Spinning Wheel of Death takes over the internet

October 4, 2009 @ 2:45 pm

Apple’s spinning wait cursor (also known as the spinning wheel of death) takes over this page on Chris Glass’ website. Scary. [via]

Also, see The Marble of Doom.

DJ AM found dead in his NYC apartment

August 28, 2009 @ 8:01 pm

travis-barker-DJ-AM

DJ AM (real name Adam Goldstein), seen above with Travis Barker at Coachella 2009, was found dead late this afternoon in his NYC apartment. TMZ is reporting that prescription pill bottles were found next to his body after a friend called police when DJ AM was not heard from for a couple of days.

If you recall late last year, DJ AM and Travis Barker were the only two survivors from a Learjet crash which killed 4 others.

Les Paul, musician and inventor, dead at 94

August 13, 2009 @ 1:28 pm

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Photo from supernaut 777 on Flickr

Lester William Polfuss, better known to many as simply Les Paul, passed away today at the age of 94 after succumbing to complications stemming from pneumonia at his White Plains house.

Les Paul was a pioneer in the music industry, having his hands in the creation of the early solid-body guitar and the first multi-track recording device. Chances are that if you’re alive and you listen to music, then you’ve experience music that has been directly influenced by some of Les Paul’s inventions.

Autopsy shows cocaine in bloodstream of Billy Mays

August 7, 2009 @ 6:46 pm

mays death

A report out today states that Billy Mays, long-time pitchman for OxiClean (among other products), died as an indirect result of cocaine use (coupled with a family linage of heart disease).

Though Mays was not intoxicated by any substances at the time of his death, it was concluded that he used cocaine in the days before but not immediately prior to his death.

Certainly a sad footnote to add to his life.

What does WD-40 stand for?

July 23, 2009 @ 7:20 pm

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According to the New York Times article on the death of John S. Barry, the man not responsible for the invention of WD-40 but the ubiquitous sale of the product, the name WD-40 stands for “water displacement, formulation successful in 40th attempt”.

Back in 1953 at the Rocket Chemical Company, it took employees 40 attempts before they figured out the perfect solution for a rust-prevention spray. Cool. I didn’t know that despite using WD-40 for just about all of my life.