Clipmarks | JohnWaterman's Misc collection

Biggest Sports Cheat in History?

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:17:51 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman
clipper's remarks: Risking his own life and the lives of others Nelson Piquet Jr crashes his formula 1 car under orders from his bosses at Renault

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Clip Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Flavio Briatore's departure from his position as the boss of the Renault team in the wake of the Singapore race-fixing scandal robs Formula 1 of one of its most flamboyant and controversial characters.

The 59-year-old Italian, who has cultivated an image as a jet-setting playboy businessman, left his position as team principal after Renault decided not to contest charges that they had asked their driver Nelson Piquet Jr to deliberately crash in last year's Singapore Grand Prix to aid team-mate Fernando Alonso's chances of winning the race.

The allegation has rocked F1 to the core, the latest damaging episode for a sport that has recently suffered a number of cases that have brought its integrity into question.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Renault will not dispute allegations of race-fixing as team principal Flavio Briatore and engineering chief Pat Symonds leave the team.

Highlights - Singapore GP 2008

Piquet's crash in Singapore

FIA had to act - Mosley

Fairies and Bigfoot

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:25:50 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: scienceblogs.com

Speaking of being underwhelmed by the arguments, we've actually got people arguing for the existence of fairies and bigfoot. They even say they've got evidence: here's the Croydon photo:

Looks like an ugly flash artifact of an insect caught in flight.

Some guy in Kentucky had a video camera set up to monitor his backyard, and it caught this frame of a purported Bigfoot:

I have no idea what that blurry blob is…somehow, whenever one of these mysterious creatures is seen, the lucky witness is always either a really awful photographer or is using garbage equipment.

There are some real mysteries here, though. Why was that woman going out to take pictures of her ugly lawn furniture at night, and why does that guy need constant video surveillance of his weedy back yard?

Melting Building

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:51:05 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.sweet-station.com

This is not photoshopped. This building mural, a trompe-l’oeil, is located in Georges V Ave. in Paris, France. ‘ Trompe-l’oeil ‘ is an art technique involving extremely realistic imagery in order to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects really exist, instead of being just two-dimensional paintings. The name is derived from French for “trick the eye”, from tromper - to deceive and l’oeil - the eye. Link here.

A long time ago, in an art gallery far far away ...

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:55:19 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.worth1000.com

Clip Source: i31.tinypic.com

Clip Source: www.worth1000.com

Clip Source: rookery3.aviary.com

Clip Source: www.worth1000.com

Clip Source: rookery3.aviary.com

Clip Source: www.worth1000.com

Clip Source: i304.photobucket.com

Clip Source: www.worth1000.com

Free online library for students, teachers, and the classic enthusiast.

Absolutely FREE books

Thousands of novels, poems, stories

Easy to read books online

WARNING — The surgeon general reports that having these many free books at your disposal can be highly addictive.

Top Authors

Top Books

Tags: reading, books, stories, online, free

Don't be fooled, UV exposure can kill

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 10:31:19 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Computer tanning hoax comes to light

A hoax website that tells users they can develop an all-year tan by staring at their computer screen has received more than one million hits in the last two months.

Computertan.com, which describes itself as a safe and easy "revolutionary new online tanning service", encourages users to download a free trial in which they are given a mock skin-analysis and see tubes from a sun-bed flash up on screen. At the end of the trial a message says, "Don't be fooled, UV exposure can kill", followed by a series of images that show the effects of sun damage. The site has been set up by Skcin, a charity based in Nottingham in memory of Karen Clifford, a local resident who died from skin cancer in 2005.

A spokesperson from Skcin said: "This is an astonishing response and has undoubtedly helped raise awareness of the dangers of skin cancer."

Clip Source: www.skcin.org

The Facts About Skin Cancer

Clip Source: www.skcin.org

Key Messages About Skin Cancer

Clip Source: www.skcin.org

Sunbed Facts

Are you at risk?

Trains on British bridges

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 17:31:52 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.railpictures.net

La Princesse in Liverpool

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 19:44:11 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.boston.com

On Wednesday 3rd September 2008 Liverpool awoke to find a giant spider hanging from the side of a building. A team of scientists planned to move the spider to their research post setup by Albert Docks in the morning. Here, days later, the 50-foot tall "La Princesse" climbs back onto Concourse House and is dusted by magic snow sending her to sleep for the night. (© Peter Carr)

Thursday and La Princesse is transported across the city to Albert Dock. Everyone is looking out their office windows and taking to the streets to see the spider. (© Peter Carr) #

La Princesse is heading towards the Birkenhead tunnel in the hope of making a break for it. Her feet almost crush me and my gear here. The spider weighs over 37 tonnes. (© Peter Carr) #

Not everyone enjoyed the show. A 50 ft spider walking around town is bound to make some people feel scared. I'm not a fan of spiders myself but seeing this was something else. (© Peter Carr) #

Hair you are!

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 14:56:57 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: strangemaps.wordpress.com

There is no satisfactory explanation, at least not to my knowledge, for the higher than average incidence of lame word-play in the names of hair salons. Some examples in the Anglosphere include: British Hairways, Shear Excitement, Fringe Benefits, Comb One Comb All, Locks of Fun, Mane Man, and my favourite: Julius Scissor. There are literally dozens of similar examples, some of which are documented on the Hairdressers With Funny Names Pool on Flickr.

Clip Source: www.flickr.com

Clip Source: strangemaps.wordpress.com

What makes this phenomenon even more intriguing, is the fact that it transcends linguistic and cultural boundaries - at least in one case. German-language hair salons apparently also feel the need to use silly word-jokes for a name. This map shows three of the most frequently used lame puns for hair salons in Germany.

Haarmonie (a play on Haar, German for ‘hair’ and the German word for harmony)

”Haareszeiten, a play on Jahreszeiten (German for ’seasons’). Haargenau is a real word that means ‘exactly’,

Clip Source: www.flickr.com

Chess sets

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:47:47 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.colourlovers.com

Chess has had a long and colorful history since its beginnings in the 6th century. And ever since the creation of the game the board and game pieces have been a continuous source of inspiration for artists who year after year create new interpretations. Here is a look at chess's place in history and culture along with some historically and artistically important sets.

Early

Chess originated in India during the Gupta empire,where its early form in the 6th century was known as caturaṅga,

In Sassanid Persia around 600 the name became shatranj and the rules were developed further

wikipedia; Iranian chess set, glazed fritware, 12th century.

Modern

Around 1200, rules of shatranj started to be modified in southern Europe, and around 1475, several major changes made the game essentially as it is known today

DIA; Emroidered Chess Set and Board, 19th century, Morocco

Chess in Culture

Photo by mharrsch; Stained and White Ivory Muslim Style Chess Set Cambodia 18th to 20th century

More Chess Sets

Don't throw away those egg cartons

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:55:59 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman
clipper's remarks: 20 Creative Ways to Reuse Egg Cartons (in Pictures) - with cats waiting for captions!

Clip Source: www.stumbleupon.com

1. Eggcubism Village Party

Village Party

by Dutch artist Enno de Kroon

2. Heart

3. Mona Lisa

4. Dubrovnik

This sculpture is named "Not Montenegro, but Dubrovnik in Croatia" and made from egg cartons. via Greenwich Photography

5. Volkswagen Trucks Ad

"Volkswagen Trucks. For every kind of load" is a print advertising campaign

6. Lighting sets

7. Cat beds

8. Footstools

9. Seats

10. Seed starters

11. Flowers

12. Dozen figs containers

13. Concrete slabs

14. Bulletin Boards for office

15. Toy Cameras

16. Toy Potties and Toilets

17. Costumes

18. Proofing sound

19. Apparel

20. Organizers

...and the hippo was allergic to magic!

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:23:12 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman
clipper's remarks:

Clip Source: www.boingboing.net

Amelie, Jr.

[Video]

Super cute French kid ad-libbing a fantastic story with crocodiles, monkeys, and Winnie the Pooh. I hope she got license clearance for those copyrighted characters. More about the video here at videogum. (thanks, John Walsh!)

Pi

Sat, 06 Dec 2008 17:55:24 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman
clipper's remarks: to 1 million digits

Clip Source: www.piday.org

3.
1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693993751058209 7494459230781640628620899862803482534211706798214808651 3282306647093844609550582231725359408128481117450284102 7019385211055596446229489549303819644288109756659334461 2847564823378678316527120190914564856692346034861045432 6648213393607260249141273724587006606315588174881520920 9628292540917153643678925903600113305305488204665213841 4695194151160943305727036575959195309218611738193261179 3105118548074462379962749567351885752724891227938183011 9491298336733624406566430860213949463952247371907021798 6094370277053921717629317675238467481846766940513200056 8127145263560827785771342757789609173637178721468440901 2249534301465495853710507922796892589235420199561121290 2196086403441815981362977477130996051870721134999999837 2978049951059731732816096318595024459455346908302642522 3082533446850352619311881710100031378387528865875332083 8142061717766914730359825349042875546873115956286388235 378759375195778185778053217122680661300192787

The Most Mysterious Manuscript: The Voynich or Cipher Manuscript

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 17:45:16 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: beinecke.library.yale.edu

TITLE: Voynich Manuscript.|Cipher Manuscript.

Clip Source: beinecke.library.yale.edu

Clip Source: www.voynich.nu

In 1912, the antiquarian book dealer Wilfrid M. Voynich bought a number of mediaeval manuscripts from an undisclosed location in Europe. Among these was an illustrated manuscript codex of 234 pages, written in an unknown script.

Voynich took the MS to the United States and started a campaign to have it deciphered. Now, almost 100 years later, the Voynich manuscript still stands as probably the most elusive puzzle in the world of cryptography. Not a single word of this 'Most Mysterious Manuscript', written probably in the second half of the 15th Century, can be understood.

Clip Source: webtext.library.yale.edu

Scientific or magical text in an unidentified language, in cipher, apparently based on Roman minuscule characters; the text is believed by some scholars to be the work of Roger Bacon since the themes of the illustrations seem to represent topics known to have interested Bacon (see also Provenance below.)

Clip Source: beinecke.library.yale.edu

High Res Image: 1006083

Clip Source: beinecke.library.yale.edu

(View as Slideshow)

America and the Utopian Dream

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 16:41:49 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman
clipper's remarks: More at the site

Clip Source: beinecke.library.yale.edu

Utopias in America, from the first Puritan settlements to the communes of the 1960s, share the goal of removal from the heart of civilization to the wilderness in order to establish a new social order. Communities with European roots embraced the equalizing demands and freedoms of the New World’s open frontier, even as the new country claimed the pursuit of happiness as an inalienable right. Though their inspirations varied—theocracy, millenialism, socialism, theosophism, behaviorism—they all reflected the American dream of a better world, now.

Clip Source: beinecke.library.yale.edu

1516 Thomas More Utopia

Clip Source: beinecke.library.yale.edu

NOPLACIA (Utopia) was once my name,
That is, a place where no one goes.
Plato’s Republic now I claim
To match, or beat at its own game;
For that was just a myth in prose,

Clip Source: beinecke.library.yale.edu

1627 Francis Bacon New Atlantis

Clip Source: beinecke.library.yale.edu

1776 Thomas Paine Common Sense

Clip Source: beinecke.library.yale.edu

1894 William Dean Howells A Traveler from Altruria

Clip Source: beinecke.library.yale.edu

1933 James Hilton Lost Horizon

Clip Source: beinecke.library.yale.edu

1951 Isaac Asimov Foundation

Clip Source: beinecke.library.yale.edu

1985 William Gibson Neuromancer