World Population Reaching 7B

I found this interesting app on the BBC website. As our earth's population reaches another milestone, don't you ever wonder where you fit it? How many people came before you? How many people have been alive on earth from the beginning of time? (I'll leave any discussion of religion out of this. :) Which country is growing the fastest? Which country is shrinking in population? You can click here, type in your birthday and see where you fit into our world's population history. Very cool indeed. For even more info, visit the UN Population Fund's site - 7 billion and me.

But wait - It gets even better!

So this is a continuation of my last post - sort of. I've come to find out that people hoop for lobsters off of the kayaks I mentioned below. Brilliant! Lobster season started earlier this month and a recreational license will set you back just $7. You have to go at night and being near a jetty or a protected cove helps. There's a cove off Catalina that's particularly good, though I admit I haven't been there ... yet. Bait the hoop net, throw it overboard, wait about half an hour and see what you catch. 20 feet of water should be deep enough to trap. Sounds like an adventure!

Kayak Love

I'm doing it again. Fetishizing transportation. lol This time it's a kayak/sailboat hybrid. Now I'm not a fan of sea kayaking. I don't like feeling like a little twig, meandering on the vast ocean. Too slow, too vulnerable. This meaty beauty, however, is something to love. It's a kayak with 2 outriggers, a sail, and pedals (similar to a recumbent bike) to power the boat forward. No more paddling - WOW! (I realize I may be offending the purists among us and I'm okay with that - lol) It'll take about 5 hours to get to Catalina and I've just added that challenge to my bucket list. And since your hands are free, you can catch dinner on the ride over. Brilliant! You can learn more about these 1 or 2-person hybrids via Hobie Cat.

Here's an on-board view of this baby at sea.

No more blisters for the band?

Italian product designer Max Battaglia has unveiled his Hyper Touch Guitar. It's a touch screen instrument with no strings. Via it's on-board interface, you can tweak the guitar's number of strings, tone, volume, etc.

I both wonder how it sounds and fear that in a couple generations, the acoustic stringed instrument will be relegated to the position of relic. I hope this isn't the case!!!!! You can read more about his designs at http://www.givingshape.it/

Welcome to your new leg workout

Done in 60 seconds. :)

Man's answer to the push-up bra

This makes me giggle with glee. Really.

I've occasionally wondered if a man ever feels cheated or wholly deceived when he unmasks a tit-set (yup - I said it - tit-set) from one of those Victoria Secret bras that promises a TWO cup-size increase. Bras, when fitted properly, can be miracle workers, magical anti-gravity machines, restoring youthful perkiness and hiding all sorts of nasty natural phenomenon that plague aging boobies. But men - listen up - Andrew Christian's come to your rescue!

The saying "Don't get mad - get even" comes into play with the designer's set of mens underwear that includes a soft, cushy cup in the shape of a penis. Y'all can now rock your own version of "I'm pretending to be more stereotypically sexually-appealing than my genes dictate." The brief's design even outlines a very prominent penis head. O....M....G!

Now, I confess - as I meander through this life, mostly in very polite society, the sight of such a bulge with a head clearly visible makes me question the bearer's common sense. The phrase "cover that sh*t UP" comes to mind. But candidly, if I've had a couple of drinks and find the bulge-owner attractive in other respects, I think I just might be intrigued and curious to learn more. lol

These magically-enhancing undies can be seen (and purchased) here at Andrew Christian's site.

I'd love to see just one set in person. Hell, I might even try 'em on.

It's ok to give a guy a break

In January 1995, a research rocket was launched from Norway to study the aurora borealis. Boris Yeltsin was the Russian President and Russian officials, detecting the launch, mistakenly believed the incident signaled a US missile attack from a submarine. Yeltsin was brought the Russian nuclear-command suitcase and he was faced with the ungodly decision of launching a counter-attack against the United States. Long story short, he correctly decided the reports must be a mistake and life continued to along as usual. Thank you, Boris Yeltsin!

Very scary story, wonderful outcome. Again, thank you, Boris Yeltsin. Having said that, I've never seen this incident reported (on American television) without a wise-cracking addendum like "Phew - I'm glad he hadn't had his morning vodka yet" or "Thank god - it was early and he was sober."

I admit I have, at best, an 8th grader's understanding of 1990's Russian politics and I know Yeltsin was not a popular Russian president. But, I think it's frivolous and (I'm likely making up a word here - lol) unelegant to joke about something so serious. Actually, to joke about two things - a potential nuclear attack and a government official's drinking habits - in light of the gravity of the matter.

I don't really have more to add. It's just been on my mind recently - bothering me. You can read more about the incident here.

On a much, MUCH lighter note, Happy Holidays! :) lol

Wild Riversurfing

This is the craziest river-surfing I've ever seen - in Switzerland no less!

If you lived here, you'd be home by now

The perfect holiday gift for the office IT guy. Available at thinkgeek.com.

12 men, 12 nipples, 12 patterns

Artists Fernanda Viégas and Martin Wattenberg create online visual representations of data. (Have I lost you yet? I promise that will be the driest sentence in this post :)

They've created very cool visual studies of erogenous zones, breast shapes, male nipple hair growth patterns (hence the title of this post) and body parts mentioned in songs, arranged by genre of music. After a visit to their site, I now know "the tush" is the most-mentioned body part in Hip-hop music. No surprise there really. :)

In any case, I can't really explain the site. I'm not doing it justice. The website is coolly interactive. There's nudity. It has a minimalist design. Go check it out. You will not be wanting that time back later. ;)

http://www.fleshmap.com