Recommended by YouTube

I opened my YouTube account today and I was recommended a few videos on the initial page. The first one was an LCD TV comparison test in Hungarian. I was surprised by the recommendation. Not the Hungarian language as it is in my profile, but the topic: I never wrote or mentioned TVs on any of my blogs as I remember. Interesting, good algorithms. Anyway, it turned out to be a very good review because they put in some plus: the humor and something else. Just look at the preview picture down there and you’ll get the idea! My favorites are these comments:

“I have no idea what she said but I watched the entire video :)”

“Could you make english subtitle please? the video is very good.”

“Good TV, but the girl is much more interesting :)”

Good initiative 220volt.hu! :)
Sorry for those who doesn’t understand Hungarian.

Windproof umbrella – indeed!

My girlfriend has just bought an umbrella on which tag they claim that it is windproof. It reminds me of a real windproof umbrella, I read a year ago or so. Check out the video! :))

Through design.spotcoolstuff.com

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Mary Poppins would not have gotten far with a Senz umbrella. Her umbrella, like yours probably, catches wind gusts and pulls whatever arm is holding onto the umbrella up and away. And if the wind gust is strong enough it will turn the normal umbrella inside out.

A Senz umbrella is different. It is designed to play with the wind.

While a typical umbrella is like a parachute the Senz is like an airplane wing. The Senz angles airflow around the umbrella, making the Senz usable in gales up to 70 mph (100 km/h). The Senz also shields your eyes from the rain and comes with an opening mechanism integrated in the handle. All of which has earned the Senz umbrella numerous accolades including a Red Dot Design Award, a selection for TIME Magazine’s invention of the year and, of course, Spot Cool Stuff’s endorsement.

Check out the video below that shows the Senz in a wind tunnel, held by people skydiving and used by a passenger on a speeding motorcycle.

The WTC tourist is Hungarian

I learnt recently that ‘Waldo, the Tourist of Death’ or as we called him ‘The Guy Who Was Everywhere’ is actually Hungarian, his name is Péter Guzli! :)

He first appeared on the Internet as he was posing on observation deck of the WTC tower just before the airplane hit the building. Many people believed that it was real and the camera was found in the debris.

After the incident Guzli edited a Boing into his own 4 year old photo and sent it to 15 of his friends. In 24 hour it got to the furthest point of the Internet. 3 days later it was on the front page of the online edition of the Stern and other major sites examined too if the picture was real.

Later it became an Internet phenomenon and Waldo appeared on many pictures of historical tragedies, events and movie posters/snapshots. The touristofdeath.com has collected 1300+ variations already.

  

The related Wikipedia article is here. Another article on a major Hungarian website is here (in Hungarian).

The photos from index.hu, Wikipedia and touristofdeath.com

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UPDATE  08.01.2012

Peter Guzli recently apologized for creating the picture ten years ago: "It was a private matter - I assumed my friends would recognize me and call me to see if I was alright, but they didn't, they posted it on to other friends and suddenly it was all over the world.

The article in English: http://web.orange.co.uk/article/news/Hungarian_apologises_for_911_hoax
and in Hungarian: http://hvg.hu/itthon/20110912_tourist_guy_bocsanatkeres

Google Earth: Madrid in 3D

I opened Google Earth this morning and browsed for something in Madrid. I instantly recognized that something changed, everything was amazingly detailed and realistic. Here is our square next to the Opera:

I made a quick search for it and found the answer on the Google Earth Blog from 29 January, see below.

Congratulations Google Earth, this is really wonderful and spectacular! We can go sightseeing every time from now on, even when it is raining! :) 
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Madrid is now in 3D

Madrid, Spain is now in 3D, it's quite impressive. According to Google, Madrid has the largest concentration of 3D models anywhere on the planet! If you see if for yourself, you'll see that it's true.

Through a combination of SketchUp and Building Maker submissions, Madrid has an amazing depth of coverage. Fly there yourself, or check out the video below for a quick tour.

No word on whether they've added additional cities or buildings, but I assume that various other user-submitted content was added to other areas of the world. If you see any of yours that just landed in Google Earth, leave a comment and let us know.