Dark Roasted Blend

Never Give Up! Crazy Logistics, Part 12

2012-02-09T18:23:00.004-08:00

"QUANTUM SHOT" #753
Link - by Avi Abrams

Look ma, I invented a tubular-scopic perambulator!!

As we continue with our highly popular "Lords of the Logistics" series, which includes all sorts of FAILS and WINS from extremely creative, or extremely foolish people, we are duly amazed - yet again - by ingenuity and sheer pluck that people put out to solve their problems when they are short on means to do it in a usual way.

All sorts of fantastic, rickety, plain weird and often working devices come to light; and we are happy to feature new installment in this series as we continue to receive endless stream of material!

You gotta love this DIY scooter idea! -

Money laundering:

Not really sure what happened here:

This is what Russian "Yellow Pages" telephone directory looks like:

The operator just rotates the directory until he finds the right info. Great! and works all the time.

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DIY Tips and Tricks

Gym! -

Wild West birdie house:

The weak link:

The strong solution:

This requires more skill than your usual billiard cue:

These guys are probably trying to fix the air conditioner:

(photo credit: Emilio Morenatti, via)

Headphones? -

Slippers? -

Another great way to use plastic bottles:

DIY fish bowl:

Take your fish for a walk:

No unpacking required:

I like this packing tape:

Great "ice tubes"-making tray:

What?! This must be an advertisement:

Here is the same idea:

Use your old coolers to make a great train for kids:

This could be Zen meditation... except that I think that this grandma is in trouble:

I'm going swimming! -

DIY mailbox:

Good for you, grandpa! -

Gotta protect your water tank! -

This is the weirdest (satellite dish?) I've ever seen:

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Great ways to prepare your dinner

Combine it with exercise:

Here is how to easily make a bonfire (or rather a "logfire") for cooking your dinner:

Another great way to BBQ your dinner:

This method is so obvious, not sure why more people do not use it:

And this is not how you make macaroni (spaghetti):

Great way to sleep & bath in the woods:

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New discoveries in style and design

This actually looks great and can be vastly entertaining: the largest balloon sculpture in the world!

(image via)

Cardboard car (or an icecream truck?) - I am pretty sure that the guy is walking:

Weird:

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Being computer savvy is definitely a plus

Internet cafe in Pakistan:

(original unknown)

A great way to recycle a plastic bottle:

Attaching your power supply:

Here is a way to attach your USB drive to SCSI port (not sure that it would work, though):

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Automotive Ingenuity

This vehicle is truly hard to describe:

And this one reminds me of the Star Wars Jar-Jar Binks character:

Easy fix:

It's so easy to rig up some windshield wipers:

Fixing the road (and some electricity):

Who's towing who? -

Sleeping with your motorcycle is perhaps the surest way to protect it from being stolen in some countries:

Here is your RV, or rather "dacha" (small villa):

You can convert any car into a pickup truck:

...or convert your boat into a car:

Shopping cart cycle:

Shoe cycle:

Extreme use of a van space:

Super cars, by necessity:

Storing your bike is not safe for those walking under your balcony:

Make your ride comfortable:

...or this way:

Police booth substitute:

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Carrying the load (safety does not enter into this equation)

The first couple of images seem to be from India:

How this guy can see the road, that's what I want to know:

Animals hitching a ride:

A man with a lamb cruises Havana on a motorcycle:

(image via)

Carrying dinosaurs is all in a day's job:

Boarding the train can be quite an exercise:

Another way to get a workout:

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Not safe, by any stretch of imagination?

This guy, though, seems to know what he's doing (this boulder was there for ages):

(most images are from unknown originals and sources. Please help us to add the original credits if you know the info)

READ THE PREVIOUS PART HERE! ->

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Coffee Art & Style Extravaganza

2012-02-06T21:01:00.006-08:00

"QUANTUM SHOT" #752
Link - article by Avi Abrams

Have your cup of coffee with a smile! (and a vengeance)

Sophisticated, intense coffee drinking rituals demand the appropriate heights of style and imagination, nuances of taste and aroma, and most of all, that exhilarating geek coolness factor that goes far beyond simply loading up on caffeine.

Probably the most enchanting way to make coffee is in this Royal Coffee Maker. The "classic copper" model goes for $595 and there is a gold one (of course), which comes with a golden spoon.

(images via)

See all the models here. The site describes the process perfectly:

"Boiling water is pushed through the metal pipette. By the time the water reaches the grounds, it has cooled a few degrees. The result: coffee and water meet at the perfect temperature to extract the oils and flavors, but not so hot as to impart "scorched" taste. Unlike other methods - the Royal Coffee Machine - quickly siphons the brewed coffee away from the grounds. Aroma and flavor remain in the closed canister with the coffee while the bitter grounds stay in the glass carafe."

A gorgeous steampunk way of making coffee: Siphon brewers!

Read about particulars of making coffee in a siphon brewer here.

(images via)

Beautiful wood & steel coffee plunger - buy it here. On the right is the Alesso espresso pot:

(images via)

Here is also very cool concrete-styled espresso machine, designed by Shmuel Linski - more info:

(images via)

Sustainable coffee shop architecture: Shipping Container Starbucks Drive-thru in Tukwila, Washington - more info:

(image via)

A World-record coffee bean mosaic, made by Albanian artist Saimir Strati - this one is 25 square meters large, make sure to see his past projects:

(image via)

High-speed coffee splashes! Spectacular series of images, made by Jack Long - more info:

(images credit: Jack Long)

Looking for a picture that shows "everything you wanted to know about coffee but where afraid to ask"? Well, here is a helpful diagram for understanding coffee drinks:

(image via)

Another great infographic about coffee can be found at The Oatmeal.

Very interesting coffee is sold to-go in the vending machines in Japan (with some adventurous flavours):

"Processed"? Disgusting? or Simply Exclusive and High-Class?

Here is a coffee that you'd think twice before imbibing: Kopi Luwak, or civet coffee. It is the most expensive and rare to come by... and yet its fantastic taste and exclusivity come at an additional price: knowing that the beans were first eaten (and "processed") by a small cat-like creature - Asian Palm Civet:

(images via)

These cute guys belong to a family of medium-sized mammals, the viverrids, which usually feed on berries and fig tree fruits. And as for coffee... "Coffee cherries are eaten by a civet for their fruit pulp. After spending about a day and a half in the civet's digestive tract the beans are then defecated in clumps, having kept their shape and still covered with some of the fleshy berry's inner layers. They are gathered, thoroughly washed, sun dried and given only a light roast so as to keep the many intertwined flavors and lack of bitterness yielded inside the civet."

Anyone tried it? Apparently some varieties of this coffee are the most expensive the world: for example, the Vietnamese weasel coffee sells for $6600 per kilogram ($3000 per pound). Must have a really unique taste (mostly lacking bitterness)! It is also very hard to come by : Weasel coffee is produced in quantities of a few hundred kilograms a year.

(images via)

But be warned, there are some imitations on the market! "The problem is that the Vietnamese have perfected a roasting process that mimic’s that of the digestive tract of the weasel" - more info. So this is NOT the real thing:

(images via)

This New Zealand company seems to have the real thing, of course in limited quantities - try to order it here (last item on the page)

Beautiful Coffee Photography

Here is a fragment of a Dunlop Tires print ad:

(image via)

Inspiring, almost flavourful photography from Markus Reugels and Elena Stepanova:

(image credit: Markus Reugels)

(image credit: Elena Stepanova)

(image credit: Natalia Klenova)

(image credit: Elena Shumaeva)

At the brink of a latte ocean: part of a series of closeup photography by Oscar Cuitat

(image credit: Oscar Cuitat)

Great and Creative Coffee Mug Designs

Somewhat humorous ceramic creations of Monique Goosens (left):

(image via)

Tippy coffee and tea set, made by Robert Lazzarini:

(image credit: Robert Lazzarini)

And then, there is a "Slim Cup" - designed by Sharona Merlin:

(image via)

Mustache Mugs, available from Shanware Pottery:

(image via)

"Mustache mugs were popular in Victorian times when men sported bushy handlebar mustaches."

"Zero Gravity" cup (left) and a "Labyrinth Coaster" (right):

(images via 1, 2)

"Wallace & Gromit" cup allows you to watch your sugar intake (buy it here):

(image via)

This coffee set seems to be invaded by aliens - buy it from Finding Cheska:

(image via)

Coffee lights? No problem! - more info:

(image via)

Fantastic Examples of "Coffee Latte" Art

Want to have a short primer on how to make Latte Art? Click here.

Here is a portrait of Mio (part of K-ON Japanese girl group):

(image via)

Coffee with butterfly wings (part of a Blackberry wallpaper collection):

(image via)

Here is a great video on how to make "Bird" latte art - Click here

Did you ever see a three-dimensional latte art? Here is an example:

(image credit: Ekaterina Lokteva)

And then, there is quite another kind of coffee art by Karen Eland: more paint-like perhaps, but also using only espresso and water:

(images credit: Karen Eland)

Cookies with your coffee, anyone? (and then you can pretend that you are drinking tea):

You can try these cookies and cupcakes, too:

When you got some spare time in a coffee shop, try doodling on a napkin or a coffee filter - art by Ben Blake at Draw Coffee:

(images credit: Ben Blake)

Here is a great vintage image of a Bengston Coffee Machine:

They really appreciated their cup of coffee in the 1950s:

Coffee grows on trees, right? Just pluck your cup from a tree in the morning:

We really like this retro-styled poster, by Coffee Made Me Do It Simon Alander from Sweden:

(image via)

Well, it's time to put away this coffee and greet the day with a smile!

(if you work in Starbucks and cannot draw much, perhaps this sentiment will work) -

(image via)

CONTINUE TO "GORGEOUS ESPRESSO MACHINES"! ->

CHECK OUT THE REST OF OUR "FOOD & DRINK" CATEGORY ->

Link Latte 173

2012-02-02T18:58:00.002-08:00

#173 - Week of February 1, 2012

Thrilling: Driving on the Mountaintop - [wow video]
Incredible Disassembly Art - [click on "new work"]
The Legends of "Kilroy Was Here" - [fascinating]
Futuristic Concept Flying Cars - [auto, pics]
Creepy Animatronic Baby, More - [wow tech]
Don't miss these awesome posts at the Onion - [funny]
Scientists are close to entering Vostok Lake - [thrilling]
Flags Made From Food - [weird art]
The Human Calculator: Fantastic!, Part 2 - [documentary]
Very Strange: Girl Talking Backwards - [wow video]
Europe's Purchasing Power, by Country - [map]
Massive Cold War Defense System - [info, pics]
Moscow 1990 Lineup for McDonalds - [impressive]
The Barking Cat! - [stops barking when caught]
Most Expensive and Crazy Watches- [gadgets]
Caught in the Infinite Loop - [cool video]
Tons of Silly Retro Comics! - [cool site]
Cute Little Steam Digging Engine - [geek video]
Very Neat sculptures from Recycled Metal - [wow art]
Most Awkward Cat Sleeping Positions - [funny pics]
Great Star Wars Spaceship 3D Models! - [cool site]
Most Epic Tank Battles, Deadliest Snipers - [history]
Cool Tetris Inspired Products - [design]
Best Cat Jump & Worst Dog Jump - [fun videos]
Mad, Mad Highway Driving - [wow video]
Awesome Video of Shoe Making - [wow video]
Sheep Cyclone! - [neat video]
Final Dessert of 20 Course Meal at Alinea, more - [wow videos]
Complete Road Collapse Caught on Video - [wow video]
Carrot Clarinet, Awesome Mr. Curly - [wow videos]
Insane Downhill Bike Race - [wow video]
Boring Commercial? Wait for it!, similar - [fun videos]
Motorcycle vs. Car Drift Battle - [cool video]

SEE ALL OTHER LINK LATTE ISSUES HERE

Archive: Dec 2011 - Jan 2012

2012-02-01T15:14:00.004-08:00

	Extraordinary Inventions: Victorian-Era Prank Machines Electric shocks and mechanical goats fun
	Cool Vintage Actors, Part 1 Charming, adventurous, funny
	The World's Worst (and Ugliest) Cars Somebody shoot these wheeled abominations
	Cute Vintage Ice Cream Trucks "Often Licked, Never Beaten!"..
	The Most Incredible Space Imagery Blast off to distant galaxies!
	The Best of "Dark Roasted Blend" in 2011 Wonders upon Wonders!
	Merry Christmas & Happy New 2012 Year from DRB! A healthy helping of Seasonal Cheer
	Spectacular 2012 Heavy Machinery Calendar Higher, Bigger, Heavier!
	The Other Space Race Active Space Programs outside USA or Russia
	Hilarious Prank Letters to Corporations "I am a lover of all things clarinettal..."
	American Concept Car Showcase, Part 2 The Age of Chrome, Aerodynamic Excess and Sheer Excitement

	January 30, 2012 - Biscotti Bits Mixed Links & Images Incl. "Most Dangerous Bridge Crossing"
	January 12, 2012 - Biscotti Bits Mixed Links & Images Incl. "Birds Just Want to Have Fun"
	December 18, 2011 - Biscotti Bits Mixed Links & Images Incl. "Bearded Dragon vs. Ants"

Check out previous Biscotti & Feel-Good issues! - Click Here

Link Latte #171 - Click Here

Link Latte #172 - Click Here

Check out previous Link Latte issues! - Click Here

CONTINUE READING! - NEXT PAGE ->

Continue on to other monthly archives:

November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
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September 2010
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Winter 2009-2010
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Link Lattes

Most Dangerous Bridge Crossing

2012-01-31T20:53:00.007-08:00

Link
Scroll down for today's pictures & links.

Most Dangerous Bridge Crossing

This is what Indonesian children have to contend with in order to get to school in the village of Sanghiang Tanjung. Somebody donate some money and help them build a proper bridge!

Link

Today's pictures & links:

Intense, yet soothing interior

This is Riggs Library located inside Georgetown University's Healy Hall - click to enlarge!

(image credit: Jack E. Boucher, via)

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Strutting "Crested" Penguins

These Macaroni Penguins (Eudyptes chrysolophus, info) from Antarctica are quite a crew!

(image via)

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Perhaps the most evocative sand castle: Noosa, Australia

See more fantastic beachscapes by Adam Gormley here.

(image credit: Adam Gormley, see more here)

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A Giant Nose, A Giant Anteater

A giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) at the Sunset Zoo, Manhattan, Kansas (part of the recently published National Geographic gallery of unusual animals, revealing how wildlife photographers use technology in the field):

(image credit: Joel Sartore, National Geographic)

Also make sure to read our article about anteaters: Anteater Coolness

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Mixed fresh links for today:

Robot Cars Are Here, BMW drives itself - [article, video]
Somewhat Creepy Hexapod Robot - [cool video]
London's Tower Bridge Construction - [retro pics]
A Giant Tunnel Boring Machine in NYC - [wow tech]
Matchstick Fleet of Ships - [wow art]
Japanese Sex Hotels Ruins - [abandoned]
Perhaps the Strangest Jobs Ever - [weird]
Bizarrely Placed & Disguised Satellite Dishes - [weird]
Drip some Coke on this battery - [cool tech]
Incredibly Large Emerald, or not? - [wow pics]
Happy & Funny Dance Video! - [cool video]
"Black Hole": No Happy Ending - [wow video]
Tim Allen Says Amazing Things - [fun video]
Snoring Dormouse! - [fun video, listen to it]
Fantastic Video & Book, project page - [retrofuture]
Long Arm Disaster - [funny photoshop]
How to get creatively fired!, info - [funny series]

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Surreal office tale "The Situation" has been made into a comic

“The Situation” web comic by Jeff VanderMeer (story) and Eric Orchard (art) is a surreal visual feast, based on real-life experiences in office situations. Jeff VanderMeer's upcoming novel “Borne” is set in the same milieu as “The Situation.” Don't miss this fantastic trip! - read the comic here.

(art credit: Eric Orchard)

Also check out our hilarious interview with Jeff VanderMeer here on DRB - Click Here

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1970 Lancia Stratos Zero Concept Car

Designed by Bertone... Note the weird ball-shaped steering wheel and a huge "iPad" screen to the left - more info:

(images via)

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Norwegian Bliss... Lofoten Islands, Northern Norway

Also in this spectacular view: Kjerkfjorden and the fishing village of Reine, on Moskenesøya island:

(photo credit: Jack Brauer, used by permission)

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Extremely poignant and sad picture from 1946

Ruins left after 1944 Warsaw uprising (hardly anything at all was left of the city):

(photo credit: Michael Nash, AP)

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The following is a short round-up of the best from our Facebook stream (which update every day with unique material, not available on DRB otherwise):

Carry your own floor mat for the royal wedding! -

(original unknown)

All Terrain Car (England, 1936) - "Terreinwagen", more info:

(image credit: Nationaal Archief, Spaarnestad Photo, Het Leven)

Great exercise! -

George Bernard Shaw, going surfing (at the Muizenberg beach at the age of 75 - photo taken in 1931):

(image via George Bernard Shaw at LSE Archives)

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Super Cuteness for the Day!

The cutest animal in the world - Japanese dwarf flying squirrel

(image via)

A baby koala is a close second:

(photos credit: Dreamworld Australia, via)

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The Alcohol Belts of Europe

Seems accurate enough... Especially interesting is the vodka / beer border in Poland (is it really that clearly defined? source) The full write-up about this fascinating investigation can be found at Big Think:

(image via, another version here)

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The "Furry Ice Feet"

These curious ice formations were spotted by our reader Barb Derksen on Lake Osoyoos, British Columbia, Canada - like furry little ice feet polishing the surface!

(photos credit: Barb Derksen)

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Fearsome Shadows: Attack!

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