Red Army Faction Projector

This homemade hand held projector can sense when a camera flash has fired, and then instantly project an image into that field of view. The potential for mischief is endless.

Thanks Wired
Categories:Gadgets

Andrew Bush: Drive

Andrew Bush: Drive. $65 or $40 at Amazon.

From 1989 to 1997 Andrew Bush of LA drove his car with a camera pointing level at 90˚ to his direction of travel. He called the resulting images Vector Portraits.

This is an idea I've been considering for some time. I feel comfortable taking photos from my car. And I would feel comfortable not being the first person to try this. In fact, this past week I was taking photos of drivers behind me using a point and shoot camera suction-cupped to the rear window of the Mini. This didn't work well. Reflections off the windshields masked the drivers faces. An expensive DSLR with filters might fix that problem, but I really want to keep it simple.

Via Retro Thing
Categories:Cars Art

The Chrysler Death Watch

What will happen to the Chrysler car company as their sales decline?

Chrysler is no longer a publicly held company and therefore does not have to release its profit and market performance figures the way Ford and GM must. So it's hard to know how things are going over at Chrysler, but I'd guess it's worse than at Ford/GM. After all Chrysler was bleeding cash when Daimler-Benz owned it. The Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 models are popular cars, but the rest of the line up is bland and mediocre. Sure, the new Challenger will be a hit in the pony car segment, until everybody who wants one has one, then sales will slump. The Dodge trucks, like all trucks, are not selling. But there might be a bright spot there: Nissan plans to sell a restyled version of the Dodge Ram as a Nissan Titan. Selling the Jeep division would bring in some needed cash. But who would buy Jeep? Tata would have wanted Jeep, but they just bought LandRover/Jaguar from Ford. Perhaps China's largest car company SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) will step in to buy Jeep when Chrysler goes under.

I think that when Chrysler does lock the factory gates, Ford and GM stock will jump in price as punters look elsewhere for American-made. Which is something to consider, with Ford at $4.98 and GM at $11.55!

Categories:Cars

Chrysler WiFi

Chrysler will offer "WiFi" as a dealer installed option in some of its' cars.

If this Internet connectivity is intended to be used in the same the way we use our WiFi at home with a laptop computer, then this is totally useless for most people.

Even if this "WiFi" is intended to be used by the cars' navigation system, or to stream audio and video, then we're still looking at technology that's bolted to the car. What we really need is nav/aud/vid that works wherever we are. Just like a mobile phone does, and a car-phone does not.

Categories:Cars

Passive Aggressive Anger Release

By Katja Kublitz and Ronnie Yarisal.

Thanks LikeCOOL

Rover 2000TC Desk

Why make an office desk from a Rover P6? Because a Rover P5B desk would just be too intimidating!



Images from Steely Sam
P5B photo by Misiu
Thanks Rüdiger
Categories:Cars

Plus 4

The Morgan company will celebrate its' centenary next year. They continue to make the traditional 4/4 and Plus 4.

When a car is popular for a long time, the model name endures long after its original meaning is lost. This is the case with the 4/4 and Plus 4. So curiosity got the better of me and I asked Morgan for the explanation. Here is their reply:

"When the Morgan Motor Company began to manufacture their first 4 wheeled Morgan over 70 years ago they called it the 4/4 - 4 wheels and 4 cylinders!

"When they began to manufacture a slightly more powerful version they called it the "Plus 4" - plus a bit of space and plus a bit of power.

"Just to add to the confusion - both the 4/4 and +4 have been made a 2 and a 4 seater version of both....."

Categories:Cars

George Carlin

George Carlin died on Sunday.

He had the ability to tell the truth and make it funny.
This is my favourite Carlin (Not office safe. Of course):

"This country was founded by a group of slave owners who told us "all men are created equal"....This was a small group of unelected white male landholding slave owners who also suggested their class be the only one allowed to vote."

Image from JAMD

Like Hitting a Brick Wall

Motor racing is quite safe when the driver has complete control of the car. It only gets dangerous when the car is out of control, and beyond the drivers ability to regain control. That's why race tracks have runoff areas and gravel pits. Solid walls are only used where a car would strike a glancing blow.

Putting a K-rail at the end of a drag strip is not a good idea. Yet that is what happened here, killing the driver.

Scott Kalitta - Crash
by valentin63

Categories:Cars

The Greenberg Horse Hitch Fire hydrant

The design of this Greenberg fire hydrant on our street corner dates back to the 1880's. It's the same as the famous golden fire hydrant at 20th and Church in Noe Valley that saved the Mission District in the 1906 earthquake and fire.

The ball on top of the hydrant was made to give firemen a place to tie up their horses. The pump would be connected to the hydrant, and then the driver would take the horses to a safe location down the street and tie them to another hydrant.

Thanks www.firehydrant.org
Categories:San Francisco


Update 6/22/08:
Anonymous said "Hi, It'd be nice to know where "on our corner" actually is????"

Our corner is 9th Avenue and Kirkham Street, in the Inner Sunset of San Francisco.

iRetroPhone

Unplggd (Apartment Therapy's little brother) brought this whimsical app to my attention.

The rotary dial application from ObjectGraph will be available when the Apple iPhone App Store goes live. Ars Technica thinks that might happen June 27th.



Categories:Gadgets

1971 Austin Mini Automatic - $8000

The Mini I wrote about here is for sale on Craigslist. It's in really good original condition. I prefer a 4-speed manual gearbox, but if you like automatic transmissions, the Mini has one of the best. It's a fully automatic 4-speed. Quite efficient. You won't feel as if it's slowing you down. Not your usual slushbox.

Categories:Cars

Bicycle Water Bottle Cage Coat Hook

You wouldn't hang a jersey on a coat hook because the knit would stretch. However, you can hang a jersey on the Bach coat hook.

A quick look at their website confirmed my suspicions: The $10 stainless steel Bach is clearly modeled after a bicycle water bottle cage. Nothing wrong with that. But why not reverse engineer the Bach. Water bottle cages are cheap. They come in colours. And they have built in screw holes. Perfect.

Corvette Assembly Line

The Corvette is a supercar that can compete with the best in the world, but at a fraction of the price.

It's an example of one of those things America does best. Like Apple Computer, Dove Soap, Bose audio, Hewlett Packard calculators...




Thanks Autoblog
Categories:Movies Cars

Davies Symphony Hall Smokers Balcony

I used to buy season tickets to the symphony. During the interval I'd smoke a cigarette on the balcony. I imagined the balcony would collapse and fold flat against the side of the building. It looks like it's happened once before.

Davies Hall photo by Kewlio

Sqish Camouflaged Satellite "Dish"

The satellite dishes provided by DirecTV and Dish Network are grey, smallish, and they don't really detract too much from the appearance of older San Francisco buildings. But if you live in the UK and don't like the look of a conventional dish, then this flat rectangular box (48cm x26cm x7cm deep) from Sqish might just be the ticket. Send Sqish a photo of the wall behind the mounting location, and they will send you a Sqishoflage sticker with your order.

Starting at £150 + £25 for the vinyl sticker.

Thanks Red Ferret
Categories:Gadgets

Glassdoor.com Salaries list

Do you want to know how much your coworkers really make? Take a look at Glassdoor. It's a list of salaries and work conditions for specific jobs in specific companies.

Anyone can access the information, provided they first write a review of their own job. You list your job title, salary, then go on to evaluate your bosses and review your working conditions. It's all anonymous.

Glassdoor is in Beta. There are 3000 reviews so far. But with the "Give-to-get" subscription model, I imagine the number of users must be growing fast.

"Spare the Air" Day in Fremont

.

There was a clear blue sky here in Fremont this afternoon until fumes from a Fremont foam factory fire filled the air with alliteration.

Bureau by Marina Bautier

I'm a big fan of stick wood furniture (See the Rietveld Chair). It's sooo easy to build if you're willing to make a few creative compromises in the construction. It's also light and sturdy. And designs such as this can be the inspiration for your own design.

Designed by Marina Bautier for Atlantico

Thanks DesignBoom
Categories:Furniture

NY Video Time Lapse

This is the type of time lapse movie I'd like to make.
There are no opening credits. The movie starts straight into the action. The music builds continuously. Credits at the end. I would only change one thing: fade out the music at the end.


Thanks Henry


Update 6/13/08:
More cool time lapse from Henry Yee on YouTube.
The YouTube version of the above video has a smooth fade out at the end. Plus this version has fewer frames. Thanks again Henry.

iMoan

You're surfing on WiFi. Then you go back to surfing on 3G. All of a sudden "twice as fast" seems just as slow.

Sadly, 3G is the best thing about the new iPhone. Yes it has GPS. But I'll forgo the GPS if I can just copy-and-paste text. If you can't edit, you can't write. The inability to perform such a basic function is inexcusable. Apple, pick up the ball.

Body Painting

Artist Guido Daniele strikes a James Spader pose.

Categories:Art

Presidio Street Sign History Lesson

These new street signs are near the Parade Ground on the Presidio. The Presidio (1776) is the oldest European settlement in San Francisco. Many of the streets are named after historic figures. The one line biographies are welcome.

(BTW, the building in the background is the home of the Internet Archive.)

Categories:San Francisco

Frontier Mentality

In July last year, officers from the Department of Fish & Game shot and killed two coyotes in Golden Gate Park that they believe had attacked two large Rhodesian Ridgeback dogs. These dogs weight 70-80lb. The little coyotes (20-30lb) were very brave, and must have been protecting something important. Good for them.


Today I saw this sign on the Presidio, in the forested area above the Calvary stables. Similar signs appeared in GG Park before the shooting. I hope this doesn't mean we're in for another coyote kill.

It's Not You. They do it to Everyone.

Do you ever thing that you are the only person who is the victim of aggressive car drivers? Do other drivers follow you at an unsafe distance? Has someone blasted their car horn the instant the traffic light turns green? Have you been cut-off in traffic, and then felt the urge to show that driver the correct use of turn signals?

I'm quite sure your answers are yes, yes, yes, and yes!

The reader survey results on this website should be reassuring to anyone who has driven a car, that you are not alone. More interesting than your own results are the combined results of everyone who has taken the survey. I think you'll find the results reassuring:
At some time during their commute, the vast majority of drivers are aggressive, careless and confrontational.

Survey here

Thanks CarDomain via Jalopnik
Categories:Cars

Brilliant Guerrilla Musical

Advertisement for Lastminute.com shot at London Stansted Airport:


Thanks Adverblog
Categories:Movies

Real Frustration and Violence Viral Advertising

Thanks Gizmodo

Update 6/12/08:
It turns out that this video is not real. It's a viral marketing campaign for a film called "Wanted". It fooled me. It looks real. And with no reference in the viral video to "Wanted", how am I supposed to find out about this movie? Okay, so I know about "Wanted" now, and you know about it now. But neither of us are going to buy tickets. This viral marketing is too smart for its' own good.

Hangover is Dangerous

Thanks IBIA

Then and Now - Automotive Monogamy

Automotive Monogamy by Matteo Ferrari

"...Matteo has been roaming the streets of Italy looking for elderly people driving vintage cars. He then asks them if they’ve had the car for many years, and if they took a picture of them posing next to the vehicle when they purchased it. If it’s the case he recreates the same shot, if possible in the same location, 20 or even 40 years later." -Yorgo Tloupas of Intersection Magazine

Thanks Perpendum
Categories:Art Cars

Analogy Screensaver

A clock that is both analogue and digital.

Download the Jesson Yip screensaver.