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Monday Links from the Bench vol. CXXIV

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    Monday Links from the Bench vol. CXXIV

    Read 'em here, or wait until next week and read 'em in the Mail
    • Homemade water guns - Super Soaker Central - "Want the most powerful water gun there is? You're at the right place. With the manufacturers making poorly-performing water guns, more people are choosing to build their own water guns every day." Super Soaker Central has all you need to know to make your own water guns

    • The Floppy Disk means Save, and 14 other old people Icons that don't make sense anymore - "What happens when all the things we based our icons on don't exist anymore? Do they just become, ahem, iconic glyphs whose origins are shrouded in mystery?" Microsoft's Scott Hanselman points out a few other anomalies along the way too, such as copied emails: when was the last time anybody made a carbon copy (CC)?

    • Unlocking The Mysteries Of The Tattoos Of The Dead - "Gemma Angel is an expert on tattoos. Except, she doesn't know who the ones she studies belongs to, or really why - because they are the last remains of people who died over a century ago." Good browse through the Wellcome Collection's collection of tattooed human skin.

    • Jay Leno’s 3D Printer Replaces Rusty Old Parts - "Jay Leno has a lot of old cars with a lot of obsolete parts. When he needs to replace these parts, he skips the error-prone machinist and goes to his rapid prototyping 3D printer. Simply scan, print and repeat." Soon we'll all have one of these and will be able to make our own jetpacks

    • How To Blog Anonymously (and how not to) - Dr. Brooke Magnanti, aka Belle de Jour of Diary of a London Call Girl fame, passes on the lessons she learnt about publishing a high-profile blog (and spinoff books, TV series, etc.) whilst remaining anonymous: "Statistics I made up right now show 99 out of 100 people who claim 'if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear' are talking out of their arses."

    • IAmA a malware coder and botnet operator - Interesting AMA ("Ask Me Anything", a Reddit Q&A session) with a botnet herder who might just have your credit card details. "FYI I do not cash out the bank accounts or credit cards, I just sell the information ( I know, its just as bad, hur dur...), there isn't even a law against such in most countries, dealing with stolen information is most of the time a legaly greyzone (I was just as surprised when I looked it up), I'm not talking about 3rd world countries, but about European like Spain..."

    • McBain: The Full Movie - "McBain from the Simpsons is actually a full length film when you put them all together." And here it is

    • How not to meet your heroes - Lucy Cooke, the Amphibian Avenger, explains how she went hilariously to pieces when first introduced to Sir David Attenborough: "Attenborough, bless him, tried his best to calm me down. Whilst simultaneously attempting to gently winkle his hand out from my sweaty death grip. Looking over his shoulder I noticed his ZSL minders hovering, rightly concerned about the potential Lee Harvey Oswald bothering Sir David. Their eyes screamed, 'Save Attenborough, we must save Attenborough'."

    • 50,000 yuan bank notes torn by psychotic woman - Gallery of photos of a time-consuming endeavour: "...staff members in the Sichuan branch of Bank of China try to splice the shreds of 50,000 yuan bank notes torn by a woman who suddenly falls ill. It took 6 hours for 12 bank clerks to successfully splice only one complete 100-yuan bank note. The money was originally meant for the woman's mental disorder treatment."

    • If children’s drawings were made into toys… - "There is a studio which creates soft toys based on children’s drawings that their parents send in. Once completed, parents can buy these toys for their children, which I think is a very interesting concept and business model.

      "But what is more interesting is seeing these weird creatures that come “alive” as toys."


      The studio in question is Child's Own Studio and they do stuff like this:



    Happy invoicing!

    #2
    Originally posted by NickFitz View Post
    • If children’s drawings were made into toys… - "There is a studio which creates soft toys based on children’s drawings that their parents send in. Once completed, parents can buy these toys for their children, which I think is a very interesting concept and business model.

      "But what is more interesting is seeing these weird creatures that come “alive” as toys."


      The studio in question is Child's Own Studio and they do stuff like this:



    Happy invoicing!
    My wife did that for #1 child when she was 6.

    Original design:


    Toy:


    He's called Henry Square-Smith
    Best Forum Advisor 2014
    Work in the public sector? You can read my FAQ here
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    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by TheFaQQer View Post
      My wife did that for #1 child when she was 6.

      Original design:


      Toy:


      He's called Henry Square-Smith

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by TheFaQQer View Post
        My wife did that for #1 child when she was 6.

        Original design:


        Toy:


        He's called Henry Square-Smith
        I can't see the pictures but the whole concept is just brilliant! Wish I had know this was about when mine were younger!
        'CUK forum personality of 2011 - Winner - Yes really!!!!

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by northernladuk View Post
          I can't see the pictures but the whole concept is just brilliant! Wish I had know this was about when mine were younger!
          Try clicking on the links I don't know why the images don't show up - maybe it's something to do with them being on blogger or something.

          I should make it clear (I've been told!!) that since there was no colour in the original picture, my daughter chose the colours for the toy (or "plush" as they are known in these crafting circles), particularly the multi-coloured teeth.

          She can probably knock up something unique if anyone on CUK wants to place an order......
          Best Forum Advisor 2014
          Work in the public sector? You can read my FAQ here
          Click here to get 15% off your first year's IPSE membership

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by TheFaQQer View Post
            Try clicking on the links I don't know why the images don't show up - maybe it's something to do with them being on blogger or something.

            I should make it clear (I've been told!!) that since there was no colour in the original picture, my daughter chose the colours for the toy (or "plush" as they are known in these crafting circles), particularly the multi-coloured teeth.

            She can probably knock up something unique if anyone on CUK wants to place an order......
            Doh!! That worked!

            That is great! She must have loved that. Brilliant idea!
            'CUK forum personality of 2011 - Winner - Yes really!!!!

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by TheFaQQer View Post
              My wife did that for #1 child when she was 6.
              Do they send concepts or literally do as they see fit and then bill you?

              Also, amazed nobody on CUK has commented on the tattoo!
              Originally posted by MaryPoppins
              I'd still not breastfeed a nazi
              Originally posted by vetran
              Urine is quite nourishing

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by d000hg View Post
                Do they send concepts or literally do as they see fit and then bill you?
                Their "about" page describes the process as " a collaborative project" so presumably one has some say in what comes of it.

                Comment


                  #9
                  That would mean I'd have to read their pages
                  Originally posted by MaryPoppins
                  I'd still not breastfeed a nazi
                  Originally posted by vetran
                  Urine is quite nourishing

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by d000hg View Post
                    Do they send concepts or literally do as they see fit and then bill you?

                    Also, amazed nobody on CUK has commented on the tattoo!
                    You just did. The rest of us are too grown up.

                    Comment

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