You have been mastered!
Improv Everywhere
Do you like flashmobs? Forget about them! Improv everywhere takes this one step further. Here is a citation from their website about themselves: “Improv Everywhere is a New York City-based prank collective that causes scenes of chaos and joy in public places.”
Behind all this stands Charlie Todd and this guy is a genius. He sets up all the “missions”, as he calls the scenes, and some ideas are really awesome. You might have heard of the “No pants subway ride”, which was featured on German television some time ago. And having hundreds of people riding the subway without pants is one of the worse ideas. Also he froze half of the Grand Central station, causing lots of confusion in non-insiders. In my opinion there are three masterpieces. In these missions, Charlie has some people turning everyday situations into a musical. You can watch the musicals below, but you also should visit Improv Everywhere’s website (click here) and especially their youtube channel (click here). Also watch “Where’s rob”!
Beer And Coffee Somehow Combined
Do you also like beer and coffee? To combine both experiences (somehow…) Heineken and Senseo have developed this Bierpad. You can now brew you beer with your coffee machine. This also explains why “to brew” is likewise used for beer and coffee (Bier brauen, Kaffee kochen).
Facts’n'Quotes #9: Helpful Search Tip
To work with 3D objects in Matlab I was searching for an import function, which allows me to convert .obj files to .mat. I found out that the Psychtoolbox 3 has such a function, but I don’t know what it’s called. So I surfed to the psychtoolbox wiki and queried “import 3D object”. This is the helpful advise, which I got when there were only two search results:
New Website
As my terraristic hobby is becoming more and more extensive, I created a new website which deals exclusively with my collared lizards and their “food” (the insects). At the moment, my time is short and valuable, but I try to update the site once in while. A lot of things happened already and the only thing you can see is the website’s title image and a short text about the insects before the lizards moved in. Anyway, have a look and enjoy.
Sorry, it’s in German, but the pictures can be understood in any language.
Phantom of the Floppera
This goes – without many words – to all N3rD5 and G3eK$.
Sorry, for reposting, Joe…
The Real Tuesday Weld
Finally, I think I have some spare time to introduce The Real Tuesday Weld to you. It’s not the kind of music I listen to very often, but still it’s nice. For some time now I know this band and was only able to listen to them on youtube. After a while their videos disappeared (or at least a lot of them), presumably due to copyright/license reasons concerning their British origin.
Since christmas I’m in the possession of their album “The London Book of the Dead” (2008) and it’s great. Chilling retro sounds including violins and clarinets invite to sit down and just listen. In my opinion especially “The Decline and Fall of the Clerkenwell Kid” and “Kix” are the best songs on this album. For the sake of variety, “Cloud Cuckooland” brings in some ‘fun’, and “Dorothy Parker” chills you down again.
As long as the videos are available, I want to link to Kix and Cloud Cuckooland. Unfortunately, they don’t allow embedding. I have no idea what their problem is…
Pogo Remixes
Pogo (Nick Bertke) takes his obsession for melody and rhythm, puts it together with films he saw in his childhood and comes up with great remixes containing original sounds from the movies. The electronically enhanced results of his work, can be found on his website or on his youtube channel. Besides Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, and Mary Popins (see below) Pogo also remixed movies like Hook, Harry Potter, Toy Story, Terminator, Up, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and more. So ‘Sit Down, Take a Cookie’ and enjoy.
Building My Terrarium Video
This weekend I really started working on the backwall of my new terrarium. It is 100x50x50 cm and after some testing I found the lighting to be ok for now. It’s 2x T5 fluorescent tubes, one 40W spot and a 35W Solar Raptor for the UV. What I did now is to sculpture the back and side walls and to brush it with tile adhesive. Right now it has to dry to get the second layer on it, but it already looks worth posting. The video shows you how to do the work in 2,5 minutes 
New Hobby
For some time now, I have a terrarium in my room. Without any animals in there (yet) it already is a whole new hobby. There is lot of work to do, including installing proper lighting, building a backwall, and getting accessoires like an oviposition box and electronics.
Especially building the backwall will need time and proper planning as the not yet existing lighting has to be adjusted to reach the necessary temperatures and the corresponding temperature gradings.
In the end, a pair of collared lizards will get a new home in my flat. Preferably, the collared lizards will be from Utah (formerly Crotaphytus baileyi, “auriceps”-variant). Of course they will not be wild captures but German re-breedings.
