Vote for Robot Nixon!
Still not happy with the current Republican Presidential candidates? How about … Robot Nixon?
Link: Strik3.com (via Muhammad Saleem)
50 Killed by Memphis Weather Service’s Cuddly Tornado Mascot
Posted 6 Feb, 2008 under Stupid by Chris Baskind | 3 Comments
When Super Tuesday’s super storms ripped across the MidSouth — killing at least 50 and leaving a swath of destruction across four states — there was only one person to blame: Timmy the Twister.
Yes, Timmy the Twister. He’s the smiling, benign, cuddly tornado mascot crafted by the Memphis Weather Office in 2005 to raise storm safety awareness.
When you see Timmy, you know tornadoes are coming. They’re cute. They’re happy. They grin for no apparent reason. Ironically, one of Tuesday’s bigger twisters ripped right through Memphis. Timmy killed a lot of people. Nobody is grinning now.
WFO Memphis Meteorologist-In-Charge Jim Belles explains that Timmy mascot is really no different than the iconic Smokey the Bear:
The character could be used like Smokey as an ‘eye catcher’ for other statements on preparedness. I think a character in the shape of a tornado allows an immediate mental connection to our message.
Of course, there is one difference between Smokey the Bear and Timmy the Twister. Smokey is trying to save the forest. Timmy is trying to kill your family and flatten your neighborhood.
Here’s the real Timmy, ripping through Atkins, Arkansas:
Not cute. Not cuddly. Not funny at all.
Link: NWS Forecast Office, Memphis (Photo: Mike Avery, The Courier/AP)
What Metalhead Rednecks Do For Fun: Feeding a Mouse to a Fish
Posted 6 Feb, 2008 under Video by Shea Gunther | 2 Comments
Crazy Redneck Metalheads…
I went to high school in rural New Hampshire with guys like that. Great Flying Spaghetti Monster!
Via [Random Good Stuff]
Exposing the Truth About Pastafarianism
Posted 6 Feb, 2008 under Religion by Chris Baskind | 4 Comments
Perhaps snarfd should have its own Pastafarian religion editor. We certainly give the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster plenty of ink.
But we can’t pass up these two leaked Pastafarian videos — both of which, as Boing Boing points out — have more than a passing resemblance to recent Scientology pieces.
At least the Church of the FSM is the One True Faith. RAmen.
Anonymous Declares War on Pastafarianism
Suppressed Pastafarian Video
Link: Ed Adkins (via Boing Boing )
Moneygami: Origami from Banknotes
Back in November, we introduced you to the gentle craft of moneygami — folding banknotes into interesting shapes — with this image of a U.S. $5 bill:
Now we’ve found a series of similar moneygami works which may actually be from the same creator. Take this fanciful treatment of a $1 bill:
Another version of Abraham Lincoln, this time with a hat that looks a bit like the top of a soda can:
Alexander Hamilton gets a clever hat:
It’s not all American money. Gandhi peeks out from within an Indian banknote:
And Lawrence of Arabia would be proud of this look:
Link: Stocks and Trands
Improv Everywhere Hits Grand Central Station: Frozen in Time
I was in New York City last week at the Greener Gadgets Conference and went through Grand Central Station a few times in my travels. I wish I could have been in the world’s largest train station during the Improv Everywhere performance art- over 200 people froze in mid action for five minutes while the rest of the station bustled around them. Watch this, it’s pure awesome.
Via Neatorama
Pure Awesome: Cartoon Character Skeletons
Posted 4 Feb, 2008 under Art by Shea Gunther | 2 Comments
The Contaminated has something up that easily qualifies as Pure Awesome- Cartoon Characters Skeletons. Here’s Bugs Bunny:
Artist Hyungkoo Lee has put together an amazing bunch of imagined cartoon character skeletons- Bugs Bunny, The Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, Donald Duck, and Tom and Jerry.
Swing over to Hyungkoo’s website and check out his whole collection, it’s mega rad.
Link [Hyungkoo Lee] via The Contaminated
Rubik’s Cubes for The Rest of Us
Posted 4 Feb, 2008 under Games by Shea Gunther | 6 Comments
Will Smith can rip through a Rubik’s Cube in 55 seconds but I have to admit I’ve never had any luck with the multicolored cube puzzle. The closest I’ve come was when I was little and took off all the stickers and reapplied them in the right place.
But this cube I think I could handle.
Or if I was really feeling up to a challenge I could break out the 2×2 cube, which I’ve been told is actually the hardest to solve.
Link [El Pito Doble] & [Technabob]
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How to Dispose of CFLs (Without Dumping Mercury Everywhere)
Posted 4 Feb, 2008 under Tech by Chris Baskind | 19 Comments
By now, you’ve probably heard about CFL: Compact Florescent Lightbulbs. They’re a remarkable energy-saving alternative to conventional lightbulbs, and CFLs are catching on big-time. About 100 million were sold in the United States during 2007.
But there’s a catch: CFLs contain a small amount of mercury, which is toxic and tough to get out of the environment. CFL bulbs don’t belong in your regular trash when they finally burn out. So what to do with them?
We’ve rounded up five ways (plus a backup plan) to handle those squiggly looking CFL bulbs without making a mess of the environment. Pick the one that’s easiest for you — and feel good about saving on your power bill.
Your Local Garbage Service
Probably the best place to start is with whoever currently picks up your household trash or recyclables. If you pay for this service, you’ll almost certainly find a customer service number on your bill. Give them a call and ask if they offer CFL or mercury recycling. If not, politely suggest they do so. Here’s an opportunity to write a letter, attend a meeting, or take some other activist role in highlighting the importance of proper CFL disposal. The appropriate follow-up will depend on whether your trash service is privately or publicly held.
Municipal Government
Whether or not local trash service is provided by a private contractor, your local municipality (city, county, or parish) is ultimately responsible for waste disposal.
Most phone directories have a “blue pages” directory of local government agencies. Try the listing for sanitation services. While curbside recycling is by no means universal, your area may have designated drop-off locations or periodic CFL collections. Should your local agency not have any CFL-specific provisions, ask about safe disposal of mercury or fluorescent tubes.
Retailers
Unless you bought CFLs from Ikea, one of the first major vendors to offer a free take-back program, you’re probably going to get some blank stares when you ask the manager of your local store about CFL recycling. It’s worth the effort, though: retailers need to know their customers want safe disposal of the good they purchase. If you bought your CFLs from Wal-Mart, consider contacting their corporate headquarters and asking that they establish a company wide CFL return program.
Earth 911
Earth 911 is probably the United States and Canada’s largest online clearinghouse of recycling information. Visit their site and enter “CFL” and your Zip code in the “Find a Recycling Center” field at the top of each page. Alternately, try “mercury” and “fluorescent bulbs.” If there’s something in your region, it will almost certainly be listed. Earth 911 is currently attempting to expand its coverage to Europe, the first step toward an international registry of recycling options.
Commercial Services
There are a variety of for-profit companies which provide CFL and fluorescent bulb disposal by mail. Failing a local option, these firms represent a responsible and environmentally friendly channel for CFL recycling. Lightbulbrecycling.com, for instance, will send you a handy, postage-paid plastic pail which will accommodate about 30 CFLs — more than most homes will use in many years. Just drop your spent CFLs in their well-engineered pail, and call FedEx for pick-up. The downside is that the service is quite expensive: about $120 per shipment. At today’s prices, this almost triples the unit price of your CFL. On the other hand, with the energy you’ll save with each bulb, you’re still ahead of the game. You’ll also know for sure that your CFLs are being recycled in a safe fashion.
And One More Thing …
If none of these options are available to you, there’s a backup plan: storage.
As their name suggests, Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs don’t take up much room. Unless they’re broken or otherwise damaged, CFLs will hold their mercury more-or-less indefinitely. Rather than disposing of them with household trash, simply store expended CFLs until recycling is available in your area. A 5-gallon PVC bucket with sealable top can be scrounged from most construction sites or purchased new for less than ten dollars. It should safely contain a couple dozen bulbs. A sturdy cardboard box lined with a heavy plastic garbage bag should also do the trick. Just place your CFL storage container out of harm’s way so it won’t be dropped, crushed, or otherwise disturbed.
Link: The Complete Guide to Living with CFLs.
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Winners and Losers: snarfd Picks the Best and Worst Super Bowl Commercials
Posted 4 Feb, 2008 under Culture by Chris Baskind | 3 Comments
Watching the Super Bowl for the commercials is like reading Playboy for its interviews, right?Not necessarily. Super Bowl XLII’s $3 million dollar per spot price tag brought out advertising’s heaviest hitters again this year, turning the biggest sports event of the year into a showcase of the highest-dollar TV marketing of 2008. And that made for some eye-popping new ads.It also featured a few turkeys. Our dedicated snarfd editors watched the Super Bowl just for you, dutifully scribbling notes and keeping tabs on the commercials. We’ve pulled out a half-dozen for your Monday Morning Quarterback pleasure. See something we didn’t mention? Sound-off in our comments section!
Winner: Audi R8 Luxury Sedan
A loving tribute to the horse’s head scene from The Godfather, Audi even managed to tag cast member Alex Rocco to reprise his big-screen role in what may be the best of this year’s Super Bowl ads. According to Mahalo, the R8 promo set Audi back up to $1.5 million in licensing fees.
Loser: eTrade’s talking baby
Note to the Creative Department — talking babies are creepy, not cute. They’re also terribly overdone. eTrade goes back to the nursery with its wise-talking, vomiting baby stock huckster. We threw up a little in our mouths, too.
Winner: Pepsi’s Justin Timberlake “Attraction”
Hey, look who’s back: Mr. Wardrobe Malfunction. The difference between Timberlake of 2004 and today is that that four years after the halftime fiasco with Janet Jackson, Timberlake is an even bigger star. Jackson is poised for a comeback, too. Pepsi has Timberlake poking fun at his Attraction music video.
Loser: Budweiser “Rocky”
Pardon us for pointing out the obvious: this commercial is too obvious. Okay, the dog and the horse Rocky send up is warm and fuzzy — poisonously so. But we were waiting for a twist that would save this mawkish piece of crap from Hello Kittyesque cutesy pie. The high five at the end just made things worse. Make mine a Heineken.
Winner: Ironman
C’mon: just look at it. Pure awesome. If this were any cooler, you’d have to smoke it. Bonus points for the all-electric Tesla Roadster you’ll see in the background of a laboratory shot.
Loser: Career Builder “Queen of Hearts”
Depressing and a little bit disgusting. A pretty young female employee’s heart rips from her chest and turns in its notice to an abusive boss. Barf. Nothing motivates like sad and gloomy.
Want to see more? Check our Super Bowl ad coverage at Mahalo and AOL Sports.
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