Secret Apartment in Mall Parking Garage Discovered

Tired of paying rent? Then you'll love this story. An artist named Michael Townsend, 36, noticed an architectural void in a shopping mall garage in Providence, RI. The 750 square foot space was used during the mall's construction in 1999 to store building materials. However it remained empty and unused after the mall opened.

Then in 2003 Michael heard a Christmas ad for the Providence Place Mall on the radio. The ad implied that the mall had everything you could ever need - to the point where someone could actually live there. So what did Michael and his friends do? They decided to test that theory. They built a cinderblock wall, complete with a door, and sealed off the architectural void in the garage. Then they moved in.

Home, sweet mall.

From 2003 to October 2007, Michael and his friends fixed up their secret hideaway. The apartment eventually had a sectional sofa and love seat, coffee and breakfast tables, a rug, paintings and a Sony Playstation 2. There was no running water -- but the mall bathrooms were nearby.

Unfortunately a nosy mall security guard ruined everything. According to Michael's blog, his "plans to finish the kitchen, install wood flooring, add a second bedroom and replace the outdated cutlery were put on permanent hold" after he was caught leaving the apartment on October 3rd.

Police Major Stephen Campbell says while he's surprised by what Michael and his friends accomplished, their stunt was still illegal.

Michael has pleaded no contest to a trespassing charge.

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Unexplainable [PIC]

Can this picture be explained? Digg.com user itomixdotcom thinks he has it all figured out.

"Seems pretty straightforward. The UPS Driver accidentally backed down the hill, losing a bunch of his cargo. While he was busy talking with the Police about how to get his truck up the hill, a wedding party was getting their pictures taken nearby. One of the groomsmen forgot to buy the happy couple a present. Just his luck - he grabbed a random box and badda-boom... instant present. Good thing the Bride and Groom happen to be tailors. Otherwise this wouldn't have made sense."

He's got me convinced. What? Think you can do better? Post it here.

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Wi-Fi iPods Expected

Though it is not official, those in the "know" say Apple is just hours away from announcing a new Wi-Fi enabled iPod designed to receive digital radio along with an option to buy content from the iTunes Store. It is not known whether the same functions will be included in the iPhone.

Other rumors about the new Wi-Fi iPod line suggest the inclusion of a wide-screen touch-screen interface like the iPhone, larger storage capacity, Flash based hard drive and a new version of the iPod Nano that can handle video.

On a personal note, I'm ready for a wide-screen iPod. Watching wide-screen formatted movies that I've ripped off of DVD on the small iPod screen has been giving me a headache.

Since the iPod's release in 2001, the hand-held music player has gone from a fun toy to a cultural icon. But it may be time for a revamp. Last year Apple's iPod sales dipped for the first time since 2002.

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Largest Hand in the World

Lui Hua can't play video games or the guitar... at least not yet. Why? He suffers from a rare condition known as macrodactyly. When he was hospitalized in Shanghai last month, his left thumb measured 10.2 inches and his index finger measured close to 12.

From The Shanghai Daily:

"It was the biggest hand in the world," said Chen Zuliang, a hospital official. "Liu’s fingers stopped growing in recent years so plastic surgery was at last possible to correct the malformation."

On July 20 surgeons undertook a seven-hour operation to reduce the size of Liu’s fingers and thumb. Doctors removed 11 pounds of flesh and bone in the procedure. A second surgery is scheduled to take place. Enlarged limbs can be caused by a number of medical conditions. Lymphedema is perhaps the most common cause and results in some extraordinarily enlarged limbs.

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Cheapest Linux Box Ever

Linux users are so creative... and cheap. Sometimes their love for free open source software takes hold in other ways. For example, check out this picture of a custom Linux box I found on afrotechmods.com.

Ubuntu Feisty OS: $0.00. Cardboard box: $0.00. Duct tape: $1.00.

Having the bitchin'est case mod this side of the trailer park: priceless.


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Toddler Calls 911 300 Times

Authorities tracked down a 4-year-old girl who called 911 nearly 300 times last month by offering to deliver McDonald's to her suburban Chicago apartment.

Unbeknownst to her mother, the girl used a deactivated cell phone to call dispatchers 287 times in June — sometimes as often as 20 times a shift. Apparently the toddler was given the old cell phone to use as a toy.

Dispatchers heard the child's voice but could only track the phone's signal to the apartment complex. So authorities used a ruse to pinpoint her.

"We asked (the caller) what she wanted. She said she wanted McDonald's," said Steve Cordes, executive director of QuadCom's emergency center, which covers Carpentersville.

"We talked with her and we convinced her if she told us where she lives, we would bring her McDonald's," he said. "She finally gave us her address. So we sent the police over — with no McDonald's."

After police arrived, the girl's mother took away the phone, Cordes said. Maybe mom should invest in a book called "It's Time to Call 911" which teaches children when it's appropriate to call 911.

Under federal law, deactivated cell phones still must be able to access 911. Many deactivated phones will contact an emergency call center if the user holds down the nine key.

[Source: Yahoo]

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USB Fart Fan

Chances are, you have at least one coworker with a tendency to "let one go" at the office. Hopefully you don't work in cramped cubicle farm. It's not exactly a fun time. Especially when the said fart "lingers" and someone has overkill the room with Axe Body Spray (Paul).

Honestly, we all blow hot air from time-to-time... whether it be talking smack to our boss about how busy we are, or literally blowing hot air after a big Mexican lunch (Chris). In the latter case, it’s good to know we have back up from the good folks at Thanko.

She looks pretty happy. I wonder what she ate for lunch.
The Thanko USB seat vent is designed to cool off that hot seat of yours while increasing air flow to the immediate area. Greg at GetUSB.info proudly filed this under useless USB gadgets. That's probably because he doesn't know Chris or Paul.

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Badonkadonk Land Cruiser Review

Every once in awhile I'll find something really random or weird on Amazon.com (can you say Mongolian Goat Hide Pillow?). But I think that a personal land cruiser/tank named after a giant 'ass' takes the cake.

The JL421 Badonkadonk Land Cruiser is a custom made tank modeled after Jabba's Sail Barge from Star Wars. The exterior is a steel shell with a rust patina. Remember this is a "tank" so there's lots of protective armor like fixed slats protecting the windows, and a unique industrial-strength rubberized flexible skirt that shields and protects the wheels to within an inch of the ground, while still allowing for enough flex to give clearance over bumpy and uneven terrain.

And if you wouldn't be noticed enough just by driving around in a mini tank, the Donk features lots of exterior lighting. We're talking head and tail lights, turn signal lights, trim lighting, and underbody lighting (did they have ground effects on Tatooine).

Don't forget to bring your iPod while you're cruising around in the Donk. Inside there's a 400 watt premium sound system with PA system that you can use to blast sound outside the vehicle.

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Man Quits Job to Make Lego Art

Hate your job? Wish you could just play with Legos all day? Meet Nathan Sawaya. His daily workspace went from florescent lights and dull paperwork to an explosion of color. Sawaya abandoned a career as an attorney in 2004 to take on Lego sculpting full time.

Just imagine that conversation for a second: "Hi mom. I quit my job as a lawyer, sorry for all that wasted money, but I'm gonna play with Legos...."

So what does Sawaya's workspace look like now he's a professional Lego artist? Basically Sawaya lives and works in a Lego playland. Clear plastic crates stuffed with Lego bricks in every hue are stacked high against the walls. There's a computer on the floor, but it's not functional. It's made entirely of Lego and so is the cash register, monkey, bowl of fruit, and vase of flowers.

His medium may be a beloved kid's toy, but some of his signature Lego pieces are incredibly grown-up. My personal favorite is Sawaya's recreation of Han Solo frozen in carbonite.


Want a closer look at closer look at Sawaya's Lego art? Sawaya's national touring exhibit, "The Art of the Brick," is making the rounds. Its next stop is the Discovery Center Museum in Rockford, Illinois, on June 15; it will stay there until September 3. You can get more info at nathanbrickartist.com.

[Source: cnn.com]


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Lazy Segway Mom

Wow, sometimes people are lazy. Here's a picture of a woman pushing her baby with a Segway. Besides being lazy, isn't that kind of dangerous anyway? Because of the way the Segway works, I'm pretty sure she wouldn't be able to reverse quickly or move out of the way with the stroller in case of an emergency.

Click here for a bigger image
Question of the Day: Should you need a license to drive a Segway, or a licence to be a mother?

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How Your Cursor Works

Ever wonder how your mouse connects to the cursor and moves it around your screen? Believe it or not, I found a website that explains this technical process clearly thanks to a giant digital magnifying glass.

Go to this website http://www.1-click.jp/ and then move your cursor around.

Who knew?

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5 Outrageous Inventions

Many inventions are quite useful in everyday life, but these 5 (link) could quite possibly be the most outrageous ever...

Then again, there's always Japanese Chindogu.

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Gmail Users are Younger, Richer, Good in Bed

Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the latest stats show that Gmail users skew younger and richer than those on Yahoo Mail and Hotmail.

Gmail opened up to all comers in February, with Gmail’s market share of US visits climbing 17% from February 2007 to April 2007. However, Yahoo Mail and Hotmail are still much bigger by comparison, says Hitwise: Yahoo had 13x the market share, and Hotmail had 6x the marketshare of Gmail.

The good news, if you’re a Gmail user, is that you may be part of the elite: while Yahoo and Hotmail users are decidedly average, Gmail users tend to be young, have a high income, and be early adopters of technology. 54% of users are between 18 and 34, while 18% have an average annual household income between $100,000 and $149,999 (compared to 15% for Hotmail and 13% for Yahoo Mail).

Another stat, probably related to the young age of GMail users: they’re more likely to be Facebook users than those on the other services.

As for performance in the bedroom - well, we kinda lied. In fact, the stats show that solitary Gmail users are far more likely to Google themselves.

[Via mashable.com]

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Ivy League Grad Gets Lowest SAT Score as Experiment

At the age of 33, Colin P. Fahey decided to throw away his dignity, mock his Ivy League education, disgrace his Master's degree, and prove that in just over three hours he could answer every question on the SAT incorrectly!

If you don't live in the US, then you may not know exactly what the SAT is. The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is a dreaded exam that all high school students in the United States have to take for college admissions. The SAT is given multiple times a year at thousands of testing centers throughout the US. Unless there are special circumstances, the test is given on a Saturday, starting at approximately 9:00 AM in each time zone. So basically if you aren't paying attention, a single SATurday morning can ruin the rest of your life!

Back in 2003 when Collin took the test, 1600 was a perfect score. Remember, Collin is a smart guy. He's an Ivy League Grad. But is he smart enough to get every question wrong? What was Collin's final SAT score? Just 400 points combined (math & verbal). In case you are curious, 400 points is the lowest SAT 'raw score' in history. Congratulations to Collin.

But there's always room for improvement. Collin accidentally got 2 questions right in the math section. I guess you can say Collin intentionally failed at failure. How humiliating! Maybe he'll do worse next time.

Sure 400 seems low . . . but it rounds up to like 540 Canadian right? You can read more about Collin's experiment here.

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Presidental Hopefuls Meet Googlers

The Google Interview could become the 21st-century equivalent of the candidate's pilgrimage to the General Motors plant. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was first, in February, followed by McCain on Friday. The company has extended invitations to all the major candidates and expects more campaign appearances in coming weeks.

"I like to think of (seeking) the presidency as a job interview with the American people," Schmidt, who moderates the sessions, told McCain. "And you're also sort of interviewing with Google. It's hard to get a job at Google."

The company famously demands college transcripts and high grades; Schmidt's staff whooped at the indirect praise. "I know I have my work cut out for me," John McCain replied. After apologizing for his mind-bending opening inquiry, Schmidt, a regular Democratic political donor, heaped praise on his GOP interviewee. He asked a series of gentle questions about McCain's Vietnam War combat and POW experiences, a chapter virtually no one in his audience was old enough to recall.

[Via USAToday.com]

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Did MySpace Buy Photobucket

Talk about a love/hate relationship. It looks like the high-profile feud between MySpace and Photobucket might have jump-started a romance between the two companies. MySpace's move to block content from Photobucket originally got the two parties together in the same room. After that, the two companies stopped fighting with each other and started talking about a partnership... and even a possible merger. The value of the reported merger is estimated to be somewhere around $250-300 million. Photobucket had been shopping itself around for a buyer since late February.

MySpace is smart to make nice with PhotoBucket. According to web stat company Hitwise, "Photobucket Accounts for 73% of MySpace’s Photo-Related Traffic." And many savvy web users have been using Photobucket as a web marketing tool.

Rumors of the deal first surfaced last weekend on the tech gossip site Valleywag. The deal hasn't been confirmed yet by either party.

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Toilet Tunes: iCarta iPod Dock Review

The bathroom. It's one of the most important (and hopefully used) rooms of your home. So much so, that people usually add radios to their bathrooms and provide a soundtrack to their personal grooming and thinking. But isn't this the iPod generation? Why just settle for a radio? The iCarta iPod dock lets you bring and enjoy your iPod into your private sanctuary.

This iPod dock is integrated into a toilet paper holder and is compatible with all dockable iPods. It features four integrated high performance moisture-free speakers and is powered by an AC adapter... so you can power up your iPod while you download.

For showering, shaving, and all other things you might use your bathroom for, enjoy your music your way. Bring in your iPod. Let it enhance each moment of your life.

Power Requirements:

• 12V, 1.5A AC adapter Unit Dimension
• Width 8.25 x Height 3.68 x Depth 7.12 inch, 210mm x 93mm x 181mm
• Accepts standard toilet paper rolls

You can charge your iPod while playing music. The only problem is that it isn’t waterproof – but then again, neither is an iPod. By the way, that song stinks. Light a match.


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Pictures of Geek Culture

These pictures of "geek culture" will either amaze or disturb you. Enjoy.

Did anyone else want to kick over that arch of monitors?

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Million Dollar Remote on Amazon

Amazon.com is currently selling a $999,999.00 1/2 ounce plastic SiK rex remote control that works with the Apple MacBook Pro, iPod Universal Dock, Apple TV, Front Row, iPod Hi-Fi and is Front Row compatible.

No joke. You can see the SiK rex Amazon page here.

Sound too expensive for a little piece of plastic? What if i told you that the remote can be stored in the ExpressCard/34 slot of your MacBook Pro...

Yeah, I'm not convinced it's worth it. But if Bill Gates is reading this.... hurry dude, there is only one left in stock!

This is obviously a just a typo. So I took a screenshot of the million dollar SiK rex remote page and posted it here on flickr in case Amazon takes the page down.

If you are still interested in the SiK rex remote control but not the million dollar price tag, you can also purchase one used or from a 3rd party on Amazon.com for only $25.

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Geekiest Tattoo Ever

The tricky thing about tattoos is that they are for life. Permanent. Forever inked into your body. People always talk about getting a silly tattoo, but usually that's all just talk. Then once in awhile you hear about someone getting a really bad tattoo. My favorite bad tattoo example is either an 8-ball or a donkey on a surfboard smoking a joint. But now I guess I need to add room to that list.

This guy (see image) decided to not only get a bad tattoo, but he added a super nerdy twist to it. In case you don't know what his head/body tattoo means, it's a piece of HTML code currently used when making web pages. Like I said, very, very nerdy. What makes it worse is that this tattoo is on his neck. Imagine having to explain your HTML head/body tattoo to everyone over-and-over again the next time you are at a wedding or social event.

Plus think about this. Sure, today HTML is currently a commonly used computer language. But the Internet is evolving fast. I wouldn't expect HTML to still be that relevant in the next 10 - 20 years. Hopefully techniques in laser tattoo removal will make significant some strides during the next couple decades.


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