Hubble Space Telescope silhouetted against the sun. It really made me think about stuff. You know, like outerspace and all that. I'm really deep.
The exceptionally gifted astrophotographer Thierry Legault captured this stunning tableau just minutes before the crew of Atlantis caught up with and captured Hubble for its very last servicing mission on May 13, 2009. This shot has never been accomplished before, and it's magnificent. He used a 13 cm telescope, and camera that took a series of 16 images of 1/8000th of second each.
Awesome image, Thierry. Reminds me of the time I bet the sun I could beat it in a staring contest and kicked its shiny ass. And that, my friends, is why I'm so bright.
Hit the jump for a couple more shots, one of which may or may not look like Pac-Man from behind.
May 11 2009 Another Day, Another Cosmic Eyeball
We've already seen God's hand, God's eye and the Eye of Sauron, so why not another cosmic ball of eye? This here is the latest in a batch of images from the Hubble Space Bubblescope of planetary nebula Knockout 4-55. Enter Punch-Out tie-in here. I AM THE L337 BLOGGAR!
Planetary nebulas have nothing to do with planets. They were named so because in early telescopes, they had the fuzzy look of planets in our outer solar system. In fact planetary nebulas sit throughout our galaxy. This one contains the outer layers of a red giant star that were expelled into interstellar space when the star was in the late stages of its life.Ultraviolet radiation emitted from the remaining hot core of the star ionizes the ejected gas shells, causing them to glow.
In the specific case of K 4-55, a bright inner ring is surrounded by a bipolar structure. The entire system is then surrounded by a faint red halo, seen in the emission by nitrogen gas. This multi-shell structure is fairly uncommon in planetary nebulae.
BOOM, YOU DIDN'T EVEN KNOW YOU WAS GETTING ASTRONOMY LESSONED! Now, for your astrology lesson: it's all bullshit. Also, you will make decisions soon. NO I AM NOT HIGH. Tell me, if eyes are the windows to one's soul, is a cosmic eye THE WINDOW TO ANOTHER DIMENSION?! And, if so, is there a dinosaur park there? ZOMG -- quick, tie me to a rocket engine!
Hubble Photographs Giant Eye in Space [yahoonews]
Thanks to Watch-303, who may or may not be operating out of Boulder/Denver region.
Apr 16 2009 Impressive Stop Motion: Wolf Vs Pig
I'm sure this sort of thing has been done before (OLD!) but that doesn't make the feat any less impressive. Or fun to watch. Which is why I'm posting it. I DON'T NEED YOUR PERMISSION! Well, what do you say, can I? Haha, I meant touch your boobs!
At first I photographed stop motion animation. And I displayed the photographs in my room and photographed it again. Enjoy a connection with the world of the room and the world in the photograph.
I tried to count the number of photos used to make the video, but I lost track around a trillion. And yes, as a matter of fact that does make me the world's highest counter. Seriously, this shit's the chronic.
Thanks to twellve, who once dressed up in a sheep costume, but I knew it was still her. You can't fool me, twellve!
Apr 6 2009 Taste The Rainbow With A Rainbow Cake!
Want to make a rainbow cake to celebrate Easter or being gay? Do it up -- but I get to lick the spatula when you're finished. And by "the" I mean "your". Just sayin', I'm cool pitching for both teams. And when I say "pitching", I obviously mean "catching". I talk in code! Now, throw me a fastball, champ, I'm late for work.
Hit the jump for several more of the awesomeness and a link to the recipe.
Mar 18 2009 Rare Quadruple Moon Transit On Saturn
Will you look at that -- four of Saturn's moons (from left to right) Enceladus, Dione, Titan, and Mimas, all transiting its face at the same time. Amazing! This picture was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and just recently released by NASA. You know, pictures like this really get me thinking about the beauty of space and just how small we are compared to the vast expanse outside our own atmosphere. Also, naked-ass aliens gettin' freaky deaky on the moon.
Hit the jump for a cool time lapse photo of the transit in progress.
Feb 25 2009 Woman Gets Custom Mermaid Tail Prosthetic
A New Zealand woman has had a custom mermaid tail prosthetic made for her by Weta Workshop (special effects studio responsible for Lord Of The Rings, etc.). Nadya Vessey lost both of her legs below the knee as the result of a medical condition when she was young.
Ms Vessey told a little boy: "I'm a little mermaid" when he asked what happened to her legs and the idea stuck.
Weta costumer Lee Williams, who worked on the suit between film projects with seven other staff, told Close Up she "wanted [Nadya] to be beautiful and sexy".After seeing Ms Vessey test the tail in Kilbirnie pool then frolic in the harbour, Ms Williams was stoked. "It was absolutely amazing. It's beautiful to watch Nadya swim and to see that dream come true and to be a part of that. I feel quite blessed."
Beautiful. That's beautiful, isn't it? You think she can still make love with the tail on? Because if so, I'm interested. And also, in the market for a snorkel.
Continue Reading " Woman Gets Custom Mermaid Tail Prosthetic "
