random 23

• Leonard Sweet is speaking at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario on Sept 27 on "The Art & Craft of EPIC Preaching." He's the author of Soul Tsunami, AquaChurch and most recently, The Gospel According to Starbucks. via Dan Sheffield
  
  
  
• Make notes at breakfast. via uneasy silence.
  
  
  
• The top 100 sports beatdowns. via kottle
  
  
• asbo Jesus # 79
  
• Canadian flag with real maple leaves [note the spells "Toronto Maple Leaf" fans :-)] via entitea.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Using photos of oft-snapped subjects (like Notre Dame) scraped from around the Web, Photosynth (based on Seadragon technology) creates breathtaking multidimensional spaces with zoom and navigation features that outstrip all expectation. Its architect, Blaise Aguera y Arcas, shows it off in this standing-ovation demo. Curious about that speck in corner? Dive into a freefall and watch as the speck becomes a gargoyle. With an unpleasant grimace. And an ant-sized chip in its lower left molar. "Perhaps the most amazing demo I've seen this year," wrote Ethan Zuckerman, after TED2007. Indeed, Photosynth might utterly transform the way we manipulate and experience digital images. TED video
  
  
  
• Do you weight too much for your car?

  The growing girth of Americans is colliding with government-mandated warning labels on all 2006 or newer cars that list the maximum weight — passengers and cargo — that's safe to carry.

  Many two-seat sports cars, including Mazda MX-5 Miata and Chevrolet (GM) Corvette, aren't certified to carry two 200-pound adults, according to a government formula aimed at tire safety.

  Many five-passenger vehicles are rated about 850 pounds, maxxing out if their five occupants weigh more than 170 pounds each. Six 200-pounders would overload the seven-passenger Dodge Grand Caravan minivan.

  The limitations are stamped on a "Tire and Loading Information" plate on the driver's side door frame. The ratings are an outgrowth of the 2000 Firestone tire recall, in which overloading was considered a factor that could cause tires to fail. Weight limits are important because automakers could claim they don't have responsibility for a component failure or a crash if a vehicle is overloaded.

  via USA Today
  
  
  
• From the "what?" department: Russia creates environmentally friendly WMD

  Magic Statistics (Scott Gilbreath): Russia creates environmentally friendly WMD

  Russia claims to have developed the world’s most effective vacuum bomb. It’s said to be as deadly as a nuclear bomb but, unlike nukes, it causes minimal damage to the environment.

  From the second item in today’s Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Newsline Russia:

  Colonel General Aleksandr Rukshin, the deputy chief of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff, said in Moscow on September 11 that Russia has created the world's most powerful vacuum bomb, as lethal as a nuclear weapon, Russian state-run television reported. Rukshin said the bomb causes widespread devastation but does not contaminate the environment. He described it as "environmentally friendly, compared to a nuclear bomb.”

  via kruse kronicle