Parking lot iPad fail
I've needed a good fail to come across the web that spoke to me. Sure there are tons of fails but very few hit me in the right way, a way that really shows that common sense is a thing that is not always with us, and some of the most obvious things that should feel wrong somehow don't.A Texas woman was approached in a gas station parking lot by a man stating that he had some iPads and laptops that he was interested in selling. As though people popping up at a gas station and offering to sell high-end electronics from out of their trunk is obviously not questionable in the slightest.
Excitedly, she paid the $200 asking price and was handed an unopened FedEx Box, and thought nothing of it as the man hopped into his car and sped off. She opened the package to find what she believed to be a official packaging “because it had the apple logo and everything.” When she opened the box, she quickly discovered herself - literally.
What was inside? A mirror roughly the size of the popular (though over-hyped in my experienced knowledge) tablet. She contacted authorities but admits to not being able to really provide anything to go on, not even a plate number.
Yet she did learn a valuable lesson. “Don't buy nothing on the streets from nobody" - her own words of wisdom. I know scammers like this exist because people DO fall for them, yet I can never get over just how easily people over look red flags without a second thought.
Ancient Nerds: “New” oldest D-20
Geeks and gamers are ancient people. A right cultural heritage that dates back across countless eons. We are a proud people. Upholding our sacred symbols of 20+5 intelligence (give or take a few modifiers and active conditional effects that last the next 5d6 rounds).
We evolved too, eventually adopting the Islamic numeral systems and factoring “0” as a number, past the age of clay and into pen and paper before eventually adopting the digital formats. Yet to this day we hold sacred the symbols of out past such as the icosahedra, or in simple terms, the 20-sided die.
As silly as some may think it is, it's interesting to look back through history and see what those who came before us had created. The oldest known d20 was Roman, and dated to around the 2nd century. However an even older die is being shown to the world.
This one coming from Egypt and dating back to to a point between 304 and 30 B.C. during the Ptolemaic period. This explains the Greek characters upon it, as at the time Egypt was ruled by a Greek upper class to make it easier from some of you, “this was made after Alexander the Great took over most of the known world.” They made a movie about it with Colin Farrell, so I figured that the most common of people would know that one.
The piece was in the private collection of Reverend Chauncey Murch who was doing missionary work in Egypt around the turn of the century. His collection was later purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Arts in 1812.
Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome
I am, and always will be, a huge Battlestar Galactica fan. When I was a young kid, I watched the original series. And when it came back in its latest incarnation, I eagerly devoured every episode as they aired on television. So when I heard that they were doing a prequel movie, I was a very happy man indeed. And now that Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome is finally here, I am even happier.
It’s been in planning for years, only recently making it through the production process to be a completed film. It was supposed to air on SyFy as one of their “original movies” (the kind that often strike fear into the hearts of sci-fi lovers), but something went bad.
The producers of the film were hoping to use it to pilot a new series, but that didn’t happen and, worse yet, the new flick is being pieced out as webisodes on the Internet. Each weekend features two more installments and each is around 12 minutes long.
So far, only the first two parts have been released, but damn it’s already so good. There’s a unique mixing of the newer series with elements from the older series that draws in lovers of both. The music, ship designs and cylons are all a beautiful melding of both BSG runs.
Taking place 10 years into the first Cylon War, Blood and Chrome follows the story of a young William Adama as he exits his academy training, hoping to be the next amazing fighter pilot. Instead, the poor hopeful-hero gets stuck on a Raptor and must fly a cargo mission.
But if you know BSG, you know that it never ends up simple. Adama, his co-pilot and their “cargo” - a scientist who helped developed the cylons run into more than they bargained for. Where it goes from there, I have yet to find out…
This new piece-meal movie has all the elements that made me a fan of the series. The FX look good, the actors do a great job and the tension is kept tight and leaves you wanting more. I’m really looking forward to seeing how this thing pans out. And, if I’m really lucky, perhaps they will decide that a new BSG series is in order, despite the horrible failure of Caprica, and Blood and Chrome will become a new regular addition to my television viewing schedule.
The World Stone Skimming Championships
Stone skimming is usually considered to be a quiet pastime, spent on the shore of a river or lake while enjoying a drink and doing nothing important. People who happened to have stones and flats surfaces of water nearby enjoyed it indiscriminately.
But some people decided to take it more seriously than others. In Scotland, that evolved to become the World Stone Skimming Championships, an event that brings people in from around the world to test their stone-hurling skills.
While there are other events that take place throughout the year and in various areas of the world, there is only one championship event. It takes place on the last Sunday of September of each year in Argyll, on Easdale Island, a tiny place that is known for having one of the smallest populations in the country. Around 200 people show up each year looking for a chance to take the title.
Stone skimming has been going on since man first figured out how to throw a rock, but it wasn’t until 1989 that it began to get official. Now there are rules, regulations and all that come with them, though they’re pretty basic and easy to understand. Stones must bounce at least three times and each person gets three tries.
The stone that goes the furthest is declared the victor. People of all ages and skill levels are encouraged to try their hand at the title, as this event does not require qualifications or other such nonsense that many sports deal with. To make the competition more of a festival, there is a Saturday night “Pre-Skim” party, filled with music and drinking.
Competitive stone skimming isn’t just relegated to Scotland, however, so you can likely find an event somewhere near you that lets you battle it out with other enthusiasts. Still, the biggest and the best go to Easdale Island, including world-record holders - the best of which sent his stone about 213 feet. So if you’re serious about being the best, you’ll have to take a journey to Scotland.
Igloofest in Montreal
Some things are just so worth doing that people are even willing to brave some seriously cold weather to take part. Igloofest is one of these, an electronic music festival that takes place at an open-air venue in the middle of winter’s embrace.
Held in January in Montreal, the festival covers three separate weekends, from Thursday to Saturday each time. But if you go you’re going to want to make sure you dress warmly. At night, when the music happens, it averages around -22 degrees Fahrenheit.
Igloofest started as a sort of joke among the organizers. They were trying to figure out what people could do in the middle of winter and decided that perhaps a music festival would be the way to go. Despite the obvious complexity of that equation, they did it anyway.
The first Igloofest had a mere 2000 people and lasted just a single weekend. But regardless of the intense cold, the idea caught on and kept growing. Now, more than 50,000 people show up over the course of the three weekends.
Artists for Igloofest come from both local Canadian sources and other places around the world. The event brings some of the best electronic musicians together to show off their skills for the freezing-cold crowd. All this is accompanied by light shows and set in a neon and techno-inspired venue filled with constructions carved from ice. There is, of course, plenty to drink to keep you warm and a wide selection of things to eat. Ice bars are set up at the event to keep with the running theme.
Contrary to most people wanting to warm up a bit, Igloofest relies on the cold and if the temperature rises too much, the festival has problems from everything melting. So everyone comes decked out in ski suits or similar clothing. Igloofest is entertaining and loved by those who attend it, though it’s certainly not an event for the faint of heart. If you have plenty of courage and a love of electronic music, this might just be the thing for you.
Parkes Elvis Festival
Fans of Elvis Presley rejoice, for there is a festival in Australia made just for you. While Elvis-themed events are nothing new, the celebration in Parkes is one of the largest, bringing in more than 20,000 people in recent years to express their love of this iconic cultural phenomenon.
It happens every January during the second weekend, set to coincide with Elvis’s birthday. For five days, from Wednesday to Sunday, people dress up as the singer, enjoy his music and participate in all sorts of themed events. This passing year marked the 20th anniversary of this successful undertaking.
So why did an Elvis festival pop up in Australia? Apparently, Parkes has a very high ratio of his fans among the population. Several of them got together back in 1993 and put the festival together. It started quite small, lasting for just a single day with only a couple hundred people taking part, but has grown each year since its founding. More events were added to the line-up and more people began to show up. Finally, it expanded to two days and eventually to the five day celebration that it is today.
Parkes Elvis Festival boasts more than 150 Elvis-themed events over the course of its five days. There are Elvis concerts throughout the city, an Elvis Gospel Church Service, a street parade featuring costumed impersonators, Elvis Lawn Bowling and “Elvis in the Park”. The less Elvisy things involve food-themed events, classic car and art exhibitions, dances and many other novel activities.
In 2013, Parkes Elvis Festival is set to take place from January 9th to the 13th. The popularity of the festival means that the small town is overwhelmed, so hotels get booked up months in advance. Luckily, the Elvis Express train runs straight to Parkes from Sydney and traveling on that bit of transportation has its own assortment of Elvis activities and is an experience all its own. If you’re a true Elvis fan and want to meet others who share your passion, check this unique and entertaining event out if you happen to be in Australia at the time.
PINT Bokbier Festival
Each year in Amsterdam, late October brings a three-day weekend that celebrates the long-standing practice of bokbier brewing in the Netherlands. It’s the PINT Bokbier Festival and the non-profit group that hosts the event organized it with the intent of helping to spread knowledge about this Dutch tradition of beer.
The Bokbier Festival was first put together in 1978, starting out very small and only needing a single café to host the entire event. Since then, it has grown and now requires a significantly larger space to house the more than ten thousand people that show up annually.
While there are many brands of beer present at the festival, the main variety is, of course, the titular bokbier. Bokbiers are a Dutch spin on the bock recipe that creates a darker and stronger version of this brew. It is one of the most widely brewed beers in the country and it’s no wonder a festival sprouted up in its honor.
Around 50 different types of bokbier are on tap at the festival, most of them brewed locally. Some exceptional brews from Belgium and Germany also make their way into the line-up. And along with the drink is live music every day of the festival, consisting primarily of folk, rock and Oktoberfest-like performances.
For beer connoisseurs, PINT Bokbier Festival is a great way to experience this Dutch brewing tradition in all its glory. Spend a few days hanging out with the locals, taste many of the best bokbiers in the country and come away with a new appreciation for this tasty brew.
The benefits of using a hiking stick
Hiking is a great way to relax and recover from a long day' work. However, what you may not realize is you need to have some form of a walking stick if you plan on going over any type of terrain that can be considered treacherous or even dangerous. Without a walking stick, you may be shocked when you start to fall or even worse, go over the edge of a cliff.
Emergency Food Storage & Survival Handbook
The effects of Hurricane Sandy on the east coast of the United States have once again brought home the importance of disaster preparedness. The fact is that no matter how much warning people have, hurricanes still manage to catch many off-guard.
While it is impossible to prevent certain types of damage (a tree crashing through a wall of your home, for example), it is possible to mitigate the harm and ride out the aftermath with relative comfort. Preparation is key. To that end a book like Emergency Food Storage & Survival Handbook is particularly useful in preparing your home and your family to face events like hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes.
The book starts out with instructions on how to prepare for the most common type of disaster: the short-term ones. Author Peggy Layton describes what to do in the event of something like a forest fire or chemical spill headed toward a home, namely, evacuate. The various steps involved in a good evacuation plan are covered.
The most basic needs like water and food also factor in to a disaster-preparedness plan and she covers those as well. Non-perishable items such as canned goods, rice and dried beans (along with other items) are all on her list of things to have on hand in the event that there is no access to food after a disaster.
How likely is it that grocery stores will run out of goods in the event of a storm? Anyone who has lived through a hurricane can tell you that it can happen in a matter of hours to a couple of days. The author points this out as another reason to stock up.
She covers the contents of different emergency kits depending on the nature of the disaster and how long recovery is likely to take. The Emergency Food Storage & Survival Handbook is useful for everyone, but especially those living in areas prone to natural disasters and who realize that they may need some help getting ready for them.
Dalian International Beer Festival
The Dalian International Beer Festival takes place in the titular city of Dalian, presenting attendees with 12 days of drinking and festivities. Being held in late July and early August of each year, it’s been 14 years since this event was first organized and it has been growing steadily all that time. Today, more than 1.3 million people arrive over the course of the festival to participate and enjoy some quality brews.
What started as a simple beer drinking festival has progressed and just recently begun to transform into something more. All sorts of performances and entertainments now grace the festival. As well as the additions, the number of breweries participating and the beers available has also increased. Despite the more than a million visitors, the popularity of this event is just starting to take hold and it will no doubt become much larger in the near future.
At the last festival, more than 400 varieties of beer from around three dozen breweries were present. These mostly consisted of multiple offerings from big-named producers, both local and global, although the festival is now making it a point to have one part of the event devoted to craft beers. For entertainment, there were more than 300 different performances, consisting of things like dancing, singing and light shows.
Other things to occupy one’s time between drinking binges include the brewery street parade, a magnificent grand opening ceremony, drinking competitions (you have been warned), the Miss Beer Competition and more. In addition, there are exhibitions present that revolve around beer culture and the beer industry, so the festival can be educational as well as inebriating. And, of course, there are plenty of places set up around the grounds where visitors can buy food of many varieties.
Although this year is already over and done, next July marks the 15th year of the Dalian International Beer Festival. No doubt the coming event will be even bigger than this one, so if you want to take part in this Chinese celebration of all-things-beer before it gets too huge, best to make plans as soon as possible.