Miasmatic Review

Beer tasting is almost here

Sorry, no beer review this week. I'm holding the third annual Miasmatic Review Beer Tasting this weekend and I've had to prepare for that. I've made Three bacon explosions and prepped 7 pounds of rib tips for this weekend. I also have the beers lined up that we are going to review. We have three flights.

Beers of South East Asia: Kingfisher from India, Tsingtao From China and Singha from Taiwan.

Beers from Gray's Brewery: Rathskeller Amber Ale, Honey Ale and Bully Porter.

American Stouts: Bell's Java Stout, Left Hand's Milk Stout and Millstream's Colony Stout.

Off course there is a tenth beer. The Mystery beer. Who ever comes the closest to identifying the beer wins a pint of Glogg and a reviewers note book from Bell's Brewery. The tenth beer won't be revealed until after the tasting.

If you are one of the people that RSVPed that you are coming, I'm looking forward to see you there. If you didn't make it this year, I hope you can join us next year.

International Bacon Day

Today is International Bacon Day, make sure you cook some bacon.

If I wasn't in a condition that limited me from doing so, I'd be having a Bacon Explosion or two today.

Since I can't make one today, I'm promising to all that come to my full recovery party that I'll make at least two!

Culloden

Tomorrow, April 16th, is the 262nd anniversary of the Battle of Culloden. For those of you that have been reading me over the last four years may remember my alter ego regailing his story of Culloden and the Clearances. For those that don't want to do the reading, Culloden was the last of the battles for the Jacobite cause that ultimately ended the Scottish Clan system and a national heritage.

Tomorrow, I'm getting together with some friends and hitting the Hope and Anchor, an English Pub, to help remind them of the what happened.

For some fun, here are a couple of video clips regarding Culloden, The first is from the Culloden Battlefield Experience in Scotland.

Trailer for audiovisual film at National Trust For Scotland's new Culloden Battlefield Experience. A dramatic reconstruction of the Battle of Culloden, the last battle fought on British soil on 16th April 1746 between the Jacobite supporters of Bonnie Prince Charlie and The British Army of George II. Directed by Craig Collinson & Produced by Nobles Gate.

And short tour of the battlefield done to The Ghosts of Culloden.

If you are going to be in the area, you can join us. The whole family will be there.

Hope and Anchor

Yesterday at work, Bruce comes over to me and shows me an ad for a new place in town, Hope and Anchor English Pub. It just opened and he wanted to go check it out, probably because the ad boasted “the girls wear the shortest kilts in town.” I thought, "hell why not!" He met me at my house after work and we headed off to the pub.

We got there and the atmosphere seemed really nice. It wasn’t too loud, there was music, but it never interfered with conversation. They had pool tables, dart boards and TVs, but the sound on the TV wasn’t even audible, at least not from where we were sitting.

The menu only had a about a dozen items, but they did have Bangers and Mash, Cottage Pie, Fish and Chips, Scotch Eggs, Cornish Pasties and other English, Irish and Scottish food. Sorry, no haggis! They even had real HP sauce for the pasties! I had the pasties and a Scotch egg. The pasties were good, I was pleasantly surprised. The Scotch egg wasn’t quite right. First it was served cold. I feel they are the best at room temperature, but you could tell this was pulled out of a fridge. Then they quartered it. I know they did that so that the patrons would have an easier time eating it, so I can forgive that. However, I don’t know what they rolled the egg in, but it wasn’t oats. It was some kind of breading. It didn’t taste bad, but it isn’t a traditional style Scotch egg. Somebody around us got the Fish and Chips and they looked and smelled fantastic.

The beer selection left a lot to be desired. They had Guinness, Bass, Stella Artois, Newcastle, Bud Light, Miller Light and Wood Pecker hard cider on tap. They had a handful of bottled beers, but the selection wasn’t much. At least they had some good beers on tap. I couldn’t help but to recommend some beers they may want to try stocking to go with the theme. As long as they have Miller Lite, Stella Artois, Guinness and Bass… I’ll be fine.

Unfortunately none of the staff was wearing kilts. Apparently the girls only wear those on the weekends. Before you ask, we are planning on going back to check it out this weekend. We also had a great bartender, Amy. She was nice, personable and really kept us happy. Even later in the evening when it was just Bruce and I in the place she sat there and chatted with us.

The prices were good too. The average entrée was under $10.00 and the tap beer ran $2.50 for domestic to $4.00 for import. That’s pretty standard for Rockford.

On a Monday night it wasn’t very busy, but I’m interested to see how it is on a Friday or Saturday. I want to see if the music gets too loud or if it becomes impossible to have a conversation. Also they have a stage for bands to play on, so I’m interested to see what kind of bands they will get. If it keeps up the high impression it’s given me, this could move into my top five favorite bars.

Even if I do have to sit under a sign that says "God Bless the Queen" and I'm a Jacobite!

That's one heck of a sticker price!

Well I know what I would do if I had $15.6 septillian dollars. It wouldn't be to fix the economy. I wouldn't help the poor or the third world. No, I would build my own real life Death Star. Death Star Costs $15.6 Septillion, 1.4 Trillion Times the US Debt.

Now of course the jobs it would create making it would fix the economy... but hey!

Bacon Cake!

As you might have noticed, I have a special love for bacon. I keep trying to find new and interesting ways to cook and serve it. Hence how I found the Bacon Cake!

It's all I want for valentines day! lol

Planet 51

Speaking of Movies... Here's a trailer for a new cartoon movie that looks interesting. It's based on another planet... and humans are the aliens. Check out the Official Planet 51 Trailer.

Bacon Explosion

all I can say about this recipe is yum.... Bacon. All hail the Bacon Explosion.

Barely recognizable.

Over at Listal, basically a place that makes lists, they have a post up of Almost Unrecognizable actors. It's a list of various actors that have done roles that required them to wear make up. This list is what they feel is the best jobs were you can barely tell it's the actor. Some of them I disagree with, you could tell Mrs. Doubtfire was Robin Williams, etc. If you like movies, you'll probably find this list interesting.

Starting the day off with a bang.

This video is in Japanese, but you can get the general idea of what they are talking about.

I need to get me one of these. I don't know how well it will work as an alarm clock, but it sure would be fun.

Sky watching.

Here's a video clip that I found really interesting. It's a series of time lapse pictures of the sky.

I found this over at Astronomy Picture of the Day. The website says it gives a different picture each day, but it hasn't been updated since December 31st.

RC Jet Crash.

I didn't even know they made remote control jets until I saw this video.

All I could think when I saw that jet crash in a fiery ball, is that the guy that owned it had to be pissed. Those things can't be cheap.

Paintings in under a minute

I'm actually pretty impressed with the overall look of the finalized product. I didn't think you could do something that fast with spray paint and have it actually not look like a complete piece of crap.

'Tis the season for Bacon!

Anyone that knows me, knows I love bacon. It may not be a completely healthy obsession (both physically and psychologically), but it is one. So this week when searching the internet I found the best bacon combination for the holidays

First, for those of us that want to just decorate the house with Bacon. You have Bacon Christmas tree ornaments!

Then on Christmas day you can have a a Turbaconducken. I've never had a Turducken before, but when I finally have one, it's going to be wrapped in bacon. MMMMmmmmmm Bacon.

Doesn't that look delicious!

Then finally, as a side dish you can have, what appears to be, the best bacon food stuff I've ever seen. It combines bacon with another guilty pleasure of mine... Cheese! We have the Bacon and Cheese Roll.

Oh c'mon you know that looks sinfully delicious.

If I have a heart attack before the New Year... you'll know why.

Biohazard Cookies?

Not ones that are actual biohazards, just ones that are in the shape of biohazard symbols. Over at Juggling Frogs they have a way to make your own cookie cutters out of foil pans!

Now if you have the time, patience and the skills to attempt this, let me know how it works out. I maybe tempted to try to try it out myself.

The neighborhood kids are in trouble now!

Why did they not have something like this when I was growing up? I remember wishing for something like this as a kid. My friends and I wanted a snowball gun for the various snowball wars we got into during the winters growing up.

And now they have one! The 80' Snowball Launcher.

This toy blaster makes and launches softball-sized snowballs up to 80', allowing rapid, long-range assaults during neighborhood snowball confrontations. Simply place snow in the forming chamber and close the lid, and it packs three perfectly spherical snowballs. To blast your mark, place one snowball in the muzzle, aim the launcher, and pull back the slingshot mechanism. Because the blaster is powered by elastomers instead of batteries, it provides uninterrupted, fast-action play. Made of durable, cold-resistant plastic. Includes targets for shooting practice. Ages 8 and up. 17 1/2" L x 5 1/2" W x 12" H. (2 1/2 lbs.)

I may have to pick up four of these, one for each of the family!

It turns your bred to the dark side!

When I first saw this my inner geek in a million voices cried out in joy and were suddenly silenced as I realized my wife would never let me own one. What could this wondrous thing be that brought my inner geek out? Nothing other than a Darth Vader Toaster!

If there's something every Sith Lord knows how to do it's make a balanced breakfast. While the Jedi have to live off of Jawa juice and fried nerfsteak, the Dark Lord of the Sith prefers to have a reminder of his fiery Mustafar defeat at his breakfast table. Every morning he burns that moment into a slice of bread with the Darth Vader Toaster. This black, ominous kitchen appliance easily leaves the mark of Vader's helmet in every yummy piece of toast. Slather some Bantha butter on top, or make two pieces for an extra-Sithy BLT. Force power not required to operate toaster.

Admit it, you want one too!

I'd eat there.

I stumbled across pictures of a restaurant in Chandler, AZ called The Heart Attack Grill. Now, as un-PC as this is, I find it refreshing that a restaurant is actually marketing food that people want with no regards to any type of reprecussions from the "Everyone should eat lettuce" crowd. Which from the look of the burgers, there is no lettuce on them! I really wish there was one of these places in Illinois, I'd so go there for a double bypass and some Flatliner fries! Although the waitress staff looks mighty tempting too.

MMMmmmm burgers and nurses.

Soda Vs. Pop

This arguement has been going around the blogosphere for a long, long time. I remember seeing many a post about it. What do you call soft drinks? Is it soda, pop, coke, etc. This arguement has even gone on outside the blogosphere. I know many of my friends and I have had this debate.

Someone has taken this debate to a new level and actually did a survey to find out. Then they made a map based on the answers. Finally we have the Soda Vs. Pop map.

Click to enlarge.

They also have a breakdown on to how the map can be read over at Strange Maps. Looking at this map I have to conclude pop is the most used term!

Magazines of tomorrow, today.

This is really cool! Esquire magazine has come up with a cover using E-Ink (Electronic Ink) that blinks.

Apparently they are only producing 100,000 of these.

Looking at this makes me wonder how far away are we from the days when we have moving pictures in newsprint. Think about it. All those fantasy and Sci-Fi movies may not be far off. The newspapers from Harry Potter and the wanted posters from Serenity/Firefly.

Now what I really want to know is, how much is this going to cost?

Post it note fun

From the creators of the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment, EeepyBird show us how to have fun with sticky notes. eepybird.com

Oh man, I could have been doing this when I was in Tulsa! I wish I had found it earlier.

oh the possibilities

When I was a kid, my friends and I would go to Skateland every Saturday. One of our favorite things to do when we were there was to order a "suicide" from the snack bar. I don't know who named it or why that, but it was a combination of equal parts of every softdrink on the fountain. Now they normally had a Cola, a Lemon Lime, A Root Beer, Dr. Pepper and an orange drink. It was all the rage with the kids. I think the snack bar workers hated making them though.

When I discovered that Coke testing 100-flavor soda fountains I wondered what that "suicide" would taste like, and how hard it would be to make one!

Kilt, or Male Unbifurcated Garment.

When I was in Tulsa I had one of the people in class tell me about this. Then Employee-M, who's husband is a mail carrier said she had heard about this as well. Finally Ktreva sent me a news link, Wash. letter carrier going full kilt ahead.

I say it's about damn time! Let the kilt rule the mail carrier world as well!

"Unbifurcated Garments are far more comfortable and suitable to male anatomy than trousers or shorts because they don't confine the legs or cramp the male genitals the way that trousers or shorts do," he wrote. "Please open your hearts — and inseams — for an option in mail carrier comfort!"

I don't think this was going to catch on, or that the Postal Service and their union is going to allow this. Especially with the way the article reads.

On a side note, just looking at the picture I can identify the manufacturer as the Utilikilt Company. Is that weird?

Someting for the Guys.

This is for the guys. Over at AskMen.Com they have Top 10: Chicks Kissing Scenes. Now these are mainstream movies, not from the adult industry, so these are actual legit actresses.

I just thought it was time for me to re-introduce some "art" to my blog.

Knight Rider GPS

Part of me thinks this is cool, but the other part thinks that only an ultra fan boy or a real geek would want this.

But what will the illegals do?

Don't like to mow your lawn, but you don't want to hire someone else to do it? How about getting a Lawnmower Robot?

With the introduction of the LawnBott LB3500, KA Home Robotics has raised the bar in home robotics for lawn care. The LB3500 is the world’s first Bluetooth compatible home robotic device. The owner can program and directly control the LB3500 through any Bluetooth compatible cell phone or PDA type device!

They aren't available yet, but it says they are coming soon. I'm willing to bet these things will cost a small fortune. Luckily, I have a teenager to do my mowing.

This takes more grace than I have.

Anyone that is a fan of the Movie Labyrinth is familiar with Contact Juggling.

Here is a guy in a park, presumably Japan, that makes it look really easy. If you like this kind of performance art, you'll love what this kid does with a crystal ball.

Just a quick SciFi fix.

This is a compilation of different "space battles." Some of the scenes aren't in space and some of them aren't battles. Like the space station blowing up in Armageddon. There is a lot from the Star Wars sagas in there, but there are also from other movies, including Serenity.

The music is pretty good too.

Pissing the game away

Not that I play golf, because I don't, or that I would have this problem, because I wouldn't, but I found this interesting. The Uroclub.

How many times has this happened? You arrive at the golf course, and soon you’re on to 18 holes with your best buddies. After drinking sport ades, water, beer, and whatever, you’re on the 3rd hole with no rest room in sight. There are no trees or bushes around and you just gotta go, what are you going to do?

Basically it's a piss can made to look like a golf club.

Every aspect of this piece of equipment has been meticulously worked out to make it simple and trouble free to use. To start with, the UroClub™ is designed from a light weight resin with a molded grip. The cap opens and closes easily and is designed with a triple sealing system to ensure that it is leak proof.

The privacy shield hooks to the sides of the pants or belt and adds stability. This allows freedom of the hands to manipulate the club and zipper.

The entire club is made of a non-porous material. Therefore, caring and cleaning is effortless!

The UroClub™ is intended to eliminate anxiety and any feeling of uneasiness on the course. It can be emptied at the nearest restroom or later on, when the golfer returns home.

Capacity: Over half a liter, twice the volume commonly urinated.

Length: Like a standard 7 Iron

I give them credit for the genius behind the idea, but honestly when I did golf and something like this happened to me... I really did just pee in front of everyone. I maybe shy, but my bladder is not.

Novelty gun.

I don't know what practical use this knife-gun would have, heck I'm not ever sure how accurate or effective it would be. It can't be over a .22 caliber. Anyway, it is still kind of neat to see someone spent some time making a concealed weapon that looks like a weapon.

Gas Pains.

I know a lot of people are complaining about the price of gas. It's common anymore. Hell, I've even stopped driving my truck. That's right, I'm carpooling as much as possible now. The last time I filled the tank on the truck it cost me $120.00 And that was when gas was $3.69 a gallon. It's now $4.15 a gallon here.

Well some people have really had enough with gas prices. Over at Miss Celania (Get it Miscellanea? Pretty Funny) she has a whole category up over the problems with gasoline. There is a lot of funny, and informative information over there. You should go check it out.

That's a huge fish!

I stumbled across this little news story: Illinois Man Catches 92 pound fish with out a pole!

That's just a huge fish, I don't care how he caught it. Be it with a bow and arrow or a stick of dynomite. I didn't think fish got that big in Illinois.

It sure the hell wouldn't have been PBR.

I received an E-mail earlier this week from CalTechGirl from Not Exactly Rocket Science titled "I thought this was you until I saw it was Pabst...". I open it up just to see a link to a fox news story, Illinois Man Orders Custom Beer-Can Coffin.

SOUTH CHICAGO HEIGHTS, Ill. — Bill Bramanti will love Pabst Blue Ribbon eternally, and he's got the custom-made beer-can casket to prove it. "I actually fit, because I got in here," said Bramanti of South Chicago Heights.

The 67-year-old Glenwood village administrator doesn't plan on needing it anytime soon, though.

He threw a party Saturday for friends and filled his silver coffin — designed in Pabst's colors of red, white and blue — with ice and his favorite brew.

"Why put such a great novelty piece up on a shelf in storage when you could use it only the way Bill Bramanti would use it?" said Bramanti's daughter, Cathy Bramanti, 42.

Bramanti ordered the casket from Panozzo Bros. Funeral Home in Chicago Heights, and Scott Sign Co. of Chicago Heights designed the beer can.

Okay, that's a pretty good idea. I mean think about it. Unless you want to be cremated, you're going to spend a lot of money on a coffin only to have it stuck in the ground. Why not put it to extra use, and sure some people might be skeeved out by drinking beer out of it, but it wouldn't bother me. Hell, in college I used an old urn I bought at a second hand store thinking it was a broken trophy as a drinking vessel. I cleaned it first!

If I was going to do this, it would probably be a Miller Lite casket. I know, I know why not one of my real favorites. Well that would be because I drink more Miller Lite than any other beer.

Oh, and I'm kidding about the urn, but admit it, you started to believe it! Probably because it sounds like something I would do.

Lies, Lies, Lies

When we were in school we were taught all kinds of things. Most of us as children just accepted what the teacher taught us as truth. As adults many of us now know that Teachers more often than not just teach what is in the text books and really aren't a subject matter expert. What is in those books is often suspect and depends on the authors and publishers. As adults we learn more and more things about life we go back and remember what we were taught as wrong.

Here was have The 5 Most Ridiculous Lies You Were Taught In History Class.

Those are all pretty good, but honestly I think they should have added the controversial topic regarding the Civil War. Was it fought to free the slaves or fought to preserve the union? Anybody that studies history knows that slavery did have a hand in the fighting of the civil war, but the north did not go to war with the south to free the slaves. No, they went to war to preserve the union.

Empire Strikes back in 60 seconds.

Want to watch a movie, but just don't have the time. Check out the Empire Strikes Back done in 60 seconds.

Apparently this was done for some kind of competition. It doesn't look too bad for being done in a couple of days.

Photoshopping gone bad.

We've all seen it before, you know where someone photoshops something and it looks like crap. Hell, I'm guilty of it too. But what if it's a professional company, say an add company or a magazine that photoshops something and it just goes awry? Well there is now a blog dedicated to Photoshop Disasters.

Some of these are funny, others are just kind of disturbing, especially the half baby.

Robot Drumers

Over at Let's Make Robots, they have a Yellow Drum Machine robot.

Here's a video clip of it in action.

According to the site:

Notice how the robot first plays on the object it finds (or is forced to find by the angry cameraman), plays a small beat, and records the beat it plays on it. Then this recorded beat is played again, and it starts to play on the object (an belt tracks and everything else it has),and also playing this sampled beat :)

Pretty cool, huh? Now if they can only get it to play the Bodhrain.

This list should have been longer.

You all know that I'm a sucker for Historical Movies. I love movies that have to do with any and all parts of history. That doesn't mean that I don't pick them apart because the amateur historian in me is highly annoyed by fixable or avoidable inaccuracies. It's because of this that I found it highly amusing to turn on my computer yesterday and see Yahoo's: The 10 Most Historically Inaccurate Movies.

I enjoyed some of the movies on this list a lot. The Patriot, Braveheart, 300, The last Samurai, and Elizabeth: The Golden Age were movies I highly enjoyed watching. Gladiator sucked, I regretted paying to see it in the theater.

Cool Clock.

Everyone I've ever met has played with an etch-a-sketch at one point or another. Some are better at making pictures on it than others. Myself, I was never that great at them. Yet, when I found this video two things came to mind.

First: This guy has way too much free time on his hands.

Second: How do you read it in the dark?

For the cooks out there.

I like to cook, but I don't host that many parties were it isn't much more than a buffet style kegger. It's not that I wouldn't like to have the other kind, it's just we don't have room for something like that. However, if I ever did host one, or for those of you that are planning an upcoming party, I'd try to make these:

Bacon Cup

Over at not martha they have the complete instructions on how to make these yummy little salad holders.

YES!

For years the FDA has banned the importation of haggis into the United States. The only way to get one is to find someone that makes it here, which is damn near impossible. But that's okay, for those of us that like Haggis and can't get it, we have an alternative.

Gummy Haggis!

Haggis is a traditional Scottish delicacy consisting of sheep entrails and spices boiled inside a sheep's stomach. As much as we'd love to sell the genuine article (NOT!), we're just not in the business of boiled innards in stomach casing. We are, however, in the business of gummy candy that looks like boiled innards in stomach casing. Lucky you.

Each 3 1/2" long, 100 gram hunk of brownish Gummy Haggis looks disturbingly realistic and has the unmistakable flavor of butterscotch.

How cool is that? BTW, this is made by the same people that make Angry Scotsman Chewing Gum.

Coolest Desk Ever!

If you're not a Sci-fi or Star Wars fan, you won't appreciate this desk. If you are, this may be the coolest desk you've ever seen.

The Han Solo Frozen in Carbonite Desk!

Yea, I wish I could get one of these for work!

Intricate cake!

I've read a couple of books in the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. I thought they were enjoyable, clever and funny. That is if you like sci-fi/fantatsy fiction. The basis of Discworld is that it's a flat disk balanced on the backs of four elephants that stand on the back of a giant turtle. No seriously, it is. The reason I'm telling you this is because if you didn't know it, you wouldn't understand this wedding cake.

They must be huge fans, and the mother that baked it must really love her daughter. WOW!

Yep, I feel old again.

Beloit College, located just north of me in Beloit, Wisconsin puts out a "mindset" list every year.

The Mindset List is not a chronological listing of things that happened in the year that the entering first-year students were born.

Our effort is to identify a worldview of 18 year-olds in the fall of 2007. We take a risk in some cases of making generalizations, particularly given that our students at Beloit College for instance come from every state and scores of nations.

The "Class of 2011" refers to students entering college this year. They are generally 18 which suggests they were born in 1989.

The list identifies the experiences and event horizons of students as they commence higher education and is not meant to reflect on their preparatory education.

I've read some of these over the years and some of it is funny, other parts are kind of scary. There seems to be some political bias, but what do you expect from any higher learning institution.

Go check out what our future has never experienced on the Class of 2011 Mindset List.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take my Geritol.

The way it should have been.

Last summer the Transformers Movie came out. I know that a lot of people really liked it, but I had some serious issues with it. First being that I was a huge fan of the Transformers when I was kid and I didn't like the way they made the robots look. They all looked like a jumbled mass of parts. Not like a robot. Then my fanboyness took over and I started complaining that they had 7th generation Transformers with the first generation and so on. Ktreva called me out saying that only I would have noticed that. Which isn't true, because I've talked to others that complained about the same thing.

However, I will tell you this. If I had a chance to do the movie, it would have looked like this:

Now that's cold

Okay we've been in a cold snap here for a while. I woke up most days this week to negative temperatures and on Thursday there was a -33 wind chill. Yet I shudder to think what the temps are for this video labeled Newfoundland Frozen Waves.

The text with it states:

"This strange weather phenomenon happened in Newfoundland where the waves were actually frozen as they crashed on the beach."

Well I'm not scientist, but to me it looks like the waves are moving ice pack to shore where it's piling up. I'm sure the wave action is freezing on the rocks adding to the build up, but I don't think it's so cold that the water is flash freezing. If it was, you'd think those people watching would have frost bite on their exposed skin in a matter of seconds as well. Especially since some of them don't seem to be bundled all that warmly. But as I said, I'm not a scientist and maybe the waves are actually freezing as they hit shore. Either way, I don't think I'd want to be sitting there watching it too long.

These look fun to play.

And now for something I think all of you board game lovers out there might appreciate. (Looks at Shadoglare). How about The Worlds Most Controversial Board Games. That's right, controversial board games. There's a couple on here that I find hilarious and wouldn't mind trying to play, just to see what it's like. Ones like Public Assistance, Why work for a living and Capital Punishment.

However, they probably are a pain in the arse to play and not very fun.

I need to find this Range.

This is the perfect combination. Scantily clad women shooting fully automatic firearms. Trust me guys, it puts some wiggle in their jiggle.

It was until the third time watching this that I realized they all really need to work on their aim.

Guess the Song

When I first watched the clip I swore the guy was singing in a different language and had no idea what was really going on. I tried to figure out what the song was and didn't have a clue until about halfway through when the video switched to "normal".

What I think is most impressive is the fact that the guy had visual effects so you could see that it really was him singing it.

Gas Mileage

Ever wonder how far your vehicle can go once the low-fuel light comes on? Well you can look up and see what others have experienced at Tank on Empty.

Christmas in Hollis

By now we've all seen a video of Christmas lights that "dance" to music, the most popular being the video of the house that dances to Trans Siberian Orchestra's Wizards of Winter. Well, here we have a house in Minneapolis that is done to Run DMC's Christmas in Hollis.

Giant Shotgun

This is one giant gun.

Citizen Soldier

Last night I took Ktreva to see the movie "The Golden Compass". Which Ktreva enjoyed... but I really miss those two hours of my life and seven bucks. Seriously it was the Ice Capades, Bears on Ice... it was stupid and when the movie was over I was surprised I only lost 2 hours of my life, because it felt like 3.5.

Anyway, before the movie they showed a National Guard Tribute by 3 Doors Down, Citizen Soldier. I thought it was a really cool video as it spans the history of the American fighting men and women. I wanted to share with those of you that may not have seen the video.

Build your own phaser!

I know I'm a Star Trek fan and a techno junkie and I have many readers that are too. So when I found this I knew I had to share it. Below is a video clip of how to take a Blu-Ray laser and install it into a Star Trek Phaser to get a "functioning" phaser.

High Speed Photography

Last week I posted a high speed clip of a hollow point bullet traveling through ballistics gel. This week I found a montage of various high speed photos involving everything from bullets to drag racers.

I thought the scene with the tire on the drag racer was pretty cool. I never realized how much stress is put on those tires.

NFL Fly Overs.

For Veteran's Day the NFL did a special report by Steve Sabol on the pre-game fly overs. Folks, I've been to many different football games and the fly over is probably one of the best parts about the game. It doesn't matter if you win or lose, the fly over touches a part of me that lasts. I know that since 9-11 I tend to mist up seeing the military fly over. Hell watching this clip brought a touch of moisture to me. There is just something touching about it. Even if you don't like football, it's worth going over to see the report and the fly overs. And even though they focus on the Chicago Bears, when they show the cockpit view, you can see my corporate headquarters. It's almost like they are trying to aim for it.

Below is the fly over from the San Diego Vs Packer's game I was at in September.

This one is a clip of the Minnesota Vs. Packers Veteran's day fly over. This one isn't as well made.

Watch it wiggle.

This isn't something normal for Saturday morning, but I found it interesting. This is a slow-motion clip of a hollow point bullet going through gelatin.

According to scientists ballistics gel has the same consistency of the human body, so this is what a hollow point bullet would do to the fleshy part of a person if they where hit by one... in theory.

MMMmmmm Bacon.

I love bacon, but I'm not allowed to eat it with my dietary restrictions, but I've found the answer to get around that. No, it's not turkey bacon. Although it's not bad, it just doesn't taste the same. I've found Bacon Salt!

Bacon salt is a zero calorie, vegetarian, kosher certified, seasoning salt that makes everything taste like real bacon....

...Our mission in life is to make everything taste like real, delicious bacon, without the fat or calories.

Some of the testimonials are rather amusing too.

Why would you have fries if you could have bacon fries?

Just think of the possibilities. Bacon corn, bacon broccoli, bacon fish, bacon bacon. It's just never ending!

Got a lead foot?

I know I do, I also know where all the hot spots are in my daily drive for cops. Maybe you don't, or maybe you're going someplace you've never been to before or just moved to. The SpeedTrap Exchange can help you find where all those cops like to hide out. Just choose your state, then your city and viola, a list of speed traps as well as comments from users on how good or bad the tip is.

Not everyone can talk their way out of a ticket.

Who ya gonna call?

Want to be a Ghostbuster for Halloween? Here's some step by step instructions on how to make a "movie accurate" costume. I should build one of these just to take to work.

It looks good.

I love historical movies. It doesn't matter what time period or genre, I love them. I also tend to tear them apart for various reasons. It doesn't matter if it has received good reviews or bad ones, I will end up seeing it. So it was with great delight that I found out that a German company is making a movie about Baron Von Richtoffen, or more commonly known as The Red Baron. (The direct link is slow to load).

However I did find a clip on YouTube that loads much faster, but is not as clear.

I'm stoked!

Baking while you work.

It may be a little too late in the year to post this, but I'm going to anyway as I just found it. All of us have gotten into a a car on a hot day at some time. We know it's hot and we've heard all the warnings about leaving kids and pets inside a car. Well lets put that radiant solar energy to good use. How about the next time you are at work you get some baking done? Over at Baking Bites they have an article on Car-Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Dark Knight

This one is for my blog spawn Bruce. Apparently there is a new Batman movie coming out, Dark Knight, see the trailer here.

If it’s anything like Batman Begins, then I’m all for it, if it’s more like Batman and Robin, then I’ll pass.

UPDATE: I removed the video from this site, I could not for the life of me get the autoplay feature to turn off. And I hate when it's automatically on. You can click on the link to see the teaser.

Food of the Geeks.

Do you have that special someone in your life that is a geek? Are you handy in the kitchen? Would you like to make them a special desert for what ever occasion? Is it hard to find something that really fits them? Well I have the solution for you.

Circuitry Snacks

They are deserts and treats that are made to look like computer components. Geeks of the world can snack!

Solemn memories.

I know a lot of people aren’t into history, but I’d just like to point out that the bloodiest battle in American History ended today. 144 years ago today at 3:00PM CST (I’d say 3:00PM EST, but it actually happened at 3:00 and Day Light Savings time was not enacted in 1863) General Picket led his men across the fields outside Gettysburg Pennsylvania. By 4:00 PM the battle assault was finished with almost all of Picket’s men killed or wounded. Thus Picket's Charge ended the Battle of Gettysburg, the turning point in the war for the North.

In the three days of fighting 51,000 American soldiers, from privates to Generals, died in these three days fighting for what they believed in. Some people take this for granted or just view it as a step toward freeing slaves. But anyone that has ever studied history knows that this was much more. Let me put it to you this way, if the South had won this would have been known as the Confederate Revolution.

It’s because I am a student of history. That I’ve sat quietly for three days, looking at the clocks and ticking off the timeline. Subtly making comments to people about what was happening 144 years ago at that moment. Each time I did it with a tear in my eye. Why? Because those where Americans fighting for what they believed in, and no matter if you felt they where right or wrong, they deserved to be respected… BOTH sides.

God speed gentlemen, and thank you. Thank you.

Geekbell

Now this is a doorbell! Over at ThinkGeek they have a USB doorbell.

The USB Doorbell replaces your current chime and allows you to play your favorite sound effects, music, audio clips, movie quotes or whatever strikes your fancy. Anytime someone presses that little button by your front door the USB Doorbell will "ring" using the sound you have selected. It first connects to your computer via USB (cable included) and will store any up-to-thirty second WAV or MP3 soundclip that you wish to use.

According to the article it works with standard low voltage doorbell systems, so it doesn’t look like it would take a lot of tinkering. Here is a clip of it working in all of it’s geeky action.

Yea, I may have to get one of these.

I'd like to see this in a concert.

Not in a million years did I think that a Tesla Coil could be a musical instrument. That is until I saw this clip. They played some video game theme music from Super Mario Brothers and Tetris. So all of us old Nintendo geeks should recognize at least those parts. A U of I Urbana-Champaign student Steve Ward built the coil.

According to the blurb with the video:

So just to explain a little further, yes, it is the actual high voltage sparks that are making the noise. Every cycle of the music is a burst of sparks at 41 KHz, triggered by digital circuitry at the end of a "long" piece of fiber optics.

What's not immediately obvious in this video is how loud this is. Many people were covering their ears, dogs were barking. In the sections where the crowd is cheering and the coils is starting and stopping, you can hear the the crowd is drowned out by the coil when it's firing.

All you need is salt.

Need to get something cold really fast? Just add salt! No seriously.

This isn’t anything new. I’ve known about this one since college. This knowledge was passed down to some friends and myself by a senior my freshman year. He said, “Dude, if you have to cool a keg really fast, through it in a garbage can filled with ice. Add a lot of salt and stir. It’ll be ice cold in about 10 minutes” He wasn’t lying. I’ve done this numerous times with cans, bottles and kegs.

I’ve gone to parties where it’s bring your own beer. Unfortunately the store I went to didn’t have the beer I wanted cold. No problem, but the beer, ice and salt container… VIOLA! Cold beer. Don’t believe me. See this video and try it yourself.

Midget Wrestling

In April I went to see some Midget Kick Boxing, which was pretty damn cool. Now today I find on the Internet Midget wrestling in a cage.

You have to love the little folk!

The last on Zombies for a while.

This is going to be the last I'm going to post on this subject for a while so I'm going to cram a couple of things into one post. First Thanks to Graumagus I now have two new t-shirts, Does Your Family have a Zombie Infestation Plan AND Guns don't kill People, Zombies Kill People. Technically he only pointed out the first one, but in ordering that one, I found the other so he gets credit for both of them. They arrived in the mail yesterday.

Next, here is a new Zombie Game, It pretty much lasts forever. This one is much more challenging then the last one.

Finally, apparently I'm not the only sick bastard out there. Someone else must have thought of hot zombie loving. I know friends of mine have heard me talk about it, but I know of two zombie pr)nos, the Re-penetrator and Evil Head (releasing soon). Both are made by the same company. The trailor to the Re-penetrator is in the extended entry. Folks, I'm not kidding when I say this video is extremely NOT SAFE FOR WORK! Do NOT click the extended entry if you are at work, have small kids around or just do not want to see hot undead action. The autoplay is stuck on, so it will start as soon as you open it.