The Cry Baby is on sabbatical ....

Monday, January 31, 2011

Learning curve: How to survive a 1,000 foot fall


British climber Adam Potter plunged 1,000 feet down the side of a mountain in the Scottish Highlands. He survived.    Read how here.

Bizarre: The weird story of Plenty of Fish's hack attack


The dating website Plenty of Fish was hacked by Chris Russo a hacker from Argentina.  In his blog,  CEO Markus Frind recounts the bizarre episode, blow by blow, which ended with with Frind contacting the hacker's mother by email.


Bummer: Oral sex may be causing neck and head cancer


Listen up porn stars: 60 to 70% of all tonsil cancers in the United States  are now HPV-related, according to William Lydiatt, professor and chief of head and neck surgical oncology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. HPV  – genital warts in street talk – can set off those cancers, researchers say.


Wired: photographer's beat is the underworld


From Wired.com: "Photographer Taryn Simon has spent the better part of the past decade crisscrossing the US in search of rarely documented, illicit, and sometimes brutal subjects. Her straightforward images capture everything from wrongly imprisoned men exonerated by DNA evidence to confiscated counterfeit watches to a mentally retarded tiger kept illegally in Arkansas."

Diddy buys 16-year-old son $360K limo


Just what every 16-year-old kid needs – a $360K limo? Diddy just bought his kid a limo for becoming a honour student. At least the kid is doing well in school!

Graphic: What's killing us


Have a look at this amazing graphic by Richard Johnson of the National Post that shows what we are dying of:

Vacation: Rent a private island in Georgia


Looking for the ultimate get-away? Check this out – Eagle Island in Georgia is for rent for your private amusement:

Superbowl literally a "heart-breaker"


From the Globe and Mail: "New research shows that cardiovascular deaths jumped 15 per cent in the hometown of the losing team in the days after the big game."



Male breast surgery on the rise


I suppose the women of Britain should be jealous but I have a feeling it has more to do with obesity than anything else.  This from the BBC:

"The numbers of men having breast reduction surgery is increasing, according to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS).
The association said male breast reduction operations increased by 28% last year."


Sunday, January 30, 2011

An 80's show best forgotton: Computer Beach Party


From  Found Footage Festival: "This is a trailer we cut for a forgotten '80s sex comedy found on VHS. Featuring poorly-dubbed dialogue, a naive understanding of how computers work and music by heavy metal band Panther. "

As I said – best forgotten but worth a look for the laugh:

Use the force Obama – weild your lightsaber and cut some federal fat


Get them while they last: Obama and his lightsaber. If only he would use it for the force of fiscal good and cut some costs!  Available on  Amazon.

Buy it here

Bridalplasty – one of the most disgusting shows ever


I have never been a big fan of reality TV,  but the E! network takes the genre to a new low with its series Bridalplasty, where 12 engaged women compete for their dream wedding and various plastic surgery procedures. The husband does not get to see his bride until she has completed the surgeries and is probably left wondering who the hell this woman is. It looks like a true race for the bottom.

Yes you can more taxes now AKA "Back in the USSR"


I have always been amazed by the amount of people who believe a high tax regime is a good one. To me the equation is ultimately simple: higher taxes = higher civil service payroll. When has the government ever been an effective mechanism for wealth distribution? The Soviet Union made a very good go of it and we have seen the results. If the government controlled the grocery industry does anyone believe we would have cheaper, more plentiful groceries? Yet I digress. The purpose of this post is to give those of you the would like to pay higher taxes the good news: The government will take your money! There is no limit on the amount of taxes the government will accept, they only regulate the minimum you are required to pay.


To pay more taxes click on your country: United States  Canada

Men forgive lesbian flings


A shocking new study says men are more likely to forgive their cheating partner's fling if it is with another woman rather than a man. Or course, they are probably just hoping they can join the fun!


Saturday, January 29, 2011

Religious gene taking over the world


Credit: Wikipedia Commons
We are doomed –– religion is taking over the world!

From www.physorg.com: Robert Rowthorn, emeritus professor of economics at Cambridge University has developed a model that shows that the genetic components that predispose a person toward religion are currently “hitchhiking” on the back of the religious cultural practice of high fertility rates. Even if some of the people who are born to religious parents defect from religion and become secular, the religious genes they carry (which encompass other personality traits, such as obedience and conservatism) will still spread throughout society, according to the model’s numerical simulations.

Taco Bell facing lawsuit: Thank-you for suing us


Taco Bell is facing a class-action lawsuit which claims it's meat is only 36% beef – the rest being extenders and other bits of whatever. Well, Taco Bell is striking back with this new ad, countering the claim with the headline "Thank-you for suing us."

New airline features girly-men / ladyboy stewardesses



From  perezhilton.com: "A newly formed Thai airline carrier, PC Air, announced that they have hired their first round of stewardesses - or as they're calling them, "Ladyboys."

Yes, in an effort to showcase their commitment to equal employment opportunities, three transexuals, or peoples of the "third sex" as they say in Thailand, were the first to be hired as air hostesses. Peter Chan, the CEO of the new airline, enthusiastically shared the news with sources and reveals his company is open to hiring even more transsexuals in the future. He explains:
"I think these people can have many careers – not just in the entertainment business – and many of them have a dream to be an air hostess. I just made their dream come true. Our society has changed. It's evolution. I'm a pioneer and I'm sure there will be other organizations following my idea.""
Well Arnie certainly wouldn't approve of this.  Read more here

Mom kills teen children for being "mouthy"


A mother in Tampa has admitted to killing her two teen-age children for being "mouthy" in a case of extreme parenting.


Read full story on CNN.com

Photos: thousands protest in Egypt


Have a look at this National Post photo gallery of the Egyptian protests:


Flooding in Saudi Arabia kills 10 – 3 missing


Who knew desert countries experienced such severe floods? Well at least the people know their king will look after them when he isn't busy suppressing them or lending moral support to the Egyptian president.


Read more on CNN.com

Iran hangs female protester


From CBC reports: Iran has executed a Dutch-Iranian woman who was detained for participating in protest against the disputed election in 2009 according to Iranian state television.  Zahram Bahrami was actually hanged for possessing and selling drugs. The report doesn't explain what happened to the original charges. I guess this is just one hell of a coincidence.
 
 

Bandits use car to smash through mall in "Blues Brothers" attack


Bandits smashed through a mall in New Jersey in an a robbery ploy reminicent of the famous mall scene in the movie "Blues Brothers". All that was missing was the mission from God.




Read more from NJ.com

Shocker: Saudi king slams Egyptian protesters!


From CNN: Saudi King Abdullah Ibn Abdulaziz Al Saud called Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and "was reassured" about the situation in Egypt, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported.

"During the call, the king said, 'Egypt is a country of Arabism and Islam. No Arab and Muslim human being can bear that some infiltrators, in the name of freedom of expression, have infiltrated into the brotherly people of Egypt, to destabilize its security and stability and they have been exploited to spew out their hatred in destruction, intimidation, burning, looting and inciting a malicious sedition,'" the news agency reported.

Saudi Arabia "strongly condemns" the protest, it said.
Read more in the National Post

Friday, January 28, 2011

Woman sues Diddy for trillion dollars


WTF -  Hey, why didn't I think of doing this! Valerie Joyce Wilson Turks is suing at Diddy  for a trillion bucks, claiming  he "knocked down the World Trade Center," sexually abused her and her children and stole a casino chip worth "over 100 zillions of dollars." Turks is also claiming that Diddy fathered her child, Cornelius Wilson, 23 years ago. Diddy, his ex-girlfriend Kim Porter and, for some reason, LAPD assault victim Rodney King are named in the suit. She is seeking $900 billion in child support and $100 billion for "loss of income."

Attention geeks – turn your iPhone into a Star Trek Communicator


CBS has  posted a new app to the Apple App Store that turns your iPhone into a Star Trek communicator. You can flip the communicator open by flipping the phone and it includes all sorts of cool sound effects. And hey, you can even use it to make phone calls!

You can get it here.

The new factory farm – for bird's nest soup!


Bird's nest soup is apparently in hot demand. Rather that relying on the traditional method that requires climbers risking their lives to retrieve the nests, limestone factory farms are being built. Read more at http://www.good.is/post/factory-farming-birds-nests-to-make-more-soup/

Graphic: Best selling concert tours in 2010


CDs may not be selling but plenty of people are still spending their cash on concerts. Have a look at this graphic from www.good.is and see which acts were the top money makers.

Video: Crow adopts kitten




They make unlikely pals, but watch as a crow adopts this small kitten.

Egypt goes silent on the internet


In a move that has been anticipated by many, Egypt has literlally pulled the plug on the internet. All ISPs have been ordered to shut down there services, as the government tries to quell protests across the nation. Today, large protests are planned and as demonstated in Tunisia recently, social networking has helped protesters avoid arrest and danger as well as broadcast the events to the world. It's watch and wait for the moment.



From the Renesys blog:

"At 22:34 UTC (00:34am local time), Renesys observed the virtually simultaneous withdrawal of all routes to Egyptian networks in the Internet's global routing table. Approximately 3,500 individual BGP routes were withdrawn, leaving no valid paths by which the rest of the world could continue to exchange Internet traffic with Egypt's service providers. Virtually all of Egypt's Internet addresses are now unreachable, worldwide."

Video: Avoiding bombs – BMW training facility in East Germany



Deep inside East Germany on the grounds of a former Cold War air base, chauffeurs and security personnel are taught how to evade threatening situations, such as roadside bombs.

Happy new year text message sets off suicide bomb


From The Telegraph – Russian authorities believe a would-be suicide bomber had her bomb triggered by a text spam:
"The unnamed woman, who is thought to be part of the same group that struck Moscow's Domodedovo airport on Monday, intended to detonate a suicide belt on a busy square near Red Square on New Year's Eve in an attack that could have killed hundreds.
Security sources believe a spam message from her mobile phone operator wishing her a happy new year received just hours before the planned attack triggered her suicide belt, killing her but nobody else."

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Gorilla walks like a man


Watch 21-year-old Silverback gorilla Ambam amble along on his hind legs. Ambam’s dad could walk upright and two sisters can as well. I guess they are evolving!

Rat takes a ride on the New York subway




Well it is NYC after all. Watch this rat take a ride on the R train car. Note the effortless exit it makes at its stop.

Photos: Cool psychedelic science images


Back in the day we would have paid a hefty price for posters with these images.  Have a look at this gallery from Discover Magazine:



Hey it's now legal to take pictures of buildings


In a recent settlement with the NYCLU, authorities in the U.S are now allowing photojournalists to take photos of public buildings. Wow. This is truly democracy at work. From the information bulletin that was issued by Homeland Security:

"Officers should not seize the camera or its contents, and must be cautious not to give such ‘orders’ to a photographer to erase the contents of a camera, as this constitutes a seizure or detention."

Hard to believe that this was an issue in the first place, but after 9/11 photographers have been harassed for photographing in public places in the U.S. and strange concept for a democratic nation.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Last glass eye maker in Britain


Sometimes the eye is all seeing,  but in this case it's just for show. Jost Haas just might be the last man alive who creates glass eyes by hand.  Have a look at this engadget story and video:


http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/26/visualized-the-last-glass-eye-maker-in-britain/

Poop eating plants


From Wired.com:  " In a bizarre example of a symbiotic relationship, tiny bats in Borneo have been found using a carnivorous plant as a toilet, feeding the pitcher plant with their droppings, while they safely roost in the plant’s traps"

Original story: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/01/bat-guano-plants

Hitler's last body guard gives up fan mail because of age


Everyone has there fans, and Rochus Misch, who used to sign copies of wartime photos of himself in an SS uniform for fans has his following.  Misch served as Hitler's bodyguard, telephone operator and courier. Now, at 93, he says he is too old to respond to the fan mail he receives from around the world. His memoirs, "The Last Witness", were published in 2008 in Germany and a feature film is in the works. Oye Vey!


Spiders know the best pick-up lines!


According to Science.com, male wolf spiders are the true pick-up artists.  Scientists have discovered that male wolf spiders employ a number of techniques, including vibrations and visual clues, to make sure they attract a female who will mate with them, rather than eat them.

Woman runs over cousin because of Facebook friend rejection


From the New York Post:
"A Long Island woman allegedly mowed down her cousin twice with a minivan after a Facebook-fueled catfight over a man -- leaving the victim helpless in the middle of a busy road on a freezing night, sources said."



Remember your old LSD days?


Remember the old days filled with all those great drugs – including LSD. Well, maybe you don't actually remember,  so here is something to jar your memory:


http://www.neave.com/strobe/
Follow The Instructions
1.- Click on the link below
2.- Then "click me to get trippy" 
 
3.- Look at the center of the screen for 30 seconds (no cheating), and then
4.- Look at your hand holding the mouse, without moving it away from the mouse.