The Hot List: Volume 22

Every week we sift through a truly amazing amount of “stuff” in the dozen or so hours we spend online—you know, the time spent not driving sweet cars. A lot of the cool stuff we find has to do specifically with new cars, naturally, but there’s also a huge amount of awesomeness that doesn’t completely fit in the normal Winding Road world. Once, we were in the habit of simply reading, watching, or talking amongst ourselves about this web detritus, but recently we thought it might be a good idea to start sharing it with you all. Thus, The Hot List.

 

We aim to bring you a list of the most interesting bits of information we run across. Ten worth-knowing-about things that may or may not be related directly to the world of cars, but all of which we think our typical enthusiast readers will be able to really dig into. We don’t know, from week to week, what will show up on this list, which is part of the fun for us and for you.

Read, enjoy, and comment. If you happen to know of something that you think would make for a good inclusion on next week’s list, drop us a line at [email protected].

 

 

 

The Internet Blackout

 

It happened all over the internet, including here at Winding Road. On Wednesday, January 20, 2012, many websites (Wikipedia probably being the most notable) went dark in protest of dangerously worded legislation being bowled through Congress. Millions of people joined the protest, and guess what? It worked! SOPA and PIPA have been stopped dead in their tracks, keeping the internet free, for now.

 

 

 

 

Slot cars are a lot of fun, once you get the hang of keeping it on the track (like real driving, in a way). Almost as entertaining as watching the cars are watching the operators’ heads and hands. Warning: this video may lead to an hour-long spiral of looking at slot car videos online.

 

 

 

 

This reminds us why we created The Hot List in the first place. Check out Dinoprints! You can get a picture of yourself riding a dinosaur (or a wooly mammoth). Look at those withered little T-rex arms!

 

 

 

 

“That’s not a house, that’s a kite” were Seyth Miersma’s words upon seeing this as a suggested Hot List item. Really, though, this tent-like structure is easy blown up to protect one from the elements. It’d be especially handy in case of emergency, since you can carry it around in your back pocket.

 

 

 

 

Boing Boing (another participator in the Internet Blackout), shared this video showing how traffic jams are born. In fact, stop-and-go traffic spreads out like a shockwave, interrupting the natural flow. A word of advice: don’t slow down on the highway for no reason.

 

 

 

 

Feeling Nostalgic? The Restart Page is a collection of the different shutdown processes of various operating systems throughout history. Just a little not-so-old-fashioned geekery to play with in your spare time.

 

 

 

 

Do you like to play the games of skill at the local carnival, but are tired of never winning that plush toy that is worth less than the cost of the ticket? Here are some tips that can give you the edge—or know when to avoid the gaff—next time you take your sweetie to the fair.

 

 

 

If you enjoy more than just the occasional cigar, you might find that your desktop humidor may be insufficient for storing your collected stogies. This mahogany coffee table solves the space problem with four built-in cedar compartments, each with its own humidifier, for keeping and displaying your prized smokes.

 

 

 

 

Want to get your kicks off-road without the safety of a full roll cage or seat belts? Check out the DTV Shredder. The rider stands sideways on it like a skateboard, and the 200cc engine powers the two tough treads to propel both man and machine across rough terrain at up to 30 miles per hour. Seems safe enough.

 

 

 

 

The price on this watch from Tag Heuer hasn’t been announced yet, but we can still admire it anyway. The timepiece features a 42-millimeter black face, black hands, black hour markers, black, well, almost everything. Look closely, though, the chronograph hand is tipped in red. “Stealth” is an apt name. Shucks, we can hardly see this thing (but what we can see is pretty attractive).