By David Ponce

There are no gadgets here, but it’s an interesting story nonetheless. So it turns out one Dante Autullo from Orland Park, IL, was working in his garage one day when he lost his grip on his nail gun. It swung at him and bumped the side of his head. Dante examined the damage: a minor scratch. He even texted his wife a picture of the so-called scratch, so nonchalant was he about the incident. He popped a couple of Advils and went on his merry day. He drove his plow truck for 8 hours, took his kids to a play rehearsal and even took a nap before he finally figured something was wrong; at that point he had a headache and nausea. It was only once he got to the hospital that everything became clear.

The X-Rays (which Dante at first thought were a joke) showed the 3.5 inch nail firmly inside his brain. The flat part of the nail was resting right atop his skull, beneath the skin (which was why it looked like just a scratch), “as if it had been driven into a two-by-four.” He had to undergo surgery to remove the nail and as luck would have it, very little tissue damage occurred. Mr. Autullo is expected to be able to leave the hospital after spending a day with a nail in his brain with absolutely no loss of function at all.

For the record, do not try this at home.

VIA [ Geekosystem ] AND [ Chicago Tribune ]

And we’re posting it because, hey, why not?

VIA [ BookOfJoe ]

By David Ponce

Not that this really relates to anything, but it’s geeky enough to mention. Mathematics Professors Christopher Danforth and Peter Dodds, of Vermont University, analyzed 2.4 million Tweets, looking for words that connote both happiness (think “rainbows (really), free and fun”) or gloom (think “cruel, hatred and suffocate”) and concluded that the worst day of the week seems to be a Wednesday.

Yeah, now you know.

VIA [ Daily Telegraph ]

By David Ponce

A very good friend of mine just launched a website called StyleShark, where you can find relatively tasteful entertainment news geared for men. Think Maxim Online, and you’ll get an idea of the flavor. I’m plugging his site here because frankly he’s a good friend of mine, but mostly because it actually is really good.

Above you can see one of the StyleShark girls, Anne, talking about the top 5 “technologies” for sex since it’s somewhat appropriate for a tech audience. She’s fun to listen to, trust me. But don’t, if hearing about natural acts committed between consenting adults somehow offends you. It’s not explicit, but well… you’ve been warned.

On his site, you can expect pictures, articles and original videos that a male audience will appreciate. Just don’t expect anything obscene.

[ StyleShark ]

By Evan Ackerman

This January, the Sci Fi Channel will be auctioning off thousands (thousands!) set pieces, props, and costumes from Battlestar Galactica. A two-day live auction will be held in Pasadena on January 17 and 18, and on January 20 about 200 items will be put on eBay. After that, as each episode airs more items from those episodes will show up on eBay.

Besides the life size Viper MkII (should be flyable with only minor repairs), other props for sale include the President Roslin’s desk, a Raptor flight manual, Colonel Tigh’s liquor bottle and eye patch, the Blackbird, Starbuck’s flight suit, and Six’s red dress. A purely academic sample picture of said dress, after the jump.

[ Battlestarprops ] VIA [ Wired ]

You made history last night, and today you have your first African American president. Congratulations! You should be proud of yourselves. God knows the rest of the world is, nowhere more than up here in Canada, your frostbitten neighbor.

By Evan Ackerman

Kinda like last Friday, there’s no really gadgetry going on here, but these guys are just SO CUTE and alien-y I had to post about them. They’re nudibranchs, a type of sea slug, and they’re some of the most flagrantly colorful animals on the planet. The colors are partially to help them blend in on coral reefs, and partially to communicate that they’re poisonous. National geographic has a mind bending gallery by David Doubilet that you can check out here, and I’ve posted some of my favorite pics after the jump.

VIA [ National Geographic ]

By Evan Ackerman

I’ve put together a little gallery of some of the more visually appealing (i.e. LEDs, huge flames, etc.) stuff from Maker Faire last weekend… It’s in no particular order, and most of it exists just because someone wanted it to, and not because it fulfills any purpose. But it’s unquestionably cool, so have a look at some of the pics, after the jump.

If you’ve got questions as to WTF any of these things are, post in the comments, and I’ll see what I can dig up.

[ Maker Faire ]

By Evan Ackerman

No gadgets here, just some incredible pictures of the eruption of Chile’s Chaitén volcano. The plume of ash is thought to generate enough static electricity to cause what is called a “dirty thunderstorm” in the same way that colliding ice particles provide the juice for regular thunderstorms. Three more amazing pics, after the jump.

[ National Geographic ]

By Luke Anderson

Bonsai trees are generally a sign of peace and tranquility. Some people spend countless hours taking care of them and making sure they are perfect. So what would happen if a miniature care spun out of control and wrecked into your precious tree? It wouldn’t be very zen, that’s for sure.

If you think it’s amusing to see something as terrible as a car crash butted up against a tranquil Bonsai tree, then you’ll likely get a kick out of CrashBonsai, which is essentially a tiny car that’s been detailed to look exactly like it’s been drove straight into a tree. You can purchase one of these handmade designs from the creator for between $75 and $125.

[ CrashBonsai ] VIA [ Dvice ]