One of the odder items I've seen in recent past. It's a bunny, for your computer. It's ears move. It will teach you tai chi. Light up with different colors. But unfortunately, I don't think it will make toast. His name? Nabaztag.

So you are probably wondering if a rabbit can really be "smart"? Well this bunny can teach you tai chi, read your e-mail, report the weather or stock market, pull RSS feeds and tell you the time. We'd say that's pretty smart - but he's also got personality. Nabaztag can move his ears, play music, talk and whistle, and his body can show off hundreds of colors and special patterns of light. Sometimes he will even have his own random things to say, as long as you can put up with his moods![Thinkgeek]

Here's one way to warn people.

To call attention to pockpocketing, Brussels Airlines resorted to a sort of anti-pickpocketing campaign and placed fake, rubber hands inside un-attended bags. Aside from the fact most people would freak out and scream if they came back to their bag and found a hand inside... [Adrants]

The other day I was driving around and realized that the clock in my car was almost right (it is usually horribly off). I never reset it for spring so now I'm trying to figure out who changed it. Are there people who break into cars and reset clocks? Hmmm.

Not just bunnies. SINGING bunnies.

drive yerself nuts...
...with da little singin' bunnies (Flash). [crossmind.net] [via jenett.radio]

Do you play Second Life? Are you looking for some action? Then check out SL Escorts for listings and reviews. Also see an article on 1UP on MMO Call Girls.

[via Waxy Links]

It's finally here, though the video quality isn't that great. I give you the trailer for Snakes on a Plane.

This has popped up everywhere in the last 12 hours. Sheesh. Here's my Johari Window: http://kevan.org/johari?name=snooze. Tell me what you think of me or something.

From McSweeney's, The Elements of Spam.

14. Use the active voice.

Notice how aloof the passive voice is.

Your balls are to be slurped the most by cum-starved nymphos!!!!!

Hardly persuasive. The five exclamation points feel tacked on, an attempt by an inexperienced writer to breathe life into a desiccated construction. The active voice, however, allows you to write with verve and straightforwardness.

Cum-starved nymphos will slurp your balls the most!!!!!

CNN has an article on "Maid Cafes" in Japan, a popular place for some otaku.

Maids rule in Japan's nerd nirvana

TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) -- "Welcome home, Master," says the maid as she bows deeply, hands clasped in front of a starched pinafore worn over a short pink dress.

This maid serves not some aristocrat but a string of pop-culture-mad customers at a "Maid Cafe" in Tokyo's Akihabara district, long known as a Mecca for electronics buffs but now also the center of the capital's "nerd culture".

"When they address you as 'Master', the feeling you get is like a high," says Koji Abei, a 20-year-old student having coffee with a friend at the Royal Milk Cafe and Aromacare.

"I've never felt that way before." [CNN]

I've been aware of the whole maid thing in Japan for a while just due to the amount of anime shows about maids. They are a whole genre in and of themselves. Everything from victorian romance type stories to action shows with robot maids to catgirl maids. But for some reason the idea of going to a maid cafe just sounds... wrong. It just sounds like too much of a bad joke. I especially like the line in the article about being able to get your ears cleaned (WHAT?). It actually is probably mostly an extremly focused version of what I've heard of called cosplay cafes, where the waitresses are dressed like characters from various anime shows.

One for all those ravers and former ravers: the top raver flicks of 1999. Courtesy of xaotica.

Posted by Accordion Guy, a funky Flash animation called Drum Machine.

Happy New Years to all my friends. 2005 has been quite a rollercoaster and I survived it relatively intact (well, as intact as one can be when gaining a new lung). I'm also glad it is over because I'm ready to start fresh again now.

2005 was all about healing. 2006 will hopefully be about rebuilding. I'm actively pursuing a new job. If I get it, it will mean moving back up to Boston and living on my own. It will really be almost starting out from square one again. It's all kind of scary and exciting.

I don't do resolutions because I never seem to actually get around to them. So instead I'm just saying I'll just keep working to grow stronger and stay healthy.

My resolution for the year:

And they are quizzes. I should burn for this.

How Gregory should improve for 2006: Make a magical wand that eradicates all of your social awkwardness Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

Now you too can pimp your nutcracker.

Brilliant!

Romeo and Juliet, told entirely in emoticons....

Romeo and Juliet, told entirely in emoticons.

[via Blog of a Bookslut]

Okay, one more quiz for the day and I'll stop. But I liked that I was Very Silly.

               ^________________________________________
         9.001 |       |                 /|             |
               |       | Write questions/ |             |
               | Visit | to The Oracle /  |             |
           F   |Parents|        /\    /   | Libertarian |
               |       |       /o \--* S  |             |
           u   |       |------/o   \   l  _--_          |
               |-------+      \   o/\  e '    `         |
           r   |   \_          \ o/  \ e( Date )        |
               |     \_ Attend  \/ o  \p "-__-"         |
           l   |       \_ party  \  o /   |             |
               | Watch   \_       \  /----+-------------|
           o   | TV all    \ __    \/                   |
               |  day       ]  ---__|    Play Doom      |
           n   |____________|       +___________________|
               |          \  Drink  |______             |
           g   | rn        \heavily_|      |            |
               | alt.       \     /        | Oaklahoma  |
           s   | binaries.   >---<   Do    |            |
               | pictures.  /     \__ your +------------|
             9 | erotica   /  lint   \ laundry          |
               +----------------------------------------->
               -3                              6.02*10^23
                          F o r t n i g h t s

I hope this isn't becoming a test blog :). Honestly, I thought the test was a little easy. I was expecting a bit more of a challenge.

Because I was psyched to get this result:

Gimme some sugar baby.

Which B-Movie Badass Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

For the first three hours I was awake today I thought it was monday. I most probably confused a few people that I was talking to this morning.

After listening to TWiT the other day I felt compelled to check out Tiki Bar TV, Forbidden cocktails in a swank pad. I can't decide if it is genius or incredibly stupid, but I do know I can't stop watching it. You should definitely give the Tiki Bar a visit.

A few months ago I posted about Sony filming a commercial where they released 10,000 super-balls on a hill in San Francisco. Well it turns out it was actually 250,000 superballs, and they've posted the commercial online. Pretty cool looking.

A wonderful mashup of Plato's Republic and Reservoir Dogs can be found here.

[Thrasymachus is tied up in a chair. Socrates is brandishing a gun in his face]

Thrasymachus: Don't kill me, man!

Socrates: Are you finished, fucker?

Thrasymachus: Look, look, man, you can have my ten yoke of oxen. My virgin daughters? My pomegranite orchard?

Socrates: You like pomegranites? Shit, motherfucker, I hear they've got a fuckin' all-you-can-eat special going on on pomegranites where you're headed.

Thrasymachus: Don't do it, Socrates. Be fair.

Socrates: [Suddenly contemplative] Fair?

Thrasymachus: [Sees an opportunity for survival] Yeah, fair... think about my wife and children --

Socrates: Would you say that to be fair is the same thing as to be just? [Republic Dogs] [via Boing Boing]

If philosophy class had been like this maybe I wouldn't have done so badly in it.

A month ago I posted about 101 things in 1001 days. I started my list (and am nowhere close to 101), but then I ran into this site called 43 Things. It is the same kind of idea, but the site will keep track of the things you want to do, tag them, see what things other people want to do (which is a big help in coming up with ideas). Check it out.

Sometimes you just hear about sites that sound oh so wrong. So, if you've got a daughter and want to make some extra cash, just send her over to RentMyDaughter.com.

It just sounds so wrong. Someone needs to work on their naming.

My japanese name is 小川 Ogawa (small river) 拓海 Takumi (open sea).
Take your real japanese name generator! today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Name Generator Generator.

Now, the question is, which is my first name? Were they giving names in traditional japanese format?

Okay, these are too funky. I want a pair of them for myself. I may just have to break down and buy them for myself.

Heelys hidden-wheel skate shoe

A few days ago I saw a little girl skate across the floor of a department store. I saw her head glide by but what she was actually skating on was obscured by racks of clothing. She noticed that I was watching her and when she got to the end of the aisle and I could see her feet, she was walking normally on what appeared to be regular sneakers. I thought I was crazy but a few minutes later I saw her do it again. This time, when she popped out of the aisle, I had caught up with her and saw her gliding and then coming to a sudden complete stop before walking again...

[via Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women]

Yeah, they're kinda silly, but they look fun.

In the last five days or so I've run into at least as many references to Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Mostly it has been via mentions in various weblogs. It had actually made it onto my list of books to check out. So today I get home to find that my mom just got it from Amazon. I think the universe is telling me I should read this book.

Coming up soon is the six month anniversary of my lung transplant (Oct. 14th). I'm trying to figure out just what I should do for this. Maybe some kind of get-together that weekend or maybe something this weekend. I definitely want to do something. Leaves look like they've got another few weeks so I'm putting that on hold. Maybe a fall BBQ? A nocturnal party with some music? Anyone up for actually coming down?

I've been feeling really good lately. So I'm up for something fun.

I personally think it should come in a big roll. It isn't really duct tape if it doesn't make that noise when you rip a piece off. It also needs to be multipurpose. You should be able to use it to build some bizzare contraption with it, like MacGuyver.

Duct Tape Band Aid

I am a man's man. Nothing hurts me. I am pretty much invincible, except when my kitty scratches me. The worse thing is going to the construction site (work as I call it) and getting ridiculed by all of the other guys, and even the women for wearing a daffy duck band aid. This is a duct tape band aid for the most hardcore people out there. No longer will people think you are a baby. I mean honestly, nothing says hardcore more than having duct tape wrapped around a boo-boo. Maybe dipping said boo boo in motor oil and wrapping a used diaper around it is harder core, but not by much.

The Duct Tape Band Aid [OhGizmo!]

[via Gizmodo]

I've been real bad about remembering this year, but this morning I remembered!

RABBIT RABBIT

Shining looks like it could rock. Check out the trailer.

Here's a list of 1,159 naughty words according to the NFL. These are not allowed on personalized jerseys from the NFL Shop site. There are some interesting ones in there.

As seen over on Swirlychick's LJ, the ColorQuiz. Give it a try.

Gregory+Blake took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test! "Takes easily and quickly to anything which provide..." Click here to read the rest of the results.

As usual with these quizzes I take things with a grain of salt. I think the one thing that really rung true for me was the line "Anxious to experience life in all its aspects, to explore all its possibilities, and to live it to the fullest." This has definitely been a big issue for me post transplant. And I'm still kind of rediscovering myself too, the whole experience has definitely changed me a bit.

Off to Boston to pick up some drugs, get my hair done, and maybe visit with some folks. I really should see who is in the cambridge/somervillish area during the day. Anyone up for lunch someday? Now that I'm feeling more mobile I am hoping to get up there more often (hopefully gas prices will come down some to help make that possible).

We need these in the US. Some of the other vending machines linked to are cool too.

Japanese lobster-vending machine
Cory Doctorow:

Earlier this week, I blogged a great collection of Japanese vending machines, but this one is even better, sporting, as it does, a coin-operated live-lobster vending machine! Link

(Thanks, GenkiGecko!)
Update:Here's a commercial supplier of coin-op lobster game/vending-machines (courtesy Daniel Drucker)
[via Boing Boing Blog]

ARRRR!

BOOTY!

WENCHES!

From #!/usr/bin/girl, more flash game fun. Remember Grow? Remember Grow RPG? Well now it is an all new Grow, this time it's a cube!

Flash Fun: GrowCube
Here's a little fun for your Monday: GrowCube. I like to have something to distract me from the beginning of the week. [via #!/usr/bin/girl]

I've almost got it figured out!

Wow, grade school kids redo the video for Devo's Whip It. And it's pretty cool! [via Boing Boing]

Nick posted a link to PostSecret. A site where people mail in postcards with a secret on them. Pretty cool. I keep wondering if I have any secrets to share.

Thank you McSweeney's for providing me with such fun reading materials. Today we've got Things Hagrid the Half Giant Woudl say If He Served Jesus Instead of Harry Potter and A Letter from "The Power" to Public Enemy.

From the first:

"Speakin' of cups runnethin' over, laddie, mine's be gettin' a mite dry. How 'bout changin' this 'ere water into somethin' a bit more, well, frisky?"

"Why, if a fellow wanted ta get away clean, Peter-me-lad, all they'd have ter do would be ta deny they ever even knowed Jesus. Uh-oh. I shouldn't eh told yeh that."

And the second:

Dear Chuckdee, Flavor Flavor, Professor Griffin, and everyone else,

Hey, guys! What's up? Or should I say "what up"? Is that how you hippity-hoppers and homeyboys and gangerbangers are saying it now? Never mind. I'll get right to the point.

Do we have to keep fighting like this? Or, more specifically, do you really want to keep fighting me? I don't mind indulging you if that's what you guys want. It's not hurting me, of course, since I am The Power after all. But I just wonder if you might consider giving it up. I mean, this has been going on for a while and I'm still very much here.

Do you realize that you've been fighting me since 1989? (What a crazy summer that was, huh? Whatever happened to that funky drummer?) Now, that's 16 years ago. Babies born that summer are driving cars now! So much has happened since then. Presidents have come and gone, the Soviet Union collapsed. But not The Power! Honestly, guys, I'd really like to be your friend and hang out with you at your rapping concerts. It's time to put this behind us.

In the battle between animals. The squirrels shall rule the world:

Labrador loses to a squirrel

When Carl the labrador chased a squirrel into the woods, his owners' only concern was for his quarry.

But they should have worried about their dog. Because seconds later Carl re-emerged with the grey squirrel firmly clamped to his neck. [Telegraph.co.uk] [via Warren Ellis]

As my gnome warrior in WoW says, "Ya'know. Squirrels are deadly when cornered.

You find the strangest stuff on Wikipedia:

Fan death is an urban legend confined primarily to South Korea. The legend states that an electric fan, if left running overnight in a closed room, can result in the death (by suffocation, poisoning, or hypothermia) of those inside. This belief also extends to air conditioners and the fans in cars. When the air conditioner or fan is on in a car, Koreans are apt to leave their car windows open a crack to avoid "fan death".

...

The legend is remarkably resilient, and is accepted even by many Korean medical professionals. In summer, mainstream Korean news sources regularly report on cases of fan death, even if more likely causes (e.g. heart attack, gunshot, alcohol poisoning) are evident. [Wikipedia: Fan Death]

Damn, this is so cool. I would have loved to have seen this happening. The second picture is the better one I think.

Ten thousand superballs rolling down a San Francisco hill-street

Cory Doctorow:
These photos document the release of 10,000 small superballs at the San Francisco hilltop corner of Filbert and Leavenworth. Wow.

Pic 1, Pic 2
(Thanks, Umgrue!)

[via Boing Boing Blog]

After reading about the pilot for a TV show called Global Frequency over on Heath Row's Media Diet my curiosity went into overdrive. I read up about it some on the net and then hunted down a copy of it. One of the best pilot episodes I've seen ever I think.

But what is just as interesting is how this leaked pilot has really generated interest in the show. People are asking "how can we help get this show to TV". The site FrequencySite has coverage of what's going on with it (though they don't suggest you go out and download the show, that would be bad :)). But imagine if a network were smart enough to use this as a way to promote a new show. Especially one that might be a bit of a risk (as this one may be). Then see how strong the feedback is, and they might get an idea of how successful it could be.

Anyways, if you get a chance to see this, definitely check it out. I now kind of hope that it does actually get picked up after all.

Now Playing: Love at First Sight from the album "Black Sea" by XTC

Adrants has links to two videos from AOL promoting their new service AIM mail.

To promote its new AIM Mail, AOL has a couple of strange online videos, created by ATTIK. One has a receptionist drifting into a daydream which consists of superhero midgets...oops...dwarfs...oops...little people giving her a tickle attack. The other has a pair of sushi falling in love only to have one killed by getting eaten. Both end with @aim addresses and no other form of linkage.

Once at the AIM Mail site, there are blogs that promote the videos. The videos can be viewed HERE and HERE. [Adrants]

No real point here, just some links I found interesting today.

• Sam & Max: The Flash Animation
• How Movie Studios Misuse Reviews [boing boing]
  

  Daily Star: "Trainspotting meets A Clockwork Orange!"

  Actual line: "This glum, violent drama about a Scottish thug ruined by drink is written and pretentiously directed by Richard Jobson whose approach — Trainspotting meets A Clockwork Orange — is bad enough to drive you to drink in no time."

• TV Dinner Inventor Gerry Thomas Dies [boing boing]

Now I'm off to try updating this blog to MT 3.2.

Once again, something from Boing Boing leaves me a bit speachless:

Lapjuicer designed for lapdancers to make juice

This chair is designed to hold a piece of fruit so a lapdancer can grind the juice out of it. Semi-NSFW photos of the chair in action can be seen at the link.

Those damn people at NASA! How dare they? :)

Russian astrologer sues NASA over comet experiment

MOSCOW (AFP) - A Russian astrologer has taken legal action against NASA for compensation, claiming that the US space agency's bombardment of the Tempel 1 comet will upset her horoscope and violates her spiritual rights.

The experiment, in which NASA fired a projectile the size of a fridge at the comet Monday, was an attack on "the holy of holies," Marina Bai's law suit claims, according to Russian press reports. Her suit, filed at a Moscow court, claims violation of her "life and spiritual values." [Yahoo! News]

Happy 4th of July everyone. I haven't been posting much because I just haven't felt like I've had much to say. But the last day or two I've been feeling a little bit more talkative and it finally reached critical mass.

My sister and nephew are here visiting for the week, which is nice. My nephew is all about playing Pokemon on his GBA. He keeps wanting to trade with me (Yes, I have it too.) The problem is I haven't played in months and have no idea how I got different Pokemon. Though he's since educated me on how to evolve all kinds of various ones (whether I wanted to know or not). He's a good kid, needs to listen to his mom more, but a good kid.

I also missed my goal of walking around the block. Mostly because the weather was pretty oppressive last week, not the best conditions for pushing myself some. Instead I walked all the way down to the CVS on Friday, which is considerably longer than going around the block.

I've also been poking around at dating sites online. I'm kind of curious to hear what sites people like. I think I had a profile on match.com years and years ago, but it's probably long gone. Anyone have any favorites?

A few years ago I remember a story going around about someone trying to use a $2 bill at a Taco Hell. Snopes doesn't have any indication as to if it is true or false, but it seems that there are some people out there who still aren't familiar with $2 bills.

Best Buy Has Customer Arrested For Using $2 Bills

A Baltimore man tried to pay for a Best Buy car stereo installation with $2 bills—and was arrested. Apparently the man was already upset with the Best Buy's service, so thought he'd stage a minor protest by using the uncommon currency:

"I'm just here to pay the bill," Bolesta says he told a cashier. "She looked at the $2 bills and told me, 'I don't have to take these if I don't want to.' I said, 'If you don't, I'm leaving. I've tried to pay my bill twice. You don't want these bills, you can sue me.' So she took the money. Like she's doing me a favor."

He remembers the cashier marking each bill with a pen. Then other store personnel began to gather, a few of them asking, "Are these real?"

(Thanks, C0bra!)

More proof that Best Buy is actually "Worst Buy": Man arrested for paying in $2 bills [Anandtech]

[via Gizmodo]

I've seen Gloomy Bear comics, but never an actual one. I want one!

Gloomy bears
It's a little mean, don't you think, to give little kids cute stuffed bears to hug while they sleep, dreaming of the day when they will befriend a real bear, not yet knowing that it will never ever happen. I am still not over it. Gloomy bears, designed by Mori Chak are adorable and pink, but the blood stained claws will let your children know that bears are wild animals, not to be hugged if encountered in the woods.

Gloomy bears are $20-$40 at unica. [via Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women]

Decided to take one of those silly quiz things:

Taken from LJ:

How many total songs?
7580

Sort by Song Title
First: 'Till the End of Time, Delerium
Last: track 8 (it's in japanese: 黒い翼) off of Los Angeles by the brilliant green

Sort by time:
First: Let's Hear It For Nine Inch Nails, Nine Inch nails
Last: Essential Mix - 04.01.2001, Carl Cox Live @ Space

Sort by Album:
First track: (We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thing, Heaven 17, (We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thing (cd single)
Last track: LITTLE BUSTERS, The Pillows・他, フリクリ オリジナルサウンドトラック

Top Ten Most Played:
I Love Love You, Hideki Naganuma/Guitar Vader
READY STEADY GO, L'Arc~en~Ciel
HEY! JIMMY, HAV
Super Shooter, RIP SLYME
Cutie Honey, Koda Kumi
The Concept of Love, Hideki Nagnuma
A Place in the Country, Adam Ant
Puss n' Boots, Adam Ant
Future Is What We Are, Ken Ishii
Run Rabbit Junk, Yoko Kanno

10 most recently played: (Same comment as last one):
Place in the Country, Adam Ant
Take Me To The River, Talking Heads
You Won't See Me Coming, Jean-Jacques Burnel
Screw, The Cure
It Only Makes Me Laugh, Oingo Boingo
No One Lives Forever, Oingo Boingo
Greetings to the New Brunette, Billy Bragg
Like a Prayer, Bigod 20
Run Rabbit Junk, Yoko Kanno
HIT IN THE USA, BEAT CRUSADERS

Find "sex", how many songs show up?
18

Find "death", how many songs show up?
13

Find "love", how many songs show up?
442

Someone online mentioned a site with shots of the International Snow Sculpture Championships. The winning one is stunning. I'd love to see shots of it in the process of being sculpted.

Today we're making gingerbread houses. It's a tradition that my mom has some friends over and they make them every year. I'm most likely going to be working on one, but for the moment have been busy taking pictures of the houses as they are constructed and decorated. I'll be posting to Flickr once they are done.

Seen over on Gizmodo. A yo-yo ice cream maker.

I personally think that after 10 minutes of using that to mix your ice cream your arm would be pretty tired. I guess it might be good to keep kids busy for a bit.

Seen over on a friend's LJ, a flash movie with a dancing and singing bunny.

In case you ever wondered what To Kill a Mockingbird was about.

It's the true story of To Kill a Mockingbird. Complete with pirates, robots, slaves, lasers, flaming sharks, ninjas, the moon, and a pickle, done in Flash. [via jenett.radio] [via waxy]

In the world of bizzare news:

Pickled cats thrown at police

Hamilton woman angry at police confiscation of pickled snakes so threw a jar of pickled kittens at them

It has been revealed a Hamilton woman was so angry about police taking her three preserved snakes that she stormed into the station and threw a jar of pickled kittens at the counter.

The jar shattered. [NZCity News]

I personally think the sentence "It has been revealed a Hamilton woman was so angry about police taking her three preserved snakes that she stormed into the station and threw a jar of pickled kittens at the counter." would make a great entry into the Bulwer-Lytton Contest.

I can't remember where I saw the link to this originally (or I'd give credit). Here's a subset of a bunch of disclaimer stickers for science textbooks. The first one is an actual disclaimer is taken from a sticker designed by the Cobb County School District in Georgia (see original).

Thinking that students might be threatening the president by performing Bob Dylan's "Masters of War", the Secret Service paid a visit to a Boulder, CO high school this week.

School Talent Show Draws Secret Service

Colorado Band Singing Dylan Song Seen as Threatening President Bush

BOULDER, Colo., Nov. 12, 2004 — Parents and students say they are outraged and offended by a proposed band name and song scheduled for a high school talent show in Boulder this evening, but members of the band, named Coalition of the Willing, said the whole thing is being blown out of proportion.

The students told ABC News affiliate KMGH-TV in Denver they are performing Bob Dylan's song "Masters of War" during the Boulder High School Talent Exposé because they are Dylan fans. They said they want to express their views and show off their musical abilities.

But some students and adults who heard the band rehearse called a radio talk show Thursday morning, saying the song the band sang ended with a call for President Bush to die.

Threatening the president is a federal crime, so the Secret Service was called to the school to investigate. [abcnews.com]

For further reading, here's the lyrics to "Masters of War" (which was first released in 1963).

Since I saw the Shrek Twinkies at the store today, I just had to get some and take pictures of them. I was only able to stomach a few bites though. I'm just not a huge Twinkie fan.

There's a part of me that really wants to at least try this. Even if it would be scary.

Hello, Kitty!
Hello Kitty Online World! [via #!/usr/bin/girl]

I posted a bunch more pics to flickr tonight. My mom had asked me to pick up some apples so she could make some apple pies. I took the opportunity to play around with my new camera some more and try out some of the things I'd learned about it. I took a bunch of pictures of this one brook (complete with squirrel), and pictures of the first two houses I lived in.

Oh my, I wonder if someone at CNN will lose their job over this. The lesson, be careful what you name your files (even if it is accurate).

Boston.com has an article on how parents feel that long term papers are too much work for high school students.

...But Laurie Mokriski, also a PTSO member, said she worries because the papers contribute significantly to students' already-heavy academic loads. Newton parents met earlier this month to discuss homework and agreed their children have too much, Mokriski said. They also need time for sports, theater, music, and academic teams, she said. ''They're trying to enjoy their high school years," she said.

Denise Clark Pope, author of ''Doing School: How We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed Out Materialistic and Miseducated Students," argues that today's high school students are overworked. [boston.com]

Is it me or does this just seem like too much whining. I remember having term papers that were at least 10 pages long in High School. I thought everyone had to do that kind of thing. I like how because the kids have so many extra-curricular activities, we have to give them less academic work.

A friend of mine asked me what I wanted for my birthday, and I really wasn't sure. I mean, I want the new Looney Tunes collection coming out on my birthday. In fact, I'd say the first three things on my Amazon wish list are the big items.

If money wasn't an issue I'd want something like the new Think Outside bluetooth mouse or a iPod Photo (60GB of course) (only partly care about the photo part, I want most of it for music).

Oh, and I just signed up with that freeipods.com thing, so if you want to help me out, sign up for something using http://www.freeiPods.com/default.aspx?referer=10659946. I'm actually opting for the $250 gift certificate for the iTunes music store. Since that will be handy for impulse puchases.

Here's a site where you can vote for a Bush or Kerry Pumpkin. I personally think they both look kind of ugly. They both looks like there's something running out of their noses. I think I'd be scared if I saw them as a kid, so maybe they'd be great for halloween. Unfortunately, at the time of this posting, Bush is winning.

A few years after I graduated from high school, my school started doing mock elections. Since 1988 their mock election has accurately chosen the eventual winner. VOTES 2004 was today, and the winner was... John Kerry! Let's hope their record of success continues.

It's a pretty interesting setup. From the web page:

Two schools from each state participate in the highlight of the month-long project—a mock election at which a winner is declared just days before the general election. The VOTES election is unique in that it simulates the electoral college process of selecting a candidate: the winner must earn at least 270 out of 538 electoral votes.

And here is the breakdown of the results:

Candidate
John Kerry
George Bush
Ralph Nader
David Cobb
Michael Badnarik
Michael Peroutka
Others

Electoral Votes
326
212
0
0
0
0
0

Popular Votes
26,920
22,771
2,253
758
572
230
56

Percentage
50.20%
42.50%
4.40%
1.40%
1.00%
0.40%
0.10%

Voter Turnout 70%

Pretty cool I must say. I can't wait to see how accurate it is this year.

Some quick Mac gaming bits from Insidemacgames.com in the last week or two. The first is the re-release of a game that I found quite cool and quite disturbing when it came out: Bad Mojo.

Originally hatched in 1996 under the gleeful gaze of publishers Pulse Entertainment, Bad Mojo tells the quirky, Kafka-esque story of mad scientist and entomologist Roger Samms, who, one morning, wakes up to find that he's been temporarily turned into... a cockroach. Players are entrusted with navigating the reborn insect back to safety along a path of discovery across the giant obstacle course that has become his own apartment building. [insidemacgames.com]

And also, sometime next month or so we should give us the release of The Fool and his Money:

Further to yesterday's news item regarding the upcoming release of his new metapuzzle, independent game developer Cliff Johnson has contacted the IMG News Staff with further news regarding his current project, the long-awaited sequel The Fool And His Money.

According to Cliff, the current projected completion date for the new title has been pushed till December of this year; December 6th, to be exact, judging by the completion countdown clock on his web page.

...

Despite the game's numerous delays, the game developer's rabid fan base are standing behind the solo programmer, and are offering unconditional support to his latest effort. In his email to IMG, Cliff writes:

What has been and continues to be both thrilling and heartwarming is the tremendous outpouring of love and affection for The Fool's Errand (and 3 in Three) from True Believers all over the world, confirming what I've always suspected... that folks from all walks of life enjoy the game. To borrow the retired Mac slogan, "a game for the rest of us."

[insidemacgames.com]

This is one I've been waiting to come out for ages (here's my post on it from over a year ago). I am so psyched to see it finally coming out. The Fool's Errand is still one of my favorite games of all time.

Just in case you happen to live anywhere near a Volcano.

"Oh yeah, AWAY from the volcano..."

From the U.S. Geological Survey's What to Do if a Volcano Erupts page:

During an Eruption -

Move Away From A Volcano - Not Toward It

[via The Adventures of Accordion Guy in the 21st Century :: Joey deVilla's Weblog]

Once again, my friend Lyn links to some of the oddest things:

Richard "Dick" Grayson woke up gay, and didn't bother to ask why.
cough. [via lyn - This Is Not The Journal You're Looking For]

Once again, someone has been fired for running SETI@Home.

Man Said He Used Computer During Off Hours

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The search for extraterrestrial life has ended at the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

The department on Thursday fired a computer programmer who admitted to using a state-owned computer server to process data for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence project, run by the University of California at Berkeley.

Charles E. Smith, 63, told administrators he didn't think loading the SETI software on the server was much of a problem because he ran the program only on weekends and on weekdays between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m., when the server wasn't being used, according to a disciplinary report.

Department director Tom Hayes disagreed.

"I understand his desire to search for intelligent life in outer space, because obviously he doesn't find it in the mirror in the morning," Hayes said. "I think that people can be comfortable that security has beamed this man out of our building." [newsnet5.com] [via AP]

I'm not sure if I posted about this kind of thing the last time it happened, but without knowing more background I'm not sure how to react. At most places I've worked there has been an official policy that you aren't supposed to install unauthorized software. This was mostly to try and stop people from installing every little thing they download from the net, and to be able to scold them when something they've downloaded broke their computer. In the case of something like this though, I almost have to wonder if the application was actually cutting into computer resources. But, the article doesn't give us any information about that (though I'd be curious to know more). The other issue is that I think the department director's comments are a bit unprofessional and unnecessarily insulting.

Hmm, maybe I should give SETI@Home a download and start it running on one of the machines I have floating around.

There's an article in the New York Times today about Wingwomen.com. It's a service where you rent a woman to help you meet other women.

Are You With Him? Why Yes, Want to Date Him?

... When he expressed no interest in the next woman she pointed to, a brunette in a preppy sweater, Ms. Frenkel shrugged. "He's the man, whatever he wants," she said. "It is not about me." Then Mr. Blumberg gestured toward the bar area. "What about that Kylie Minogue look-alike over there?" A moment later the couple headed over.

Ms. Frenkel was not on a date with Mr. Blumberg, in pursuit of a kinky threesome; she was on the clock. A 29-year-old graduate student, she is one of a dozen women who work for a New York-based Web site called Wingwomen.com, earning up to $30 an hour to accompany single men to bars and help them chat up other women. The Web site's founder, Shane Forbes, a computer programmer, started it in December after realizing he had more success with women when he went to clubs with female friends. "Every time I was with them, I would meet women," he said.

The wingwoman is the latest twist on the wingman, that devoted male sidekick who helps a buddy pick up women at bars and clubs. Originally a "Top Gun" kind of term that referred to a pilot flying protectively behind his squadron leader, its more recent meaning entered popular culture around 1996 through the movie "Swingers," about two men road-tripping to Las Vegas, serving as each other's wingmen in attempted conquests. [more] [nytimes.com]

Lately, whenever I find myself humming Magical Trevor (which is way too often as it is) I find myself inserting Clow for every occurrence of cow. Though I really want to figure out some alternate lyrics for what he saw in the parallel dimension.

I was just looking at Amazon.com and noticed they had a little ad up for the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2. I loved the first collection, it was a great start to them releasing many old old cartoons that I hadn't seen in their entirely in ages. This one looks to continue the trend with a lot of early material. And even better, it comes out on my birthday next month (November 2nd)! I've added it to my wish list, anyone wanna pick it up for me?

Even drug abusers know that cheese rocks:

Drug abusers target cheese

ST. JOHN'S  —  Police in St. John's say drug abusers trying to pay for their habits has led to a thriving black market for cheese.

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary says stealing and reselling food from supermarkets and other stores to support addictions is becoming quite common.

Earlier this week, they say a man threatened to stab people with a hypodermic needle in the parking lot of a supermarket.

Staff Sgt. June Layden says he was holding a number of blocks of cheese when police arrested him "Right now we believe it was between 12 and 16 blocks, quite a quantity of cheese," she says.

Patrick Corrigan, 26, is charged with theft and assault in connection with the incident.

Layden says cheese theft is a growing problem in this province — and that the people stealing it need quick money to buy drugs like OxyContin.

"From speaking with a number of people yesterday including some employees at some of our larger supermarkets ... they are finding people are coming in and stealing it by blocks," she says. [read more] [via lonita.links.log]

From my good friend Emilily: The Childhood Goat Trauma Foundation

The Childhood Goat Trauma Foundation was created in 1982 by a small group that originally came together as a an informal support group for problems that were the result of traumatic experiences at petting zoos as children. This group realized that there were many others out there who were afraid to come forward with their horrific stories and wanted to find some way to help as many people as they could. The Childhood Goat Trauma Foundation is the result of their dream.

Through its programs and workshops, individuals from all walks of life have been able to live happier and more fulfilling lives, without the ever-present ghosts of their personal goat traumas. Some have even made such progress that they have been able to put their traumas completely behind them and rejoin mainstream society.

No matter what the effects of your trauma, we can help you. The effects of a childhood goat trauma vary widely from person to person, depending on the severity of their trauma. Such problems as irrational fears, unexplained twitching, and insomnia could all have origin in a goat trauma. [The Childhood Goat Trauma Foundation]

Goats never really bothered me much. Hamsters though, I still twitch when I think about that one time...

For bonus points: What childhood experience traumatized you? For me it was my uncle making me go to The Haunted Mansion at Disneyworld when I was like three or four. My face was hidden almost the whole time, and the one time I look out a skeleton pops up from behind a gravestone.

I sent a question in to Neil Gaiman the other day asking about an audiobook version of Good Omens, and he posted it to his blog. Pretty cool. Though I personally think it should be done as a podcast first, a chapter a week.

I just recently finished listening to American Gods and really enjoyed it. This made me wonder if there is a chance we might see an audiobook of Good Omens. I've read it a number of times and think it would be quite fun to have an audio version of. Are there any chances of this ever existing? Thanks,Gregory Blake http://www.ezoons.com/

I know that Harper Collins very much want to do one. And Terry and I would both very much like to hear it. So I think the odds are pretty good one will happen. [Neil Gaiman]

Hmm, anyone wanna ask him if he's read Move Under Ground and what he thinks of it?

From the warped minds at weebls-stuff.com: Choccy

Warning, may cause nightmares or chocolate cravings.

Well, at least I have some pictures I could post for this occasion, even if I don't have cats of my own.

BlogACatMas This Friday!

It may be only a one-year-old tradition, but it's still a tradition! Last year, Boss Ross and I declared that the first Friday in October shall be "Post a Cat on Your Blog Day", or more simply, BlogACatMas. Yeah, posting a picture of a cat is nearly as old as blogging itself, but we figured why not have a designated special day for that most bloggy of blog practices?

Here's some inspiration:

...

So gather your kitty pictures, because Friday's the day! [via The Adventures of Accordion Guy in the 21st Century :: Joey deVilla's Weblog]

This is quite cool. I wish they had one that was blank with spaces to fill in stuff.

Make a paper CD case

Make a paper CD case
This site will create a PDF file which can be printed and folded to create a paper CD case. There's an advanced form that allows you to add more tracks, and even graphics, and even let you add your creation to their cover database. Neat. [Incoming Signals] [via lonita.links.log]

Just the text of this clip alone is bound to give me some good search traffic.

Japanese men's sperm comes in 2 types
Japanese men's sperm concentration changes seasonally and is categorized in two types according to the season when it becomes more concentrated, research jointly conducted by two universities revealed. [via Medical News Today]

From my friend Greg: The Infinite Cat Project. Pictures of cats, looking at pictures of cats, looking at pictures of cats, looking at pictures of cats, looking at pictures of cats, looking at pictures of cats, looking at pictures of cats, looking at pictures of cats, looking at pictures of cats, looking at pictures of cats, looking at pictures of cats, looking at pictures of cats (help me! I'm stuck!)...

From Joi Ito's Web:

Wikipedia reaches one million articles

Wikipedia has just announced that it has reached one million articles. Congratulations Wikipedians! Wikipedia is in more than 100 languages with 14 currently having over 10,000 articles. It is ranked one of the ten most popular reference sites on the Internet according to Alexa.com (trumping Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and the LA Times). At the current rate of growth, Wikipedia will double in size again by next spring. [Joi Ito's Web]

Pretty cool. I keep thinking I should work on contributing more, especially in the anime section.

From a few sources, but I just had to share this for my friends who might not have seen it yet. Behold, the power of show tunes:

This morning I had the most bizarre subway ride. I board the Number 3 train at Grand Army Plaza after 9 a.m. Find a seat, then settle into reading Henry James for class. I hear a woman’s voice gradually rising in volume. She is preaching the “Lord’s” word to the train car’s sleepy riders. Of course, I had forgotten the headphones for my subway evil sounds blocking device. The train stops and starts.
The words denigrating “gay devils” reach my ears. I stand up.

Me: “Excuse me, but do you mind keeping your voice down, I am trying to read.”

Preacher Lady: (screams) “I got to testify.”

Preacher lady hitches up her skirts and tells me that I am going to hell for interrupting you-know-who’s word. Two or three OTHER Christian ladies on the train start shouting at me and discussing my prospects as the Devil’s prison bitch. The last straw was a 50 something red faced man in a suit slamming his Bible towards my face. There was only one thing I could do.

Me: “If you all don’t lower your voices and cease calling me Satan, I will have to sing show tunes.”

The other straphangers look at me with stony faces.
I begin to sing.
“Its very clear, our love is here to stay. Not for a year, but forever and a day…” [read on...] [Livejournal: Koaloha]

Eric Meyer posted a test file that tends to freeze IE6 and in some cases even cause a reboot of the computer. So if you're running that, don't click the link below.

Freezer Case

Since a few people asked for it, I've created a test file that reproduces the Internet Explorer freeze reported yesterday. You can find it with the title "Internet Explorer Freezes -- BEWARE!". ...(254 words | CSS Browsers | comments and pings allowed) [via Thoughts From Eric]

Behold, the power of CSS.

For those of us who didn't take Latin in school. Now you can slip these Common Latin Phrases into your daily speech to impress people. [via <lonita.links.log]

Mark over at Boing Boing points to a an Excellent article about Fantagraphics, the folks responsible for republishing the Complete Peanuts Collection (among many many other things).

Saved by the Beagle

A year ago, Seattle's Fantagraphics was on the brink of bankruptcy. Now it's in the black, thanks to good ol' Charlie Brown—and a pair of dogged believers who turned a cranky fanzine into the most widely respected comics publisher in America. [Seattle Weekly]

I picked up the first volume of the collection and it's great. I plan on picking up a second copy of it to send to my nephew, because every kid needs to experience Charlie Brown. I remember when I'd visit my grandmother as a kid among my dad's old books were a number of old Peanuts books.

I've been playing with A9 a little bit lately, it is kind of nifty, but nothing that really made me go WOW. Though, someone did find out something interesting about it.

Discount at Amazon for using A9.com

A9 is the new search engine from Amazon and so far it seems good enough to use. It's supposed to have all kinds of wizbang features, which it seems to. One important thing is that it's hooked into amazon's cookie system so it does know who you are and keep track of your searches. (blah blah big brother yadda evil corporate, DOWN liberal DOWN *smack* back in your cage.)

If you can get over that for 5 minutes and use it, then go to amazon, you'll notice this little "pi/2 discount" thingie. I clicked on it and, being a good little advertising target monkey, I'll pass the resulting blurb on...

since you've been using A9.com recently, virtually everything at Amazon.com is automatically an additional π/2% (1.57%) off for you. Collecting this discount is zero effort on your part. It will be applied automatically at checkout (it will happen whether you use the shopping cart or our 1-Click Shopping®). You don't need to do anything to get this discount except keep using A9.com as your regular search engine.

So there ya have it. [via The Universal Church of Cosmic Uncertainty]

I just checked on Amazon and found that I had the same link there now. Pretty keen.

Every time I hear about the use of maggots for healing I think "whoa, cool", then I think about it a bit more and go "ew icky!" Though, I guess if it works that well I'd cope with it if needed.

Maggot Band-Aid
David Pescovitz:
First used centuries ago to treat battlefield wounds, maggots are proving to be a useful treatment to prevent post-operative infections. Maggot debridement therapy (MDT) calls for maggot dressing to be applied to wounds twice a week for up to 72 hours each time. From the press release about a recent study on MDT in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases:

"Debridement, or the removal of contaminated tissue to expose healthy tissue, can be done surgically. However, maggots that have been disinfected during the egg stage so that they don’t carry bacteria into the wound have their advantages. The larvae preferentially consume dead tissue (steering clear of live), they excrete an antibacterial agent, and they stimulate wound healing--all factors that could be linked to the lower occurrence of infection in maggot-treated wounds."

Link [via Boing Boing Blog]

Now I just need to find the article I remember reading about the medical uses of slugs.

From the "oops" department:

cnn divides europe
Gert-Jan posted this excellent screencap of CNN reporting on Putin's visit to Berlin. Too bad they moved Switzerland up and over to the Czech republic's spot on the map.

Notice how naming the Netherlands and Belgium was clearly to big a task.

If CNN can't even get elementary school facts right, how can you trust anything they say?

[via Adam Curry: Adam Curry's Weblog]

From over on engadget:

Apparently the South Korean subway advertising system runs off of a 20GB hard disk. Add your own caption for extra fun! [engadget]

Feel free to leave your own caption here or there.

I tend to stay away from discussing politics on this site, but my friend John just IM'd me a link to a pretty nifty site called PartisanProject..

What We Did. We invited 15 designers and artists to each create one, two-color poster (18.5"x24") urging a vote against the current administration. The posters were printed, stacked together, folded in half and in half again - like a newspaper. These poster packs are being distributed much like a free newsweekly - dropped in bookstores, coffeehouses, restaurants, grocery stores, libraries, etc. throughout the city of Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas of southwestern Pennsylvania. people can choose a poster (or posters) they like and hang it outside their home or somewhere in their neighborhood. The posters can also be downloaded at this website. We are also wheat-pasting the posters in various locations through the city. And in September, we will host a gallery event where each poster will be displayed en masse along with speakers, voter registration booths and live music. [Partisan Project. INFO]

Neat idea. Given that I'm not a fan of the current administration, I thought this sounded pretty cool. I also think they're a bit short-sighted and should also be pushing this for other areas beyond Pittsburgh. And someone needs to tell them that you really shouldn't have all the text in your site be images. It makes it impossible to quote things easily.

My parents have a number of puzzles from ELMS Puzzles, Inc. They are a company that makes these beautiful hand made wooden puzzles that are usually quite hard. I took some pictures of the one we're working on right now. It is one of the more challenging puzzles I've ever done because the edges aren't straight. Also, they seem to like to put some pieces in that have a straight edge on them that go in the middle of the puzzle, helping to confuse you more. Oh yes, and there's no picture of what the puzzle will look like, so it is kind of cool waiting to see what the whole thing will look like.

My mom also just mentioned a place called Stave Puzzles, that sounds like another place that does the same kind of thing (with some even crazier looking puzzles).

LiveJournal has some pages with advice on writing, including a whole page on the correct use of Homonyms, though I think their examples are actually Homophones. [via Waxy.org Links]

My friend Selma pointed me at this article from Popular Science that covers the worst jobs in science.

The Worst Jobs in Science

From fart sniffer to postdoc, the most torturous ways to make a living in science.

October 2003

Ah, science! Ennobling. Fascinating. Deeply challenging. Also, dangerous, gross and mind-bogglingly boring. We at Popular Science are sometimes brought up short by the realization that there are aspects of science—entire jobs, even—that, when you strip away the imposing titles and advanced degrees, sound at best distasteful and at worst unbearable. Having chosen last month our second annual Brilliant 10 -- a group of dynamic researchers making remarkable discoveries—we turned to this pressing question: For the rest out there, just how bad can a science job get?

The answer: Really, really bad.

We solicited nominations from more than a thousand working scientists and culled the list for the most noxious. Then we voted. Which is to say, there is absolutely nothing scientific about the ranking of the worst jobs in science that appears on these pages; it is simply the collective opinion of a group of alternately awestruck and disturbed editors who rarely suffer anything worse on the job than keyboard- induced repetitive-motion syndrome. [Popular Science]

Um. Ew. I don't think I could ever see some kid saying they'd want to do any of these when they grow up.

Radio 4 is re-releasing an old Hitchhikers game.

Radio 4 revives Hitchhiker's game

A Douglas Adams game is revived to mark a new Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy radio series. [BBC News | TECHNOLOGY]

I really do wonder if this is the old Infocom game. I'll need to find some of that not tea I guess.

Just about everyone I know on LJ has been taking this damn quiz, so I thought I'd look and see how I did.

20 Questions to a Better Relationship

eXpressive: 6/10
Practical: 4/10
Physical: 5/10
Giver: 8/10

You are a XSYG--Expressive Sentimental Physical Giver. This makes you a Sex Bomb.

You are sexy sex sex sex! The sexness! You are the sexiest, hottest and most charismatic of all types. You are a captivating speaker and a great dinner date -- relaxed, self-effacing, charming and generous. Your type probably has origins in something sad -- trying to keep the peace in a tough family situation, or an early heartbreak -- and you'll probably want to address and resolve that at some point, but in your relationships that heartache is pure gold!

You lie effortlessly -- not necessarily a bad thing. You can have problems with fidelity. You need frequent praise and validation, and in seeking it you can make decisions that aren't consistent with your general good judgment. In other words, don't cheat on your significant other just because someone is paying attention to you.

You strongly dislike conflict, and will avoid it. Like an XPYG, you give so much of yourself to your partner that you feel dismissed and unappreciated if you don't get the same in return. But you internalize your feelings more and have a hard time getting over them. You don't *want* to cheat -- you just keep finding yourself in vulnerable situations. But you'll stay with your partner in the long run from guilt and a desire to please.

Your sex life will always be hot. You are one of the rare people who can keep the fires of passion going forever -- if you find a good match. Find another XSYG and you will never need (or want) anyone else again.

Of the 33007 people who have taken this quiz, 9 % are this type.

Hrm, I'm not sure what I think of that quiz. I certainly would never use the term 'Sex Bomb' to describe myself. Though the parts about disliking conflict are very true. I think I might be an XSYG with RSYG tendencies.

Cthulhu Plush Slippers. I wonder what sounds one gets from stepping on Cthulhu's face repeatedly. I wonder if anyone else carries these too, must look. [via Neil Gaiman]

My friend Ellen just got a new kitty and is looking for any advice people can offer. Drop her a line if you've got any recommendations.

News news and more...um...news.

...Now, on a totally different front, we got a kitty cat for Katie's birthday! Our first cat, so advice from cat owners is appreciated until I get tired of you all. ;) Here's a bunch of bad pictures, but at least a start. [Lumpy Gravy]

Update: Had to fix some links. Oops.

I had this game as a kid and loved it. It's one of those things that I wish was still floating around my parent's house somewhere. But here's a flash version of it. Now they need to make it networked and I'll be in heaven. Oh yeah, and it's loud.

Flash Fun: Dark Tower

It's flash! It's fun! It's a game. Dark Tower.

I actually have no idea what is going on in this game at all. At least, I didn't until I read the help a little bit. Oops. I liked all the noises and such, though, and I'm sure someone that got more sleep last night than me will like this game quite a bit! I would make up a better description, but I started a new job today and am sort of out of words at the moment. (I mean, there's only so many times one can say "Hi. Nice to meet you!" without completely losing some conversational power for the day. And trust me, I said it quite a bit. And I only remember approximately three names.) [#!/usr/bin/girl]

But either way it's pretty damn funny.

Doom 3 teenagers freaking out

Cory Doctorow: This is a video of two teenaged boys playing Doom 3 -- you can't see the game, just their reaction. As Joey notes, these kids are screaming like hyenas as the boo-scareys lurch out of the Doom 3 shadows and leap on their characters. One of the kids actually gnaws a pillow when it all gets to be too much for him. Pretty cool endorsement for a game, actually. 7.8MB WMV Link

Mirror Link (Thanks, Quentin!) (via AccordionGuy) [Boing Boing Blog]

 

A LiveJournal user has used Google to figure out some stats about LJ users.

21% of people who hate their lives use Livejournal
[via]  [Waxy.org Links]

#!/usr/bin/girl once again alerts me to important news:

Freddy and Jason...and?
I'm not sure if I want to laugh or cry about Freddy vs. Jason vs...Ash. [#!/usr/bin/girl]

My personal feeling? I will only allow this if Ash gets to kill them off for good. Or at least send them out to another dimension or something.

Those wacky animals are at it again.

Bear guzzles 36 beers, passes out at campground

SEATTLE, Washington (Reuters) -- A black bear was found passed out at a campground in Washington state recently after guzzling down three dozen cans of a local beer, a campground worker said on Wednesday.

"We noticed a bear sleeping on the common lawn and wondered what was going on until we discovered that there were a lot of beer cans lying around," said Lisa Broxson, a worker at the Baker Lake Resort, 80 miles (129 km) northeast of Seattle.

The hard-drinking bear, estimated to be about two years old, broke into campers' coolers and, using his claws and teeth to open the cans, swilled down the suds. [CNN.com]

I personally like that he was smart enough to avoid the Busch beer. He's even got taste!

So scary I think I want one.

I would have posted this up about 5 minutes before now, but I noticed they only had three more in stock, so I thought I should get there before you punks. Because lord knows, there's nothing that goes together more sweetly than a distended Hello Kitty head and a light, battery-powered sucking force. And for $10, even! If this thing moves itself around by itself - something that I'm sad to say probably isn't the case - I would buy 24 of them and set them loose around the house. It'd be cheaper than a Roomba and at least 24 times as cute.

Also, have you noticed people saying kawaii a lot lately, too? I doubt they are doing the clap and giggle. You gotta do the clap and giggle.

Read - Hello Kitty Desktop Cleaner - Pink (Duh!) [Jbox via RedFerret via Engadget] More Hello Kitty yum yum links after the jump. [Gizmodo]

I also agree that they would be much more cool if they moved around on their own. And even if I did say kawaii, I'd refuse to clap and giggle at the same time.

Oh my!

He saw comet-tails on every pitch.
The LSD No-Hitter:

When the subject of baseball and drugs comes up, the story of Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis and his celebrated 'LSD No-Hitter' stands out above all others. On June 12, 1970, the 25-year-old pitcher was between starts, so he stayed back in his Los Angeles hotel while his team flew on to San Diego to play the Padres. Ellis invited his girlfriend over, and they dropped hits of acid around noon.

As he tells it in his autobiography, In the Country of Baseball:

'I had taken LSD ... I thought it was an off day. That's how come I had it in me. I took the LSD at 12 noon. At one, my girlfriend looked in the paper and said 'Dock, you're pitching today'.'"

[Off On A Tangent]

(Should I be admitting this here...?) Back in my partying days I certainly never took LSD, and while doing so never ever spun out at parties. And I definitely never learned to spin records while tripping. Because uh, drugs are bad. These days I stay away from that stuff, the last thing I need is to be high when I get the call for a new lung (talk about a recipe for a bad trip).

Once again that #!/usr/bin/girl finds the cool flash games. This time it is Shoot the Cliche. My high score was around 252, but I only played it twice. And remember. Spare the kittens.

I was going through my bookmarks, cleaning up things that I hadn't visited in ages or that were dead, and I ran into a link for The Monolith Game. Someday I'd love to try and set up a game of this, just to see if it were actually doable.

Another thing I'd love to try post transplant is the Tube Challenge.