Burning Coffee

A slow-burning log for your fireplace, that's made out of coffee grounds. I wish I had a fireplace. Via Brand Autopsy.

Movie Props from Master Replicas

I thought I had outgrown such things, but the tasty goods on Master Replicas' Site had me salivating. Who wouldn't want a durable metal Star Trek Communicator (depicted) with built in sound effects? Or their own Star Wars thermal detonator, to help bring negotiations to a tidy conclusion? Some items have interactive simulations too! The short notes on each item are an interesting read also, detailing the origin of the original props and how they were interpreted to create the final replica.

These things aren't cheap at several hundred dollars a pop, but the reviews on the net seem to hold Master Replica in hard regard. We salute you, Master Replicas!

Shaped by Sound

Jeff B points out this handy glossary of CB talk. This is jargon that's designed to not only be intelligible over the airwaves, but to sound cool at the same time. Awesome!

I also keep a printout of a phonetic alphabet next to my phone, for those times when I need to spell things out: "Send that attention to: David Seah SIERRA ECHO ALFA HOTEL". For extra fun, use the silent phonetic alphabet instead: "That's X as in SIOUX" :-)

New Yakitate! Japan

My cousins Brian and Jason turned me on to Yakitate! Japan, a japanese comic book (manga) about bread making...Volume 11 has just been scanlated! You're all probably wondering, "bread making comics?" If you're even a nominal fan of the Iron Chef series on The Food Network, you might enjoy this manga. It's highly melodramatic, but filled with interesting (I assume) true tips about baking. Think "Rocky" meets "baking contests" and you're in the ballpark...just don't dwell on the Sylvester Stallone aspect too much.

The inset shows a piece of bread that has just been punched. "Well made bread has elasticity, and will bounce back!" Did I mention this manga totally rocks?