Duct Tape Serenity

Duct Tape Serenity

Wow, someone apparently made a Firefly-class ship completely out of duct tape. For size comparisons there is a lifesize Jewel Staite, not made of duct tape.

#firefly #serenity #jewelstaite  
http://cheezburger.com/8328468992

This was the first

This was the first

Have a look at (better: inside) the first Boeng 747, from 1969, still kept preserved.

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/5652936500/inside-ra001-world-s-first-boeing-747-jumbo-jet
http://www.dpreview.com/articles/5652936500/inside-ra001-world-s-first-boeing-747-jumbo-jet

You probably all have seen at least one video/gif of a bicycle/motorbike stunt where someone rides up a ramp, and...

You probably all have seen at least one video/gif of a bicycle/motorbike stunt where someone rides up a ramp, and then while flying through the air does some incredible moves. Looks great, right?

Here is a different perspective, taken from the bike, showing that sometimes it's better not to let go...

#whatcouldpossiblygowrong  
http://cheezburger.com/8329487104

Seeing that my mom made an "Apfelstreuselkuchen" (apple crumb pie is probably the closest) reminded me that I hadn't...

Seeing that my mom made an "Apfelstreuselkuchen" (apple crumb pie is probably the closest) reminded me that I hadn't baked any for some time, so I thought I reset that timer...

Zeelandia/Anping Gubao - a Dutch fortress in Taiwan

Zeelandia/Anping Gubao - a Dutch fortress in Taiwan

Wilco Roos asked for photos when I mentioned old Dutch cannons in Taiwan, so here we go: There was indeed a time when the Dutch ruled Taiwan, from 1624 to 1662. Not a lot of people know that. After attempts to establish bases around Macau and on Penghu, the Dutch decided for a settlement at what today is Tainan.

Here they built a fort named "Zeelandia", construction lasting 10 years. This fort was built right by the sea, as you can see on the painting. But these days even their forward gun position is far from salt water.

It is amazing that some of the old walls survived for so long, especially considering (by today's standards) how they were built. This settlement was established to allow trade with China and also Japan. All this went well for some time, then came Koxinga.

His real name is Zheng Chenggong, and to be honest, he was not really Chinese: While his father was Chinese (a pirate), his mother was Japanese, and he was born in Japan. Nevertheless he saw himself more as Chinese than Japanese.

He was loyal to the Ming emperor (yes, the one with all the famous porcellain), who was overthrown by the Qing. He had fought the Qing in China, and when the Ming forces were defeated he sailed to Taiwan, to establish a base there to... ah, I think one could say "retake the mainland". (Where have I heard that slogan...?)

Koxinga arrived with 25,000 men in 1661, laying siege on the Zeelandia garrison with its 2,000 men. Requested reinforcements never arrived, so after nine months(!) the Dutch had to surrender. They wre allowed to leave, but Koxinga did not get far with retaking anything, he died the same year.

Btw, I know a number of Taiwanese who really are not fond of Koxinga, because without him Taiwan may now still be somehow Dutch...

Only in 1684 did the Qing finally take possession of Taiwan - and in 1895 the island went to Japan as a result of the treaty of Shimonoseki - until 1945. So, in case you hear someone say that "Taiwan has always been part of China", that "always" is equal to 211 years. (Vietnam has been part of China for way longer.) Please imagine the Michael Caine quote once again.

So, now you know that there could have been windmills in Taiwan, but are not, thanks to a pirate who was not happy with the current overlord in a country he wasn't even born in. And if you ever make it to Taiwan: Tainan (the oldest city on the island) is always worth a visit, for many reasons.

Play the game, arm the correct moderate fundamentalists!

Play the game, arm the correct moderate fundamentalists!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ByQh4Q7CAAA2T1w.jpg:large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ByQh4Q7CAAA2T1w.jpg:large

We had a very nice sunset today, but I did not have much time to enjoy it as I was driving home.

We had a very nice sunset today, but I did not have much time to enjoy it as I was driving home. A red light allowed this quick shot through the window. The clouds are probably trailing yesterday's typhoon.

This could become very interesting:

This could become very interesting:

- Jesus not crucified
- Jesus not god's son...

Buy popcorn shares!

http://www.latintimes.com/1500-year-old-bible-discovered-turkey-indicates-jesus-christ-was-not-crucified-171471

via blog.fefe.de
http://www.latintimes.com/1500-year-old-bible-discovered-turkey-indicates-jesus-christ-was-not-crucified-171471

In case your feline companion is too noisy on #caturday: socks.

In case your feline companion is too noisy on #caturday: socks.

Cat in Socks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AGkGdYUoV4

I really had to laugh when I saw this one...

I really had to laugh when I saw this one...

Originally shared by Captain R.B.

It be International Talk Like a Pirate Day! I hope ye all have a great grand day and yer night is filled with rum and booty! ;-)

It says this is version 3.0.

It says this is version 3.0. I wonder what other countries will be added next time and how they deal with their problems.

I must say though as a German, that not all problems are solved that easily in Germany. Just take a look at the capital's international airport, which has been in the making for 24 years - and isn't ready yet. (And don't ask when it will!)

Originally shared by Helena !

Problem? Based on location. Hilarious.

Automagic language acquisition

Automagic language acquisition

One of the numerous myths people cling to here in Taiwan says that if you play some English or Japanese music or children program to children, they will automagically pick up the language, without the need for your intervention. Miraculously, this myth is especially popular with people who do not have very close ties to foreign languages.

And it goes so far that now, with the availability of compact computers (including mobile phones), children even get their dose of meaningless animation or other films while they are supposed to eat.

Yes, I know, language acquisition is slightly different between children and adults, but that doesn't mean children will pick up a language just by being presented with some material in it. Children require interaction, response. They will of course observe their environment and imitate, but they oly imitate what they have seen/heard a few times.

You may have noticed that children pick up special habits their parents have, vocabulary, sayings, responses. That's because they saw those more than once. Just playing an animation that was made by a team of unmotivated people who's only goal was to stretch the film to the desired length does not equal that.

This is not better than placing children in front of a telly and leaving "education" to that device...

Finally!

Finally!

via Mrinal Singh, but only spotted because Daniel Koeker plussed it.

Originally shared by Eric Wagner

Apple, your time has come - and you know it!

Apple, your time has come - and you know it!

via George Ferreira

Originally shared by Geraldine G

Eric Reich LOL!!

Muahahaha!

Muahahaha!

Originally shared by Bill Howard

Never forget:

Never forget:

Now with 560bhp.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_911
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_911

This one is cheaper and overall much better for you, trust me...

This one is cheaper and overall much better for you, trust me...

Originally shared by Krystyn Chong

Apple watch

#fruitsoflabor
#tech
#skills

via Robert Randolph and Family

The Fappening didn't need to happen

The Fappening didn't need to happen

Originally I didn't want to write anything about this, but over the weekend I had a strange encounter of the third kind, where I was accused of "yapping", "victim blaming" and "victim shaming" for simply explaining how something like this could be prevented - without even once using the word "celebrity" or talking about them.

Well, if that's what some people want to call attempts at preventing such events in the future - strange name, but so be it. Because whatever you may call it, it's way better than the alternative: Doing nothing but sticking your head in the sand, whining, complaining and letting it happen all over again and again.

If you are a really busy executive, here is your summary: 1) Immaterial objects, data, are very easily and quickly copied. While you keep yours, someone else may quickly have his/her identical edition. 2) If you give something away, into the care of someone else, then that thing is no longer under your control. 3) What gets on the internet, stays on the internet. No law, punishment or compensation can get data completely off the internet once they were there, especially if they are data of "high interest".

Long edition: The terminology that was thrown at me over the weekend was that used in relation to rapes, which may have been intentional, as nude photos seem to have been involved. That is however a pretty emotional reaction. From a security point of view however they were just data, albeit important ones. They could as well have been credit card or other financial data, secret phone numbers etc. No drugs were involved in accessing them, and no violence.

They could be accessed because a) they existed and b) they were given in someone else's care: the "cloud", which is just a nicer name for "a computer on the internet". So instead of saying "I've put my photos into the cloud." try "I've put the numbers of all my Swiss bank accounts on a computer somewhere on the internet, secured by my email address and a password which is of course my doggie's name." Can you still sleep well?

Every privacy advocate will tell you that the best way to protect data is not to collect them. That's why they try to prevent the buildup of databases that are not by all means necessary. Someone (a man) told me he has to have the right to take nude selfies, and not taking them would be "puritan". (I would like to see what happens to him after he says that to a woman.) So, are you taking those photos for your personal pleasure, because you love yourself too much? Or are they meant to be given away to someone?

The latter seems more likely - and there the photos are leaving your control. I met a few women who knew near to nothing about computers, IT security etc, but they knew one thing: If I don't want nude photos of me being circulated, then the best thing to do is not letting such photos being taken. You can look, you can touch, but no photos. Period.

If you give such photos to another person, you probably trust that person. Do you still trust in a year or two, after you had a serious argument and broke up? Do you trust that person's new partner, who moved in and is now using the computer with the nude shots on it? The photos left your control, there is nothing you can do. Sleeping well?

But even if you didn't give them away, your photos can easily end up elsewhere. Quite a few articles/posts emphasized how complicated the internet and all this computer stuff is, so it's normal that even experts can fall into traps. There are however pretty simple, non-IT reasons that should get you thinking.

The US government has publicly announced that they reserve the right to check and confiscate every computer, cell phone etc crossing their borders. Now, how much would you like the average TSA agent to browse through your nude selfie collection?

And if you don't cross those borders, but put your photos "into the cloud", there are quite a few government agencies who can issue National Security Letters to obtain data from companies, and those companies are not even allowed to tell you about it. You don't need to be an "IT expert" to understand the implications.

And also this is rather simple, but it shows that some people still have not understood immaterial objects and the internet: In the thread I mentioned in the beginning, the OP demanded that leaking those photos should be a crime and the culprit be brought to justice.

Well, things like that are a crime in most civilised countries, and rightly so. But even if they catch the bad guys, punish them and give you "compensation", you may not be very happy. And that's because we are talking about immaterial objects.

If someone steals your car and is caught, the law will see that you get your car or an equivalent back, plus maybe a compensation. If someone breaks your window and is caught, the law will see that you get the window fixed and maybe a compensation. In both cases the original condition is restored.

If someone gets hold of your nude photos, leaks them on the internet and is caught, you may get some compensation - but your photos are still out there on the internet, the original condition can not be restored. So if the money you get as compensation outweighs the fact that everyone can see you naked now - outweighs it at least for you, then fine. But if it doesn't, you may find that preventing such photos from getting onto the internet is the thing you need to concentrate on, because the law can not get your photos off the internet, not completely. Once your photos or other data are there, especially if you are "famous" and your data of "high interest", there is nothing you can do to reverse this.

Btw, did you notice how deeply technical this post is? No? Then maybe it can be explained (and understood) in rather simple, non-technical terms. In that case I have two more suggestions for you: 1) Not everything the ads say is true. 2) Not everything that can be done also needs to be done by all means.

It's not quite a liquid, you know...

It's not quite a liquid, you know...


http://cheezburger.com/8307791360

Pizza to go

Pizza to go

I got something special for dinner today: mobile pizza. They are not a very frequent sight, but around here there are two mobile pizza ovens, standing at a different location each evening.

So today it was "Spicy Mexican" - and Nimrod liked it too...

OK, here is the proof. Finally a photo!

OK, here is the proof. Finally a photo!
#ukraine   #russiainvadedukraine

What surprises me personally: Those toys have either been in production for a very long time or they are very old. When I was a child I had all three tanks (though not at the same time) in the middle column: a PT-76, T-55 and a ZSU-57/2.

https://twitter.com/RusEmbassyUAE/status/507226671401824256/photo/1

via blog.fefe.de
https://twitter.com/RusEmbassyUAE/status/507226671401824256/photo/1

Do you need a gift for someone you hate?

Do you need a gift for someone you hate?

Here are some inspirations.

Sadly, these objects are only rendered, so all you can purchase from the creator is a print:

http://society6.com/katerinakamprani/the-uncomfortable-watering-can-in-mint-coloured-background_print#1=45

But, at least these can serve as some kind of inspiration, so you can make the one or other yourself, or get them made.

http://weburbanist.com/2014/09/02/bad-by-design-everyday-objects-reworked-to-frustrate-users/
http://weburbanist.com/2014/09/02/bad-by-design-everyday-objects-reworked-to-frustrate-users

Perfect indeed.

Perfect indeed.

http://cheezburger.com/8300915200

There is a rebate if I rent the whole day, right?

There is a rebate if I rent the whole day, right?

http://cheezburger.com/8300345856

I knew it! Its all a scam!

I knew it! Its all a scam!

That's why it's so dark at night, they are stealing the sunlight, there is only enough for half a day now!

Originally shared by Robert Misner