Credit Crisis Explained

Hugh Jackman Opening Performance at the 2009 Oscars

Hoookay..... no more hydrolic chairs for me.

Link

A fourteen-year-old boy was killed after the chair he was sitting on exploded, propelling sharp chair parts into his rectum, causing extensive bleeding, which he succumbed to before medical attention could stem the flow.

The accident occurred when the boy was alone, sitting on the chair (which was for PC use); he managed to overcome the pain and call his father, who summoned an ambulance, but it took an hour to get him to hospital, by which time it was too late for him.
The chair in question was a standard gas cylinder type, where the height is regulated by an adjustable cylinder containing highly pressurised gas, and it was this which exploded, sending high velocity chair parts into the posterior of the unfortunate youth.

In fact, it seems a spate of such incidents were reported at the hospital – 3 such injuries caused by exploding chairs were reported this month, perhaps indicating an influx of poorly manufactured chairs into the area. In 2007 a similar accident also propelled a 20cm part into the rear of a 68-year-old man, who suffered a severe 5cm wound; he survived.

The illustrated chair shows the severity of such a cylinder malfunction.

We do not hear where the chair parts in question were made, though of course with the accident occurring in China it is likely there that they were made.

Three factors are implicated in such accidents:

1. The gas in the cylinder is contaminated with gases other than nitrogen.
2. The materials used in the cylinder are deficient, reducing the durability of the part.
3. The cylinder is not completely airtight.

Oil based hydraulic devices are said to be safer, but most such chairs on the market today use gas cylinders; naturally these tend to be made in China, where this accident occurred.

The boy in question weighed 80kg (certainly a fair amount for a 14-year-old Asian youth), which might have been a factor (though this will not reassure heavier framed non-Asian adults); it is suggested that using such chairs without placing excessive pressure on the cylinder is advisable – otherwise sitting on a steel plate might help.

*Puckers up unwillingly*

MMMMmmmmmm Mouthwateriffic

Check out this awesome.... I mean awful web site I found:
http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/

I bookmarked it for future reference..... to condemn I mean. Really!

Here are some recipes I might try.... I mean notably offending dishes




Bacon Cheese Pizza Burger
Giant burger between two large meat pizzas, eggs, bacon, colby and pepper jack cheese.

Makes me want to shout "Taco Town" somehow. Not the same thing, but similar, and the thought of this makes me soooooo happy.


Heart Attack Sandwich
Chicken fried steak, chicken-fried bacon, a country sausage, a fried egg, a fried green tomato topped with cheddar cheese and sandwiched between buns toasted in bacon fat, all served with a gravy dipping sauce.


Bacon Poutine
French fries topped with cheese curds, egg, bacon and covered in brown gravy.


The Hamdog
A hot dog wrapped in a beef patty that’s deep fried, covered with chili, cheese, onions, served on a hoagie bun topped with two fistfuls of fries and a fried egg.


Bacon Cheeseburger With Chocolate Covered Bacon
Name says it all


Sloppy Joe On A Krispy Kreme
Self explanatory


Junk Food Pizza
Large meat pizza covered with potato skins, mozzarella sticks, mini taco’s, jalapeño poppers and onion rings.


Giant Breakfast Burrito
A seven pound breakfast burrito stuffed with potatoes, eggs, onions, and ham bits, lots of cheese on top and smothered in red chile.


12 Bird True Love Roast
Contains 12 different kinds of bird: large turkey filled with goose, chicken, pheasant, aylesbury and barbary duck, poussin and guinea fowl, partridge, pigeon squab, quail and mallard duck. Breast meat from 48 different birds + 8 types of stuffing.

Ok I give up. I can't condemn this! This 12 bird roast is a vision of a dream come true. I even blogged about this a year ago in my old blog site:
http://lazybjj.blogspot.com/2007/12/heh-heh-i-said-turd.html


Turbaconucken
A chicken inside a duck inside a turkey, all wrapped in bacon.

This is a simpler 3 bird roast, but zapped up a notch. Pure genius.

Operating Systems Explained

Football prodigies

There's lots of "Next Zidane"s and "Next Ronaldinho"s lately. But this one seems genuinely far above his peers. The rest seem only "Next Kewell" level.


Algerian Madin Mohammed, 6 years old.

The previous one I was really impressed with was:

Brazilian Jean Carlos, should be about 12 now. This was taken in 2005 when he was 9.

Heads and shoulders above the rest. Gotta wait and see how they develop physically though. Would be a shame if they grew up short and slow.

The Expendibles

Stallone's latest move, the Expendables (2010) .

After John Rambo, I guess there was a need to have a dirty dozen style movie. But what a cast!!!

Theres:

Sylvester Stallone as Barney Ross


Jet Li as Kong Kao the token asian guy, probably martial arts master (thats my top tip)


Mickey Rourke as Emanuel


Jason Statham as Lee Christmas the token British accented tough guy. There was one in Rambo too, so he might be the team leader.


Sandra Bullock (rumored). I put her here in a hottie pose, because hopefully if she is in, she will be a action hero too, not a damsel to be rescued.


Randy Couture as Dan Paine.... former UFC champion, probably tough grunt.


Dolph Lundgren as Gunnar Jensen, the token german sounding tough guy.


Forest Whitaker as Agent Will Sands, who probably is their commander. Couldn't get Samuel L Jackson I guess.


Ben Kingsley as Monroe (rumored). Hmmm diplomat? Spy? He's played so many roles, hard to say.






Oh by the way... this movie also will have a cameo appearance this guy, probably the most out of shape actor:

Arnold Schwarzenegger, as himself unfortunately. Not action hero but as governor according to this site.

Obama worship is an official religion now

Stand back Superman, Iceman, Spiderman, Batman and Robin too.....

Teenage handbag thief outpaced by 72-year-old ex-sprinter

Link
A teenage thief picked on the wrong victim when she tried to run off with a bag belonging to pensioner Jean Hirst - a former championship sprinter.

By Paul Stokes
Last Updated: 8:10AM GMT 13 Feb 2009



The schoolgirl was surprised to discover her victim, a former All England Schools championship sprinter, still had a turn of pace - at the age of 72.

As Mrs Hirst gave chase, she soon began to close on the culprit who was forced to throw down the bag in her desperation to escape.

The retired teacher had allowed three teenage girls into her car to help her with directions after getting lost on the way to a theatre.

She was straight out of the starting blocks again, however, when one of them took advantage and tried to make off with her bag.

Mrs Hirst said: "Suddenly I felt 18 again. The adrenaline just kicked in and I seemed to turn back the years.

"She had a head start but I covered 70 yards in about 15 seconds and was within two strides of her when she looked over her shoulder and saw me.

"She probably thought I was an easy target but she shouldn't have judged a book by its cover. The look on her face was one of sheer amazement and she just threw my bag aside."

Mrs Hirst, a widow, from Mansfield, Notts, was able to stop and pick up the bag which she described as containing her "whole life", including her purse, keys and address book.

As a 17 year old, she was the Nottinghamshire County Schools 100 yards champion and qualified for the final of All England Schools Championship in Ashington, Northumberland.

Her latest unscheduled sprint was from the car park of the Duchess Theatre, in Long Eaton, Derbyshire.

She had stopped to ask the three girls, who were aged around 15 or 16, if they knew the way and they insisted on getting into the car to take her there.

When they arrived one of the girls asked for 20 pence and Mrs Hirst realised her bag had suddenly disappeared with one of the back seat passengers who was calling for the others to go with her.

"Then she started running and that's when the fun began. I was not as out of breath as I thought I would be at my age," she said.

When Mrs Hirst returned to the car, the other girls apologised for their friend's actions and she decided against calling the police.

She added: "I just told them to choose their friends more carefully. There was no way I could detain them and at the end of the day I was just glad I had my bag back."

Mrs Hirst, who has two grown up children, was later rebuked by her daughter who told her the girl could have had a knife or turned aggressive.

She added: "I didn't think of my safety, but I did pay for it a little the next day. I was covered in aches and pains and my daughter turned to me and said it was because I didn't warm up properly."

BTW, if you didn't get the title of this post, its from here:


Don't blame me if the songs stuck in your head the rest of the day.

Hows this for a goal celebration?

A Parent's Love

Warning - tear jerker

Library of Human Imagination

This is the private library of Jay Walker, internet entrepreneur and founder of Walker Digital. This library is 3,600 square feet on three mazelike levels filled with movie memorabilia and jewel encrusted copies of some of the rarest and most interesting books known to man.

Simply breathtaking!


The View From Above: Looming over the library is an original Sputnik 1 satellite, one of several backups the Soviets built. At far left is a model of NASA's experimental X-29 jet, with forward-swept wings. "It's the first plane that a pilot can't fly—only computers can handle it," Walker says. On the top of the center shelves are "scholar's rocks," natural formations believed by the Chinese to spur contemplation. Behind the rocks is a 15-foot-long model of the Saturn V rocket.


Stuffed with landmark tomes and eye-grabbing historical objects—on the walls, on tables, standing on the floor—the room occupies about 3,600 square feet on three mazelike levels. Is that a Sputnik? (Yes.) Hey, those books appear to be bound in rubies. (They are.) That edition of Chaucer ... is it a Kelmscott? (Natch.) Gee, that chandelier looks like the one in the James Bond flick Die Another Day. (Because it is.) No matter where you turn in this ziggurat, another treasure beckons you—a 1665 Bills of Mortality chronicle of London (you can track plague fatalities by week), the instruction manual for the Saturn V rocket (which launched the Apollo 11 capsule to the moon), a framed napkin from 1943 on which Franklin D. Roosevelt outlined his plan to win World War II. In no time, your mind is stretched like hot taffy.


Walker's house was constructed specifically to accommodate his massive library. To create the space, which was constructed in 2002, Walker and architect Mark Finlay first built a 7-foot-long model. Then they used miniature cameras to help visualize what it would be like to move around inside. In a conscious nod to M. C. Escher (whose graphics are echoed in the wood tiling), the labyrinthine platforms seem to float in space, an illusion amplified by the glass-paneled bridges connecting the platforms. Walker commissioned decorative etched glass, dynamic lighting, and even a custom soundtrack that sets the tone for the cerebral adventures hidden in this cabinet of curiosities. "I said to the architect, 'Think of it as a theater, from a lighting and engineering standpoint,'" Walker says. "But it's not a performance space. It's an engagement space."


Walker shuns the sort of bibliomania that covets first editions for their own sake—many of the volumes that decorate the library's walls are leather-bound Franklin Press reprints. What gets him excited are things that changed the way people think, like Robert Hooke's Micrographia. Published in 1665, it was the first book to contain illustrations made possible by the microscope. He's also drawn to objects that embody a revelatory (or just plain weird) train of thought. "I get offered things that collectors don't," he says. "Nobody else would want a book on dwarfs, with pages beautifully hand-painted in silver and gold, but for me that makes perfect sense."
What excites him even more is using his treasures to make mind-expanding connections. He loves juxtapositions, like placing a 16th-century map that combines experience and guesswork—"the first one showing North and South America," he says—next to a modern map carried by astronauts to the moon. "If this is what can happen in 500 years, nothing is impossible."


Jay's Anatomy: "What's so wonderful about our knowledge of the human body is how remarkably constrained it has been over time," Walker says. In the center of the table sits the Anatomia universa, an early-19th-century medical masterwork by the Italian illustrator Paolo Mascagni. At front right is a field tool kit for Civil War surgeons. Grasping the box of prosthetic eyeballs at left is the original "Thing" hand from the TV show The Addams Family, signed by the cast. In front of the 19th-century phrenological bust is a book, from about 1500, containing the first published illustrations of surgery on humans. "Pre-anesthesia, of course" Walker says. At the rear are a 300 million-year-old trilobite fossil, a raptor skeleton, and a clutch of fossilized dinosaur eggs.


Planetarium: The massive "book" by the window is a specially commissioned, internally lit 2.5-ton Clyde Lynds sculpture. It's meant to embody the spirit of the library: the mind on the right page, the universe on the left. Pointing out to that universe is a powerful Questar 7 telescope. On the rear of the table (from left) are a globe of the moon signed by nine of the 12 astronauts who walked on it, a rare 19th-century sky atlas with white stars against a black sky, and a fragment from the Sikhote-Alin meteorite that fell in Russia in 1947—it's tiny but weighs 15 pounds. In the foreground is Andrea Cellarius' hand-painted celestial atlas from 1660. "It has the first published maps where Earth was not the center of the solar system," Walker says. "It divides the age of faith from the age of reason."


Inspiration Point: Walker frequently meets with the Walker Digital brain trust in the seating area of the library, hoping to draw inspiration from the surroundings. Artist Clyde Lynds (known for integrating fiber optics into his work) created the intricate illuminated glass panels and many other visual elements. Walker himself designed the Escher-like tile floor, modeled after a tumbling block pattern from the Victorian age. He bought the chandelier (seen in the Bond film Die Another Day) at an auction and rewired it with 6,000 LEDs. The open book on the table features watercolor illustrations for an 18th-century papal palace that was never built. The globe has special meaning for Walker: "It was a wedding gift Eileen and I received in 1982."


Reading Room: In the foreground are several early-20th-century volumes with jeweled bindings—gold, rubies, and diamonds—crafted by the legendary firm Sangorski & Sutcliffe. On the table (first row, from left) is a 16th-century book of jousting, a Dickens novel decorated with the author's portrait, and (open, with Post-it flags) an original copy of the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle, the first illustrated history book. Second row: the 1535 Coverdale Bible (the first completely translated into modern English), a medieval tome with intricate illustrations of dwarfs, a collection of portraits commissioned at a 17th-century German festival ("Facebook in 1610!"), a tree-bark Indonesian guide to cannibalism, and a Middle Eastern mother goddess icon from around 5000 BC.


Gadget Lab: A brand-new One Laptop per Child XO, far left, sits next to a relatively ancient RadioShack TRS-80 Model 100. In back, a 1911 typewriting machine and a 1909 Kent radio. The large contraption at center is the Nazis' supposedly unbreakable Enigma code machine. The book to its left is a copy of Johannes Trithemius' 1518 Polygraphiae, a cryptographic landmark. On the right is an Apple II motherboard signed by Woz. An Edison kinetoscope sits beside an 1890 Edison phonograph (along with three of the wax cylinders it uses for recording). Nearby is a faithful copy of Edison's lightbulb. The gadget with the tubes is an IBM processor circa 1960. In front of it stands a truly ancient storage device, a Sumerian clay cone used to record surplus grain.

Walker struggles to balance privacy with his impulse to share his finds with the outside world. Schoolchildren often visit by invitation, as do executives, politicians, and scholars. Last February, the organizers of the TED conference persuaded him to decorate their stage with some of his treasures. But he's never invited any press in to see the collection—until now.


Jay Walker, curator of the Library of Human Imagination, conducts a surprising show-and-tell session highlighting a few of the intriguing artifacts that backdropped the 2008 TED

Article on his library I shamelessly copied nearly word for word
Architect pictures of the rest of the house