Tape Findings, and Found Magazine Website

Two fun finds today...the first is Found, a website devoted to found objects. According to their About section:

We collect found stuff: love letters, birthday cards, kids' homework, to-do lists, ticket stubs, poetry on napkins, doodles-- anything that gives a glimpse into someone else's life. Anything goes.

We certainly didn't invent the idea of found stuff being cool. Every time we visit our friends in other towns, someone's always got some kind of unbelievable discovered note or photo on their fridge. We decided to make a bunch of projects so that everyone can check out all the strange, hilarious and heartbreaking things people have picked up and passed our way.

As an off-shoot of this site, there is another one, called Tape Findings. Now this one really appealed to me. I can still remember being a kid, and my little sister and I playing around recording our voices on a Radio Shack Realistic Cassette Recorder. We'd record anything, really -- me reading the paper, or the latest Guinness Book of World Records. Anyhow, this web site brings together these lost-and-forgotten tapes, and like Found, they can be banal or funny, serious or strange, but wow, what a great site for the voyeur in us all.

Found Magazine
Tape Findings

Shorpy, a Vintage Photo Blog

Sure, there are many fine sites out there that showcase contemporary photography, such as Flickr. But what about all those cool vintage photos that we have laying around, maybe in old photo albums, or ones acquired in garage sales? Well, now they have their day in the sun.

Shorpy, billed as "The 100-year-old photo blog", showcases all sorts of cool vintage photos. You can create an account and add your own, if you like. The site states that they are particularly interested in photos "from the dawn of photography to the 1940s". Check it out!

Shorpy

Garage Sale America

OK, let's switch gears a bit. Here's a fun site. Garage sales have been around forever -- well, at least as long as people have had garages, I guess. With the explosion of antique collecting and the promise of finding that potential treasure in your neighbor's basement, plus the recent popularity of shows such as "Antiques Roadshow", the garage sale is as popular as ever.

Well, Bruce Littlefield has taken it upon himself to travel to garage sales from coast to coast, and as many as he can find. Then he reports on his finds on a blog, and the wonderful website that surrounds it. You'll find a spot to list your own garage sale, find others, do's and don'ts, and much more. The site is beautifully put together and a pleasure to navigate.

Here's a fun example from his blog:

EVERYTHING I EVER NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT LIFE, I LEARNED AT A GARAGE SALE

•Everybody’s looking for something.
•Just because it’s old, doesn’t mean it’s gold.
•One man’s junk is another man’s treasure. And vise versa.
•When you give, you get.
•Life can be perfect, even in its imperfections.
•There’s nothing worse than the one that got away.
•Even “free” comes with a price.
•A bargain is something you didn’t know you needed at a price you couldn’t resist.
•Greed isn’t pretty.
•Know when to cut bait.
•Nothing is yours forever.

So dive in -- or maybe, drive in -- you never know what "gotta-have" is awaiting you, maybe on the next street over this weekend.

Bruce Littlefield's Garage Sale America

[link courtesy of gettrio.com emailing]

iPhone Mania: 3 Blogs

The first day of summer is upon us, and you know what that means -- we're just days away from the release of Apple's iPhone! (Wait, what? That's not what it means? Oh. Well, anyway...)

I think it's safe to say that no techie gadget (certainly no cell phone) has ever seen so much anticipation, so much pressure, to be the end-all and be-all of everything cool in this world than the iPhone does at this moment. Yes, it will be released, and there will be those folks that will buy one on the first day, the first minute, the first second that it's available. Heck, there's probably people camped out at Apple Stores right now. So what is it about this gadget? Apple says it's the best iPod they've ever made, that, oh, by the way, happens to also be an internet appliance and, oh yeah, the best phone ever. I'd love to say that I will personally test all these features myself and report here, but it's just a wee too steep for my budget at the moment. But hey, we should be able to play with one at the Apple Store once they become available (at least I hope so.)

However, until it launches, I say enjoy the hype. I know of no other company that inspires such brand loyalty and can whip the fan base into a lather than Apple, Inc can. After its release, there will almost undoubtedly be some bell or whistle that doesn't work exactly as advertised, or was left off completely. But until then, we have the image of a perfect product, and Apple can do no wrong.

Here's some links to sites blogging about the iPhone, courtesy of the gettrio.com newsletter I receive:

iPhoneFreak
theiPhoneBlog
TalkiPhone

Videogames: Fabulous at 40

Before all the computer and console games of today, there was a humble beginning, where a videogame called "Pong" ruled. Someone had to come up with the original idea, of course. Someone had to take a look at a relatively new technology (television), now in homes all over the country, and wonder if it would be possible to bring games into those houses, over the TV.

The year was 1967. Ralph Baer was ready to make history.

Read more about the rise of the videogame on 1up.com, here.

Video Games Turn 40

Taquitos.net: The Zen of Snacking

We all have that favorite snack. You know, maybe the one that's not all that healthy for you (ha, as if), but yet it's still a guilty pleasure? Chips, chocolate, peanuts, donuts? Salty, crunchy, sweet? Well, everyone has their own vice when it comes to the munchies. Now someone is blogging about it.

Taquitos.net to the rescue. From their FAQ:

Q: What is Taquitos.net?

A: Taquitos.net is the most comprehensive snack food site on the Interweb, featuring independent reviews of more than 3000 snacks. In addition to snack reviews, Taquitos.net has information on Krispy Kreme doughnuts, chicken nuggets, grilled cheese sandwiches, chocolate milk, snack mascots and more.

Q: What kinds of snacks does Taquitos.net consider for review?

A: Primarily, we consider the six major food groups: Potato Chips, Popcorn, Pretzels, Cheese Puffs, Tortilla Chips and Corn Chips. We'll generally try any other kind of salty snack as well. We'll often consider any snack that comes in a bag that roughly resembles a bag of chips. Any item that has the word "snack" somewhere in its name will usually receive consideration. We normally won't consider snacks that require refrigeration to store or need to be cooked before being eaten. Beyond those criteria, we decide on a case-by-case basis whether each item merits a review.

And they aren't kidding. Find all sorts of reviews on just about any snack you can imagine. There's even news stories on the front end. Currently, they are featuring articles on Taco Bell implementing the FastPass system so you can wave your card and get your food faster; and a story on what is stocked in the vending machine at Dunder-Mifflin on NBC's hit show The Office. A fun site...so get munching, and go easy on those Pringles, will ya?

Taquitos.net

International No Diet Day Today

Are you putting your life on hold until you lose weight? On May 6, 2007, in celebration of International No Diet Day, people in cities and towns around the globe will join a one-day moratorium on weight-loss dieting sponsored by an international coalition of health professionals, activists and community groups.

Originated in 1992 by Mary Evans Young, the director of a British activist group called Diet breakers, International No Diet Day was established to challenge the cultural attitudes and values that contribute to chronic dieting, weight preoccupation, eating disorders, and size discrimination. Participants will wear light blue ribbons symbolizing the day's goals. These include:

1. increasing public awareness of the dangers and futility of dieting, weight loss surgery, and obsession with thinness;

2. affirming that beauty, health and fitness come in ALL sizes, and everybody's right to eat normally, enjoy physical activity and emotional well-being;

3. helping change the way people of size are perceived and treated by society.

INDD is celebrated worldwide. In past years, events have been held in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, England, Norway, South Africa and Russia. These events have included scale smashing and recycling, a diet relics museum, picnics and eat-ins, street theater, protests at weight-loss surgery and diet centers, official government proclamations naming May 6 No Diet Day in cities and states, educational forums, petitions and demonstrations in support of size rights legislation, exhibits of size-positive art and photography, size-friendly fashion shows and diet-free dances.

For more information, contact:

Official INDD web site: http://www.largesse.net/INDD/

People Are Strange

Look around you...your family, friends, people y0u work with. Don't you get the feeling sometimes that surely some of them might have a mental disorder that was just never diagnosed? Well, psychiatrists come across all sorts of mental disorders in their daily routine. This website contends that it has the ten most interesting. Makes for an interesting read, at least.

10 Most Interesting, Strangest Mental Disorders

[via sciencenewsden.com]

iPod Saves Soldier's Life

Tired of seeing everyone with an iPod these days? Think they're just a little too ubiquitous, a little too trendy? I bet this guy has a different story...via Flickr.

iPod Saves Soldier's Life

New Apple iPhone Ad

It made its debut on the Academy Awards broadcast last night, and now Apple has it posted on their website; the initial teaser ad for the new Apple iPhone, due out in June. Teaser, in that it doesn't discuss specific features; heck, you don't even see the phone or the name of it until the very end of the spot. But, that's just like Apple, and that phone is beautiful...

No, you don't think so?

Hello?!?!!

iPhone Ad Spot

Collision Detection: Science and More

I came across this blog on the way to something else entirely today. You know how that goes? Of course you do. In essence, that's what this whole blog is about, fun snippets of info I find on the web. But it's even more fun when I find it unintentionally, then I can't tear my eyes away from it until I read a the majority of this new page I'm on.

So it was when I found Clive Thompson's blog. From his intro, he writes on:

[...] science, technology, and culture. This blog collects weird research I'm running into, and musings thereon.

He also writes occasional articles for the New York Times and Wired, amongst others. His writing style is fresh and breezy, and he explains complex science concepts in easy-to-understand language. He recently posted on a medical study of sword-swallowing injuries, and one on a study about how just thinking about losing weight might help the body actually lose weight. Not all of these are original by him -- he finds interesting and unique articles from all around the web. But wow, if it isn't a compelling read. Go check it out yourself.

collision detection: a blog of clive thompson