Feb-yoo-ary. Glad it's over.

We've been through 29 days of the same crap. It has nothing to do with the weather. Well, maybe a little, but it's really the news announcers, degreed individuals, executives and other seemingly knowledgeable people mispronouncing the name of the month.

Just like hearing the President say "nuke-yoo-ler" over and over, it seems that the vast majority of Americans mispronounce the month and say "feb-yoo-ary".

I've had it. I've quit correcting people because it does no good. People always frown when I do and I just can't understand why. I'm just trying to help. The heck with them lummoxes for another year.

It's finally over. Ol' feb-yoo-ary will be gone by the end of the day. Good riddance! And take all yer cold, snowy, windy weather with you. How can the shortest month of the year take almost an infinity to end? Let us all welcome March. One syllable, five letters all wrapped up nicely and neatly in a small package.

Next year, I hope to champion a new cause. I shall call it, "Put the 'brew' back in February!" (patent pending) Isn't that nice? Beer and a bad month in one. They both need each other.

Watch for it next year on an Internet near you.

Roy Doty leap day card

Many of you may not have heard of Roy Doty. He's the cartoonist who drew the slick, how-to Wordless Workshop graphic for Popular Science magazine for years. I can recall rummaging through my dad's collection of mags and enjoying each panel of his cartoons. They were cleanly drawn, somewhat funny and always had no dialog balloons.

On this special calendar day, Mr. Doty has published a leap day card for everyone's pleasure. I present it below. Print it out and pin it somewhere on your cubicle or office furniture.

Leap year finally explained

As simply as possible, the entire concept of the leap year is explained, complete with a handy dandy flow chart at the left. Click the graphic, print it out on your color laser, laminate it and stick it in your wallet for reference. Amaze your family and friends the next time you get to talking about the solar system and the space-time continuum.

Included in this deal, is a pretty young lady who explains it all on video.

What more could you ask for?

Oh, and don't forget to have that "leap beer" when beer-thirty rolls around.

(MissCellania)

Computing - a look back at 1985

If you're as geeky as I am, then you'll enjoy these photos from Personal Computing magazine, July, 1985.

I remember those days; back when you bought ten, double-sided, double-density, 5.25-inch floppy disks for $16.

Look through the pictures and read some of the specs in the ads. It's a wonder how far we've come since then.

Check out the photos here.

(Funtasticus)

Mobius climbers

Here's an interesting idea for playground structure called a Mobius climber, inspired by the one-sided mobius strip.

The concept looks absolutely great. At first. But when you consider the part that gravity plays and the P.C. nature of the parental community who would like an entire protective force field around the child, the concept is a liability black hole.

Check out their product page. Too bad this stuff didn't come out in, say, the '50s. When the laws were nonexistent and kids had so much more fun.

(Gizmodo)

Wrong way to tow a vehicle

A small mishap with a tow truck.

Tow driver was probably too lazy to the secure the front wheels of the towed vehicle.

Watch below.

(Presurfer)

A leaping thought

The worst hard drive crash. Ever.

Many of us have heard about hard drive crashes before. The drive becomes useless and all the data is lost. Forever.

This occurs when the read-write head physically touches the rapidly spinning data platter and scrapes the coating off. Every hard drive is susceptible to this. It's not a matter of "if", but rather "when" it will happen to you. A good backup strategy is very important.

Below is a link to a photo pictorial of a crashed hard drive. Some guys actually took one apart and took pictures of the aftermath. Oh, horrors!

Crashed HD pictorial is here. Scroll, baby, scroll.

Nature pwns cars

Ever get your vehicle stuck? Yeah, me too. Lotsa times I get stuck in nuts-to-butts traffic.

Here's an interesting pictorial of some unfortunate individuals who are being taken advantage of by Mother Nature. It's not just the weather. It's mud and snow and other muck.

Check it out right here.

(Funtasticus)

Death Star hotel coming soon

Coming soon to a Eurasian country near you, will be this 385 room, 35 story hotel. The country is Azerbaijan which is shown below. Who knew they were such Star Wars fanatics?














Check out a few pictures (artist's renditions) of the futuristic stop-over right here.

(Gizmodo)

When cardboard boxes take over the world

Working at a warehouse, I have a special place in my heart for all the boxes that pass through on a daily basis. Maybe that feeling is a little farther down, but nonetheless, it's a living.

Here's an interesting animated video which may give you reason to think about all the boxes that there are in the world and what would happen if they took over.

Kind of fantasy, kind of sci-fi, the video was at least thought provoking for me.

(Neatorama)

Condiment collection

I've posted about collectors before and their goofy collections of crazy stuff that trips their collective triggers. Well, here's another one of those individuals who has that same oddly wired brain, a guy who collects condiment packets.

Yeah. Ketchup (catsup?), mustard, hot sauce, soy sauce, mayo, ketchup. Did I already say ketchup? What else could there possibly be?

I know. Little packs of beer. Tear open a packet of Pabst and get a little hint of what the whole beer tastes like.

While you're thinking about this, check out this guy's collection of comestibles which he started in 2003.

(Presurfer)

Life explained

Two-man snowboard

Here's a little video of a couple of guys who've invented (and perfected riding) a two-man snowboard.

Although this is interesting and all, I can only foresee problems with this design. If guy #1 zigs while guy #2 zags, they will both wind up on their respective asses. Mix in a little "hot toddy" and now you have a two-man ruckus.

Judge for yourself.

(Spluch)

Smiling beauty named Martika

Here's a beautiful blondie to raise your middle-of-the-week spirits and brighten up the day.

Somewhere, some scientist is measuring how long it will take until this blasted winter weather will be over. Until he reports his findings, gaze upon Martika.

When he does publish his findings, we will assail him with road salt, slush and balloons filled with windshield washer solution.

A cup of aggression?

If you're one of those caffeine freaks who's just gotta, gotta, GOTTA have your fix or else, here's just the right coffee vessel for you.

The Knuckle Duster coffee cup will make everyone at the office or the BP gas station look twice when you fill up this bad boy.

It's a "Don't mess wit me" mug.

Oh, yeah.

Check it out here.

(Gizmodo)

A wooden car called "Splinter"

Some grad students at North Carolina State University and one of the students, Joe Harmon, have postulated constructing a car made entirely out of wood. Harmon is spearheading the project.

The Splinter will be powered by a NorthStar 4.6 L, V8 with twin superchargers, developing over 600 hp, having a top speed of around 240 mph.

Wood? Yes, wood. Interestingly, the car has a fully integrated roll cage. The entire construction (with the exception of the engine and tires, of course) will be made from maple, plywood and MDF (medium density fiberboard).

The Inventor Spot has a great article here on this project with a short engine-related video.

Joe Harmon has an awesome interactive website in flash which covers the construction of this beast right here.

(Presurfer)

More goofy signs

Another installment of signs that give one pause.

I especially like, enjoy, relish, favor, appreciate and admire the sign on the left.

Check out the pictorial here.

Three-piece iCombo band

I posted earlier about the iAno, an app that turns your iPhone or iPod touch into a piano.

Some guys have taken it a step further by combining the tonal abilities of other devices and created a musical selection.

Check out the video below.

Han Solo carbonite desk

Another episode of "More Money than Brains" brings you a custom-made computer desk featuring the likes of Han Solo in carbonite.

Imagine trying to think while working on a spreadsheet or document and glancing down at the visage of poor Han. Bleah!

There are a couple of nice photos and a brief explanation right here.

Ferrari Limo

Just when you thought you'd had your fill of stretch Hummers and Ford Excursions comes this monstrosity, a stretch Ferrari.

Another cash black hole for all those dudes with dough who want to impress the crap out of anyone who will glance their way.

(I wonder what it sounds like and how good is the 0-60 time.)

Check out the pictorial here.

(Jalopnik)

Rabid sports fans

You've seen the leather guys in the stands at the Raiders' games, the cheeseheads at the Packers' games and any of the thousands of topless fat guys in 15-degree weather.

Rabid sports fans are a bizarre bunch to be sure. Take a look of some of the more over-the-top fans from games around the world.

(Note: some shots may be NSFW.)

(Funtasticus)

When it really blows

You've probably heard of or seen windmill farms perched on hilltops or dotting the landscape in some countries. The seem to be a viable way of generating electricity just by using an ever present natural occurrence.

But what happens when the wind kicks up? And I mean, REALLY kicks up?

The design limits of the mill are reached and things start to fall apart.

Take a look.

Amazing urban soccer moves

This video is truly amazing. How these kids can do this where they do this is astounding. They're like a precision drill team hyped up on soccer.

The sound track is in Spanish, but there's really no telling from the video where in the world it was taken.

Nonetheless, watch the video and be awed by their acrobatics and outrageous skills.

Famous cars in the movies

Ya hardly ever think about these vehicles anymore but each one played a significant role in molding cinematic history and plot development.

Here are 10 of the best, most famous cars that ever graced the wide screen.

The article also features some of the worst as well.

World's most annoying toy

Jesus jumpin' jeronies! This is just terrible. How could a kid get any enjoyment out of this?

Oh, wait. I know. It's a "get even" toy.

Let this thing loose when you're pissed at the guy in the next cubicle. Use it over the P.A. system at work. Make prank phone calls.

The manufacturer should be shut down.

Watch the video below. The guy's facial expression is priceless.

Tool kit belt buckle

It's got everything you need in case of emergency maintenance. All but a roll of duct tape and some baling wire.

The next time you're up on the antenna of the Sears tower and have to change a light bulb, just take off your belt if you forget that Phillips screwdriver.

Just don't let your pants fall. It may be hard climbing down if they do.

From Amazon - 20 bucks.

(BoingBoing)

What do YOU see?

Interesting photo illusion. What's the first thing that pops into your head when you look at this picture?

Um hmm. I thought so so.

I saw it too.

Then I looked again.

So what is it? Add your thoughts to the comments.

Science fair fun

Science projects are usually a pain in the ass for everyone involved. There's a lot of research that must be done by the poor kid and then ther's all the construction. The gluing, pasting, cutting, pictures, vials, flasks and mystery matter.

Perhaps today our kids have lost their way or are misdirected when it comes to science projects. If left to themselves to come up with an idea for a project, sometimes the end result is quite humorous.

Check out this pictorial all about weird and goofy science fair projects.

(Presurfer)

Uncorrect

Moving the site (update)

The new SixPackTech.com is coming along rather swimmingly. I'm up to my nose in learning new stuff. This week yields a new header graphic (my new buddy, there at the left will be part of it) and the addition of a user forum. Although moderating a forum could be a bitch.

I'm almost comfortable with the structure of the file system on the hosting service, but updates to existing software packages leaves me a bit befuddled. I'll have a new email addy hosted on the site and I still have to look into how that works. WordPress is a little daunting but is quite learnable. I keep drilling into my own head, "Patience, patience, patience!" Good things come to those who wait. I hope I don't do anything stupid right after a Brew Review. Hmm. Maybe I should. Na-a-ah!

I want to have everything we have here at the .blogspot place to be present at the new place and I haven't quite decided on what to do to smooth things out and still have a few new features. The WordPress import feature will (I'm told) migrate everything from the old site - posts, comments and whatnot over. But no pictures. (Foo!) I'm a little unsure as to how smoothly cutting the cord will go in our case.

The only thing the user will see is the new decor. Everything under the hood, the stuff for me as admin dude, will be new. I think there will be a bit more HTML involved on a daily basis but I'm up for the challenge. I tuck my copy of WordPress for Dummies under my pillow at night and it seems to help. But I develop a flat spot on one side of my head every morning.

The Archives feature at the new place is something I'm unfamiliar with as yet. Other stuff like the BlogRoll, RSS feeds, widgets and backing up the database is all new territory for me. It will come, though.

I don't think anyone out there is more excited about putting up a new, graphically great, feature-laden website than I. But right now I think, from my own standpoint, that we're about 90% there. The babes are there, the voting is in place and the familiar USB sixpack is there. There are a few minor details yet to iron out. I just have to learn how to use this iron.

Stick with me guys. Yer gonna love it!

New Weekly Babes

The new babes for the week have just been uploaded. Look left. Scroll down. Over yonder.

Is that a knee? Or an elbow? Whatever it may be, there's a nice tushy attached to it somewhere. A sultry blond with assets awaits in the Butt of the Week.










Our Nat or Not poser will once again keep you guessing, once you've seen her. Take a deep, long look and then think to yourself... "Is she real?"

When you're done, vote.





The votes for last week's babe were unanimous:

Yep: 10
Hmm: 2
Nope: 1

Another beauty graces our confines.


If you have a viewing preference or suggestion, just leave a comment below.

Saturday Night Blue Collar Brew Review

The choice of brew tonight is based on a snippet of conversation I overheard at the Beer Store (not FSL) a few weeks ago. A guy was asking if they had a beer called Shiner Blonde. He said his father-in-law was in town visiting from Texas and that Shiner was the guy's favorite beer. He walked out with two sixpacks.

On my visit there for a review beer last week, I asked the counter lady if they had any Shiner Blonde. She scoured the shelves and coolers but came up empty handed. She offered me some paper and a writing utensil and asked me to write it down. "We could probably order it," she said. "Oh, and put down your phone number and we'll give you a call when it comes in." HUH? Do businesses still do that anymore? Hell, I was impressed! I wrote down my vitals and paid for the sixer of Harp Lager, which I reviewed last week.





On Wednesday of this week I took a call. It was the Beer Store. I was floored. The Shiner Blonde had come in and there were some already being chilled awaiting my patronage. By Friday I had the test specimen in my possession. This week's review will be on Shiner Blonde, brewed in Shiner, Texas.

So here it is, Saturday night and it's beer night. Good ol' noche de cerveza. I'm going to dispense with all the initial sniffing and smelling and bottle tasting and just dispense the contents of the bottle right into the mug. Let's get it on! Into the mug it goes and up comes a white foamy head with rather large bubbles clinging to the inside. Large bubbles is rarely a good sign, aren't it? (sic) The head dissipated quite rapidly. Is it the beer? Is it my mug?




Let's have a taste. Hmm. Not the big whammo that I was expecting. A little tasty. Not very bitter. It has a rather thin taste to it almost as if the brewer didn't let it cook long enough or ran low on one of the ingredients. By the time I downed four sips, the head was gone. The remaining liquid reminded me of a large urine sample. With bubbles. C'mon. It just looked that way it didn't taste that way. Of course I'm going to have another. Eight bucks is too much to spend on beer to just give it away.

As I popped the second bottle and dove in, the taste became more apparent. It's really not bad. But the taste seemed to get bored quickly and fell asleep until I jarred it awake with the next sip. This beer's taste could be the equivalent taste to say, MGD in Texas.

All in all, this beer is drinkable but not memorable. If I was offered this beer I'd drink it again. It's not a waste on your taste buds. It's just not the party you'd expect from a premium beer. This beer is like a large suitcase containing only a few tees and two pair of underpants.

At eight bucks a six-pop, I'll skip over it next time I want something sapid and sudsy.

The SixPackTech ratings for Shiner Blonde are:

Taste: 6.5 - am I missing something?
Smoothness: 5.5 - Perrier with bubbles.
Drinkability: 6 - I guess I'll have another, then I have to go.
Bang for the buck: 4 - twice the price for half the taste.
Wife's all encompassing opinion: "It's barely a beer."

Faux Friday

Just when ya think that things are going your way, life (and your place of employment) throws ya a curve ball. As luck would have it, I was shackled to work two extra hours of O.T. Thursday night. This is after I agreed to come in early on Friday by two hours for a training session.

This makes me think, "Hmm. So Thursday night (Friday morning) I'll hit the sack at 3:30 a.m. I have to be at work on Friday at 2 p.m. for training. I'll have to leave the house by 1:15 to get there on time. And with 45 minutes in the can for morning ablutions, I'll have to get up no later than 11. That leaves me with enough time to down a cuppa tea, maybe have some Cheerios, and warm up the truck for the trip to work."

Crap. SixPackTech will have to wait. As much as I love throwing bits and pieces up on the site, I also like cashing a paycheck, especially when there's a little extra in it. So, with hat in hand, I bow and offer this to all the faithful readers out there in Interland in lieu of posting this fine Friday: "I am SO-O-O looking forward to Saturday night's brew review!"

Amen. Sorry, boys and girls, but the ol' man's gotta go to work. Be back soon.

The Little Red Wagon

Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! At beautiful U.S. 30 Drag Strip! ...Where the great ones Run! Run! Run!
(Text size indicates echo effect above. Use your imagination.)

Back in the late '60s and early '70s, I remember good times at good ol' U.S. 30 Dragstrip somewhere in Indiana. Four or five of us teens would pile into car (and, yes, calling "Shotgun!" was in back then too) and make the trip out to the boonies.

One of the best and most memorable exhibition runs was performed by Bill "Maverick" Golden while driving the "Little Red Wagon," a Dodge truck with a 426-inch Hemi engine positioned behind the cab in the bed of the truck. That sucker would wheelstand the entire length of the quarter mile. It'd turn some great times, but it's entire purpose was to wow the crowd. Which it did. We had never seen the likes of this before. Ever.

We had some talk amongst ourselves as to how Golden steered the beast down the track. What we deduced was that there was a hole cut in the floorboard for Golden to see and he steered with right and left braking levers which were connected to the rear wheels. As yet, I haven't verified if, in fact, that deduction is true. A nice article on the Little Red Wagon can be found here.

Whatever the case, I'd like to share these videos of the legendary Little Red Wagon doing his thing. Enjoy on your monitor as I enjoyed in person way back when. (Note: sound levels are screwy here. Be careful if you're a cubicle rat.)

10 strange looking dog breeds

Dogs have been bred for different qualities for centuries: hunting, pointing, herding, etc. But some poor mutts have been bred for a certain quality, namely appearance.

Some of the dogs shown ya just gotta feel sorry for. Others, ya gotta smile at how they look.

Whatever your take on this, check out 10 of the strangest looking breeds of dogs. Then go give a Shih-Tsu a treat.

(SeeHere)

If Apple designed a bed

This is so sweet! It's a cube, it's a bed, it's an entertainment center (of all sorts). Even the commercial reeks of the clean lines and simplicity that Apple is known for.

This is a new product called the Hi-Can canopy bed that does everything except clip your toenails.

You'll never want to go to work again.

Watch the vid below. Speak French? Check out the company's site here.

(BoingBoing)

Crikey! That bloody roo's ringin' on the 9th hole!

Short clip from an Australian newscast about some golfers who are paid a visit by a kangaroo.

So what's so special?

Well, it's got an itch that just has to be scratched right bloody now.

Try to find something like this on American TV.

(MissCellania)

OS ditties

This is kinda sorta interesting. Someone has made a tiny beat box to create a rhythm using just the system sounds from Mac OS X. I offer it here for your viewage.



Nice, simple and to the point.

Not to be outdone, someone in the Windows crowd has done pretty much the same thing with sounds from XP and Win 98. Only it's longer. With more notes. More complicated. And cheating. Of course.

Pic blast