20 worst foods in America

Before you consider getting that Whopper with cheese check out these delicacies. Guaranteed to make you appreciate your aorta all the much more.

This graphical slide show put together by NBC11 lets you scroll through all 20 dishes. You'll start off thinking, "Yuck. Who would eat that?"

Somewhere along the line you'll think, "Hmm. That doesn't look too bad."

The 20 worst foods are here.

The history of the Italian crotch grab

Many of us have seen the gesture of the "horns," where only the index finger and pinky are extended. And the widely known flipping of the bird. The Italians, however, have a history of some the gestures they use and the crotch grab is one of them.

This is not to poke at Italians, as I would never belittle a nationality. However, this is an interesting history of a gesture, somewhat like etymology, or the origin of words.

"'Ey, I gotcher hand gesture right here."

The most sweartastic movies

Find a stick. Better yet, find about ten sticks. Then start shaking them one at a time at each instance. When one breaks, get another. Shake the stick.

Why?

Here's a list of movies which have more f-bombs, curse words and foul language than you could shake ten stcks at.

Every man should carry a pocket knife

I've been carrying a pocket knife since I was a Boy Scout when me and Robert Baden-Powell hung around together. It has been an indispensable part of my "wardrobe" and a very handy tool at any given time. The one I have I bought at Sears in 1974 and I still have. Sharpened it 116,596 times. Every Christmas, I have to pull it out and pass it around for everyone to zip open their gifts. It is now fondly referred to as the "Christmas knife." The style I have is called a "toothpick." It's similar to the one shown above except for the curved part of the liner.

If yer a man, you will have a pocket knife; no ifs, ands or buts about it. Why? You must read this very interesting article on why every man should carry a pocket knife.

(ArtofManliness)

New site news

A lotta stuff goin' on. Wordpress got itself upgraded to version 2.5 and I'm runnin' v2.3.2. I had some decisive moments whether to upgrade the new place manually or wait until the Host has it as a one-button install. I decided to stick with what I have and wait.

The last, needed graphic header came in and was put in the queue in the header file. Now the new place will have a random graphic header any time the screen is refreshed. I've tried to keep within the topic of what SixPackTech is all about. Cars, tech, beer, humor and a babe or two. You will love it.

For now, I'm concentrating on getting the old good stuff into the new place with easy navigation. The large chores are done. Now comes the coolie labor and repetitive copies and pastes.

Finished or not, I will probably go live next Sunday night. Even if there's more stuff to do. (Jeez, I'm such a perfectionist!)

Next week. It's my goal. New Brew Review, new site. Going LIVE!

Hope to see you there.

Ride the Lightning

As some of you know - perhaps independently, perhaps because you astutely deduced from my handle, I make my living as a cop. Hard to hide that when referring to myself as fleetflatfoot. Anyway, I went through some interesting training today as a way to keep myself, my colleagues and my city safe. My department has entered the new age and purchased TASERs for us to carry and deploy as needed.

I'm sure most of you are familiar with what a TASER does, and you may have seen the infamous "Don't Tase me, Bro" video. You may also disagree with its function, as media outlets often skew the facts on an incident where it is used and fail to tell the whole story. Whether you are pro or anti-TASER, allow me to educate:

TASER is an acronym for Tom Swift' And his Electric Rifle. Tom Swift is a fictional book character, and the inventor of the TASER, Jack Cover, was a fan, giving the character a nod by naming the device after him. A TASER is classified as an Electronic Control Device (ECD), but TASER is the most recognizable name in the business, therefore becoming a household name. TASER is the name of the company, with each device getting its own product name, such as the X26.

The TASER has evolved throughout the years and the current model works like this: Two metal barbed probe projectiles are fired from a cartridge which attaches to the "stun gun" portion. The gun delivers an electric current through steel wires which connect to the probes. The probes penetrate a subject's (bad guy's) skin and shock the bejesus out of him in an effort to gain compliance.

The difference between a traditional stun gun and a TASER, is that a well-placed TASER shot will place the probes somewhat far apart on a bad guy's body. It allows for a larger area to be affected, completing a circuit which allows electricity to coarse through the body. The bad guy loses control, goes rigid throughout all his muscles, and is physically unable to resist the shock. A stun gun is used more for pain compliance, which a very strong person, or someone extremely high on drugs may be able to fight through. Not only is the TASER painful, but it disrupts the muscles' ability to obey the brain's signals to move independently.

Believe what you will about TASERs, but I urge you to check out their website if you have doubts. Despite many claims that a TASER contributed to a subject's death, TASER has never been found liable for anyone's death, and they have tons of research and numbers to back their product. You'll find everything you want to know directly from them.

Now on to the fun stuff: the real reason for this article. At the conclusion of class today, after learning about situations in which to deploy the TASER, its effects, and how to properly operate it, we all performed practical tests and became certified to carry TASERs as a less-lethal force option. But, just so we could add validity to our knowledge of the TASERs effects, to give us more credibility when testifying in court, we were given the opportunity to be hit with it for a full 5 second cycle.

That's right. The choice to be TASEd was before me. How could I deny it? I felt the overwhelming urge to display my manhood amongst my peers and take the ride. Check me out, below. Go full screen if you can.



So, how does it feel? One classmate described the sensation as "like licking a 9 volt battery, but all over your body." I agree. But it's so much worse. It is so hard to describe, but I can give you tidbits of what I felt:

I wanted it to be over the instant I got hit.
When the instructor told my spotters to lay me down, I didn't want to be moved. After looking at the video, I realize that they laid me down almost immediately. It felt like 5 seconds before they were even told to move!
I could almost see electricity arcing between my eyes.
I don't remember if I was breathing, but I remember the groaning.
The only thoughts in my head were: "Wow, this blows," and "Oh, man, when will 5 seconds be over?" It felt like WAY longer than 5 seconds.
I heard the pop from the device shooting the probes at me, but I never felt them impact my body and didn't feel them being plucked from my skin. I was hit dead-center between my shoulder blades with one and waist level on my left side with the other. That probe actually penetrated my leather belt and still stuck in my skin and delivered the current. The second video shows my reaction when my spotter tells me I may have to take a second hit because of my belt. Yeah, real funny.
I actually feared the barbed probes worse than the shock initially. The actual probes used to shock me are pictured above. What a souvenir!

When the current stopped flowing, the pain and rigidity went away completely. Nothing hurt except my calves, which I flexed so hard they cramped a bit. They are still sore now, 3 hours later. For the next 30 minutes, I felt like I was coming down from a huge adrenaline rush, feeling exhausted but still excited from what I had just experienced.

So I survived, but I have no lousy T-Shirt to prove it. My heart didn't stop, my breathing wasn't affected, and I couldn't do a damn thing. I look forward to having this tool available to keep myself alive at work. I wish some of the doubters could take the 5 second experience to know just how effective the TASER is. TASER even offers a free X26 (over $800 value) to any officer who withstands 30 seconds of the beast.

Not me, brother. I'd rather die than wish for death for 30 seconds.

Official rules for calling Shotgun

The "shotgun" position is the front, passenger seat of a car next to the window. This obviously hearkens back to the days of the stagecoach and the guy who sat with the shotgun next to the driver.

For example, you and your three buddies decide to drive Burger King (or anywhere for that matter.) If you want to sit up front, you have to be the first to call out, "Shotgun!" to get dibs on the passenger seat. The other guys have to sit in the back.

We did this when way back when I was a teen just after the Civil War. My kids still call "shotgun" today. But, there are rules. Yes, official rules for Shotgun.

Here is the history of the shotgun position. For the Official Rules of calling Shotgun, click here.

Top 10 loudest noises

Dontcha just hate those kids who cruise your street in the neighborhood and bump the walls and windows of your place as they drive by? (Some with buzzing trunks, pfft!) Or maybe you are one of those kids who, etc.

Who cares if you have a 6-times-ten-to-the-eight-watts of power blasting out of your "system" when the human eardrum only responds to decibels. 120db to 130db is the threshold of pain in human hearing. To avoid permanent damage to one's hearing, it's wise to wear hearing protection.

Here are the top 10 loudest noises to be prepared for.

Google office in Zurich

This one goes out to all you cubicle rats who have to run a maze every time you gotta go to the can or get a coffee. Google, as we all know, is a gigantic company, much hated by Microsoft, who comes up with clever and cool ways to do things we thought never could be done. Many times offering the stuff for free.

So what's it like to work for Google? First, there are the interview questions, the likes of which will leave a MENSA veteran scratching his head. If the prospective candidate is accepted, the office environs are second to none. Employees are known to spend sometimes 20 hours a day at the job. Most of the amenities (pop, food, etc.) are free.

So what does it look like inside the Google office? Check out a great pictorial of their office in Zurich, Switzerland.

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.

No post? What gives?

So it's about 2:00 PM (1400 hrs. to you Military/Police/Air Traffic Control personnel), and I'm doing my regular internet rounds. E-mail, local news, and of course, SixPackTech. Except there are no new posts, which is weird, since there are usually 5 new ones by now. Strange, but I figured the Old Man was either in the middle of adding material at that very moment, or saving it all for one mass posting.

So I went to work and had nary another thought on the matter. But as fate would have it, my boss asked me a Mac question I couldn't answer. So I promptly thought of the best Mac mind I knew and phoned the Old Man at the 'ole warehouse. He not only answered the question with multiple solutions to the problem (winning me valuable brownie points in return), but mentioned how his household internet took a dump and the provider would be out to service it "sometime."

I took it as my personal responsibility to offer an explanation to the faithful readers as to why there was inexplicably no new material. But I also decided to seize the opportunity to get back on the saddle and end my no-post hiatus. There was no good reason for it, just a combination of laziness and and unrealistic standard of perfection I wish to include in my posts.

So in the interim, I submit for you a video of my dog. Maybe I'll set it up on YouTube someday, but you get a sneak peek, I guess. Perhaps it's not a great post, and definitely not what I consider a "high quality" submission. But cut me some slack. It's 1 AM and I just got home from work. I'm scroungin' here! At least it's a video.

No Huskies were harmed in the making of this video. in fact, they were fed.

Macworld 2008 in 60 seconds

The folks at Mahalo Daily have compiled a 60-second video which hits all the main points and new announcements that Steve Jobs presented at Macworld on Tuesday of this week.

Yep, it's all there.

In 60 seconds.

You'll watch it, won't you? It gets better and better and better.

15 most bad-ass bald guys

Who knew? Who realized that having no hair is still considered manly. It's in the whole body presentation.

Here's 15 bad-ass dudes, from video games, from movies, from everywhere. All of them hairless.

Check out the article right here and witness for yourself. Pics videos and info.

(DoubleViking)

Never drink and drive

I'm presenting an extremely graphic photo slide show of a crash involving a drunk driver.

If you are susceptible to gory pictures, then pass this post up.

If you're going to drink, enjoy it at 0 miles per hour and 0 rpm.

Don't let this happen to you.

Don't do this to someone else.

Extremely graphic warning: click if you dare.

Why Guinness tastes better in Ireland

Not a lot of us have tried a Guinness beer. Even less of us have been to Ireland.

For those who've never been to Ireland, we've nothing to compare Guinnesses to if we drink one. We have no reference.

Here are two interesting facts that will get you thinking the next time you order a Guinness on draft.

With pictures.

Retro iPod dock

Not quite what you'd call Steampunk but rather retro is this iPod/iPhone dock powered by "the richness of tube technology".

This unit looks awesome, but it comes with a catch. It runs about $800 and speakers are optional. With only 25 watts per channel.

But it shore is purdy.

More info here.

(Neatorama)

Gift ideas for the Switcher

If you have a family member who recently switched to a Mac and gave up that convoluted hairball called Windows, here are some gift ideas on what to buy him/her.

The short list was compiled by The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) and their suggestions are perfect for that new Mac user in your life.

There's some stuff here that I might get for myself.

TUAW gift suggestions.

Gift ideas

If your head has locked up and you can't think of a unique gift to give for that geek in your life, Check out Think Geek.com.

T-shirts, toys, gadgets and other way-cool miscellania are there with some some decent prices.

Here's a link to the Think Geek site.

Coke can WiFi signal booster

Boost the signal of your wireless router with a coke can. Great way to access the interwebs when you're visiting a friend across town. (nah.)

Interesting d.i.y.

Unexpected uses for beer

Beer has many uses in the world other than being a mellowing agent and urinary cleanser. I've taken the liberty of clipping a great list of other things you can do with beer.

Quite interesting.

by 131242313424, Nov 25, 2007
There are many different uses for beer besides getting drunk.

There are many useful uses for beer besides drinking it and having fun. Most of us just enjoy drinking beer, but the truth is, it can be used in a variety of different ways. Especially when you don't want to throw away any extra beer you have. Here are just 10 examples of what you can do with them.

1. Marinate meat in it - Use beer instead of wine to marinate your meat. Not only does it taste better, but it also makes the meat softer and more tender.

2. Help grass grow easier - pour beer on those irritating brown spots on your lawns to help your grass grow. The grass absorbs the nutrients, sugar and energy it needs to be able to grow.

3. Kill slugs & snails - Fill containers or wide-mouthed bottles or something of the sort with beer about a quarter to half way up. Then bury these in your garden. The slugs or snails will be attracted to them and drown.

4. Kill mice - This may sound a little far-fetched but fill a bucket or pail up about a third of the way with cheap beer with a board or something leading to the rim at the top. The mice, smelling this, will jump in, and not be able to climb out.

5. Calm a stomach-ache - Just sit down and drink a beer. This carbonated drink will settle your stomach right down. The alcohol helps reduce the pain as well. Don't use if you have an ulcer or gastritis.

6. Polish gold - Wet a piece of cloth with some beer and start rubbing your gold (no stones) to get the shine back. Use a second cloth to dry it.

7. Bathe in it - Add a few cans of beer into your bath. Believe it or not, it will do you good. The yeasts are good for softening and soothing the skin.

8. Polish wood furniture - Let some beer sit until it goes flat, then, dampen a washcloth with it, and rub your wooden furniture. This will polish it, and give it a more shiny and healthy look.

9. Cook with it - When boiling shrimp, try using beer for the cooking liquid. Season as you wish, but don't overcook.

10. Drink it!

(Source)
via SeeHere