bookofjoe

MRIs of vegetables

Not gonna touch that.

[via Andy Ellison, Colossal, and Popperfont]

Coffee Crisp: "The best candy bar ever invented" — Julie Bestry

Never even having heard of this candy bar until about 15 minutes ago I'm in no position to judge.

But I suspect there are members of joehead Nation who could tell us clueless ones a whole lot about their positions.

Flautist?

clifyt?

Tam?

Bueller?

Anyone?

Get yours here.

[via Julie Bestry's Paper Doll]

What is it?

Answer here 2:01 p.m. tomorrow.

Hint: Not meant to be part of your batterie de cuisine.

Another: Or interact with a pet.

How Robert A. Heinlein handled his fan mail

Wrote Kevin Kelly: "I found this letter in a folder of old correspondence from my days when I was editing at the Whole Earth Catalog. It is from the science fiction master Robert A. Heinlein."

"Heinlein engineered his own nerdy solution to a problem common to famous authors: how to deal with fan mail. In the days before the internet, Heinlein's solution was fabulous. He created a one page FAQ answer sheet [top] — minus the questions. Then he — or rather his wife Ginny — checked off the appropriate answer and mailed it back.While getting a form letter back might be thought rude, it was much better than being ignored, and besides, the other questions you did not ask were also answered! Indeed, it is both remarkable and heartwarming that Heinlein replied at all to most mail. Can you imagine other great authors doing the same — even with a form letter? Heinlein's form is very entertaining to read because you are forced to reconstruct the missing requests."

"But progress marches on, even in science fiction authors' households. Ginny Heinlein said that by 1984, "with the advent of computerization in our household, we no longer use the form letter to answer fan mail. I find that it is possible now, with the computer, to write individual letters in reply to fan mail faster than I could check off the answer on the form."

FogRing — Subminiature mini humidifier floats in a glass

From NEOTIZEN:

................................

FogRing is a portable sub-miniature lightweight USB ultrasound mini humidifier that floats on water.

As it does not have a fixed water tank, it is able to float in any type of container with water.

It is easy to clean and prevents the propagation of germs, and is also able to be used as aroma diffuser.

................................

Apply to: info@neotizen.com

[via Shoebox Dwelling]

The Dream of Flight — What is it like to be a bird?

Wrote Casey Chan on Gizmodo:

Everyone has wanted to fly at some point in their life. Unfortunately for most of us, watching this unbelievable trailer about Discovery's Winged Planet is the closest we'll ever come to actually flying. That's okay, though, because the footage is unbelievable — cameras were mounted onto birds to see life from their point of view.

Though we've seen helmet cam footage from a bird's perspective before, it was never like this. This video shows what it's like to be embedded with a flock of birds. You can see different environments, flying formations, life, death, hunting, and so much more. It's a bird's life like we've never seen it before. Here's how they pulled it off:

•••••••••••••••••••••••

What we had to do was strip down the highest-quality but smallest HD camera available. We had to engineer it so it was basically a circuit board, a chip, a lens, and batteries. We had to make sure it was as light as possible, but we also needed it to record slow-motion. We wanted to film 50 fps rather than 25 which is normal [The standard in the US is 30 or 60 fps]. So, we had to make the cameras and the mounts so the birds could fly naturally and feel comfortable.

The camera also needed an extremely wide lens. You don't to see just the bird's perspective, you want to see the bird in the frame as well.

•••••••••••••••••••••••

It's so unbelievably real, it almost looks CGI. Watch the trailer of Winged Planet above and be sure to check out Pop Photo's interview with Winged Planet's director John Downer.

The show premieres tonight at 8 pm ET on the Discovery Channel.

Hot Tug — World's First Wood-Fired Hot Tub Boat

From This Is Why I'm Broke: 

"Only poor people use immobile hot tubs."

"This hot tub boat

holds over 500 gallons

of heated water,

enough to keep you and seven of your friends toasty

while you sail

the seven seas."

$21,480.72.

Helpful Hints from joeeze: How to get rust off garden tools

"Small garden tools, such as clippers, can be placed in undiluted white or apple-cider vinegar overnight or longer. Let soak, scrub with a brush or scrubbie, rinse and then dry. For larger tools, you can take vinegar-soaked rags or towels, wrap them around the rusty areas, and then cover with plastic wrap. If bolts and screws are lightly corroded with rust, a soaking in vinegar can remove the rust."

[via Hints from Heloise]