Hi guys and gals......

It has been a while, I know, so I thought it was time to fill you in on some developments.

I am doing fine healthwise (thanks for asking). I visited my doctor again last week and I am off the meds now, but I still have to pay attention to what I eat and drink. I can have tea and coffee again (only 2 or 3 cups a day) and that cheered me up a lot. But I still have to be careful with spices, fat, alcohol and focus on portion sizes. If all goes well, I can go on with my life, but if the symptoms return, I'll have to go back and probably see a specialist :-( I am not looking forward to something like an esophagogastroduodenoscopy…….brrrrr!

I went to a Flickr Meetup the other day, which was fun. I had a hard time deciding whether or not I should go (poor weather conditions and health) but in the end I went and had fun. I was nice meeting some new people although some of them are photography nutters or as someone else called them; people with a passion!

I had a really fun birthday yesterday (thanks for all the birthday wishes). I got some nice flowers, cards, theatre tickets, a voucher to buy concert tickets, money to put in my camera fund, a dinner invitation, candles, chocolates, perfume and a nice bottle of wine.

Of course I did some other things too, and the regular life stuff happened but I am not going to blog about it……..in fact, I have reached a decision; after 2 years and 3 month and 670 posts, I am going to quit this whole blogging thing. As some of you know, I’ve been thinking about this a lot for quite some time now and I think it’s the best thing for now.
When I started blogging it was al about using and practising my English, later on I just wanted to make people a little happier and smile a bit more. I hope I’ve managed to do that from time to time. Right now I feel I can’t do that anymore, I lack inspiration and the drive that is needed.


I suspect I'll come back to blogging one day. Maybe I’ll pick up where I left off or maybe I’ll start something new. Right now, “Everything is open,
Nothing is set in stone”

So, I am off, drifting around like driftwood for a while :-)

Take care of yourself, smile a lot, laugh often, think happy thoughts, dream as if you’ll live forever and live as if you’ll die today.

Hugs to you all, and thanks for visiting my blog.
This is Dakota signing off,…… na-nu, nanu!

Look what I found (#10)

Here is one I prepared earlier. Enjoy!

Sometimes you come across the weirdest stuff, like Pepsi-Ice-Cucumber for instance. You might not have seen it in your local supermarket, but it was introduced in Japan last June. I wonder what it tastes like, but since it is only sold in Japan, I guess I’ll never know. Apparently the Japanese have a thing for weird and wonderful drinks, check out this list.

If you have kids or like to fool around with paper and build stuff, this might be a site you enjoy: Readymech. Here you find box-like colourful robots that are on there in PDF format. All you have to do is print them out, cut and fold on the dotted lines. You can either use glue or tape to stick them together. If you stick the paper on a piece of cardboard before you cut and fold them, you could also create nice funny gift boxes.

For those of you who like to multitask. You can give praise and do a workout at the same time because this is gospel dance aerobics and it is full of fun and energy with moves that anyone can do!



If you are in need of a bit of Zen time, watch this short computer graphic movie called Falling Water featuring the Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece. You can find more information about the house here and here


Always looking for new not so mainstream music? Take a look at Mashable. Mashable has created a music news toolbox which consists of 50+ links for discovering new music.

And finally: Don’t make fun of death…….that’s not funny!
Warning: probably not for everybody

Things you can do with Lego

Very nice, but is it art? Then again, what is art anyway? What is the definition of art? At what point does something go from being created to being art? Does art become art when its creator calls it art, or when someone else calls it art? Hmmz…. way too many question this early in the day ;-)

Look what I found (#9)

Aaahh Freak out!
Freaking news has an interesting Photoshop contest. In this contest people are asked to perform partial face transplants on politicians and celebrities. The right half of a face has to be from one celebrity and the left half from another. The results are very weird and wonderful at the same time.

Slippery when wet
Maybe not as weird and wonderful, but somehow still interesting, is this next site called Damp Cats. Damp Cats is the ultimate collection of wet, soggy, un-dry and generally damp cats on the web.
Want to see more wet pets? Wet dogs and wet pets just might your thing.

Ice is slippery too!
So, why not continue with the animal fun. This time it comes in the form of a game: Pingus. Pingus is a free Lemmings-like game. Don't know good ol'Lemmings? Well, Lemmings is puzzle game in which the player takes command of a bunch of small animals and has to guide them around levels. The animals walk on their own and the player can only influence them by giving them commands, like build a bridge, dig a hole or redirect all animals in the other direction. The goal of each level is to reach the exit.
Pingus is very similar but does have some nice new features like a world map and secret levels.
The game is free, but of course if you think the it is worth some money you can donate via Paypal.

Oh, and since we are on the subject of retro games, do you remember that simple (uhum) puzzle game called BoxWorld? If you don't know it, or have never played it, you can download it here


For those of you who can never get enough of watching animals….even more animal fun….Mirror, mirror on the wall!

Okay, enough of that, let’s move on to some serious business, or business cards in this case. Some of them are just horrible, or way too old fashioned, but others are just brilliant. Check out this amazing collection.

That’s all folks!

Ehmm......................(again!)

Because what else can I say.......

From Holland with love ;-)

Look what I found (#8)

I Used to Believe – The Childhood beliefs site.
I Used To Believe is a fun site! It holds a weird and wonderful compilation of ideas that adults thought were true when they were children. One example “my dad used to tell me that if you pointed at things, you were poking holes in the air and the fairies/birds would trip over them. I’m still hesitant to poke holes..”
And here is one thing I used to believe: Milk came from ‘normal’ black and/or white cows; chocolate milk was produced by brown cows :-)

Bizarre experiments.
I came across a list of the 20 most bizarre experiments of all time on the museumofhoaxes.com. In my opinion, bizarre is a bit of an understatement, some of them are really atrocious but hey, that’s just my opinion. Oh, and in case you are wondering: Why are these experiments listed on the Museum of Hoaxes? They're not hoaxes, are they? Here is the sites answer: “No, they're not. All of these experiments really did occur. I put the list here simply because I already had this site up and running, and I didn't feel like designing a new site just for one list.”
Make of it what you will.

Talking about weird, bizarre or whatever you want to call it, have you seen this video? It’s really unbelievable!
The guy doing this is Jean-Yves Blondeau, also known as Rollerman.

Intruder protection system.
Wouldn’t it be useful if you could turn your bedside table into an intruder protection system. The makers of the "Safe Bedside Table" must have thought so. One minute your bedside table is what it is, a bedside table and the next it becomes a home intruder protection system. All it takes are two quick steps :-) Ideal for scaring away burglars, ghosts, obtrusive husbands, rats and mice, and gnomes. Oh my, did I just say gnomes, as in leprechauns? Yes I did, because they are out there!

They simply must be, because what other explanation is there for this odd ball behaviour:

That’s all folks!

Can anyone point me in the direction of a museum?

Friday night I wanted to watch a movie, but I couldn’t find any DVD to my liking. Bummer, I though, why is it that you can never find a movie your in the mood for, when you are desperately want to do some mindless movie watching?
But I wasn’t willing to give up that easily, and dived into my old video collection…..how ancient! While I was going through my archive a strange thought entered my mind: pretty soon there going to be kids who don’t even know what videos are. Funny, how life seem to keep changing faster and faster. Anyway, that thought reminded me of a little story one of my friends told me some time ago.

One day her cordless phone wasn’t working and she had to make an urgent call. So, she rummaged around in the attic and dug up an old rotary dial phone. Down stairs again, she plugged it in and hooray, a dial tone. She made her call and asked one of her kids to call her at work later that day. Sure, the kid said, looking quite uncomfortable from his mom to the phone, and back again. Sure mom, the kid continued, I’ll call you, but you first have to explain to me how that phone works.

Makes you feel old, doesn’t it? Almost as if you were born in the pre-historic era or something. Other things and memories that can make you feel very antiquated too, things like:

• You remember black & white TV’s
• The remote channel changer in your family was you…..
• Your first computer system is now a museum piece
• You wore leggings when they were around for the first time
• You remember that Twix was called Raider (in some parts of Europe)
• Peanut M&M’s were called Treets and all had the same colour….brown! Chocolate M&M’s were called Bonitos and they had smiley faces on them (oh, and they did melt)
• You played records and cassettes instead of CD’s
• You were around when Sony launched the Walkman, Atari released their first game console and later on we were introduced to Nintendo
• You can also remember the 5¼ floppies and cell phones as big as refrigerators

Okay, enough of that! All those things make me feel like I should be in a museum myself now.

Back to the video. I ended up watching Sliding Doors, almost 10 years old and still fun to watch. About the movie:
We probably all have asked ourselves this question at one point in our life: What if? Well this is a movie about just that. A London woman's love life and career both hinge, unknown to her, on whether or not she catches a train. One split second sends her life in two completely different directions and in this movie you can see them both, in parallel. Very interesting to watch and above all very funny.

On Saturday I watched another, more recent, movie: Stranger than fiction. Also very funny, extremely interesting and above all utterly brilliant! Thanks for bringing it to my attention KJ’s Muse.

Now, I am off to the museum, see if they’ll have me ;-)

Look what I found (#7)

I love DIY and I love tinkering with stuff, if you have the same problem Instructables might be the site for you. They teach you how to make cool DIY projects like the Magnetic Rubik’s Dice Cube, not very useful, but you just got to love it, don’t you? Well, I do!

If you are into more useful DIY, then maybe this is more to your liking: 100 Things you can make yourself is a list of….well, you’ve guessed it, a list of 100 things you can make yourself. The list includes things ranging from extremely useful to downright silly, but you’ve to admit that some of them might come in handy one day. Not sure when I am ever going to build an igloo though :-)

Oh, and here is tip 101: Repair your hair with olive oil. Is your hair overprocessed, brittle or frizzy? Here is an easy and cheap cure. Rinse your hair with warm water. Warm one tablespoon of olive oil between the palms of your hands. (If you want you can put a few drops of essential oils in it, so it smells nicer - note: mix the oils before applying). Using your fingertips (no nails), gently massage the oil into your scalp in a circular motion. Next get another tablespoon full of oil, warm it and apply it on the rest of your hair. Place a plastic bag over your hair (if you don’t have one, use an old towel) and secure it by tying or with a hair clip. Leave it like that for 30 minutes (or more if you want). When you are done, rinse your hair well and shampoo as usual.

Not really DIY, unless you’re pretty skilful and looking for a cool and eco-friendly little hideaway? Then look no further because Eco Hab must be your thing! I came across this on treehugger and fell in love with it instantly. It’s not big, but boy it is CUTE!

Even smaller and not really suitable for humans, but still cute, is this USB powered greenhouse. The greenhouse comes with a starter pack with Marigold seeds and artificial soil to get you started! Simply plant the seeds, add water and plug the Greenhouse to any USB port! Computer interface monitors growth rate, and includes calendar, watering reminder, wallpaper and bookmark settings

And just in case you are looking for something even smaller, how about a Windows recycle bin now on sale on ebay. At least this buy won’t take up much space IRL, that’s for sure.
If you want it, you must hurry, the bidding ends August, 25.

And now for something completely different: Tadaaaaa…….The World’s strangest laws.
Did you know that in the UK, a pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants, even, if she so requests, in a policeman’s helmet. Or that it's illegal in France to name a pig Napoleon? Alex Wade celebrates the spirit of the silly season with a list of the world's most ludicrous laws. Just remember people........................


If that didn’t make you smile, maybe this video will

That’s all folks! Have a fun-filled and sunny weekend :-)

Look what I found (#6)

No, don’t worry, it’s not going to be another Duct tape story – done that! It’s time for something completely different :-)



Strange, hilarious, shocking and creepy ads from the past century, for instance! Some of these are really unbelievable. Check out the Ronald Reagan/Chesterfield one, or how about that Vibra Finger. Oh well, there is even leaflet supplying you with all the Syphilis facts.



Or let’s go for a swim……if we can find the water, that is…….

Imaging
This next one is a bit peculiar. Did you know there is such a thing as a website filled with deleted images? Now how strange is that? How on earth can a deleted image appear online, surely that is some sort of contradictio in terminis. But enough of that….it is still an interesting site!
If that is not your thing, maybe this one is. Making beautiful things usually takes a lot more time then destroying beautiful things, but not for Martin Klimas, he destroys a lot of clay to make his art – in other words – he destroys figurines and photographs them the moment they are smashed to smithereens. You can find more of his work here.

A trip down memory lane
Old enough to remember that good old cassette tape? If so, maybe this next website will transport you back in time, because it's where you can find all thing cassette tape :-)



Cheesy commercials
Isn’t it funny how commercials work….or not work ;-)
This one makes me want to sample the cheese:
The next one, on the other hand, makes me want to get on that boat and and sail off into the sunset! Do they even mention the cheese? I just can’t seem to focus on the product they are trying to sell. Now, how odd is that? ;-)

Okay, that's all folks! Have a AbFab weekend!

Other things you can do with Duct tape.

It looks like it’s going to be Duct tape week on my blog. Not only have I been using it frequently these last few days, but it has also been in the news recently.

"'Duct tape bandit' charged in robbery

ASHLAND, Ky. - A man accused of being the "Duct Tape Bandit" has gotten into a sticky situation. The man, who had his head wrapped in duct tape to conceal his identity, walked into a liquor store on Friday, Ashland police said.

Shamrock Liquors store manager Bill Steele had some duct tape of his own, but his was wrapped around a wooden club that sent the robber fleeing, according to a report by WSAZ-TV in Huntington, W.Va.”
You can read the whole story here or watch some video footage here.

And BTW, did you know there are whole websites and blogs dedicated to the use of Duct tape? Well, maybe you did, but I didn’t! Check out this one for instance, fun guaranteed.

Look what I found (#5)

No, I didn't find a giant LEGO dudette, but I did find some other stuff :-)

Art
Some of you might have seen this already because it is very popular, but for those who haven’t, here is 500 Years of Female Portraits in Western Art

The Music is Bach's Sarabande from Suite for Solo Cello No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 performed by Yoyo Ma and for a complete list of artists and paintings visit this site

BTW, if you have some time to spare, check out some of the other video's made by eggman913....I really do love them.

Fact(s).
Interested in unusual but interesting facts? Well then, this is the site for you! Godzap has collected over 300 weird and wonderful facts. A few examples:

• Every continent begins and ends in the same letter.
• TYPEWRITER is one of the longest words that can be made using the letters on only one row of the keyboard.
• An average American will eat 35,000 cookies during his or her lifetime.
• Only 1 out of 1000 people can lick their elbow.
• No word in the English language rhymes with the words ‘month’, ‘orange’, ‘silver’, or ‘purple’.
• Most lipsticks contain fish scales.
• Recycling one glass jar saves enough energy to watch TV for 3 hours.
• In England, in the 1880's, the word ‘Pants’ was considered a dirty word.
• Ernest Vincent Wright wrote a novel, ‘Gadsby’, which contains over 50,000 words - none of them with the letter E.

Simpson-mania.

Last month I posted a link to Simpson movie site where you can create your own Simpson Avatar. Today I found a new site where you can Simpsonize yourself. Just upload a picture and let the machine do all the work (of course you can alter the image later if you would wish to do so)

Project
I really like people who start a project and finish it. One of those guys is Bill Wadman, a New York-based photographer who after completing the daily 365 Project, and then a weekly 52 Project, has taken it upon himself to shoot and post one portrait every day of 2007 – 365 Portraits . The photos are taken on the day they are posted, and each day will be a different person. Go check it out!

Look up and stargaze this weekend
One of the summer's most anticipated sky shows is the annual Perseid meteor shower. Due to the season's generally pleasant warm nights and the display's rich offerings, stargazers throughout the Northern Hemisphere set aside at least a few hours to enjoy the shooting stars from the constellation Perseus.
And conditions are ideal this year because the Perseid meteor shower peaks on the new-Moon night of Sunday–Monday, August 12–13 so there will be no moonlight to interfere. On any given night (the shower is also active for several days before and after its peak), activity starts slowly in the evening but picks up by 11 p.m. The meteor rate increases steadily through the night as the radiant rises higher, peaking just before the sky starts to get light, roughly 1½ to 2 hours before sunrise The best direction to watch is wherever your sky is darkest. If you have a dark sky, you might see a meteor once a minute on average

Have a marvellous and fun-filled weekend!

Lost & Found: Found - one giant Lego guy!

I came across some odd news this morning:
"Giant LEGO man found in Dutch sea

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A giant, smiling Lego man was fished out of the sea in the Dutch resort of Zandvoort on Tuesday.

Workers at a drinks stall rescued the 2.5-metre (8-foot) tall model with a yellow head and blue torso." I don't think they actually rescued him because he just washed ashore
but hey, they probably just want to be heroes for a day ;-)

Get the full story here or watch the mystery of LEGO invasion video :-)

Look what I found (#4)

In Pictures: The strangest sights on Google Earth.
"Ever since Google first let people scour the planet from the comfort of their computers through the Google Earth software program, fans have been on a virtual scavenger hunt from the North Pole to the South Pole looking for anything interesting, unusual, or unexplained."
Now it’s your turn to take a little trip and check out some of the bizarre things they’ve found.

Warning Signs.
Warning signs, or just signs, can be very confusing, like the one on Kat’s blog for instance, but others can be very clear, just plain rude, funny or …….what's the word I am looking for......ehmm handy, I guess. . Anyway, here you can find a ……….. (insert your word of choice) selection.


Okay, those were a bit odd, but the next thing is just bizarre!

And talking about bizarre…….Pushin’ Daises is probably the weirdest online shop I ever encountered. ;-)

I also found an interesting article about why people have sex. Did you know there are 237 (and counting) reasons? I didn’t! I always thought that one reason was enough. You can find the article here. Or maybe you never really wanted to know what was going on inside other people’s minds, in which case you should skip reading the article immediately.

I am a bit intrigued by Joan Crawford’s reason now “I need sex for a clear complexion.”, such a shame it isn’t on the list. ;-)


And that’s it for now. Just to end this post a short video of Men in Coats. Why? Because they always make me laugh and that should be enough reason :)

Look what I found (#3)

Okay, I think it’s time for some light entertainment so here is another instalment of Look what I found



Ever wanted to create your own Simpson? Well, here is your chance. When you visit The Simpsons Movie site you can create your own Simpson Avatar. You can also tour Springfield or play little mindless games like Wrecking Ball in which you have to help Homer save his family from police quarantine by using the first thing at hand……. A wrecking ball!



Will it blend? That’s the question.
The iPhone experiment!

For other blending experiments, go here
This one is probably not for everyone, but have you ever wondered what that guy in the movie just said? Well, if it was an (good) insult you can probably find it right here in the list of winning movie insults. How does a movie insult become a winning insult? When it can be used by every man according to the site!

I forgot the cartoon on Tuesday, so ………
And finally one more commercial.
Love your heart!
I don’t like Becel, but I do like this commercial and the message they try to get across.

Look what I found (#2)

A site where you can create your own little games like this one:

A site where they offer e-cards with a difference. Some might be a little bit sarcastic, others macabre, but hey, some are just plain funny ;)


A story* about one of the strangest disasters of the 20th Century, which starts with this: “On the morning of August 22, 1986, a man hopped onto his bicycle and began riding from Wum, a village in Cameroon, towards the village of Nyos. On the way he noticed an antelope lying dead next to the road. Why let it go to waste? The man tied the antelope onto his bicycle and continued on. A short distance later he noticed two dead rats, and further on, a dead dog and other dead animals. He wondered if………..”
(* probably not for everyone)

A site where you can download an art magazine (in PDF or .exe), it’s actually an art showcase for global artists. Very interesting!


Another Dutch commercial
Just call us - Centraal Beheer. The insurance company in Apeldoorn.

Video: You-ou-ou!....... (Oops!)

This week’s odd finds!

Be heard, be noticed, be safe and sound.
Cars and pedestrians often collide with cyclists on busy streets because they just can't hear an approaching bicycle. Imagine, if your bicycle could sound like a Harley? You would definitely get their attention. They say “Our products will improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. At the same time they will add some fun, creativity and important information to your daily commute.” Useful or just rubbish, you decide! Anyway, as kids we used to do this. -->
A cheap and easy solution!



Another useful or strange gadget: The iGrill or GiPod. "Grill or roast plus enjoy your favourite tunes from your iPo".




If you like old photos, this might interest you the 100-year-old photo blog




Annoying or what?

Today’s lesson: How to give a great man to man hug to your closest friends and family without getting that awkward feeling!

It’s a………. chick!

Great news people, one of the Peregrine falcon eggs has hatched! I haven’t seen the first hatchling live yet but it’s there alright. The other eggs will probably hatch soon too, so keep an eye on the live stream, this is fascinating stuff :)

Weekly finds – part 12

The other day I came across the "Now and Then" photo-pool on Flickr. What they do is this. They look for an old photo, try and find the place and recreate the shot so you end up with a “now & then” picture. Interesting to see how places (and people change) over the years.


More photos but these are a bit strange so let’s place these in the “Odd!” category ;) Shakeskin. How does it work? People place a camera in front of them, shake their face or Prrrr at it (they do what?), take the picture and send the result to the website. Some pictures are hilarious. Take a peek and don’t forget to check out the Prrrr section.

This weeks video: Harry Potter – the lost tapes!
Nah, it’s Harry Potter and the mysterious ticking noise!





As a kid I liked to play with my Spirograph and now I found this little gadget, not as cool as the original but fun too!




And that’s all folks, the last “Weekly finds” edition (for now). Well, to be honest, this is going to be my last entry (for now). I am quitting (for now)! Man, there are a lot “for now’s” in that little piece of text, aren’t there? :) But I am not sure if I am really going to quit or if I am just going to have another one of my (regular) breaks. Right now, I am not in the mood to blog and I truly believe there isn’t that much to write about anyway….. so, why bother. Maybe it’s time to get a life, spend some time doing other things, be outdoors more or maybe, just maybe it’s time for a change. Like I said, I don’t know yet, but I will let you know sooner or later. I’ll probably be back in a week (or two) to let you all know what my plans are.

In the meantime take care, enjoy spring and life, be kind, don’t forget to smile and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do ;)
C U l@er!

xoxo
Dakota

It’s a new season and it’s time for a change!

Oh my, a change, how scary ;) Yup, I know and I am shaking in my boots…..NOT! Well not yet at least, because before I can change the things I want to change (a.k.a. move forward) I need to get some other things back to “normal” first. Things like my daily “start-the-day-with-a-bit-of-yoga”, “30-minutes- workout” and the “taking-a-lunch-walk” routine.

After my friends prolonged stay and the will-I-get-the-flu-or-not-period, there was nothing left of my normal routine and now that I am not getting the flu I think it’s time to start again, so that I can add new things (not telling you what they are yet) in April. I feel a song comin’ on :)

I hope you are feeling great too, if not, maybe this will cheer you up!
It's SPRING!