Archive for 2011

Oregon’s new basketball court– strangest ever? (Video)

by:

Boise State’s blue football field, move over. You’re no longer the strangest playing surface in college sports.

The University of Oregon unveiled its new “looking up through the fir trees” basketball court Thursday night to reviewers’ head-scratching and complaints from TV viewers about glare from the light-colored “sky” section.

Not surprisingly, the new Matthew Knight Arena, like most everything Duck, was financed by Nike’s Phil Knight, who’s also responsible for the football team’s ultra-modern uniforms. The floor was designed by Tinker Hatfield, a former UO trackster and vice president of design and special projects for the Oregon-based shoe company. It’s intended as a tribute to the Ducks’ 1939 “Tall Firs” national championship team and to the Northwest in general.

Oregon Live’s Sean Meagher provides this review:

From my view in the 100 level last night, the in-person court visuals are not overwhelming. Being accustomed to the standard basketball court, it does take a minute for your eyes and mind to adjust to Tinker Hatfield’s take on the floor, but the contrast and glare are not nearly as stark from an arena seat as it appears to be on television. That said, I wouldn’t be opposed to a little subtlety … but who are we kidding, it’s Nike.

Rats! A rude subway wake-up call

by:

There’s no subway in our city, and this video from New York is enough to make me grateful for that.

A rat is seen scurrying across the floor of a rolling subway car, exploring. At one point, he scampers up the leg of a sleeping man, who awakens to find the rat staring him in the face.

The best part: The startled guy assuring the cameraman he’s fine.

Yeah, he may be OK with it, but I’m just a little grossed out. Yuck.

(Via Huffington Post)

Slater hater destroys Mario Lopez urinal tribute

by:

ABOVE: A now mullet-less A.C. Slater, aka Mario Lopez.

Chicagoland police were summoned to a sports bar named “Mullets” after a presumably intoxicated patron destroyed a framed photograph of A.C. Slater from Saved By The Bell.

The mullet was just too much.

Slater, the Army Brat and school jock at Bayside, played by Mario Lopez (more recently of Dancing With the Stars and Extra fame) held a position of honor in the men’s room.

No official word on what incited the violence:

Chicago Tribune:

“I just don’t like Slater,” the man reportedly told the owner after allegedly yanking the photo from its place of pride above a urinal and smashing it on the floor.

Was it the pleated Z. Cavariccis? The way Slater treated Jessie during senior year? Or something darker — was Slater somehow involved in the disappearance of sister J.B. Slater, who according to IMDb.com appears in a single episode before vanishing forever like Richie Cunningham’s older brother in “Happy Days”?

Or maybe he should’ve just passed on that drink, unlike Slater at that infamous senior-year toga party (you know, the one at Ox’s house, which led to the drunken driving crash in which Slater hurt his shoulder and learned that, even if Lisa was elected homecoming queen, you can’t just toss your morals out the window).

(read more)

‘Prophet’ says DADT repeal killed birds

by:

With at least nine unexplained incidents of mass animal deaths occurring worldwide this year, birds dropping out of the sky have become almost a daily phenomenon.

Arkansas red-wing blackbird deaths

Arkansas' red-wing blackbird deaths remain unexplained

The Bay Area, however, has been mercifully free of strange bird kills. Or at least it had until Saturday.

The bodies of more than 100 small birds, apparently the same species, were found strewn over the ground Saturday afternoon off Highway 101, south of Geyserville, according to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. A local warden took several of the brown-and-black birds to be tested by a biologist.

How they died is unknown. One theory is that the birds were hit by a semi rig, but police said that was just speculation.

The Geyserville incident is the latest in a series of “X-Files”-esque bird deaths that scientists are struggling to explain:

* 10,000 dead turtle doves in Italy (theory -sunflower seed gluttony).

* 5,000 dead red-winged blackbirds in central Arkansas (blunt-force trauma from source unknown).

* 500 dead birds in Pointe Coupee Parish, La. (may have hit power lines).

* 200 American coots found dead in Tyler, Texas. (cause of death undetermined).

* Scores of jackdaw carcasses in Falkoping, Sweden. (theory – stress from fireworks).

Evangelist Cindy Jacobs, self-described “world recognized prophet to the nations,” has another theory. She suggests bird deaths are an “answer from God” for the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

“According to biblical principles, marriage is between a man and a woman, so we have to say ‘what happens when a nation makes a decision that’s against God’s principles? Well, often what happens is that nature itself will begin to talk to us – for instance, violent storms, flooding.”

God may be killing off birds, but He has apparently spared the loons.

Jacobs: Birds Dying Because of DADT Repeal

Hundreds of birds found dead in Louisiana may have hit power lines UK Daily Mail

Australia: Video puts the ‘flash’ in flash floods

by:

Australia has endured a deadly series of floods.

On Monday, a flash flood roared through Toowoomba, Queensland, leaving 10 dead and 78 missing.

This video shows just how quickly the water surged through Toowoomba, sweeping away cars as if they were corks.

Black market hooch: Four Loko trading on Craigslist

by:

In a recent example of gotcha-journalism at its finest, a New York television reporter from NBC New York hits the internet in search of Four Loko.

The banned caffeine-laden malt beverage has become a cult obsession among the young and drunk — even inspiring DIY concoctions — but apparently, you needn’t go farther than the Craigslist “collectibles” listings.

What’s the over/under on whether these were pounded behind the station after the 5 o’clock news?

Chevy Volt wins a round against Nissan Leaf

by:

The Chevy Volt isn’t an electric car, exactly. The Nissan Leaf is. Nevertheless, the General Motors car scored a victory today when it beat out the Leaf and the Hyundai Sonata to be voted the North American Car of the Year by automotive journalists at the Detroit auto show.

The Chevy Volt has been voted the 2011 North American Car of the Year. (Getty Images)

The Volt is a plug-in hybrid with a 1.4-liter gasoline engine (comparison). Unlike hybrids like the Toyota Prius, it is capable of all-electric operation, going about 35 miles before internal combustion kicks in to power the battery for another 300 miles or so.

The Leaf has a range of about 100 miles, excellent for an all-electric car but not competitive with gasoline-powered cars.

Both have tiny sales, but the Volt outsold the Leaf by more than 10 to 1 last month, 250-350 for the Volt, less than 20 for the Leaf. At this point, sales are mostly a function of production, as both have long waiting lists and will be ramping up their assembly lines this year.

The Leaf, which won the European Car of the Year award, has many fans and narrowly won the CNet head-to-head competition shown below. But given that U.S. drivers have a higher comfort level with a longer-range vehicle, as well as the larger market share of GM in this country, it seems likely that Volt proves the bigger hit domestically.

Map of the recent mass animal deaths

by:

I didn’t realize just how many bizarre cases of mass animal deaths have occurred in the past month, until I saw the custom Google Map shown above.

Birds and fish have been dying en masse left and right, prompting many people to start talking about conspiracy theories or the apocalypse. Scientists, meanwhile, have been telling the public these die-offs aren’t rare.

But jeez — how common is this?

In the map above, most of the incidents are dead fish. Birds also seem quite unlucky.

The great thing about the Google Map is that each location is accompanied by a news story about the incident. Want to learn about the estimated 100,000 dead drum fish — yes, one-hundred thousand –that clogged 20 miles of an Arkansas river three days ago? Check the report here. Didn’t hear about how summer weather is killing off penguins in New Zealand? Link and learn.

Check out the custom Google Map here.