Flightened

The wind beneath my wings
A little entry from the "Adrenaline Hunters" file, check out this awesome flight of a wingsuit over snow country. Watch for the low level skier buzz.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqW6O_dcF2M


Your life vest clashes with your oxygen mask
Despite that last vid, flying these days has become increasingly painful, but I’m not sure that some airlines' attempts to cure it are worse than the disease.
http://www.glumbert.com/media/preflight


Drive Someone Insane with Postcards
Not going away for the holidays? Well if you're up for a prank, take advantage of this offer and confuse the heck out of your family and friends. "When you care enough to send the very bewildering."
http://cgi.ebay.com/Drive-Someone-Insane-with-Postcards_W0QQitemZ320196148761QQihZ011QQcategoryZ45208QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

QuOTeD
"The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth." -- Niels Bohr


World's most effective speed bump
Made in Germany, of course. Predictable, to be sure.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3ieo9_pub-toom-baumarkt-fun-dosdane_fun


Friday game: If you like pool, you'll probably enjoy this.
Shuffle - http://www.games1.org/flash-games/Shuffle


And finally, a few random holiday season leftovers to keep you going...

Make-A-Flake
An astute observer pointed out that it's a sad sign of the times that there's a link to report offensive snowflakes.
http://snowflakes.lookandfeel.com/


It's a wrap
From the recycling bin, how to apply some creative treatment to those presents using fragments of paper and miscellaneous items from around your house.
http://www.boakart.com/wrap/WrapArt.html


Holiday light show compendium
Homes transformed into musical light shows for the holidays.
http://www.bored.com/christmaslights/index.htm

Don't leave home without it

No Sh*t Sure Lock
In this gritty but hilarious three-minute parody of a Home Depot commercial, we learn a new meaning to that old phrase. Uh, so I guess her number is two?
http://www.jibjab.com/view/217452


Soylent Pictures
Cool work that puts most any college marching band to shame. The Art of the
Conceptual Photograph, starring of all things, people.
http://www.hammergallery.com/images/peoplepictures/people%20pictures.htm


(Prince) Charles in Charge
Speaking of great photos, thanks to the miracle of the camera shutter for this one. A shot like this just doesn't come along every day.
http://vinweasel.blogspot.com/2007/12/prince-charles-in-charge.html


QuOTeD
"Irrationally held truths may be more harmful than reasoned errors." -- Thomas H. Huxley


Mighty pen
"Very good if you need to write on paper," a thoughtful and thorough Amazon customer review of the Bic Crystal medium-point, black ballpoint pen. The comments are pretty tongue-in-cheek funny as well.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R3QR3AC2WXWHIT/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm/

Big book
According to Guinness World Records, at over five by seven feet (and 133 pounds), this staggeringly beautiful photographic book is the largest published book in the world. That works out to a little over $100 a pound, and in that "light" it sounds like kind of a bargain.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00016CAZ6/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Tidbyte: Apparently there will be no Nativity Scene in the Washington D.C. this Christmas season. No, it's not a matter of separation of Church and State -- they simply have not been able to find three wise men and a virgin in our nation's capitol. There was no problem, however, finding enough asses to fill the stable. (Thanks rasric)


If it looks like a duck
Someday they’ll create an award for websites that do "exactly what it says on the URL." Wait -- here's one now. (See more duck-like objects after the front page.)
http://www.thispeanutlookslikeaduck.com/

(Prince) Charles in Charge

A photo like this just doesn't come along every day. Must be some form of royal British salute. (Thanks Bomser)

French Fry Art

French Fry Art

Playing with your food? Maybe consider painting with it instead. Obviously that order of fries isn't the healthiest choice, and this unique art video will make you think even harder before answering the question, "You want fries with that?" Although he's American, you can say this art originated in grease.
http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1782207


Crack dollhouse
Two great things that go great together: smoking crack and playing with dollhouses. Delight in this toy home for tiny people on the pipe. And with Xmas coming up, it's the ideal gift for the crack baby in YOUR life.
http://www.virtualdollhouse.net/Grace


The sound of one throat purring
From mice to cats, the purfect podcast for the loved one in your life. (Thanks Raygun)
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/193310907/the-sound-of-one-cat.html


QuOTeD
"No problem is so formidable that you can't walk away from it." --Charles M. Schulz


Broken Windows
Check this collection of mind-bending Windows error messages (including the immortal "Error: An error has occurred while creating an error report").
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/absurd-windows-errors-invade-planet/more-windows-errors-take-over-the-world-prepare-ground-for-alien-invasion-331828.php


Macworld Bloopers
Steve Jobs and Apple are known for their "riveting" (to someone, I guess) Macworld keynotes that have the technology world on edge. Usually pretty sharp on delivery and obviously well rehearsed, they can sometimes go awry. I guess Windows isn't the only system that can cause demo problems.
http://9to5mac.com/macworld-bloopers-0230959534


Game break: from the National Association of Home Builders, this might help you through a frustrating day at work. (Thanks Gordon)
Smash the Tiles - http://www.savethetile.com/microsite.aspx?goto=game


Skeptoid
A podcast dedicated to furthering knowledge by blasting away the widespread pseudosciences that infect popular culture, Skeptoid attempts to expose the folly of belief in such phenomena, and more importantly, explains the factual scientific reality. From the sublime to the startling, no topic is sacred, politically incorrect though that may be. Yeah, I’m a little skeptical.
http://skeptoid.com/

Triumph over evil

Triumph Wants His $12 Million Bit#h!
Leona Helmsley (a.k.a., "the Queen of Mean") recently passed away at age 87. She left a $12 million hotel fortune to her eight-year-old Maltese named Trouble, passing over a couple of grandchildren on her way to the afterlife. Naturally, lawsuits ensued. Among those who feels he got shafted is Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, and he chose the ideal forum for airing his grievances: Dr. Phil.
http://www.nbc.com/Late_Night_with_Conan_O'Brien/video/index.shtml#mea=157308


Popstar
No, it's not a social network for soft drink fanatics. It's a parody of the Nickelback "Rockstar" video tracking the convoluted career path of a typical, studio-manufactured pop star. Despite all odds, it made for somewhat amusing listening.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uSlqI1AVUk


The Day The Whopper Died
America takes its burgers seriously. Really seriously.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMOPj6-4nDU


QuOTeD
"How wonderful opera would be if there were no singers." -- Gioacchino Rossini


Are we not men?
It was recently brought it to my attention that some people have a lot of spare time and spend that time thinking of very bizarre things. A classic example of what makes for foundation in the blogosphere. (Thanks Gordon)
http://menwholooklikeoldlesbians.blogspot.com/


Game time: Zwing your ball around using the mouse and protect the white one. Don't get blackballed.
Zwingo - http://www.kongregate.com/games/Kabomb/zwingo


Wig is probably what they'll do
Speaking of odd pursuits, Carolyn Sortor believes that, "If you have any creature in the house with a head bigger than a walnut (including boyfriends), you need a Kitty Wig." You might tend to agree, just on laughs alone. Worth a quick look at the photos.
http://kittywigs.com/wigindex.html

Fight the power

PowerPoint-less
We've all seen PowerPoint presentations run amok. The melange of fonts, the garish colors, the five-level bulleted lists that go on forever These mishaps are not lost on comedian Don McMillan. In this short clip, he provides some quick pointers for keeping your PowerPoint presentation from becoming a multimedia nightmare.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLpjrHzgSRM


Even bastards become top blokes after death
When people die their faults are quickly airbrushed over. Apparently, this song caused quite a stir when it was first broadcast in Australia. Your guess as to which of the dead celebrity brutalizings would have kicked up the stink.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLVsIpejFgM


Korean Freestyle Slalom Rollerblading
Sorta impressive from a street/schoolyard PoV, but despite the authentic sounding name, I don’t see how this could ever make it as an Olympic event. I’m sure that Greeks are already turning over in their graves at the mere provocation. By the way, there's a lot of prelude here -- the action starts when there's about 1:30 left.
http://www.glumbert.com/media/koreanfreestyle


QuOTeD
"Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself." -- William Faulkner
"Be not simply good; be good for something." -- Henry David Thoreau


Hold that thought
The perfect Xmas gift for that special someone -- a thought-screening helmet that prevents alien abductions.
http://www.stopabductions.com/


Motion Induced Blindness
Cool optical illusion, though with enough computer use it'll probably happen anyway.
http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/mot_mib/index.html


Wash, rinse, repeat
Wince-inducing ad for a bathroom accessory that leaves you thoroughly cleaned. If you sit through the testimonials to about halfway through, you get to see a woman wiping shit off her hand. As Christmas presents go, well, your mileage may vary.
http://shanghaiist.com/2007/09/10/new_bidet_that.php

Snail's pace

NASCARGOT - A NASCAR Parody
Pole position today is occupied by a short NASCAR parody that looks more like a molluscan version of organized grabass. Animal lovers -- you'll be pleased to hear that no snails were harmed in the making of this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CUFEnZeeYw


Just how fast is a Formula 1 car?
Enjoyable old-school Top Gear-style spot, pitting a family trickster against a Porsche and a F1 car in a race around Silverstone track. Crazy quick.
http://www.5min.com/Video/How-fast-is-a-Formula-1-Car-1294208


Pocket Car: If only...
Lickety-split spot of someone's urban dreamcar.
http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/pocket+car/video/x15aau_pocket-car_ads


QuOTeD
"The world is governed more by appearances than realities, so that it is fully as necessary to seem to know something as to know it." -- Daniel Webster


Think outside the can
Check out architect Robert Bruno’s "Steel House". Interesting design, in a neo-Paleolithic Jetsons kind of way.
http://www.robertbruno.com/


Game break: Why did the Beatles cross the road?
Abbey Road Frogger - http://www.nosoup.net/nosoup4u/b3ta/abbeyroadcrossing.html


Joke point: rasric handed off this season-appropriate (football, that is) joke.

49ers

A guy walks into a bar wearing a 49ers jersey and carrying a cat that's also wearing a 49ers jersey.

The guy says to the bartender, "Can my cat and I watch the 49ers game here? My TV is broken and my cat and I always watch the game together."

The bartender replies, "Normally, cats wouldn't be allowed in the bar, but it's not very busy in here right now, so you and the cat can have a seat at the end of the bar. But, if there's any trouble with you or the cat, I'll have to ask you to leave."

The guy agrees, and he and his cat start watching the game. Pretty soon the Niners kick a field goal and the excited cat jumps up on the bar and walks down the bar and gives everyone a high five.

The bartender says, "Hey, that's pretty cool! Does he do that for every field goal?"

The guy nods, "Yeah, every time."

The bartender asks, "What does he do for a touchdown?"

The guys answers, "I don't know, I've only had him for three years."

list-en up, America

Americans love lists
The results are in. Apparently we love lists, and whether you do or not, you still might enjoy Goodiebag's fast-talking, tightly-edited online stand-up routines...
http://www.goodiebag.tv/episodes/05.htm


Herstory lesson?
Maybe "The View" keeps Sherri Shepherd around for comic relief because the resident born-again Christian has nothing intelligent to contribute. Some are surprised that the Almighty Himself hasn't contacted Barbara Walters about firing her clueless self for making all Christians look like ignorant fools. Now, I don't know who she is nor have I ever seen the show, and boy am I glad for it. On the other hand, more comedy is good, right?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psGLXqW1kUs


QuOTeD
This guy's got balls...
"Let’s get the CEO of every cup company. You put your cup on, and I’ll put my cup on, and we’ll see who’s left standing."
– Former major leaguer Mark Littell — who has designed a high-tech athletic cup called the NuttyBuddy and, as this video shows, stands behind his product — issues the sort of challenge that should be used to settle every Silicon Valley hostile takeover bid.


The Morality Quiz
These quascientists believe that the deepest foundation on which morality is built is the phenomenon of empathy, and are using these dilemmas to study human morality. Here's a quiz where you can test your moral mettle and do a little extra credit reading if you so desire.
http://www.time-blog.com/graphics_script/2007/moralityquiz/index.html


Quick pic: Puppies on the go
Don’t you wish someone could carry you around like this?
http://www.internet-memes.com/images/puppiesonthego.jpg


Real-life game remake shows human stupidity in 8 bits
This remake of Donkey Kong takes the game to new levels of realism - and reality - by having humans fill the roles. And while I could never reckon how a "donkey" figures into this, it's no coincidence that ass is synonymous.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KyIpMtvJvE

The tree is up and it's...good

AJUK wrote in with good news: "It took all weekend, but I finally got the tree up." I'll bet Santa's going to hit his house early (and often).




So that kicks off today's issue including a few bits of Christmas cheer....

How Disney really feels about Christmas
Ladies and gentlemen, with the Christmas season more than officially in full swing -- trees, tinsel, lights, gift wrapping, and crowded malls -- apparently even Disney can’t quite handle it.
http://www.jibjab.com/view/214756

Is it Christmas?
If you’ve lost track of time, this website will give you a quick and definitive answer to the question, should you need one.
http://www.isitchristmas.com/

QuOTeD
"When you look at yourself from a universal standpoint, something inside always reminds or informs you that there are bigger and better things to worry about." - Albert Einstein

PSA: Putting the "green" in your Christmas tree
Instead of buying a tree, these nice folks will let you rent one. They bring a potted tree to your house, and after Christmas they pick it up and plant it in areas that were destroyed by the recent San Diego county fires. Seems like one of those dreaded "win-win" situations.
http://www.adoptachristmastree.com/

Tesla tree
Fifty hours and 91 seconds later, a Christmas "tree" made from a real functioning Tesla coil.
http://tesladownunder.com/Xmas.htm

X(mas)-Game: Sprouty Christmas
Eyegas, a man with leguminous/festive proclivities is back with a sort of sequel to his 2005 opus, "Attack of the Sprouts". Eat as many sprouts as you can, while venting wind to avoid a nasty explosion.
http://www.eyegas.com/sproutifarts/

PSA2: Amazon Filler Item Finder
Certain items at Amazon.com qualify for free shipping, but sometimes purchase fall short of the minimum $25 needed to recieve the free shipping. Enter the amount you need to get free shipping in the box above to see a list of products that will get you free shipping.
http://www.filleritem.com/

Elf yourself
Silly little thing for which you need a photo (headshot) and a strong stomach. Let the elfamorphosis begin.
http://www.elfyourself.com/

Road to nowhere

Discrimi-Nav GPS system
Now, I don’t have a GPS but I’ve seen them on TV. (And Lord knows I could use one.) Here's a fake commercial for one such device -- and I think you'll know where they're going with this when you start watching -- that helps you avoid those "marginal" neighborhoods. Marginally funny, but definitely at least a little equal-opportunity offensive. (Thanks Bomser)
http://www.jibjab.com/view/79837


Un-PC you'll see
In this age of "PC enlightenment", they might seem like outrageous anachronisms. At the time, they might have been considered truth in advertising...blatantly politically incorrect ads from the time equality forgot.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=496827


Two-for-one cubed
An impressive achievement in double-fisting the cube, Dan Dzoan, world champion at one-handed Rubik's Cube-ism, solves two at once in under 45 seconds. Geek chic, fo' sho'.
http://www.snotr.com/video/481


QuOTeD
"Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired." -Jules Renard


Slow Exposure
Check these still shots of moving subjects where the photographer captures the movement as blur rather than freezing it. The dreamy atmosphere makes for some good art.
http://content3.clipmarks.com/view_clip.aspx?guid=F5FADD52-739C-4426-A97E-A0BA1B59A103


Friday game: Think you know what's where?
Geography Quiz - http://minijuegos.com/juegos/html/index.php?id=5974


Organic music
Worldwide and one of a kind, the Vegetable Orchestra makes music with edible instruments. Turnip the volume -- this one's in the key of squash flat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpfYt7vRHuY

It's hammer time

Go for the juggler
My wife watches those home improvement shows from time -- you know the ones where they completely remodel a house in three days for a mere 75 bucks -- but I don’t get roped in. But maybe I would pay a little more attention if they occasionally threw in/up something like this. (Thanks Edwin)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJmZvifrO9Y


Card-iac kid
Bryan Berg, the acknowledged inventor of cardstacking on the grand scale, embarked on a month-long project with The Texas State Fair to create a new Guinness World Record for the World's Tallest House of Playing Cards. No tape, glue, or other tricks -- just 1,800 decks of freestanding playing cards (and some scaffolding) to finish this 25-foot tower.
http://www.cardstacker.com/index2.html


All the crap in my wallet
Speaking of lots of cards, some men seem to believe that the bulk and heft of their wallets is a direct reflection of their manhood, stuffing them full of every receipt, ticket and scrap of paper that passes through their hands. But when the time comes that there's no more room for money, a cleanout is required. This dude thought that documenting all the crap that he fished out of his was a worthy venture.
http://www.allthecrapinmywallet.co.uk/


QuOTeD
"There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all." - Peter Drucker


Re: Cat Talking, Translation
And here's what it sounds like if you have your babel fish in your ear translating for you. A short clip that seems a lot like MST3K meets America's Funniest Videos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JynBEX_kg8


Quick pic: hair trigger
I suppose you could say we're setting a bad example for the rest of the world with this product. Do you feel lucky, punk?
http://www.nodaya-net.com/11438.htm


Pixel art
How creative can you be with 16 colors and 32x32 pixels? Check this pretty basic 'make your own pixel art' site with the extrabonus of being able to see everyone else's tiny creations too.
http://pixelarts.6x.to/

Amazon hates US

Customers who bought this also bought....
So apparently Amazon wants to hasten the demise of this great nation (or maybe some other, but what are the odds of that). Get it while it's hot. (Thanks Joe)
http://www.amazon.com/Uranium-Ore/dp/B000796XXM

Achmed the Dead Terrorist
I've received this from enough folks that I now feel obliged to mention it. Enjoy a routine from Jeff Dunham as seen on Comedy Central and his new DVD. (Thanks rasric, tedm, et al.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uwOL4rB-go

Where's Oil
Finders keepers, users weepers.
http://www.civicactions.com/sites/home2.civicactions.net/files/map01_1024.jpg

QuOTeD
"I can forgive Alfred Nobel for having invented dynamite, but only a fiend in human form could have invented the Nobel Prize."
- George Bernard Shaw

Apocalyptic Manhattan
Cool and eerie scale model being created in some dudes' apartment.
http://z11.invisionfree.com/Work_In_Progress/index.php?showtopic=9485

Double-secret probation photos
Visit a museum these days and there's bound to be a sign saying "no photography", which is a bit snitty, as it's simply a way of getting punters to pay for crap postcards in the gift shop. So (lens) caps off to strictlynophotography, it's like Flickr for camera phone anarchists. Up the revolution, kiddos.
http://strictlynophotography.com/

But does hirsute suit her?
"Call it testosterone. Call it the great acne-scar cover-up. Or call it Z.Z. Top envy. But the fact is, some men sprout facial hair that would put a peacock's tail to shame. These best of the best have only one place to go with their cheek-covering plumage: The World Beard and Moustache Championships." How can you pass up something with a billing like that?
http://www.worldbeardchampionships.com/

But I Could Be Wrong

Tim Wilson ain't f%#$&ing wrong
One of the better "songs" I've heard in a long time, if nothing else because I share the sentiment. I don't think he leaves anyone out of this barrage. Profanity a plenty, but in a real funny-like kinda way.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Q-5d5IfdYK4

Best wedding first dance ever
They can look forward to a long and goofy marriage. (Thanks Lynette)
http://www.glumbert.com/media/weddingfirstdance

QuOTeD
"Nothing is more admirable than the fortitude with which millionaires tolerate the disadvantages of their wealth." -- Rex Stout
"A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of." -- Jane Austen

Lost Mac Ads
Some people apparently enjoyed the new "Get a Mac" ads, though I believe this is the exception. For everyone who ever wanted to kick that pretentious Mac guy's ass, here's a sketch you'll enjoy.
http://valleywag.com/tech/apple/the-lost-mac-ads-somewhere-justin-long-is-curled-around-a-dodgeball-and-crying-186353.php

Game on: PacMan meets Zork, apparently.
Pac-Txt -- http://pac-txt.com/

What Happens Behind the Scenes
Also on the marketing front, when a company wants to persuade you to perceive things a certain way, they have a number of standard techniques ( a.k.a., tricks) at their disposal. Here's a little practical knowledge to use in that battle.
http://www.chemistryland.com/CHM107/Introduction/BehindScene/StepBehindScene.html

Mondo Brawndo
And lastly, here's some real, good marketing. And actually, it seems like it's got what pants crave. (Thanks Joel)
http://www.drinkbrawndo.com/

Should we consider eating our young?

Not old enough to drink, but old enough to sue? There ought to be a law.

18-Year-Old Kathleen Holtz Passes the California Bar
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/11/19/18-year-old-kathleen-holtz-passes-the-california-bar/

SoCal Woman Becomes a Lawyer at Age 18
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=local&id=5773175

American ingenuity

Is Europe a country?
Apparently some people aren't smarter than a fifth grader. God bless a nation where such a person could survive. I have my theories on that...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juOQhTuzDQ0

Light my fire
These guys piled up a huge stack of wood and then wheel in a jet engine to start the fire. A fifth-grader might even think twice about this one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbjoHdT79Sw

QuOTeD
"Well, I had a wonderful evening. It just wasn't tonight."
-- Groucho Marx

Don't mix business with pleasure
Isn't technology great? Careful when using a laptop for a work video-conference.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M60bQrWyH8g

Control Poll
The BioManage Consortium is conducting a study to determine which consortium member holds the most power over the planet earth. It's a simple one multiple choice question. Strangely, my wife is not one of the choices.
http://www.biomanage.com/control-poll.shtml

Game break: "Game Game" is a strange yet somehow appealing game. I'm not sure how you know whether you are playing it correctly.
http://www.secrettechnology.com/gamegame/gamegame.html

Tesla coil Super Mario duet
Two dudes built a couple of Tesla coils and in protogeek fashion programmed them to play the Super Mario Brothers theme. Who says American ingenuity is dead?
http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2007/11/tesla_coil_super_mario_du.html

Everything is Caused by Global Warming

My pops sent me an interesting article from American Thinker. Then I saw this quote somewhere:

"Whenever you hear the consensus of scientists agrees on something or other, reach for your wallet, because you're being had." -- Michael Crichton, at a Caltech Michelin Lecture, January 17, 2003

The moral is: Beware media hysteria. Scientists can play, too.


Everything is Caused by Global Warming (600 links)
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2007/11/everything_is_caused_by_global.html

"Dr. John Brignell, a British engineering professor, runs a website called numberwatch. He has compiled what has to be the most complete collection of links to media stories ascribing the cause of everything under the sun to global warming. He has already posted more than six-hundred links.

The site's stated mission is to expose all the "scares, scams, junk, panics and flummery cooked up by the media, politicians, bureaucrats and so-called scientists and others that try to confuse the public with wrong numbers" Professor Brignell's motto is "Working to Combat Math Hysteria."

And everything in its place

View to a Shill
Barbarian at the gate, thy name is advertising. In this Worth1000 contest, product placement becomes blatant.
http://www.worth1000.com/cache/contest/contestcache.asp?contest_id=17339

Japanese magician talent show champ
He won this competition heads down.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1jhtt_talent-japonais_events

Top 10 Movie One-Liners Of All-Time
They infest our daily dialogue, having "evolved" from the elegant "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" to the now trite "You're terminated, f%#&er".
http://unibrow.uber.com/oneliners

QuOTeD
"An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field."
-- Niels Bohr

Petition to ban water
Not new but still amusing, in this prank Penn & Teller get well-meaning-but-stupid tree huggers to sign a petition aimed at banning the use of that most versatile and necessary of liquids. There's a moral here, but the gag is enjoyable enough even without it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi3erdgVVTw

Game break: Cat bowling
http://www.itsga.com/fun/cat_new.swf

Airborne cats
One of the cooler photo shoots (that's right -- it's stills and not a video) capturing those special moments of feline flight.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/junku/sets/303691/

iPhone Smacked Down
You knew this was going to happen, didn't you? An iPhone-toting passenger takes on the flight crew over weather.
http://www.planebuzz.com/2007/11/we_knew_this_was_going_to_happ.html

Happy little droids

Bob Ross paints Star Wars
See -- instructional videos can be ridiculous. Much spoofidity.
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=21169146

Twerpintine
Create a painting based on your personality. Requires only about two minutes and absolutely no artistic talent.
http://www.bored.com/createpaintings/index.php

Mega-portrait
A portrait of, well, a whole bunch of people you'll recognize.
http://pictures.pichaus.com/c9d38d208ff23b09329b8ea3604c5c01869d82de

QuOTeD
"A specification that will not fit on one page of 8.5- by 11-inch paper cannot be understood. "
-- Mark Ardis

look at this f%#&ing massive printer
It's obviously fake, right? Check again. Or just write a $630,000 check for an HP Scitex TJ8300. Hey, it's only like a buck a pound.
http://deputy-dog.com/2007/05/20/look-at-this-fucking-massive-printer/

Quizzical: Test your mettle on the past couple and a half decades of movie goodness.
http://www.filmcritic.com/movie-quiz/index.html

Opt till you drop
A great collection of optical illusions.
http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/

Elephant darts

Elephant darts
Darts contest between a human and an elephant. Interesting that there seems to be a definite correlation between one's weight and one's proficiency at the noble, winged sport.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5YO56LD_dY

Towelephant
Got a spare towel? Need an elephant? Help is at hand with this guide to creating an elephant out of a towel. You can definitely beat a pachyderm at this vaguely related activity.
http://www.wikihow.com/Fold-a-Towel-Elephant

Pop Up Problem
Annoying ads got you down? Conan O'Brien's writer knows how to fix the problem: Go to the source: India. A bit long by web standards, but amusing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3M2_2YZG9s

QuOTeD
"Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday."
-- Don Marquis

Oscilloscope demo
Impressive graphics display from a dude with an oscilloscope plugged into his PC. It's a low-tech phantasmagoria and you can imagine the technical instrument salesman trotting out this beauty to wow his labbish customers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1eNjUgaB-g

Quick pic: 'Money shots'
Imaginative use of dollars, lining up the artwork with the public monuments depicted. For bonus points try with foreign currency.
http://de.fishki.net/picsw/112007/19/bonus2/2.jpg

Go with the flow
Oh, and I keep meaning to post this one: the Procrastination Flow Chart. You can look at it either now or later.
http://projectsidewalk.com/flowchart/

Casting a wide net

Casting gags
Marketers -- if you're stuck for a idea for a web viral, then hold an open casting and edit up the crappiest participants. It never fails. This one: looking for an overacting badass.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaUbdIDowJQ

Baby Queen
After watching this, I couldn't hold it either. Freddie Mercury is no doubt rolling in his grave.
http://users.telenet.be/leukelinks/flash/queen.htm

QuOTeD
"Acquaintance, n.: A person whom we know well enough to borrow from, but not well enough to lend to."
-- Ambrose Bierce

Curiosity canned the cat
Thankfully, I didn't see any of this at the Thanksgiving dinner table. But then again, who doesn't like a little Jellied Eel or Silkworm Pupa?
http://funfever.blogspot.com/2007/10/most-curious-canned-foods-found-online.html

Game-stop: Black is White. White is Black. Enjoy some mind twisting insanity.
Yin-Yang - http://www.addictinggames.com/yinyang.html

Cat cutlery
The key phrase here is "after her children left home"; this woman trained her cat to eat with cutlery so that it could dine at the table with her and her hapless husband. Un-forking-believable -- she must have been extraordinarily bored. Anyway, now she believes that cat would like to be in films and to meet Tiger Woods. Hmm.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkUdDdY_U-A

Fat Thursday

Collapsing shop page
"Cyber Monday" came early for this cleverly set-up website for a Dutch retailer. Looks fairly nondescript, but mouse-over the blue cup on the right... pandemonium!
http://producten.hema.nl/


What's in your fridge? And why does anyone care?
Appropriate for such a food-focused holiday, Fridgewatcher.com is a project where people open their fridges to others. 'Cause every fridge tells a story. And they want to know yours.
http://www.fridgewatcher.com/


Quote of the Day
"If it weren't for Philo T. Farnsworth, inventor of television, we'd still be eating frozen radio dinners."
-- Johnny Carson


PSA4U: Catalog Choice
If your mailbox is anything like mine (bulging at the seams), it would surely ask you to save a tree and take yourself off the lists for any unwanted catalogs.
http://www.catalogchoice.org/


Ham I Am
Jones Soda Co., a Seattle-based purveyor of offbeat fizzy water is selling holiday-themed limited-edition packs of sodas that include flavors such as ham and latkes. It even will be kosher, the company says - including the ham.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2007-11-10-holiday-sodas_N.htm


Game-ish: Feed the head
A holiday-appropriate online toy that we all loved so much in yesteryear. Keep poking around the animated head and see what happens. Kept me amused for a fair time.
http://www.feedthehead.net/


Fall Foliage Web cams
Let the leaves fall where they may...
http://www.earthcam.com/events/fallcams/2007/


Mark Steyn: World should give thanks for America
A well put Thanksgiving sentiment in another great piece of writing from Mark Steyn, who's Canadian by the way. (Thanks Pops)
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/americans-world-thanksgiving-1924033-europe-europeans


Enjoy, have a happy Thanksgiving, and eat early and often. (To the rest of the world, Happy Thursday.) God bless America.

Mutated moo

Mutated moo
We know it's cliché to look at web animation and say the author is wrong in the head -- but Cyriak is. (He is. Wrong. In the head.) Cows are always getting abducted by UFOs, right? Now you know what happens.
http://www.cyriak.co.uk/moo.html


Misheard Bollywood lyrics
We've seen an awful lot of those "misheard lyric" things on the interweb, so by now your tolerance might be fairly high. But it's tough to hold back at least a grin at this epic production -- a very classy number, combining elaborate dancing, garbled words and some excellent comical posing as a bonus. Have you been high today?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA1NoOOoaNw


Quote of the Day
"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."
-- Robert Frost


Top ten geek haircuts
Hats off to the nerds on this list for sporting first-rate dork hair-dos. This is one occasion where I’m not jealous.
http://crave.cnet.co.uk/0,39029477,49293713,00.htm


Game-y: a less enjoyable -- though maybe more challenging -- version of whack-a-mole. (This may be more a test of your pointing device than of you.)
Reaction Time -- http://mindbluff.com/reaction.htm


Pointless
What started as an exception may soon become the norm if recent trends are anything to go by. Pointed ears, made famous by Mr. Spock, seem to be the choice of many music-loving youngsters in New York. It appears they are resorting to plastic surgery -- ear sculpting, they call it -- developed by Hungarian plastic surgeon, Dr. Lajos Nagy. The claim is they enhance the music listening experience. No excuse.
http://www.plasmetic.com/latest-trends/ear-surgery/enjoy-music-get-pointed-ears-.html


Why We Do Dumb or Irrational Things
Philip Zimbardo, who once lectured me a couple things about psychology, says: "I have been primarily interested in how and why ordinary people do unusual things, things that seem alien to their natures. Why do good people sometimes act evil? Why do smart people sometimes do dumb or irrational things?" Now for your consideration and voting, here are 10 influential social psychology studies.
http://www.spring.org.uk/2007/11/10-piercing-insights-into-human-nature.php

Signal-to-noise

This is an interesting bit of technology I read about in GMSV. And check out the random examples of stupidity on their website. Now if they could only get this technology to apply to the real world.

Momma says stupid is as stupid does

It sounds like something that anyone who’s run a forum or a blog has longed for at one time or another: a stupidity filter — something that would scan incoming comments and, when necessary, prompt the would-be contributor with something like this: “This comment is more or less unintelligible. Please try to restate it.” What a boon it would be for the signal-to-noise ratio, but given the scope and diversity of the adversary, where would one begin?

Well, the folks behind StupidFilter are trying to take a shot at it. As explained on the Web site, “The solution we’re creating is simple: an open-source filter software that can detect rampant stupidity in written English. This will be accomplished with weighted Bayesian analysis and some rules-based processing, similar to spam detection engines. The primary challenge inherent in our task is that stupidity is not a binary distinction, but rather a matter of degree. To this end, we’re collecting a ranked corpus of stupid text, gleaned from user comments on public websites and ranked on a five-point scale.”

Since it isn’t true artificial intelligence and has no awareness of context, humor, irony or sarcasm, the immediate goal of the filter is relatively modest: to detect “comments with too much or too little capitalization, too many text-message abbreviations, excessive use of ‘LOL,’ exclamation points, and so on.” And as the FAQ explains, “We consider the StupidFilter’s irony-ignorance to be a feature, insofar as even if an allegedly-smart person makes a short, stupid comment, their smartness doesn’t make the comment any less stupid.”

Clearly, these folks have an immense task ahead of them. Any suggestions for other red flags that would clearly identify a comment as stupid?

Ask (the web) and ye shall receive

Ask the web
It's Monday again and I can’t decide which pair of boxers to wear. Well to help with such decision-making, behold a site where you can upload two pictures to create an instant public poll. The real draw, though, is the weirdness of things that other people seek guidance on. Something to bear in mind, ladies: careful with asking questions like, "What outfit should I choose?". You know how the interweb nerds are likely to vote.
http://www.thisonethatone.com/


UC band, I see geeks
Coming off another big football weekend, this bit of recent history must qualify as the geekiest band performance you've seen in a while. And surprisingly it's not from MIT -- it's the Cal Berkeley Band
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuRfQlMu2VY


Quote of the Day
"Here's something to think about: How come you never see a headline like 'Psychic Wins Lottery'?"
-- Jay Leno


Trick family pictures
Endearing gallery of family photography, with an inventive special effect. Surprisingly effective and dreamlike, considering the budget. Check the Ghostbusters one.
http://www.janvonholleben.com/dreams_of_flying.php


Cowbell hero
As the web takes recent console game Guitar Hero III to heart, you wonder quite why Activision is bothering to make any marketing material when fans will do it for them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlqLLZQLNiA


Pudding on the Ritz
Enjoy this heartwarming story of arithmetic and pudding as a clever consumer earned a lifetime of free air travel by taking advantage of a Healthy Choice promotion.
http://www.snopes.com/business/deals/pudding.asp

Crackberry

Crackberry
There comes a time to rest your thumbs, look up, and admit you may be a chronic mobile messager.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMMCwaN2LqA


MadTV iPhone
In a similar vein, an amusing sketch about Steve Jobs and the iPhone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgZKjJt-TkU


Quote of the Day
"For a list of all the ways technology has failed to improve the quality of life, please press three."
- Alice Kahn


Unnecessary censorship
Here's an idea: censoring innocent TV clips to create the impression of naughty concealed goings-on. A little long, so your mileage may vary.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc6w4SzIUN0


Friday game: Move the brown block to the end of the maze. Sounds simple, right? Good luck with this frustrating PitA.
Blocked out - http://www.addictinggames.com/blockout.html


Inappropriate quotation marks
Always use quotes for emphasis. Or ignorance.
http://quotation-marks.blogspot.com/

Impending doom

OJ's 8th Birthday
You shoulda known he was crazy then; only got crazier with age. If the candles are lit, then you must acquit. (Thanks Kory)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Mj_Bq_muxo


Speeding fine isn't
Bad luck trying to pull over for the police. Guess those 15 beers you had don’t matter much now. Ouch. (Thanks Lynette)
http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=714017


Quote of the Day
"I have failed many times, and that's why I am a success."
-- Michael Jordan


Bored Workers Equal Fun
Idle construction workers with heavy equipment can only mean that good things will happen. Unless you let go.
http://www.break.com/index/bored-constuction-workers-equal-fun.html

And when miners get "bored" (sorry), it seems they turn to making Land Cruiser pancakes.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=3d7_1193971489


Game time: you are the Average Joes Gym dodgeball team competing at the Vegas International tournament, if that's any inspiration.
Dodgeball - http://www.gamegecko.com/dodgeball.php


The Comics Curmudgeon
This guy writes dry and witty critiques of those mainly idiotic comic strips that have been around the block, for example with this comment of the week: "Johnny goes through mustache wax like it's going out of style. Which, coincidentally, it did, about 125 years ago."
http://www.joshreads.com/

Tipsy

Tipping Point
Guinness just launched "Tipping Point", the most expensive TV ad in its 80-year marketing history, with a domino rally that features cars, flaming hay bales and grandfather clocks. Shot up an Argentinian mountain, the ad shows a community coming together to create the mother of all domino-toppling spectacles. (Production cost: $10 million) Cooler than the temp at which the beer is typically served.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiZuTkAk2js


Rocky in five seconds
From an epic extravaganza to the other end, here's an extremely brief re-edit of the entire Rocky canon, saying all that needs to be said. The dude who did it has a fair number of viddies up on YouTube, including a few gems.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=mj3xM4mFS9Y


Quote of the Day
"No matter what side of the argument you are on, you always find people on your side that you wish were on the other."
-- Jascha Heifetz


I told you not to play with your food
The often brutal animal kingdom occasionally has a nice side. (Really -- this isn't a cheap trick. Would NPR lie to us?)
http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/play/audiogallery/soundseen.shtml

They were also able to determine the real cause of global warming:




Quick Quiz: Minimalist Art Gallery
This page contains a dozen images -- one authentic work of so-called "minimalist" art and the rest are fakes. Can you identify the real masterpiece?
http://mindbluff.com/minimal.htm


Finger Jousting
Sport of modern day would-be knights or most asinine thing you’ve seen in a while? I know which finger I’d be using. Pointless (pun intended).
http://www.fingerjoust.com/

News alert: Monkeys rampage in Indian capital

"Just weeks after the Indian capital's deputy mayor toppled to his death fighting off a pack of monkeys, the animals are back on the attack, sparking fresh concerns about the simian menace."

Are monkeys sacred cows in Indian culture?

Or as my old Pops commented, "The evolution of these 'pit monkeys' has been traced by Al Gore's group directly to an event where groups funded by George W. Bush began destroying the rainforests where the simians traditonally resided, resulting in their disenfranchisement."

McMagic

Magic Burger Trick
Cyril Takayama is a Japanese/French-Moroccan illusionist, born and raised in Hollywood, and perhaps best known for his street magic performances in Japan. In this trick he makes a hamburger appear from a menu and eats it. Is this (finally) truth in advertising for real...???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8W1W84KhifQ

You say goodbye, I say hello. A couple of items from the gallery of the hard-to-believe. doG help us...

The Glambo Signature Series "Hello Kitty" HK-AK-47
Who knew HK stood for something else? Either way, a perfect gift for the young lady of the house.
http://www.glamguns.com/hk47.html

Hello Kitty Bank Account
Maybe a co-marketing opportunity for stashing the proceeds from your HK mercenary activities.
http://www.dahsing.com.hk/dsb/rbd/html/iac_pink_e.htm

Daily Quote Quota
"Money can't buy love, but it improves your bargaining position."
-- Christopher Marlowe

OR -- stat!
If there's the slightest chance you may be suddenly called upon to perform hip replacement or resurfacing surgery, you'll want to try these interactive tutorials from Edheads first.

Pneumatic Anatomica
Creative (and then some) little work of cartoon art. (That apparently means balloon anatomy, in case you didn't know.)
http://freeny.deviantart.com/art/Pneumatic-Anatomica-53318794

Ugly Mickey
The line between Mickey and nomal dirtbag mouse is apparently quite blurry.
http://mickeyfeio.wordpress.com/

This is your brain on sewage

Yeah, and you can smoke cat turds and get high, too. Despite the undetermined status on Snopes, I'm guessing this Jenkem stuff is...uh...bullshit. I've been unfortunate enough to wander in to a port-a-crapper which has "raw sewage" fermenting in the sun for hours and days and I've never been the beneficiary of a contact high. But put me down for some if it rolls your way. (Thanks Wendell)

New Drug Alert!
Florida sheriff's bulletin warns of purported new human waste high
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/1105072jenkem1.html

Ol' Blue

A young jackaroo from outback Queensland goes off to university, but halfway through the semester he foolishly has squandered all of his money.

He calls home. "Dad," he says, "you won't believe what modern education is developing. They actually have a program here in Brisbane that will teach our dog Ol' Blue how to talk."

"That's amazing!" his Dad says. "How do I get Ol' Blue in that program?" "Just send him down here with $2,000," the young jackaroo says, "I'll get him in the course." So ... his father sends the dog and $2,000.

About two-thirds through the semester, the money again runs out. The boy calls home. "So how's Ol' Blue doing, son?" his father wants to know. "Awesome! Dad, he's talking up a storm. But you just won't believe this. They've had such good results with talking, they've begun to teach the animals how to read."

"Read?!" exclaims his father. "No kidding! How do we get Ol' Blue in that program?" "Just send $4,500. I'll get him in the class."

The money promptly arrives. But our hero has a problem. At the end of the year, his father will find out the dog can neither talk nor read. When he arrives home at the end of the year, his father is all excited. "Where's Ol' Blue? I just can't wait to talk with him, and see him read something!"

"Dad," the boy says, "I have some grim news. Yesterday morning, just before we left to drive home, Ol' Blue was in the living room, kicked back in the recliner, reading the Wall Street Journal. Then he suddenly turned to me and asked, 'So, is your daddy still messing around with that little redhead barmaid at the pub?'"

The father groans and whispers, "I hope you shot that bastard before he talks to your Mother!"

"I did Dad."

Punned it

Celebrity puns
Giant_squid has glued together all the worst 'Wesley Snipes' nominative determinist celebrity gags in this ode to celebrity puns. Cripes, the sheer pun density is exhausting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUt76HhemUk

All groan up
If you liked (hated) that, you might enjoy this story. The guy who wrote these 10 puns entered them in a contest. He figured with 10 entries, he couldn't lose. As they were reading the list of winners, he was really hoping one of his puns would win, but unfortunately, no pun in ten did. (I hear the moans and gnashing of teeth.)
http://ruseroius.blogspot.com/2007/06/10-groaners.html

QotD
"Nothing is more conducive to peace of mind than not having any opinions at all."
-- Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

Album cover montage
Something like a pictoral pun, check out this "new images from old" created via creative positioning of album covers. Imaginative, simple, and no cheating with Photoshlop.
http://www.afhakers.nl/media.asp?x=7995

Game-ish: interesting first-person "shooter" -- Spot the Difference
http://www.godlimations.com/spotthedifference.html

Cards for the incarcerated
If you know someone in the joint, then Three Squares Greetings -- "For those who can't come home" -- is the greeting card line for you. Perfect for all occasions.
http://www.threesquaresgreetings.com/

Happy Birthday, USMC

Words of our fathers.
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=23341

For 4 of the 232 years (1.7% of the time) that there has been a US Marine Corps, they were honored by my presence. In tribute to my exalted standing, they paid me poorly, lavished almost no rank on me and insisted on discipline and also that I think for myself. And it was always expected that I "measure up". It was my first and defining experience as an adult. And everyday since, through my blunders and successes, the Marine Corps' shadow lingers close by.

"And you'll be a Marine until the day you die." Words that ring as true today as they were when I first heard them as a 17-year old kid a half a century ago.

The Marine Corps' birthday is one day every year that might bring tears to my eyes. Part of it is of course remembering my youth and the innocent kid that stood in ranks so long ago but I think its also because life was simpler and honor and duty were things to be proud of. Taking care of your friends and knowing they would do the same.

Happy Birthday, USMC.

Wendell Harris
1838394

Walk before you run

Would He Run?
Well-contrived prank from a Japanese "Candid Camera"-esque TV show. His running looks a lot like his walking, though the Samurai aren't exactly running 4.2 40s. (Thanks Rohan)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WFkCjQAltc

Step into my office
From what appears to be the Canadian show of this ilk, "Just For Laughs Gags", this one's sort of bizarre. Shot in Montreal, which might explain some things.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBESV1DodaY

QotD
"First things first, but not necessarily in that order."
-- Doctor Who

Education corner: Weird words that just don't translate
Here's a sampling from a new collection of words and phrases from around the world for which English has no direct counterpart. (For example, Poronkusema -- Finnish: the distance equal to how far a reindeer can travel without a comfort break.)
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weirdworld/2007/10/23/weird-and-wondrful-foreign-phrases-89520-19993239/

Friday game: Slap the Nerd - a bit of simple sadistic gratification.
http://www.funny-games.biz/slapthenerd.html

Stacked
Check out the world record holder at the WSSA World Sport Stacking Championships. (And yes, this appears to be a real, highly competitive hobby.) Rack 'em.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJEdkK6-aYI

Friday joke: Understanding Scotland (Thanks AJUK)

At a recent U2 concert in Glasgow, Scotland, lead singer Bono asked the audience for total quiet. Then, in the silence, he started to slowly clap his hands, once every few seconds.

Holding the audience in total silence, he said into the microphone, "Every time I clap my hands, a child in Africa dies."

A voice with a broad Scottish accent from the front of the crowd pierced the quiet... "Well, foockin' stop doin it then, ya evil bastard!"

Echopraxia

Echopraxia
Simple enough but fairly cool, once you stop wondering what's going on. Worth a minute, I reckon.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7215848919348540891

Pipe Dream
More cool things with balls...this vidimation has been elevated to "all-time classic". And apparently for some reason you can get it on DVD.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5503582578132361295&hl=en

QotD
"What we call 'Progress' is the exchange of one nuisance for another nuisance."
-- Havelock Ellis

What's He Saying?
Play the clip several times, alternating between looking at the talking head while listening, and listening with your eyes shut. Most adults (98%) think they are hearing "DA" -- a so called "fused response" -- where the "D" is a result of an audio-visual illusion. In reality you are hearing the sound "BA", while you are seeing the lip movements "GA". Known as the "McGurk effect" apparently, probably just because it sounds odd.
http://www.media.uio.no/personer/arntm/McGurk_english.html

1=1000
Worth spending a few secs checking out the photos of Trey Ratcliff, who uses the "high dynamic range" technique to produce stunning images.

How to make a spider out of scissors
And better yet, they were confiscated at the airport. Run from, and not with, this thing.
http://funfever.blogspot.com/2007/11/spider-made-from-scissors-confiscated.html

Handy tips

Waitless
Sprint (the telecom company) is graciously doing a little public service with some handy tips on saving time in life. How about not having to redial a dropped connection...??
http://www.waitless.org/

Tourette's add-on
Here's a simple Firefox browser add-on that will insert swearwords into any text you try to type. The appeal, obviously, is to surreptitiously download on a friend's machine and watch his bewilderment as he is helpless to prevent a simple work memo from becoming obscene gibberish.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kvFfcdZkGDI

QotD
"We are here on Earth to do good to others. What the others are here for, I don't know."
-- W. H. Auden

Quick strip: Escape is Impossible. Mu ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...
http://www2.b3ta.com/host/creative/58443/1193225690/spyroom.jpg

How to stash your stash
In one segment of what's apparently a whole series, ex-policemen Barry Cooper explains (at length) how to avoid getting caught while transporting drugs. It's interesting stuff, although he has a tendency to belabor the point. Then again, he is trying to explain this stuff to stoners...
http://www.dailymotion.com/search/never+get+busted+again/video/x30so0_barry-cooper-never-get-busted-again_politics

Game-ish: Test your Eye-Q
A little game to see if you can go blind in 30 seconds using a high resolution monitor.
http://mindbluff.com/images/gameeyeq.htm

"Dough-Nu-Matic"
The culmination of American consumer electronics: this $130 starch-and-sugar-dispensing wonder is an all-in-one machine that forms and fries mini-doughnuts in just under a minute. D'oh.
http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2007/10/31/doughnumatic-automat.html

Manipulation

Origami Animation
Watch the stop-action folding action unfold.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iVP0tzwhVc

Slick Stick Skills
This bear seems to know what he's doing with a stick. Next up...nunchucks? Or maybe lead the Cal marching band?
http://view.break.com/380352

QotD
"The man who says he is willing to meet you halfway is usually a poor judge of distance."
-- Laurence J. Peter

Top 15 Manipulated Photographs
Images have become the mainstay of our experience of historical events and occasionally people have felt the need to manipulate those images to support their views or their "version" of the truth. And Photoslop and the interweb ain't making it any better.
http://listverse.com/history/top-15-manipulated-photographs/

Game on: Trap the cat (it's harder than it looks)
http://www.gamedesign.jp/flash/chatnoir/chatnoir.html

Kernel expanders
High-speed video of popcorn kernel popping -- "like a high speed flower in bloom" -- at 5,400 fps.
http://www.oomsa.com/node/816

The Laws of Life

Presumably with credit to Murphy. (Thanks rasric)

& Law of Mechanical Repair
After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch or you'll have to pee.

& Law of the Workshop
Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

& Law of Probability
The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act.

& Law of the Telephone
If you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal.

& Law of the Alibi
If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the very next morning you will have a flat tire.

& Variation Law
If you change lines (or traffic lanes), the one you were in will start to move faster than the one you are in now (works every time).

& Law of the Bath
When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone rings.

& Law of Close Encounters
The probability of meeting someone you know increases dramatically when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with.

& Law of the Result
When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will.

& Law of Biomechanics
The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

& Law of the Theater
At any event, the people whose seats are furthest from the aisle arrive last.

& Law of Coffee
As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.

& Murphy's Law of Lockers
If there are only two people in a locker room, they will have adjacent lockers.

& Law of Rugs
The chances of an open-faced jelly sandwich landing face down on a floor covering are directly correlated to the newness and cost of the rug.

& Law of Location
No matter where you go, there you are.

& Law of Logical Argument
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.

& Brown's Law
If the shoe fits, it's ugly.

& Oliver's Law
A closed mouth gathers no feet.

& Wilson's Law
As soon as you find a product that you really like, they will stop making it. (this one is true every time!)

& Doctors' Law
If you don't feel well, make an appointment to go to the doctor, by the time you get there you'll feel better. Don't make an appointment and you'll stay sick.

Versus

Cartoonist vs. Cartoonist
Bigeyedeer and Seemikedraw, cartoonists extraordinaire, run a blog where they pick a random word as a theme then try to outdo each other's comic efforts. Good stuff that should keep you supplied with wry chuckles for a good whiles.
http://pencilsatdawn.wordpress.com

The Superest
In a similar vein, this is a continually running game of superhero one-upsmanship: Player 1 draws a character with a power. Player 2 then draws a character whose power cancels the power of that previous character. Rinse. Repeat.
http://thesuperest.com/

QotD
"When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt."
-- Henry J. Kaiser

Retail Store Space
Did you know that WallMart is bigger than New York? Check out this interesting graphic...
http://awesome.goodmagazine.com/transparency/007/trans007storespace.html

Altruistic game break: Free Rice is nice
A little game to play for a good cause -- for each word you get right, they donate 10 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program.
http://www.freerice.com/index.php

The World's Only Scuba Diving Cat
Hawkeye, a feline from Redding, CA, loves to scuba dive with her owner, with dives an hour long or more. And she even has a canine diving buddy. And to think that I can't even get my cat into a flea bath.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4275440853107357955&hl=en

Leftover Halloween treats

Boner Skeleton
A good practical joke, with a high degree of anatomical difficulty. Is that a coccyx in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? (Thanks Kate)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEfn54GixAg

Ghost Carves Pumpkin
Nifty video of jack-o-lantern carving skills by a ghost.
http://www.gearlog.com/2007/10/scarelog_ghost_carves_pumpkin.php

Halloweenie
Like it or not, RayGun wrote in with the costume photo of the year (so far) by Warren Ellis. Warning: possible psychological damage, though laughably ridiculous. http://www.warrenellis.com/?p=5260

QotD
"Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped."
-- Elbert Hubbard

Extreme Pumpkins
More photos of orange agents, including an all-time favorite: "puking pumpkin".
http://www.extremepumpkins.com/pumpkinphotos.html

Friday game doubleheader
Defend your house agains the hordes of zombies in Hungry are the Dead
http://www.zombiegames.net/Hungry-are-the-Dead.html

Squash as many cats as possible in ten frames of Cat Bowling
http://www.itsga.com/fun/cat_new.swf

If The Dead Ruled
Our friends at Worth1000 posed the following: "What would happen if the dead walked the earth? Oh sure, at first there's be the stalking and the screaming, but after they managed to kill off all the living, what would they do with the rest of their un-life?" A corpse is a corpse, of course, of course.
http://www.worth1000.com/cache/contest/contestcache.asp?contest_id=17134

Beware! The Blog II

Blogging career. The very words fill me with a simultaneous buoyancy and nausea...anyone who has something to say can write it, publish it on the web for free, and possibly even make a living doing it. Sounds like my kinda place, at least in theory.

Instant journalism, in a sense -- just add blogger. You are your own media outlet. Unfortunately it seems you need to have something to say...though how hard can it be to find an audience in an age where we do literally have 500+ TV channels (apparently Discovery now has a dedicated channel for each animal species), countless web sites, and more amateur "entertainers" than we could ever have time or inclination to experience?

My friend Beth has recently started blogging...

it's friday and other things for which I'm grateful
http://www.tgif-andotherthings.blogspot.com/


...and so did Lilia:

DriveALotAndDrinkRealFast
http://www.liliaworks.blogspot.com/


These are what you'd call personal blogs, which I think limits readership to one degree of separation unless either you're Dave Barry or you lead a pretty interesting life and have more than a modicum of writing talent.

I, however, am imagining something quite different. (Emphasis on imagining.)

And then the small chunk of my brain that's still vaguely working kicks into gear. No doubt, it's true what they say about things that are too good to be true...

Money Walks

Money Walks, Bullsh*t Wins the White House
Poll: Bullshit Is Most Important Issue For 2008 Voters
The upcoming 2008 election--perhaps more than any recent election--is important. Will we take a turn to the left, or steer further to the right? We will fall deeper into recession and war, or return to peace and prosperity? Fortunately, it's all riding on the true core substance of any modern election: bullsh*t. The Onion News Network wades deep into it with these poll results.
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/68210

Marriage
The two-minute drill on marital bliss fom a guy (Jeff Dunham, apparently) and his dummy. (Thanks AJUK)
http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=804288

QotD
"The more you find out about the world, the more opportunities there are to
laugh at it."
-- Bill Nye

Tiger Play
On a not-unrelated topic, how to survive a tiger attack.
http://www.shooshtime.com/sfw/18444_Tiger-Play.html

Game break: Word Web is a word association game where you figure out the connections between words. Not sure I really got it, but it might keep you entertained for a few minutes.
http://shygypsy.com/farm/p.cgi

Wake up cat
Cute animation of a little cat exhausting all his tricks to wake up his sleepy owner. I wouldn't put this behavior past a cat -- they'll stop at nothing to annoy you, sometimes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmwqpHsMExg