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8 December, 2004

Scum Vs. Scum

From CNET: Adware cannibals feast on each other.

Companies that use free software downloads to target Web surfers with annoying ads are turning on each other to keep customers--and the cash they generate--for themselves.

The tactic is in the spotlight in a little-noticed legal dispute unfolding in Seattle. Caribbean-based ad company Avenue Media last month accused New York-based DirectRevenue of using competing software to detect and delete Avenue Media's Internet Optimizer program from its customers' computers.

Posted on 8 December, 2004

Outrage At The Wax Museum

News story: Bush a Wise Man? Madame Tussaud's Nativity scene sparks outrage.

Christian leaders on Wednesday denounced a Nativity scene at a London wax museum featuring soccer star David Beckham and his wife Victoria, a former Spice Girl, as the parents of Jesus.

The waxwork tableau at Madame Tussauds museum included U.S. President George W. Bush as one of the three Wise Men, actors Hugh Grant and Samuel Jackson as shepherds and Australian disco diva Kylie Minogue as an angel.

And this from the Vatican:

A spokesman said it was unacceptable to have celebrities representing Jesus, Joseph or Mary.

But it's OK when Mel Gibson does it.

Posted on 8 December, 2004

Book Recommendation

If you're looking for a good novel to read: The Loop, by Joe Coomer.

Lyman, a thirty-year-old orphan, is sipping coffee on the front steps of the trailer he calls home one morning, when a ninety-year-old parrot arrives with a beakful of cryptic sayings -- such as "That which hath wings shall tell the matter" -- and a mysterious past. Convinced that heeding the bird's wisdom will lead him to answers about himself he so desperately seeks, Lyman combines his night job as a courtesy patrolman, circling the highway that loops around Fort Worth, with days in the library. Together with Fiona, the loquacious librarian, he traces his adopted pet's origins, and while what Lyman ultimately discovers may not help him piece together his own past, it paves the way for a future he never imagined.

I just finished reading it for the second (maybe third) time. I've read two other books by him. I've got to get some more.

Posted on 8 December, 2004

Tease Titus

A very weird Shockwave thing: Tease Titus. Titus is a dog, and you can tease him my moving your mouse.

Posted on 8 December, 2004

Photobooths

Here's a directory of photo booths.

An attempt at a comprehensive photo booth list with photos and sample pictures. Please contribute pictures and descriptions of photo booths near you. Thanks.

Posted on 8 December, 2004

Be Famous

Hey, do you want to be famous? If so, go to I Wanna Be Famous.

We feature one person (or group) per day and makes them famous by featuring them on our website. Because of all the publicity this site has received lately, being featured on our website really might make you famous!

Shown here is Tommy Rock, who was famous on August 1, 2000. Oh yeah! I remember him! Whatever happened to Tommy Rock?

"I wanna be famous because well, I'd really have to say that just being famous isn't enough. Maybe, the real question is how do I want to become famous? Or, when I'm famous, what can I do with it? Help someone in need, do something good for a community. . .Give back! I'm kind of a crazy guy . . .so I don't think I'd mind fame at all. You have to be a little crazy to handle all the attention. I guess I'd say that I wanna be famous so I could give back to my family, my community and my friends!"

Posted on 8 December, 2004

Sushi Pillow

You've got to be a serious sushi lover to want a Sushi Pillow.

We currently offer three types of sushi pillows for you to purchase - California Roll, Avocado Roll, and Salmon Roll (with more types on the way!).

Posted on 8 December, 2004

Dude!

From USA Today: Dude, where's my linguist?

Dude, you've got to read this. A linguist from the University of Pittsburgh has published a scholarly paper deconstructing and deciphering the word "dude," contending it is much more than a catchall for lazy, inarticulate surfers, skaters, slackers and teenagers.

An admitted dude-user during his college years, Scott Kiesling said the four-letter word has many uses: in greetings ("What's up, dude?"); as an exclamation ("Whoa, Dude!"); commiseration ("Dude, I'm so sorry."); to one-up someone ("That's so lame, dude."); as well as agreement, surprise and disgust ("Dude.").

You can read Kiesling's original work here. He even has some Excel spreadsheets to download.

Posted on 8 December, 2004

Virtual Drum Machines

Joseph Rivers created a bunch of virtual drum machines to play with.

The machines are as close to the real thing as I could get them (so far). Some are large files and can take a few minuets to download others are smaller and only take a few seconds to download.

Shown here is a Boss DR-55, from 1979.

Posted on 8 December, 2004

Monkey News

If you need to keep up with monkeys in the news, you'll want to bookmark this blog: Monkeys In The News.

By the way, Monkey Day is less than a week away!

Monkey Day is an annual celebration of all things simian, a festival of aping, a chance to scream like a chimp and throw feces at whomever you choose. Or perhaps just a reason to hang out with your friends while grunting and picking fleas off each other.

Posted on 8 December, 2004

Great Church Websites

There's some good advice here: Great Church Websites.

The purpose of this site is to promote excellence in church website design by offering a "virtual gallery" of church home pages, along with other resources for church webmasters. I believe excellence in church website design serves the Kingdom by helping to draw non-Christians to churches. For this reason, I want to see every church develop a great website - "no church left behind," so to speak.

To date, I have reviewed 6,875 Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox church websites, from which I have chosen 382 (5.5%) so far to include in my database.

Everyone who creates a site, regardless of the subject matter, should read his Top 10 Website Design Tips.

Posted on 8 December, 2004

Frog Ringtone

If my cell phone sounded like this, I'd flush it down the toilet: Crazy Frog Ringtone.

Posted on 8 December, 2004

The Pope Is Upset With Windows

From The Spoof: Pope slams Windows - calls it "diabolical" - dubs Bill Gates "spawn of Satan."

Vatican sources today confirmed the rumor that Pope John Paul II last week experienced problems with his laptop computer, causing him to castigate the Windows XP operating system and the founder and Chairman of Microsoft, Bill Gates.

According to these sources, the 86-year-old Pontiff was apparently attempting to enter the third level of Doom III when the operating system crashed, displaying the infamous "Blue Screen of Death", well-known to Windows users worldwide. Subsequent attempts to reboot the computer seem to have failed.

Posted on 8 December, 2004

Twenty-Seven

Last month, I linked to a site devoted to the number 37. Here's a blog about a different number: The Chronicles of 27.

This is a blog devoted to sightings of the number 27 in pop culture, news, and any other random places it decides to pop up.

My friends and I discovered the magic of 27 in college, realizing that people would frequently cite the number 27 in conversation when needing a random number. For example: "Oh my God, I love this movie. I've seen it like 27 times."

Posted on 8 December, 2004

Mind Hacks

Now this sounds like an interesting book: Mind Hacks.

This exploration into the moment-by-moment works of the brain uses cognitive neuroscience to present experiments, tricks, and tips related to vision, motor skills, attention, cognition, subliminal perception. Each "hack" examines specific operations of the brain. By seeing how the brain responds, you'll learn more about how the brain is put together.

Eight sample hacks are available to read, and there's even a Mind Hacks Blog.

Posted on 8 December, 2004

Cheap Drugs

News item: New report suggests U.S. is losing the war on drugs.

The Washington Office on Latin America, citing the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy, said the street price of 2 grams of cocaine averaged $106 in the first half of 2003, down 14 percent from the previous year's average and the lowest price in 20 years.

A gram of heroin, which cost $329 in 1981, sold for $60 in the first half of 2003, the group said.

Posted on 8 December, 2004

Scientists And Mice

Finally, the truth comes out. From The Onion: World's Scientists Admit They Just Don't Like Mice.

Nearly 700 scientists representing 27 countries convened at the University of Zurich Monday to formally announce that their experimentation on mice has been motivated not by a desire to advance human knowledge, but out of sheer distaste for the furry little rodents.

"As a man of science, I deal with facts, and the fact is that mice are gross," said Dr. Douglas White, chair of the Oxford biogenetics department and lifelong mouse-hater.

Posted on 8 December, 2004

Juggler / Keyboard Player

A short video of a juggler playing en electronic keyboard. Impressive!

(via Bifurcated Rivets)

Posted on 8 December, 2004

White House Christmas Card

If you haven't yet received your Christmas card from George and Laura, here's what it will look like:

It was done by Hallmark.

Posted on 8 December, 2004

Postmark Art

Ken Turmel's Postmark Art.

(via Plep)

Posted on 8 December, 2004

Death Slang

Nearly 1,000 euphemisms for death and dying: Death Slang. A few random examples:

Formatted with black borders
Big sleep
Inhumation
Cash out
Singing with the angels
Marinating in soil and worms
Corpse City
Pluto's vacation yard
Done like dinner

Posted on 8 December, 2004

John Lennon

Three John Lennon items:

Posted on 8 December, 2004