Virtual Vacation of the Weird Kind

Check out this collection of weird roadside landmarks from across the country. Remember the world's largest ball of twine from National Lampoons Vacation? It's here. So is the "Mothman" in West Virginia (The Mothman Prophecies).

Far-out Americana - MSNBC.com

Quick, Easy, Free Reverse Phone Lookup

Quick, easy, free! The only way it would be better is if it were useful, too. It is. Simply enter the area code and the phone number, click Find, and have the caller's name and address in seconds. You can also view a map of the caller's location.

Sullr : USA
Argentina, Belgium, Italy, and France are currently available, too.

Stupid US!

The video speaks for itself ...

Read with Speed

Zap Reader is a very interesting Web site I stumbled upon that may help you read faster. Watch the video clip below and take a look. It's totally free, so what have you got to lose!

ZAP Reader is a web based speed reading program that will change the way you read on your computer. Current beta testers report reading twice as much in half the time—that's a 300% increase in reading speed, without any loss in comprehension! There is nothing to install, it works with most popular browsers, and it's totally free!

If you like this, I suggest you go to the Tools link and put the bookmarklet in your bookmark bar.

10 Surprising Uses For Aspirin

Here's another collection of tips on how to get more out of common products.

10 Surprising Uses For Aspirin

I always wonder who was the first to attempt this trick and why did they try it.

More than a quarter of Americans did not read a book last year

According to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll released Tuesday, 27% of Americans did not read even a single book last year.Nearly a third of American men and a quarter of women fall into that classification.

They tend to be older, less educated, lower income, minorities, from rural areas and less religious.

Poll: 1 in 4 read no books last year - MSNBC.com

Ten Uses for Lemons

If you are a regular reader, you know how I love these "clever-uses-for-ordinary-things" kind of articles. This one is about the little yellow lemon.

A favorite use I have for the lemon is to freshen the food disposal in the kitchen. I just cut one up and feed it to the disposal. I liked the dishwasher tip. I'm gonna try that one.

Hippyshopper: 10 eco-friendly things to do with lemons from Eco Street

Earlier post "Aliens?"

In a comment by belin104 to an earlier post, he suggested they might be purple martin houses. I did a little Googling and found this picture of purple martin houses at BestNest.com ...
I think belin104 nailed it. This looks pretty much like the picture from Glendale Lake.

Purple martins are a bird species that migrate from Brazil to North America and Canada. They are colony dwellers, which means they live as a group in one dwelling or house with many nest compartments. While traveling north in the spring they establish new colonies and also return to old housing to breed, raise their young and eventually migrate back to Brazil for the winter season. (from Purple Martin Central)

However, I'm not totally giving up on aliens just yet :)

Happy Birthday 2 U

What's shiny, round, has a hole in the center, and more than 200 billion have been made since being introduced 17 August 1982?

Wired Blogs: Gadget Lab

How to Get Rid of Ants with Baby Powder

Apparently the baby powder disrupts the ants' scent trail which they use to navigate to and from the colony. So, ants already in your house can't find their way home and those on the outside have no trail to follow in.

How to Get Rid of Ants ~ Lockergnome’s Doing It

Once again, I have not personally verified the effectiveness of this method, but it interesting.

Looking for that one really clever idea that will make a fortune?

The Directors Bureau Special Projects Idea Generator may be just the trick for for you.

Spin the wheel and you'll get three words that may spawn the next big thing. Following are some examples of ideas I generated:

• oversized nuclear vehicle
• erotic vibrating book
• electric torture furniture
• dramatic concrete clothing
• geometric virtual furniture

Take the wheel for a spin or two. You never know what could spark that magical concept.

More on PA Bridges

Following up an earlier post about Pennsylvania's bridges -

Pennsylvania has the third largest number of bridges, but the largest number of structurally deficient bridges in the US, according to PennDOT. The average age of a bridge in Pennsylvania is 50 years old.

A structurally deficient bridge is safe, but in need of costly repairs or replacement to bring it to current standards.

For more on the states bridges, click here.

Aliens?

What in the world is this?

Click to enlarge

I took this picture earlier today at the end of the boat docks at the Prince Gallitzin State Park marina. I'm thinking they might be webcams. I really don't know. They certainly are curious looking things. If you have any idea, let me know.

What's a cubit, anyway?

Just as seven days ago, the sky opened up and dumped torrential late afternoon rains on our neighborhood. Some people were just getting cleaned up from last week's event.

The onrush of water was chasing me back to the parking lot.

Set Phasers to Stun

The Department of Homeland Security is testing a non-lethal weapon based on a powerful beam of light that would temporarily incapacitate its target. Though this AOL News article compares it to a Star Wars light saber, it makes me think more of Captain Kirk's phaser.

Penn State's Institute for Non-Lethal Defense Technologies will test the weapon this fall.

News - Feds Consider 'Light Saber' Weapon - AOL News

Just for Laughs

You wanna have some fun? Just for Laughs is just for you. I discovered this show on BBC America some time ago and now it comes to the US on ABC, Tuesday evenings from 8 to 9.

Just for Laughs is a Canadian-produced hidden camera show. It's extremely visual with virtually no spoken dialog. Facial expressions and body language tell the story. The gags are often very clever and revealing of human nature. And as it's Canadian, it isn't always as sanitized and PC as typical American TV.

It can always be counted on it to provide a truckload of smiles and laughs.

See clips from Just for Laughs ...

Hot Funn

Hot Fuzz is the most entertaining movie I've seen in some time. It's the story of London supercop Nick Angel (Simon Pegg) who is transferred to a small country village with an easygoing police force (sorry, service) where he's partnered with a lumbering partner (Nick Frost) who is fascinated by cop action films.

It's a tough transition for Sergeant Angel as a series of bizarre "accidental" deaths convinces him something really bad is going on in this seemingly perfect little village. Angel, however, is unable to convince anyone of his suspicions.

While Hot Fuzz is an hilariously funny spoof of the typical cop action movie, the crime story is intriguing and mysterious. It is a product of many of the same people who made Shaun of the Dead.

Pennsylvania's Bridges

Of 22,291 total bridges in Pennsylvania, 42.9% are either structurally deficient (5,532) or functionally obsolete (4,028). (1)

Definitions -
A structurally deficient bridge is closed or restricted to light vehicles because of its deteriorated structural components. While not necessarily unsafe, these bridges must have limits for speed and weight.
A functionally obsolete bridge has older design features and, while it is not unsafe for all vehicles, it cannot safely accommodate current traffic volumes, and vehicle sizes and weights.

For a county-by-county list of such bridges in the state, see
Deficient major bridges in Pennsylvania - Bridge Collapse - MSNBC.com

Gettin' Their Groove On

I captured these wild dancers with my phone this morning. I think they're hilarious!



They're outside the new Ashley Home Furniture Store in Altoona for the Grand Opening.

Better read the small print

I captured this from a TV commercial for CashCall. These commercials feature Gary Coleman, former star of Diff'rent Strokes.

An APR of 99.25%!!! You would have to be desperate or nuts. I can't believe it's even legal to charge this much interest. Forty-two payments of $216.55 totals almost $9100 to pay off a $2600 loan.

Transport Photos

Saturday, I took a lot of transport related pictures in the area of the Juniata bridge in Altoona. I got a series from the rail yards featuring the turntable at the Norfolk Southern Juniata shops and some trucks and trailers at Ward Corporation.

It was an extremely hazy day as you can see from the pictures. I had to do lots of post-production editing.. I just finished the rail yard pictures. The trucks are still waiting.