This is such a cool little roadster. I discovered this from watching a BBC video promoting this vehicle. The Ariel Atom is one very very fast little car, even outdoing a motorbike in both acceleration and handling, amazing.... if you are an automotive fan, watch the video and you will surely be impressed.
Here's the Google video link - click here for video
Here's my copy of video link as a backup - click here to see the video
...and here is the link to the website of the manufacturer - at only $40K, it is a real deal... hmmm, I am only about $39,900 short...
here are some other automotive related articles - link is here
Well, with a a name like this, I certainly hope this guy is a OB/GYN because it would be appropriate... however, I suspect he took quite a few beatings in his school years or at least was driven to becoming a lonely med student, reading in a corner by himself - The real question is why were his parents so cruel? I mean really now, wtf were they THINKING??!!
See for yourself - The Doctor is in :-)
Update - the Google Video is no longer available.... you think maybe Google ran out of storage space? I would gladly give up a GB of my mailbox to have more videos online.... c'mon Google.....
-----------------------------
Wahooooo, more hockey fights - this one was sent to me today.... and if you liked this one, then you will love this match, not quite the marathon of the last battle, however the flurry of fists is quite impressive.
Details:
1998-1999 season, from the ECHL, Ken Tasker of the Toledo Storm vs Trevor Senn of the Richmond Renegades.
Here it is - fantastic!
I think there are more funny stories about tech support calls than any other genre of ignorance, (which is different than stupidity, for stupidity, see the Darwinian Awards on the posting here) - There seems to be a never ending supply of stories of "stupid user tricks" from the tech support frontlines. Technology advances so rapidly that it far outstrips the ability of the average "user" to keep up.... so laugh now, but hope that you never end up reading one of these and thinking "hmmmm, I don't get it?", because if you do, you may very well be the one they are laughing about :-)
... enjoy,
Customer: I'm trying to connect to the Internet with your CD, but it just doesn't work. What am I doing wrong?
Tech support: OK, you've got the CD in the CD drive, right?
Customer: Yeah....
Tech support: And what sort of computer are you using?
Customer: Computer? Oh no, I haven't got a computer. It's in the CD player and all I get is weird noises. Listen.....
Tech support: Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!
===============
Tech support: What kind of computer do you have?
Female customer: A white one...
===============
Customer: Hi, this is Celine. I can't get my diskette out.
Tech support: Have you tried pushing the button?
Customer: Yes, sure, it's really stuck.
Tech support: That doesn't sound good; I'll make a note.
Customer: No .. wait a minute... I hadn't inserted it yet... it's still on my desk... sorry....
===============
Tech support: Click on the 'my computer' icon on the left of the screen.
Customer: Your left or my left?
============== =
Tech support: Good day. How may I help you?
Male customer: Hello... I can't print.
Tech support: Would you click on "start" for me and...
Customer: Listen pal; don't start getting technical on me! I'm not Bill Gates, damn it!
===============
Customer: Hi, good afternoon, this is Martha, I can't print. Every time I try, it says 'Can't find printer'. I've even lifted the printer and placed it in front of the monitor, but the computer still says he can't find it...
===============
Customer: I have problems printing in red...
Tech support: Do you have a color printer?
Customer: Aaaah....................thank you.
===============
Tech support: What's on your monitor now, ma'am?
Customer: A teddy bear my boyfriend bought fo r me in the supermarket.
===============
Customer: My keyboard is not w orking anymore.
Tech support: Are you sure it's plugged into the computer?
Customer: No. I can't get behind the computer.
Tech support: Pick up your keyboard and walk 10 paces back.
Customer: OK
Tech support: Did the keyboard come with you?
Customer: Yes
Tech support: That means the keyboard is not plugged in. Is there another keyboard?
Customer: Yes, there's another one here. Ah...that one does work
===============
Tech support: Your password is the small letter a as in apple, a capital letter V as in Victor, the number 7.
Customer: Is that 7 in capital letters?
===============
Customer: I can't get on the Internet.
Tech support: Are you sure you used the right password?
Customer: Yes, I'm sure. I saw my coll eague do it.
Tech support: Can you tell me what the password was?
Customer: Five stars.
===============
Tech support: What anti-virus program do you use?
Customer: Netscape.
Tech support: That's not an anti-virus program.
Customer: Oh, sorry...Internet Explorer.
===============
Customer: I have a huge problem. A friend has placed a screen saver on my computer, but every time I move the mouse, it disappears.
===============
Tech support: How may I help you?
Customer: I'm writing my first e-mail.
Tech support: OK, and what seems to be the problem?
Customer: Well, I have the letter 'a' in the address, but how do I get the circle around it?
===============
A woman customer called the Canon help desk with a problem with her printer.
Tech support: Are you running it under windows?
Customer: "No, my desk is next to the door, but that is a good point. The man sitting in the cubicle next to me is under a window, and his printer is working fine."
===============
Tech support: "Okay Bob, let's press the control and escape keys at the same time. That brings up a task list in the middle of the screen. Now type the letter "P" to bring up the Program Manager."
Customer: I don't have a P.
Tech support: On your keyboard, Bob.
Customer: What do you mean?
Tech support: "P".....on your keyboard, Bob.
Customer: I'M NOT GOING TO DO THAT!!
Hahahahaha, the depths of human stupidity is unmatched... and here to drive that point home is some of my favourite reading, this years' award winning idiots. These are the shallow end of the gene pool and are probably doing us all a favour by engaging in random acts of utter stupidity until eventually they stop becoming a drain on society and end up deceased, often simply a victim of *using their amazing brainpower*... drum roll please.... here they are as sent to me:
------- Award Winners ---------------
1. When his 38-caliber revolver failed to fire at his intended victim during a hold-up in Long Beach, California, would-be robber James Elliot did something that can only inspire wonder. He peered down the barrel and tried the trigger again. This time it worked..... And now, the honorable mentions:
2. The chef at a hotel in Switzerland lost a finger in a meat-cutting machine and, after a little shopping around, submitted a claim to his insurance company. The company expecting negligence sent out one of its men to have a look for himself. He tried the machine and he also lost a finger. The chef's claim was approved.
3. A man who shoveled snow for an hour to clear a space for his car during a blizzard in Chicago returned with his vehicle to find a woman had taken the space. Understandably, he shot her.
4. After stopping for drinks at an illegal bar, a Zimbabwean bus driver found that the 20 mental patients he was supposed to be transporting from Harare to Bulawayo had escaped. Not wanting to admit his incompetence, the driver went to a nearby bus stop and offered everyone waiting there a free ride. He then delivered the passengers to the mental hospital, telling the staff that the patients were very excitable and prone to bizarre fantasies The deception wasn't discovered for 3 days.
5. An American teenager was in the hospital recovering from serious head wounds received from an oncoming train. When asked how he received the injuries, the lad told police that he was simply trying to see how close he could get his head to a moving train before he was hit.
6. A man walked into a Louisiana Circle-K, put a $20 bill on the counter, and asked for change. When the clerk opened the cash drawer, he man pulled a gun and asked for all the cash in the register, which the clerk promptly provided. The man took the cash from the clerk and fled, leaving the $20 bill on the counter. The total amount of cash he got from the drawer...$15. (If someone points a gun at you and gives you money, is a crime committed?)
7. Seems an Arkansas guy wanted some beer pretty badly. He decided that he'd just throw a cinderblock through a liquor store window, grab some booze, and run. So he lifted the cinderblock and heaved it over his head at the window. The cinderblock bounced back and hit the would-be thief on the head, knocking him unconscious. The liquor store window was made of Plexiglas. The whole event was caught on videotape.
8. As a female shopper exited a New York convenience store, a man grabbed her purse and ran. The clerk called 911 immediately, and the woman was able to give them a detailed description of the snatcher. Within minutes, the police apprehended the snatcher. They put him in the car and drove back to the store. The thief was then taken out of the car and told to stand there for a positive ID. To which he replied, "Yes, officer, that's her. That's the lady I stole the purse from."
9. The Ann Arbor News crime column reported that a man walked into a Burger King in Ypsilanti, Michigan, at 5 a.m., flashed a gun, and demanded cash. The clerk turned him down because he said he couldn't open the cash register without a food order. When the man ordered onion rings, the clerk said they weren't available for breakfast. The man, frustrated, walked away.
******A 5-STAR STUPIDITY AWARD WINNER*****
10. When a man attempted to siphon gasoline from a motor home parked on a Seattle street, he got much more than he bargained for. Police arrived at the scene to find a very sick man curled up next to a motor home near spilled sewage. A police spokesman said that the man admitted to trying to steal gasoline and plugged his siphon hose into the motor home's sewage tank by mistake. The owner of the vehicle declined to press charges, saying that it was the best laugh he'd ever had.
Wow... I am not a huge soccer fan but I can appreciate the skill and fitness required to play the game at top levels. I ran across this video of an amazing display of soccer skills... watch the player kick the ball with incredible accuracy, not sure if this is fake or not, but judge for yourself.
Here is the video clip - click here to see the clip, - brought to us by, who else? Google Video
UPDATE - ya, it's a fake, it is a commercial.... but damn, it looks good :-)
I am so glad that my friend sent me this othe other day as we are going into the holiday Christmas party season and of course, beer and other spirits are flowing generously at this time of year. I think I had better stock up on my cancer fighting compounds before my annual January "dry-out" begins to kick off 2006.
-------------------------------------
MONTREAL - Like wine, beer too has its virtues.
Studies strongly suggest that a compound found only in hops and the main product they're used in - beer - is effective in preventing many types of cancer. And the darker the brew the higher the concentration of the active ingredient, Fred Stevens, professor of medicinal chemistry and researcher at the Linus Pauling Institute of Oregon State University, said Tuesday.
The flavonoid compound called Xanthohumol is toxic to prostate, breast, colon and ovarian cancer cells.
The potential applications for this micronutrient in cancer prevention and treatment is enormous, experts said. But don't go hoisting another pint or two just yet, Stevens said.
"I don't recommend that. Moderate beer consumption lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease but that has nothing to do with flavonoids,'' Stevens said.
Studies using rats and test-tube cultures show that Xanthohumol stops tumour growth at an early age, along with other anti-cancer properties.
"But we used a pure compound in cell cultures,'' Stevens said. "To go to humans is a big jump.''
For one thing, it's not clear how much flavonoid can be absorbed from drinking beer. It's not known what remains of the compound after it passes through the human gut.
But in the lab, even microscopic amounts can inhibit enzymes that can activate cancer growth as well as help the body detoxify carcinogens.
"Research in the area has exploded worldwide,'' said Stevens, who published a review of the literature in the journal Phytochemistry.
Even before study results are in, efforts are under way to isolate the compound as a food supplement, he said.
For example, Germany recently developed a beer with 10 times more Xanthohumol concentration.
"In Belgium they are selling hops tablets,'' Stevens said. "But it's not proven that non-beer formulations are effective or safe.''
Moderate alcohol consumption, including beer, has health benefits, said Charles Couillard, a Laval University professor of food science and a researcher at the Institute of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods. "We saw a decrease in cardiovascular disease in people drinking red wine,'' Couillard said of the "French paradox'' which launched several studies. "But what was reducing the mortality, the alcohol or maybe some component in the grape including flavonoids?''
Well, it's both, Couillard said.
Alcohol increased good cholesterol, HDL, but the flavonoids improved blood vessel function.
Flavonoids also neutralize free radicals, which "can attack lipids, proteins and DNA'' and are implicated in many diseases, including diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular, cancer and even early aging, he said.
For an alcohol-free dose of flavonoids go for a piece of dark chocolate (a good source), Couillard recommended.
Don't forget to include five to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, as most are also high in flavonoids, he added.
--------------------------------------------------
here's the orginal article link - thanks Canada.com
Apparently the Canadian Goverment transportation is testing some new devices that make it difficult to depress the accelerator pedal on your car if you are exceeding the speed limit... the whole system is based on GPS and satelite technology. I can see the good in this (take speeders off the roads and increase safety) but I really don't relish the thought of something controlling my vehicle from space - I would rather keep the control over my own vehicle, thank you.
Here's the link to the story - Toronto Globe & Mail story
Link to original ./ thread - SLashDot Article
Being Canadian, I like to watch hockey and am especially fond of watching a good hockey fight... someone sent me this clip of two Junior leaguer's (or International/American league, not exactly sure) going toe to toe in one of the best ice scraps I have ever seen... this is a FANTASTIC clip for anyone who enjoys these tilts. No matter if you agree with fighting in hockey (I am a traditionalist and yes, I think it should stay in the game) or if you are one of those "new fans" that think fighting is deplorable (you have your right to your opinion, even if it is not correct :-) - everyone will agree that the fights get the crowd going and are exciting battles to watch most times, this one is exceptional.... enjoy. (watch the very end, it is a good example of sportmanship)
I hope to post more of these from time to time as I see ones worthy of the bandwidth it takes to view them....
I have posted it here - Hockey Fight (10MB .wmv file)