Tuesday 29 December 2009

Back To Work

Urrghhhhaaaarrroooogaaaa! No real idea how to pronounce this word, however if you look it up in a reputable reference source (Dickypedia??) you'll find it is the sound made by a man waking up and remembering that he has to go back to work after a lovely Christmas break.

Now quick, time to think of a tenuous link from work to today's Stumble...hmmm....no, can't be bothered.

Ever find yourself wondering if you can accurately recall the theme tune to 70s BBC drama Secret Army? Or trying to recall who was presenting the sport on HTV in 1985? Well TV Ark is the place for you. A very comprehensive collection of all things TV in the UK, plus a lot of overseas stuff too. Full of pics, vids, sounds, and one of my favourite home pages. Enjoy.

http://www.tv-ark.org.uk/

Saturday 26 December 2009

Merry Christmas?

I hope you had as enjoyable a Christmas and Boxing Day as me and the family, and here's a late gift to any music fans looking in. They Might Be Giants are a quirky, innovative and always refreshing band, and their website reflects that brand perfectly. It changes around from time to time, so its well worth bookmarking and popping back from time to time.

http://www.tmbg.com/froMain.html

Thursday 24 December 2009

Silly Signs

I have used this to print signs for my kids' doors - gas mask, Smelly Area for Boy and Tripping Hazard - Uncleared Area for Girl ... you know the sort of thing.

I like this sort of website - only one idea, a slightly daft one but does it well and offers infinite possibilities for work and home.

http://www.warningsigngenerator.com/

Tuesday 22 December 2009

You Can't Ride A Bike...

Think you can ride a bike? You're wrong, you can't. This guy in Edinburgh can ride a bike. Oh yes.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1137883380?bctid=21337502001

Monday 21 December 2009

Joni Mitchell

I get a lot of band sites based on my Stumbleupon preferences, and sadly most of them don't go beyond the back catalogue/current tour/album/discography/pictures format.

Then every now and again there is a gem of either imagination, extra content or both. This one is Joni Mitchell's "official" site (important point - you probably have to like her music to appreciate this) and it falls into the extra content category.
As well as the usual contents listed above, she also includes videos, a very geeky and completist list of Joni songs recorded by other artists, and even songs about or inspired by Joni. You can browse through her paintings right back to her early childhood.
However what gets it into this blog is that it also contains full music and tab transcriptions of her songs for piano and guitar. All this stuff is out there for free on various tab sites, so it's great to see an artist recognising and embracing this, and saving the fans from having to go trawling elsewhere.

Cheers Joni!

http://jonimitchell.com/

Wednesday 16 December 2009

The CIA Have A Kids Page!

There is nothing remarkable about the CIA having a website. Where else would they post all that misinformation? The thing that made me stop and stare when this one Stumbled into my browser (new verbs needed for this sport?) was the Kids Page. On the Kids page you can find how to be a paranoid spy, and play all sorts of games including a wonderful little spy/surveillance one.

Enjoy!

https://www.cia.gov/kids-page/index.html

Tuesday 15 December 2009

Human Clock

I love "project" websites, where someone has a (usually completely pointless) idea, and the rest of the WWW piles in with its creativity set to Maximum.

The Human Clock is just such a project - a simple clock, where every minute is depicted by a photo sent in a by a fan from more or less anywhere in the world. Sit and watch for ten minutes, relax...

http://www.humanclock.com/clock.php

Sunday 13 December 2009

Deep Blue...and Orange

This is nice - you know that chess computers (and Grand Masters) are thinking many moves ahead, and this game shows you exactly what moves the computer is working through, with the brighter lines being the stronger moves.

http://turbulence.org/spotlight/thinking/chess.html

Gets a bit annoying after a while, though...!

Saturday 12 December 2009

Why Dogs Bite People

I know, I know - the web (and your inbox) is jam packed full of viral videos, "funny" pictures, rubbish jokes, and so much more. Berners Lee has created a miracle with the internet, a place where people I almost without exception never want to meet can display the contents of their tiny tiny lives where like-tiny-minded people can look and point.

And I write this blog...hmmm

And then, just once in a while, a picture/video/story makes you laugh so hard your ribs hurt, and you realise why we all spend so much time looking at them all.

So click here to find out why dogs bite people:

http://www.slightlywarped.com/crapfactory/curiosities/2009/whydogsbitepeople.htm

Thursday 10 December 2009

Starship Dimensions

Which is the bigger ship - the Starship Enterprise or an Imperial Star Destroyer? I'm sure that, like me, you find yourself having this conversation almost daily. If so, then this is the perfect site for you!

Jeff Russell compares the size of almost every film and TV space ship (yes, even the TARDIS) by placing a drawing of each ship against a metre-per-pixel grid background. You can even drag the pictures around to put two craft next to each other.

So, if you find yourself in the pub wondering just how big a Borg cube really is, then 2 things:
- you are probably on your own
- this is the perfect site for you

http://www.merzo.net/index.html

Well done Jeff Russell - geek done with passion and detail.

Wednesday 9 December 2009

iNudge Music Creation

Hi

I Stumbled on this tonight, and thought it would make a great first share for music fans, big kids, little kids, adults and seniors of all ages - hey, just about everyone!

http://www.inudge.net/index.en.html

Please feel free to post your best efforts into the comments, and enjoy!