dog food

I was in Istanbul recently, which was great; the Hagia Sophia, the Basilica Cistern, the Spice Bazaar, wonderful friends, and this incredible butter ball.

thanks to Glenn for the photo.

I’ve blogged about this amazing vehicle before, but it’s worth revisiting because Greg Zanis and sons have made some progress. The Dream Car 123 now has GOLD TRIM, neon lighting and 80 lead-acid batteries, while retaining the original pyramid form factor, single person occupancy, and bullet proof Plexiglas. Greg has a new video and is looking for financial backing to take this puppy through to production.

It’s nice to see someone who isn’t afraid to put themselves on-the-line; I’m generally shy about handing out my email address, Greg is giving out his phone number. It’s a brave move, if surfing the interwebs has taught me anything it’s that there are a lot of nut jobs out there.

via Slippery Brick

Last week I was stung on the face by a bee. Sadly, the bee died. I am still going strong.

Image credit: Robert W. Matthews, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org

Had the bee survived, and had I given it some kind of sugary reward, then according to scientists at the Université de Toulouse, it would have remembered my face.

I really couldn’t say the same for the bee, I’m afraid they all look the same to me.

Via treehugger.

Apple giveth a new toy for dicking about with.

“enabling access to your shotgun while in the lying position in your bed”.

Yes folks, it’s real.

The theme here is obviously home defence, but I guess if you can’t live with the fear any longer, your gun is also conveniently located for a suicide attempt.

c. 1940

from LIFE Magazine’s ‘30 Dumb Inventions‘

As links between mobile phone usage and brain tumours become more evident there is some good news, mobile phones may also enhance your memory and prevent the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Via LiveScience

Yesterday was the 43rd anniversary of the death and subsequent freezing of Dr. Bedford – the worlds first successful cryogenics patient (successful in the fact that he is still frozen and, unfortunately, also still dead).

Quoting from the 1967 issue of Freeze-Wait-Reanimate,

there may be some hope for reanimation in the distant future when reanimation techniques have been perfected and a cure for cancer [the cause of death] has been found. [1]

Dr. Bedford, a retired psychology professor from Los Angeles, was 73 at the time of the procedure. Below we see Dr Bedford’s daughter-in-law Cecilia patiently awaiting his return.

Images from Cryonics 1991

Breaking News from The Age:

But don’t just take my word for it.

(ed. 15th Jan. Link now broken – or fixed, depends on your point of view)

Via Backstoryesque

Tomás Saraceno, Space Elevator II (working title), 2009. © Tomás Saraceno

Via we-make-money-not-art