Mar 11 2009 New iPod Shuffle Speaks, Lacks Wheel

The new iPod Shuffle's capacity has been doubled to 4GB, and now the minuscule music player doesn't have a control wheel. But how will you ever reign over your music? Simple -- with controls on the earbud cord. WHEE!
The new design keeps the clip and adds VoiceOver -- a new feature that gets around the lack of display by telling you which song is playing and who performs it at the touch of a button on the earbud cable. It'll also call out your playlists and let you navigate to others. Available in black or silver for $80 and your claim to what Apple calls the "world's smallest music player."
World's smallest music player my ass. I happen to own the world's smallest music player. It's a violin. *rubbing fingers together* Can you hear that? It's the REAL world's smallest music player playing "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath. Bitchin'!
Five minute promotional video about the new Shuffle after the jump.
Feb 25 2009 End Of The World Perspective Street Art

Edgar Mueller is a 3-D street artist like Julian Beever, except he works in paint instead of chalk. This is one of three massive, street-filling pieces by Edgar (other two after the jump). Oh man, just look at that car in the back -- that thing is going nowhere! . Also, what kind of parents let their child play on the edge of a precipice like that? Awesome ones, that's who.
Hit the jump for two different ones and a 'making of' video.
Continue Reading " End Of The World Perspective Street Art "
Feb 6 2009 Wordle Makes Word Clouds With Your Text

Go HERE to see the full-size version, or hit the link at the bottom.
Wordle make pretty little word cloud pictures with the text or URL you provide.
The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends.
Nothing super special, but Geekologie loyalist Tangelax was kind enough to make one out of a bunch of recent Geekologie articles. As you can see, it's depressing.
Thanks to Tangelax, who once made a word cloud rain letters simply by doing a little dance. Amazing!
Feb 2 2009 Hey, That's Not A Cube!: Rubik's Balls

Remember the guy that took 26 years to solve a Rubik's cube? Yeah, what a loser. Whenever I'm feeling down I pop in Cheers To You! and think of him. Then I get even more depressed and start binge drinking. Anyway, Professor Erno Rubik is dropping another toy bomb on the world -- the Rubik 360. It looks like it could be fun if it was a little bigger and I was hamster.
Basically, players must get a number of colored balls from a clear inner sphere into their matching slots on the outer sphere. You'll do this by shaking the balls through a middle sphere that has only two holes.
Said Professor Rubik himself on the new puzzle that bears his name: "I feel that the 360 is one of the most innovative and exciting puzzles we've developed since the Cube - adopting elements of my original design, challenging the solver to use skill, dexterity and logic."
I don't get it. Of course, I don't get a lot of things anymore. Like your affection. I thought we had something special :,(
Rubik 360 Will Probably Take That One Guy Another 26 Years to Solve [gizmodo]
Jan 15 2009 Another Day, Another Zelda Theme Song
Remember the Zelda theme played by the guy with the hats? Well this isn't him, it's some other Zelda fan (who, it goes without saying, isn't as big a fan, or asshole, as yours truly) playing the theme to Wind Waker on a guitar, accordion, some glasses, a baking pan, a little drum, two different kinds of skinflute, and maybe some other stuff. And in even more exciting news, this article, according to my latest tally, makes two Zelda-themed posts today! *alarm going off* Oh, you know what that sound means -- one of you lucky readers wins a prize! And today's prize is....getting to call 911 -- my apartment's on fire.
Thanks to Tony, a one-man band with more groupies than you can shake a drum stick at. Or a thigh.
Jan 14 2009 26 Years Later, Man Solves Rubik's Cube

It took Graham Parker 26 years to finally solve the Rubik's Cube he bought back in 1983. If you can't tell by the picture, he's really proud of himself. Kind of reminds me of the first time I ate a 72-oz steak and got my picture on the wall.
'I cannot tell you what a relief it was to finally solve it,' the 45-year-old from Portchester, Hampshire, said. 'It has driven me mad over the years - it felt like it had taken over my life.
'I have missed important events to stay in and solve it and I would lie awake at night thinking about it.'I have had wrist and back problems from spending hours on it but it was all worth it. When I clicked that last bit into place and each face was a solid colour, I wept.'
Wow, Graham, so you're a little crybaby, huh? Now I'm not saying there's ever a time when a person should just accept their own mental inadequacies and bail on a project, but damnit Graham, that time was 25½ years ago.
Man takes 26 years to solve Rubik's Cube [metro]
Thanks to Praveen, who can solve a Rubik's in under a minute using either the "hammer" or "new stickers" methods.
Jan 7 2009 Robot Is Stolen, Don't Look At Me *whistling*

Somebody went and stole a robot! Can you believe it? That's just wrong! I am outraged.
The Washington County (Oregon) Sheriff's Office said physics professor Erik Sanchez reported the theft Monday.
He said he felt sick Sunday and mistakenly left his sport utility vehicle unlocked overnight with the robot inside outside his home in the 6000 block of S.W. 205th Ave. in Aloha.The robot is 29 inches long, 19 inches high and about 23 inches wide. It is valued at $5,000 and was donated to Sanchez by the manufacturer, Parallax Incorporated, for use as a teaching tool in one of his classes. The robot is called the "Propeller Quadrover," and it is strong enough to pull a pickup truck.
What in the hell is the matter with people? Who steals a physics professor's robot? Hey, why are you looking at me like that? No, you can't take a look around my garage. WAIT, STOP! Uh, uh-oh -- I've never seen that thing before in my life!
Search is on for valuable missing robot [katu]
Thanks to Nolan, who straight up accused me of stealing that bitch.
Jan 6 2009 MacWorld Sneak Peak: The MacBook Wheel
Well folks, MacWorld begins today and everyone some people are excited to see if Apple drops some technology bombs on the world. And boy are they! Just check out the latest in their MacBook series -- the Macbook Wheel. It replaces that pesky keyboard with a touch-friendly iPod wheel. Whee! Wheel! Note: For you paint-chippers out there this is fake and the video was made by the Onion. But my god is it a good idea. I freaking love wheels. Including, but not limited to, the one of fortune.
Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard [theonion]
Thanks to Lisa, twellve, Tim, Fish and ITSELF, who all know you don't need keys to type. But you do need them to unlock doors.
Dec 31 2008 Eff 2008, Bring On 2009: Happy New Year!

Well folks, we survived another year. Amazing, I know. It's been one hell of a time, and I have every reason to believe 2009 is going to rock the track pants and Members Only jacket off 2008.
Happy New Year! See you in 2020! And by 2020 I mean after my Lasik surgery. HIYO!
Oct 3 2008 No Thanks: A Human Powered Ferris Wheel
I don't have much more information on this ferris wheel except that it appears to be human powered, doesn't look that fun to ride, and is definitely dangerous to operate. And while I'm on the subject, I think the carny operating the moon-bounce stole my freaking shoes. But I did make out with the bearded man pretending to be a woman.
Youtube
Thanks to Roberto, who could operate a man-powered Tilt-A-Whirl by himself.
