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04 May 2008

My keyboard - filthier than a toilet seat?

I think not.

One of the perks of being a neat freak is that I live in a spotless home. And work in a spotless office. Of course, the family and co-workers shake their heads and tsk tsk when I clean or pick up a piece of paper. I cannot stand a mess. Sorry, disgusting. Even if it is only a piece of paper on the floor. Why not pick it up? How hard can it be to bend and pick it up? People tend to bypass the paper more often than pick it up.

The BBC News has an article stating that the computer keyboard is filthier than a toilet seat. We, most of us, tend to eat at our desks. Inevitably, the keyboard acts as a crumb catcher. When we sneeze or cough, droplets fall onto the keyboard. It is no surprise that the keyboard has become a health hazard.

To get rid of the health hazard, I first shake the keyboard of all crumbs and debris. You will be surprised the first time you do this what falls out of your keyboard. Then, I tend to wipe down the keyboard, and CPU and monitor, with a wet towel, followed by an alcohol swab (towelette). The germs are eradicated. Twice a week will be sufficient for most of us.

Now, go keep your work space clean and germ free.

The BBC News article - Dirty keyboards

13:00 Posted in Computers/IT , Health | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: keyboards, germs, dirt, health, colds, alcohol

The Diamond Fairy King by Frank Cheyne Papé

There were the Four Kings ...

fairy, kings, story, flip book, children, adventure

13:00 Posted in Books | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: fairy, kings, story, flip book, children, adventure

Vinyl Art

Edlen has made wax his canvas.

Creating portraits of musicians on their original record albums, Daniel honors the music we all now listen to mostly on CD or MP3.  He uses white acrylic to bring the face out of the shadows of the grooves and capture the spirit of the subject.  Daniel's Vinyl Art gives people a way to say, "This is my music, my culture.

(Source)

vinyl, art, music, albums, musicians, Elvis

 

13:00 Posted in Art , Music | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: vinyl, art, music, albums, musicians, Elvis

Stewardess requirements in the 1950s

Take the test and see if you would have passed.

women, stewardess, airlines, test, travel

13:00 Posted in Transportation , Travel , Women | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: women, stewardess, airlines, test, travel

For Diana

Get well soon.

06:05 Posted in Friends | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: Diana, friends, get well

Mars Attacks!

The Bubble Gum Card version

MARS ATTACKS was a bubble-gum card set produced by "Bubbles, Inc." (an alternate company name for Topps) in 1962. The cards were the idea of Len Brown and Woody Gelman. Some of the early pencil roughs were done by Wally Wood, a well-known artist for E.C. Comics. The final cards were pencilled by Bob Powell, and the painting was done by Norm Saunders. Norm was one of the most prolific and creative artists of the pulp era. Len has recently retired after over 40 years at Topps.

more ...

06:00 Posted in Fun | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: bubble gum, cards, collector's item, Mars, invasion, violence

Abandoned laboratory for studying a human brain

These guys penetrated the abandoned and sealed science lab of Russian Army which conducted sophisticated experiments studying human and animal brains. They got a lot photos of many test samples in an abandoned state but still excellent condition. You can see even the last Soviet leader Gorbachev that was left in rush - it was the time of his rule when the lab was closed and sealed from civilians.

(Source)

brains, human, animals, tests, Russia, laboratorybrains, human, animals, tests, Russia, laboratory

 

06:00 Posted in Science | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: brains, human, animals, tests, Russia, laboratory

From the LAPD Archive 1947 and 1951

I could not find the original poster for these photos. Whoever you are, thanks.

crime, police, photos, LAPD, archivescrime, police, photos, LAPD, archives

 

06:00 Posted in Crime , Police | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: crime, police, photos, LAPD, archives

A ripple in time and sapce

American Senator Robert F Kennedy said:

Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centres of energy and daring, these ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.

Thoughts and actions are like stones, dropped into still waters. They create ripples that spread and expand as they move outwards. Everything we do and think affects the people in our lives and their reactions in turn affect others. The impact you have on the world is greater than you could ever imagine. Each of us carries within us the capacity to change the world in small ways for better or worse.

Each individual must believe in their ability to use their heart as the pebble in the pond to send a ripple outward with every heartbeat; to touch the lives of everybody they come in contact with and outward to everyone those people come in contact with.

06:00 Posted in Life | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: life, ripple, love, reach out, people, change, world

Grand Theft Auto IV

The new Grand Theft Auto - IV - has been released. According to many, this is the Holy Grail of video gaming. The action is fast and furious. The game organic, gritty and large. The game involves hurting a lot of people. You get to shoot drug dealers, steal cars and throw people off roofs. In fact, I read that parts of the game will not proceed until you commit violence. Great game! (Sarcasm here, folks!)

Now, this has not been widely made known to potential players. Though the current ones I am sure will, by now, have found this hidden nugget. One of the aspects of the game is to find a gas station that sells the cheapest gas.

video game, auto theft, violence, drugs, shootings, car chases

 

06:00 Posted in Computers/IT , Fun , Games , Home , Television | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: video game, auto theft, violence, drugs, shootings, car chases

Steve McQueen

9d38f201f7c3709be921c5e470fef17c.jpg

06:00 Posted in Movies , Steve McQueen | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: Steve McQueen, movies, Hollywood, legend, actor, cars

Turn Your Junk Mail into Garden Mulch

A very good idea that I am going to implement right away.

I’m more interested in saving money than saving the environment, but when I see junk mail piling up every day, it makes me stop to think about the sheer amount of waste that junk mail creates. As a homeowner with multiple mulch beds, I also feel a little guilty about building up a nice big pile of mulch, because after all, that mulch used to be trees, and I know in my heart that cutting down trees is not necessarily a good thing.

One day when emptying my shredder, I got to thinking about wasted trees, and the thought occurred to me that shredded junk mail and mulch are basically the same thing: tiny bits of trees. Wouldn’t it be possible to save those bags of shredded junk mail for use instead of mulch?

(More via Get Rich Slowly)

06:00 Posted in Home | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: mulch, junk mail, garden, shredder, soil, ink

Pulp Magazines

I love to read pulp magazines every now and then. They evoke an era long gone, one which I believe I would have enjoyed being in. An era of bravado and heroes, adventure and daring, invasion and rebirth, damsels and sex. More than reading the magazines, I enjoy the covers to an nth degree. I will stare at the covers for a long time because they tell the story on their own. The cover art is always beautiful, in nice, full-color books. I have a rather large collection of pulp magazines - mostly given to me by my Dad. My collection includes Doc Savage, Conan the Barbarian, The Shadow, Tom Mix, Flash Gordon and others.

Pulp magazines are about the engagement of intellect and spirit, science and imagination, work and fun. It is the perfect way to build a collection. The collection features a lot more than fantastic stories and futuristic what-ifs. Each magazine, containing approximately 100 pages of imaginative fiction, ads, editorials, and letters to the editor, represents unadulterated pop culture, churned out quickly and cheaply. As such, it also provides a genuine look at race, class, and gender attitudes of the day. It depicts the minds of the day working to construct imaginative fiction.

If you manage to get your hands on these pulp magazines, and I am talking the vinatge ones, you will be be transported into realms unimaginable.

pulp, magazines, heroes, damsels, adventure, mystery, coverspulp, magazines, heroes, damsels, adventure, mystery, covers

 

06:00 Posted in Magazines | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: pulp, magazines, heroes, damsels, adventure, mystery, covers

03 May 2008

Window Dressing

window dressing, women, color, building, fun
 

It's mostly window dressing. I don't think this will pass the straight-face test. (Chellie Pingree)

11:00 Posted in Fun | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this | Tags: window dressing, women, color, building, fun

Lesbos reject gay name

The Greek island of Lesbos says NO to lesbians. That is, the name lesbians which refers to female homosexuals. The island community is going to court over a gay rights group that is using the name. If Lesbos wins in court, look out Gay World, they are coming after you too.

In court papers, the plaintiffs allege that the Greek government is so embarrassed by the term Lesbian that it has been forced to rename the island after its capital, Mytilini.

An early court date has now been set for judges to decide whether to grant an injunction against the Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece and to order it to change its name.

A spokeswoman for the group has described the case as a groundless violation of freedom of expression, and has pledged to fight it.

The term lesbian originated from the poet Sappho, who was a native of Lesbos.

(More via BBC News)

11:00 Posted in Culture , Life , Lifestyle , Women | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: lesbians, Greece, lawsuit, embarassment, gays

Billy Preston

Billy Preston was born in Houston, Texas on 2 September 1946 but was raised in Los Angeles. He passed away on 6 June 2006 in Scottsdale, Arizona following a lengthy illness. He was 59.

Billy Preston possessed the talent to perform just about any song and make it his own because of his uncanny ability to "feel" every type of music. It was impossible to pigeonhole Billy Preston - but that's just why he was so great!

After the jump, three Billy Preston musical moments.

more ...

11:00 Posted in Music | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: Billy Preston, music, soul, funk, dance

Movie Review: Redbelt (2008)

There's always a way out. You just have to find it.

A fateful event leads to a job in the film business for top mixed-martial arts instructor Mike Terry. Though his refuses to participate in prize bouts, circumstances conspire to force him to consider entering such a competition.

more ...

11:00 Posted in Movies | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: drama, martial arts, motives, characters, study

The World's Worst Comic Book Collection

Dredged from the bargain boxes of Comics shops from one side of the continent to the other, there is hardly a volume in these four boxes for which more than 50 cents was paid. Oh, there is some good reading in there too, as well as mighty bad, for the bargain boxes become home to both ends of the spectrum. Those comics which aim high and hit are often as unsaleable as those which aim anywhich way and wildly miss. Not all of the bad ones display their full badness on the front cover -  all of them must be read in full to be truly appreciated.

(Source)

comics, awful, vanity, drunk driving, superheroes, worst

 

11:00 Posted in Magazines | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: comics, awful, vanity, drunk driving, superheroes, worst

Steve McQueen

Steve McQueen, western, drama, revenge, action, legend

11:00 Posted in Movies , Steve McQueen | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: Steve McQueen, western, drama, revenge, action, legend

02 May 2008

The Great Raid (2005)

Some things you just have to take on faith

Taking place towards the end of WWII, 500 American Soldiers have been entrapped in a camp for 3 years. Beginning to give up hope they will ever be rescued, a group of Rangers goes on a dangerous mission to try and save them.

more ...

13:10 Posted in Movie Trailers , Movies , Music , Soundtracks | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: war, drama, action, rescue, Japan, America, POWs

A beautiful nose

I have no problems with my nose. If I did, it is quite late to do anything about it. At 45, I am more interested in my computers, electronics, kids and soundtracks than anything else. Oh, sorry. Love you too, Babe. But if I wanted a nose like Cleopatra's, CoCo would get the job done for me. Supposedly. Who is CoCo, you ask? Let's go meet CoCo.

13:00 Posted in Body | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: nose, Cleopatra, beautiful, straight, clamp, surgery

Your opinions count

On Soapboxxer, your opinions count. There are a lot of topics to choose from. Entertainment to Science, the topics are varied.

Bacon is amazing

Ozzie Osbourne's music has grown on me

Intelligent Design has a place in public education

These are some of the topics. And it is very easy to give your opinion. Say Yes or No. So, opine away at Soapboxxer.

13:00 Posted in Interesting | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: opinions, topics, science, yes, no, soapbox

The Descent has a sequel

horror, caves, mutants, survivors, women, thrillerIt's been a while since we've heard anything about the promised sequel to Neil Marshall's The Descent, and fans of the film who rolled their eyes at the initial announcement may have gotten their hopes up. But no: the sequel is still going forward with Descent editor Jon Harris making his directorial debut, and James Watkins (My Little Eye), who had nothing to do with the first film, writing the screenplay. The new info is that Shauna McDonald and Natalie Mendoza, who played protagonists Sarah and Juno, will reprise their roles in the sequel. The cast will also have some Y chromosomes this time around, in the form of Gavan O'Herlihy, Joshua Dallas and Douglas Hodge.

The plot will involve "the survivor" -- that would be Sarah -- "forced back into the system of caves she battled her way out of in the first film, in a bid to locate the rest of her group." Shockingly, this probably means that the sequel will take the American "Lionsgate ending" (in which Sarah gets out) as canon, rather than the original ending, where Sarah's escape is a dream sequence and the final shot shows her remaining in the cave. I suppose this could be explained to overseas viewers (who were, after all, responsible for more than half of the first film's $57 million box-office) by claiming that she got out later, in some other way. But it'll be tough.

(More via Cinematical)

13:00 Posted in Movies | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: horror, caves, mutants, survivors, women, thriller

The Works of Gilles Barbier

art, photography, death, life, strange

13:00 Posted in Art | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: art, photography, death, life, strange

Dust Storm

dust storm, nature, wind, environment, man made
 

What we have seen is when we see those dust storms, it's usually due to man-made activities, like construction. (Chris Albrecht)

06:05 Posted in Nature | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: dust storm, nature, wind, environment, man made

Welcome to my Billion Dollar Home

To call Mukesh Ambani rich is an understatement. Ambani is the fifth richest dude in the world and is worth $43 billion dollars. Ambani is the head of Reliance Industries, a petrochemical firm. And like any other home owner, Ambani decided to remodel his home. Many years later, the home is now a 22 storey tower. Alterations are still on the way, and the cost is now nearing $2 billion.

Atop six stories of parking lots, Antilla's living quarters begin at a lobby with nine elevators, as well as several storage rooms and lounges. Down dual stairways with silver-covered railings is a large ballroom with 80% of its ceiling covered in crystal chandeliers. It features a retractable showcase for pieces of art, a mount of LCD monitors and embedded speakers, as well as stages for entertainment. The hall opens to an indoor/outdoor bar, green rooms, powder rooms and allows access to a nearby "entourage room" for security guards and assistants to relax.

Ambani plans to occasionally use the residence for corporate entertainment, and the family wants the look and feel of the home's interior to be distinctly Indian; 85% of the materials and labor will come from outside the U.S., most of it from India.

Rich or what?

(Source)

Video of the Ambani Home

06:00 Posted in Home , Money | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: home, Mumbai, 22 stories, ballroom, billion dollars, India

What am I eating?

When I travel in the East, I always ask what the food is that is pushed in front of my face. When I was growing up in Malaysia, my Dad took us all out for dinner one day. We went to this restaurant and was served a meat dish - Dad ordered it because it had an intriguing name. I cannot remember the name now. As we were leaving the restaurant after dinner, Dad asked the waiter what was in the rather tasty meat dish. Very casually, the waiter said "Dog." My brothers and I dashed for the washroom where we promptly ... well, let's not go there. Upon returning to the front of the restaurant, I saw a green Mum. Dad was the only one not affected. He had monkey's brains in Thailand. So what was dog to him?

One of these days I want to travel to Africa. And I am most definitely asking about the food that will be served.

African Mystery Meals 

06:00 Posted in Food , Places | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: dog, Africa, mystery, meals, snakes, worms, rodents

Common Cooking Mistakes

This is not related to adding dog to your meals. No. These are common cooking errors such as not reading the recipie. I do this every now and then. Sometimes it comes out alright, but not the recipie way. Other times ... dog would probably have tasted good.

Another common mistake is cooking in tepid oil. Whether you’re panfrying or deep-frying, food will absorb too much oil and become heavy and greasy if the oil is below 350° F. I do not have this problem. But I do use too much oil at times. Yuck!

Read this article and save your meals.

06:00 Posted in Food , Home | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: cooking, oil, recipie, pasta, herbs, frying pan

Toughest Movie Characters of All Times

tough guys, movies, villains, cops, private eyes, vigilantesCultCase made a list of the toughest movie characters of all time. At number one was Dirty Harry (Clint Eastwood). Tough guy for sure. The list goes back aways. You have Popeye Doyle (Gene Hackman) from The French Connection, Marv (Mickey Rourke) from Sin City and Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) from The Maltese Falcon. On the list is one of my all time favourites, Robert Mitchum.

Here is a guy you wouldn't like to get into an argument with. The villain of the John D. MacDonald's novel The Executioners, the 1962 film adaption Cape Fear and Scorsese's 1991 remake is definitely one of the meanest toughest hoods any of us had ever seen. If you haven't met this guy yet, believe me when I tell you he is tough.

Bloody right. Mitchum could be nice. But he excelled at being the tough guy. Check out Cape Fear, The Night of The Hunter and Farewell, My Lovely.

Missing from the list are James Caan and Robert De Niro. They deserve a mention.

(Source)

06:00 Posted in Movies | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: tough guys, movies, villains, cops, private eyes, vigilantes

Eradicate fun

Fun is dangerous and viral, and we need to get rid of it. This is where The National Organization For Legislation Against Fun comes in. It is here to help us return to sanity and misery.

Join NOLAF today.

06:00 Posted in Fun | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: fun, organization, disease, dangerous, liver, enroll

Steve McQueen

Steve McQueen, war, drama, action, Hollywood, legend

06:00 Posted in Movies , Steve McQueen | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: Steve McQueen, war, drama, action, Hollywood, legend

The Colossal Squid

EVER HEARD of a species called Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni? Well, it is also known as colossal squid. The colossal squid that is making news right now was caught a year ago, when fishermen off the coast of Antarcticahauled their fishing nets from the deep and found to their surprise a colossal squid in their nets, busy eating a hooked toothfish.

The fishermen immediately realised that they had caught the most mysterious creature of the sea. Once the squid was brought aboard the ship, it was put into the ship’s cargo hold and placed on ice for weeks, as the crew had to sail back nearly 1700 miles to the southern coast of New Zealand.

As the colossal squid, which had remained frozen till a few days back at the museum of New Zealand, Te Papa, is being thawed, the scientists are getting ready to unlock the secrets of this baffling creature.

(More via MeriNews)

Video of the Squid

06:00 Posted in Nature | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: squid, giant, ice, thaw, mystery, ocean, New Zealand

01 May 2008

Afternoon Posts

There will be no posts this afternoon. I have a very painful migraine and I am going to go lie down. Back at you tomorrow.

Steve. 

12:42 Posted in Blog | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: blog, posts, afternoon

Scooter guys get the Babes

scooters, fun, women, urban, Vespas, cool

We feel there is a big market for this kind of a scooter, especially in the urban male, who wants something different. (Arun Firodia)

 

06:05 Posted in Bikes , Men , Women | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: scooters, fun, women, urban, Vespas, cool

How difficult could it be to use the phone?

These days, phones are very easy to use. Not counting cell phones. A friend of mine had trouble setting up her iPhone. She came over to my place for help. Unfortunately, the iPhone came without a manual. Both Jen and I were stuck. My son came along, took the phone and had it set-up in fifteen minutes. Smart ass! What phones need nowadays is not a manual but an instructional video. Like this one from the 1930s. Apparently, using the phones back then was tougher.

06:00 Posted in Cell/Phone | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: instructions, phones, manual, set-up, ease, video

Vampires, ringmasters and illusions

My entry into fantasy-science fiction comics was Neil Gaiman's Sandman. It offered something I had not been awarevampires, circus, London, underground, illusions, abduction existed in comic book form: intelligent, funny, beautifully drawn tales of myth woven into real life. Since then, Gaiman has been playing around with form and genre, writing screenplays, short stories, novels, childrens' books, radio plays, and other comic books.  Gaiman stirs something up deep within me, exploring as he does the subconscious and its power. From the early days of his now-legendary Sandman comic books, Gaiman's writing has crossed the divide between fantasy and reality, dreamtime and the waking hours. His sense of adventure has paid off in legions of devoted fans. Now comes another graphic novel from Gaiman called The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch.

Come, come and hear of the strange and terrible tale of Miss Finch, an exacting woman befallen by mystery and abduction deep under the streets of London! The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch is a "mostly true story" that combines the author's trademark magic realism with Zulli's sumptuous paintings, and has been newly rewritten for this hardcover. Join a group of friends, with the stern Miss Finch in tow, as they enter musty caverns for a subterranean circus spectacle called "The Theatre of Night's Dreaming." Come inside, get out of the pounding rain, and witness this strange world of vampires, ringmasters, illusions, and the Cabinet of Wishes Fulfill'd.

The novel is available as of 23rd April.

(via Dark Horse)

06:00 Posted in Books | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: vampires, circus, London, underground, illusions, abduction

I would like, if I may, to take you on a strange journey

Put on your best fishnet stockings and high heels and do the Time Warp. As in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

more ...

06:00 Posted in Fun , Love , Movies | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: Rocky Horror, wedding, Time Warp, dance, vows, fun

Heineken - Share The Good

Correct me if I am wrong. But Heineken is a beer. Right?

more ...

06:00 Posted in Ads , Drink | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: Heineken, Coke Cola, ads, share the good, light feeling

Movie Review: Iron Man (2008)

I should be dead already ... It must be for a reason

When wealthy industrialist Tony Stark is forced to build an armored suit after a life-threatening incident, he ultimately decides to use its technology to fight against evil.

more ...

06:00 Posted in Movies | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: Iron Man, action, drama, thriller, comic book, adventure

Steve McQueen

Steve McQueen, drama, war, England, bombers, romance

06:00 Posted in Movies , Steve McQueen | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: Steve McQueen, drama, war, England, bombers, romance

Anatomical Theatre

Anatomical Theatre is a photographic exhibition documenting artifacts collected by and exhibited in medical museums throughout Europe and the United States. The objects in these photos range from preserved human remains to models made from ivory, wax, and papier mâché. The artifacts span from the 16th Century to the 20th, and include examples from a wide range of countries, artists, and preparators.

The photographs in this exhibition were taken by Joanna Ebenstein, a