Saturday, September 27, 2008

Goodbye Legendary Actor


Paul Newman, the legendary actor whose steely blue eyes, good-humored charm and advocacy of worthy causes made him one of the most renowned figures in American arts, has died of cancer at his home in Westport, Connecticut. He was 83.

He died Friday, according to spokeswoman Marni Tomljanovic.

Newman attained stardom in the 1950s and never lost the movie-star aura, appearing in such classic films as "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," "Exodus," "The Hustler," "Cool Hand Luke," "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "The Sting" and "The Verdict."

He finally won an Oscar in 1986 -- on his eighth try -- for "The Color of Money," a sequel to "The Hustler." He later received two more Oscar nominations. Among his other awards was the Motion Picture Academy's Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

"Paul took advantage of what life offered him, and while personally reluctant to acknowledge that he was doing anything special, he forever changed the lives of many with his generosity, humor, and humanness," said Robert Forrester, vice chairman of the actor's Newman's Own Foundation. "His legacy lives on in the charities he supported and the Hole in the Wall Camps, for which he cared so much."

He was often willing to make fun of himself. Early in his career he was mistaken for fellow Method actor Marlon Brando; Newman obligingly signed autographs, "Best wishes, Marlon Brando." T

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Yankee Stadium


September 21, 2008 marks the closing of Yankee Stadium, an 85-year-old piece of New York history that is being supplanted by a newer, bigger stadium.

Together with a Manhattan gradeschooler and over 45,000 LEGO bricks, I have been building a sculpture of Yankee Stadium over the past three years. It will be complete in the next few months; these preview photos give you an in-progress look at the sculpture. The sculpture is 5 feet wide and 5 feet long, built to an approximate scale of 1:150.
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Sunday, September 14, 2008

RateMyProfessors.com


RateMyProfessors.com is the Internet's largest listing of collegiate professor ratings, with more than 6.8 million student-generated ratings of over 1 million professors. Each year, millions of college students use the site to help plan their class schedules and rate current and past professors on attributes such as helpfulness and clarity. Online since 1999, RateMyProfessors.com currently offers ratings on college and university professors from over 6,000 schools across the United States, Canada, England, Scotland and Wales with thousands of new ratings added each day.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Fatten up the Flashbag, load it up with data


While USB flash drives are incredibly popular because of their sheer ability to haul around substantial amounts of data in tiny packages, you really have no way to tell how much more capacity you have to spare unless you plug 'er into a computer's port. Of course, you could opt for one of those thumb drives that has a built-in LCD display, but if you're feeling a little more expressive, you might want to take a second glance at the Flashbag designed by Dima Komissarov.

This patent pending device (not on the market yet, don't ask me where you can get one, because I know you want one) inflates (with the integrated mini pump) as it fills up with data.

If you see it sitting on your desk flatter than a pancake, then you know you can stash many more MP3s and "important work-related documents" on this thing, but if it's starting to look a little bloated, it might be time to empty 'er out or grab another thumb drive. Now the question remains, if its in your pocket, you sit down on it, it pops, is all your data gone?

Via random-good-stuff.com

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Man eats 23,000 Big Macs in 36 years


Talk about a Big Mac attack! Don Gorske says he has eaten 23,000 of the burgers in 36 years.

The Fond du Lac man said he hit the 23,000 milestone last month, continuing a culinary obsession that began May 17, 1972, and is fed by his obsessive-compulsive disorder.

"I enjoy them every day," said Gorske, 54. "I need two to fill me up."

Gorske has kept every burger receipt in a box. He says he was always fascinated with numbers, and watching McDonald's track its number of customers motivated him to track his own consumption.

Despite a diet some would call unhealthy, Gorske says he keeps himself in good shape. He says he's 6-foot-2 and weighs 185 pounds, and walks as many as 10 miles a day.

He used to order fries every day in the 1980s but began to cut back in the '90s, now eating them about once a month. He eats two Big Macs and two parfaits a day. Gorske has written a book about his experience.

"Sometimes people call me a freak but it doesn't bother me. I just say respect people as they are," he told The Associated Press. "I just want to make sure people understand I'm not going to change."

He can instantly recall the eight days in which he failed to satisfy his craving. One was in 1988, the day his mother died, to respect a request she made.

"I made a promise to her and I always keep my promises," he said. "I also promised her I wouldn't cut my hair and in 20 years I haven't."

He twice failed to attack a Big Mac because of his job. A correctional-institution employee, he said a number of work emergencies kept him on the clock past midnight so he recorded those days as missed days.

Three other times he was traveling and couldn't find a McDonald's. He also went Big Mac-less on Thanksgiving Day 2000, and during a 1982 snowstorm that prevented the local McDonald's franchise from opening.

"That's when I started a habit where I kept them in the freezer," he said. He keeps one or two burgers on hand but increases his inventory to four to five during the winter.
Via CNN

Steve Jobs presents the new and improved ipod nano!