Snipr

Interesting.

clipped from torley.com I’ve been using TinyURL for awhile, and it’s a good companion to SLURL, since Second Life URLs can get so very loooong. I tend to run my SLURLs through a Firefox toolbar tool so the newly-tiny URLs can be copied-and-pasted for brevity — this is especially important for emails, where line breaks mangle lengthy addresses. Recently, I found out about Snipr (also known through several other names like the slightly longer “Snipurl”), and appreciate that I can create a custom, memorable nickname instead of relying on a cryptic jumble of letters & numbers, no matter how short. (Looks like they’ve been around since 2000, so I’m surprised I didn’t hear of them earlier.)

News:Atlanta furs take on ‘Klingons’ in bowling tournament

The video of the fur suiters bowling is just too cute!

clipped from furry.wikia.com News:Atlanta furs take on ‘Klingons’ in bowling tournament It was the battle of the fandoms on September 29th, 2007 when Atlanta furries took on a challenge by Klingons in Furries vs. Klingons, a bowling competition held in Atlanta, Georgia between a group of furries and Klingons. The Klingon team – most of whom appeared to be humans in regular Star Trek uniforms – emerged victorious, with a score of 32 to 27.[1] However, the furry team had far more members than the Klingons. The furries were at a disadvantage as fursuits made bowling difficult; specifically, the paw gloves made holding the ball tricky and the costume head obstructed vision. However, not all furries – or Klingons – were in costume. Video of the event. Source: Patrick J. McCart Video of the event. Source: James B. Clark

Twittering A Blog

I am currently visiting my boyfriend and thought it might be interesting to Twitter what I do as the adventure moves along. Here are the results, so far:

I wonder what a blog made out of twitter messages might be like? I guess I’m going to have to try it. 09:52 AM December 14, 2007

So I am on the ferry to Vancouver. So far I have fallen, cut my hand, have a pant leg covered in dirt, and I’m having a panic attack. 10:46 AM December 14, 2007

After a terrible and stressful ferry ride, I am back on the bus and on my way to the bus terminal, where I will meet up with Pat. <3 12:17 PM December 14, 2007

Not so stressed any more. Just waiting for Pat now. I’m waiting in front of a McDonald’s and it is making me hungry. 01:09 PM December 14, 2007

Pat bought me Hello Kitty band-aids! ^_^ about 15 hours ago

My face is driving me mental this morning. It is so dried out and itchy to the point that my cheeks were bleeding a little. Aieee! about 6 hours ago

Cannot seem to connect to the internet today on my phone. Oh noes! about 4 hours ago

I will add more when I get home from the remaining time I have in my little holiday!

Using DS as Musem Guide

An interesting way to use a DS.

clipped from www.plasticbamboo.com The National Museum of Western Art in Ueno, Tokyo, is providing visitors with a Nintendo DS Lite and special cartridge that allows the console to be used as a portable guide to the museum. Using various access points (below), the DS can detect when a person moves from room to room, and can therefore display new and relevant information onscreen. If the user happens to see a painting that they like in the museum, then they can simply browse to it on the console and hit ‘print’. The printout will then be waiting for them when leave the museum. Via Newlaunches

Elecom USB hub

I need one of these.

clipped from www.plasticbamboo.com New Elecom USB hub 7th February, 2007 Elecom has launched a hub that makes me wonder why there’s not more designed like it. It looks like a cross between a necklace and that wrench-thing for car wheels, and is available as a 2, 3 and 4 port hub in 3 different colours. The hub is priced from 1,600 to 2,200 yen ($13.30-16.30/�6.60-9.30) depending on the number of ports you want. Via Akihabara News

Nameneko

The cats are cute but…I can’t help but wonder why someone came up with this.

clipped from www.plasticbamboo.com Created in 1980, the Namennayo Cats (Nameneko), took Japan by storm. 2 years, 500 promotional items and 100 billion yen in revenue later, it was all over. Don’t worry though; the dressed-up cats are back to celebrate their 25th anniversary (not the same cats I assume), with a whole bunch of new nonsense to sell (see Strap-Ya for an example). Read more about them on the amazing official Nameneko site. Here’s a video of them back in their heyday. Pics from The Pelorian Cat Project.

Missing Item Finder

I need one of these…

clipped from www.plasticbamboo.com Missing item finder 16th February, 2007 If you’re bad for losing things all the time, then the perfect item has just been launched – a missing item finder. In the pack are 4 different coloured receivers and a remote unit. You simply attach the receivers onto frequently misplaced items, like your mobile phone, glasses case or keys for example. Then, when you can’t find any of these items, you simply press the appropriately coloured button on the handheld unit, and an alarm sound will lead you to the location of that item. A very slightly different pitched noise is associated with each receiver too. The receivers seem a little big though. It’s priced 9, 765 yen ($82/�42). Watch a boring video of the item in action: Source: Impress Watch

Iris Recognizing Mouse

Extreme security.

clipped from www.plasticbamboo.com Iris recognizing mouse 8th May, 2007 Qritek Japan Co. is a new company wanting to revolutionize the PC security world, albeit in a odd way. The iris recognition mouse involves the user looking into a lens mounted on the side of its body, where “an internal sensor compares his or her iris with pre-registered iris information.” The user is then logged onto their computer or given access to a restricted file. The mouse costs 37,800 yen (�160/$315). Hmm, I think I’ll stick to passwords. Source: Nikkei

Transformers now a reality

I find this scary, actually. Technology has some so far.

clipped from www.plasticbamboo.com Transformers now a reality 16th July, 2007 by stuart “Transformers, fall apart and make you cry,” we hilariously sung to the transformers motif as kids. I never thought I’d see technology approaching the point where an actual transformer could come to my house and beat the crap out of me for singing that song. It may be small, but it’s a sign of things to come… Via Narutard Japan No Blogu This entry was posted on Monday, July 16th, 2007 at 10:41 pm and is filed under Technology, Videos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Coin-operated exercise machine

A very interesting idea!

clipped from www.plasticbamboo.com Coin-operated exercise machine 18th July, 2007 The thought of going to a gym can be negative, especially when you think of puffing away on exercise machines, and sweating so much that your hair sticks to your face. A machine in Japan called Conbini, a name taken from the Japanese for convenient store, is proving to be very popular though, as it prevents either of those off-putting aspects. The machine pushes the person’s feet up and down, and back and forwards, and a sweat is rarely broken, as it seems to be doing most of the work. A 500 yen coin ($4.10/�2) is simply inserted in the Conbini, and a 10 minute exercise regime begins. To prevent wandering male eyes, there are ladies only sections and partitions between machines to give you a carefree bounce about! Via Wired