Jackie Chan: Ambassador Extraordinaire

I happened across this BBC article (geez, RSS is great stuff) which mentions Jackie Chan has become a goodwill ambassador for the UN, along with other global celebrities.

He will be involved in with the UN's Children's Fund and UN Aids agencies and is currently on a three day tour to Cambodia. I did a bit more research and found he is also an ambassador for ACAP (Asian Conservation Awareness Programme). Additionally he has been Hong Kong's official tourism ambassador since 1995.

Not too unusual for a celebrity to use their fame in selfless ways, but kudos to Chan; I felt he deserved mention here as he has many fans in the Memphilter community.

 Posted by plough at 12:28 PM  | Post a Comment: (1)

Sideboard renovations

Just a note to let you know that I have upgraded the Memphilter sideboard, although that might not be obvious from the main page. Readers can now click on the sideboard graphic above the links and be whisked to a new and improved sideboard main page, complete with comments, author information, and archives for those quick links you might have missed. In the past, posting to the sideboard was nothing short of a pain in the ass. I have made it moderately easier to post your low threshold links there, so if anyone wants to participate over there, let me know.

 Posted by samuelad at 12:28 AM  | Post a Comment: (1)

Meanwhile, in Space

"'I don't believe there's any crisis,' said British-born NASA astronaut Michael Foale". which almost surely means there is a crisis on board the International Space Station. The second of four large gyroscopes, which are used to control the station's orientation in space, failed yesterday while the station was hosting five astronauts, its largest contingent since the Columbia accident. Foale's tenure on the station is nearing it end, as he and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri's relief crew Expedition 9 arrived via Soyuz spacecraft earlier this week. Ground controllers have decided they want "Mr. Lucky" Foale back on terra firma before they attempt an emergency spacewalk to replace the gyroscopes failed power unit--a task reminicent of the most famous emergency spacewalk in science fiction history. Let's hope this one ends better.

The plucky Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity keep right on trucking on the Red Planet. The latter is currently examining crater Fram, which seems to contain even more clear evidence of sedimentary rock formed at the bottom of a now-dry Martian sea. The Spirit rover hasn't been as lucky, finding only hints of water-affected rocks at Gusev Crater. It continues its record breaking trek towards The Columbia Hills in search of ancient signs of water. The mystery of a threadlike feature at the Opportunity site that some scientists and laypeople thought could be a bacteria colony has been solved. Here comes the Power Point explaination!

The Cassini spacecraft contines to close on Saturn and is already producing spectacular images of the Saturnian system, such as this image of the "shepard moons" Pandora and Prometheus.

 Posted by at 12:17 PM  | Post a Comment: (1)

Attack of the Camel Spiders

I recently received a copy of this picture (uncropped ver of pic to right) of a supposed pair of camel spiders in Iraq. The attached description reads:

ISSUED BY THE IRAQ TOURIST BOARD........ENJOY
A weapon of mass destruction

Camel spiders

They run 10 mph, jump three feet, are a nocturnal spider, so only come out at night unless they are in shade. When they bite you, you are injected with Novocain so you go numb instantly. You don't even know you are bitten when you are sleeping, so you wake up with part of your leg or arm missing because it has been gnawing on it all night long. If you are walking around and you bump something that is casting a shadow over it, and the sun makes contact with it, you better run. It will instantly run for your shadow, and scream the whole time it is chasing you.

PS. The one on the bottom is eating the one on the top. These are Spiders found daily in IRAQ by troops. Imagine waking up and seeing one of these in your tent!!

  Now, being the skeptic I generally am with internet artifacts, I Googled a bit.

  First up comes this 3rd Brigade Family Readiness Group page, which puts things a bit more in perspective while admitting "their appearance can cause alarm if they enter tents."
  Still, these looked like some fukkin unbelievably big spiders, so next off to The Straight Dope to get the dope on this arthropod. There the waits an even scarier description, mentioning speeds of 25mph and loosened camel intestines. See the Dope's answer for more. However the size question was laid to rest. If you look more closely the picture tends to exaggerate the size of the spiders using the soldiers in the background. Examining the hand in the upper right corner more closely convinces me the picture is probably not doctored, just well-cropped. They are a bit smaller than an adult hand (still, not too shabby).
  An entry on Gophergas gives a few goodies, such as a video of the camel spider in action against a scorpion and a Nuke the Giant Spiders game (a younger, more dynamic relative of Missile Command in java).
  Additionally, Boing Boing reveals they are actually not spiders and are called matevenados. Finally, everyone's favorite snopes.com offers a Fauna Import UK Camel Spider Caresheet which suggests "[o]verall this is an amazing creature, not for the novice but if you have experience with inverts why not give it a go?"

Sure, let's get one of jimoto's old aquariums and raise a family.

 Posted by plough at 05:47 PM  | Post a Comment: (10)

The World Wide Panorama

I'm a sucker for photo contests and collections, and The World Wide Panorama is a pretty neat one: a collection of virtual panorama shots from around the world, all taken on March 20 (the equinox). Some of the stand-outs include Sunrise from Maido Peak, the Lake of Luceren, and Sunset near Cape Naturaliste (Austrailia). You can also read through the site's Press Release for a guided tour.

You will need Apple's Quicktime player in order to see these shots. Note you can click and hold inside a pic and move it around with your mouse. You can also zoom in and out. Quicktime-style VR has been in consumers' hands for almost a decade now, but the content stays fresh.

 Posted by plough at 07:49 AM  | Post a Comment: (0)

An impromptu caption contest

Every now and again, I will post something over at the sideboard and wonder if anyone is actually going to see it. Tonight after posting the following picture over on the side, I realized this pic simply requires commentary. Borrowing a page from the venerable New Yorker, let's see if we cannot find a snug fitting caption. Since the photo is on the NSFW side (unless you are a Malaysian pimp), you can see it in all its glory in the comments, along with the my admittedly limp initial caption.

 Posted by samuelad at 03:58 AM  | Post a Comment: (13)

Word Nerd

Some of you may have already run across this game, but I thought it was fun to play Etymologic. Here you can test your knowledge on the origin of words and phrases. For instance, did you know the term "checkmate" came from the Ancient Persian sentence, "esch schah mat", which translates to "the king is dead." I scored a 7 out of 10, but I inadvertently cheated.

 Posted by jimoto at 03:22 PM  | Post a Comment: (0)

Put some moleskin on it Jimmy!!

Moleskin .
What is moleskin? If you ever got a problem just put a little moleskin on it, Jimoto can you tell you all about it.

 Posted by at 11:52 PM  | Post a Comment: (10)

Khaaaaaaaaannnnn!!

Khaaaannnnnnn!!!!!
I found this through the weblog www.kottke.org

 Posted by giappino at 03:24 PM  | Post a Comment: (1)

Just in time for (after) Easter

These guys have shown that Peeps eyes (those little black specs) don't melt. Which shouldn't make this guy feel any better about trying to eat 100 of them in a sitting.

 Posted by triko at 12:30 PM  | Post a Comment: (3)

Put Yo Weight On It!

Rudy Ray Moore, the self-proclaimed Godfather of Rap and the undisputed King of the Party Record, offers living proof that ego, profanity, raunch, and dogged persistence can keep a career afloat. A proud son of Fort Smith, Arkansas, Moore wanted to be a singer, but first caught the public's eye with provocative comedic monologues, such as The Signifyin' Monkey and The Streaker. Soon, Moore was starring in home grown blaxploitation flicks like Dolemite, The Human Tornado, the career-jeopardizing Avenging Disco Godfather, and Petey Wheatstraw: The Devil's Son-in-law (Note: the theme song audio file). (Also note: this film really has nothing to do with the legendary blues singer Peetie Wheatstraw, who still holds claim to being the real devil's son-in-law.) More recently Rudy Ray's career is on the upswing. The "mackinest macaroni" has given some interviews, opened up an impressive Official Web Site (with merchandise!), and continued to take his old school comedy sets on the road. I strongly suggest you sample Rudy Ray's auditory excellence. Only then can you answer the all-important question: Jerry Lewis or Rudy Ray?

 Posted by samuelad at 12:38 AM  | Post a Comment: (1)

Thank you, you may take your seats now...

All that for lil ol' me??

It has been a while, but who knew "The Homophobe" would be missed so much? Maybe it just wasn't as fun when everyone was blabbering the same rhetoric back and forth - even the choir starts to get bored after hearing the same sermon repeatedly; or maybe the 2 children who play here so often just got restless and decided to do something stupid...who knows? But, as was the case when I first came to Memphilter, the 'trolls' have spoken, but what exactly is it they are tyring to say? Along with their ears, I think the nameless cowards' mouths are 'full of each other', so the message is a little garbled...

special thanks for the 'bat-signal' e-mail....you know who you are ;

 Posted by bluesbravo at 06:13 PM  | Post a Comment: (7)

Quote of the Day, or, The Plan

"I plan on telling the American people that that I’ve got a plan to win the war on terror."
George W. Bush, April 13, 2004

 Posted by at 11:45 AM  | Post a Comment: (30)

Crater Maker

The Earth Impact Effects Program lets you design your own crater by plugging in a few variables about your hypothetical meteor. You can make something as complex as an Earth shattering impact or as simple as a tourist destination or a fishing hole. Blob not included.

 Posted by samuelad at 09:48 AM  | Post a Comment: (6)

More mobile phone madness

Sky Ear will be a one-night event in which a glowing "cloud" of mobile phones and helium balloons is released into the air so that people can dial into the cloud and listen to the sounds of the sky. This reminds me of the Dialtones performance from 2001/2002. And I can't even find a ring tone that I like.

 Posted by triko at 11:52 AM  | Post a Comment: (0)

Quote of the Day

"I know if you just report on those few places, it does look chaotic. But if you travel around the country ... what you find is a bustling economy, people opening businesses right and left, unemployment has dropped."
-Paul Bremer, paying no attention to the man behind the curtain.

 Posted by at 06:25 PM  | Post a Comment: (5)

The Adventures of Sandwichgirl

If you liked this Memphilter thread of old, you'll love Sandwichgirl.

 Posted by triko at 01:53 PM  | Post a Comment: (4)