We’re back! ICFTW is once again bringing you the best of the unusual stuff we find on the web.
A few tweaks still need to be made, but over all I’m pleased with the new look. I hope to add a few exciting new features in the coming weeks. Most of the little bugs that slipped thru the testing should be tracked down and removed. I’ve taken advantage of a number of excellent Wordpress plug-ins to give our readers a few more options when it comes to each post, these include post rating, print and email. Plus the usual selection of social news/bookmarking sites.
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Fascinating story out of New Zealand. Yesterday, two Sperm Whales, a mother and calf, became stranded in the shallows on a New Zealand beach. Despite the best efforts of the local conservation department, it appeared that two would have to be put down.
It was at this moment that a dolphin, named Moko by the locals approached the pair. According to the story, after several moments the dolphin lead the pair along a channel between the beach and a nearby and bar. After avoiding another sandbar, he lead them back out to open waters.
Nature always fascinates me. We can never be certain if the animals actually communicated or the whales instinctually followed the dolphin back to familiar waters. Either way, a happy ending for all.
Source: Sky News
One of the primary challenges faced by our space programs is ensure that spacecraft, maned or unmanned land safely back on earth or on their destination planet. We’ve seen some creative and successful methods such as the bouncing landing of the Mars rovers.
This new concept described as a literally a “pit stop”, would use a large tube that runs deep into the group to catch the falling space craft. The tube and craft would be designed to take advantage of the air pressure built up in the tube to slow the decent of the craft. More after the break.
No, its not the next creature feature from Sci-Fi, although I wouldn’t put it past them. Energy Vampire is a term sometimes used to describe devices in our homes that are using electricity even when they are off. You might not think about it but your TV, cordless phone, even your microwave it sitting there sucking power waiting for you to come use it.
What makes matters worse is that most of these devices have passive standby modes that should in theory reduce their power consumption significantly. The images does a good job of giving you an idea of what type of appliances tend to be greedy. I’ve always found it quite informative to make a quick tour of the house with a kill-a-watt meter. Check out the Energy Vampire image here.
Source: Good Magazine
Recently the Beijing Times reported that the amazing fireworks show was actually a CGI rendered months before the actual show. During the opening ceremony a total of 29 firework foot prints appeared in the sky. Their prefect timing gave the appearance of a giant walking across the sky. While these fireworks were actually fired off at the ceremony, the majority of the footage viewed by on NBC and on the screens in the Olympic stadium showed the prerecorded footage. Supposedly for people who actually saw it live, it was just as spectacular. Which begs the question, why use CGI version at all?
The idea of using power generated by people exercising at the gym is not a new idea. Even this unique implementation dates back to 2005, from a gym design contest run by New York Magazine. On a creative gym concept level, I find the idea interesting. The concept is that these floating gyms will travel on a predetermined course and make stops along the Hudson and East rivers. The gyms will use power generated by its occupants, while providing a means of transportation and a unique view while exercising. Neat.
Check out the full story here.
According to Dr. Edgar Mitchell, there have been many visits by to Earth by aliens and each time it was covered up by our government. He describes them as the the traditional ‘grey’ alien. Small in stature, greyish skin and large eyes. Naturally NASA denies that it has anything to do with communicating aliens, looking for aliens or covering up the existence of aliens. Interestingly enough the radio host what actually surprised by the claim, thinking at first that it was a joke that astronauts liked to play.
Two new sections have gone up. Technology and Gaming. I’m not expecting all the articles and new stories out of these two sections to set off any alarms on the unusual scale, but I think they should provide some entertainment. For the technology section I hope to cover the weird stuff, but take a look at the bleeding edge of future tech. If time permits I also hope to do a few game reviews from the perspective of the semi-casual gamer.
On the subject of the Twitter feed, I know its been slow to nonexistent. I’ve been slowly prodding various other members to get twitter accounts so I can include them in the feed. I’m also considering the possibility of a flickr group to post weird picture and images in. I’ve also updated Wordpress to 2.6. Its got some neat new features. One I find particularly handy is called “Press This”. It is a posting short cut that allow you to pull content from articles you want to write about without having to go back to your main Wordpress install.
Pass the Knowledge: The Origins of Your Favorite Condiments
Ever wondered the history of your favorite condiments. A great detailed look into the history of several of common one such as ketchup and mustard. Some interesting bit of information, such as the early ketchup recipes didn’t actually have tomatoes and the accidental discovery of mayonnaise in 1756.
Telsa Roadsters finally starting to hit the road
Looks like they have finally worked out all the major bugs in the Telsa production line and the all electric sports cars are starting to trickle out. Currently there are 9 on the road with another 3 arriving shortly. According to the Telsa blog there are a total of 24 in production currently. Some what ironically the rest of the article is devoted to describing the simplicity of the Telsa Roadster compared to the standard internal combustion engine.
Woman pulls trip to space out of trash
Apparently Nestle was running a contest that offered contestants a chance to win a short trip into space. A french woman initially tossed the winning Kit-Kat wrapper, thinking that she didn’t have a chance to win. Luckily she decided to double check and retrieved the wrapper. The trip on a small four seater craft dubbed the Rocketplane will take her 60 miles (100 km) into space and allow for 5 minutes of weightlessness. Perhaps I’m not up on my candy bar contests, but I don’t think this contest went on in the States. But I gotta say, that as contests go, this has to be one of the coolest prizes. The commercial space age seems to be creeping upon us faster and faster.
