Random

People's enthusiasm for technology can sometimes overpower their enthusiasm for common sense.

According to the Telegraph, a 54-year-old man was seated on a train in Hamburg, Germany, when his Nokia cell phone rang.

Its tune disturbed many in the carriage because instead of a cheery Europop ditty, it was a speech given by Adolf Hitler in which he pledged "the destruction of world Jewry."

What possessed this man to be so spectacularly mindless as to display his Naziness for all to hear might be beyond all psychology. However, when police arrested him, he reportedly not only possessed … Read more

This 4th of July weekend, you might, either at its beginning or its end, find yourself wishing your car could fly.

Thanks to a new FAA decision, this wish might seem slightly less Peter Pan and slightly more Peter Perfect.

It seems that the soaring minds behind the Terrafugia Transition have secured a remarkable weight exemption from the FAA, allowing it to carry such vital necessities as crumple zones, airbags, and a structural cage on its revolutionary flying car.

No, the airbags won't help much in the air. But road safety is just as vital for this dual-purpose flying … Read more

Do you feel the "Scent of Danger?" Could it be the "Centaur of Danger?"

There are unearthly beings in our midst. And I am not referring specifically to any unearthly being that Stephen Hawking is so keen for us to avoid.

Please look at the image from Google Street View that I have been brave enough to present here.

It is the body of a man. It is the head of a horse. They are on the very same being. You try and tell me that this not something from out there, rather than in here. … Read more

Do you intend to be nice to your co-workers today? Do you intend to spend a little longer in the shower so that your personal crevices are spotless? Do you intend to write that friend request to Mark Zuckerberg and keep your list of friends private?

Well, a group of scientists at UCLA would like to thank you for words, but prefers to scan your brains to prove to you what you really intend to do.

If this all sounds a little macabre, then you clearly don't intend to follow science's inexorable path. According to Reuters, a team … Read more

It's like the first flower of spring. The first beer of the ball game. The first hair that grows beneath your shirt.

Yes, a man has already pitched a tent outside an Apple store in Dallas in the hope of being the first to get his tired, moist hands on the new iPhone 4, which launches June 24.

The Dallas Morning News appears to have been the first to espy the intrepid Justin Waggoner, who hitched his wagon to the sidewalk last Wednesday.

Is he a serial queuer? But of course. He told the Morning News he's camped … Read more

Sometimes the word "why?" is just an exclamation. We don't really expect an answer. We just wish something hadn't happened. Yet, perhaps you might be able to answer the "why" part of this question: Why has a laser manufacturer produced a Star Wars-ish laser that it proudly describes as being "the most dangerous ever created"?

I am indebted to Canada's National Post, which came across a product that really makes one wonder. It is called the Spyder III Pro Arctic.

Its manufacturer, Wicked Lasers of Shanghai, is rather excited about its potential.

May I quote its Web site? "Don't let the Arctic name fool you, this laser possesses the most burning capabilities of any portable laser in existence. That's why it's also the most dangerous laser ever created."

Personally, I didn't let the name fool me. You see, just below this claim to success, Wicked Lasers offers a very bright yellow warning: "Extremely dangerous is an understatement to 1W of laser power. At close range, this Class 4 beam will cause immediate and irreversible retinal damage."

Oh, and "it will blind permanently and instantly and set fire quickly to skin and other body parts."… Read more

What is the end of the world?

For some, it would be dedicating your life to appear on a TV game show. For others, it would be creating a machine that can prove itself better than anyone who dedicates their life to appear on a TV game show.

For myself, it seems clear that IBM has created something that will be the apogee of appointment television by honing a supercomputer to compete with the finest mailmen, insurance brokers, and nurses to prove that it can, well, find the question in the answer.

Yes, IBM's Watson is, according to The New York Times, … Read more

We all have some kind of relationship with our bodies.

Sometimes, let's admit, it can be abusive. We put cupcakes, cocaine, cognac, cauliflower, and cigarette smoke in there (well, not always all at once), and we somehow expect our bodies to love it.

One man, though, has perhaps stood above all others when it comes to testing the body's limits. That is Ozzy Osbourne, former lead singer of Black Sabbath, husband of Sharon, and one-time spokesman for World of Warcraft.

Osbourne has, at least in the past, thought nothing of a live bat as hors d'oeuvre, a … Read more

Many around the world were deeply moved by Saturday's World Cup encounter between England and the United States. While many Americans feared their team might be outclassed, perhaps they weren't fully aware that the England team flatters to deceive more often than a telemarketer.

The game, which finished 1-1, was highlighted by one of the most glorious English goalkeeping errors (enacted by the latest English net custodian, Robert Green), in a veritable pantheon of glorious English goalkeeping errors.

Should you have missed the game, or merely found the experience unbearable, some very enterprising Legoists would like you to enjoy a more, well, playful version.

I thank the Guardian for bringing us all closer to these highlights (there were really only a couple), performed by little Fussball men in Lego World.

The movement of England captain Steven Gerrard is beautifully realized. The joy of his teammates is captured in a manner entirely appropriate to stiff upper lips.

And when America's Clint Dempsey wanders forward and shoots with all the strength of ginger ale and Green allows the ball to bounce off his hands and into the goal, it is an exhibition of vast poignancy. … Read more