The Weird, Random, and Interesting things that Fit Nowhere Else Thread..

[Raithe]

Purely for the funky... (Although I believe it only works when filming with a camera that has the same fps rate as the wave frequency...)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mODqQvlrgIQ

Edited May 5, 2015 by Raithe

[ShadySands]

Nepal’s living goddess, devotees were unscathed by earthquake

 

"Kumari Ghar withstood the devastating earthquake because of Kumari's powers," said 48-year-old Gautam Shakya, an 11th generation caretaker of Kumari. At the time of the quake, Kumari was blessing her devotees on the first floor of the wood-and-brick house with intricate Newari carvings.

 

Tourists, mostly Chinese, were in an enclosed courtyard on the ground floor. (Newars ruled the city states of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Patan and Kirtipur in the Kathmandu Valley until they were subjugated by the Gorkhas in the late 18th century).

 

"Suddenly, Kumari Ghar started swaying. A guide asked the tourists to think of Kumari and hold on to the wooden pillars tight," recalled Shakya. "After the tremors, the temples and palaces all around were in ruins. Eighty-eight people lay dead outside. Nothing happened to Kumari Ghar or the devotees and tourists inside."

[Calax]

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/04/chuck-norris-warns-government-conspiracy-take-over-texas?CMP=fb_us

 

As much as you may enjoy him, Chuck Norris is insane.

[Bartimaeus]

snip

Reminds me of that story about the St. Paul's Chapel in New York, and about how it was the only building in the area around the World Trade Center during 9/11 to be completely unscathed. Fundamentalist Christians like to parrot that off as if the entire event was a sign from God to repent or some such. Interesting stories, regardless.

Edited May 5, 2015 by Bartimaeus

[Hurlshort]

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/04/chuck-norris-warns-government-conspiracy-take-over-texas?CMP=fb_us

 

As much as you may enjoy him, Chuck Norris is insane.

 

1000 years of darkness!

[Gfted1]

Ambitiously Homophobic Nebraska Woman Sues Every Gay on Earth.

 

I wish we had a system to fine people for wasting courts time.

[kgambit]

Ambitiously Homophobic Nebraska Woman Sues Every Gay on Earth.

 

I wish we had a system to fine people for wasting courts time.

 

The best part was in the comments section:

 

[Zoraptor]

To be fair, they'd probably cite Saul as well as Leviticus as justification for their stance which is a bit more difficult to challenge with a flow chart.

 

It is all trumped by "Love thy neighbour" and "Judge not lest ye be judged" of course. It is always ironic how many people forget the Christ part of Christian and regard Jesus as some sort of hippy.

[Raithe]

Not specific books per se, but a kind of interesting article related to the publishing industry via Amazon e-book sales...

For the random interest, here's this... Although I won't copy the whole thing, just the opener for those who might want to grok it.

Author Earnings - Annual Report

 

 

Welcome to the May 2015 Author Earnings Report. This is our sixth quarterly look at Amazon’s ebook sales, with data taken on over 200,000 bestselling ebooks. With each report over the past year and a half, we have come to see great consistency in our results, but there is always something new that surprises us. Often, it’s something we weren’t expecting, like the massive shadow industry of ISBN-less ebooks being sold, or the effect Kindle Unlimited has on title visibility. This time, we went into our report curious about one thing in particular. But we were still not prepared for what we found.

If you’ve been shopping for ebooks on Amazon lately, you may have seen this new addition to many ebook product pages:

This announcement can be found on ebooks from several of the largest publishers, and it appears to serve as both an apology from Amazon and also a shifting of the blame for high ebook prices. Amazon has stated in the past that they believe ebooks should not cost more than $9.99. Self-published authors are no doubt familiar with this price constraint, as their royalties are cut in half if they price higher than this amount. But after a contentious and drawn-out negotiation with Hachette Book Group last year, Amazon relinquished the ability to discount ebooks with several publishers. Prices with these publishers are now set firmly by them.

Soon after these agreements went into place, industry observers noted an upward move in average ebook prices. Freed from Amazon’s discounting, and with complete control over pricing, the publishers made a decision to push the price of many of their books above $9.99.

 

With six quarterly snapshots, each snapshot consisting of 50,000+ of the top-selling ebook titles, we plotted the average price by publisher type to see just how much prices have gone up. The blue bars show the price of self-published ebooks for each of our reports. The purple bars show the average price of Big 5 published ebooks.

 

 

Since we started pulling this data, the average price of an ebook from a Big 5 publisher has gone up 17%. Compare this to a difference of 5% for self-published titles, or the increase of 7.5% across Amazon imprints. The prices for Big 5 published ebooks have risen quite steadily, rather than a sudden surge since the return to agency.

What will the effect of these pricing decisions have on unit sales, revenues, and author earnings? We were eager to find out.

 

    The May 2015 Author Earnings Report

We start with a simple counting of the number of titles on Amazon’s ebook bestseller lists. No math involved, just a detailed look at whose works are showing up as top-selling titles. For comparison, we included the same graph from our January 2015 report.

Number of Titles in Amazon’s Ebook Best Seller Lists

 

In the last three months, the Big 5 publishers have seen a 26% reduction in the number of titles on Amazon’s Best Seller lists. This means fewer titles are selling well enough to make these lists, and it also means fewer titles are receiving that added visibility.

Ebook Unit Sales

Over the same period, daily unit sales from the Big 5 have fallen 17%. This is a measure of the average rank of each ebook. Just as publishers study the New York Times bestseller lists to gauge the strength of their competition, we are looking at the same thing. But with a sample size of 200,000, rather than 20.

Ebook Gross $ Dollar Sales ($ Readers Spent)

 

Next up, we factor in the price of those ebooks to see how much money is being spent. Here, we see that daily consumer spending on books by Big Five publishers took less of a hit, with market share of daily revenue down 7.8%. Remember that prices on these titles have gone up. Publishers are trading lower volume sales for more dollars per title. But this might not be as clear a trade-off as it seems, as we’ll explain later.

Ebook Dollar Revenue To Authors

 

Most importantly for authors, we can see here a huge loss in daily earnings from Big 5 publishers of 20%. Their higher prices aren’t just hurting readers; they haven’t been good for their authors either. And authors seem to understand this, as many implored Amazon to continue discounting their works during negotiations with publishers last year. Now it is impossible for Amazon to discount these books, and publishers and their authors are losing revenue as a result.

Edited May 7, 2015 by Raithe

[kgambit]

Amazing house made from Shipping containers:

 

http://pv14house.com/

 

Edited May 7, 2015 by kgambit

[JadedWolf]

Amazing house made from Shipping containers:

 

http://pv14house.com/

 

 

I guess the upside of living in such a building would be that once inside, you don't have to look at the outside of it.

Edited May 7, 2015 by JadedWolf

[Raithe]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Gtio4V1L3o

[Raithe]

Business Insider - American Habits that Travelers Give Up

 

 

 

At the end of January 2011, I got a stamp on my passport at Incheon Airport outside of Seoul, South Korea. Freshly 24, I had just spent a year teaching English in the Korean capital. 

 

Next stop: Beijing, on the way to Lanzhou, an industrial town in the center of China where I'd celebrate the Spring Festival with my friend and his family. 

 

It was the start of the Big Trip.

 

Though I didn't set out with a firm itinerary, the journey ended up being a month in China, then a little under six months in Nepal and India. From there I flew to Frankfurt, where I spent three months couchsurfing, hitch-hiking, and otherwise tramping across Europe. It was a trip that changed my life. 

 

Here are a few of the American habits that I had to lose to make it all the way. 

 

 

1. Needing a comfortable bed to sleep in. 

 

Growing up in relative wealth in the upper Midwest, I slept in queen beds through high school and into college, not downgrading to a full until I got to Seoul. 

 

Then I found myself on the road — sleeping on trains, in chairs at the bus station, on floors, and in a variety of tiny beds. Since I'm 6'3'', the five-foot beds that I sometimes folded myself in in Asia were quite the sleeping area.

 

On one memorable occasion, my sister and I were trekking up to Tilicho Lake on the Annapurna Circuit, which sits at a reported 16,237 feet above sea level. Needless to say, it was freezing cold out, and the walls of the room of the hostel-y basecamp that we were staying in didn't quite meet the roof, leaving a six-inch gap that allowed snow to blow into our room. My sibling and I had to survival-cuddle through the night. 

 

It was nuts.

 

After all that madness, I developed such a tolerance for suboptimal slumber that I can pass out just about anywhere. 

 

 

2. Needing space. 

 

My hometown in Illinois has about 150,000 people. My college town, also in Illinois, has 90,000. 

 

Then I got to Seoul: metro population of 25 million. Traveled to Tokyo: 36 million. Shanghai: 24 million. New Delhi: 16 million. Istanbul: 14 million. London: 13 million.

 

From spending time in all those megacities, I grew much more comfortable with standing cheek-to-jowl with people on subway cars, crammed shoulder to shoulder on public buses. And there's nothing quite like train stations in Delhi to teach a deferential Midwestern boy to assert himself in a crowd — when lines aren't a part of a country's culture, it's up to the would-be ticket buyer to get facetime with the teller. 

A good skill when you live in New York.

 

 

3. Needing air conditioning. 

 

Air conditioning is an American invention. Historians argue that it's the reason the South and the Southwest are inhabited with the density they are today — would 2 million people live in Houston and 1.4 million live in San Antonio if they had to sweat through Texan summers?  Probably not. 

 

But when you're backpacking through Asia and Europe, air conditioning is not nearly the constant that it is here in the US. I remember being loopy with heat in Amritsar, India, the home of the Golden Temple and the center of the Sikh Faith. This was in the dead of the Indian summer, and the temp had to be near 100° during the day. I almost died. Not really, but it felt like it. 

 

I came to tolerate, and even enjoy, the heat. Subsequent yoga classes have taught me that the summer is when our bodies are at their loosest, and there's something about that loss of tension that's quite enjoyable. Plus when you're without air conditioning in the place you're staying, you get more acclimated to the heat.  

 

While people might think it's crazy, in the three summers I've had in New York, I haven't had an air conditioner. I just rely on fans when it gets hot out. 

 

 

4. Needing to avoid strangers. 

 

I grew up with a lot of Stranger Danger: 'don't talk to anyone you don't know, kids', my eight-year-old self was told, 'or they'll rob and/or kidnap you.' 

 

Coupled with an introvert streak, one too many games of Magic: the Gathering in my early youth, and the fact that I went to college with my best friends from 9th grade, talking to strangers was super intimidating for me in my early 20s. 

 

Then I got out into the world. Started hosting Couchsurfers. Had to befriend my fellow teachers in Seoul to not suffer from unbearable isolation in a foreign country. Hung out with different varieties of weirdos that frequent the world's supply of hostels. Started doing lots of hitchhiking, making conversation in my (charmingly?) broken German. 

 

Now talking to strangers doesn't make my heart jump into my throat and my stomach fall to my feet. And aside from people I've worked with, it's how I've made just about all my friends in New York. 

 

 

5. Needing to convince everybody of my viewpoint. 

 

Perhaps I am exceptionally annoying, but 16 years of American education taught me that I needed to prove myself to my peers and my teachers by way of making a case for my point of view all the time. And unfortunately for my friends and the girls I dated growing up, being right was a favored pastime within my social life as well. 

 

But with all that time abroad, I learned a little bit more about when to defer and when to simply hold my tongue. A backpacker buddy and I once got a ride from Prague to Brussels with a guy from Egypt who had a keen interest in religious politics, at one point declaring that "Israel was a cancer in the Arab world that needed to be removed." The angry atheist that I was at age 21 would have wanted to make the case for secular pluralism, but the backpacker I was at age 23 knew it better to let that hate speech slide.

 

Sometimes you just need to get a ride.

[Raithe]

 

[Raithe]

CNN - Mexican American BBQ Owner Sets up a White Appreciation Day at his Restaurant

 

 

The owner of a Colorado barbecue restaurant who drew criticism for offering a "White Appreciation Day" discount says he wants to celebrate Americans of all races, not just one.

 

What started off as a joke about how there's no holiday that celebrates "the white community" has been misinterpreted as a racially charged promotion, said Edgar Antillon, co-owner of Rubbin' Buttz BBQ and Country Cafe in Milliken.

 

"We are an amazing culture here in the U.S. We're a melting pot," Antillon told CNN. "But we should include white people in that, too."

 

A sign posted in the restaurant's window announcing "White Appreciation Day" on June 11 reads, "Because all Americans should be celebrated."

 

In an interview with KUSA-TV this week, Antillon said it was unlikely that he would offer a discount to other racial groups. On Saturday, however, Antillon told CNN that any American -- white, black, Asian or Hispanic -- who visits Rubbin' Buttz on June 11 will be offered the same 10% discount.

 

 

Antillon said he understands the need for heritage months to celebrate groups overlooked in history. As a Mexican-American, he said he has experienced racism firsthand. But, that doesn't mean any race deserves to "segregated" to a monthlong celebration, he said.

 

"I should be celebrated every day of the year, but so should white people and so should black people," he said. "We should all be celebrated all year long."

News of the discount drew mixed reviews as it spread across the country this week, prompting the restaurant to address the controversy on its Facebook page.

 

"Although we've had overwhelming support for it, there are a few who are filled with hate and/or misunderstanding. People full of hate and negativity want your attention, don't give it to them. Stay happy!" the statement said.

 

Some responding to this message dismissed it as a publicity stunt, while others condemned it as a racist promotion that downplays the history of racial inequality in the United States.

 

"Yeah, like the rest of the year doesn't already belong to the White people!" one commenter said.

Others thanked Rubbin' Buttz owners for acknowledging that "whites deserve the same amount of appreciation as any other race."

Antillon apologized to the community of Milliken and to his restaurant's former owners who, like him, have been targets of threatening messages, he said.

"Our intention was not to put white people on a pedestal," Antillon said. "It was merely to fight fire with fire."

[Raithe]

Hm, for the slightly breaking..  George Zimmerman Shot

 

George Zimmerman Shot in Florida

 

George Zimmerman — acquitted by a Florida jury over the death of Trayvon Martin — was involved in a shooting in Lake Mary, Florida, on Monday, police spokeswoman Bianca Gillett said.

 

Officers at the scene said it appeared Zimmerman suffered a minor gunshot wound at a home on Lake Mary Boulevard, east of Interstate 4, Lake City Police Chief Steve Bracknell said.

[Hurlshort]

That guy might have been safer in prison.  

[Malcador]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lfmp16_RxN0

[ShadySands]

[Gorth]

That was one of the best explanations I've seen in a long while (if not ever) of introverts. Being one, I could definitely relate to it

[Malcador]

Seems to be a really one way street there, though

Edited May 13, 2015 by Malcador

[Raithe]

EpicTimes - Police Advisory

 

 

 

A police department in North Adams, Massachusetts has issued a very specific request to the residents of that town: please avoid chasing bears through the woods with a hatchet. This became an issue when a man was taken into custody for drunkenly doing exactly that. Here’s how the cops responded, with one of history’s most unique Facebook posts:

 

**Chasing bears through the woods drunk with a dull hatchet is strongly not advised**

The North Adams Police Department is urging everyone to NOT chase bears through the woods with a dull hatchet, drunk. Yes that really did happen tonight. We understand there are bears in the area. If you see a bear, LEAVE IT ALONE and call us. We certainly don’t need anyone going all Davy Crockett chasing it through the woods drunk with a dull hatchet. It is just a bad idea and not goi...ng to end well. It will however, certainly end you up in jail…which it did. The hatchet man was taken into protective custody due to his incapacitation from the consumption of alcoholic beverage. We are still trying to figure out what his end game was. Any thoughts on what he was going to do if he did locate it? We would certainly like to hear because we have no idea.

 

 

Edited May 13, 2015 by Raithe

[Raithe]

With the back and forth of some threads..

 

[Raithe]

Okay, now that's a games room. I don't know whether to be impressed and jealous, or think of all the other important things they could have invested in....

 

 

[Agiel]

That's some esprit de corps:

 

Edited May 17, 2015 by Agiel