There’s a great many things to do and places to see in this world of ours. As humans, our lives are pretty short (and if you party like I do, it’s probably going to be even shorter). So we have to prioritize! We have brains for a reason and that reason is…reasoning (well, at least some of us use them for that purpose: see comment about partying above). Let me be your voice of reason as I show you all the things you should be doing right here, right now.
From as early as I can remember, I have been told to smile more. It’s not as if I skulked around family events and school functions all goth-like, it was just a reflex statement of my mother. Now that I’m older, I can still hear my mother’s voice in my head whenever I’m at a social function (and that’s the only voice I hear in my head…I promise). Apparently, there are reasons for smiling…more than just because your mom says so.
It’s Contagious – When you smile, people around you are more inclined to smile. So that gorgeous French guy that sits next to you on the bus? Try cracking a smile and see if it catches on. French guy + smiling = excellent bus ride.
There Are Health Benefits – Numerous studies show that smiling can do amazing things for your body, like boost your immune system, lower your blood pressure, relieve stress, and release happy chemicals (among other things).
Things Seem Funnier – Expressions increase the intensity of emotions, so if you’re reading or listening to something amusing, try smiling. Chances are that you’ll end up enjoying the joke (and the moment) more. This also works the other way – if you’re sad or angry, take a breath and try on a smile. Usually, you can’t smile and be upset at the same time.
You Become More Beautiful – Smiling people are attractive, plain and simple. People are naturally attracted to those that seem happy, relaxed, and confident. Nothing brings those traits across quite as effectively as a smile. Hey, you paid for those teeth-whitening treatments and that kickin’ lip gloss – why not put them to good use?
You’ll Be Successful – Smiling more often increases dopamine, seratonin and other fun brain chemicals. This leads to an increase in optimism and general happiness. Those who are more optimistic end up being more successful – they have better jobs, they get married sooner (and participate in healthier relationships), and even live longer. Sign me up!
[Photo (which totally makes me smile) courtesy of Milltitus on Flickr.]
If we were to make a wireless doorbell from an NES controller, we'd actually take advantage of its eight different buttons and have each one make a different chime. Instead, the creator made all eight do the same thing. [TechEBlog]
Here’s a little Google tranlsated Wikipedia entry on Maddalena Corvaglia:
Volunteer at the age of 17 years in the contest Miss Italy, was selected among the 100 finalists, having won the title of Miss Wella Umbria. At the beginning of 2009 Maddalena is engaged with Marco Castoldi, singer and pianist best known as Morgan, a former singer of the group Bluvertigo, now the judge in the transmission of Raidue “X Factor” (where are launched young singers) along with Simona Ventura and Mara Maionchi.
So now that you know that are you any more intrigued? I just like that she’s Italian but blond. That’s rare. I like brunettes better but I’ll take Maddalena any day.
More pics after the jump
[Every week, CC and John bring you some of the weirdest, funniest, saddest things he hears on his college campus. Join the Overheard revolution!Leave your own overheard convos in the comments or send ‘em over!]
(Girls, watching a performance in a public park.)
Girl 1: So, you know what’s way better than all of us having sex together?
Girl 2: Playing with our fake puppies.
Girl 1: Yup.
(Three girls sitting on futons at a party)
Girl 1: You know “Groundhog Day”?
Girl 2: Wait, that’s the one with the newspaper guy, right? And the sled?
Girl 3: No. No, that’s “Citizen Kane.”
(A guy, talking to a girl in Friendly’s.)
Guy: Listen, I’m chivalrous, but I’m not a martyr. I’m not gonna give you my cherry just because you ask for it.
(Girl, talking to her boyfriend in an apartment hallway.)
Girl: Put the hat on and turn around. Please?
Guy: Why?
Girl: When I can’t see your face, I can fantasize that you’re Mr. Darcy.
(A woman, yelling from behind a McDonald’s counter)
Woman: Okay, boy! We are going nowhere until you give me my money!
Young boy: It’s not about money! It’s about my pride!
(Two guys, sitting in some athletic bleachers.)
Guy 1: I can’t go, I’ve gotta show up at my sister’s graduation.
Guy 2: Oh. Yeah, me too. Well, I have to go to my sisters “fail-to-graduate-then-lock-herself-in-her-room-screaming-and-eating-Cheezits-until-we-buy-her-a-new-puppy.” We had one last year.
(Three guys, arguing loudly in a pizza restaurant.)
Guy 1: Genghis Khan.
Guy 2: Teddy Roosevelt.
Guy 3: Patton.
Guy 2: Uh, Nikola Tesla.
Guy 1: Abraham Lincoln?
Guy 3: Bill Nye the Science Guy.
(pause)
Guy 1: Fine. You win.
(Two girls talking from the other side of a gas pump.)
Girl: You know, I feel like everyone I see at a gas station is a hooker.
(Guy, pulling up to the sidewalk in a pickup truck.)
Guy: Man, what are you doing? Get in here, dude, we’re hitting up the Timex museum!
(Guy and a girl, walking down a busy main road.)
Guy: Wait, it’s called “All’s Well That Ends Well”?
Girl: It’s Shakespeare!
Guy: Bulls***. What, did he write “Look Both Ways Before Crossing The Street” too?
(Guy, standing in front of a mall parking lot, on a cell phone.)
Guy: I’m in the parking garage. No, the parking garage … ! How stupid are you? Come on!
Well, this should make the Pirate Bay's court appeal interesting. For the last couple of years, the guys have been working on an anything-goes, censor-free haven for online video sharing called VideoBay, and it's now gone into "Beta Extreme."
"This will be an experimental playground and as such, subjected to both live and drunk (en)coding, so please don't bug us too much if the site ain't working properly," the site's front page currently warns.
But before you head over looking for an all you can eat smorgasbord of porn, know that you're currently limited to viewing the ogg/theora video and audio tag demos linked to from the main page.
TorrentFreak notes that users were initially able to browse through the videos, but that's been disabled now. "What is left is an announcement that the site will be launched somewhere in the future."
Beyond the piracy angle, what's interesting is this could be one of the first major deployments of HTML5, the next major revision of HTML that some believe could replace the need for plug-ins like Adobe Flash. For that reason, you'll need to use a browser that can handle HTML5's video and audio tags, such as: Firefox 3.5 beta 4, Opera 9.52 preview, Google Chrome 3, Safari 3.4/Safari 4. [The Video Bay]—By Stephen Climpson
We have to hand it to that Twitter thing. From further boosting the egos of outspoken tech industry personalities to supporting Iranian revolutions, the service has demonstrated its strengths. Today, the service can let relatives know you are still alive.
Developed by Japanese geek forum Koress Project, the Akiduki Pulse box does this by autonomously posting your heartbeat to Twitter. Once there, friends, family and enemies can all watch as your natural rhythms play out on the world stage in real time.
From the translated promotional video:
"Now I can die and post this info to Twitter. That's what I call a revolution!" and "Use the Akiduki Pulse box when you do sports, are in love or don't even know yourself if you're still alive!".
The tweets themselves contain some basic info about your heartbeat, as well as an evaluation (Jack needs food—badly!). The device is open source (cool), but to use the system you need access to a heart monitor (not cool). [Asijin via CrunchGear]
OK, what. the. f**k is going on here? If I were a celebrity, I would be very afraid for my life – Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson and now king of the television pitchmen, Billy Mays, all dead within five days of each other. Mays, 50, was found dead early this morning at his home in Tampa, Florida, by his wife. Police say no foul play is suspected, TMZ.com is reporting.
So to honor this fallen icon of 4am television, here is The Best of Billy Mays – Video Remix Edition.
RIP, Billy – buying stuff off the TV will never be the same without you.
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