smidgy

Better eBay Searches

Every time I try to find something on eBay, I usually end up enraged at how big and bloated it has become. Plug in something like "iPod" into the search box and you will quickly find yourself drowning in a sea of irrelevant listings for iPod cases, speakers and misleading items entitled "Get a free iPod!". If you have ever suffered from eBayus Searchatum Infuriatis, you'll be glad to know help is on the way.

eBay is currently working on a beta for a site relaunch which it dubbed the "Playground", just to confuse us.  The "Playground" is a fully functional site, running along in parallel to the existing eBay site, which means you can view listings, perform transactions etc. I tried doing some searches and there is a marked improvement in the relevancy of the results. eBay also promises lots of new features such as one click bidding, a bidding assistant and other goodies reminiscent of social networking sites.

Visit the eBay beta

Also in beta is gumshoo, a third party search engine that helps to return more relevant results by allowing you to filter accessories or junk listings. Some neat additional features include the ability to find misspelled auctions or view the 30 day feedback trend for a particular seller.

Visit gumshoo

After Hours Drinks

As if additional proof were ever needed that on the Web every single niche imaginable is catered to, a site called moderdrunkmagazine.com serves up a liver-busting shot of hilarity with this article detailing the wonderful experience of after hours boozing excess.

A snippet from the article:

“I’ve got some booze at my place.”

That’s how it begins. You’re sitting there at last call, ready to stagger away from the bonfire of joy that has burned down to a bed of pleasantly glowing coals, and some lunatic has to throw that can of kerosine on the fire.

Going to a party after the bars have closed is akin to crawling to the peak of Mt. Everest then turning to your expedition party and declaring, “Right, nice view. Now let’s break out the toboggans and see how fast we can get down the other side of this bastard.”

It’s a wild, exhilarating ride, all blur and screaming, and usually finishes with a spectacular crash.

Except, since you’re loaded to the gills, it doesn’t seem such an insane notion at all. In fact, it seems like a perfectly fine idea.

Why should the good times end? a little voice whispers. Says who? The bouncer? The clock on the wall? Because you have to be at work in six hours?

Screw tomorrow! the voice continues, raging now. Tomorrow is the enemy if it steals one moment from today. Tomorrow is where your boss yells at you for showing up late, if you deign to show up at all. Real drunks live in the now, and right now we’d like to have some more booze.

Out-of-body experience, on demand.

From BBC News:

Experts have found a way to trigger an out-of-body experience in volunteers.

The experiments, described in the Science journal, offer a scientific explanation for a phenomenon experienced by one in 10 people.

Two teams used virtual reality goggles to con the brain into thinking the body was located elsewhere.

The visual illusion plus the feel of their real bodies being touched made volunteers sense that they had moved outside of their physical bodies.

Read more about it here.

Wedding Proposal

A little something for the romantic ones out there...

Learn more about it here.

This is Not an Elvis 30th Anniversary Top 10 List

Ex Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi sure loves Elvis.

iPod is Cool Again

iPods used to be cool. But that was all the way back in 2001, which in hipster-years translates to the paleolithic era. Apple has now sold over 80 million ipods. So since everyone from the pope to your eight year old sister is using one, you will rack up a grand total of zero cool credits when you walk out of the Apple store with your shiny new iPod in hand.

So how do you set yourself apart from the pack? Read on, as I present to you the Top 10 Ways to Make Your iPod Hip Again...

You, Green Cyborgs and a Dancefloor

Seems like cyber virtual disco is all the rage these days. Perhaps influenced by the Scissor Sisters web site, a well known beer company is featuring you as their John Travolta of the Internet age. All you need to do is upload a picture of yourself, and optionally that of some friends, then the site does the rest. Within seconds you'll be the hippest cyborg Dutch beer promoter this side of planet Krypton.

Via Gizmodo

Watermelon Steak

Photo: Erik Jacobs

Yes, you read right. The red, sweet fruit composed entirely of water has become the new steak. Or at least, that's what trend watchers and hipsters would like you to believe, even though it contains no meat, cannot be undercooked and is seriously not filling. So is it any good? Well, it's certainly different. Pan frying watermelon in butter gives it a nice crunchy edge while still remaining mostly sweet and providing a pretty unique flavor. I have heard small pieces of sauteed watermelon are a divine match for a cold, gazpacho-like soup, but I have yet to try that variation.

A watermelon steak recipe as published in the Boston Globe.

Via Buzzfeed