…a guy who can recite the first 4,400 digits of Pi, the video game-to-reality connection, and so much more…

Yo! iPod Pants!

I know, I know. I’m way too old for these and they’re far too expensive at over 200 bucks. But new iPod-compatible jeans from Levi Strauss feature a docking cradle (?) and a joystick (!) in a watch-style pocket that holds the user’s iPod. Starting the hype just a bit early (Did they mean this?), the jeans are expected to be “available this fall.” According to this article on MSNBC, “Levi Strauss is not the first company to feature iPod-friendly apparel, although it believes it is the first to make iPod-compatible jeans.” I wonder if anyone’s noticed that the iPod usually fits perfectly in a cell phone pocket. Hmm. I suppose the external controls would be useful instead of having to whip it out all the time. (The iPod, gutterminds. Sheesh.)

Ninth Annual Wacky Warning Label Contest

And the grand prize winnah is: DO NOT USE THIS TOOL AS A HAIR DRYER, a stunning revelation of a warning label affixed to a heat gun. Some of us who’ve actually used a heat gun realize that such an application could be tragic. Or horribly funny. According to this article, “The contest, now in its ninth year, is conducted by Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch, M-LAW, to reveal how lawsuits, and concern about lawsuits, have created a need for common sense warnings on products.” Other winners include (but are not limited to)…

CAUTION: NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION (Above, noted on a waterways map of Hilton Head, SC — printed on a cocktail napkin.)

NEVER TRY TO CATCH A FALLING KNIFE (Affixed to a, um, knife.)

OVENWARE WILL GET HOT WHEN USED IN OVEN (Label on a baking pan.)

Now Here’s a Guy Who’s Popular at Parties

Dateline: Sydney, Australia. Subject: Chris Lyons, 36. Unique Skill: Able to recite the first 4,400 digits of Pi without a single error. Appropriately employed as a memory coach, Lyons said he spent only a week memorizing the digits before reciting them for judges at the 2006 Australia Mindsports Festival. Lyons is far off from the record, however. A Japanese psychiatric counselor recited Pi to 83,431 decimal places from memory this past July, breaking his own personal best of 54,000 digits. Did ‘ya ever notice that people who should have iPods don’t?

“I’ve Always Wanted to Fight a Desperate Battle, Against Incredible Odds.”

The above quote is from the movie The Last Starfighter, in which aliens looking for galactic wargaming talent plant video games here on Earth — and the kid with the highest score is whisked off to the future to fight actual battles in space. Great B-movie. Ender’s Game was thematically similar; some excellent, underrated sci-fi writing, too. Anyway (Yeah, I’m getting to the point. Be patient.), it seems the U.S. Air Force is moving closer to connecting video gaming skills with actual battle. According to this article on DefenseTech, “The service is looking for a game maker to build a sim for what it calls ‘counterspace operations’ — military-speak for stopping enemy satellites. Right now, it’s hard to train folks to handle these kinds of missions. Wargaming in orbit is an expensive and risky proposition. And most — but definitely not all — of the coolest counterspace toys are still on the drawing board. So the Air Force wants a video game ‘where these tasks can be trained and rehearsed in a realistic set of scenarios and simulations.’” Definitely cool stuff. (Note to the folks at DefenseTech: “Starfighter” beat “Ender’s” by a year. Nanner.)

C’mon. Can You Really Blame Her?

In another story from Australia, “A woman stabbed her boyfriend with a pair of scissors because he repeatedly played the Elvis Presley hit ‘Burning Love’ on the King’s birthday, police said Tuesday.” The article continues, “‘Police will allege … the 30-year-old woman stabbed the man with a pair of scissors during an argument over him playing the same Elvis Presley song again and again,’ a police media statement said.” I can sympathize with the guy. Hell, I’ve been threatened with cutlery for singing Crash Test Dummies’ “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm” song over and over again. (Not the Weird Al version. That’s just wrong.) But I really don’t mean to hurt anyone. Honest.

eBay Find of the Week

In an effort to tie something back to the nature of this blog, here are several manufacturing-related finds.

• An entire industrial manufacturing facility in Macon, GA, for just under a million
• Another manufacturing facility, this one in Meeker, OK, available for a cool $389K
• A turnkey automotive parts manufacturing business for a mere $45K
• And a manufacturing facility for the rest of us: an HO-scale version for a starting bid of nine dollars.

eBay Find of the Week goes to this item, a painting (reproduction or really cheap original) called “A Manufacturing Town” by L.S. Lowry. Really interesting, even with the smoke that will make environmentalists cringe. Hustle, bustle, clunking, chugging — making things, circa 1922. What could be better? (Plus, it would beat that gag-inducing motivational print in the lobby.) Just might go for this one myself.

Hey, Don’t Forget that Today Is…

…both Make Your Dream Come True Day and Blame Someone Else Day. Tomorrow, have some fun with National Dress Up Your Pet Day. Sunday is Hat Day (…according to the folks at BizarreNews).

Enjoy your weekend…