John Gushue . . . Dot Dot Dot

Status: Fake, fake, fake, fake

A British businessman has won a court judgment, and damages, over a fake Facebook profile that was created by an estranged friend. This BBC report said that the fake profile contained "private information [that] concerned [Matthew] Firsht's whereabouts, activities, birthday and relationship status [and] falsely indicated his sexual orientation and political views."

Ouch. The judgment, worth more than Cdn $44,000, should make anyone rethink making that much effort to rip someone a new one.

I loved the wee quote at the end of this excerpt concerning Firsht (above) and his nemesis, Grant Raphael:

The two former friends went to school together in Brighton but fell out about six years ago over a business dispute. Deputy Judge Richard Parkes QC said that by the time the dispute arose, Mr Firsht was highly successful, but Mr Raphael - whose company had gone into voluntary liquidation - "was not".

A thought on a good night's sleep

"Blessings on him who invented sleep, the mantle that covers all human thoughts."
- Miguel de Cervantes

Cubism, or the weird appeal of the Nissan Cube

Is it just me, or is the forthcoming Nissan Cube ... just weird? Lots of buzz, and now a site hyping the launch next spring in the U.S. I know the boxy look has been popular among car designers, but the Cube is boxalicious. I'm curious to see what young, eco-affinity types make of it in the marketplace.

A basket case

The above looks a bit like a basket set among a bunch of bushes; it's actually a building - the corporate offices of Longaberger, the Ohio-based company that manufactures baskets. We were in Ohio for a wedding a few days ago, and on some downtime we took a relative's advice and sought out the seven-storey building that resembles the signature product. Although I had never heard of the company, my wife had, and was also well aware that the higher-end items (even the lower-end stuff is pretty pricey)  are collectors' items. Martha snapped this pic while we stopped outside the HQ, in Newark, Ohio. A few miles away, there's also a "homestead" - it's a very homey kind of company - that draws tourists who've come to see the handcrafted operation up close. More details on the above building here.

A thought on secrets

"We dance round in a ring and suppose,
But the Secret sits in the middle and knows."
- Robert Frost

Fill your cup and shadow the stars

[Surf's Up, as published in the St. John's Telegram on Thursday, July 3, 2008. Click here to read more columns.]

Learn how the Stanley Cup evolved from a fairly simple bowl into the iconic, extended shape it has today, plan your vacation stops around where famous movie scenes were filmed, and learn the basics of genetics … all without stepping away from your computer. Those sites, and more, are on this week's browsing agenda.

Stanley Cup
How many kids, do you think, will have an indelible memory for the decades of the day they saw Daniel Cleary and the Stanley Cup at Harbour Grace? As sports trophies go, there aren't many as iconic as the Cup, which has its roots in an elegant bowl that Lord Stanley purchased from an English shop in 1892 to spark interest in the then-growing sport of ice hockey. The NHL's official site is loaded up to the rim with trivia and facts about the famous cup, which spends more time on the road each year than Willie Nelson.

Movie Locations Guide
Ever wanted to run up the steps that Sylvester Stallone mounted in Rocky? Case the building where Bruce Willis fought the bad guys in Die Hard? Dream moonily like Audrey Hepburn did on Fifth Avenue at Breakfast at Tiffany's? How about just fighting gophers, a la Bill Murray, at the golf course in Caddyshack? All of these films are among the movie locations listed at this site, with street addresses where movie fans can indulge themselves. The site also features some locations used in TV shows, from the Satriale's pork shop in The Sopranos to the mangy motel in My Name is Earl.

DNA From the Beginning
My son went to a science camp this past school year, and learned enough about DNA to dwarf what I could possibly have known at his age. (It is, indeed, very humbling to hear an eight-year-old explain the basics of genetics.) This multimedia site explains, step by step, what genes are, how some are dominant when they're passed along the generations, and how genetic components function. Breezy-easy it's not, but isn't that what DNA is all about? 

Geekologie
If you're one of those people who says something like "Sweet!" under your breath when you see something like, say, an action figure for Guitar Hero aficionados, Geekologie is owed a visit. The slogan – Gadgets, Gizmos and Awesome – will also give you a clue of what to expect. Toasters that send toast not just into the air but the stratosphere; boom-like attachments that swing your computing stuff around, so you could, conceivably, never get out of bed; irreverent products that will catch your friends' eye when they visit … yep, it's all there.

Mind Reader Game
Here's something that can appeal to those who believe in psychic powers, as well as the more rationally inclined. Actually, it's mostly for the latter. This game asks respondents to do a little math, click a button, and then be impressed by the result. The word in that sentence, by the way, is "math," and if you're not persuaded, click on the explanation at the end for more information.

Shape invasion
Triangles, circles, rectangles – sure, they may be the most basic of shapes, but in this shoot-‘em-up game, they're the villains. One evening few weeks ago, I tried this game out … and found myself an hour later, nudging myself to do something more productive. While writing this column, I found myself spending a wee bit too much time trying to reach the next level. Consider yourself warned.

John Gushue is a news writer for CBCNews.ca in St. John's. Site suggestions always welcome at surf at thetelegram.com. John is on Facebook right here.

(Sw)eat to the beat

Keith Moon may have been bloated and horribly out of shape when he died after years of excessive drug and alcohol intake, but the fellow was as fit as a fiddle in his prime. No wonder, according to some new research, which found that an hour of drumming is as good a workout as you'll get anywhere. This is far from an exhaustive, double-blind study; the subject of study was Blondie's Clem Burke (above). Click here to see a BBC report on the findings. Click below to see Clem Burke in action, with the propulsive drumming behind Dreaming, Blondie's 1979 single.

A thought on innovators

"A man with a new idea is a crank, until the idea succeeds."
- Mark Twain

Heading home

I'm currently in Ontario, visiting some relatives; I spent the last few days in Ohio, attending a family wedding. Very nice trip. The surprise: the bone-melting humidity in Ohio. I can deal with Toronto's version, but I had my doubts during a few moments on the weekend, with temperatures in the 90s and a humidity index to match. I'll be grateful for an Atlantic breeze - but not too much more, please! - when I get home later today.

Financially dysfunctional

Given that U.S. authorities are reluctant to call a recession what it is, I find a new post on the Freakonomics blog - about the prevalence of financial illiteracy - pretty sobering. Stephen J. Dubner cites how three easy-peasy-looking questions on finance have proven difficult for a great many people, and writes on how he has some sympathy for them:

But here’s my point: I’m not exactly undereducated. I had 13 years of public schooling, 4 years of college, and another 2 years of graduate school — and after all that schooling, I don’t know if I learned enough to answer all three of [researcher Annamaria] Lusardi’s questions correctly. The subjects simply didn’t come up. Just as they apparently didn’t for the two-thirds of the older respondents to Lusardi’s questions.

The rest is here.

A thought on late nights

"Let's face it, all the good stuff happens after midnight."
- Matt Groening

A T-shirt for the vinyl types

Not down with downloads? No biggie. Spotted here, on the Signals site. Click the T-shirts tab below to see previously sighted items.

Helmet heads

Above is an example of a series of ads produced by the Asian Injury Prevention Foundation. They use a simple technique: contrast a dim but all-too-common point of view ("I never wear a helmet; they don't look cool" or "I don't like wearing a helmet. It ruins my hair") with pictures proving what the outcomes can be. Click below to watch a video from the campaign.

How to not look like a tourist

From Howcast:

Away from my desk

I'm away for a few days; blogging will be on the light side. Cheers.

Worst Wii game ideas

From cNet, via (sort of) Mad magazine:

Digital portrait tips

Digital Photography School offers 10 tips (to start) on getting eye-popping portrait shots. Click through to read. (Thanks to Joey for the tip.)

A card for unsure Batman fans

As seen on someecards.com, the e-cards for "when you care enough to hit send," this example seems appropriate for some movie fans this summer.

A thought on nuisances

"Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to a better understanding of ourselves."
- Carl Jung

Feist counts to four on Sesame Street

Who better to sing about the wonders of counting - to four, at that - that Feist herself? Click below to see Feist adapt 1 2 3 4 with monsters, penguins and more. And, "it's one less than five, and one more than three." (The expression on Feist's face at the end, incidentally, is priceless.)

Young me, old me (even in plaid)

The three brave men on the right are indeed the same chaps on the right; they took part, but did not win, in a competition sponsored by ColorWars titled YoungMe, Now Me. The idea: participants chose a picture of themselves from years ago, and matched the stance as best they could. Charming lot.

Creature Discomforts: watch me

Aardman, the people behind Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run, and many other examples of fantastic stop-motion animation, have adapted the Creature Comforts format to a series of ads to raise awareness about disabilities. The site is here; an example is below, and another is here.