Delphiki

Freebies Of The Day

2006-04-06T11:52:00.000-08:00

Free Pack Of Dentyne Soft Chew Gum

Free Samples Of Maybelline Pure. Makeup

Free Gevalia Coffee

Free Post-it Sortable Cards

Stalking celebs from the comfort of your own home...

2006-04-05T23:15:00.000-08:00

Now you can get all the celebrity stalking goodness without those messy restraining orders. Just sit back and let others do the stalking for you:

Gawker Stalker offers a forum for people to instantly post celeb locations and miscellanious info (like who they're with and what they're wearing). There's even a creepy map that plots out the exact spot where each unlucky star was spotted.

Yeah. That's some scary stuff. Well, if you're a celebrity anyway. Otherwise it's interesting in it's own weird way. Can't...stop...looking...

More:

'Clooney hatches plan to foil Gawker Stalker' -Because as everyone in Holywood knows, the best way to make something go away is to give it tons of extra press coverage.

'So Does This Mean George Clooney Won't Marry Us?' -Gawker reacts to Clooney's diabolical plans. Oh and there's t-shirts too.

Freebies Of The Day

2006-04-04T20:19:00.000-08:00

The freebies are back too...

Free Schick Quattro Midnight Razor

Free T-Shirt

Free Protein Bar

Free Sample Of Post-it Pop-Up Notes

No I'm not dead, but...

2006-04-04T20:04:00.000-08:00

...ya wouldn't know it from this blog huh? Don't worry I'm back in the swing of things now. No more letting real life get in the way of a fake one!

Seriously tho' there's more good stuff to come so stay tuned. Oh yeah and Hi to all the new readers and FeedBlitz subscribers out there.

Freebies Of The Day

2006-01-24T11:39:00.000-09:00

Free Bottle Of Car Polish

Free Tire Depth Gauge

Free Bag Of Purina One Cat Or Dog Food

Free One Year Subscription To Good Housekeeping

Spamusement: Insanely Funny Cartoons Inspired By Actual Spam Emails

2006-01-21T16:53:00.000-09:00

See, those 50+ spam emails you get everyday have a use after all. Don't believe me? Take a look...

Subj: Amazing, Margaret

Subj: Did you know Sprint PCS did this?

Subj: guess who :)

Subj: My Friend, You Are In Trouble

Subj: Old toy but new size

You can see the rest at spamusement.com. Don't forget to visit their 'guest strips' forum, where people post their own spam inspired cartoons.

Freebies Of The Day

2006-01-20T12:05:00.000-09:00

Free Coffee Mug And Coffee Sampler

Free 'Quattro For Women' Razor

Free Hat

Free 'Outdoor Adventure' Calendar

Link: Top Ten Reasons Why Nobody Reads Your Blog

2006-01-19T16:11:00.000-09:00

Check out the list at gapingvoid.com. My favorite is #5:

5. You have nothing to say.

The fact that you haven't figured this out yet surprises everyone.

Hysterical. They should really consider putting that on a t-shirt.

More:

Beauty Over Brains: How your website is judged in a matter of milliseconds...

Al-Qaeda Encourages Jihadists To Fuck Up The Alaska Pipeline

2006-01-19T13:24:00.000-09:00

Not all that surprising considering how easy it is to damage the pipeline. Remember Daniel Carson Lewis, the guy who caused the loss of 285,600 gallons of oil in 2001 simply by driving up on an ATV and shooting the pipeline? And he was drunk at the time too.

Here's more from the Anchorage Daily News:

A recent posting on a Web site purportedly affiliated with al-Qaida urges attacks against the trans-Alaska oil pipeline and Valdez tanker dock, calling on jihadists to either shower the pipe with bullets or hide and detonate explosives along its length.

...The 10-page posting includes numerous links to Web sites providing maps and other basic information about the pipeline.

Attacking oil and gas targets in the United States and other countries is key to bringing down the economy of the "American devils," the author writes, saying the message was posted in response to calls from Osama bin Laden and his top al-Qaida deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri.

The Arabic posting was discovered and translated in late December by the SITE Institute, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit organization that tracks international terrorists.

...Spokesmen for the FBI and other law enforcement and security agencies said Tuesday they were aware of the posting, but none would say whether it had prompted any extra security measures in Alaska.

...The posting suggests mujahedeen hit pipelines and other oil and gas assets in the United States, as well as in Iraq and the Caspian Sea region, as a way to hurt the U.S. economy and to gain payback for the war in Iraq.

"The bloody trash tore our children and dishonored us," it says. "This is our time to teach them a lesson in how to deal with Muslims."

It singles out the Alaska pipeline as a particularly valuable, and vulnerable, target for terror.

...The author of the Web posting suggests attackers hit the pipeline with "piercing bullets," or better yet, place explosives alongside it, especially in rural and wooded places to slow response and create fires.

...Last month, federal pipeline regulators ordered Alyeska to develop new spill cleanup drills with "terrorist attack scenarios" in mind.

Of course, let Al-Qaeda focus on the pipeline all they want if it'll divert even a small portion of their resources from 9/11-style attacks. We can always get more money, but lives once lost are gone forever.

More:

The SITE Institute -'The Search for International Terrorist Entities'

Wikipedia on the Alaska Pipeline.

Wikipedia on Al-Qaeda.

Freebies Of The Day

2006-01-19T13:19:00.000-09:00

Free Color Printer From Xerox

Free Kraft Cheese Nips

Free Pet Food Samples

Free Vitabath Gelee In The Fragrance Of Your Choice

Beauty Over Brains: How your website is judged in a matter of milliseconds...

2006-01-18T22:55:00.000-09:00

The bad news: Don't expect people to stick around if you've got an ugly ass, cluttered website. Not even for a second.

Researchers have found that it only takes 50 milliseconds for people to make up their mind about a site. That means that most people have already jumped to a conclusion about the content of a website before reading a single word...if they even get that far.

Here's more from nature.com:

We all know that first impressions count, but this study shows that the brain can make flash judgements almost as fast as the eye can take in the information.

The discovery came as a surprise to some experts. "My colleagues believed it would be impossible to really see anything in less than 500 milliseconds," says Gitte Lindgaard of Carleton University in Ottawa...

...Lindgaard and her team presented volunteers with the briefest glimpses of web pages...Even though the images flashed up for just 50 milliseconds, roughly the duration of a single frame of standard television footage, their verdicts tallied well with judgements made after a longer period of scrutiny.

The lasting effect of first impressions is known to psychologists as the 'halo effect': if you can snare people with an attractive design, they are more likely to overlook other minor faults with the site, and may rate its actual content (such as this article, for example) more favourably.

This is because of 'cognitive bias', Lindgaard explains. People enjoy being right, so continuing to use a website that gave a good first impression helps to 'prove' to themselves that they made a good initial decision. The phenomenon pervades our society; even doctors have been shown to follow their initial hunches, Lindgaard says, relying heavily on a patient's most immediately obvious symptom when making a diagnosis. "It's awfully scary stuff, but the tendency to jump to conclusions is far more widespread than we realize," she says.

And what's the good news? There's a few simple things that you can do to keep people from hitting that 'back' button:

...the amount of graphics on the page should be strictly limited, perhaps to a single eye-catching image.

These days, enlightened web users want to see a "puritan" approach...It's about getting information across in the quickest, simplest way possible. For this reason, many commercial websites now follow a fairly regular set of rules. For example, westerners tend to look at the top-left corner of a page first, so that's where the company logo should go. And most users also expect to see a search function in the top right.

...the other golden rule is to make sure that your web pages load quickly, otherwise your customers might not stick around long enough to make that coveted first impression. "That can be the difference between big business and no business,"

More:

-A book about the first two seconds of looking...

Web Pages That Suck -'Learn usability and good web design by looking at bad web design.'

'What Makes A Great Website?'

'Web surfers decide a site's worth in a fraction of a second: study'

'50 Milliseconds Is All You've Got'

'Spotting Web Pages That Suck'

The English Guy: '50ms To Judge A Site'

Freebies Of The Day

2006-01-16T12:28:00.000-09:00

Free Vanilla Or Chocolate Shake From Ensure

Free Stickers From Backcountry Sports

Free Makeover And Color Portrait From Glamour Shots

Free Sample Of Degree Deodorant For Men

Inspirational Phrases You Will Never Hear At Work:

2006-01-15T15:38:00.000-09:00

Got this from Dave's Daily:

1. There is no "I" in "teamwork." But there is in "management kiss-up."

2. If you do a good job and work hard, you may get a job with a better company someday.

3. The light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off due to budget cuts.

4. Doing a job RIGHT the first time gets the job done. Doing the job WRONG 14 times gives you job security.

5. If you think we're a bad company, you should see the competition.

6. Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings, they did it by killing all those who oppose them.

7. 2 days without a human rights violation.

8. Your job is STILL better than asking, "You want fries with that?"

9. If at first you don't succeed, try management.

10. Teamwork means never having to take all the blame yourself.

11. The beatings will continue until morale improves.

12. Pride, Commitment, Teamwork. Words we use to get you to work for free.

13. If at first you don't succeed, delegate it.

14. Plagiarism saves time.

15. Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

Freebies Of The Day

2006-01-15T12:12:00.000-09:00

Free Pocket Planner

Free Auger Bit From Bosch

Free HP Color Inkjet Paper

2 Free Packets Of Protein Milkshake Mix

Colbert: Don't Fuck With The Truthiness

2006-01-13T23:45:00.000-09:00

Stephen Colbert (who by the way has THE funniest damn show on TV) is getting a lot of attention this week for his O'Reilly-esque 'crusade' on the Associated Press.

And what did the AP do to bring on the wrath of Colbert? You can get the whole story below in this article from the...er...AP:

(Source: AP/CNN)

Stephen Colbert on a crusade

AP overlooks him for 'truthiness'? Watch out

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stung by a recent Associated Press article that didn't credit him for coining the word "truthiness," Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert has struck back.

The world's oldest news organization, Colbert says, is the "No. 1 threat facing America."

On Wednesday evening, Colbert placed the AP atop the Threat Down segment of "The Colbert Report" show.

...In October, on Colbert's debut episode...the comedian defined "truthiness" as truth that wouldn't stand to be held back by facts. The word caught on, and last week the American Dialect Society named "truthiness" the word of the year.

When an AP story about the designation sent coast to coast failed to mention Colbert, he began a tongue-in-cheek crusade, not unlike the kind his muse Bill O'Reilly might lead in all seriousness.

"It's a sin of omission, is what it is," Colbert told The AP on Thursday. "You're not giving people the whole story about truthiness."

"It's like Shakespeare still being alive and not asking him what 'Hamlet' is about," he said.

The Oxford English Dictionary has a definition for "truthy" dating back to the 1800s. It's defined as "characterized by truth" and includes the derivation "truthiness."

Michael Adams, a visiting associate professor at North Carolina State University who specializes in lexicology, pointed to that definition and has said Colbert's claim to inventing the word is "untrue." (Adams served as the expert opinion in the initial AP story.)

"The fact that they looked it up in a book just shows that they don't get the idea of truthiness at all," Colbert said Thursday. "You don't look up truthiness in a book, you look it up in your gut."

Though slight, the difference of Colbert's definition and the OED's is essential. It's not your typical truth, but, as The New York Times wrote, "a summation of what (Colbert) sees as the guiding ethos of the loudest commentators on Fox News, MSNBC and CNN."

Colbert, who referred on his program to the AP omission as a "journalistic travesty," said Thursday that it was similar to the much-criticized weapons of mass destruction reporting leading up to the Iraq War.

"Except," he said, "people got hurt this time."

Fucking hillarious. Seriously, if you haven't seen the show you're missing out big time. Watch it, you'll laugh your ass off.

More:

The American Dialect Society announces it's 2005 'Word of the Year' -Okay, the only thing I find more disturbing than a whole society dedicated to 'American dialect' is...the fact that there's a whole group of people who get together every year and vote for a word.

Well, at least they picked a good one.

TV Squad: 'Do not deny Colbert's truthiness'

'Truthiness: Colbert was robbed!'

Wikipedia on The Colbert Report

The Colbert Nation Blog -Kind of disappointing really...

'All the news that's fit to mock' -"So...a news agency reported on a fake news program's tongue-in-cheek complaint about that very same news agency.

And now this newspaper's blog is reporting on the news agency's report of the fake news program's complaint about the news agency.

Nevermind the plagues and the four horsemen. This is the end."

'Overmisunderestimating Himself'

The Colbert Report Episode Guide

Blogcritics: '5 Reasons You Should Be Watching The Colbert Report'

Watch clips from The Colbert Report.

Freebies Of The Day

2006-01-13T22:15:00.000-09:00

Free Sample Of Post-it Sticky Picture Paper

Free Sample Of Dove Ultimate Clear Deodorant

Free CD From MTv

Free Nike Soccer DVD

Why I Love Hermaphrodite Polar Bears...

2006-01-13T20:53:00.000-09:00

(Source: Belfast Telegraph)

Wildlife researchers have found new evidence that Arctic polar bears, already gravely threatened by the melting of their habitat because of global warming, are being poisoned by chemical compounds commonly used in Europe and North America to reduce the flammability of household furnishings like sofas, clothing and carpets.

A team of scientists from Canada, Alaska, Denmark and Norway is sounding the alarm about the flame retardants, known as polybrominated diphenyls, or PBDEs, saying that significant deposits have recently been found in the fatty tissues of polar bears, especially in eastern Greenland and Norway's Svalbard islands.

...There is also evidence that compounds similar to the PBDEs have contributed to a surprisingly high rate of hermaphroditism in polar bears. About one in 50 female bears on Svalbard has both male and female sex organs, a phenomenon scientists link directly to the effects of pollution.

"The Arctic is now a chemical sink," declared Colin Butfield, a campaign leader for the Worldwide Fund for Nature, which last month indicated that killer whales in the Arctic were also suffering from elevated levels of contamination with fire retardants as well as other man-made compounds. "Chemicals from products that we use in our homes every day are contaminating Arctic wildlife."

I love stories like this. Yeah, you heard me. Now don't fucking go Greenpeace on me, I don't hate polar bears or anything. It's just that...well...the punchlines almost write themselves with something like this. I mean they're hermaphrodite polar bears created by toxic waste for God's sake.

Hermaphrodite polar bears. You don't even need a punchline for that.

More:

Stuck On Stupid -"What wasn't publicized about the study is that the Polar Bears are now able to walk through fire without out even a hint of anything more than a light suntan. They are also attracted to marsupials."

Twisted Sense Of Funny -"You know what? I didn't even read the whole article, but is that just the greatest headline or what? I don't know whether it would make a good title for a B level horror movie, or an Eskimo fetish porno. Either way, that is awesome."

Compass Points -"Don't Try To Burn Polar Bears, Either...Apparently you may not be able to. According to one report in the LA Times they're bioaccumulating flame retardants."

Justgoto -"You've heard about the hermaphrodite polar bears haven't you? Would that make them bi-polar bears?"

Slack LaLane -"I can just see Stan Lee giggling at the imminent creation of a new character. At first it was a male polar bear...but now, NOW it has the sex organs of both a male AND a female -- it's the Hermaphrodite Polar Bear Toxic Avenger!"

Sacred Cow Tipping -"This means I have to add a new shelf for my bear-on-bear porn collection."

Freebies Of The Day

2005-12-24T11:50:00.000-09:00

Free Upper Deck Hockey Showcase Card

Free T-Shirt Or Mug

Free Corkscrew

Free Stickers

9/11: A Magic Lesson From The President

2005-12-23T13:00:00.000-09:00

No, you're not going crazy. It's magic. Take this for example:

Yesterday the existence of this secret program was revealed in media reports, after being improperly provided to news organizations. As a result, our enemies have learned information they should not have, and the unauthorized disclosure of this effort damages our national security and puts our citizens at risk.

...The authorization I gave the National Security Agency after September the 11th helped address that problem in a way that is fully consistent with my constitutional responsibilities and authorities. The activities I have authorized make it more likely that killers like these 9/11 hijackers will be identified and located in time. And the activities conducted under this authorization have helped detect and prevent possible terrorist attacks in the United States and abroad.

This is what President Bush said after it was revealed that he had authorized illegal spying on Americans (Source: CNN.com).

Now let's set aside the fact that it's insanely easy to get a LEGAL eavesdropping request approved by the court that oversees such things. That in an emergency you can LEGALLY proceed with an unapproved wiretap as long as you give notice to the court after the fact.

Setting aside all that, a huge question remains...If he truly wasn't doing anything wrong, why did Bush have to go behind the backs of the American people to do this?

Bush's answer? You guessed it: 9/11. It's not hard to see that the tragedy of Sept. 11 is the best thing that ever happened to the Bush Administration. When confronted with such damaging truths such as, oh I don't know, let's say ordering illegal spying on U.S. citizens, all Bush has to do is wave the magic wand of 9/11 and those confronting him with the truth turn into...terrorists.

Watching all this, you're probably thinking something like: 'Hey, how'd he do that? One second I was looking at some people exposing illegal activity and the next they turned into terrorists!' or 'Wait a second, if he broke the law then how come he's not going to jail?'

No, you're not hallucinating. There's a simple answer to all your questions: it's the magic of 9/11.

Yes those poor office workers and firefighters didn't know it at the time, but they were in danger of dying for nothing. Luckily the President and those of like-mind came to the rescue and did the only thing that would bring true meaning to the tragedy of Sept. 11: use it to cover their ass and further their own agenda.

The magic of 9/11 is endless. It turns reporters into terrorists. Truths into lies. Questions into silence. It's no great surprise then that one of the very first things President Bush mentioned in response to the illegal spying scandal was 9/11. It's the magical get out of jail free card that's served him so well over the years.

Why don't more people see through this? Why isn't there a huge uproar every time some two-faced politician, especially the President, shamelessly desecrates the memory of those who died on that horrible day just to get their way??

I guess that's the magic of 9/11.

More:

'Would You Accept A Gift From Osama?'

'Bush's Snoopgate'

'Federal Judge Resigns To Protest Bush's Spying Program'

'Bush: Spying program to continue'

'Power We Didn't Grant'

The New York Times article that broke the story.

Take Action

'Bush Announces Do-Not-Wiretap List'

Things That Are Impossible To Say When You're Drunk...

2005-12-23T12:05:00.000-09:00

Things That Are Difficult to Say When You're Drunk

Innovative

Preliminary

Proliferation

Cinnamon

Things That Are VERY Difficult to Say When You're Drunk:

Specificity

British Constitution

Passive-aggressive disorder

Transubstantiate

Things That Are IMPOSSIBLE to Say When You're Drunk:

Thanks, but I don't want to sleep with you

Nope, no more booze for me

Sorry, but you're not really my type

I'm not interested in fighting you.

Oh, I just couldn't - no one wants to hear me sing

No, I wont make any attempt to dance thanks, I have zero co-ordination.

Where is the nearest toilet? I refuse to urinate over the nearest cash machine or shop front.

Good evening officer, isn't it lovely out tonight?

Freebies Of The Day

2005-12-22T16:04:00.000-09:00

Free Die Cast Racing Truck

Free Pillbox And Refrigerator Magnet

Free Gourmet Chocolate Truffles

Free Ferrari Sticker Set

Robots Take Another Step Towards True Self Awareness...

2005-12-22T15:32:00.000-09:00

Wow, an advance in robotics coming out of Japan? Now there's a huge surprise...

(Source: Discovery Channel News)

A new robot can recognize the difference between a mirror image of itself and another robot that looks just like it.

This so-called mirror image cognition is based on artificial nerve cell groups built into the robot's computer brain that give it the ability to recognize itself and acknowledge others.

Under development by Junichi Takeno and a team of researchers at Meiji University in Japan, the robot represents a big step toward developing self-aware robots and in understanding and modeling human self-consciousness.

...Humans learn behavior during cognition and conversely learn to think while behaving, said Takeno.

To mimic this dynamic, a robot needs a common area in its neural network that is able to process information on both cognition and behavior.

Takeno and his colleagues built the robot with blue, red or green LEDs connected to artificial neurons in the region that light up when different information is being processed, based on the robot's behavior.

...two red diodes illuminate when the robot is performing behavior it considers its own, two green bulbs light up when the robot acknowledges behavior being performed by the other.

One blue LED flashes when the robot is both recognizing behavior in another robot and imitating it.

Imitation, said Takeno, is an act that requires both seeing a behavior in another and instantly transferring it to oneself and is the best evidence of consciousness.

More:

Kansei: Robots Finally Get Emotions

The Age Of Cockroach Robots

Freebies Of The Day

2005-11-19T17:37:00.000-09:00

Free Mini Maglite Flashlight

Free Casino Keychain

Free Paul McCartney CD

Free Dragon Quest VIII Demo (PS2) And 'Slime Figurine'

A Dog's Diary, A Cat's Diary

2005-11-07T17:45:00.000-09:00

EXCERPTS FROM A DOG'S DIARY

Day number 182
8:00 am - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE!
9:30 am - OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE!
9:40 am - OH BOY! A WALK! MY FAVORITE!
10:30 am - OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE!
11:30 am - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE!
12:00 noon - OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE!
1:00 PM - OH BOY! THE YARD! MY FAVORITE!
1:30 PM - ooooooo. bath. bummer.
4:00 PM - OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE!
5:00 PM - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE!
5:30 PM - OH BOY! MOM! MY FAVORITE!

EXCERPTS FROM A CAT'S DIARY

Day 752 - My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while I am forced to eat dry cereal. The only thing that keeps me going is the hope of escape, and the mild satisfaction I get from ruining the occasional piece of furniture. Tomorrow I may eat another houseplant.

Day 761 - Today my attempt to kill my captors by weaving around their feet while they were walking almost succeeded, must try this at the top of the stairs. In an attempt to disgust and repulse these vile oppressors, I once again induced myself to vomit on their favorite chair...must try this on their bed.

Day 765 - Decapitated a mouse and brought them the headless body, in attempt to make them aware of what I am capable of, and to try to strike fear into their hearts. They only cooed and condescended about what a good little cat I was...Hmmm. Not working according to plan.

Day 768 - I am finally aware of how sadistic they are. For no good reason I was chosen for the water torture. This time however it included a burning foamy chemical called "shampoo." What sick minds could invent such a liquid. My only consolation is the piece of thumb still stuck between my teeth.

Day 771 - There was some sort of gathering of their accomplices. I was placed in solitary throughout the event. However, I could hear the noise and smell the foul odor of the glass tubes they call "beer". More importantly I overheard that my confinement was due to MY power of "allergies." Must learn what this is and how to use it to my advantage.

Day 774 - I am convinced the other captives are flunkies and maybe snitches. The dog is routinely released and seems more than happy to return. He is obviously a half-wit. The bird on the other hand has got to be an informant, and speaks with them regularly. I am certain he reports my every move. Due to his current placement in the metal room his safety is assured. But I can wait, it is only a matter of time...

Freebies Of The Day

2005-11-06T12:10:00.000-09:00

Free Butterball 'How to Make a Picture Perfect Turkey' DVD

Free T-shirt

Free Tea

Free Energy Drink

Corporate Cows From Around The World...

2005-11-05T17:41:00.000-09:00

TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM
You have two cows.
You sell one and buy a bull.
Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows.
You sell them and retire on the income.

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows. You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when the cow drops dead.

A FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows. You go on strike because you want three cows.

A JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk.

You then create clever cow cartoon images called Cowkimon and market them World-Wide.

A GERMAN CORPORATION
You have two cows. You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.

A BRITISH CORPORATION
You have two cows. Both are mad.

AN ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows, but you don't know where they are. You break for lunch.

A RUSSIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows. You count them and learn you have five cows. You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. You count them again and learn you have 12 cows.

You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka.

A SWISS CORPORATION
You have 5000 cows, none of which belong to you. You charge others for storing them.

A CHINESE CORPORATION
You have two cows. You have 300 people milking them. You claim full employment, high bovine productivity, and arrest the newsman who reported the numbers.

AN INDIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows. You worship them.

Comic: Rosa Parks Driving The Bus

2005-11-04T21:35:00.000-09:00

Freebies Of The Day

2005-11-03T23:09:00.000-09:00

Free iPod Cover

Free Sample Of Multivitamin For Women

Free Pocket Constitution

Free Baller Pen

Instant Guilt Trip: Just How Rich Are You?

2005-11-02T18:09:00.000-09:00

Enter your yearly income and voila, the GlobalRichList gives you an instant guilt trip.

My results:

You are in the top 3.17% richest people in the world.

There are 5,809,565,217 people poorer than you.

More:

Interactive World Poverty Map And Graph -The percentage of the world's total poor who live in each nation. 'Poor' here is defined as living below the global poverty line of US $1 per day.

Freebies Of The Day

2005-11-02T10:36:00.000-09:00

Free Kahlua Coctail Shaker

Free Valet Tray

Free Nissan Nismo Poster

Free Extreme PC Garage T-shirt

Welcome To The Mental Hospital Answering Service

2005-11-01T19:07:00.000-09:00

Hello and welcome to the mental health hotline;

If you are obsessive/compulsive, press 1 repeatedly.

If you are co-dependant, please ask someone to press 2 for you.

If you have multiple personalities, press 4, 5 and 6.

If you are paranoid, we know who you are and what you want, so stay on the line so we can trace the call.

If you are delusional, press 7 and your call will be transferred to the mother ship.

If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully and a small voice will tell you which number to press.

If you are a manic depressive, it does not matter which number you press. No one will answer.

If you are dyslexic, please press 96 96 96 96 96 .

If you have a nervous disorder, please fidget with the hash key until a representative comes on the line.

If you have amnesia, press 8 and state your name, address, phone number, date of birth, social security number and mothers maiden name.

If you have post-traumatic stress disorder, slowly and carefully press 000.

If you have bi-popular disorder,please leave a message after the bleep or before the bleep. Please wait for the bleep.

If you have short term memory loss, please press 9
If you have short term memory loss, please press 9
If you have short term memory loss, please press 9.

If you have low self-esteem, please hang up, all our operators are too busy to take your call.

Gov Murkowski 'Outraged' By Court Ruling. Appoints Daughter To AK Supreme Court.

2005-11-01T13:40:00.000-09:00

Well that was fast. While writing a post about the Alaska High Court backing same-sex partner benefits yesterday I was thinking...It won't be too long before they try to re-write the Alaska Constitution to say:

except for gays

Because we all know how important it is to keep gay 'partners' from getting a dental plan.

(Source: The AP)

JUNEAU, Alaska - A state Republican lawmaker said Monday that he plans to draft a consitutional amendment to counter last week's Alaska Supreme Court decision to grant public employee benefits to gay couples.

State Sen. Fred Dyson said the legislation would exempt the state from having to extend the rights and benefits currently given to married couples to "any other union, partnership or legal status."

He cited a 1998 state consitutional amendment approved by Alaska voters that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

Allison Mendel, the lawyer who represented the nine gay couples before the high court, said the issue has nothing to do with defining marriage.

"All this is about is equal pay for equal work. It's not about all these philosophical and moral issues that they seem to imply," she said.

Republican Gov. Frank Murkowski plans to bring a constitutional amendment bill to the Legislature next session, and Dyson said he will coordinate his efforts with the governor.

...The state Supreme Court unanimously ruled Friday that denying same-sex couples the same public employee benefits as married couples - life and health insurance, plus retirement and death benefits - violates the Alaska Constitution's equal-protection clause.

What will tomorrow's big newspaper headline be? Maybe something like this...

Gov Murkowski Outraged By Court Ruling. Appoints Daughter To Supreme Court.

(If you don't get the joke, take a look at Wikipedia's entry on 'nepotism' and hypocrites.com)

More:

The Alaska Constitution

'Writing a Constitution' -A man talks about what it was like to be involved in writing the Alaska Constitution.

The Wikipedia on Alaska.

Gov Murkowski declares his 'outrage'.

SEAGLA -They say it stands for 'Southeast Alaska Gay and Lesbian Alliance'. Which sounds kind of imposing until you see all the pretty rainbows and pink triangles.

May I suggest something along a skull and crossbones design to replace the happy rainbow flag? That would let everybody know that you really mean business. Seriously. Who would you rather oppress? People waving friendly rainbow flags or those carrying mean-looking black skull and crossbones banners? Just saying.

Comic: A Hybrid For SUV Lovers

2005-11-01T04:28:00.000-09:00

Here Comes Armageddon: Alaska High Court Backs Same-Sex Partner Benefits

2005-10-31T15:57:00.000-09:00

(Source: Anchorage Daily News)

The Alaska Supreme Court on Friday ruled it is unconstitutional to deny benefits to the same-sex partners of public employees, a major victory for gay rights advocates in one of the first states to pass a constitutional ban on homosexual marriage.

The unanimous decision essentially hinged on the issue of equal protection for all Alaskans...

The Alaska Supreme Court said in its ruling that public employees and their opposite sex partners can marry and become eligible for the city- or state-provided benefits.

"But no same-sex couple can ever become eligible for these benefits because same-sex couples may not marry in Alaska. The spousal limitations in the benefits programs therefore affect public employees with same-sex domestic partners differently than public employees who are married," the ruling says.

"We conclude that the public employers' spousal limitations violate the Alaska Constitution's equal protection clause," the ruling says.

Oh no, gay couples are going to get health insurance! Imagine all the horrible things that will happen...like...er...well no one has said what exactly, but I'm sure it's reeeal bad. Like Armageddon. But with gays.

Is there no one willing to stamp out these sick homo fantasies of dental plans and co-payed doctor visits? Frank Murkowski to the rescue...

...Republican Gov. Frank Murkowski was "outraged" by the ruling and has directed the attorney general's office to determine the best way to overturn the ruling...

The 29-page ruling is just the first round, said Jan DeYoung, an assistant attorney general who supervises employee benefits issues.

"It's an important decision, but it's not a final decision," she said.

However, Anchorage municipal attorney Fred Boness said the city would not fight the court's decision. He said officials would review the policies of other cities or universities to determine how Anchorage would provide the benefits and determine eligibility.

"We're disappointed that we lost, and I think it means we're going to have to provide those benefits in the future to qualifying same-sex couples," he said.

More:

'Where is my gay apocolypse?'

Freebies Of The Day

2005-10-31T11:02:00.000-09:00

Free Bottle Of Perfume From Victoria's Secret

Free Porsche Cayenne Virtual Test Drive CD

Free Personalized Bookplate From Alex Kava

Free Dog Or Cat Food

What Really Bothers Me: No One Is Screaming

2005-10-29T13:25:00.000-08:00

You know what really bothers me? That the outing of an undercover CIA agent is still being treated as a case of politics...Republicans vs. Democrats...the Bush Administration vs. the Prosecutors...etc. Give me a fucking break!

Oh sure, any idiot can see that politics was the reason Valerie Plame's cover was blown. But why are we even still talking about that?

This is a case of those who outed a CIA agent vs. the rest of America. Fuck politics. Fuck the war debate. By definition treason is a betrayal of all who live in the country that it was commited against.

I mean, what American can seriously support treason against their own country? Even those who think Joseph Wilson is a complete asshole and should have just kept his mouth shut wouldn't say that treason is an acceptable way to handle the problem. Why? Because treason is a horrible, shameful thing.

So why aren't Americans screaming T-R-E-A-S-O-N in outrage? Even those on the Left seem more concerned with giddily debating who from the Bush camp will be affected by all this...than the fact that treason was committed in the first place.

Are we as a country so sick right now that people are political first and Americans second? What a damn shame.

More:

'Confused about the CIA leak case? Start here.'

More on the CIA leak case than you'd ever want to know...

Freebies Of The Day

2005-10-29T12:47:00.000-08:00

Free Mint Tingle Condom

Free T-Shirt

Free Lotion

Free T-Shirt And Key Chain

20 Ways To Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity...

2005-10-28T12:26:00.000-08:00

Got this in a forward the other day...

20 Ways To Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity

1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.

2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice.

3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, Ask If They Want Fries with That.

4.Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk And Label It "In."

5.Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks. Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch To Espresso.

6.In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write "For Smuggling Diamonds."

7.Finish All Your sentences with "In Accordance With The Prophecy."

8.Don't use any punctuation

9.As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.

10. Order a diet water whenever you go out to eat with a serious face.

11. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is "To Go."

12. Sing Along At The Opera.

13. Go To A Poetry Recital And Ask Why The Poems Don't Rhyme

14. Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area And Play Tropical Sounds All Day.

15. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party Because You're Not In The Mood.

16. Have Your Co-workers Address You By Your Wrestling Name, Rock Bottom.

17. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream "I Won! I Won!"

18. When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking lot, Yelling "Run For Your Lives, They're Loose!!"

19. Tell Your Children Over Dinner. "Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go."

20. Get Into An Elevator And Don't Turn Around. Continue To Face The Other People As You Go To Your Floor.

Waaay back when I worked at a fast-food restaurant, there was actually a lady who would come in every once in a while and order a 'diet water'. Was she making sure we didn't make a mistake (like, I don't know, adding a piece of bacon to it or something) or just practicing one of the 20 Ways? I'll never know.

Even more funny is when someone would order a double cheeseburger meal, super size it, and then get...a diet soda. You wouldn't believe how common this is. I mean come on people! That diet soda doesn't cancel out the bazillion and a half calories you get from the meal. Just trust me on this one.

Freebies Of The Day

2005-10-27T11:37:00.000-08:00

Free Coffee

Free 'True Lemon' Sample

Free Texas Motor Speedway Poster

Free Biz Laundry Booster

Comic: Snake Suicide

2005-10-26T22:47:00.000-08:00

Freebies Of The Day

2005-10-24T23:11:00.000-08:00

Free T-shirt And Zemaira Trial Pack

Free Trailer Ball Cover

Free Screwdriver (scroll down the page)

Free Charmonix Skin Care Sample Package

Look In The Toilet, Do You See A Snake? Pt 2

2005-10-24T10:08:00.000-08:00

I had a nightmare like this once...

(Source: BBC)

A 10ft (3m) snake thought to have been living in sewage pipes in a block of flats for three months has been caught on a bathroom floor.
The boa constrictor, named Keith, is thought to have been abandoned after the resident was evicted owing £5,500 in rent to his landlord.

It has been slithering out of toilet bowls thoughout the flats in Manchester since August.

...The creature has been spotted on several occasions and homeowners have put bricks on toilet seats in a bid to keep the beast from popping out of the pan.

Previous sightings of the animal were treated with scepticism but firefighters were called to the block of flats on Clyde Road, West Didsbury, Manchester after it confronted a resident going to the toilet in the middle of the night.

...confronted a resident going to the toilet in the middle of the night...hmm, that's a really nice way to put what I'm sure was a horrific experience. You know: middle of the night, half asleep, going to the bathroom, A GIANT SNAKE POPS OUT OF THE TOILET.

Or maybe in England even the snakes are well-mannered too? I say my dear chap, if you don't move out of the way I'm going to have a go at biting your arse.

Despite using hi-tech fibre optic equipment to check sewage pipes, no trace of the snake was found.

However a resident who came face-to-face with the snake - thought to be female - on his bathroom floor managed to trap it by coaxing it into a bucket.

A spokesman for the Royal Society for the Protection of Animals (RSPCA) said it was not uncommon for snakes to be found in household sewage pipes.

RSPCA regional exotic animals co-ordinator Jimmy Ratcliff said: "It would have no problem travelling up and down the waste pipe and has probably been eating rats from the sewer."

Hey what does he mean by it's not uncommon for snakes to be found in household sewage pipes? There must be a lot of constipated people over there.

More:

Look In The Toilet, Do You See A Snake? Pt 1

Look In The Toilet, Do You See A Face?

Child Molesting Priests Dumped In Alaska?

2005-10-23T19:04:00.000-08:00

People in other states get toxic waste dumped in their back yard. We get child raping priests...

(Source: CNN)

A recent string of lawsuits accusing Roman Catholic priests of molesting children has reinforced suspicions among some critics of the church that remote Alaska was a dumping ground for problem clergy.

"I absolutely believe that church officials intentionally sent abusive priests to minor communities, transient communities, where kids may be less apt to tell and have less faith in the justice system," said David Clohessy, national director of Chicago-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

...Patrick Wall, a former Benedictine priest and consultant for a Costa Mesa, California, law firm that has worked on more than 300 church abuse allegations nationwide, said rural Alaska was a prime place to send abusive priests. Alaska's isolation and its cultural reverence for authority figures, such as elders and priests, meant parishioners would be less likely to speak up.

...Fairbanks Bishop Donald Kettler disputed the notion of Alaska as a dumping ground.

"My reaction when I hear that is that I feel the opposite is really true," said Kettler, who has been bishop for three years. Those who work or volunteer in the diocese "come with a commitment wanting to serve the peoples of Alaska. They were not forced to come here."

Plaintiffs' attorneys said they have had a hard time obtaining church personnel records that might prove their suspicions

...Rev. John Whitney, a church official in Portland, Oregon, vehemently denied Alaska is a magnet or hiding spot for problem priests.

"It's absolutely untrue," he said. "I have never seen any evidence of that. People were sent to Alaska who requested to go to the missions there. It was considered the hardest place to go, because of the remoteness and the conditions they had to work with at the time. They wanted to spread the gospel."

More:

'Jesuit retiree minimizes impact of abuse' -"Roman Catholic Church officials are distancing themselves from comments by a retired Jesuit official who suggested that a priest's alleged abuse of Native Alaskan boys wouldn't have much effect because their culture was "fairly loose" on sexual matters."

Ohhh I see...so that's why they're shipping child molesting priests to Native villages. It all makes perfect sense now. I guess this also means that people who molest Native kids should get less jail time since it's not supposed to affect them as much as other children. Jeez what an idiot.

'Another plaintiff joins lawsuit against former Alaska priest'

Priest accused of raping, impregnating women in Alaska. -Recent DNA tests confirm that Rev. James E. Jacobson of the Fairbanks Catholic Diocese did father the children.

The suit alleges that shortly after the mother of John A. Doe became pregnant, Jacobson was moved to another location in Alaska; and shortly after plaintiff Jane B. Doe became pregnant Jacobson was permanently moved from Alaska to Oregon.

Religioustolerance.org: 'Current scope of child sexual abuse by Roman Catholic Clergy' -Names the diocese of Fairbanks, Alaska as one of the dioceses which witheld or destroyed personell files of accused molesters.

'Sex Abuse Group Blasts Top Alaska Catholic Official'

Freebies Of The Day

2005-10-23T11:53:00.000-08:00

Free T-Shirt Or Car Decal

Free Film

Free Stain Remover

Free Temporary Tattoo

The "Free" Credit Report Scam...Where's the only place to get a truly free report?

2005-10-22T15:09:00.000-08:00

Don't be fooled by those commercials that promise a "free" credit report. When you go to their website they ask for your credit card number and enter you into a "free" 30 day trial.

Yeah, well guess what it's damn near impossible to keep them from charging your card...even if you cancel by phone. And worse, often your information is sold to numerous third parties who (since you've already proven to be trusting) then try to scam you some more.

Could it really be that bad? Take a look for yourself, here's some consumer experiences with a popular "free" credit report company posted at ripoffreport.com (which is an excellent site BTW):

Posted by Opal from Warren, Michigan:

My boyfriend and I logged onto "freecreditreport.com", we got our credit report and then immediatly called and cancelled the membership so we wouldn't get billed.

On the 3rd of the following month, we had two $9.95 fees taken out of our bank account. We called again to cancel and they had no record that we had cancelled already. we were broke and I then had $66.00 in overdraft fees charged to us from our bank.

We faxed complaints to "CIC's, Consumer Relations" and received $19.90 back in our account. No response via phone or e-mail from them.

We then were billed $9.95 two times again the following month. I called they said that they weren't sure why because my account had been cancelled. We then checked via my boyfriends info. He was charged even though we cancelled it twice now, yet they had no record.

We filled out forms with our bank to try to get our money back.

Please help. Freecredit report.com has helped ruin my credit. I have had over 4 overdraft fees because of them and have no way to prove we cancelled this over and over.

What a RIP-OFF!!!!

Posted by Stefanie from Puyallup, Washington:

I went to the site to get my free credit report, it said I could cancel before 30 days was up and I wouldn't be charged anything. I have been charged 2 times by them and it has only been 3 weeks. I sent a email saying to cancel the account. I got a response and it said it would cancel it and they were sorry to see my go, but I have been charged the second time since then and I still get monitoring sent to my email.

Posted by Chris from Ohio:

I purchased a credit report and ended up getting a thirty day "free" trial of a credit monitoring service. I cancelled it right away. But 30 days later I was charged 79.95 anyway.

I called when this happened and ended up calling three times. I was given the run-around each time. The people were very argumentative and meaner with each phone call.

Needless to say I didn't get my money back. I filed a dispute with my bank and cancelled the card.

Also, because of this purchase, 3 other companies "credit privacy, protection, etc.", possible affiliated, charged my account 260.00 in three separate charges which are also being disputed.

The only place to get a truly free credit report is annualcreditreport.com. It's run by the FTC and you can get one free credit report from them every twelve months. Now before you go to the site and check your credit here's some tips:

Choose Equifax
Don't be suckered into buying 'extras' on your credit report unless you really need them.
Print out all the info on our credit report and put it in a place where you'll be able to find it easily. It only takes a minute and will save you a lot of hassle down the road.
Remember, any info that you give them (like your current address) will most likely be entered into the 'system'.
If your credit sucks, don't contact those "nonprofit" credit counseling/consolidation places advertised on t.v. and radio...guess what? They're usually scams too. Do your own research and educate yourself on the best ways to fix your credit. Sometimes your bank will help you with this (but be careful.)

More:

'How to read and understand your credit report'

'Marketer Of "Free Credit Report" Settles FTC Charges'

Is it legal for debt collectors to harrass you?

How is your credit score calculated?

Video: Frontline 'The Secret History Of The Credit Card'

'Who are the good guys vs. bad guys in debt counseling?'

'Dealing with creditors on your own...tricks of the trade.'

'5 Steps To Improving Your Credit'

Freebies Of The Day

2005-10-20T18:52:00.000-08:00

Free Chandon Wine Reclosure

Free Christmas Address Labels

Free Flag Decal

Free 'Multipurpose' Paper Pack From HP

Pingoat: Better Than Ping-o-Matic

2005-10-20T12:35:00.000-08:00

Got this from ResearchBuzz:

Webloggers and other pingpeople might appreciate Pingoat, which offers a huge number of services to ping at once divided up into three categories. It's at http://pingoat.com/ .

Pingoat has dozens of sites to ping, divided into three categories: General, Non English Services, and Special Services. Enter your blog name, URL, and feed URL, and select the services you want to ping (you can click on the category name to ping everything in the category.) Pingoat returns a status page that shows you the results of each ping. With one exception (Weblogs.se) all the pings I tried succeeded.

One thing I notice is how fast the results were. Pingoat seems to be quite a bit quicker than Pingomatic.

Yep, it's faster and pings more sites (by far)...I guess it's time to say goodbye to Ping-o-Matic.

More:

SplogSpot -'The world's only spam search engine.' It feeds off of Pingoats blacklist database.

The Goatlog -Pingoat's blog.

Blogs recently updated on Pingoat.

Recently updated splogs. -I noticed that most of these sites are based off blogspot. For more on the blogspot/spam connection click here and here.

Freebies Of The Day

2005-10-14T14:11:00.000-08:00

Free Post-it Sticky Picture Paper

Free Goodyear TensionRite Gauge

Free Luna Nutrition Bar

Free Mailing Labels

The Kingdom of Heaven: Serial Killer Dreams

2005-10-13T16:28:00.000-08:00

Seen the movie 'Kingdom of Heaven' the other night. It was an ok movie, but if you're thinking about watching it be warned: it's edited really, really badly. The scenes jump from one to another like a scratched-up record...which is a shame because the movie had potential.

Another warning: don't watch the movie before you go to sleep. No I'm not saying it's scary or anything (unless sappy cliches frighten you), just that both Jen and I had fucked up dreams after watching it.

Jen dreamed about creepy people with leprosy (thanks to the leper king, pic above) and I dreamed about killing people with swords and being drenched in blood (lots of that in the movie, obviously). I don't think I've ever had such a violent dream...I woke up thinking I wonder if this is what serial killers' dreams are like on a daily basis.

Anyway, changing the subject from me having serial killer dreams...I got a good laugh from the commercials on the DVD that tried to lay a guilt trip on people who download movies. It went something like this:

You wouldn't steal a purse (shows someone stealing a purse)...

You wouldn't steal money (shows someone stealing money)...

So why would you steal a movie? (shows a picture of someone downloading a movie).

My guess is that reminding people about how easy it is to download something they just paid 20 bucks for is not the best way to combat the whole movie piracy thing. Maybe it's just me.

Freebies Of The Day

2005-09-23T00:33:00.000-08:00

Free Energy Bar

Free Tin Of Chocolate Chip Cookies

Free 'North! To Alaska' Magazine

Free Horse Or Dog Treat

What happened to Alexi? (From 'Made In The USA')

2005-09-22T01:03:00.000-08:00

Last nights episode of 'Made In The USA' revealed that two of the contestants (Alexi and Sara, who had the non-chemical hair highlights invention) were mysteriously dropped and replaced by another pair. Yet no explanation at all was given for the switch. So what happened?

Did they find out that Alexi wasn't the uh, woman he made out to be? Okay okay, seriously though...so far information on what really happened has been hard to find. In fact the only explanation I've come across so far has been this post on the show's message board:

warped:

Does anyone know what happened to Alexi??

jershie:

The "Non-Chemical" highlights had chemicals in them. After the first show, a test was run to validate the claims made in the last episode. The product was a fraud. Alexi & Sarah are stating that they withdrew for "personal reasons".

Unfortunately the poster doesn't mention one crucial thing...how the hell do they know that? Do they work for the show? Are they a contestant? Is it rumor?

Well I guess it's better than nothing for now. I'm hoping that more concrete information will pop up later. If so I'll be sure to post it here. In the meantime check out this post made by the lady who invented the vomit bucket from episode one:

spaceheater25:

i really think the judges are very wrong about this one... although the inventors probably had pregnant women in mind, i think they're all thinking about the wrong consumer. this is an amazing product for college kids! i would've loved this thing, not for usage or functionality but for the sheer hilarity of it. i bet fraternity guys would jump all over this one. i hope to one day see this thing in spencer gifts Post Extras:

emStand1:

Hello Spaceheater. I am the inventor of the emStand. em is abbrev. for emesis which is latin meaning vomit. While I appreciate your vote of confidence on my product I would prefer it not be a JOKE. And I can assure you it will never be sold at Spencer Gifts, its a medical product.

The emStand was invented to provide comfort and dignity to people while they are ill. It is designed to be an external support system to the weekened body. While you and I may not suffer from chronic vomiting and can't imagine what that is like for many people, vomiting for some is what they experience during the last months of their lives. I am hopeful that the emStand will help people who are on Chemotherapy, are in drug rehab, I felt it would be handy in jails, schools, doctors and dentist offices, traveling and at home for the occasional 24 hour flu bug.

I also believe some people suffer from both ends at the same time. The emStand can rest on the thighs and provide a resting place for the head and upper body while the bottom is positioned where in belongs, on the pot. I wanted to raise the head out of the toilet, I wanted to stop the bending, creeping, crawling, falling, and throwing the neck out episodes that seem to happen when we are forced to project the contents of our stomachs out.

Lets face it, my invention doesnt cure any illness and never will but I thought if it could provide someone with some comfort and dignity, well then, I am happy. Look forward to hearing from you. Post Extras:

amuron:

Medical products when presented to the unknowing consumer are often times percieved as jokes. The syringe sub assembly I developed for medical imaging was percieved as a torture device, even by my guys, and I admit it looked really scary; it brought us a lot of laughs. However to those skilled in medicine, it was positive recieved and we sold quite a number of them.

Otoh, I do not understand why this is being presented as a consumer item to start with. To me, it does make it humorous, rather than a device that could be used to help those suffering. Then again tv and the news media often times swing ones intent all over the place.

Freebies Of The Day

2005-09-21T00:12:00.000-08:00

Free Pedometer

Free Ore-Ida Crispy Fries

Free Gel Toy

Free Pocketknife Or Stickers

Picture: Burger King Offends Allah

2005-09-20T03:15:00.000-08:00

From news.scotsman.com:

...Burger King, is withdrawing its ice-cream cones after the lid of the dessert offended a Muslim.

The man claimed the design resembled the Arabic inscription for Allah, and branded it sacrilegious, threatening a "jihad".

The chain is being forced to spend thousands of pounds redesigning the lid with backing from The Muslim Council of Britain. It apologised and said: "The design simply represents a spinning ice-cream cone."

The offending lid was spotted in a branch in Park Royal last week by business development manager Rashad Akhtar, 27, of High Wycombe.

He was not satisfied by the decision to withdraw the cones and has called on Muslims to boycott Burger King. He said: "This is my jihad. How can you say it is a spinning swirl? If you spin it one way to the right you are offending Muslims."

Yah, ok...so this was Burger King's big plan to attack Muslims by...putting Allah's name on top of ice cream?? Please.

Anyway, if this guy wants to see some real Muslim sacrilege he should take a look at Mecca Cola:

Hmm, lets see...a picture of ice cream that vaguely resembles the Arabic inscription for Allah or a Coca-Cola rip off that uses the name of the holiest site of Islam to market sugar water to Muslims? Which one do you think deserves a jihad?

Freebies Of The Day

2005-09-19T23:42:00.000-08:00

Free 'Blue Gray' Football Collector's Pin

Free Hanes 'Perfect Panty'

Free Knee Highs Or Pantyhose

Free Sample Of Glad Forceflex Odor Shield Bags

Nintendo's New Controller: See How It Works (Video)

2005-09-19T03:39:00.000-08:00

Ok, honestly at first I thought it looked retarded (or maybe just made for retarded people)...but after watching the video I think it's got real potential. You can check it out for yourself here.

Here's a quick rundown on the controller features from ign.com:

Revolution guarantees this. The main source of input is nothing short of unexpected and untraditional. It is essentially a wireless, square remote that works something like a computer mouse would in 3D space. Imagine sticking your hand into a virtual box and having your TV understand how it's moving in there. Now you're getting the idea.

Main Controller Features

3D Pointing. Sensors understand up, down, left, right, forward and backward.

Tilt Sensitive. Controller can be rotated or rolled from side-to-side.

Buttons Included. Has a trigger on its backside, face buttons, and a D-Pad.

Multifunctional. Has an expansion port which can be used with different types of controller peripherals. Analog stick with two trigger buttons planned for left hand.

Wireless. Totally wire-free. Currently there are no details on the max distance, source or power, or otherwise.

Rumble Built-in. Included as a standard in all the controllers.

Will Revolution live up to the hype? I think a lot will depend on how the new controller features are integrated into the games. It'll mean the difference between a short-lived (and costly) novelty...or truly creating a revolution in the gaming industry.

We'll see...but revolution or not it's nice to see something really different in the industry for a change.

More:

Watch video of Nintendo President Satoru Iwata's keynote address at the Tokyo Game Show.

Endgadget.com: 'Nintendo Revolution controller — more deets, pics'

'Revolution Controller Finally Revealed: We've seen it, touched it, played games with it. Read this now.'

CNet: 'Testing out the new Revolution controller'

'Any game on the Revolution is going to be a new experience for a while... it will be inventing new ways to play games.'

'Please Nintendo Don't Die'

'The Revolution is Imminent!'

'Why Nintendo, WHY!?'

'Imagine playing a fighting game with a TV remote that you have to waggle back and forth.'

Freebies Of The Day

2005-09-16T16:03:00.000-08:00

Free 2006 Calendar

Free Charmin Extender

Free NEC Baseball Cap

Free T-Shirt

Comic: The Vatican Goes After Gays

2005-09-16T15:45:00.000-08:00

Pictures: Katrina, The Gathering

2005-09-16T04:03:00.000-08:00

Funny as hell. Here's some samples...

You can see the rest at brokentoys.org.

What Really Bothers Me: No Answer Answers

2005-09-15T20:46:00.000-08:00

You know what I'm talking about...a TV interviewer asks someone a question like:

"Do you agree with X?"

Now any four-year-old knows that there are only three real answers to this question: Yes, No, or I don't know.

Simple right?

Well how come a straight answer to a Yes or No question is becoming more and more rare these days? Often at the end of an interview I realise that the person never even answered the question at all! They just went on and on endlessly about their latest talking point/book/show.

Obviously it pays for the person being interviewed to spout the same lame talking points over and over. And if you get a whole bunch of people parroting the same thing in different interviews...well apparently that's even more effective (think of those Daily Show montages showing 30 Republicans saying the same canned talking point phrase).

But what I don't understand is why the interviewers put up with it. What's so hard about saying "Hey, you didn't answer my question"? If you can't do that then what's the point of doing an interview at all? Why not just drop all pretense and give those being "questioned" a couple minutes to air the commercial of their choice promoting whatever they've come to promote?

I find myself watching these kinds of shows less and less because...well...what's the point? It's obvious what will be said before anyone even utters the first word. I could be doing something more enjoyable with my time. Like getting a root canal.

Freebies Of The Day

2005-09-15T20:37:00.000-08:00

2 Free Glasses And 12 Free Stir Sticks From Maker's Mark

Free Bag Of Dog Or Cat Food

Free Healthy Mom Snack From Ensure

Free Bertolli Pasta Sauce And Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Google's New Blog Search

2005-09-15T05:01:00.000-08:00

Yes, Google's Blog Search is finally here. Though it's still in BETA it looks pretty good to me so far. You can check it out for yourself clicking here.

Here's a bit more about it from searchenginewatch.com:

Google has introduced its long awaited blog search service, becoming the first major search engine to offer full-blown blog and feed search capabilities.

...While Google web search has allowed you to limit results to popular blog file types such as RSS and XML in web search results for some time, and its news search includes some blogs as sources, Google hasn't had a specialized tool to surface purely blog postings. In fact, while all of the major search engines have been dabbling with blog and feed search, none has done much with blog search until now.

Google's new service (in beta, naturally) is available both at google.com/blogsearch and search.blogger.com. Google blog search scans content posted to blogs and feeds in virtually real-time, according to Jason Goldman, Google product manager for blog search.

"We look for sites that update pinging services, and then we crawl in real-time so that we can serve up search results that are as fresh as we can," said Goldman.

Google defines blogs as sites that use RSS and other structured feeds and update content on a regular basis.

...Google is not offering any means of submitting a blog or feed to the new service. However, if you publish a feed and want to include it in Google blog search, the easiest way to make sure it's included is to make sure your publishing system is set up to notify popular blog pingservers that are monitored by other blog search services. The easiest way to do this is via pingomatic, which can ping more than a dozen popular pingservers, according to Goldman.

...Now that Google has launched blog search, expect the other major search engines to follow suit fairly quickly. All have been feverishly working on blog search over the past year, and now that Google is first out the gate the others will likely move quickly.

For more info check out the Google Blog Search FAQ.

Freebies Of The Day

2005-09-15T03:35:00.000-08:00

Free Wine Charms

Free Lotion Sample From St. Ives

Free Pinnacle Golf Balls

Free Heating Pad

419 Eater: Scamming The Scammers

2005-09-14T15:56:00.000-08:00

Looks like there's a use for all those emails from Barrister Magimbo Mgumba after all...

Do you ever wonder what would happen if you answered those pesky emails from Nigeria that clutter up your inbox day after day? You know somebody does, or else the scammers wouldn't bother sending them out.

At this very moment there is undoubtedly some poor soul parting with his money and dreaming of what to do with his share of the '$40 Million us dollers' from the estate of Mgumba Mgumby. On the other side of the world, the scammers are secure in the fact that they are more likely to get hit by an asteroid than be prosecuted for their crimes.

Scam Baiting

But that doesn't mean that scammers never get their just deserts. There's a growing number of scam baiters out there...that's people who pretend to be duped by the scam but instead intend to mess with the scammers as much as possible.

This means doing things like:

wasting their time with endless emails back and forth
getting embarrassing pictures of the scammers and posting them on the web
get them to reveal information that can be turned in to authorities
setting up face-to-face meetings with the scammers but never showing up
and in some rare but hysterical cases actually getting the scammers to send out their own money to the 'victim' of the scam

What It Looks Like

Want to see some scam baiting? Here's some from the site 419eater.com:

The Godfather: scammer upsets the mafia - this one involves a scammer claiming he needs money to develop a mineral deposit in Nigeria. Little does he know he's gotten in the middle of an Italian Mafia feud between Don Pizza Pepperoni and Don Spaghetti Bolognese!

The Road To Nowhere -this one is kind of long but is a must-see. It involves some scammers who jump through hoop after hoop thinking they're fooling their 'victim' into handing over a huge sum of money. See the emails, listen to the phone conversations, and watch the video of the scammers getting duped time after time. Funny as hell.

Tragedy Strikes At Western Union -you'd think someone who makes a living from scamming people out of their money would know better than to send a stranger $718 in the hopes of getting more money back...guess not!

The Sad Part

While it's good to know that at least some scammers are getting their karma, the fact remains that these 'Nigerian 419' conmen trick innocent people out of billions of dollars every year without having to worry about being prosecuted.

Yeah it's natural to think 'well only an idiot would fall for these scams', but (idiot or not) regular people get duped every day. The lady in the picture above is Pam Krause of Almond, Wisconsin. She thought she was helping a desperate mother in South Africa but instead was swindled out of $18,000.

Often the scams are run by groups with operatives in multiple countries. They have been known to beat, kidnap for ransom, or even kill the victims of their scams. No matter what you think of those who fall for 'Nigerian 419' scams, you have to admit that they don't deserve to have their money stolen or something even worse happen to them.

More:

Wikipedia on scam baiting.

Scamorama -scambaiting site.

Ebola Monkey Man -scambaiting site.

419 Zeros -scambaiting site.

Artists Against 419 -the world's largest database of 419 websites (fake banks, fake lotteries, etc).

Scammers Exposed

The Nigerian Letters

Anatomy Of A 419 Scam -the true story of how a person from the US lost $1,000 to a UK-based 419 scam.

'Nigerian Scams Keep Evolving'

A news story about scam baiting.

The victim of a 419 scam shoots a Nigerian diplomat.

Here you'll find places that offer support for victims of 419 fraud.

Urgent Message -a large scam letter archive.

Snopes on the Nigerian Scam.

An updated database of Nigerian Scam-related news articles. Warning: it has music.

You too can become a Nigerian email spammer!

Listen to an NPR story on scam baiting.

Freebies Of The Day

2005-09-13T14:54:00.000-08:00

Free Audi Key Ring

Free 'Super-Cling' Dry Floor Cloth

50 Free 4x6 Prints

Free T-Shirt

Kansei: Robots Finally Get Emotions? (With Pictures And Video)

2005-09-13T12:06:00.000-08:00

Meet Kansei, a humanoid robot that is able to smile or frown according to an artificial flow of consciousness. Or should I say smile or gaze open-mouthed like an eerie robot overlord?

If you think that's scary, usher small children out of the room then take a look at this video of Kansei's detatched head 'smiling and frowning'. I'm pretty sure I had a nightmare exactly like that once.

So what's this all about? How do you get a robot to have emotions?

Kansei was made by a team from Meiji University (that's in Japan, yah I know you're real surprised by that one). Anyway they built a software program that extracts word associations from a database of 430,000 words. The word database was built from sentences taken from the internet.

The program then assigns values to the word associations, calculates the values, and then prompts the robot to express whether something is pleasant or unpleasant based on the value.

If Kansei likes something he will smile. If he doesn't like it he will shoot lasers from his eyes and destroy you.

Take 'fish', for example. Kansei says "fish is fresh" and smiles. He decides there is no need to turn you into a pile of ash.

What's the point of making a robot with emotions?

Kansei's developers say his ability to communicate feelings takes robots one step closer to recognizing when humans are happy or sad. This is crucial for doing tasks that right now are deemed outside the realm of machines.

The Meiji University team hopes to one day make robots that care for the elderly, clean your house, greet people at a reception desk, and other things (like enslave the human race).

Can Kansei-type robots can develop individual personalities?

Yes. Different robots can be instructed to search the 'database' in different ways or even at random. A Discoverychannel.com article on the subject says:

...not only will the robots be able to express their feelings, they will also begin to exhibit personal taste.

Er, so is this a good or bad thing?

Well, I don't think that it's a bad thing per se. But I do think it's a good idea to tread carefully in this area of robotics.

Setting up machines to develop their own thoughts, feelings, and personalities will inevitably lead to ethical dilemmas (similar to the 'human brained monkeys' problem). I mean what happens when one day a robot says "I don't want to die...and I want control over my life"?

More:

'Robot in touch with it's inner feelings'

'Robot In Touch With It's Emotions'

Endgadget: 'Kansei, Japan's Emotional Robot'

'Just Like Humans, This Robot Can Pretend To Care'

Delphiki: 'The Age Of Cockroach Robots'

Freebies Of The Day

2005-09-04T18:10:00.000-08:00

Free Wildlife Address Labels

Free Poster From The Texas Motor Speedway

Free Sample Of Maximum Strength Pepcid AC

Free REACH Access Sample Pack

Scientists Create Human Brained Monkeys?

2005-09-04T17:37:00.000-08:00

Hmm, I think this definitely falls into the Bad Idea category...

(Source: News.com.au)

SCIENTISTS have been warned that their latest experiments may accidently produce monkeys with brains more human than animal.

In cutting-edge experiments, scientists have injected human brain cells into monkey fetuses to study the effects.

Critics argue that if these fetuses are allowed to develop into self-aware subjects, science will be thrown into an ethical nightmare.

An eminent committee of American scientists will call for restrictions into the research, saying the outcome of such studies cannot be predicted and may in fact produce subjects with a 'super-animal' intelligence.

Read more...

Good God don't these people watch sci-fi movies?? They nearly always begin with something like "let's see what happens when we inject human brain cells into monkey fetuses". And then very bad things start happening.

Freebies Of The Day

2005-08-20T02:19:00.000-08:00

Well it's been a while since I last posted...did ya miss me?? Here's your freebies...

Free Wildlife Address Labels

Free Tide With Febreeze Sample

Free Cough Lozenges

Free Customized Luggage Tag

Freebies Of The Day

2005-07-28T16:16:00.000-08:00

Free Sampe Of OxiClean Baby

Free Kraft Recipe Collection For You iPod

Free Goodyear TensionRite Gauge

Free Science Diet Puppy Food

Picture: Bird Vs. Space Shuttle Discovery

2005-07-28T15:17:00.000-08:00

Hmm, what are the odds of this happening?

(Souce: local6.com)

NASA released an image Tuesday night of space shuttle Discovery striking a bird seconds after Tuesday's launch...

"It happened just as Discovery was clearing the launch pad and it is too early to tell whether that strike caused any flight safety issues,"...

The image was captured by one of more than 100 cameras photographing every angle of Discovery's launch.

"Without ever having seen these camera angles before, they don't know if debris has always shed off or if they had hit birds in the past,"..."This is their first glimpse and of course they will do inspections later this week to see if that caused any type of dangerous situation."

Pictures: This Lady Loves McDonalds A Little Too Much...

2005-07-25T18:32:00.000-08:00

What do you get when you cross Ronald McDonald with that freaky Burger King guy? Something like this:

These pictures came from a LiveJournal called 'A Day In The Life Of Miss McDonald'. It's done by a lady in the Phillipines (of all places). Apparently she really loves McDonalds. And scaring children.

Every week she dresses up as Ronald McDonald on crack and takes a picture to post on her site. The pictures are...well...creepy to say the least, but also really interesting somehow.

I would love to talk to this lady and get a sense of who she is. I mean is she a normal person in real life? Or, em...disturbed? Or is this just what happens when a person eats one too many Happy Meals?

Freebies Of The Day

2005-07-22T13:50:00.000-08:00

Free 'Good Night' Ear Plugs

Free Bandanna For Your Dog

Free Beef Jerky

Free Kodak Professional Inkjet Paper

30 Days Lesson: You Can't Solve A Drinking Problem With Alcohol

2005-07-21T16:58:00.000-08:00

In the season finale of 30 Days a mother (Michiel) tries to curb her daughter's (Jessica) booze problem by binge drinking for a month.

She hopes that after witnessing the negative effects of alcohol that her daughter will make better choices when it comes to drinking.

Uhh...yeah.

The only problem is, Jessica appears to already be an expert on the effects of drinking too much. In the show she talks about going out drinking at least four days a week and blacking out often. At one point she says to her mom, "I don't even know how I got home this morning."

So it's not terribly surprising when we see that the 'watch mom get wasted' strategy is having zero effect. "Unless she dies, I'm really not going to change anything." says Jessica. After witnessing that attitude day after day Michiel gets the point and throws her bratty daughter in a treatement program.

Well, acutally no. With time running out, Michiel decides that the way to get through to her daughter is to...ramp up the drinking. Yes that's right, drink more. And oh yeah, she enlists one of her daughter's drinking buddies to help her too.

But wait, there's more.

After the 'drink even more' strategy doesn't work (ooo big surprise there), Michiel kind of gives up. She turns her attention back to the rest of her family...a husband and a couple of sons who have suffered silently through the booze-filled 30 days.

Michiel decides to 'put her family back together' by treating them all to a nice night out at the bowling alley. One problem. Looks like that in the process of trying to get her daughter to quit drinking by...uh...drinking a lot, she got herself a little hooked. "I really need a beer" she says not far into the evening, and darts off to get one. And another. And another.

Then the saddest fucking thing happens. Her nine-year-old son Brandon, whom she is very close to, tries to talk to her and get her attention. But guess what, she's too tanked to even realize that he's talking to her! "Mom. Mom. Hey Mom!" he says while following her around a table, but it doesn't make a bit of difference.

He's crushed (obviously not used to such poor parenting) and ends up crying. Eventually Michiel does sit down and talk to him thank goodness. It was really hard to watch him get his heart broken like that.

So lets see. In 30 days Michiel managed to mess up her health, put her household in disarray, make her son cry, and possibly develop a drinking problem. And she never did get through to her daughter. Which just goes to show the 30 Days lesson of the week:

You can't solve a drinking problem with alcohol.

Other 30 Days Lessons:

Hippie Life Is Not The Answer

Gays Can Be Bigots Too

Don't Go To An Imam For Advice

Steroids = No Sperm

30 Days

More:

Morgan Spurlock's Blog

Find out about the show (episode guides, message board, etc.)

'Casting Call: Drunk Moms Unite' - The casting call for the show. Pretty interesting. Apparently 'all participating mothers' were to get paid $10,000.

I Can Eat A Whole Pie

Wikipedia: Binge Drinking

'Morgan Spurlock Annoys Me'

'Binge Drunking Gets You Drink'

'Just Seen On FX'

'Tonight's Episode Of 30 Days'

Other stuff by Morgan Spurlock:

Look In The Toilet, Do You See A Snake?

2005-07-21T15:37:00.000-08:00

This poor lady's going to be constipated for the rest of her life...

(Source: First Coast News)

Going to the bathroom will never be the same for one local woman, not since she was bitten by a water moccasin who was apparently hiding in her toilet.

...She was bitten once on the thigh, and given the size of the bite on her leg, many predict it was a very big snake. Alicia says, "His head was every bit of three fingers wide."

...She was rushed to the hospital and given anti-venom, but no one knows what happened to the snake or how it got into the house in the first place.

Alicia's husband, Richard is searching the home trying to find the snake. He says, "What we're leery about is closets and drawers." He carries a big stick around the house as he looks for the snake and at times his shotgun. "We're not looking to take it alive. I just want it out of here."

...The Bailey's have an 11-year old son who is now staying with neighbors. They said, doctors told them, given the size of the snake, if it would have bitten him instead of Alicia, he probably would not have survived.

If you think that's bad, check out this pic of a python that was found in a toilet...

More on snakes in toilets (you'll never go to the bathroom again):

'Python found in 10th-floor toilet'

'Chicago woman finds snake in her toilet bowl' - This one's got a picture of the snake still in the toilet bowl...

'DIY snake catcher lassoes python from toilet' - More proof that you should never, ever go to the bathroom in Florida. (there's a picture of the snake here)

'Occupational Hazards For Archeologists' - Just skip to the last two paragraphs in the article...

Friday Crapblogging - Okay, so it's not about that kind of snake...but it's fucking hillarious. ("The toilet is eating my bathroom!")

'Snake Gives Owner The Slip'

The New Daily Show Set: Brought To You By Dramamine

2005-07-20T17:05:00.000-08:00

Thank you Daily Show for adding those gigantic scrolling screens in the backround of the set. I no longer have to spin around for hours to experience that dizzy car-sick feeling...

Seriously tho, is this new set sponsored by Dramamine or what? Most people are trying to bring back the couch, but I say just get rid of those horridly disracting Jumbotron screens in the backround! Can't. Concentrate. On. The. Show. Anymore. Getting. Seasick.

What people are saying about the new set:

'Daily Show Scandal: The New Set' - 'Oh, Jon Stewart, how could you do this to us? You go away for a week, come back with a new set, and it suddenly looks like you've taken up residence on the holodeck of the starship Enterprise.'

Slate On The New Set - 'It's hard to make breakfast conversation with your wife at a large gray conference table, especially when there are white letters radiating out of your head.'

Bring Back The Couch - A blog dedicated to the Daily Show couch. It's got things like a picture of Michael Moore on the couch, with the caption: 'The couch had a bad back for weeks after this show.'

'Insomnia and Late-Night TV' - It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who hates Raymond.

Hainsworth.com - Apparently Canadians watch The Daily Show too.

'Why Has Thou Taketh Thy Couch, Jon Stewart?' - This person likes the new set.

'I Don't Like The New Set' - Well that title pretty much says it all doesn't it?

'A Whole New Daily Show - And Not The Set...' - 'new set, schmoo set, who cares, I say. After seeing Stewart interview Bernard Goldberg, I can only assume that new desk has a huge set of cahones insalled underneath it.'

'Jon Stewart II: What a Difference a Set Makes' - '...Jon now seems free to deliver his punchlines without a nervous giggle or a self-deprecating glance. He realizes now he is not playing to stoned college kids, but the New York Times op ed board..'

'I Miss The Couch'

Daily Kos: The Daily Show Taking It To The Next Level

Freebies Of The Day

2005-07-20T15:53:00.000-08:00

Free Edible Birthday Card For Your Dog

Free Sample Of Dove Styling Products

Free Personalized Mailing Labels

Free Vitamins

Places To Promote Your Blog Pt 2

2005-07-20T13:04:00.000-08:00

Here's some links to places that will get your blog some exposure and traffic. It's a grab bag of directories, search engines, RSS ping sites, link exchanges, ranking systems, etc. etc. Basically anything that is free and helps get people to your site is fair game.

If you missed it, 'Places To Promote Your Blog Pt 1' is here.

(Note that with directories you often have to click on the section that's relevant to your blog, then click the 'Add URL' or 'Add A Site' link to submit your site.)

SoMuch - Directory

GeniusFind - Directory

eCommerce Directory - Directory

Blogwise - Blog Directory

Boing Boing - Directory

2RSS - RSS Directory

WeBlogALot - Blog Directory

Net Insert - Directory

Jayde - Directory

Wow Directory - Directory

BDC Concepts - Directory

Iozoo - Directory

Yahoo Directory - Directory (only non-commercial sites are free)

Dmoz - Directory

Search Sight - Directory

AbiLogic - Directory

Land Of Links - Directory

World Site Index - Directory

Topix - News Index

Popdex - Ranking System

Blog Street - RSS Directory

Syndic8 - RSS Directory

News Is Free - RSS Directory

Daypop - Search Engine

Feedster - RSS Search Engine

Bloglines - RSS Tracker

Blogdex - Blog Tracking

Topix - News Index

Popdex - Ranking System

Blog Street - RSS Directory

If you want to exchange links or suggest a site for the list click here. I'll post Pt 3 in about a week so stay tuned...

More:

Freebies Of The Day

2005-07-19T14:36:00.000-08:00

Free National Guard American Hero Wristband (click the 'visitor' button)

Free Samples Of Jaya Tea

Free Tibetan Flag Stickers

Free First Aid Travel Pack

30 Days Lesson: Hippie Life Is Not The Answer

2005-07-14T14:22:00.000-08:00

This weeks episode of 30 Days aimed at giving a couple of consumeristic city dwellers (Vito and Johari) a taste of life off the grid. Will they be able to survive 30 days of earth-friendly living?

By the way, life off the grid in this case means life off the grid hippie style. This becomes clear when a guy who bears a disturbing resemblance to Bob Ross pulls up in a veggie powered car to pick up Vito and Johari. He tells them that they are going to a commune called Dancing Rabbit Eco Village. And yes, he says, the rabbits really do dance.

So what is life at the Dancing Rabbit like? Well first off the good news. Electricity is allowed, as long as it's generated by non-polluting means like solar panels. More good news, obesity doesn't seem to be a problem at the Dancing Rabbit.

The bad news? You have to recycle your own feces. As fertilizer. For the food you will eat later. It's called Hu-manure.

Mmmm. Well now we know why there aren't many big eaters at the Dancing Rabbit. But it's a small price to pay for living a life that doesn't damage the earth right?

If only everybody lived like this, we humans wouldn't be taking more from the earth than it could sustain right?

Well apparently not.

At the beginning of the show Vito and Johari were given a test to asses their 'environmental footprint'. The result? If everybody in the world lived like them it would take something like 12.5 earths to sustain it all.

After the 30 days they are given the same test, based on their life at the Dancing Rabbit. The result? If everybody lived the Dancing Rabbit lifestyle it would take about 1.5 earths to sustain them.

Wait. What the heck? After all that extreme living they're still destroying the earth? And we're not even taking into account things like pollution generated by the manufacturing of numerous items like the solar panels, bikes, cars, etc. that were imported to the commune.

It sure doesn't seem worth it considering you still end up having a very negative impact on the enviroment. If you really want to 'save the earth' wouldn't it be more effective to put all that time and effort into engineering practical solutions that can be used by the general public?

I mean, if you're willing to go without deodorant for the rest of your life because of it's potential negative impact on the environment...you certainly have the dedication it takes to come up with some great earth-saving technology.

Plus, it's got to be more exciting than working with Hu-manure.

So the 30 Days lesson of the week:

Hippie life is not the answer.

Other 30 Days Lessons:

You Can't Solve A Drinking Problem With Alcohol

Gays Can Be Bigots Too

Don't Go To An Imam For Advice

Steroids = No Sperm

30 Days

More:

Morgan Spurlock's Blog

Find out about the show (what's on next week, episode guides, message board, etc.)

The Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage Website

Find Out What Your Environmental Footprint Is (mine is 4.5)

'Adventures At Dancing Rabbit'

Here's an interview with Vito about his experiences at Dancing Rabbit.

Other stuff by Morgan Spurlock:

Freebies Of The Day

2005-07-13T13:07:00.000-08:00

Free Honey Maid Snack Bars

Two Free Packs Of Kenco Caffe Crema Pods

Free College Bound Student Pack

Free Prolab Meal Replacement Sample

Grow Your Own Meat: Chicken Nuggets Without Chickens

2005-07-12T17:19:00.000-08:00

Mmmm, delicious vat-grown chickeny goodness...

(Source: University Of Maryland)

Experiments for NASA space missions have shown that small amounts of edible meat can be created in a lab. But the technology that could grow chicken nuggets without the chicken, on a large scale, may not be just a science fiction fantasy.

...In a paper in the June 29 issue of Tissue Engineering, a team of scientists, including University of Maryland doctoral student Jason Matheny, propose two new techniques of tissue engineering that may one day lead to affordable production of in vitro - lab grown -- meat for human consumption.

...Matheny's team developed ideas for two techniques that have potential for large scale meat production. One is to grow the cells in large flat sheets on thin membranes. The sheets of meat would be grown and stretched, then removed from the membranes and stacked on top of one another to increase thickness.

The other method would be to grow the muscle cells on small three-dimensional beads that stretch with small changes in temperature. The mature cells could then be harvested and turned into a processed meat, like nuggets or hamburgers.

Okay then. Although the thought of actually eating the stuff makes me retch, I think this in vitro meat idea can do good things for humanity.

Hell, people in third world countries who are starving to death aren't going to care if their meat was grown on a cow or in a lab right? If scientists can eventually develop methods of inexpensively producing meat then more power to them.

But for now I'll be twice as suspicious of those TV dinners that say things like 'rib shaped patties' on the box.

More:

New Scientist: 'Lab-grown steaks nearing the menu'

'Meat Me In The Future'

'Lab-grown fish chunks could feed space travelers'

Wikipedia on 'in vitro meat'.

'Lab-grown designer meat on the menu?'

Freebies Of The Day

2005-07-12T14:11:00.000-08:00

Free Key Ring (bottom of page)

Free Coffee

Free Poster

Free 'Sampler Skin Care Kit' (worth $20)

What A Shame: Still No Apology

2005-07-10T14:52:00.000-08:00

Well it's over. Jeb Bush was forced to give up the chase by his most powerful of opponents, the truth...

(Source: Reuters)

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has dropped his pursuit of an investigation into the 1990 collapse of Terri Schiavo after a prosecutor said there was no indication of foul play that led to her irrevocable brain damage.

Gov. Bush...said there were indications of a 40- to 70-minute gap between the time Michael Schiavo discovered his wife after she collapsed 15 years ago and the time he called for medical assistance.

But Pinellas County State Attorney Bernie McCabe, who conducted the probe, wrote Bush on June 30 that there were explanations "far more likely and logical than any involving criminal wrongdoing" surrounding Schiavo's collapse.

...McCabe based his recommendations to Gov. Bush on a report by investigators that found that there was no indication of culpability and that Michael Schiavo's actions following her collapse appeared consistent with a distraught spouse trying to save his wife's life.

"Without proof of criminal agency, there can be no hope of prosecution," the investigators concluded.

So he was proven wrong. Again. Yet once more, cold hard facts did nothing to change the posturing of Jeb Bush...or really any of those in the anti-Schiavo faction.

How is it that people can continue to act that way, even though it flies in the face of reality?

The most shameful part of it all is that there has been no apology offered to Michael Schiavo. Time has proven him to be in the right. Yet he continues to be slandered and treated like a criminal by political opportunists and religious extremists.

Listen, I understand that people have a right to believe whatever they want. But if you treat someone like crap and it turns out that you're the one that's wrong...you're supposed to say 'Sorry'. Hell, even kids in kindergarden know that.

But maybe that's too much to expect from some people.

More:

'Pols used Schiavo for their personal gain' - One of the best editorials I've ever read on the Schiavo case.

'Schiavo case finally closed'

The Disenchanted Forest

'Not With A Bang, But A Whimper'

Florida Pilot

'Damage Control In The Terri Schiavo Case' - A previous post I did on this topic.

Ever Wonder What Wilson From Home Improvement Looks Like?

2005-07-08T22:10:00.000-08:00

Well here he is...

Okay okay, here's his real picture...

Freebies Of The Day

2005-07-08T20:45:00.000-08:00

Free Bag Of Dog Or Cat Food

Free Luna Bar

Free $10 To Spend At Overstock.com

Free Subscription To Scene Magazine

30 Days Lesson: Gays Can Be Bigots Too...

2005-07-07T14:34:00.000-08:00

A staunch conservative guy from rural Michigan goes to live in 'the gayest section of the gayest city on earth'. Oh yeah, and he has to live in a gay man's closet too.

That's the situation in this weeks episode of 30 Days. How can you not watch with a plot like that?

Although this episode was a little cliche and rushed, it did have it's interesting parts. Like when Ed (gay guy) takes Ryan (straight guy) to his first gay bar.

Now keep in mind that Ryan is super uncomfortable around gays...seeing as in his mind they are all sinners, sexual deviants, and ultimately are bound to burn in hell for all eternity.

Yeah. So you can imagine how the gay bar experience goes for him. It's not long before a whole flock of guys start hitting on him and giving him all kinds of unwanted attention.

So Ryan goes crazy and tells them all a thing or two about the evils of homosexuality right? Wrong.

It's the gay guys that end up being stupid and unfair. After Ryan makes a big deal of shying away from their advances; they end up basically telling him that he doesn't belong there and that 'maybe' he should just leave.

WTF? This is a show about a prejudiced straight guy, but he ends up being discriminated against because of his sexual orientation?

The upside of the whole thing is that Ryan got a taste of his own intolerant medicine, but that doesn't make it right for those guys to treat him like that. It just goes to show the 30 Days lesson of this week:

Gays can be bigots too.

Other 30 Days Lessons:

You Can't Solve A Drinking Problem With Alcohol

Hippie Life Is Not The Answer

Don't Go To An Imam For Advice

Steroids = No Sperm

30 Days

More:

Morgan Spurlock's Blog

Find out about the show (what's on next week, episode guides, message board, etc.)

TV Squad: '30 Days: Straight Man In A Gay Mans World'

A whole bunch of gay stuff.

'30 Days Indoctrinnize Me'

Media Sheep - This blog has some good thoughts on this weeks episode. I especially agree with the points about the Pastor of the gay church.

MumblingToMyself - This blogger talks about how they think '30 Days' has an anti-Christian bias.

'Superqueer Me' - A livejournal entry about the show.

'A Gay/Straight Exchange Program' - Another blog entry about the show.

'Michigander In The Castro' - Has some good thoughts on reality vs. the way the Castro District was portrayed on the show. (Link cred to Jamison.)

Other stuff by Morgan Spurlock:

Places To Promote Your Blog Pt. 1

2005-07-07T14:01:00.000-08:00

So you got your blog up and running, now what? You put all that time and effort in, but will people actually read it? The answer is up to you.

Hey nobody's going to read your stuff unless you get some attention. Think of it as commercials for your blog. There's plenty of free ways to promote your blog out there, and I'm not talking about those crappy 'traffic exchange' schemes either.

Here are some links to places that will get you exposure and traffic. It's a grab bag of directories, search engines, RSS ping sites, link exchanges, ranking systems, etc. etc. Basically anything that is free and helps get people to your site is fair game.

If you'd like to exchange links with me or suggest a site for the list click here.

(Note that with directories you often have to click on the section that's relevant to your blog, then click the 'Add URL' or 'Add A Site' link to submit your site.)

Here's the list:

Ping-O-Matic - Ping multiple sites with one click.

MSN - Search Engine

Sezza - Directory

Hobby Line - Directory

Truth Laid Bear - Ranking System

One Mission - Directory

Vxbox - Directory

Scrub The Web - Search Engine

Stormer - Directory

Google - Search Engine

Walhello - Search Engine

Blog Hop - Ranking System

Uquick - Directory

Agada - Directory

Yahoo - Search Engine

Big All - Directory

Cipinet - Directory

MavicaNET - Directory

Exactseek - Directory

Re-Quest - Directory

Daypop - Ranking System

Portal IT - Directory

Search City - Directory

Open Directory Project - Directory

Infignos - Directory

My Best Posts - Here you can submit posts with a link to your blog.

Turnpike - Directory

Rummage 4 Money - Directory

Pedster's Planet - Directory

Ping My Blog - Ping a bunch of sites at once.

Linketeria - Directory

Bitacoles - Ping Site

DirOne - Directory

Tsection - Directory

Bloglet - Here your readers can get daily email updates about your blog.

Super Ultra Mega Web Directory - Directory

Technorati - Ping Site

Most Popular Sites - Directory

Bitacores - Ping Site

dirSpace - Directory

Webxperience - Directory

Blog Matcher - Ping Site

Findory - Directory

Blogshares - Ping Site

Well that's it for today. I've got a ton more which I'll list in about a week so stay tuned! In the meantime here's some interesting blogging books...

Freebies Of The Day

2005-07-06T18:11:00.000-08:00

Adopt A Soldier And Get A Free 'My Soldier' Bracelet

Free Sample Of Stetson Black

Free Puppy Starter Kit

Free NeU Anti-Aging Manicure Therapy Samples

Comic: Dick Cheney And The Insurgency

2005-07-06T16:25:00.000-08:00

Wow. My original posting of this comic seems to have mysteriously disappeared. WTF? So here it is again...

Freebies Of The Day

2005-07-03T13:39:00.000-08:00

Free Juniper T-Shirt

Free Sample Of A.C.T. Energy Drink

Free Knight Shield Car Care Samples

Free Sample Box Of Meat Seasonings And Recipes

What Really Bothers Me: That Word

2005-07-02T17:06:00.000-08:00

You know what really bothers me? People who try to slip the word 'methinks' into everyday conversation.

Like awkwardly using a word from the Middle Ages is going to make you think they're well-versed in Shakespeare or something. I wonder if they'll ever realise that it actually just makes them sound like a jackass.

Look In The Toilet, Do You See A Face?

2005-07-02T14:35:00.000-08:00

For a 14-year-old girl in Albany, N.H. the answer was yes. Imagine going to use an outhouse toilet and seeing a face staring at you from inside the hole.

(Source: WMUR)

A man is facing charges after police said they pulled him from a tank under a women's toilet that was filled with human waste.

Police said that Gary Moody, 45, was under a log cabin outhouse off the Kancamagas Highway in Albany.

...Moody was hosed off before police cuffed him.

...Police said they don't know how long Moody was in the tank, but they said the door to it was locked, which means he must have gone in through the toilet. They said they don't know why he was there.

What I want to know is, how the hell was he planning to get out? Blech.

More:

'New Hampshire Man Arrested In Women's Toilet'

'Gardiner man arrested in N.H. on suspicion of potty prowling'

'Potty-peeper flushed out in N.H.'

Freebies Of The Day

2005-06-30T14:26:00.000-08:00

Free Energy Bar

Free Set Of Atlases

Free Tea And Lotion

Free Ear Plugs

30 Days Lesson: Don't Go To An Imam For Advice

2005-06-29T20:50:00.000-08:00

This weeks 30 Days 'experiment' uprooted David Stacey, a God-fearing Christian from West Virginia, and had him live as a Muslim for a month.

He lives with a Muslim host family, goes to a Mosque, wears their traditional clothes, eats their food, etc. etc. Will this experience confirm his preconception of Muslims as terrorists and Islam as a violent religion?

(Well duh. It would be a really shitty moral to the story if the answer turned out to be yes, now wouldn't it?)

Anyway, to help him in his journey through the American-Muslim world he is assigned an Imam. The Imam is supposed to be like a spiritual guide, answering questions and giving advice in accordance with the teachings of Islam.

So naturally when David had questions about the beliefs of Islam and the meanings of some daily prayers he went to the Imam.

But damn, that man seemed more interested in beating him down than actually answering his questions. Hey Mr. Imam Guy, NEWSFLASH you won't get a lot of new converts that way...

Luckily David took matters into his own hands and went to another Muslim spiritual leader for answers. Instead of nitpicking and telling David how stupid he was (à la the Imam), the spiritual leader did something amazing...he actually answered the questions! Wow I know crazy huh?

This information allowed David to finally move forward with his study of Islam. If he had stuck with the Imam, well he probably still wouldn't know what the hell those prayers were all about. Which illustrates for us the 30 Days Lesson Of The Week:

Don't Go To An Imam For Advice.

----------------------------------

Afterthought: I thought the best part of the show was when the Muslim family presented the cake with the words 'Let's agree to disagree' on it to David at the end. It was a good way to end things on a positive note without either side having to feel like they betrayed their beliefs. If only we could get world leaders to be that mature...

Other 30 Days Lessons:

You Can't Solve A Drinking Problem With Alcohol

Hippie Life Is Not The Answer

Gays Can Be Bigots Too

Steroids = No Sperm

30 Days

More:

Morgan Spurlock's Blog

Find out about the show (what's on next week, episode guides, message board, etc.)

Illustrated Guide To Islam

Is 30 Days Scripted?

Washington Post Article On 30 Days

'Being Muslim For A Month'

Other stuff by Morgan Spurlock:

Freebies Of The Day

2005-06-24T16:04:00.000-08:00

Free Coffee Pods

Free Gum

Free Poster, Sticker, Magnets, And Tattoos

Free Workout CD

30 Days Lesson: Steroids = No Sperm

2005-06-23T14:18:00.000-08:00

Last night's episode of 30 Days dropped us into the life of Scott, a man desparate to regain the body of his high school days ('I had an eight pack!' he says). The experiment: Can steroids turn back the clock?

Okay, when I say steroids it sounds relatively benign. But this guy had to stick needles in his stomach every day and take enough pills to choke several horses. I was thinking to myself 'Is he going to have to do this for the rest of his life?'

You don't need to see the show to know what the message will be...steroids bad, diet and excercise good. There's no shortcuts blah blah blah, steroids have terrible side effects blah blah blah.

But the most interesting (freakish) part of the show was what steroids did to that guys sperm.

Before starting the steroid regime he went to the doctor and froze some of his sperm just in case there were negative side effects to the drugs. We see his doctor tell him that he has a very manly 80 million sperm count ('We're usually happy to see 60 million' the doc says.)

And what happens after using steroids for a few weeks?

He's back in the doc's office, waiting for the analysis of his post-steroid sperm. 'I think there was more in the cup this time' he says confidently (*eww!*). But then the nurse comes out...

The verdict? He basically has a zero sperm count...the few sperm that they did find were dead. Yes that's right, he dropped from 80 million to zero in a matter of weeks!

'And what, in your experience, has caused this?' Scott asks the doctor. DUH! There's another side effect of steroids for ya, reduced brain function.

So here's the 30 Days Lesson of the Week: Steroids = No Sperm

Other 30 Days Lessons:

You Can't Solve A Drinking Problem With Alcohol

Hippie Life Is Not The Answer

Gays Can Be Bigots Too

Don't Go To An Imam For Advice

30 Days

More:

Morgan Spurlock's Blog

Find out about the show (what's on next week, episode guides, message board, etc.)

Taylor Hooton Foundation -This foundation was created in memory of Taylor E. Hooton, a 17-year old high school athlete who killed himself as a result of using steroids. Their main goal is to create awareness of the dangers of high school steroid use.

'Morgan Spurlock Takes Walks In Someone Else's Shoes'

Other stuff by Morgan Spurlock:

Freebies Of The Day

2005-06-22T13:23:00.000-08:00

Free Bowl

Free Army Sports Watch And DVD

Free Fudge

Free Mini Carafe Of Fancy Feast 'Gourmet Gold' Cat Food

Are Adult Baby Diaper Lovers Real?

2005-06-18T21:34:00.000-08:00

We've all seen those Jerry Springer episodes...grown men wearing nothing but diapers parading on stage, baby bottle in hand. They claim to love "being babies": having somebody change their diaper, eating baby food, sleeping in a crib (a biiig crib), etc. But do people really live like this?

The answer: Yes, and it's more common than you'd think.

The Baby Man

Step into the life of 54 year old William Windsor. Broadway star. Country music artist. Baby Man.

(Source: Phoenix New Times)

Customers and cashiers stare at the 5-foot-11, 180-pound man, who is dressed in a pink bonnet, pink shorty dress, and white patent leather shoes. Gold heart-shaped earrings twinkle beneath his carefully curled hair. Under his dress, you can see his diaper. He takes his place in line with a carry-all basket full of juice and Gerber baby food.

"Oh shit! It's Baby Man," says one cashier, a Hispanic kid who's heard the legend but has never been a witness to the spectacle. "It's like Sasquatch!" he says. "You don't believe it exists until you see it."

For almost fifty years he tried to resist the urge to live as a two-year-old. That meant hiding or suppressing the child he wanted to be: a baby girl named Heidi Lynn. But after some soul searching and thanks to a fairly large inheritance, he has been able to live out his dream of being a full time Adult Baby.

Er, what exactly does it mean to be a full time Adult Baby?

Well for William Windsor that means being Heidi Lynn as much as possible. Wearing baby clothes, sleeping in a crib, playing with stuffed animals, having a 'mommy' feed him baby food, and using diapers 24/7.

Does he actually...go...in the diapers?

Yes. It took him seven months to train himself to become incontinent, which basically means that he has no control over that part of his bodily functions.

How the hell do you train yourself to do that?

He tried using hypnosis tapes at first, but they didn't work and he ended up having to just chain lock his toilet for a while.

Doesn't it stink?

Yes...

The air in William Windsor's apartment has become stagnant, and he's got a fan blowing full blast in his living room to combat the early stages of summer. Unfortunately, he's also got a dirty diaper. The smell of adult feces festering in his shorts is nauseating.

"You'll have to excuse me," he says. "I had an accident about 10 minutes ago, and I didn't have time to change myself."

So who changes his diapers?

Ideally it would be more in tune with the Heidi Lynn life to have a 'mommy' change them for him. But until he finds someone willing to do that he changes them himself.

He uses cloth diapers (they are less expensive and more 'realistic')...

"Well, first, of course, I have to take off the wet or dirty one," he says. "I have to unfasten the safety pins, the big ones -- which are getting harder and harder to find, by the way. Only a couple of stores have them.

"Then I lay a diaper pad on the table, lay down and clean myself up with some wipes, and let it dry. If I have diaper rash, I'll put on some Desitin. And then just a sprinkling of Johnson & Johnson baby powder," he says, adding that name-brand baby supplies are the one thing he splurges on. "But you don't wanna put on too much baby powder," he adds. "Too much dulls the absorbency."

How does he have sex?

From what I gather, he doesn't. It probably wouldn't work out too well anyway, since he literally could crap himself at any moment.

Infantilism

This sort of desire and behavior is called paraphilic infantilism. For some it's just a fetish. But for many it's more than that...it's an intense desire to actually be a baby.

But why would someone want to live like that?

I think that it's a way for people to deal with life's problems. A coping mechanism, like alcohol. Some people become alcoholics, some become Adult Babies.

It may be used to make up for a lost or traumatic childhood, a way to get the affection and attention they never got from their parents. Or it can be a way for people to escape the pressures of adulthood.

So are you saying that all Adult Babies have a serious disorder like alcoholism?

Well not exactly, it really depends on the individual. For example, drinking alcohol is not a bad thing. You can use a beer every once in a while to take the edge off a stressfull day at work. No big deal.

But some people need the drink. Not only do they have to have a lot of alcohol to wind down from work everyday; but they will drink before and during work as well. They drink to deal with their problems, and the drinking itself becomes the biggest problem of all.

The same thing goes for Adult Babies. There is a big difference between someone who just wants to wear a diaper every once in a while...vs. someone who has to have it on 24/7 and trains themselves to uncontrollably crap and pee in it. At that point it *might* be a good idea to see a shrink and learn some better ways to cope with life's problems.

Uhh, how do you know all this stuff about Adult Babies?

Well I came across the Phoenix New Times article about William Windsor/Heidi Lynn a few days ago. After reading the part that said Adult Baby related business is a multi-million dollar industry I decided to see if that could actually be true. Could there really be enough Adult Baby Diaper Lovers out there to support that?

The answer is a big yes. Just doing a Google search for "adult baby" turns out 12,300,000 disturbing results. There's all kinds of clubs and shops and even an Amazon Listmania on what to buy in preparation of becoming an Adult Baby.

Just think, somebody you know could be an Adult Baby or a Diaper Lover!

More:

Here's a book on Adult Babies and infantilism:

William Windsor/Heidi Lynn's Home Page

understanding.infantilism.org

Wikipedia on infantilism

A site for 'new' adult babies.

Diaper Pail Friends (DPF)

'What is true infantilism?' (good article)

About the C.S.I. episode "King Baby".

An essay about infantilism. (It's long but has some good stuff, like interviews with real infantilists.)

'Three Things To Do With A Wet Knee Brace'

Forever A Kid Adult Baby Clothing

infantilism.org

Adult Baby Furniture

Disturbing

An infantilists' blog

Freebies Of The Day

2005-06-18T14:00:00.000-08:00

Free Finger Print Pen Kit

Free Hat Or T-Shirt

Free T-Shirt

Free Oxy Mints

30 Days

2005-06-17T22:08:00.000-08:00

By the way, seen the new show '30 Days' on FX...it was really good. Morgan Spurlock (of 'Super Size Me' fame) and his fiancee tried to live on minimum wage for 30 days.

It was both entertaining and sad at the same time. Well, mostly sad really since people live like that all the time...and they don't get to go back to a Hollywood life after 30 days either.

And what lesson did I learn from the show? If you're poor don't ever go to the hospital or the doctor.

Other 30 Days Lessons:

You Can't Solve A Drinking Problem With Alcohol

Hippie Life Is Not The Answer

Gays Can Be Bigots Too

Don't Go To An Imam For Advice

Steroids = No Sperm

30 Days

More:

Morgan Spurlock's Blog

30 Days Website