Jun 30 2008 Buzzball Could Be Fun, Could Be Pukey

Evento's Buzzball is is a giant ball with a seat in it that's being hailed as a one-person roller coaster.

At the heart of the Buzzball is a dual motor configuration, enabling the pilot to control the motion and direction of travel via left and right control triggers, which provides power to the driving wheels.

The amount of power applied to each wheel will determine the direction the Buzzball moves.

Once the Buzzball is in motion the pod maintains an upright position until the pilot turns, causing the pod to rotate inside the ball against the direction of travel, which applies a braking force and the pod to lock with the ball. This causes the pod to rotate with the ball until the weight of the pilot and pod overcomes the inertia forces and causes the Buzzball to change direction.

This is when the fun starts, as the speed will affect the degree of rotation of the pilot and pod from a partial barrel roll to complete and multiple rotations!

Okay, so let me give it to you in layman's terms: You get in this giant freaking ball, pull some levers and shit, and the next thing you know you're puking, and, oh God, drowning in a creek. Now that's what I call a good time.

Hit the jump for a video of the ball in action.

Continue Reading " Buzzball Could Be Fun, Could Be Pukey "

May 29 2008 Huge Piñata Shaped Like A Monster Derrière

Remember when you went to your friend's birthday party in kindergarten and he ended up hitting you in the eye with a huge wooden dowel because he had no idea where the piñata was? And then you yanked the thing out of his hands and beat him in the head with it until his parents pulled you off and asked you to leave? That was awesome. Especially how you pushed his cake off the table and grabbed a couple presents (Voltron, baby!) on your way out. Good times. Well now you can get three and a half foot "Big Ass" piñatas on eBay for a paltry $50. I pay $15 for the little treasure chest ones I get at the local party store (and they're freaking small). Just imagine all the crap (!) you could stuff in this thing! Tons! After all, nothing says, "We'll miss you aunt Phyllis", better than cracking open a piñata stuffed with airplane bottles at her funeral.

eBay Auction

Thanks Mulva, come on over and we'll tear that piñata a new one

Feb 27 2008 Optical Illusion Made Me Lose My Lunch

WARNING:LOOK AWAY OR SCROLL DOWN IF YOU'RE GETTING SICK OR HAVING A SEIZURE.

Walter Anthony creates optical illusions. The one there in the picture is called The Purple Nurple Optical Illusion and it made me puke up a grilled cheese sandwich, some southern style potato salad, two eggs, and a cup of tomato soup.

Anomalous Motion Optical Illusion aka Peripheral Drift Optical Illusion is characterized by anomalous motion that can be observed in peripheral vision. […]

Keep in mind that this is a static image. It is not animated in any way. but as your vision moves back and forth the center area seems to be moving toward the center (contracting) and the outer edges seem to be moving away (expanding) from the center. Also worth noting is that if you fixate on a point in the center and don’t move your eyes this anomalous motion will stop.

Wow, it's like I'm 14 again and I just took a couple hits of wicked acid. Except my friends haven't all run away and left me in the middle of the woods to bug out alone and cry for eight hours straight. And let me tell you one thing -- if you think tree spirits and forest gnomes are make believe, you're entirely correct. Or at least they don't come to the rescue when a gang of ogres beats you up for your pants and the whereabouts of some fairy princess.

Walt Anthony
via
The Purple Nurple Optical Illusion [neatorama]