$30,000 STAR TREK BASEMENT

$30,000 could be spent on a lot of things and could go a long way to doing things needed in your home. You could get a new kitchen, add value with a number of upgrades such as a loft extension or you could spend it all on a partial recreation of some of the internal areas of the Starship Enterprise!

That last option is exactly what social worker Line Rainville did to her basement recreation room! The room is in the basement of her Notre-Dame-des-Prairies home. As a bit of trivia the Qubec town is just an hour North of Montreal, the birthplace of none other than Captain Kirk’s alter ego William Shatner!

So what do you get for $30k?

In 60s era Star Trek style she has created a partial Enterprise bridge, some of the transporter room, a themed recreation room, an observation deck, and fairly good version of Spock’s quarters! It looks like a fun place for any trekkie to hang out and I am sure she’ll be receiving a lot of emails for visit requests!

Now I guess you want to see the place, right?

Well CNet has pics and more details here - http://cnet.co/1lEw6vX

So, would you ever spend this kind of money on anything like this? Have you ever wanted to recreate the Lost bunker in your basement, Yogi bear’s cave or anything else crazy?

Originally published on my site: The Random Forest.

2012 June product recalls

June 2012 has been as busy as any month when it comes to product recalls. A multitude of food items, baby products, vehicles and other things have been recalled due to various contamination, mislabelling, unexpected breakages and general quality issues.

So, what was recalled in June 2012 and how does it affect you?

It may well be you have missed any calls for food recalls at your local supermarket or that your dealer hasn't contacted you about your vehicle yet, the toyshop you purchased that item from doesn't have your contacts or the weird way a certain clip on an item works you are blaming on your use!

Often people don't find out about these recalls until months after so keeping a rough eye on them and if you need to worry about getting anything returned is simple and worthwhile.

For June 2012 you can find info and news from the CPSC and also this MSN Slideshow offers a glimpse at the recalls in the following areas:

Get more details in this post from The Random Forest: 2012 June Product Recalls.

• June 2012 food recalls
• June 2012 children’s gear recalls
• June 2012 children’s clothing and toy recalls
• June 2012 pharmaceutical recalls
• June 2012 meat recalls
• June 2012 electrical recalls
• June 2012 vehicle recalls
• June 2012 consumer product recalls

Let us know if any of the recalls affected you?

Thanks.

Canadians have new patriotic swagger

Canadians have new patriotic swagger - Canadians have long been known to be coy about bragging about how great their country is and displaying nationalistic symbols but a recent survey says that is changing.

Canadians have new patriotic swagger

Canadians have new patriotic swagger

The survey was conducted by Ipsos-Reid online. It polled 1,100 people between 20-22 June and was produced for the Historica-Dominion Institute. Results suggest that Canadians are getting brash and proud about their country and in-your-face patriotism is becoming far more normal.

Of course much of this centers around the use of the famous flag symbol, the Maple Leaf. Apparently One in five said they would consider getting a tattoo of it somewhere on their body. This was heightened in the under 55's and strongest in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

From my years in Canada I recognise the red leaf as a distinct Canadian symbol. Like Canadas image it appears non-offensive, does not symbolise war or oppression and looks far cooler than most flags. It's a lucky piece of branding for a country to have!

The years of people saying things good about Canada and celebrating the leaf must be rubbing off if the results of this survey are to be believed.

As a non-Canadian I like the symbol too and like that Canadians don't feel bad displaying it and are ever more interested in going beyond using it just as a flag. Of course if you are not careful nationalism can go too far the wrong way but I think as a whole that is a long way off.

Interestingly the maple tree where the symbol comes from only grows in Eastern Canada but the West seem to love it just as much!

More details of other findings from the survey, including where Canadians rate Poutine as a national food and what they think of Beavers, can be read  in this article over at MSN.

Are you Canadian, how do you relate to your national symbols and patriotism? Do you see a problem with it and would you prefer the old more humble Canadian style to be on the rise instead?

Republished from The Random Forest.

World's fastest skateboarder reaches 80mph

World's fastest skateboarder reaches 80mph - Mischo Erban broke the current land speed record on a skateboard by quite an astounding amount recently in Quebec, Canada and says he didn't even feel challenged.

World's fastest skateboarder reaches 80mph

According to the story from Digital Spy 28-year old Mischo Erban reached 130kph which broke the current record by a massive 16kph.

The record success took place in Quebec on a road they call locally "the landslide".

He seemed relaxed and of the event said "I came to the hill thinking I would be scared but at the end it was just a game. I didn't really even feel challenged.", he also joked that he will double his speed if someone builds the right road.

Check out the crazy video of the record breaker below:

Wow, just wow!

Story details sourced from Digital Spy.

Story republished from: http://therandomforest.com/worlds-fastest-skateboarder-reaches-80mph/

Scissors, Paper, Stone: unbeatable robot wins every hand

Scissors, Paper, Stone: unbeatable robot wins every hand - Stone, Paper, Scissors is a classic that some people have an inherent, almost telepathic way of winning! Of course it probably comes down to reaction time and also character judging so how can it be possible that the very human game has been infiltrated by an unbeatable robot?

Scissors, Paper, Stone: unbeatable robot wins every hand

The Japanese robot is a cheat! It simply recognises the hand gesture and responds according. It only takes one milisecond too recognise so the reaction is pretty much impossible to spot. Of course the current application of the robot is a little fun but it's implications could be far reaching. Check it out in the video below.

Amazing, eh?

Now the uses of such a gesture recognition system could be anywhere from medical to transportation to home help. Just think a gesture based walking robot could give new leg life to amputees again. It could be used as a braking system in cars or even for automated driving improvements.

What applications can you think up?

Story republished from: http://therandomforest.com/scissors-paper-stone-unbeatable-robot-wins-every-hand/

WTA to install Grunt-O-Meter

WTA to install Grunt-O-Meter - Grunting of mostly female tennis players has been annoying spectators so much that apparently the WTA is considering a 3-step plan to bring the noise levels down.

WTA to install Grunt-O-Meter

WTA to install Grunt-O-Meter

Watch any Tennis match and the players will make a noise when the hit the ball. Women are often pointed out for their loud and shrill grunts on contact, particularily the likes of Maria Sharapova amongst many. Many Male players also have loud grunts.

Apparently spectators have been complaining and the World Tennis Association has a plan.

According to an article from USA Today the 3-part plan includes:

• The development of a handheld device — a kind of Hawk-Eye for noise — for umpires to objectively measure on-court grunting levels.
• A new rule setting acceptable and non-acceptable noise levels based on acoustical data gathering and analysis.
• Education at large tennis academies, national development programs and at all levels of junior and lower-tier professional events.

WTA chief executive and chairman Stacey Allaster stopped short of calling it a Grunt-o-Meter but we all know that it is!

Now, what do I think?

I don't know if you want to hear my opinion but I honestly don't see an issue with grunting. It's a physical game and physical exertion is often helped by exerting noise. I am sure many would not hit quite the same if they had to curb it.

Sportspersons should be pretty much allowed to exhibit whatever quirks make them work hardest and curbing the grunt is a bad idea. Plus it's a character thing too!

What do you think about the ideas proposed by the WTA?

Story republished from: http://therandomforest.com/wta-install-grunt-o-meter/

James Hackett assault and battery

James Hackett assault and battery - A man is being charged over allegedly throwing a carton of McDonalds fries at his 11-year old step daughter in a moment of anger.

James Hackett assault and battery

At first a charge seems a little over the top. The story goes that the family, James, his wife and step-daughter visited McDs and on the way home in the car the couple started arguing over money.

The 11-year old interjected and out of anger James threw the fries into the backseat where they hit the girl in the face.

Thinking about the incident a little more I see the charge a little more clearly if it happened that way. The fries have been described as hot and oily with potential to burn and the act itself was violent and maybe aimed at the child.

Lowell Sun: Man plans not-guilty in French fry assault

The Lowell Sun reported that James Hackett pleaded not guilty in district court. He is on bail on condition he goes no where near the girl.

More details can be found on The Smoking Gun.

What do you think? Is a charge harsh or should he be seriously reprimanded if it is decided events did happen like this?

Story republished from: http://therandomforest.com/james-hackett-assault-battery/