Viewing: Entries in 'Miscellaneous'

Retrieving Your Honda Pilot’s Stereo Serial Number

September 10, 2008 @ 12:39:28

These days, some car stock stereos have a security system whereby, if it’s disconnected from the power source (aka the battery), it locks out and becomes unusable until you enter in a secret code. I didn’t know this existed until recently, when the battery in my wife’s 2005 Pilot conked and had to be replaced. Assuming you don’t actually have the code, the cost associated with retrieving it is due to having to pull the stereo out to view its serial number (see post by “partsiam” in this thread). It’s only with the serial number that one can obtain the code.

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Asics Woolie

September 10, 2008 @ 11:45:48

First came Air Jordans and then came….I don’t know anymore because that’s not something I really ever cared too much about. But now, now is the culmination of years of celebrity endorsed shoes. Now is the pinnacle of footwear design and style.

Now is Asics Woolie!

The sleek and stylish Asic Woolie

Righteous Element

August 30, 2008 @ 14:46:41

Surfer’s like the Honda Element. The quick review mentions what I believe to be two of the more fugly cars on the road.

I mean, it looks like a World War II Volkswagen Thing or worse, the Scion. Ugly as hell.

By the by, seen the red-band trailer (NSFW) for Surfer, Dude? Looks like a….uhhh….movie.

World’s Largest Pool

August 23, 2008 @ 06:43:00

I want to go San Alfonso del Mar in Chile. Why? Because it has the World’s Largest Pool.

Completed in December 2006 after five years of planning and construction, the pool cost about $1.5 billion (in U.S. dollars) to build, covers more than 19 acres of surface area, holds about 66 million gallons, and offers transparent waters down to a depth of 115 feet.

The numbers just don’t provide the scope you need, so let google show you some pictures.

The Squid’s Big Day

August 14, 2008 @ 11:47:58

Karina at SpoutBlog relayed the Flickr set of a Star Wars themed wedding. Now, I’m all for doing it up. If going all out for your wedding means dressing up Star Wars style, more power to ya.

But seriously, if it were you….if you are the groom, this is your wedding, and you have to pick a Star Wars costume, would you choose to be a Mon Calamari?

Mon Calamari

Would you cover your face during your wedding ceremony so that when your future offspring view mommy and daddy’s wedding day pictures, they have to ask “Why is dad wearing a squid mask?”

Great Album Artwork

August 4, 2008 @ 23:41:20

Smashing Magazine has a list of 35 Beautiful Music Album Covers, which is pretty fun to scroll through. I recognize the majority of them and would definitely agree that they’ve picked some striking covers. But one I had never seen and which, for whatever reason, blew me away was Absolution by Muse.

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Motivational Photography 101

August 4, 2008 @ 21:25:04

When straight-up smiles aren’t enough, and off-guard action shots aren’t possible, there’s always the simple technique of “look at that!” In this particular case, the “that” was an outstandingly ordinary light switch just off to our right.

Our friend Cynthia Eden (she of the paranormal romance fame), hosted a surprise birthday party the other night and it was a ton of fun. I decided to deploy the “something interesting stage-right” technique for one of the photos, and I think the result speaks for itself.

Photographing the Grandchildren: Outtakes

August 4, 2008 @ 18:02:12

Trying to capture that single instance of coordinated sit-stills and smiles can be difficult. When its your eight grandchildren, all of whom (except one) are toddlers or infants, the task becomes herculean. Here are the outtakes of just such an occasion. Someone should start a site with filled with pictures taken before the subjects had actually established their pose, especially if its a group of kids. Does that site already exist?

Delightfuly Entrepreneur: The Fun-O-Meter

July 26, 2008 @ 11:08:09

I do my best not to re-link items that have already crossed the paths of heavyweights like BoingBoing or Kotkke, but every now and then I’ll have to break that vow because the item is just too good not to share.

Here is the BB source material, which takes us to: Meet the Fun-O-Meter. Never has an idea seemed so fantastic.

Fun-O-Meter

Fifty cents gets you:

-1 fun idea. If you’re been reading the site, you know the type of stuff, Zoomdoggle is loaded with them. #318 reads: Write “B” and “R” on opposite ends the back side of a One Dollar Bill. Stick your boner anywhere you like. But the fun doesn’t stop there.

-A map, in case fun idea requires travel.

-You also get 1 toy. You know the type. Standard vending machine stuff.

-And 1 quarter back… I kind of got ripped off on the toys, and only wanted to charge 25 cents anyway, but the machine is configured for 50 cents, so I put a quarter in each egg. Free money. That’s fun!

-Plus a lucky penny you can leave heads up for someone else to find. How cool is that?

So the guy walks around town plopping this thing down for a bit. Apparently it did best in the touristy areas. He’s got a few examples of the “ideas” he’s dispensing. Great idea and fun stuff.

Update (August 7): He’s looking for ideas.

Got a fun idea you think others would enjoy. Send it to funballs at zoomdoggle dot com or post it below. If your’s makes the cut, I’ll gladly credit you for it, post it here, and send you a funball free of charge.

Journalism Scholarship for Programmers

April 25, 2008 @ 20:24:56

I came across a Deck ad for journalism scholarships Medill, the journalism school at Northwestern. It’s a bit surprising to see until you read the very first sentence: “Are you a skilled programmer or Web developer?

They’re gearing a journalism master’s program to programmers! That’s cool.

The goal of our new scholarship program is to produce a new kind of media professional — someone who deeply understands both technology and journalism. We can’t predict all the ways that someone might use these skills and knowledge. Maybe you’ll find ways to apply technology to the task of finding or making sense out of information. Maybe you’ll want to help create new media products that make creative use of technology. Or maybe you’d like to report about technology for a blog, a Web site like C|Net or a publication like PC Magazine. Perhaps you’d do all of these, or something else entirely. Our goal is to have you leave Medill with an unusual combination of skills and perspectives that will position you to help reinvent journalism for the digital age.

I like what their selling. Classes and experiences in reporting for those of us whose background is tilted strongly towards technology. It would be interesting to watch those who emerge.

Devil’s Pool

April 18, 2008 @ 12:38:24

I saw this popup at Snopes and thought it especially cool. Victoria Falls has, more than 320 feet up, a spot known as the “Devil’s Pool”. At that specific spot is a rock formation that prevents you from tumbling over the falls (to your inevitable demise). So it’s possible to float right up against (and partially over by the looks of the pictures) the edge to peer over. This is apparently only possible during September and December (dry seasons?). Looks like it would be a fantastic experience, not to mention a breathtaking view. So why call it “Devil’s Pool”? I would think a more appropriate name would be something like “Angel’s View”.

Replicators

February 23, 2008 @ 00:18:16

Infant Swimming Resource

February 22, 2008 @ 23:54:01

This page contains a video displaying the skills of an 11-month-old trained in the ways of ISR (Infant Swimming Resource). It was passed along to me by my dad with the tag line “Now this is worth watching!!!”.

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I bet He doesn’t mind

January 12, 2008 @ 14:09:04

Sam has a bright future as a professional Homily-ist. Snoochie Boochies!