fun

Looking for something fun to do with your family, spouse, or group of friends? Fire up A Day's Outing, a terrific little app that helps you find nearby events and activities.

The start page lets you quickly search for outings based on a variety of criteria, any of which you can change with just a few taps.

For example, by default, the app looks for outings within the next seven days, but you can narrow that down to today, tomorrow, or even next weekend. You can also specify the range and location (nearby, or someplace in particular--like a travel … Read more

So there I am, hanging out in Melbourne, Australia, and I see a target. I am, let's say, a mugger. So I make my move, and ka-pow! I get clobbered. I'm looking around for Batman or something, but instead I see a pair of petite females in black pajamas and hoods.

"What gives!?" I ask.

"We're ninjas," they reply.

I'm screwed.

Lady ninjas, dubbed by the Australian press as "ninja mums," could be turning into the latest urban rage in some cities there as women learn the ancient Japanese fighting … Read more

I'm 34 years old and I just got my first tattoo. I'm the type who can change my mind easily, and I've always hesitated to get any work done because while I'd be like, "Check it out, boss!" for the first two weeks, I figured I'd regret it the third.

So I held out until I came up with something I would love forever. One of the things I'm into is old-school role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons. So, with that in mind, I went down to Under the Needle in Seattle … Read more

The process of getting a culinary treat can sometimes be almost as exciting as the treat itself. Consider going to get ice cream as a youngster: from the time the word "ice cream" is mentioned, the duration of the experience is one of increasing excitement until finally, finally, the frozen treat is safely obtained. Whether it involved choosing one of many different flavors, or sitting in a parlor trying to wait patiently for the ice cream to arrive, the fun of the wait was always rewarded.

You can't go wrong with ice cream, and with the Soft-Serve Ice Cream Maker, … Read more

You've surely seen the Diet Coke and Mentos rockets that have been all over the Interwubs for the last couple of years. For those who haven't, a pair of intrepid scienticians demonstrated that dropping Mentos mints into diet cola causes a chemical reaction that shoots the foamy concoction out of the coke bottles in a fountain-like manner.

The same pair, who've been making the rounds at Maker Faires and other DIY events, this week posted this video of a custom tricycle-type vehicle that works along the same principle. It uses a piston drive to harness the power … Read more

Unless you've been living under a digital rock, you've probably noted that Tuesday is unofficial Star Wars day. May 4 makes for an easy "May the 4th be with you" pun that would make Obi Wan roll over in his grave, but the big day is here anyway.

That means that fans (confession: I am one, hard-core) across the globe are having parties and screenings of the films, and talking like Yoda or Darth Vader.

TomTom, maker of some fine GPS devices, is getting in on the action by lettings users download voices of "Star Wars" characters … Read more

reporter's notebook LAS VEGAS--Microsoft's Clint Rutkas was sent a rather intriguing e-mail a couple weeks back. Could he use a phone he'd never held to control a robot he hadn't built to send T-shirts into the crowd at the Mix10 conference.

Ever the adventurous type, Rutkas readily agreed. And sure enough, when Monday's keynote rolled around, Rutkas' Windows Phone T-Shirt Cannon was ready.

Rutkas said he didn't even get a prototype phone in his hands until a couple days into the project. Although he was 90 percent sure he could just do things remotely … Read more

Every now and then some aspect of the system stands out that can be amusing and fun. Take a look at the following text. It can be found somewhere in the system, so take the challenge and see if you can find it.… Read more

Link shortening has become a commonplace on services like Facebook and Twitter. Heck, even Google shortens URLs within its products now. People seem to be getting more used to the idea that shortened URLs, despite not showing you where they lead, are safe. Part of that, is that the companies that are doing the shortening keep blacklists of sites with malware or spyware, to keep people from accidentally visiting sites that will do harm.

Newcomer ShadyURL makes no such claims though. This wonderfully satirical service turns even legitimate URLs into something that even the least tech-savvy friend or family member … Read more