ricketyclick

The steps going down to the sea in Zadar, Croatia play music.

Wave action pushes air through organ pipes built into the steps; the pipes are tuned so that wherever you stand, the pipes within your hearing sound good together.

Listen to the Sea Organ Music.

Via Userfriendly’s Link of the Day.

BTW, today’s cartoon is pretty good, too:

“When Hollywood hates America,” writes Robert Bidinotto, “it tries to annihilate every symbol of America. The latest to face execution is G.I. Joe. “

So now, in a projected animated film for kids, G.I. Joe will no longer be a patriotic American soldier-hero. Instead, he has been replaced by a nationality-neutered creature called “Action Man.” And the name “G.I. Joe” will become a mere acronym for “Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity, an international co-ed [of course] force of operatives [a collective, not an individual, of course] who use hi-tech equipment [not guns, of course] to battle Cobra, an evil organization headed by a double-crossing Scottish arms dealer.”

He then points to Vin Suprynowicz’s article on the man who gave his face to G.I. Joe: Marine SGT Mitchel Paige, awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on Guadalcanal, basically holding off 2,000 Japanese warriors single-handedly, after every one of his 33 men were wounded or killed, by moving from one machinegun to another to give the impression that the position was fully manned. (Read the whole thing. My summary does not nearly do SGT Paige, or Suprynowicz, anything like justice.)

SGT Paige did not ask for royalties on G.I. Joe’s face. All he asked was that G.I. Joe always be an United States Marine.

Not a Brussels Sprout.

Via Wonderduck:

This past weekend, the Philadelphia Phillies became the first professional sports team in any league anywhere to lose 10,000 games.

I once had a membership in the Pyrotechnics Guild International, and attended their 1976 Bicentennial convention. I saw things there that I’d never seen before, but that are now completely routine. It was the first show I ever attended that featured electrical ignition, now considered standard for professional shows.

I’m still a sucker for the roadside stand stuff, the so-called “Class C”. On New Years Day and Independence Day, my neighborhood sounds like a war zone, and I love it.

It’s the sound of freedom, and you nannies who want to make it illegal can piss off.

Here’s an outstanding photo from the 2005 PGI convention:

Summer fun: watch this video, and see how much of it you can duplicate.

Can you come up with with other cool stuff in your own chain reaction machine?

(psst, don’t tell Mom; she’d just worry, and you wouldn’t want to worry your Mom, would you?)

How your mouse pointer works.

(Move the pointer into the magnifying circle.)

Three-legged squishy things that stick together. Not a game so much as a toy.

This is fun. I’m not saying anything about it so you can find out for yourself.

Beret tip to Neo Neocon.

Update:
Also take a look at this game: Samorost
You do need Flash to play. Simple point-and-click puzzles that tell a story. It took me less than an hour to run through this the first time; I just did a complete run-through in less than 30 minutes.

Fun graphics. This is Our Hero’s space station home, which you must help him save:

There’s a somewhat more complex Samorost 2, but you must pay to get the second half of the game. I thought it was $6.90 well spent, although a couple of puzzles depended a bit too much on finding and clicking the exact right spot, and one puzzle is tedious to work, even once you get the trick, and you have to repeat it three times. Still, very rewarding, and the visuals and background music are even better than Samarost I.

USB Self Destruct Button:

No, unfortunately, it doesn’t actually blow anything. Apparently, it’s just a USB hub.