Oliver Blackwell, who designed the WashDryIron, is exhibiting the machine at next month's Ideal Home Show. The University of Plymouth graduate hopes the machine will become an object of desire because it saves about 10 days a year in ironing time. "A friend's father said he wouldn't have got married if I'd come up with this sooner," said Mr Blackwell.
The 23-year-old student's innovative idea was thought up for his final degree project. He told BBC News: "There are thousands of exceptional students out there and I knew I had to come up with a damn good product idea to pass my finals.
The machine washes, dries and irons clothes in separate compartments and is said to eliminate colour runs, shrinkage and ironing. It can tackle up to 16 items at a time, including king-size bed sheets. Because hangers are used, they do not become entangled and have 83% fewer creases, according to the designer. The items are then dried and ironed by hot air blown across them. The designer claims another major benefit of the separate compartments is that muddy sports gear can be washed at the same time, but at a different temperature to delicate fabrics.
I fully endorse anything that lets me be more lazy, so this gets a 9 out of 10. (I think I am going to start ranking "From the Future" posts - Any suggestion for a (tiny) icon I could use to represent how many points out of 10 I give?)
Today may be Valentine's Day, but Monday was the sweeter day for Pat Bertoletti.
The Kendall College student devoured nearly two pounds of milk-chocolate hearts in seven minutes to win $2,500 in a contest sanctioned by the International Federation of Competitive Eating.
"My jaw's a little sore," Bertoletti, 20, said after gobbling nine of the palm-sized chocolate hearts -- each weighing 3.5 ounces.
The New York-based International Federation of Competitive Eating keeps rankings and organizes contests around the nation, including the famous Coney Island hot dog one televised by ESPN.
Bertoletti, currently ranked 10th in the nation, is a rising star on the eating circuit. Monday's title brings his winnings to $12,000 in two years.
Yeah, I'm also on the "eating circuit," but I'm not fast. I just like to eat.
Thousands entered regional tournaments across 32 cities, but only one could thumb his way to the title. The 4th annual EA SPORTS Madden Challenge Tournament from Electronic Arts, congratulates Jarvis Thomas, the National 2005 EA SPORTS Madden Challenge Champion on Madden NFL 06. Winners from each of the Madden Challenge Regional Tournaments, which were played using the Xbox video game system, were flown to the Marriott Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii for the 'Finals' competition on Feb. 10, 2006. Thomas, 18, the Minneapolis regional winner from Upper Marlboro, Maryland defeated Haarwun Brown, 18, the St. Louis regional winner from Mobile, Alabama, with a final score of 42-18 using the Philadelphia Eagles.
After receiving the $100,000 and congratulations from NFL players in attendance, Thomas, also known as "young Jarvis" said, "It's a great feeling and I still can't believe I actually won. There were some tough rounds but I used the Eagles to take advantage of Donovan McNabb."
NFL players who attended the 2005 EA SPORTS Madden Challenge Finals included: Donnie Edwards (San Diego), Chad Johnson (Cincinnati), Shawne Merriman (San Diego), DeAngelo Hall (Atlanta), Tony Gonzalez (Kansas City), Donnie Edwards (San Diego), Dwight Freeney (Indianapolis), Darren Sharper (Minnesota), Warrick Dunn (Atlanta), and Lofo Tatupu (Seattle).
Who wouldn't play videogames all day for $100,000? I want to meet that person so I can punch them.
dave submitted a story that's in the news, but this is a double story, as the one in the news isn't all that exciting. Basically, while hunting, Vice President Cheney accidentally shot a fellow hunter who was frollicking around without observing the rule indicating you announce and identify yourself to other hunters rather than sneaking up on them, so you don't get shot in the face (the guy is ok). dave found Bino's Blogaroni, which had an article filled with puns about the incident - such as Cheney's "Bird Flew" problem.
From Dan Quayle to Damn Quail!
We here at The Blogaroni believe that regardless of your political leanings, it should be evident that it is extremely dangerous to stand behind Vice President Dick Cheney.
Certainly when it comes to quail hunting.
Cheney accidentally shot his hunting partner this weekend, despite an orange vest that clearly identified the V.P.’s bird-hunting buddy as someone on the no-fly list. The shotgun mishap provided the White House with the kind of spin challenge it hasn’t had since President George W. Bush appeared with a fresh bruise on his face four years ago — an injury attributed to a bizarre TV-watching accident involving a pretzel.
While UN Secretary General Kofi Annan chastised newspapers Thursday that continue to publish the cartoons, Daily Illini editor-in-chief Acton Gorton said he decided to print them so students could better understand the Muslim response.
"All across this nation, editors are gripped in fear of printing for fear of the reaction. As a journalist, this flies in the face of everything I hold dear. By refusing to print these editorial cartoons, we are preventing an important issue from being debated by the public," Gorton wrote in a column next to the drawings.
The cartoons portray the prophet as a terrorist, including one that depicts Muhammad wearing a turban shaped as a bomb and another showing him turning away suicide bombers from paradise because, he says, heaven ran out of virgins to be given to martyrs. The cartoons have led to protests in Denmark, Iran, Lebanon, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
In a letter to the Daily Illini to be published Friday, U. of I. Chancellor Richard Herman wrote that he is "saddened" that the newspaper decided to publish the cartoons. He suggested that the editors could have informed the public by giving readers a Web link to the cartoons instead.
Given all that has happened, it seems like a stupid move to go ahead and publish these, considering all the major papers in the U.S. have already declined to do so. How does not publishing the photos prevent debate about the topic? It's the principle of what's going on, not the specific cartoon, that's the issue at hand.
I thought this was pretty nifty, but I when I saw the video of the display in action, it demanded immediate posting. The future of touchscreen technology will allow you to manipulate objects on-screen like never before. This is awesome. Especially the pictures and maps features.
Well, Arrested Development's 2-hour finale airs tonight opposite the opening of the Winter Olympics (bravo, FOX! Yet another brilliant move). EOnline had an article mentioning the speculation it will appear on another network.
These are the words we Arrested Development fans have been saying--no, chanting--to ourselves over the past few months, as we've rocked back and forth in the fetal position, breathed into paper bags and contemplated canceling our cable or, better yet, egging Fox prez Peter Liguori's house.
We who love this show don't just watch it, we obsess over it, which is what makes the uncertain fate of Arrested, as its two-hour finale airs tonight (yes tonight!), so very hard to stomach.
A source deep, deep (like, Anyoung-in-the-walls deep) inside Arrested tells me: "It's 20 percent that it'll come back [on another network]...and 80 percent that it won't."
And that's not for lack of options. After speaking with various reliable sources connected with the show, I can tell you that creator and exec producer Mitch Hurwitz is currently contemplating pickup deals from two networks. ABC has offered a 13-episode season to air on Thursday nights this fall. And an offer from Showtime is for 12 episodes a year for two years, with the option of a third.
By all accounts, Showtime is the more attractive offer, given that it would relieve the ratings pressure that has plagued the show from day one and also allow the cast to work on other projects nine months out of the year. However, for the writers and producers, it would be a similar amount of heavy lifting (especially for Hurwitz, who spearheads each episode from start to finish--'cause, let's face it, you can't delegate genius) for a network that might not have the budget to offer quite so much in return.
So, Hurwitz is...hesitant. That's what I'm told. Although I'm sure he loves Arrested like a firstborn child (as do we), he must decide whether it's worth it to uproot the show, transplant it to another network and continue to pour his blood, sweat and tears into something that, let's face it, the American viewing public has yet to embrace on a large scale.
Anyway, bottom line, I'm told Hurwitz has until June 15 to make his decision. So, we will have to do what we hate most--wait and see. And perhaps search for Jason Bateman and Will Arnett, so we can bear-hug it out for a proper goodbye. (On the off chance you can't find them, you can get their final thoughts in the video clips on this page.)
In the meantime, we should all enjoy every moment of the finale's two hours--with Justine Bateman, William Hung, Judge Reinhold and, I'm told, a very poignant final "On the Next Arrested Development." 'Cause if Fox is going to bitchslap the show with a finale airing opposite the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, we gotta bitchslap 'em right back by actually watching.
The article forgets to mention that not only Hurwitz, but several well-paid actors would have to be on board with the move too, and that's been the major issue. Well, if this truly is the end, I hope they go out with a bang!
dave submitted a link to Ticketmaster's sale of stadium seats from U.S. Cellular Field, saying "for $500 you can sit in uncomfortable stadium seats in the privacy of your own home!"
dave submitted a story in the Chicago Tribune about how a study McDonald's did showed their fries had more trans fat than they had been stating on the label.
Correcting a labeling error, the hamburger giant acknowledged Wednesday that the trans fat content in an order of its large fries is one-third higher than previously stated, containing 8 grams of the heart-endangering fat instead of the 6 grams listed on brochures and McDonald's Web site. In addition, the Oak Brook-based company said, the total fat content of its large fries is 20 percent higher, 30 grams rather than the 25 grams listed, while total calories rose to 570 from 520.
It was a black eye for McDonald's, which in October trumpeted its initiative to print nutritional data on its packages to help consumers make informed choices about what to eat. The packaging is being rolled out in Turin, Italy, the site of the Winter Olympics.
"It is uncertain whether the testing lab goofed, or they had so few samples that some guy in Peoria left the fries in the fryer too long. But 2 grams of trans fat is quite a big difference," he [Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a food and nutrition lobbying group] said.
Oliver Blackwell, who designed the WashDryIron, is exhibiting the machine at next month's Ideal Home Show. The University of Plymouth graduate hopes the machine will become an object of desire because it saves about 10 days a year in ironing time. "A friend's father said he wouldn't have got married if I'd come up with this sooner," said Mr Blackwell.
