Tag: video

Open the bloodgates

Mosquitoes are nasty little bloodsuckers. Not to mention carriers of dangerous disease. So how should we educate the public on the danger? Cartoon infomercials? How bout unleashing a swarm on unsuspecting conference delegates?

The Queensland Government is spending a bit of money educating the general public on the perils of Dengue fever. The longer TV ads feature warnings not to wear dark clothes. Apparently dark clothes attrack the little Aussie mozzie.  Who’d have thought. Perhaps a resurrection of Don Spencer’s “Little Aussie Mozzie” song would have been an appropriate piece of educational propaganda:

What may not be the most politically correct piece of anti-mozzie propaganda – but was no doubt more effective – was a decision by Bill Gates to release a swarm of mosquitoes on an unsuspecting audience at a Technology and Design conference in California.

February 5, 2009

Best job in the world

It has been remiss of me not to post about the best job in the world earlier. We had an embargoed briefing on the campaign from Tourism Queensland a while ago and I thought “this would be fun to blog about”… except we signed confidentiality agreements.

Tourism Queensland had to jump through massive HR hoops to run this campaign so they deserve all the coverage they’re getting. Even if they did have the little mishap with fake applications at the start. The message is reaching all corners of the globe. Osama Bin Laden has applied. But his application was rejected. Here’s the video:

February 4, 2009

YouTube Twosday: so good it had to be posted

When I was a young lad I spent a lot of time playing with GI Joes. Call them Barbies with guns. Call them a terrible influence on a developing psyche. I call them awesome. So this movie, complete with ninjas, is on the must see list.

February 3, 2009

YouTube Tuesday: What’s the number for 911

Thanks to Pete for introducing us to that one.

February 3, 2009

K-Ruddy handout

For those who missed the news today – K-Rudd is giving something back to the workers of Australia. $950 a pop. The comrades in arms who have contributed to our time of economic prosperity. No doubt we’ll also be told to spend this cash to help stimulate the economy.

So now the question is “what to buy” – I wouldn’t mind spending it all on crappy USB products from Hong Kong… but can I suggest that if you want to make a positive contribution to reducing the abortion rate in Australia that you check out Free Money for New Lives a support service for mums who would otherwise have abortions.

The campaign was put together by a bunch of bible college students in Sydney and is a nice way for Christians to do something about the issue rather than picketing clinics where women are making pretty intense emotional decisions and are often close to psychological breaking point.

The group splits contributions between a couple of organisations. One aims to financially help mothers who want to keep their babies but are worried about the cost, and the other is a think tank – the Womens Forum Australia – that:

“works across the usual political and religious divides, to advocate for life affirming, pro-woman alternatives to abortion which would enhance women’s freedom to have their babies.”

In the end probably a much better cause than spending your money at “Brando” – which is a USB gadget seller based in Hong Kong. Spending your money off shore isn’t going to stimulate the economy at all anyway, so K-Rudd wouldn’t endorse that.

February 3, 2009

Corporate coffee

Pretty funny corporate dig at elite coffee culture. It’s just a shame that Macca’s coffee is often not so hot, precisely because it’s too hot.

So much of what they do is actually alright. If McDonalds was serious about coffee they’d have properly trained people, not machines turning out their coffee. 

What Maccas do right:

1. The beans are “rainforest alliance” – which is a much better form of fair trade.

2. They grind on consumption – unlike some “cafes”.

3. They turn over beans pretty quickly which means they’re unlikely to be stale.

4. Superauto machines turn out a consistent product.

Point 4 is positive and negative. Superautos produce a product below the quality of hand crafted coffee. A barista finetuning the grind to meet the conditions will produce a better coffee every time. Maccas mass produced approach will also fall short of the quality a cafe using freshly roasted (in house) beans will produce. But it is consistent. Unfortunately the only inconsistency is caused by their high school aged coffee producers (they’re not baristas). Coffee extraction occurs at the push of a button. But the frothing is still manual. And too often the McCafe-ers are guilty of frothing the milk to the boiling point of water (milk boils and loses its pleasant flavour at about 65 degrees).

If you can find a McCafe that doesn’t burn the milk you’ve got it made now that McDonalds has introduced free wireless nation wide.

January 31, 2009

Prison Break: New Zealand

January 29, 2009

Letterman

I’m a long time fan of David Letterman’s Late Show – back in my single, uni days when I was a nightowl I’d often tune in for his acerbic, incredibly dry take on the preceding day’s events – Australia gets his stuff a day behind.

The Huffington Post has a page of Letterman highlights – and they’ve just posted a link to Cracked’s “nine most awkward Letterman moments” where Letterman demonstrates an obvious disdane for several of his guests. It’s a mark of his power and influence that these guests will appear on his show probably knowing they’re about to be relentlessly mocked.

Here’s Letterman with Paris Hilton – just after her release from prison. Which according to Letterman might be here legacy. It’s painfully good.

January 29, 2009

Gyroscopic Fail

January 28, 2009

Crystal clear pool

Speaking of beautifully designed things… Gizmodo just posted a link to this Aussie designed glass pool table – complete with a special surface that emulates the friction and movement of felt. The privilege of having this bad boy in your living room will cost you a cool $38,000 or thereabouts. But hey, Plasma televisions cost that much back in the day – and look at them now.

January 28, 2009

YouTube Tuesday – The A-Rodd edition

I’m thoroughly enjoying watching Andy Roddick demolish Djokovic at the moment. I’m a big fan of the A-Rodd – so I thought I’d share some of his brilliant moments shilling American Express… he’s one of those guys who’s able to laugh at himself which is somewhat refreshing in a professional sports star – although tennis seems to be full of guys like that with Tsonga, Federer, and Djokovic all able to turn their frowns upside down.

January 27, 2009

Youtube Tuesday: 8 bit Batman

If you’re anything like me you’ve been picturing the Dark Knight – a movie that broke new ground by employing imax cameras for standard cinema shooting – in 8 bit NES style. Or maybe not. This just goes to show that you probably should have been. 

It kind of makes me sad that nobody’s out there programming NES games still…

January 20, 2009

Youtube Tuesday: Goal

I think this might become a regular feature if I can find at least one YouTube (or other online video repository) video worth posting each week. The guy doing the kicking is the same guy in the Super Mario Kart Video I posted a couple of weeks ago. He’s obviously very talented – if this video is to be believed.

January 6, 2009

Putting football in perspective

December 23, 2008

Wiimote controlled television

Whoops. Make sure you’re keeping those safety straps on. There have been photos of wiimote damage posted – and funny videos of wiimote tragedies. But to Gizmodo’s knowledge this is the first video of said carnage.

December 17, 2008