~The Catch-All Drawer~

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Magic: Book - Not

Way back at the turn of the century, when magicians were even more secretive than today, there were underground books published to reveal the secrets to magic tricks people saw in public, even though this was not considered fair and gentlemanly, I am sure. (You DO know that magic tricks are illusions and not real, don't you?)

One of those books is on line here: Herrmann's Book of Magic: Black Art Fully Exposed: "
Alexander Herrmann" and is one long page of easy to scan reading. The modern editor regrets that they have to make apologies like "Kids don't try this at home." for things like hiding needles in one's mouth and such.

Also, a while ago I downloaded a pdf of some of David Blaine's tricks that you might be interested in checking out. Includes the levitating act..

Tossed in by: R.G.B.

. . . Thursday, October 11, 2007 (12) comments

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Joybubbles, Phone Hacker Extraordinaire, Dies At 58

W. David Gardner of InformationWeek reports that a 58 year old man born in Richmond Va, who along the way changed his legal name to Joybubbles, died this month.. Born blind, and much misunderstood his whole life, Joybubbleswas most known for his perfect musical pitch. He stumbled upon the ability to whistle into telephones and dial any number free of charge. Read this story and see if you can decide if he was an innocent retarded man, a mischievous hacker, or hog poo smeller.

Tossed in by: R.G.B.

. . . Thursday, August 23, 2007 (1) comments

Tree-Ring Circus

"If you're the skeptical type, you might raise an eyebrow when you hear that a particular Viking ship was built in the year 819. How could anyone determine the age of such an aged object so precisely, especially when there are absolutely no records to verify the date?

Well, tree-ring dating, or dendrochronology, can be this precise, and even more so. Dendrochronologists showed that an ancient wooden road uncovered in southwestern England not only was built in 3806 B.C., but that the trees used for the road were chopped down in the winter of that year (the winter of 3807-3806). The science can also reveal the origin of old pieces of wood. In one case, archeologists determined not only the age of a Viking ship found in Denmark, they also learned that it was built in Ireland."

The above quote from a NOVA page, this subject turns out to be much more complicated and detailed than just measuring the width of the rings, which is all I thought there was to it. See NOVA's treatment of it, and build your own tree ring right here.

Tossed in by: R.G.B.

. . . Thursday, August 23, 2007 (0) comments

Sunday, July 08, 2007

Lego my Escher

Check out these constructions http://www.andrewlipson.com/lego.htm
I have always been fascinated by Escher drawings.

Tossed in by: Meredith

. . . Sunday, July 08, 2007 (0) comments

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Electronic Instruments

Here is a collection of strange and unusual Electronic Musical Instruments. Too bad they don't have sound clips!

Tossed in by: PDQ

. . . Tuesday, June 19, 2007 (0) comments

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

China: Mr. Woo's Robots

This is wild! In rural China, an uneducated but creative inventor, a peasant man, creates little and big robots from junk much to his wife's dismay. Look at the one that pulls his cart!

China: Mr. Woo's Robots

Tossed in by: R.G.B.

. . . Wednesday, June 13, 2007 (1) comments

Friday, May 04, 2007

NOTCOT: Bloomframe

Here is a neat thing. It is a window/balcony folding unit that transforms a window into a balcony. Got to see it to get the idea. This design is so elegant and simple.

Tossed in by: R.G.B.

. . . Friday, May 04, 2007 (0) comments

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Paper cutting and building?

I remember making cutout little houses or something as a kid, but this is taking it to phenomenal heights.
Bits and Pieces of the Net: Large Papercut Installations :Purely Breathtaking

Tossed in by: R.G.B.

. . . Sunday, April 29, 2007 (0) comments

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Rube Goldberg

You probably know I have liked Rube Goldberg runs for many years. Here is a video recapping the '07 competition at Perdue University. Really doesn't show the actual machines in action, but you can get the flavor of the competition.

This link shows the winner of a Japanese competition, the goal is to humorously and in-efficiently prepare ramen noodles for dinner. This, though in Japanese is more fun, since it shows the machine in action, right down to breaking a raw egg into the bowl.

Tossed in by: R.G.B.

. . . Saturday, April 21, 2007 (0) comments

Monday, April 16, 2007

found notes

I always like to have glimpses into other peoples' thinking and lives. This is a strange way to do that. Just browse through a few of these wayward notes, sent in by people who have found them in books, on the ground, etc. Some are very revealing, some are dumb, some creepy, some are funny. FOUND Magazine | It 's Really a Good...

Tossed in by: R.G.B.

. . . Monday, April 16, 2007 (0) comments

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Good News - Bad News Department

I know this is hard to believe, but a Chinese woman survived a fall from a sixth-floor balcony!

Tossed in by: R.G.B.

. . . Wednesday, April 11, 2007 (1) comments

Saturday, April 07, 2007

Do not remove this tag under penalty of law.

China designers haven't learned the PC lessons yet.
Here a NY couple got an imported couch in an interesting color. . .

Tossed in by: R.G.B.

. . . Saturday, April 07, 2007 (0) comments

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Life size whale

Kinda gives you the perspective of how big these whales are.

Life size whale – Das größte Banner der Welt

Tossed in by: R.G.B.

. . . Sunday, April 01, 2007 (0) comments

Thursday, March 15, 2007

The Junk Drawer Project

I have a couple of junk drawers (and junk bookshelves) that this guy could photograph.

The genesis of the Junk Drawers project was a sudden pang of nostalgia for that place in the corner of my childhood kitchen where the detritus of our lives ended up -- objects often of marginal consequence, but sometimes great importance, somehow too special to throw away, seldom animal or vegetable, and always, by necessity, smaller than a breadbox.

Tossed in by: PDQ

. . . Thursday, March 15, 2007 (1) comments

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

House of Cards

I enjoyed looking at the card houses built by this guy who holds the guiness book record for card house building.

Bryan Berg, the acknowledged inventor of cardstacking on the grand scale, embarked on a month-long project with Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL to create a new Guinness World Record category with the World's Largest House of Cards. A self-taught artist, Berg uses no tape, glue, or other tricks in his work. With 3,000 decks of freestanding playing cards, some scaffolding, and a view of the real building, he worked for a month on the Disney grounds to build the company a 450 pound card version of Cinderella's Castle. The structure was 14 feet tall and 14 feet square, detailing all the turrets and tunnels of the actual castle. Even the artist was surprised at how strong his huge construction turned out to be when a renegade squirrel ran in the room, destroying most of the supporting grand entry while the rest of the castle's cards stood unaffected. Now, Berg- 13 year running record winner for Tallest House of Freestanding Playing Cards at over 25 feet high- is a double title holder.

Tossed in by: PDQ

. . . Wednesday, February 28, 2007 (0) comments

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Slow Motion

Take a look at these slow motion videos to see what a water balloon looks like as it explodes, or how a dog drinks.

Tossed in by: PDQ

. . . Wednesday, February 14, 2007 (0) comments

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Make-a-Flake - A snowflake maker by Barkley Interactive

Here's a little paper snowflake craft thing that supplies the scissors and the paper.

Tossed in by: R.G.B.

. . . Thursday, February 08, 2007 (6) comments

Monday, January 29, 2007

Universal Problem Solver

Look no further! this webpage provides the answer to any problem you might have.

Tossed in by: PDQ

. . . Monday, January 29, 2007 (0) comments

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

What we have learned

Here are 100 things that were learned during 2006 that no-one knew before. Most of them, I still didn't know.

Tossed in by: PDQ

. . . Tuesday, January 16, 2007 (0) comments

Saturday, December 30, 2006

Custom background music (free)

At Pandora's, a front end of the music genome project, you can type in a song or a musician, and it creates for you your own albums of similar music (by mystical musical traits). Then it plays them on auto-pilot. I am not as sophisticated consumer of tunes as most, so I'm not the best to judge how well it works, but it seems great to me! Hey, you could use it as a free DJ for a party, actually.

I have a few "albums"; a "Roger Miller" theme, an "M Ward", a "Tommy Dorsey". For instance on the last one, it plays a selection of old and new big band things, really relevant and well chosen.

Tossed in by: R.G.B.

. . . Saturday, December 30, 2006 (0) comments

Sunday, December 17, 2006

World's tallest man saves dolphin?

I found this news item oddly fascinating... World's tallest man saves dolphin. You would think they would have some sort of grabber or instrument, rather than rely on the long arm of Xi Shun, the tall guy, but since it's a Chinese story, I assume it is not just a publicity stunt.

Tossed in by: R.G.B.

. . . Sunday, December 17, 2006 (0) comments

Friday, November 24, 2006

I am testing out "Frapper"

Note: Please leave at least your first name -- I'm curious who signs in!

Tossed in by: R.G.B.

. . . Friday, November 24, 2006 (0) comments

Monday, November 20, 2006

Gulfnews: Meet Secret Santa

I would like to think I would be good enough to do something like this if I won the lottery or something like that. This secret Santa guy has been anonymously giving out money to people who really need it for years. 1.3 million! Yeah! Larry Stewart!

Gulfnews: Meet Secret Santa

Tossed in by: R.G.B.

. . . Monday, November 20, 2006 (0) comments

Saturday, November 18, 2006

you are getting sleepy, very sleepy . . .

I don't expect you to watch this whole video, as I am timid to admit that I did, but it is, I guess, an advertising campaign for some Japanese company. They have built some really pleasant, but not too flashy Rube Goldberg style slides that all end in the company jingle. One after the other, they are sort of haunting after a bunch of them, and they are quite clever, after all.

incredible machine - #SONIC FOREVER - Google Video

Tossed in by: R.G.B.

. . . Saturday, November 18, 2006 (1) comments

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Spell out a greeting in buildings..

You can send a message via email using this handy font generator. The font is unusual in that each letter is generated from a satellite photo of a building somewhere in the world.

Tossed in by: PDQ

. . . Thursday, November 16, 2006 (1) comments

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Investment Advice

It might be just me, but I wonder who would read the email spam that just made it through my filters from "Pueblo Q. Tightens", much less follow the "investment advice" contained therein?

Tossed in by: R.G.B.

. . . Thursday, November 02, 2006 (0) comments

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Davy Crockett -- King of the Wild Frontier

Born on a mountain top in Tennessee,
greenest state in the land of the free.
Raised in the woods so’s he knew every tree.
Killed him a bar when he was only three.
Davy, Davy Crockett King of the Wild Frontier.

He fought single-handed through the Injun war,
'till the Creeks was whipped and peace was restored.
And while he was handling this risky chore,
made himself a legend, forevermore.
Davy, Davy Crockett the man who don’t know fear.

When he lost his love, and his grief was gall,
in his heart he wanted to leave it all,
And lose himself in the forest tall,
but he answered instead, his country’s call.
Davy, Davy Crockett, the choice of the whole frontier.

He went off to Congress and served a spell.
Fixin’ up the government and laws as well.
Took over Washington, so we hear tell,
and patched up the crack in the Liberty Bell.
Davy, Davy Crockett, seein’ his duty clear.

When he come home, his politickin’ done,
the western march had just begun.
So he packed his gear, and his trusty gun
and lit out a grinnin’ to follow the sun.
Davy, Davy Crockett, leadin the Pioneers.

Well, he heard about Huston and Austin and so,
to the Texas plains, he just had to go
Where freedom was fightin’ another foe
and they needed him at the Alamo.
Davy, Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier.

His land is biggest, and his land is best
from grassy plains to the mountain crest.
He’s ahead of us all in meeting the test.
Followin’ his legend right into the West.
Davy, Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier.

Tossed in by: R.G.B.

. . . Thursday, October 26, 2006 (1) comments

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Yogi Berra Quotes

"Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't come to yours."
"Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical."
"Because it gets late early." (On why it's so tough to play left field in Yankee stadium.)
"If the people don't want to come out to the park, nobody's gonna stop them."
"It ain't over till it's over."
"It's deja vu all over again."
"No wonder nobody comes here; it's too crowded."
"We have very deep depth!"
"We made too many wrong mistakes."
"You can observe a lot by just watching."

Tossed in by: R.G.B.

. . . Tuesday, September 19, 2006 (0) comments

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Usless or Useful - You Be the Judge!

Here are a few links that you can click.
Warning - curious but not earthshaking:

>>>>>> ....A strange useless ribbon that follows your cursor.
>>>>>> ....Do you like to pop bubble packing? You will like this too.
>>>>>> ....A treadmill - bicycle combo.
>>>>>> ....A wonderful bunch of Chinese bridge pictures.
>>>>>> ....A page on creative ways to lace and tie your shoes.
>>>>>> ....Believed that old myth about quicksand? Myth busted!
>>>>>> ....1976 to present, a family took pictures once a year.
>>>>>> ....New and improved Segways - I want one.
>>>>>> ....A Graphic representation of the day's news stories .
>>>>>> ....Who says the French don't innovate? - Car runs on Air!
>>>>>> ....Serious collection of web resources by the NY Times.
>>>>>> ....A strange useless variable swirly dotty thing.
>>>>>> ....Yet another illusion page, but has good link listing.
>>>>>> .... No foggy idea what this page is about, but nice interface!
>>>>>> ....Artist's idea of "Wash Me" on a dirty car windshield.

Tossed in by: R.G.B.

. . . Sunday, September 10, 2006 (1) comments

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

USB BEVERAGE CHILLER ?

Finally some computer accessories that have some imagination. I am tired of mouse pads, wrist pads, card readers, etc. Gimme a USB plugged operating system independent drink cooler!
(from perpetualkid.com)

COOL-IT USB BEVERAGE CHILLER: "Keep your soda cool at work, and your beer cold at home!

Also listed are USB gadgets: monitor mounted rear view mirror, heated gloves, aroma fragrance -wow?

Tossed in by: R.G.B.

. . . Tuesday, August 29, 2006 (0) comments

Friday, August 25, 2006

Pluto; Dwarf Planet (Ice ball)

I had just thought of changing the mnemonic now that pluto has been demoted, and wrote
It used to be "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pies". Now it might be:
"My Very Educated Mother Just Showed Us Nothing" .
Then I ran across this Boing-Boing posting which topped it:

Boing Boing: : "Post-Pluto mnemonics for the planets Jason Kottke and Meg Hourihan held a competition to come up with a better mnemonic for the planets' names in the wake of yesterday's decision to demote Pluto from planet-status. The winner, Josh Mishell's

My! Very educated morons just screwed up numerous planetariums

is great, as are the runners-up:

Many Very Earnest Men Just Snubbed Unfortunate Ninth Planet (Dave Child)

'My vision, erased. Mercy! Just some underachiever now.'
(Delia, as spoken by Pluto discoverer Clyde Tombaugh)

Most vexing experience, mother just served us nothing! (Bart Baxter)"

Tossed in by: R.G.B.

. . . Friday, August 25, 2006 (1) comments

Magic: Book - Not
Joybubbles, Phone Hacker Extraordinaire, Dies At 58
Tree-Ring Circus
Lego my Escher
Electronic Instruments
China: Mr. Woo's Robots
NOTCOT: Bloomframe
Paper cutting and building?
Rube Goldberg
found notes
Good News - Bad News Department
Do not remove this tag under penalty of law.
Life size whale
The Junk Drawer Project
House of Cards
Slow Motion
Make-a-Flake - A snowflake maker by Barkley Interactive
Universal Problem Solver
What we have learned
Custom background music (free)
World's tallest man saves dolphin?
I am testing out "Frapper"
Gulfnews: Meet Secret Santa
you are getting sleepy, very sleepy . . .
Spell out a greeting in buildings..
Investment Advice
Davy Crockett -- King of the Wild Frontier
Yogi Berra Quotes
Usless or Useful - You Be the Judge!
USB BEVERAGE CHILLER ?
Pluto; Dwarf Planet (Ice ball)