Weblog Wannabe

The 10 most absurd published scientific papers

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:56:50 -0800

The 10 most absurd published scientific papers:

Number 6 is my favourite.

A few of Britain’s Notable Pubs - Google Sightseeing

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:41:10 -0800

A few of Britain’s Notable Pubs - Google Sightseeing:

I don’t drink, so a pub to me is just a place to get chicken wings, but I’m kind of fascinated with pub names. According to this article, there’s a pub in Nottingham called Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem! Whaaa?

Dark Roasted Blend: Bad, Twisted & Bizarre Toys We actually...

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:26:49 -0800

Dark Roasted Blend: Bad, Twisted & Bizarre Toys

We actually own one of these toys but I’m not telling which one. ;) And, it’s not the one pictured above. It’s just too creepy. Not to mention wrong.

The Official SUCK Trailer I really hope this movie doesn’t...

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:02:48 -0800

The Official SUCK Trailer

I really hope this movie doesn’t suck.

Homage to Hasselhoff: Trying to Be German in South L.A. -...

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:38:18 -0800

Homage to Hasselhoff: Trying to Be German in South L.A. - SPIEGEL ONLINE

Peter Parker deserved to be fired | Nerdage

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:13:41 -0800

Peter Parker deserved to be fired | Nerdage:

I could totally see the headline: “Parker Loses Job, Blames Photoshop.” (Spoiler alert!)

New Donkey Kong world record set by ...

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:40:36 -0800

New Donkey Kong world record set by ...:

Not Steve Wiebe or Billy Mitchell. The King of Kong could use a sequel!

letters to crushes: Hi, I’m trying to figure out where to begin.

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:34:00 -0800

letters to crushes: Hi, I’m trying to figure out where to begin.:

It makes me go “awww !” every single time I read it.

Galactica: Sabotage A fan video for Beastie Boys’...

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:09:36 -0800

Galactica: Sabotage

A fan video for Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage” made of clips from Battlestar Galactica.

Academy Award Winning Movie Trailer It’s kind of like...

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:49:10 -0800

Academy Award Winning Movie Trailer

It’s kind of like those literal music videos, but with movie trailers.

Japan: It's Not Funny Anymore - Kotaku

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:40:02 -0800

Japan: It's Not Funny Anymore - Kotaku:

I’ve always been a little scared of Japan but now I’m A LOT scared of it. And I haven’t even read the whole article.

Safe and Affordable Jetpack: Just $90,000 | Gadget Lab |...

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:25:00 -0800

Safe and Affordable Jetpack: Just $90,000 | Gadget Lab | Wired.com

Jetpack is yes, if you have the money.

Handsome Men’s Club (via JimmyKimmelLive) I think Lenny...

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:30:57 -0800

Handsome Men’s Club (via JimmyKimmelLive)

I think Lenny Kravitz got the best part.

Mario and Luigi, Still in Business - Kotaku Looks like...

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:38:42 -0800

Mario and Luigi, Still in Business - Kotaku

Looks like they’ve left the plumbing business and joined the food industry in Manchester, England.

Little-Known Second Verses of 10 Children’s Songs

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:27:40 -0800

Little-Known Second Verses of 10 Children’s Songs:

I actually know the second verses of My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean and Oh My Darling Clementine.

Humunga Stache Dog Toy | Dog Milk Makes me wish I had a dog.

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:31:15 -0800

Humunga Stache Dog Toy | Dog Milk

Makes me wish I had a dog.

Boing Boing Video Game Quiz!

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:06:03 -0800

Boing Boing Video Game Quiz!:

I scored 40%, which is better than I thought I would considering I’m not a gamer.

My Mother's Daughter

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:55:17 -0800

My mother always enjoyed spending time with me, but I think, if she was alive, she would enjoy it even more now because we’d have more shared interests than we ever had before she passed away:

Gardening. My mother was an avid gardener. No plants could die under her supervision. I could never be as good at gardening as she was, but I try.
Sewing. One of my favourite memories is of me falling asleep on her bed while she was sitting and sewing beside me. She sewed everything by hand!
Mid-century modern furniture. I grew up in a house full of mid-century modern furniture. I believe my mother picked our pieces of furniture. She got great taste.
Doctor Who. My mother watched the show when she was living in England in the 60s. She’d make Doctor Who references every now and then that I wished I’d understood, but I never watched any Doctor Who until I got to Canada..
Do-it-yourself projects. My mother always said that if you want anything done right, you do it yourself. It was her mantra and it’s become mine, too.
The colour green. But I don’t think she’d approve of the shades of green I picked for our living room walls. Too bright for her taste.

Oh, we’d have so much to talk about.

I miss her.

DzignSpace :: Goodnight Forest Moon (via Craft blog) Get free,...

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:23:36 -0800

DzignSpace :: Goodnight Forest Moon (via Craft blog)

Get free, downloadable PDF of the Star Wars-themed version of Goodnight Moon. Your kid might not be too impressed with it but you and your friends might.

Improv Chatroulette Don’t worry, dude has “Willy...

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:14:19 -0800

Improv Chatroulette

Don’t worry, dude has “Willy Alerts”.

Kuricorder – The Imperial March (via Cover Me) This...

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:24:00 -0800

Kuricorder – The Imperial March (via Cover Me)

This song make you wonder why they didn’t do the whole Star Wars soundtrack with a ukulele, tuba and recorder.

“IT’S ALIVE!” (via HALF LIFE: Living Bioluminescent...

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 07:18:00 -0800

“IT’S ALIVE!” (via HALF LIFE: Living Bioluminescent Lamp Made From Hamster Cells! | Inhabitat)

Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Super Mario Bros. -...

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:32:41 -0800

Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Super Mario Bros. - Orange County Music - Heard Mentality

Make: Online : Jet ski + jet pack =...

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:14:35 -0800

Make: Online : Jet ski + jet pack = “Jetlev”

Jet pack is YES!

Embarrassing Wii Fit Winter OlympicsFAIL This is just wrong.

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:12:46 -0800

Embarrassing Wii Fit Winter Olympics*FAIL*

This is just wrong.

Hundreds of fish fall out of the sky over remote Australian town of Lajamanu | Mail Online

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:08:44 -0800

Hundreds of fish fall out of the sky over remote Australian town of Lajamanu | Mail Online:

‘When I told my family, who live in another part of Australia, about the fish falling from the sky, they thought I’d lost the plot.

‘But no, I haven’t lost my marbles. All I can say is that I’m thankful that it didn’t rain crocodiles!’

D.I.Y. long sleeve t-shirt | Future Craft Collective Will have...

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 10:30:39 -0800

D.I.Y. long sleeve t-shirt | Future Craft Collective

Will have to give this a try. I could use more long sleeve tees in my wardrobe.

Star Trek: How It Should Have Ended (via SF Signal)

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 07:16:47 -0800

Star Trek: How It Should Have Ended (via SF Signal)

Wikipedia is a sad and bitter American | TBogg

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 07:03:45 -0800

Wikipedia is a sad and bitter American | TBogg

How Much is a Gold Medal Really Worth?

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:57:00 -0800

How Much is a Gold Medal Really Worth?:

[I]n today’s market a gold medal is worth approx $494, a silver medal $260, and a bronze medal just $3.

Wow. Those bronze medalists surely are under-appreciated. “You finished third in an Olympic event? Good. Here’s your three bucks!”

defective yeti — REWARD

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:52:00 -0800

defective yeti — REWARD

Table of Condiments That Periodically Go Bad

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 07:28:53 -0800

Table of Condiments That Periodically Go Bad:

We do not guarantee that any of the above information is in any way accurate. For instance, it was pointed out recently that vegemite is unfit for human consumption upon opening. (We agree - it’s vile stuff). However, tests show it is an effective form of reactor shielding.

Pretty sure this table was making the round in the Bloggerville ca. 2000. Just came across it again. Thought this might come in handy for when we need to make some space in the fridge, usually after going grocery shopping.

100 Delicious, Dirt-Cheap Recipes for the Starving Student | Online College Tips

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 07:14:15 -0800

100 Delicious, Dirt-Cheap Recipes for the Starving Student | Online College Tips:

This might be useful, not because I’m a starving student but because I’m a lazy cook. These look simple and easy enough to try.

explodingdog: Do you want me to take care of you? Yes, please!

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 07:48:17 -0800

explodingdog:

Do you want me to take care of you?

Yes, please!

Home Sheep Home is a really cute game. (via IndieGames.com)

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 09:39:42 -0800

Home Sheep Home is a really cute game. (via IndieGames.com)

copycats: Creep by Mobyoriginally by Radiohead(posted by...

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 07:11:00 -0800

copycats:

Creep by Moby
originally by Radiohead
(posted by mialegria)

Creep has got to be the most covered Radiohead song ever. Only posting this because it’s Moby covering Radiohead! I have a soft spot for Moby.

“Somebody” (Soundcheck with Alan Wilder and Martin...

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:51:28 -0800

“Somebody” (Soundcheck with Alan Wilder and Martin L. Gore)

Beautiful. And it’s only a soundcheck.

Co-Optimus - News: Atari Launches Free Co-Op Version of Missile...

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:32:37 -0800

Co-Optimus - News: Atari Launches Free Co-Op Version of Missile Command

Never played the Atari game. Not very good at this online version either.

When astronomy and Beyonce collide. (via andrewvache)

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:17:35 -0800

When astronomy and Beyonce collide. (via andrewvache)

Lamehoo

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:13:01 -0800

Lamehoo:

Because Yahoo! Answers needs its own version of Lamebook.

One takeaway here is that life possible in extreme conditions....

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 06:56:41 -0800

One takeaway here is that life possible in extreme conditions. That said, in the absence of ideal conditions, life can evolve without begetting plants or birds or cuddly mammals or sentient beings who write blogs on the internet; it just begets a glob of ooze.

(Antarctic Glacier Has Five-story Blood-red Waterfall of Primodial Ooze - GOOD Blog)

10th Blogiversary!

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 08:33:15 -0800

10 years ago today, I posted my first blog post under the Weblog Wannabe moniker. We at Casa Troy and Firda are celebrating this 10th blogiversary by, uh, not doing much.

I’m also feeling a little depressed because yesterday during an eye exam with an optometrist I was diagnosed with glaucoma. I don’t have tunnel vision yet so hopefully it’s still in its early stage. We’ll find out for sure once I undergo the field of vision test, scheduled for April, on the day after my birthday. Excellent timing, eh? Going blind is one of my biggest fears. Glaucoma’s nickname is “the silent thief of vision.” See why I’m freaking out? I pretty much live to share what I see. That’s why I blog. That’s why I take pictures.

Anyway, not really in a celebratory mood today but I’d like to call today the Weblog Wannabe Reader Unlurking Day! According to Feedburner, I have over 500 readers but my comment count seems to disagree with it. So if you feel like cheering me up a bit, leave a comment. Let me know how long you you’ve been reading. It’ll make my day!

"You're Awesome!"

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 07:49:27 -0800

“I just got my poem back from the prof, there’s a sticker of a girraffe on it and it says “you’re awesome!” … How can this even be considered real college?!?”

Texts From Last Night (314)

I’d love to go to that college. How do I enroll?

Sign Language: a short film

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:45:08 -0800

I remember seeing these “static outdoor information technicians” on Oxford Street when I was exploring the city of London (UK), alone in the Spring of 2004. Even remember seeing the “Golf Sale” sign. Apparently these technicians have since been banished from Oxford Street.

Anyway, I’m a sucker for cute, short films and this is one of those. (via Neatorama)

How to Think for Yourself

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 07:52:30 -0800

How to Think for Yourself [Wikihow.com]

You’d think it’s easy. It’s not. I know from first-hand experience. I’ve been doing it all my grown-up life. Results: Not many friends made and my own blood family think I am so going to hell. But I’m doing it anyway because that’s just how I roll. That’s me. I’m a freethinker. If no one else could accept me the way I am then at least I have my husband on my side.

Shaun White's Gold Medal Winning Half Pipe Run [2010 Olympics]

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 06:13:07 -0800

Missed this performance last night due to time difference (it was bedtime already for me when Shaun White’s turn in the final came.) Nothing like seeing it live on TV but eh, this poor quality video is better than nothing.

Hey, What's Up?

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 18:41:13 -0800

Wow, it’s been awhile since I posted an update here! But if you’ve been following me on Twitter, you’ll know that I’ve been blogging somewhere else. I fell in love with Tumblr. It reminds me of the good, old days of blogging where it’s all about sharing cool stuff on the web. I really wish I could do the things I could do with Tumblr here but Movable Type’s bookmarklet is just not as capable as Tumblr’s. But then again, my blog is not running the latest version of Movable Type. They might have improved the bookmarklet with the latest version. I don’t know. Can any Movable Type users running the latest version verify this?

Anyway, more than one exciting things happened since my last posts. In chronological order:

I finally bought my dream digital SLR camera, a camera I’ve been wanting since it came out in 2005: the Canon EOS 5D! Yay! I bought it used because I wouldn’t be able to afford it otherwise and it’s just as awesome as I thought it would be.
We got our oil-powered furnace and water heater replaced with gas powered ones. The new high-efficiency furnace does a better job heating up the house and, most importantly, doesn’t stop working while we’re sleeping at night like the oil furnace did.
We got a new niece! She is my younger brother and his wife’s second child/daughter and our third niece, and she’s beautiful. I’m sad that I’m hardly part of my two of my three nieces and one nephew’s lives since I live on the other side of the planet from them but I’m always happy to see them happy in their Facebook photos. (I find that last part really depressing, by the way.)

I’m almost sure there are other exciting things that happened last month that I failed to mention but I really can’t remember. But then again, it could be just because I found last month anything but boring.

Currently, I’m trying to make my own designs of soft toys. I have this idea to start my own one-of-a-kind, handmade, soft toy online store. I’ve never sold any soft toys that I made except for one sock monkey so we’ll see how this plan goes. I’m really excited about this and really hope that it’ll work out. I’ll keep you posted!

Twenty Ten

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 11:03:24 -0800

It’s a new year! Woot woot! And the decade with the lowest low and and the highest high I ever had had come to an end. And it ended with one of the worst months ever. Basically any month where I don’t get to spend much time with the dearest, darling husband, sprain an ankle and is sick with a nasty flu bug is not a good month in my book.

This year marks a decade of blogging for me. At least in this incarnation. If you counted the time I was journaling at Diaryland, that would add one or two years into the decade. And oh how time has changed. No more GeoCities. Kids don’t need to sweet-talk domain owners for hosting anymore because domain names and web hosting come cheap. Web rings are practically dead. And everyone and their dog have a blog AND a Twitter account. Awesome.

I don’t like making resolutions but I like setting goals for myself. This year I’d like to write more about my childhood in an attempt to dig out good memories about my dad, just to be able to say that once upon a time, my dad was a cool guy, and maybe eventually forgive him. So far, no such memories have surfaced but I’ll keep trying.

I’d also like to finally own a full-frame digital SLR camera. And no, as much as I want a Canon EOS 5D Mk II, I can’t justify the cost of buying one. I just want a used, original 5D so that if I get tired of digital photography as I often do, I won’t have a $3,000 camera lying around gathering dust.

And last but not least, I’d like to learn to do more new, useful things. Last year I learned to develop colour film and to develop b&w film with a combo of coffee, washing soda and vitamin C. That was fun. I haven’t figured out what I want to learn to do this year but I will.

Anyway, I hope this year has been good to you so far and will continue to be. May your chocolate be plenty! Mmm, chocolate…

To Be Unholy

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:49:38 -0800

My dad is selling our house, the house in which I grew up in Indonesia. The house of pain as I like to think of it. I swear if you were there, you’d be able to feel unhappiness emanating from every corner. I haven’t been in that house in over 5 years and yet I don’t miss it. It isn’t home anymore. Not since my mother passed away anyway. And I’ve never been a big fan of the nosy, meddling neighbours.

I was just thinking about the neighbours we had growing up. The couple living next door were devout Muslims. Once they complained to my mother about me playing Silent Night — a Christmas song — on the piano which they thought was inappropriate and un-Islamic coming from a Muslim household. I guess they picked the wrong parental unit to file such a ridiculous complaint. My mother told me about it and we had a giggle. It was our little secret. She never told me to stop playing the song. Whatever I liked to play on the piano was fine by her. Since then, whenever I felt like playing the piano and I knew the neighbours were home, I’d play Silent Night just to be annoying. If I felt generous, I’d play the only other Christmas song I knew how to play, It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, which I doubt the neighbours knew was a Christmas song.

Had it been my dad they had complained to, it would’ve been another story. It Came Upon the Midnight Clear would’ve been the only Christmas song I’d be able to play at home, because to him, the neighbours were always right.

I miss my piano. I hate that the last memory I had of it is of the smell of the cigarette the man who bought it smoked inside our house when he came to pick it up. No one had ever smoked inside our house when my mother was alive.

For Goodness' Sake

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 09:55:08 -0800

I have issues with religion. I really do. It’s never been my thing, mostly because I hate being told what to do and I like to think for myself. I know religion works for some people and all I can say is more power to them. But I’m not going to go into the heavy stuff with this entry. I just need to rant about a few things that have been bugging me for awhile.

Since I was raised in a family of Muslims, let’s start with Eid al-Adha. Eid al-Adha is a holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to commemorate the willingness of Abraham (Ibrahim) to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God. To make long story short, God — who apparently has strange sense of humour — replaced his son with a sheep. And so began the tradition of sacrificing livestock to feed the poor on Eid al-Adha. It’s all good, except they do the slaughtering in public, and parents actually take their little kids to witness the bloody murder! So wrong! Don’t they know what a traumatizing experience it could be?

And then there are people who disagree with the whole slaughtering animal thing. They ask, why don’t they replace the animals with fruits and vegetables? Well, it’s because meat is relatively expensive and therefore less affordable to the poor than fruits and vegetables. The animal slaughter is for a good cause. I’m okay with that, but I’m not really okay with the evergreen tree slaughter happening around Christmas time because it’s solely for decorative purpose. Nothing higher than that. And yet, people who complain about the animal slaughter on Eid al-Adha have no issues with the chopping of the trees. What’s up with that? Is it because trees don’t make noises, nor do they look at you with mournful eyes?

Last but not least is my Santa Claus rant. What’s with all the lying to the little kids about presents coming from Santa Claus? Would it be wrong just to tell them instead that the presents come from their parents because their parents love them very much? Don’t you think that maybe it would make kids respect their parents more? I also find the whole sitting-on-Santa’s-lap thing kind of creepy. Creepier still is when it’s grown-up women who do the sitting. How could you be sure that underneath his big, red pants Santa isn’t having an erection while you’re doing that, because it is Fake Santa after all, i.e., not really a saint?

Okay, I’m feeling better now that I’ve got it all off my chest. Move along!

Sure Sign of Twitter Overdose

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:21:17 -0800

The thing about online presence and social networking is this: sometimes you get to read too much about someone. Their whereabouts, the music they’re listening, the food they are eating, are posted there on Twitter, and we really couldn’t care less about it. Yet when they’re absent and we haven’t seen any status updates for awhile, we sort of, kind of, miss them. Does it mean that you’ve been conditioned to care after undergoing the torture of reading TMI updates for so long or is it just in us to care? Or should I search and replace the “we” and “us” in this paragraph to “I” and “me”? Because that’s how it gets with me.

I really don’t care about the minor details, but I do need to know that the people I know — even if I only know them virtually — are fine. Sure you might think I don’t care about you because you probably don’t care about me or my well-being, but somehow, in a way I can’t quite explain, I do care about you. I just don’t need to know where you are or what you’re doing every frickin’ minute! I’m sure your stalkers would appreciate such updates but please, just think about the common, non-stalkerly population, mmmkay?

Ouchie

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:46:34 -0800

We got our H1N1 flu jab on Friday. We came in half an hour before the clinic started but the queue was already twice the length of the hall, and it was a pretty big hall. Fortunately, there were about 6 or 8 arm-jabbing stations (for lack of better terms) so the line was moving at a decent pace.

Watching the people in the queue was kind of interesting and a good distraction for me. My hands got cold just thinking about the prospect of having a needle penetrating my arm. Anyway, the old man in front of us was a social butterfly and he occasionally would leave the line to say hi to some people, including an actor he didn’t really know. The old man behind us talked in a Scottish accent and he was kind of gossipy. And yes, there were a lot of senior citizens.

After standing in line for about an hour, our turns came. First we had to answer some questions and then off to the arm-jabbing stations! The nurse asked me if I’d had a flu shot before. I said no and she said, “You must be very healthy!” Ha! I have a pretty good immune system, that’s true. But if by healthy you mean fit, I am so unfit it’s not even funny.

The arm-jabbing part took only a splitting second but man, even now, four days later, my upper arm is still tender to the touch. But at least I can now lay on my left side without hurting (too much). The first couple of nights were no fun at all and I had trouble sleeping. Mind you, the left side is my favourite side to sleep on. But eh, I guess it’s a small price to pay considering the alternatives.

Blogging Under Pressure

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:40:16 -0800

I didn’t get the cold. As usual, an Advil, a Strepsil and a good night’s sleep fixed it. I’m really thankful for my immune system.

I’ve been browsing property listings obsessively. The last time I did that, we ended up buying a house in another town. Not sure if it’ll come to anything this time around.

I’ve been finding it hard to blog. Blogging used to be easy when I knew that only strangers read this crap. Now I’m always worried I’d offend anyone I know if I spoke my mind.

Sometimes I wish there were a million other Firda Bekas in the world instead of just me, the one and only.

Weathered

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:02:12 -0800

Yesterday, it was a beautiful, sunny, t-shirt kind of day. Today, it’s back to the grey, one-digit-temperature kind of day. I guess the change is a bit too much for my body because I’m not feeling too great right now. I hope this won’t turn into a full-blown cold.

We went thrifting yesterday and I went all girly-like and picked up two blouses, one hooded cardigan and a pair of shoes. I get a kick out of hearing nice comments about what I’m wearing and I’m always proud to say I got it from a thrift store. Salvation Army chic doesn’t have to mean bag lady-look. ;) Mind you, I’m far from being trendy. I don’t even wear make-up. But I like feeling good about what I’m wearing. Though admittedly most of the time I care more about comfort than fashion. As long as it’s comfy, I don’t care if it makes me look fat.

Ugh, too headachey to write more.

Uninterestingness

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:02:49 -0800

Pictures that I really, really like are usually ones that nobody else really care about. The picture above is one of them. Pictures I don’t really like, on the other hand, seem to be well-liked on Flickr. It’s weird. Maybe if I only posted pictures I don’t really like to my Flickr account, I’d become a Flickr superstar. Heh.