g.ban's world: April 2011

Breaking Things: DIY Slingshot Gatling Gun

Remember the guy that built the machete-shooting slingshot? This is him. It's not a twin or just a brother that looks similar, it's actually the same guy. And now he's back with a steel ball-shooting slingshot Gatling gun.

It looks pretty fierce. Granted not as fierce as the face I'm making right now, but people are always telling me I'm lion.

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxtHtPK2MH8

Eh, Friends Are Overrated Anyways: Water Ski Alone With A 'Skier Controlled Tow Boat'

A six-button control panel on the tow rope handle sends signals to the boat, allowing skiers to start, accelerate, decelerate, turn, or stop the vessel with slight thumb movements.

The nearly 8'-long boat has a three-cylinder, two-stroke 70 horsepower engine with jet pump and axial flow propulsion, generating speeds up to 40 MPH and creating wakes for jumps and other tricks. The jet propulsion engine is safer than propeller-powered crafts and provides superior acceleration and quicker planing--the time required to bring the skier and vessel level with the water surface.

Product Site: http://www.hammacher.com/Product/11838

Now With Less (Literally Zero) Chemicals: The World's Crappiest Kids' Chemistry Kit

Zero chemicals, zero fun -- just ask my brain.

The Chemistry 60 educational lab kit comes with a bunch of crap/garbage to perform '60 Fun Activities With No Chemicals', making it only slightly funner than an ant farm with no ants and nowhere near as fun as a Physics kit with no gravity.

It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's...A R/C Superhero?

Flight characteristics: Great! This is due to the low weight to surface area and that it has a high wing like a Piper cub with a low center of gravity. In addition, he has plenty of vertical tail surfaces due to the double side bodies; which adds to the stability. He takes off by being thrown or by standing upright in a stand and lands on his belly skids.

Product Site: http://www.rcsuperhero.com/index.html

Mac People Vs. PC People, The Infographic

Hunch Blog's latest data project was to analyze how self-described Mac and PC people are different. The infographic below, designed by the talented folks at Column Five Media, breaks it down.

Keep Reading: http://blog.hunch.com/?p=45344

Suck It, Spark Plugs: Pew Pew Laser Plugs

Not only would these lasers allow for better performance and fuel economy, but cars using them would also create less harmful emissions.

Engines would produce less NOx if (nitrous oxides, toxic) they burnt more air and less fuel, but they would require the plugs to produce higher-energy sparks in order to do so. While this is technically possible, the voltages involved would burn out the electrodes quite quickly. Laser igniters on the other hand, could ignite leaner mixtures without self-destructing because they don't have electrodes.

The NINS scientists also address another limitation of spark plugs - the fact that they only ignite the area of the air-fuel mixture closest to them (the top), with much of the heat of the explosion being absorbed by the metal cylinder walls before it can reach down to the piston.

Additionally, engine timing could be improved, as lasers can pulse within nanoseconds, while spark plugs require milliseconds.

Spirals: The Future Of Pen Technology

The concept design makes much the refill's reduced environmental impact, claiming that you'll create less plastic waste as you'll be tossing away fewer pens. But what about the refill itself? The normal, skinny refills can be packed close together into shipping boxes, whereas the spiral will take up a lot more space. Still, it's worth it, if only because most people throw away pens when they're empty.

Man Tries Robbing Convenience Store With Playstation Controller, Unsurprisingly Fails

A Florida man was arrested after attempting to rob a convenience store by pretending the Playstation controller in his pocket was a gun. *facepalm* You didn't even have the wherewithal to use A NES Zapper?!

Dual-Flavor Slurpee Cups With Valved Straw

7-11 is launching a dual-chambered Slurpee cup in June so you can suck two flavors at once. But that's not all! There will also be straws available with a valve inside so you have the option to drink from only one side, the other, or mix the two in your own personal Blue Raspberry to Coke ratio.

Sandwich Bags, Now With More Printed Bugs

Lunch Bugs are sandwich bags with bugs printed on them to help deter lunch theft. They're basically a variation of the already-existing mold-bags and will run you $7 for a 24-pack. That makes them almost $0.30 apiece, which is a little steep for a bag.

Product Site: http://www.mcphee.com/shop/products/Lunch-Bugs-Sandwich-Bags.html

EPL North London Derby : Tottenham Hotspur 3-3 Arsenal

By Richard Clarke at White Hart Lane

Arsenal dropped to third place in the Premier League after a pulsating 3-3 draw at Tottenham on Wednesday night.

Arsène Wenger’s side led after five minutes thanks to Theo Walcott’s breakaway but were pegged back almost immediately by Rafael van der Vaart’s fine strike.

Read More:http://www.arsenal.com/match-menu/3371709/first-team/tottenham-hotspur-v-arsenal?tab=report

Umbrella Mistaken For Gun, Mall Evacuated

Police received a call from inside the mall saying that a man was seen shortly after 10 a.m. with a rifle inside the Nordstrom's department store at the Burlington Mall.

Read More: http://burlington.patch.com/articles/burlington-police-detail-events-of-man-with-umbrella-mistaken-for-gunman-at-burlington-mall

New Aerodynamic Rail Gun Projectile Blows Through Steel Plate, Continues For 4-Miles

GA's got a new, super aerodynamic dart for it that can travel four miles downrange after being fired at zero elevation and blowing through a 1/8" steel plate.

In previous tests, the railgun had been using rounds shaped kinda like bricks. And ultimately, the rounds behaved like bricks too, tumbling out of control at Mach 6. The new round from Boeing is streamlined and mean looking, and if it can make it seven kilometers when fired at zero elevation, it's easy to imagine a 150 mile range in operation.

For The Ladies (But Actually For The Mens): Sessy Superhero Character Pajamas

Show your inner Hulk with this sexy pajama set. Made of a spandex and cotton blend, this is a soft and comfortable way to spend your night. Set includes spaghetti-strap cami top and elastic-band sleep shorts.

Read More: http://www.spencersonline.com/product/rl-she-hulk-pj-sm/

Football Manager 2011 favourite Player: ENZO MARESCA

Enzo Maresca (born 10 February 1980) is an Italian footballer, who currently plays for Málaga CF in Spanish La Liga.

Club career

Youth careerMaresca started playing youth football at A.C. Milan, before joining Cagliari. He got his senior debut with English club West Bromwich Albion in 1998, where he played for two seasons.

Juventus

He moved back to Italy and joined Juventus FC in January 2000, at the age of 19, in a transfer deal worth 4.3 million Pound sterling, a club record sale for Albion.

Despite showcasing a high level of promise in his Juventus career, he was, along with fellow young teammates, loaned out to various clubs. He was loaned to Bologna in October 2000, where he spent the remaining part of the 2000–01 season.

Maresca joined Piacenza in summer 2002 in co-ownershp deal, who bought joint ownership of Maresca. As Piacenza were relegated, Juventus back the 50% registration rightsfrom Piacenza for € 2.6 million.

As a Juventus player, he never really got a chance. He is remembered for the time he scored a goal against Juve's intercity rivals Torino, and celebrated by imitating a bull, the Torino symbol.

Fiorentina

Fiorentina signed Maresca along with Fabrizio Miccoli and Giorgio Chiellini for €13 million, which Juventus still holds half of registration rights. Maresca himself was tagged for €2.5 million for joint-ownership.

At the end of season, Fiorentina only able to finish on top of relegated team, and Juventus bought back all three for €6.7 million in blind auction between the clubs. Fiorentina at the time not having the funds to put together solid bids for the three players.

Sevilla

In August 2005, he moved from Juventus to join Sevilla in Spain, for a transfer fee of € 2.5 million.At Sevilla, he quickly emerged as a key player in midfield, crowning his debut season by capturing the UEFA Cup 2005-06 trophy, scoring two goals and being named Man of the Match in the final as Sevilla swept aside Middlesbrough 4–0 . He was also influential in their successful defence of their title in 2007 when they beat Catalan side Espanyol. Maresca donated the €10.000 Man of the Match prize money to the San Juan de Dios hospital in Seville.

Olympiacos

On the July 13, 2009, Maresca transferred to Olympiacos in 3-year deal. He made his first official debut against Slovan Bratislava and scored a close header in the second leg at home. Maresca scored again in his first League match against AEL 1964 FC.

Málaga

After rescinding his contract with Olympiakos in August 2010, Maresca trained with his former club, Fiorentina, to maintain match fitness. On 7 December 2010 it was announced that Maresca had been in talks with Málaga CF and he would undergo a medical examination before signing a two-year contract with an option to third with the Andalusian based club.

International career

Since 1995, Maresca has represented various youth national teams. He was selected for the Italy national under-20 football team in the 2000 Toulon Tournament. He also finished runner-up with Italy U18 at 1999 UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship. He missed the 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship final due to injury.

Suck It, Spiderman!: A Batman Theater Show

Gotham City will be brought to life in Batman Live, with a huge stage lit up by a dazzling display of pyrotechnics and special effects.

A 100ft screen shaped like a bat will act as a backdrop for the special effects, and characters will be able to fly around the set thanks to a grid suspended above the stage. It will also include an action sequence where the Joker tries to escape in a hot air balloon, only to be shot down in flames.

The story of Batman Live follows the young Dick Grayson, a circus performer whose parents are murdered, and how he becomes Batman's sidekick Robin.

Questionable: The Bulletproof Clipboard

Hey. Hi there. Are you sitting near a window? Cool. Well, guess what? Someone could be about to shoot you, right now. You can never be too careful, which is why a bulletproof clipboard could be exactly what you need, and Thinkgeek's now got one in stock.

EPL: Arsenal vs Liverpool 1-1

By Chris Harris at Emirates Stadium

Arsenal’s title challenge suffered another dent as Liverpool snatched a point in a controversial tale of two penalties.

Robin van Persie looked to have sewn up a vital win with a coolly-dispatched spot-kick in the eighth and apparently final minute of stoppage time added on after a sickening injury to Jamie Carragher.

But with 101 minutes on the clock Dirk Kuyt restored parity with the last kick of the game after Emmanuel Eboue pushed Lucas Leiva.

Aquaman, Batman, Cyclops!: Superhero ABCs

Remember learning the ABC's? Me neither -- what are we, six? "I'm seven." What the -- how did you even find Geekologie? "Searching for dinosaurs." YOU GO BACK TO DISNEY.COM AND YOU STAY THERE.

Artist Lishoffs (aka Fabian Gzlez), best known for his charts of minimalist superheroes/supervillains/video game characters, is back at it, this time with the superhero ABC's. Can you name them all? No?.

Product site: http://www.society6.com/studio/lishoffs/ABC_Superheroes

Sticky Business: Packing Tape Art Contest

The models had to be made using Scotch packaging tape and the winning entry will receive £3,100 when judging takes place next month.

The entries are typically made from between 30 and 50 rolls of tape and take days to complete. They are made by sticking bits of tape together in a 'free-form' style or by wrapping them around objects which are then removed from the piece.

Other materials, such as wire, cardboard and paint, can make up to ten per cent of the model if used to support or enhance it. 'Many of the entrants photograph their sculptures in settings that help to bring their pieces to life, which helps us all to relate them.

"Functional" Iron Man Mark V Briefcase Suit

The suit consists of 384 individual pieces of armor, over 4,000 LEGO Technix pieces and took more than 1,200 man-hours (that's like 2,000+ woman-hours) to design and construct. 1,200 hours -- good lord, that's 50 days. I haven't spent 50 days making anything!.

More: http://www.cosplay.com/costume/325794/

Lady Builds LEGO Pirate Ship In A Bottle

Julia says she took a week to plan the ship, using Bricksmith software, all the while being careful to make sure she could "build it back to front using only bricks that were able to fit through the neck of the bottle." Building it took three days.

Watch: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/04/lego-ship-in-a-bottle-time-lapse-video/

Perfect Ice Balls, Everytime: The Ice Ball Mold

Remember that company that was selling perfectly round ice spheres for $8 a pop? Turns out they might have just been cranking them out with this Ice Ball Mold (55mm - 85mm models range from $1,300 - $2,000 -- chintzy marble-sized 30mm mold goes for $200).

Joker Would Be Proud: The Gunbrella

The Gunbrella is a real £10.99 (~$18) product that looks like one of those pop-guns with the flag that comes out that the Joker would point at Batman. Except it's an umbrella. But it does have an auto-open "trigger" so you can still aim it at people and scare them.

Move Over Necklaces!: Edible Candy Pens

Personally I don’t see the problem with chewing on one’s pen. It can provide a useful distraction when enduring long meetings, and it pretty much guarantees no one will ever ask to borrow it if you’ve done a good enough job gnawing it down.

Wine Bottle Screws: Sound Kinky, But Aren't

Sometimes — not often but sometimes — I am invited to real people’s homes. In these homes we sometimes eat, and often drink. Then, when we’re “done”, the host will grab the half-full bottle of wine and slip in a cap. It may be a simple rubber stopper, or a more complex Vacu-Vin-style closure with a pump to evacuate the oxidizing air from the bottle.

EPL: Blackpool vs Arsenal 1-3

Arsenal's victory cut Manchester United's lead at the top to seven points with a 3-1 win at Blackpool on an afternoon that started dramatically with Arsene Wenger forced to hand a last-minute place to veteran Jens Lehmann after Manuel Almunia injured his knee in the warm-up.

Abou Diaby and Emmanuel Eboue put Arsenal into a commanding position at Bloomfield Road but Gary Taylor-Fletcher replied as relegation-threatened Blackpool played for their top-flight lives. Taylor-Fletcher felt he was denied a penalty but Van Persie made victory safe for Arsenal after 76 minutes.

The afternoon started in dramatic fashion as Almunia injured his knee in the warm-up and manager Arsene Wenger was forced to turn to 41-year-old Lehmann.

It was an unexpected 200th appearance in a Gunners jersey for the German, who was recently coaxed out of retirement to provide emergency cover in the title run-in.

Lehmann had little to do in the first half as Arsenal, with captain Cesc Fabregas also back in their starting line-up, overpowered the struggling Tangerines.

Blackpool had an early chance when Ian Evatt headed over from a Charlie Adam corner but after that it appeared Arsenal had no intention of suffering a repeat of their last week's Blackburn stalemate.

Andrey Arshavin and Van Persie both put early shots over before Richard Kingson rushed out to deny Samir Nasri.

It quickly became one-way traffic and the Gunners carved open the Blackpool defence with ease to claim a 17th-minute lead. Fabregas picked out Van Persie with a superb cross-field ball and the Dutchman crossed for Diaby to sidefoot home from close range.

They grabbed a second just three minutes later as Eboue played a neat one-two into the box with Jack Wilshere and then blasted past Kingson.

Blackpool enjoyed a little spell of possession but were unable to test Lehmann and Van Persie had the next chance when controlled another long Fabregas pass and shot at Kingson.

Kingson needed to be alert again to block an effort by the fleet-footed Nasri after more slick football by the Gunners.

Nasri had another opportunity seconds later when the ball was lobbed back into the box by Fabregas but his volley hit the bottom of the post.

Van Persie took the ball past the outrushing Kingson to set up Diaby but Stephen Crainey got back to tackle.

Some Blackpool fans thought Adam had pulled one back immediately after the restart but his long-range free-kick had struck the side-netting.

The hosts, however, had realised they had little to lose by taking the game to Arsenal and did reply after 52 minutes.

Luke Varney was fouled but play proceeded and Jason Puncheon played in Campbell.

The striker appeared to be fouled by Lehmann as he closed in on goal but the ball ran on for Taylor-Fletcher to fire home.

Blackpool were inspired and poured forward again. Manager Ian Holloway was furious his side were denied a penalty when Taylor-Fletcher went down under a Laurent Koscielny challenge.

Taylor-Fletcher then headed wide as Blackpool maintained the pressure but Van Persie shot across the face of goal at the other end.

Arsenal made the game safe 14 minutes from time as they quickly turned defence into attack. Campbell shaped to shoot for Blackpool but Sebastien Squillaci won possession and Fabregas released substitute Theo Walcott down the right.

Blackpool struggled to get back and Walcott crossed low into the box and Van Persie made no mistake in front of goal.

Blackpool tried to set up a tight finish but Evatt headed at Lehmann and the Gunners eased to the final whistle.

Babe Of The Month 04/2011: Amii Grove

Amii Anne J. Grove (born 5 September 1985 in Solihull) is an English glamour model and Page Three Girl. She has appeared in publications such as The Sun, Nuts, Zoo Weekly and FHM.