28 OCT 2007
I imagine prison must be a boring place most of the time, and so anything to break the monotony must be worth trying. It must take a whole lot of organisation to get as far as this prison in the Philipines though, who have managed to enact a mass version of Michael Jackson's "Thriller". An absolute must-see, especially on the run up to halloween.
You can find other performances of theirs on YouTube, such as a thousand or so people all simultaneously playing air guitar and moshing to "Canon in D, rock version", or the more sedate "Do the Hustle".
Category > Internet
6 OCT 2007
In the audiophile world of high-end sound systems you can spend quite ridiculous amounts of money for top of the range kit, with all kinds of special benefits. Below I’ve collated a few of the most amusing accessories you can buy, most of which require their very own set of the rules of physics (not supplied).
1. The Furutech RD-2 Demagnitizer
De-magnetise your CDs for clearer sound with more dynamics and power and for only 400 Euros! Yes, demagnetise your, um, polycarbonate plastic CDs. Plastic being a famous magnetic material. Oh hold on, CDs do also have a thin aluminium layer on one side to make it reflective… nope, not magnetic either.
If you’re as geeky as me you might enjoy looking at this pdf of their principles of operation, including their hypothesis that “electronic current generates magnetism when it flows”, one of the fundamental rules of electromagnetic theory since about 1820.
2. The Stealth Dream power cable
Must you have the absolutely perfect audio-visual system? Then you need Stealth Technology! Yes! A mere $3200, yes that’s $3200, gets you your own 2m cable (though remember you need one for each bit of kit) with its proprietary helium para-vacuum (15 times better than a normal vacuum). Unlike a Dream cable,
other cords have ground path which is not RF transparent enough to realistically dump the electromagnetic pollution to the ground...and thus compromise perceived clarity of the sound.
What’s great about this company is that they even admit they’re conning you on the page you’re looking at:
This is a theory, and it's based on our own "model" of how things work. Some people would disagree (there is always someone who disagrees with any theory).
3. Anything from Machina Dynamica
These guys are just full of all kinds of bizarre gadgetry. Maybe you want a pair of Ultra Tweeters? For $400 they'll sit on top of your speakers and
provide better definition, greater depth and transparency of soundstage and more solid imaging. The improvement to sound quality is also apparent in the upper bass and midrange frequencies.
This is all the more impressive given that they apparently work above 1 GHz, which is both way above the audible frequency range of the human ear (20 Hz - 20 kHz) and far above anything your amp could actually be producing.
So maybe we should try something else? How about some Brilliant Pebbles? No fiddling about with cables here, simply place your jar of highly-specialized, proprietary minerals/stones in the corner of your room and they'll act as a "vibration node damper", an "EMI/RFI absorber" and they'll "reduce comb filter effects caused by very high sound pressure levels in the corners when music is playing". Only $129, a relative bargain.
Category > Internet
4 SEP 2007
Dave Gorman has a brilliant examination of the deterioration in excitement provided by the toy in a modern kinder egg, or Egg of Numbing Inevitability as Bill Bailey would call it. Yes, it matters. I don't know why.
Category > Internet
28 SEP 2005
I encourage everyone to read about the new cult rapidly sweeping through the civilized world, namely the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Rarely has a religion managed to so clearly explain the origin of life and global warming so accurately.
Category > Internet
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