I think I’m going to go get my coffee, sit outside, and read a bunch more of Hard-Boiled Wonderland. It just feels like it is too nice outside not to enjoy it for a little bit. Then hopefully I’ll be able to focus on some things I need to get done.

I just was woken up from a nap by the door buzzer going off. By the time I realized it wasn’t in the dream I was having and stumbled out to check if someone was there they were gone. Now I’m wondering who it was that stopped by un-announced.

I love my Roomba. So it is nice to see NASA working on new uses for them.

After facing a number of dissapointments over failed Mars missions, NASA has decided to use an already proven technology for the exploration and collection of soil samples on the surface of the planet. “We’ve ordered 1,000 Roomba robotic floor vacuums from the Sharper Image,” said Johnson. In a move of what could be considered fiscal genius, NASA also opted for the five year extended warranty. “How can we lose? If the project is a failure, we just make them replace the non-working units and we can sell them on eBay. Have you seen how much money people will pay for crap with an official NASA sticker on it?” [Trial and Error]

Around fourteen years ago, one of the bigger time wasters for me on the net came online. It was called TinyMUD and I at least partly blame it for my dropping out of school. For those of you who were once there, or curious about a taste of history, you can go visit it at 216.27.160.128 4201. No, it’s not a web site, you’ve got to know how to use things like telnet, or some mud client like tinyfugue to connect. For a pretty decent guide to the history of MUDs, check out the MUDline.

Other interesting links I found when googling for TinyMUD:

• An archive of the TinyMUD source
• A SourceForge project for TinyMUD? Weird.
• The DMOZ entry for TinyMUD
• rec.games.mud.tiny on Google Groups

I think the thing that amazes me the most is that there is still anyone running TinyMUD.

A story from the Hartford Courant about a woman who went nuts at her wedding reception.

Marital Bliss Ends At Reception
Police Arrest Agitated Bride

SOUTH WINDSOR — If Adrienne Samen ever forgets the details of her wedding reception, the police will be able to provide her with an official account, including a photograph.

The 18-year-old North Haven woman was arrested Saturday night after police said she “flipped out” at the Mill on the River Restaurant, cursed workers who asked some of her guests to leave the bar and then stormed out of the establishment.

According to Helmar Wolf, a co-owner of the restaurant, the bride and groom began to argue in the parking lot, where the bride shouted, “I hate you!” Soon after, Wolf said, the angry young woman “started throwing wedding cake and smashed vases of flowers.” [Hartford Courant]

Yikes. Talk about a night to remember. Something to tell the kids about, if the marriage lasts that long.

One of my favorite new shows on Showtime is Dead Like Me. It took a little while, but the feel of the show has started to really grow on me. Plus it’s got Mandy Patinkin being abrasive, and he seems to do really well with roles like that (at times this reminds me of his role as Dr. Geiger on Chicago Hope). Last week he had a line about cooking that I thought was absolutely wonderful.

A dish is a collection of flavors, consistencies, You start swapping ingredients in that carefully thought out melange, it’s like fucking with the Jenga tower of taste.

This news story just passed by on a MUD I hang out on. The BBC news has a story reporting that Giant Gerbils Infest China.

The Great Gerbil found in many parts of Central Asia can be up to 400 millimetres (16 inches) long from head to tail.

With its short fur, it is the member of the family most resembling the rat.

Officials say the gerbils have damaged more than 4m hectares (11m acres) of grassland – about the size of Switzerland. [BBC News]

Damn. 16 inches. I remember having gerbils in the classroom when I was in gradeschool. Those were what, three, maybe four inches long? I remember getting one or two gerbil bites because of them being a little jumpy. If you got bit by one of these you might lose a finger!

Because the post is buried way in the past, I thought I’d reference this post I made over a year ago about Scott Adams Adventures. I got an email that there was a comment on the post and was surprised to find it was by Scott Adams himself, his web site. He’s got downloadable versions of his games there, though no versions for OS X (rats!). At least there’s a version for the Palm, as well as web versions in java. Pretty cool!

I posted the last two posts to the anime blog by mistake. Augh!

Don Park posts about the idea of a Cellphone Rescue Button.

To use your cellphone to make a Great Escape, just download a piece of yet-to-be-written software and set the delay time (let say 1 minute). To use it, just put your hand into your pocket and press a button. After 1 minute, the phone rings and you say “Excuse me, I have to take this. [after ten seconds] I am sorry, I have to leave, it’s an emergency.” [Don Park’s Daily Habit]

I would love something like this. There haven’t had many times I’ve wanted one, but I can think of a few times it would have come in handy.