On October 24, 2011, major flooding to Dublin, Ireland, caused the Dublin City Council to put into action its major emergency plan. Homes, cars, major roads, and even shopping centers were submerged underwater as rainfall failed to cease. In some areas of the city, inflatable boats had to be used to rescue stranded motorists, while roads leading out of the city experienced 3-hour delays. A number of rivers broke their banks and overflowed, and an off-duty police officer who lives close to one of these rivers is currently missing.
See the natural disaster for yourself in this video compilation of live footage:
When did ziplines become so prevalent? Somewhere along the way, we went from traveling to places to either relax or explore local cultures to careening through trees on a series of cables. When did this happen? Why are they so popular? Beyond that, I have a hard time believe that everyone staffing these ziplines knows what they are doing. I mean, are there accredited zipline certification programs? If there are, I’m certain that the folks in this video failed to pass the required courses.
This guy must be related to MacGyver. While participating in the qualification trials for the Amageza Run, South African motorcyclist Johan Gray didn’t think twice about stopping to save a baby calf who had gotten separated from the herd and fallen into a canal. While it took him a few tries, Gray was able to use his ingenuity to save the animal and bring him home. Thankfully, he was able to record the entire experience on his helmet camcorder.
I want to love every SkyMall product. I mean, they’re all so gosh darn loveable. And, like the infomercials that you see when you can’t fall asleep, the descriptions of each gadget in SkyMall lead you to believe that they’re the greatest thing since the Edge Brownie Pan. Every SkyMall product that we’ve ever reviewed for SkyMall Monday has touted itself as life-changing and showcased all of its best attributes. All of that changes this week. We were embarrassed for the makers of this week’s featured product. After discovering it in the catalog, we were beyond excited to see it in action. We looked up every video that we could find only to be more disappointed than a Washington Generals fan. Each video is more amateurish and underwhelming than the last. Each video makes it look as if the product doesn’t even work. Each video makes us shake our heads at how awful the Large Universal Skate Sail must be.First of all, Sail Skating (as this “sport” is called) has the single saddest website in the history of the internet. It includes one link to a news story promoting the “sport.” That link is dead.
It features no explanation of the activity, the product or, well, anything. It includes links to buy the sail on Amazon, like the sail on Facebook (two people have done so) and follow the sail company on Twitter (it has tweeted once and has zero followers).
Most importantly, it showcases 29 sail skating videos in the most horrible video interface we’ve ever seen. And the videos themselves? None of them make the product look particularly…um, what’s the word…oh, right…good. They all show the sail flopping around in the air while someone kinda sorta glides by at about the same speed that they could achieve using just their feet.
The product description makes it seem like the creators had good intentions:
A great new way to get both adults and kids outside and moving if they’re sitting around the TV too much!
Why use your own muscles to exercise when you can let the wind do all the work? Well, as you’ll see in these videos, the wind is slacking off, too.
How bad are the videos? Let’s take a look.
I’m amazed that his coveralls didn’t create more drag as the semi-inflated sail allowed him to just barely pass a parked car.
Ever wanted to ride in a vehicle that goes slower than a walking toddler with a club foot? Then this is the product for you!
Certainly, you’d like to learn how the Skate Sail works. Perhaps this crude computer animation that is completely devoid of audio, details or realism can help you.
Yep, that answered all of our questions. Surely you must be satisfied by now, as well.
Unless, of course, you were wondering what the Skate Sail looks like while not working very well and viewed through a paper towel tube. Well then, this is the video for you:
Is this sail the worst SkyMall product ever? It’s quite possible. What’s certain is that it is the most poorly marketedSkyMall product of all-time. Well done, Skate Sail.
Check out all of the previous SkyMall Monday posts HERE.
Couchsurfer Matthew Bloomfield really appreciated his stay at host Elmar Bierbaum’s apartment in Lima, Peru. If fact, he felt so grateful that he composed a rap as a tribute to Bierbaum (and he stayed within the 1,000-word limit for a CouchSurfing reference).
Bloomfield calls himself “The Rapping Professor”, as he not only writes rhymes for those you give him a couch to sleep on, but also for his day job. An event entertainer, the rapper has been able to break into an unusual niche and has been very successful, even performing at corporate parties in Asia.
Check out the Rapping Professor’s talents for yourself in the clip above.