raging all about. here come the firemen to put the fire out.
for anyone outside the los angeles area who hasn't really seen or heard much about the wildfires, here's some amazing video time lapses of what it looks like.
Time Lapse Test: Station Fire from Eric Spiegelman on Vimeo.
Timelapse - Los Angeles Wildfire from Dan B. on Vimeo.
crazy.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
From The What Will They Think Of Next Department
vampire dildos! they sparkle in the sun, just like edward cullen!
for those who fantasize about being spellbound and tantalized by the forbidden...introducing the vamp, everything your vampire obsessed person needs to satisfy their desires and fulfill all their blood sucking fantasies.
site guarantee, "we promise this vamp won't be the only thing coming for you in the night."
and don't forget to toss it in the fridge for that authentic experience.
(via io9)
for those who fantasize about being spellbound and tantalized by the forbidden...introducing the vamp, everything your vampire obsessed person needs to satisfy their desires and fulfill all their blood sucking fantasies.
site guarantee, "we promise this vamp won't be the only thing coming for you in the night."
and don't forget to toss it in the fridge for that authentic experience.
(via io9)
Another Fucking Robot
i spend a lot of time thinking about random, obscure questions. questions that most people don't usually have the time to think about. questions that don't even occur to be thought about by most people. why do i do this? i have no idea. i long ago gave up trying to figure out why what pops into my mind pops into my mind.
what i do, do when one of these questions arises is try to find the answer. obviously, that almost always means using the internet...and thanks to the wonders and resources that lie within her vast confines, i pretty much always find the answer.
well...an answer at any rate, because sometimes, instead of answering the question i had, i wind up with an answer to some other unasked inquiry.
which was the case this evening.
see, i started an internet search trying to track down why, how, and in what way condom makers come up with new products.
i'm pretty certain this all stemmed from seeing a commercial a couple months back for the new trojan ecstasy.
anyway, as i was saying, instead of getting the answer to that question, i stumbled upon this contraception study investigating breakage.
as stated --
BACKGROUND: Published condom breakage studies typically report the percentage of failures but rarely provide any evidence on the mechanism of failure.
METHODS: Over a period of 7 years, broken condoms returned to a supplier (SSL, Durex) via consumer complaints were examined to determine the cause of failure. Also, some consumers who reported breakage but did not return condoms were sent a questionnaire on the causes of breakage. Finally, theories proposed for the mechanism of breakage were investigated on a laboratory coital model (emphasis added).
RESULTS: Nearly 1000 (n=972) returned condoms made from natural rubber and polyurethane were examined. Visible features on those that were broken, were classified. Evidence combined from examining returns, questionnaire responses and the coital model strongly suggests a single predominant mechanism of failure we named "blunt puncture," where the tip of the thrusting male penis progressively stretches one part of the intact condom wall until it ultimately breaks.
CONCLUSIONS: Blunt puncture appears to be the mechanism of breakage responsible for more than 90% of condom breakage not attributable to misuse. Knowledge of the main mechanism of breakage should help develop better user instructions, better test methods and, ultimately, better condoms.
that's right, another fucking machine.
and, i must admit, seeing this made me pause. on the one hand, i worried that once again we're giving the robots all the information they will ever need to eventually overthrow and enslave us...but on the other hand i thought maybe, just maybe when the day of reckoning comes, this robot will remember that all we ever asked of it was to have sex with a simulated robot vagina...
that has to work in our favor, at least a little bit, right?
what i do, do when one of these questions arises is try to find the answer. obviously, that almost always means using the internet...and thanks to the wonders and resources that lie within her vast confines, i pretty much always find the answer.
well...an answer at any rate, because sometimes, instead of answering the question i had, i wind up with an answer to some other unasked inquiry.
which was the case this evening.
see, i started an internet search trying to track down why, how, and in what way condom makers come up with new products.
i'm pretty certain this all stemmed from seeing a commercial a couple months back for the new trojan ecstasy.
anyway, as i was saying, instead of getting the answer to that question, i stumbled upon this contraception study investigating breakage.
as stated --
BACKGROUND: Published condom breakage studies typically report the percentage of failures but rarely provide any evidence on the mechanism of failure.
METHODS: Over a period of 7 years, broken condoms returned to a supplier (SSL, Durex) via consumer complaints were examined to determine the cause of failure. Also, some consumers who reported breakage but did not return condoms were sent a questionnaire on the causes of breakage. Finally, theories proposed for the mechanism of breakage were investigated on a laboratory coital model (emphasis added).
RESULTS: Nearly 1000 (n=972) returned condoms made from natural rubber and polyurethane were examined. Visible features on those that were broken, were classified. Evidence combined from examining returns, questionnaire responses and the coital model strongly suggests a single predominant mechanism of failure we named "blunt puncture," where the tip of the thrusting male penis progressively stretches one part of the intact condom wall until it ultimately breaks.
CONCLUSIONS: Blunt puncture appears to be the mechanism of breakage responsible for more than 90% of condom breakage not attributable to misuse. Knowledge of the main mechanism of breakage should help develop better user instructions, better test methods and, ultimately, better condoms.
that's right, another fucking machine.and, i must admit, seeing this made me pause. on the one hand, i worried that once again we're giving the robots all the information they will ever need to eventually overthrow and enslave us...but on the other hand i thought maybe, just maybe when the day of reckoning comes, this robot will remember that all we ever asked of it was to have sex with a simulated robot vagina...
that has to work in our favor, at least a little bit, right?
Monday, August 24, 2009
MRI Sex
exactly what it sounds like (maybe nsfw? - i don't know what's considered acceptable anymore).
(via new scientist)
(via new scientist)
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Things I Worry About
i am a worrier. i worry about all kinds of things. most of these things turn out to be absolutely nothing worth worrying about...like, for example, practically every borderline hypochondriac thought i've had over the last 7 years.
i don't know why i worry so much. it's not much fun and i'm fairly certain that i would be better off if i could somehow not worry (believe me, the irony and sadness of developing a case of insomnia due to anxiety that i might die from fatal familial insomnia is not lost on me).
but, alas, this is who i am. a worrier.
one of the things that i have been worried about lately is the impending robot apocalypse. that is, that all of the fictional depictions of robots becoming self aware and killing us from various movies and books will be what actually happens at some point in the not too distant future.
sure, laugh. it's crazy, right. i certainly hope so, but i'm not the only one who's concerned about this scenario.
anyway, this is besides the point, because this isn't a post about robots. no, this is a post about zombies...the latest item that's been added to my list of Things I Worry About.
why zombies you ask?
well, like most intelligent and rationally thinking people, i tend to take my cues from science, and thanks to the article, "When Zombies Attack! Mathematical Modelling Of An Outbreak Of Zombie Infection" from the recently published book Infectious Diseases Modelling Research Progress it's clear to me now that (scientifically speaking) the zombie threat is one to be taken seriously.
in the paper, researchers from the university of ottawa and carleton university posed a simple question: if there was to be a battle between zombies and the living, who would win?
the outcome, as you might have guessed, was a bit disconcerting:
"a zombie outbreak is likely to lead to the collapse of civilisation, unless it is dealt with quickly. While aggressive quarantine may contain the epidemic, or a cure may lead to coexistence of humans and zombies, the most effective way to contain the rise of the undead is to hit hard and hit often. As seen in the movies, it is imperative that zombies are dealt with quickly, or else we are all in a great deal of trouble."
and how did they reach this (not so surprising) conclusion?
one of the men involved in the study, professor robert smith? (the question mark is part of his name) explains, "we model a zombie attack using biological assumptions based on popular zombie movies. we introduce a basic model for zombie infection and illustrate the outcome with numerical solutions."
as for that model...to give the living a "fighting chance," the researchers chose slow-moving zombies rather than the fast, intelligent creatures found in some recent films (clearly, if those zombies show up we are completely fucked).
so, what was the purpose behind the study (assuming to scare the shit out of me wasn't the original intention)...well, the researchers hope, seeing as how a zombie "plague" resembles a lethal, rapidly spreading infection, that the exercise could help scientists model the spread of unfamiliar diseases through human populations.
great. now i suppose the only real question left is, what will kill us first? the zombies or the robots.
i don't know why i worry so much. it's not much fun and i'm fairly certain that i would be better off if i could somehow not worry (believe me, the irony and sadness of developing a case of insomnia due to anxiety that i might die from fatal familial insomnia is not lost on me).
but, alas, this is who i am. a worrier.
one of the things that i have been worried about lately is the impending robot apocalypse. that is, that all of the fictional depictions of robots becoming self aware and killing us from various movies and books will be what actually happens at some point in the not too distant future.
sure, laugh. it's crazy, right. i certainly hope so, but i'm not the only one who's concerned about this scenario.
anyway, this is besides the point, because this isn't a post about robots. no, this is a post about zombies...the latest item that's been added to my list of Things I Worry About.
why zombies you ask?
well, like most intelligent and rationally thinking people, i tend to take my cues from science, and thanks to the article, "When Zombies Attack! Mathematical Modelling Of An Outbreak Of Zombie Infection" from the recently published book Infectious Diseases Modelling Research Progress it's clear to me now that (scientifically speaking) the zombie threat is one to be taken seriously.
in the paper, researchers from the university of ottawa and carleton university posed a simple question: if there was to be a battle between zombies and the living, who would win?
the outcome, as you might have guessed, was a bit disconcerting:
"a zombie outbreak is likely to lead to the collapse of civilisation, unless it is dealt with quickly. While aggressive quarantine may contain the epidemic, or a cure may lead to coexistence of humans and zombies, the most effective way to contain the rise of the undead is to hit hard and hit often. As seen in the movies, it is imperative that zombies are dealt with quickly, or else we are all in a great deal of trouble."
and how did they reach this (not so surprising) conclusion?
one of the men involved in the study, professor robert smith? (the question mark is part of his name) explains, "we model a zombie attack using biological assumptions based on popular zombie movies. we introduce a basic model for zombie infection and illustrate the outcome with numerical solutions."
as for that model...to give the living a "fighting chance," the researchers chose slow-moving zombies rather than the fast, intelligent creatures found in some recent films (clearly, if those zombies show up we are completely fucked).
so, what was the purpose behind the study (assuming to scare the shit out of me wasn't the original intention)...well, the researchers hope, seeing as how a zombie "plague" resembles a lethal, rapidly spreading infection, that the exercise could help scientists model the spread of unfamiliar diseases through human populations.
great. now i suppose the only real question left is, what will kill us first? the zombies or the robots.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Why I Love The Internet, Reason # 793
i love the internet. really i do. it boggles my mind how people managed to live before its existence.
for instance, if it weren't for the internet i probably would have never discovered these --
the entire plot of Predator, told in a six-and-a-half minute rap song AND the entire plot of Robocop, told in a ten minute rap song.
the videos were written and created by mouthmaster murf and dj mayhem, members of the uk band, the anomalies, and in the words of our friends across the pond they are, "bloody brilliant."
gentlemen, I salute you.
for instance, if it weren't for the internet i probably would have never discovered these --
the entire plot of Predator, told in a six-and-a-half minute rap song AND the entire plot of Robocop, told in a ten minute rap song.
the videos were written and created by mouthmaster murf and dj mayhem, members of the uk band, the anomalies, and in the words of our friends across the pond they are, "bloody brilliant."
gentlemen, I salute you.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Handerpants! Handerpants! Handerpants!
oh. my. god. this may very well be the most important invention of our time. seriously. i must have them.
if underpants and gloves could somehow make sweet, sweet love, handerpants would be their baby.
FACTS. handerpants will/are:
still not sold, well then check this out --
buy now!
if underpants and gloves could somehow make sweet, sweet love, handerpants would be their baby.
FACTS. handerpants will/are:
- fit most hands
- breathable cotton
- form fitting
- prevent chafing
- absorb sweat
- distract enemies
- non toxic
- great for jazz hands
still not sold, well then check this out --
buy now!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Burger Quest '09
oh man, oh man, we are just a few short hours away from the kick off of Burger Quest '09.
what is Burger Quest '09 you ask? well, it's a quest to determine, once and for all, who serves the best burger in los angeles.
the concept is simple. 6 weeks till summer is officially over (first day of fall - 9/22). 6 burger restaurants often mentioned as the answer to the best burger in los angeles. our mission: 1 burger a week for the next 6 weeks to determine which of the 6 is the true champion.
your arteries may not thank you, but your stomach will...
the contenders:
1. Apple Pan (http://www.applepan.com/)
2. Umami Burger (http://www.umamiburger.com/)
3. Pie 'N Burger (http://www.pienburger.com/index.htm )
4. The Counter (http://www.thecounterburger.com/ )
5. In-N-Out (http://www.in-n-out.com/)
6. Father's Office (http://www.fathersoffice.com/)
the criteria (burgers will be judged on the following):
1. size
2. aroma
3. juicyness/cooking (is it under/over cooked)
4. seasoning/sauce
5. toppings
6. bun
first up (7:45pm tonight) will be The Apple Pan.
let The Quest begin!!!
what is Burger Quest '09 you ask? well, it's a quest to determine, once and for all, who serves the best burger in los angeles.
the concept is simple. 6 weeks till summer is officially over (first day of fall - 9/22). 6 burger restaurants often mentioned as the answer to the best burger in los angeles. our mission: 1 burger a week for the next 6 weeks to determine which of the 6 is the true champion.
your arteries may not thank you, but your stomach will...
the contenders:
1. Apple Pan (http://www.applepan.com/)
2. Umami Burger (http://www.umamiburger.com/)
3. Pie 'N Burger (http://www.pienburger.com/
4. The Counter (http://www.thecounterburger.
5. In-N-Out (http://www.in-n-out.com/)
6. Father's Office (http://www.fathersoffice.com/)
the criteria (burgers will be judged on the following):
1. size
2. aroma
3. juicyness/cooking (is it under/over cooked)
4. seasoning/sauce
5. toppings
6. bun
first up (7:45pm tonight) will be The Apple Pan.
let The Quest begin!!!
Awkward Update
hey kids, remember last month when i mentioned that i was going to be submitting a photo to awkward family photos.
well, submit i did, and guess what, i recently heard back from the fella's behind AFP with some good news and some bad news.
first, the bad news: my photo is NOT going to be displayed on the website.
sad, i know. but don't fret, because the good news went a little something like this...
Hey Alex,
I'm writing to you to let you know that we are about to begin the process of compiling photos for the official Awkward Family Photos book, which is being published by Random House. We want to save some of our best pics exclusively for the book and would love to include yours. If you're interested, let me know and I'll send you some more information.
Mike
Co-Creator of AFP
that's right boys and girls, "best. matching. outfits. ever." will be coming soon (spring 2010) to a coffee table near you!
well, submit i did, and guess what, i recently heard back from the fella's behind AFP with some good news and some bad news.
first, the bad news: my photo is NOT going to be displayed on the website.
sad, i know. but don't fret, because the good news went a little something like this...
Hey Alex,
I'm writing to you to let you know that we are about to begin the process of compiling photos for the official Awkward Family Photos book, which is being published by Random House. We want to save some of our best pics exclusively for the book and would love to include yours. If you're interested, let me know and I'll send you some more information.
Mike
Co-Creator of AFP
that's right boys and girls, "best. matching. outfits. ever." will be coming soon (spring 2010) to a coffee table near you!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Jerkin
kids these days. seems there's a new movement sweeping the streets. it's called jerkin, and apparently it's all the rage.
to be honest, i'm a little upset by this new development. i mean, i was just starting to perfect my krumping and clowning techniques and now i have to start from scratch...on the bright side, i was always pretty good at the running man so hopefully that will help accelerate my jerkin learning curve (though, it also looks like i might need to get a new wardrobe).
to be honest, i'm a little upset by this new development. i mean, i was just starting to perfect my krumping and clowning techniques and now i have to start from scratch...on the bright side, i was always pretty good at the running man so hopefully that will help accelerate my jerkin learning curve (though, it also looks like i might need to get a new wardrobe).
Now We Jerk - A Jerkin Documentary presented by the LA Weekly from Brilliant Comrades on Vimeo.
And I'm Back...
apologies, dear readers, for the lapse in blogging the last two weeks. i was attending to some personal affairs.
but, everything seems to be sorted out now, so posting should return to its previous levels of regularity.
but, everything seems to be sorted out now, so posting should return to its previous levels of regularity.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
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