RobDurdle.com

Don't hit the books; craft with them

2009-01-05T02:46:42Z

So, you have some old books lying around you don't read and that you're pretty sure no one else will ever read because they have pages missing or they're hopelessly outdated technical manuals or they never should have been published in the first place. What to do? As always, crafting is an option. You can make a wrist cuff, or a purse. Book covers can be made into clocks, or photo frames, or photo and card stands. They can become CD and DVD cases, or a hiding place for valuables or necessary contraband, Shawshank Redemption-style.

You can make yourself a diary, notecards, envelopes, or gift tags. If you're feeling more artistic than practical, some people use the pages from a book as a canvas. Artist Su Blackwell brings scenes from her books to life: check out Alice's Tea Party, or this scene from The Snow Queen. Personally I feel strangely drawn to this piece. Noriko Ambe sculpts with his books; Stefano Arienti created this installation, and Brian Dettmer took a scalpel to his and did some "Book Autopsies". There are more ideas for things to be done with books to be found here and here.

And will you die-hard book lovers kindly stop screaming. It's not like I wrote a post on how to craft with your mother. Yet.

It's Dede: The "Tree Man"

2009-01-04T23:41:26Z

Dede, aka "Tree Man", is an Indonesian fisherman who has been slowly changing from a human into a tree... or at least that is what it appears.

After cutting his knee as a teenager, Dede began to grow tree like warts that have baffled local doctors and medical experts for over 20 years. .
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His condition has become so bad that he can no longer carry out even simple household tasks. He lost his job and his wife left him to raise their two children in poverty.

For a while he worked in a freak show as the "Tree Man" to try to make ends meet.

Although he gets some support from his extended family, he's the subject of ridicule and abuse in his village.

Yes, I gagged too, don't feel bad... poor fucker.

Good news though... looks like he'd doing "better"..

"An Indonesian fisherman who feared that he would be killed by tree-like growths covering his body has been given hope of recovery by an American doctor - and Vitamin A."

An American doctor has finally determined that the cause of his problem is the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) combined with a genetic condition that impedes his immune system, allowing the warts to grow unchecked.

On April 4, 2008, Dede received surgery in which medics cut off over 4 pounds of warts from his body. Although not completely healed, he can see the outline of his fingers and toes for the first time in over a decade.

Dede has two more operations to go through but is already excited to begin his new life.

"What I really want first is to get better and find a job. But then, one day, who knows? I might meet a girl and get married."

Mythbusters takes on the Moon Hoax!

2009-01-04T21:17:28Z

Has man really set foot on the moon? There have certainly been a lot of claims that the whole Apollo missions were one giant hoax. Adam and Jamie at Mythbusters examine the claims of the Hoax Believers one by one. Did they use a wire rig or slow down the film to simulate the 1/6 moon gravity? What would it look like in real 1/6 G? Would a footprint in the lunar regolith have maintained it's shape even if there was no moisture to keep the material together? Why was the flag waving so much if there was no wind on the moon? Why are the shadows on the moon not parallel if they are coming from a single light source? Why can we see the astronauts when they are in shadows if there isn't a second light source? To finish it all off they shoot a laser at the moon to see if the reflector they supposedly left there is actually there.

On a Clear Day, I Can See Mumbai but Not Dick Cheney's House

2009-01-04T21:16:26Z

What a month for Google Earth. Its breathtaking updated 3D New York City skyline features textured photos of hundreds of buildings. It has doubled its US coverage and expanded Street View imagery by 22 times. But it also became the subject of a failed legal petition in India demanding it blur sensitive areas in the country. Supposedly, it had agreed to do this nearly two years before the Mumbai attack. Despite the bad timing, an Indian rival plans to sharpen the competition. Google Maps and Earth allegedly blur sensitive sites and a few questionably sensitive landmarks. However, as yet undeterred by security and privacy controversy, Google is adding GeoEye's satellite imagery to Google Earth next month.

Dog Hunt!

2009-01-04T21:13:31Z

Who's laughing now!

Unlike robots with no emotions I was always pissed when ever that dog popped up from behind that bush. Every duck you missed there he was mocking you. Every duck you shot there he was taking the credit, but now I can finally get revenge on that damn dog!

"It's all caviar and ballons until someone backhands a cop!"

2009-01-04T21:11:40Z

The Cliche-o-Matic: Never be at a loss for banal words again!

How Opium Can Save Afghanistan

2009-01-04T21:10:35Z

Poppy For Medicine. "America's drug war in Afghanistan has been a miserable failure. So why not legalize opium production and let Afghanistan become the Saudi Arabia of morphine?"

Paper. Rock. Scissors.

2009-01-04T21:06:59Z

In 1986, most gamers who were lucky enough to own a new video game system at home were playing the original Nintendo. It's launch in 1985, a year before the Sega Master System was launched in the states, allowed it plenty of time become the most popular console in the market, and the game Super Mario Bros. quickly became the best-selling video game of all time (a title it continues to hold, having sold over 40 million copies to date). However, even though Nintendo commanded 95% of the North American video game market at the time and the CEO of Sega made little effort to promote and market it, some people still bought and gave the Sega Master System a chance. Perhaps it was the 3-D glasses or it's unique ability to read multiple media inputs... or perhaps that the original version of the system had a secret game built right into it (and it was unbeatable!).

Although the system was an underdog, it underwent several redesigns and mascot changes, ranging from Alex Kidd to, finally, Sonic in the end. When the system was redesigned around 1990, Sega finally tried to market it aggressively, but it was too late. By 1992, sales were nearly non-existent in North America (although it should be noted the console was very popular in Europe and several other countries where Nintendo did not sell consoles). Which is all too bad, because there were many brilliant, brilliant games for the SMS.

For those of us lucky enough to have owned a SMS, we can delight in the nostalgia brought about by the mere mention of games such as Zillion, Alex the Kid in Miracle World, Choplifter, Ys, After Burner, Altered Beast, Phantasy Star, Hang On/Safari Hunt, and Shinobi.

Go Grease Your Friends.

2009-01-04T21:05:43Z

Need a side of bacon on your web site? Everything is better with a little bacon added to it.

Keep up to date with what's cooking at the Bacolicio.us blog.

Games people play... for free

2009-01-04T21:01:35Z

95 Old School Games You Can Play Online: Every game is reviewed and rated. Includes a link to every game on the list, a visual and mini description and how each one is played.

For Those Looking for a Little "Board"om This Holiday Season

2009-01-04T20:58:25Z

Play board games during the holidays? Try an updated version of an old classic. You can indulge in as much sex, drugs, crime, and rock and roll as your health will handle, just don't roll a 1 on your first turn or you'll be aborted before you get started.

Or, if you are looking for something a little more fresh and less "serious gamish" why not try the new religious parody game in which you can play a chain gun wielding, cross toting Jesus? Other board games designed around (possibly exploitative) socio-cultural satire, like Ghettopoly and Redneckopoly, have provoked strong reactions.

The Great Cornholio's more literate sibling

2009-01-04T20:57:40Z

The Caffeine Examiner will review any product containing caffeine. For example: chewing gum, sprays, energy drinks, soft drinks, hard drinks, perplexingly hard drinks, patches...? The sidebar on the right points to reviews of more caffeinated products than I had ever dreamed existed. Products are also rated by taste, packaging, nutrition/buzz, and website functionality.

How Cats Are Able to Land on All Four Feet

2009-01-04T20:55:41Z

Cats have a seemingly unique ability, a 'righting reflex', to orient themselves in a fall allowing them to avoid many injuries and land on all four feet. It is this ability that helps cats to parachute safely into Borneo and survive falls from the 38th floor of a skyscraper (although falls from lower levels can be more serious given that it takes some time for the cat to right itself). Here's how it works. Here's a video of the reflex in action.

An Eye for an Eye: Justice or Injustice, Poetic or Barbaric?

2009-01-04T20:53:27Z

"At an age at which I should be putting on a wedding dress, I am asking for someone's eyes to be dripped with acid,"

Four years ago, a spurned suitor poured a bucket of sulfuric acid over [Ameneh Bahrami's] head, leaving her blind and disfigured. Late last month, an Iranian court ordered that five drops of the same chemical be placed in each of her attacker's eyes, acceding to Bahrami's demand that he be punished according to a principle in Islamic jurisprudence that allows a victim to seek retribution for a crime. The sentence has not yet been carried out.

If you're not familiar with acid attacks against women, you can start with Wikipedia.

Perpetrators of these attacks throw acid at their victims (usually at their faces), burning them, damaging skin tissue, often exposing and sometimes dissolving the bones. The consequences of these attacks include blindness and permanent scarring of the face and body. These attacks are common in Cambodia, Afganistan, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and other Asian countries.

Acid attacks are being used in Afghanistan against women and girls to as part of an effort to oppress them. Specifically, girls who attend school are being targeted to prevent them from getting an education.

In India, Haseena Hussain, the victim of an acid attack, now works with the Campaign and Struggle Against Acid Attacks on Women (CSAAAW).

In Pakistan, a cosmetics company is trying to help women who are the victims of arson and acid attacks.

Nicholas Kristof wrote an article about acid attacks last month, "Terrorism That's Personal" which discusses a Pakistani organization, the Progressive Women's Association: Fighting Against the Horror of Violence Against Women working to stop this sort of violence and an effort being made by the US Congress to pass the International Violence Against Women Act.

That's Sir Pratchett to You.

2009-01-04T20:51:08Z

Terry Pratchett , a man renowned for his staggering sales figures from his renowned Discworld series has been knighted.