Archive for the ‘humor’Category

Oriental Yeti sounds like a cat, looks like a bear, smells like Photoshop

You read it on the Internet, so it must be true. No, really, it was on TimeOnline.com, so it’s real!

By now this image has circulated through every blog (like this one) that is looking for a few hits to bring in some Google Adsense revenue. Even legitimate news sites are running the story without any confirmation.

We will be the first to call it a hoax, or a misidentified creature at best. What makes us jump to that conclusion? We’ve been there before.

Besides intuition and past experience, how do we know it’s a fake or a hoax?

Look at the rungs behind the creature. For some reason most of the bars mysteriously end before they go behind the creature.

Notice the strange focus along the creatures back. Everything in the foreground and background is in focus, but in the spots where the bars disappear and along the creatures back, it is mysteriously fuzzy.

There is no point of reference. The only way we know that this thing is the size of a bear is because that is what the story reports. It very likely is the size of a large rat or small Kangaroo.

No moving video has been posted. Oddly, there is a YouTube slide show (the moving kind) but it features still pictures of the animal and explains that China does not allow moving video to be uploaded. First, China has no idea whether the video being uploaded is video of an Oriental Yeti or a slide show containing still images of an Oriental Yeti.

Similar hoaxes from the past.

Montauk Monster – It turned out to be a partially decomposed raccoon.

Mermaid Corpses & Florida Mermaid – Read the attached for various explanations.

Dead Fairy – Yep – another fake.

Oh how we could go on with pig-human hybrids, chupacabra and so much more.

As we prepare to post this, it looks like someone else has gotten to the bottom of it. We love the Internet.

06

04 2010

Google Earth Segway team up to help you see the world at 7mph

THIS WAS AN ATTEMPT AT AN APRIL FOOLS STORY – NOBODY READ IT:

The Google Earth team announced today that a Segway plug-in will be available soon for Google Earth.

Once installed, Google Earth Users will be able to see the world via Segway. There will be two versions of the plug-in. The standard version allows users to see the world in street view at approximately 7mp. A second version of the plug-in will be available via a link on Segway’s website. The enhanced version will cost $19.99 and allow users to see the world in street view at approximately 12mph.

Polo Segway & Steve Wozniak

Segway polo simulator is expected on all major game consoles later this year

Creative Commons License photo credit: Franco Folini

The move is the latest in Segway’s expected series of announcements to bring Segway simulation to game consoles and mobile devices.

“The big comment we always hear about Segway is, I would love to try one of those someday,” one Segway dealer explains, “The Segway plug-in for Google Earth allows this to become a reality.”

Now that Google and Segway have confirmed the leaks about the Segway plug-in, the question is when does the iPhone app come out? Fuzzy pictures plastered all over the tech blogs earlier in the week suggest that the iPhone app will allow you to control the Segway via the internal gyros allowing you to control the Segway by leaning much as you would control a real Segway.

Click here for a link to Google Earth Segway Simulator simulator.

01

04 2010

Screenshot of object on beach discovered in Lost series finale

Not much is known about the boat except for a cryptic "S S Minnow" inscribed on the side.

31

03 2010