HOWTO: Tiny BBQ out of Altoids Sours tin
Friday, 3 September 2010, 7:46 pm

Shared by Rudeboy
Awesome. I always wondered what to do with all those extra fan grills I've got laying around.

Instructables.com contributor vmspionage built a tiny BBQ grill out of an Altoids Sours tin and computer fan grates. My 4-year-old (and I) would love this for making s'mores, one bubbling, tooth-decaying marshmallow at a time. Altoids Sours BBQ Grill

Source: Rudeboy's shared items in Google Reader | (author unknown)

Woz and Jobs, phone phreakers
Friday, 3 September 2010, 7:16 pm

Adafruit Industries has posted a pair of terrific videos in which Apple's "Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs talk about their short career building illegal telephone equipment, aka 'blue boxes.' Interesting how their two stories differ...the engineer and the marketer." Bonus: Cap'n Crunch!

Source: Rudeboy's shared items in Google Reader | Xeni Jardin

Nobody Reads Anyway: How To Sell Books
Friday, 3 September 2010, 6:00 pm

What, no "These Books Have Three-Tittied Alien Chicks Wielding Swords In Spaceships on Their Covers" section? Amazon it is.How To Sell Books [buzzfeed]Thanks to Karsten, who only buys books for their cover art. Who doesn't?!

Source: Rudeboy's shared items in Google Reader | (author unknown)

CSS 3.0 Maker helps you visually create next-gen CSS
Friday, 3 September 2010, 6:00 pm

Filed under: Design, Developer, web 2.0

Another day, another CSS3 playground. Are you excited yet? Wait for it - this one has wood paneling for a background! (That's classy!) Even though it's not exactly the first tool of its kind (or the second, ... or the tenth), CSS 3.0 Maker is pretty handy and comprehensive, so I decided it was worth covering. Let me quickly sum it up:

I like:

• That it provides clear compatibility information for Firefox, Safari, Opera, and Chrome (no IE, of course). You can see exactly which browser versions support your bleeding-edge CSS.
• That it's visual and real-time.
• That it provides code that works across as many browsers as possible, including browser-specific syntax (think -moz-border-radius for Firefox).
• The wood paneling! It makes me feel like I'm in a sauna.

I don't like:

• That it won't let you set all parameters at once. After altering the style of a
  you can change the border radius -- but upon clicking the gradient tab, your change is undone. It's pretty irritating and almost relegates this to "toy" status.

CSS 3.0 Maker helps you visually create next-gen CSS originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Safari - Google Chrome - Opera - Mozilla Firefox - Cascading Style Sheets

Source: Rudeboy's shared items in Google Reader | Erez Zukerman

The physics of breaking stuff with your fists
Friday, 3 September 2010, 5:51 pm

iO9 recently ran a story on how martial artists are able to break boards and cement blocks, using their hands rather than mystical powers. I thought it was pretty neat, but then I read an interesting counter-analysis by science journalist (and, significantly, martial arts practitioner) John Rennie.

iO9 is right about the lack of magic powers, he says. But they got the physics wrong. Key slip-up: Assuming martial artists strike like a cobra—fast punch, with a quick pull back at the end—when they have their smashing fun times. iO9's theory was that that movement caused the boards to bend and snap. But that's not how it works, Rennie says. In fact, martial artists are taught to follow through with their punches, aiming not at the board-to-be-broken, but at a point beyond it.

So how's the breaking really done? Rennie quotes an episode of the awesome old PBS show Newton's Apple:

One key to understanding brick breaking is a basic principle of motion: The more momentum an object has, the more force it can generate. When it hit the brick, [karateka Ron] McNair's hand had reached a speed of 11 meters per second (24 miles per hour). At this speed, his hand exerted a whopping force of 3,000 Newton's -or 675 pounds-on the concrete. A slab of concrete could likely support the weight of a few people weighing a total of 675 pounds (306 kilograms). But apply that amount of force concentrated into an area as small as a fist and the concrete slab will break.

The fact that martial artists also pick their materials very carefully doesn't hurt, either.

When breaking wooden boards, you use pine (not oak, not mahogany) that isn't marred by dense knots, cut ¾ inch thick and about 12 inches on the diagonal; you hit them to break along the wood's natural grain. (It's not playing by Hoyle but some breakers have been known to bake their boards in ovens before demonstrations to make them more brittle.) One good board, if held securely so that it won't move on impact, is so easy to break that even those with no training at all can be taught to do it in under five minutes.

P.S.: Rennie's blog, The Gleaming Retort, is part of a new family of science blogs, hosted by the Public Library of Science—a non-profit that publishes open-access science journals. I highly recommend checking out the entire PLoS Blogosphere.

Source: Rudeboy's shared items in Google Reader | Maggie Koerth-Baker

TipEx's clever, raunchy YouTube ad
Friday, 3 September 2010, 2:28 pm

Shared by Rudeboy
interesting possibilities

TipEx (a Commonwealth analogue for Wite-Out and other correction-tape products) has an ingenious and engaging YouTube marketing campaign: a video called "NSFW: A hunter shoots a bear," branches off into a kind of video-text-adventure, where you are invited to type verbs into a box and see what the bear and the hunter do with one another (you can get funny results out of "fuck," of course, and also "gets high with" and "dances" -- I'm sure there's more). It's a kind of next-generation Subservient Chicken, and the (no doubt blisteringly expensive) creative reworking of YouTube's familiar user-interface makes it even more click-trancey than its forebears.

This is how to use YouTube to sell a product. (Thanks, Copyranter!)

Source: Rudeboy's shared items in Google Reader | (author unknown)

Kids' Rube Goldberg machine
Friday, 3 September 2010, 2:20 pm

Shared by Rudeboy
I wanna go to RG camp

Here's video of the triumphant success of an elaborate kids' Rube Goldberg machine, created at an "informal Rube Goldberg summer camp for kids ages 3-8." I know nothing about this summer-camp, but it seems like one of the great Good Things of our era -- especially judging from the awesome elation of the kids after the successful run!

How to Get a Beach Ball Into a Galvanized Bucket (the Hard Way)

Source: Rudeboy's shared items in Google Reader | (author unknown)

Ubuntu 10.10 beta arrives, packs tons of tweaks
Friday, 3 September 2010, 2:14 pm

Shared by Rudeboy
I suppose I should throw together another Ubuntu install. I think my last install was back around v7

Filed under: Linux, Canonical, Beta

Ubuntu 10.10 beta arrives, packs tons of tweaks originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Linux - Ubuntu - Download Squad - Software release life cycle - Operating Systems

Source: Rudeboy's shared items in Google Reader | (author unknown)

Probably Bad News: Ad Placement FAIL
Friday, 3 September 2010, 2:00 pm

For more Probably Bad News features, click here. Goodnight and good luck.

Source: Rudeboy's shared items in Google Reader | Cheezburger Network

A Scent That is to Die For
Friday, 3 September 2010, 1:00 pm

Source: Rudeboy's shared items in Google Reader | Cheezburger Network

The Only Pickup That Gets 50MPG (Without the Luggage Rack)
Friday, 3 September 2010, 1:00 pm

The Geo Metruck is the only vehicle in history to have a negative towing capacity. ~Not-So-Handy Andy

Source: Rudeboy's shared items in Google Reader | Cheezburger Network

Officially Official: Ford F-150 SVT Raptor gains SuperCrew, loses 5.4L V8 for 2011
Friday, 3 September 2010, 5:01 am

Filed under: Truck, Ford, Off-Road

Ford's off-road beast, the F-150 SVT Raptor, has only been on sale for a year, but it's already getting a few upgrades for the 2011 model year.

Many reports and a few spy shots indicated that Ford had been prepping a four-door SuperCrew version of the Raptor (you know, for when the family wants to do the Baja run with you), and the automaker has officially confirmed the details (again). The SuperCrew's wheelbase is a full 12 inches longer than the standard Raptor, meaning it should provide a more comfortable ride along the way, and the 5.5-foot box can still haul everything you need when you get there.

Speaking of capability, all Raptors now come standard with more power on tap - the 6.2-liter V8 will be the only available powertrain for 2011 (sad trombone for the people who rushed out to get the 5.4). As we reported earlier, it stands to reason that the 2011 Raptor will get a price increase to account for the larger mill, but it's a small price to pay for an extra 101 horsepower and 69 pound-feet of torque over the 5.4-liter V8.

From there, the other enhancements for 2011 are purely cosmetic. Raptors can now be had in a new color - Ingot Silver Metallic (pictured) - and matte black accent graphics are available on the hood. These new graphics can be ordered separately from the box side decals, too. Inside the cabin, Ford now offers a standard 4.2-inch LCD display (called the "productivity screen") in the center of the revised instrument gauges, similar to what was introduced on the 2011 Super Duty.

Dealers will start taking orders for 2011 Raptors as you read this with the first examples hitting dealerships later this year. Ford's detailed press release is available after the jump.



[Source: Ford]

Continue reading Officially Official: Ford F-150 SVT Raptor gains SuperCrew, loses 5.4L V8 for 2011

Officially Official: Ford F-150 SVT Raptor gains SuperCrew, loses 5.4L V8 for 2011 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: Rudeboy's shared items in Google Reader | Steven J. Ewing

CLASSIC: Children’s Dental Aid Fail
Friday, 3 September 2010, 1:49 am

Shared by Rudeboy
Look... its Scare Bear.

Originally Posted on: July 7, 2009

We’re bringing back some of those CLASSIC FAILS so you can add them to your profile FAVORITES. Enjoy it again and add them to your favorites!

Source: Rudeboy's shared items in Google Reader | (author unknown)

Billboard FAIL
Friday, 3 September 2010, 1:49 am

Shared by Rudeboy
What exactly is being advertised here?

Source: Rudeboy's shared items in Google Reader | (author unknown)

Sign WIN
Thursday, 2 September 2010, 8:10 pm

Source: Rudeboy's shared items in Google Reader | Cheezburger Network

Exercise FAIL
Thursday, 2 September 2010, 7:10 pm

Source: Rudeboy's shared items in Google Reader | Cheezburger Network

Do You Want to be an Astronaut
Thursday, 2 September 2010, 7:08 pm

Source: Rudeboy's shared items in Google Reader | Cheezburger Network

An Analysis of Couch Fort Architecture
Thursday, 2 September 2010, 3:09 pm

Build Blog normally covers architecture and design, in their traditional, adult sense. But for the past few months they’ve occasionally dipped into tongue-in-cheek analyses of couch fort architecture, using photos of real couch forts built by kids, found online. There are now three essays: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. They read like design critiques of student work, pointing out flaws in the design, strengths of classical design, and often referencing design principles I’ve never heard of. My favorite is from Part 3:

Build Blog‘s analysis:

12. This unfortunate example documents the sprawling suburban dilemma of couch cushion architecture. The outspoken urbanist James Howard Kunstler would be horrified and it would appear that not even the designers will take up residence in their own project. Grade F

Enjoy a bunch more: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

Source: Rudeboy's shared items in Google Reader | Chris Higgins

BYU’s Blockbuster Move
Wednesday, 1 September 2010, 8:05 pm

BYU officially announced its football independence today, and in the process revealed that the Cougars have entered into an eight-year agreement with ESPN to broadcast every BYU home football game beginning next season.

BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe also announced a 6-year agreement to play Notre Dame in football.

In addition, BYU will retain the rights to rebroadcast those games on a “same-day” basis on BYUtv.

Holmoe said that the two pillars of the the decision to go independent were access and exposure for the program.

BYU also officially announced that its other athletic programs will compete in the West Coast Conference beginning in 2011.

One of the biggest questions regarding BYU’s move to independence in football is the issue of scheduling.

Holmoe intimated today that that is an issue that can be dealt with, especially with the help of ESPN/ABC. He also indicated that he has fielded several phone calls during the past few days from programs from around the country who are interested in scheduling the Cougars.

“Together in partnership, ESPN and BYU Athletics, our vision is to play football games across the country, against many of the storied football programs in their legendary stadiums, and to have those same highly regarded programs return to Provo to play in Lavell Edwards Stadium,” said Holmoe.

Holmoe also said that he expects that the rivalry with Utah will continue. “Chris Hill and I are currently working on that,” said Holmoe. “We’ve had some great discussion and really there are just a few small little details to fill out. We are both in agreement that its an important game to continue in the rivalry. ESPN is very excited for that game, so we will have that done in the very near future.”

Another issue to be tackled is access to the BCS.

Holmoe explained that BCS access was not the primary consideration in the decision to go independent in football, but that BYU has been in contact with the BCS and that they hope to work out an arrangement in the future.

“There is a process that we will go through, to find out what our access and distribution of funds might be. We’ve had the discussions early enough, but those details will be worked out in a formal way in the next days and weeks to come,” Holmoe said.

As it currently stands, Holmoe says that BYU can qualify for a BCS Bowl if it finishes in the top 14 of the BCS rankings.

Source: Rudeboy's shared items in Google Reader | Brett Richins

Chewbacca, Han Solo and R2D2 drawn as if part of A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh
Wednesday, 1 September 2010, 3:01 am

Illustrations by James Hance, used with permission.

I'm surprised I didn't catch this earlier, but James Hance has recently released a series of lovely images. Here, he re-imagines Han Solo as Christopher Robin, Chewbacca as Pooh Bear, R2D2 as Piglet, and even (this is cool) an AT-AT as Eeyore.

Definitely go to his Cartoon page to see the images in their full glory. Also this just in - James writes:

The first Wookiee the Chew book gets published today (September 1st) and will be available from either my website or comic stores in Jacksonville. My main hub is at Cafe 331, downtown Jacksonville. I'm there every Saturday with prints, paintings and books.

Link

Source: Rudeboy's shared items in Google Reader | David Ng