National Novel Writing Month (seen before) starts Nov. 1. The goal: complete a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, Nov. 30. If you'd like to start, or are otherwise working on a novel, Sean Lindsay and others would like you to please stop.
posted to MetaFilter by kurumi at 3:57 PM on October 31, 2007 (42 comments)

Dromedaries, centipedes, B-trains, Road Trains, and more. Where the continental U. S. has nurtured the "18-wheeler" as an iconic form, commercial trucks in other countries (or within certain states) have flourished in a wide variety of forms, adapting to regional industry, terrain, population, and laws. A 7-axle cement mixer in Nevada. Twin-steer short trucks in Europe. 42-wheelers in Michigan. More at Hank's Truck Pictures (GIS lists about 144,000 of them).
posted to MetaFilter by kurumi at 11:47 AM on April 9, 2006 (15 comments)

Air Force Wind Ensemble Music About 70 pieces are here, almost all in MP3, recorded by Air Force bands. If you played concert band or wind ensemble in high school, some of these will really take you back:

• Lincolnshire Posey, Grainger
• First Suite in Eb for Military Band, Holst
• The Planets, Holst
• George Washington Bridge, Schuman

There are links to other genres performed by the bands: Country, Dixieland, Jazz, March, Patriotic, Pop, and Winter Holidays. The list isn't exhaustive (no Thunderer?) but there are some gems that are not easy to find recordings of.
posted to MetaFilter by kurumi at 2:21 PM on April 1, 2005 (15 comments)

The Generator Blog describes and links to about 190 Generator sites, where you can make all sorts of different things online: Dymo-style labels, Wisconsin city names, walking insects, Bart Simpson chalkboards, Guitar Chords, Sound effects (onomatopoeia) and more. Disclaimer: I found out about this in my HTTP logs, so while nothing here is a self-link, one of those 190 generator links is. Tiptoe carefully around it.
posted to MetaFilter by kurumi at 5:50 PM on February 7, 2005 (10 comments)

"This is what it sounds like inside the brains of crazy people." - one person's review of "Carol of the Bells", part of the results of a "Worst Carol Contest." Ineligible: novelty songs, especially involving injuries to grandmothers. The most hated: Little Drummer Boy. (I was disappointed not to see Leroy Anderson's feculent Sleigh Ride get top honors.)
posted to MetaFilter by kurumi at 3:28 PM on December 19, 2003 (41 comments)

Cranespotting (Geocities) ... is the compulsion, upon seeing a long crane boom reaching skyward in the distance, to drive over and see what's holding it up. The crane capital of the world is Germany, where Demag, Gottwald, Krupp, Liebherr and others make some cranes with eye-opening numbers: more than 60 feet long, with 10 axles, and able to lift 1,000 tons. Now sometimes cranes tip over, touch power lines and so on; and there's a website for that too.
posted to MetaFilter by kurumi at 5:44 PM on June 12, 2003 (7 comments)

Disgraced stock analyst embarks on second career: Steve Harmon (who you might have seen on CNBC) has fallen from respectability and is now trying his hand at writing a science fiction thriller. The first two chapters of his upcoming novel -- Hybrids -- are online. Unfortunately, Harmon's not a good writer, and his effort is entertaining only as "good God, this is awful." I'm guessing he misses the spotlight and figured a novel would be his way back in. (from Tech Investor)
posted to MetaFilter by kurumi at 11:34 AM on August 15, 2002 (20 comments)