A Welsh View

Peculiarosities

Man Changes Name To Pronoun `They'
Man Transforms Living Rooms Into Pubs
Briton Surfs Tsunami, Survives

Restaurant To Charge £650 For NYE

Daily Telegraph: It's £650 a head for New Year diners who land on Mayfair

Many people look forward to spending New Year's Eve in style and as much splendour as they can afford but tonight one London restaurant is going to test diner spending power like never before.

By charging customers £650 each for its special New Year's Eve dinner, the Cipriani in Mayfair has become the most expensive spot in Britain to see in 2005, perhaps even the world.

"It's going to be fantastic, amazing," said Mauro Manfe, one of the Cipriani managers.

"It will be history in the making, with a lovely orchestra and magnums of Dom Perignon all night long. There will be lovely food and whatever drinks you want; a Bellini cocktail, a brandy afterwards, whatever."

The article has details on the full menu and compares the resturant to other swanky restaurants who are not even charging half what the Cipriani is.

Millions Of People Are Searching For Tsunami Videos

It seems that there are millions of people out there searching for videos of the SE Asia tsunami. I have noticed a big increase in traffic (today looks like it will be my busiest day). So far I've had 6,500 hits. I thought that was a lot but take a look at the stats for Cheese and Crackers who have been hosting and linking to tsunami videos. Wow! That's what you get for being linked to by the Drudge Report.

According to Cheese and Crackers they have served up 114TB, yep that's right, 114 TERABYTES! This is after Apple pulled the plug on the videos because of the amount of bandwidth being used. PunditGuy also felt the wrath of thousands of people sucking up his bandwidth. As a result he got stung with a $1,000 bill from his hosting company.

Stretchy Ear Lobes

A video clip of a man with very stretchy ear lobes. They are so stretchy he can put them in his mouth. [via]

Liquid Shüz

Liquid Shüz - the stiletto-fetish shoe beverage holder that's original, distinctive and entertaining. [via]

Ship Happens

Mainichi Daily News: Ship happens! Man hurt as freighter slams into homes

An old man suffered minor injuries in a freak accident here early Saturday after a cargo ship captain fell asleep and his craft slammed into three coastal homes, destroying them, Japan Coast Guard officials said.

Haruo Abe, 76, suffered a dislocated shoulder when the Shintsunetoyo-maru cargo ship rammed into his home, sending it tumbling to the ground.

Masuo Hamada, skipper of the Shintsunetoyo-maru, is being questioned by coast guard officials about the incident, which occurred at around 2:30 a.m. Saturday.

Hamada, 56, admits to being in the wrong and may face charges.

"I fell asleep," the captain told the coast guard.

Technorati: 20,000 New Blogs Every Day

According to Scoble who paid a visit to Technorati yesterday, 20,000 new blogs are being added to Technorati everyday! That's a lotta blogs.

Fox New's Good News for 2004

Fox News have published their version of good news for 2004. I knew that Fox News were crap but what they've posted is ridculous, hilarious even. According to Fox News

The world is less violent

America, and the world, is healthier

The world is cleaner

The world is less poor

As someone on Fark eloquently puts it...

Fox News: Creating its own reality

News Of The Obvious Part 2

On a similar note to yesterday's New of the Obvious post, here's another.

A new study gives scientific clout to a conclusion many already see as obvious: Eating lots of fast food makes you fat and increases the chance of developing diabetes.

A study published in the Lancet medical journal this week found those who frequently ate fast food gained 10 pounds more than those who did so less often, and were more than twice as likely to develop an insulin disorder linked to diabetes.

Banda Aceh Before And After

These satellite images show Banda Aceh before and after the tsunami wiped out two thirds of the city. [via]

Related: Towns vanish in Aceh, Aceh tsunami may have killed 50% local govt employees, Indonesian military resumes rebel raids in Aceh

Update: More before and after shots.

Scientists Use Toy Microscope To View Space Dust

An article on how scientists are using a kid's microscope for viewing space dust amongst other things.

Andrew Westphal, an astrophysicist at the University of California at Berkeley, says he was recently able to examine some microscopic dust from outer space with the help of the RX5's plastic lens. That is because a conventional microscope's glass lens would have suffered from the hydrofluoric acid used to separate the particles from other elements. "Had it not been for the toy, we would have been at a loss," he says.

[via]

Phishing IQ Test

How well would you recognise a phishing email? Take the test to find out. I got 90%. [via]

Related: Netcraft Anti-Phishing Toolbar [via]

Galagon 2004

Galagon 2004 is an excellent clone of the old-school game Galaga.

Peculiarosities

Prisoner Hides In Sofa
University Offers UFOs Course
Man Get 'Queen' To Open His New Kitchen
Spiderman, Superman and Batman Involved In Burger Van Bust-Up
Man Chews And Swallows Finger During Bar Brawl

Disaster Relief Scams

I was wondering when these would surface.

67yo Woman Could Become Oldest Mother

BBC: Romanian, 67, pregnant with twins

Romanian doctors say a 67-year-old woman is seven months pregnant with twin girls after fertility treatment.

If the pregnancy comes to full term, it is believed that Adriana Iliescu, an author and academic, will become the oldest recorded mother.

Last year, a 65-year-old Indian woman gave birth to a boy.

I'm not even going to begin discussing why this is wrong.

Here Come The What Ifs

Here's an article from the AP saying that a tsunami could hit the West Coast. Experts are saying that it 'could happen' but probably won't and that because it happened 300 years ago it could happen again soon. Crap!

Update: Another what if [via]

Little Britain Fans Steal Llanddewi-Brefi Signs

icWales: Comedy show fans take village's signs

Fans of Little Britain desperate to get their hands on memorabilia from the cult TV comedy have stolen all three Llanddewi Brefi signs from the Mid Wales village.

Locals say tourists have started flocking to Llanddewi Brefi since Dafydd - or Daffyd as it is pronounced on the programme - became one of the show's most popular characters as the "only gay in the village".

At first most were happy to have their pictures taken alongside the village place name, but in the last week or so all the signs have disappeared.

Related: In pictures: Llanddewi-Brefi, Village's last laugh at TV comedy

LokiTorrent v. MPAA

AfterDawn: LokiTorrent vs. MPAA

The Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA) has continued its battle against BitTorrent sites that offer torrent files allowing users to download and share movies. This time they have filed suit against LokiTorrent.com. However, this time the BT site in question is not going to give in to MPAA demands and plans to battle them instead. The site has begun accepting donations from its members, and at the time of writing they have received $9940(now $13,955) of $30,000 they are asking for.

$30,000 doesn't sound like it would last long, particularly when you're battling against someone with a bottomless wallet. View the original letter sent to LokiTorrent here.

Porsche Without Wheels

A guy has the wheels on his shiny Porsche stolen. The inconsiderate thieves didn't even put it on bricks. [via]

NY Times Tsunami Flash Presentation

The New York Times (subscription required) has produced a detailed flash animation that shows the maps of the area with death tolls, wave reach and plate movements as well as photos of the impact and response. [via]

Smelly Cat

[via]

Cough Ringtones

The Sun: Ringtone's a good wheeze

Mobile phone users are being offered a bizarre new ringtone — featuring the sound of coughing.

The realistic sounds, created by cough medicine maker Benylin, come in three types — tickly, dry, or loud and chesty.

Users can also have a combination.

All can be downloaded from Benylin’s website.

I haven't been able to find the web site so I can't comment on what they sound like. Does anyone know the address to the UK Benylin web site (www.benylin.com is only for Canadian and US people).

Update: Here's a link to the site where you can download the ringtones.

US Airways Asks Workers To Work For Free, Hundreds Respond

Cash-strapped US Airways have asked workers to work for free over the New Year weekend...and hundreds have responded. I'm intrigued by this. Is this an airline industry thing, where workers pull together to help out or is it an American thing. Somehow I can't see the same thing happening in Britain. Interestingly, a poll on CNN shows that out of 10,000 people who have voted, 45% say that they would work for free if asked.

A History Of Vinyl

A history of vinyl from the origins in the 1850s to the golden age of the 1960s.

Tsunami Charities Rated

Before you donate, read this guide to a dozen different charities. [via]

The Blue Angels Training School

The Blue Angels (Red Arrows in the UK) Training School. [via]

The Simpsons Alternative Christmas Message

For those that missed the Simpsons alternative christmas message on Christmas Day, either because they were stuffing their face, watching the Queen or don't live in the UK, here is the full broadcast (10MB WMV) [via]

News Of The Obvious

The director of the Prevention Research Center in Berkeley, Calif, has found that alcohol use among minors is highest in communities where it is easy for them to buy it.

"Communities can reduce underage drinking by reducing the number of outlets that sell booze to kids and by increasing enforcement of minimum-age purchase laws," he said.

You don't say.

Top Ten Topless Beaches

Forbes has a guide to the top ten topless beaches in the form of a safe for work slideshow. [via]

Happy New Year From Gmail

Google have changed the Gmail logo in celebration of the New Year.

More Tsunami Footage

You may have seen this amateur footage broadcast on TV yesterday. It is taken from Sumatra's provincial capital Banda Aceh, which was closest to the epicentre of the earthquake.

Peculiarosities

Dog Drives Truck Into Auto Parts Store
Ticking Package Turns Out to Be a Clock
Man Kisses Car For 54 Hours
Burglar Gets Stuck In Chimney

Official Thai Site For Victims Of Tsunami

The Jerusalem Post has posted a link to the an official Thai Government site that lists victims of the SE Asia tsunami. To access the site use the login USER/PASSWORD (case sensitive). The site contains about 2,500 entries and is very slow. [via]

List Of Lists

I've posted a link to this site before but it's been updated since then. The site has umpteen lists - almost 500 in total - covering a range of topics. [via]

Tsunami Kills Thousands But Where Are The Dead Animals?

Reuters: Where are all the dead animals? Sri Lanka asks

Sri Lankan wildlife officials are stunned -- the worst tsunami in memory has killed around 22,000 people along the Indian Ocean island's coast, but they can't find any dead animals.

Giant waves washed floodwaters up to 3 km (2 miles) inland at Yala National Park in the ravaged southeast, Sri Lanka's biggest wildlife reserve and home to hundreds of wild elephants and several leopards.

"The strange thing is we haven't recorded any dead animals," H.D. Ratnayake, deputy director of the national Wildlife Department, told Reuters on Wednesday.

"No elephants are dead, not even a dead hare or rabbit," he added. "I think animals can sense disaster. They have a sixth sense. They know when things are happening."

Bush To Be Assassinated In 2005

At least that's what a Tunisian astrologer who reportedly predicted the deaths of Princess Diana, Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Yasser Arafat says. Also, Saddam Hussein will suddenly die before his trial begins.

Ralph Wiggum Soundboard

A cool Ralph Wigugm soundboard.

Wikipedia Entry For SE Asia Earthquake

A very detailed Wikipedia entry for the SE Asia Earthquake. Includes statistics and images.

Related: NBC10 slideshows and videos

Man Burns Down Parent's House Because He Didn't Get Any Xmas Presents

WTOPNews: Man Burns Down Home Over No Gifts

A man angry that he got no presents for Christmas burned down his parents' house early the next morning, police said.

Steven Murray, 21, was charged with arson and risking a catastrophe in the blaze that broke out early Sunday. No one was injured.

"He was irritated that his family gave him no presents for Christmas," Lower Southampton police officer Peter Liese said.

Peculiarosities

Robbers Arrested After Car Breaks Down 100m From Crime Scene
Holy Man Keeps Standing For 2 Years
WalMart Sell Anti-WalMart Book
Clerics 'ban' New Year in Somalia
Stolen Car Turns Up After 23 Years

The One Man Football Team

A montage of clips from college football (American football) team. I say team but this is just about one guy who seems unstoppable. Anybody have any information on the team involved?

SE Asia Earthquake Blog

A blog has been set up that is dedicated to the SE Asia Earthquake. The blog has lots of emergency numbers and contact info as well as statistics and names of those who died. The site also has what could be an interesting link. The link is to satellite photos of the tsunami but at the moment the two links on the site are swamped.

Amazing Tsunami Footage

Amazing footage from the recent earthquake/tsunami in Asia. The video clip shows a beach bar filling up with water. Amazingly the guy with the camera keeps filming as the place fills with a few feet of water. More clips here, here and here. [via]

Update: Cheese and Crackers has links to more footage.

Update 2: More footage that was broadcast on TV yesterday.

Update 3 (10/1/05): New footage here and here.

Are Britons Turning Into Atheists?

The Mirror: Only 44% Now Believe In God

People who believe God exists are now a minority in Britain, a survey claimed yesterday.

According to a poll by YouGov, just 44 per cent believe in God compared to 77 per cent in 1968.

A majority - 81 per cent - also believe the country is becoming more secular, with fewer people going to places of worship.

But among this percentage, 68 per cent of believers and 14 per cent of non-believers, regretted that society was becoming less religious.

Only a third of the 1,981 people who took part in the online survey believe in heaven and even fewer believe in the devil. Just a quarter think hell exists. Fewer than half, 43 per cent, believed their souls would outlast their bodily life.

Young people especially are significantly less religious than older generations, with more than a third saying they were agnostics or atheists.

Among middle-aged people and the elderly, the figure is far smaller, according to YouGov.

The Telegraph has the full poll results here

Woman Sues Over Nothing

A Jewish woman is suing her employer because she thinks she's been punished "for raising questions about the emphasis put on Christianity at a nondenominational "prayer breakfast"". Her punishment - being paid $82,789 a year to sit in an office and do nothing all day. Some people just don't know how good they've got it.

Pro Leaf Blower 2005

Blow all the leaves into the centre target. [via]

Sumatra Tsunami Animation

An animation showing just how far the tidal waves from the Sumatra travelled and the time took. [via]

Update: Another more detailed animation fromt he National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the USA. It shows just how hard Sri Lanka was hit. [via]

10 Most Expensive Divorces

The Top 10 most expensive divorces. [via]

How To Wash A Cat

Instructions on how to wash a cat. What should happen and what really happens.