6/27/08

thanks, carrie

Funniest. Intro. Ever.

Worst. PSA. Ever.

Gordon Shumway

I don't know what surprises me more -  the fact that ALF is still watched online, or that it's got embed code for people to use.  :)

Six





Today marks six months since Karen and I started dating. Hard to believe that it's only been six months, but also hard to believe it's ALREADY been six months. I still feel like a kid around her at times, and that's one of the greatest feelings I know. Now, I realize that Carrie will point out that monthiversaries are for high-schoolers, and that I'm fifteen at heart. (I will admit to this some of the time, by the way.) But, it seems like a bit of a landmark to have found someone so completely perfect for me, so I am allowed. (Plus, I'm pretty sure she's the only one who really reads this, so it's a fitting place to write to her.)



We formally met at a work party at Panini's, after working in the same building for a year and a half. She listened to my iPod for forty minutes at a table of friends (points). I had never met someone who listened so attentively (or smiled so much when I talked.) I was, and continue to be, floored. So after a day or so, she (cleverly) managed to ask for my IM info, and we started some minimal chatting. She invited me to see a movie, then another, then to Detroit and then we were we. Below is my shorthand handbook to KarenSusanLand.



12/27 Juno

I had a horrible cold, and we sat through a movie with my sniffles and avoided the arm rest. She got a hot dog and a pickle (I should've known then that the pickles were a religion in KarenLand) and I got popcorn that I was too nervous to eat. Went to Champp's afterwards and laughed, listened to music and shared stories for six hours. (Yep, SIX HOURS) Not bad for a first date. I got home all excited and waited for her to pop online. I IM'd her that I thought she was an old soul or a kindred spirit or some such flattery (and she swears she didn't get this IM) and I went to bed all excited and nervous and captain-and-tenilley. Falling hard and fast for the love of my life.



1/2 Great Debaters

Still had the cold, and still avoided the armrest. Pickle, hot dog, popcorn. Champps again, more talking, iPod, chemistry. Being with this girl made time stand still. We were the only people in that restaraunt, or so it felt. Butterflies set up permanent camp in my stomach and all I wanted was to spend more time with her.



1/4 Detroit

Around 12:58:55 on a Friday, she asked if I felt like being spontaneous. She invited me to join her, Jen and Bonnie for a road trip to Detroit to gamble. I had a volunteering commitment the next day, so I asked if we could come home earlyish. Her response was 'you run the show' and I waffled for a few hours... I stopped by her desk, and asked what the options were, she again pointed out (very cutely) that she would make things work if I would come. I still remember the face she made when I said I'd go. E2E. AND, we might even get to drive home alone together. Until now, there had been minimal friendly flirting, but no verbalization whatsoever that we might be interested in more than friendship. But my stomach and my heart knew what was going on. I rushed home, packed my backpack and drove to Jen's house. We drove together to pick Karen up, and when she got in the car, it was all I could do not to jump into the back seat with her. She was so excited and breathy and kidlike that it made me even more excited. The two-hour drive flew, and we sang along to iPods the whole way. (Karen has phenomenal taste in music, btw... Phenomenon do-do da-do-do.) Checked into the hotel, and headed for a casino. That night is a blur now, but I remember a few small details: she wore a vest, I watched her play roulette, we drank until all the bars were closed. We went back to the room where we watched a Pos-T-Vac commercial (trust me, google it) and talked and talked and talked. Time for bed, or so we thought, around 4am... Jen had taken one King bed, and there was one remaining, and a pull-out couch. Karen was adamant that she'd sleep on the couch, but I had other plans. I played it off like it was no big deal, that the couch looked horribly uncomfortable, and the bed was huge. She joined me, and we spent the whole night very consciously respecting the other's space. I couldn't sleep a wink, and neither could she. Nerves and gas are a bad combination. Fast forward a trip to McDonalds, a drive home, and a few hours of sleep. On the way home, Jen had told me that she and Karen were on MySpace, and that I should get an account... I was oblivious, but learned a lot that Saturday. Created a page, and was oh-so-proud to show her. I found her online, and bold as I could be, told her of my sleepless night, and that I couldn't get enough of her. We chatted all night, and again on Sunday, when her MySpace mood changed to Giddy.



1/7 OSU Game

Just about 11:08:38 on Monday, she invited me and some friends to watch the game at her place. I don't think I've ever been that nervous EVER. When I get there, she's equally nervous. Nice touch. We sang karaoke, talked, nibbled and watched the game. Everyone's getting ready to leave, and she gives me an excuse to stay. (Yey!) We said goodbye to the others, closed the door behind them and I spun her around and kissed her the second we were alone.



This is how the best story of all time began.



Congratulations, Karen!



Last night was the big Corporate Challenge pool game. While our girl didn't win, she played spectacularly and had a swimming time. Well done, love!

6/26/08

seven out of five american's don't bother to do the math

A new poll shows that seven out of every five of Americans don't bother to do the math. "When asked, 53% percent said that, when reading or hearing anything that involves two or more numbers, they don't even try to do the math," said lead pollster Bradley Noel. "Another 49% said they will often think about doing the math but ultimately decide against it. Only 19% said they will actually add things up to see if the report makes sense." The results were greeted with elation from the 47 Republicans and 38 Democrats in the 100-member Senate. "This is great news," said Senate Majority Leader Pam Crader(D). "When discussing budgets or taxes, we can pretty much make stuff up: millions, trillions, deficits, surpluses -- it's all the same to them." Advertisers were equally enthusiastic. "This will allow us to offer consumers 1500 free hours of service during their first month of membership," said AOL marketer Ted Rawlins. Only the Department of Education has expressed misgivings about the findings. "Mathematical apathy is one of the top three educational problems this nation faces," DOE Chairman David Kahn warned. "The other one is illiteracy."

Animated Graffiti

This is the Amazon River




surf

Mass Migration







Read more about the rays here

6/20/08

The Shins - Australia (for phoebe)



just wait till we see them live :)

The Shins - Sleeping Lessons (for karen)

Shins - Turn on Me (for karen)

New Shins Vid - for karen




The first and only Audience Created Concert Film of it’s kind, featuring The Shins performing their brand new single “Phantom Limb” at the Austin City Limits Festival. Over 200 video clips from fans' cell phones and digital cameras were blended together to create rock history.

Questions for Gore Vidal




Q: At the age of 82, you will be publishing your new collection of essays this week, which seems likely to confirm your reputation as one of America’s last public intellectuals. Why do you think that critics have traditionally praised your essays more than your fiction, which includes “Burr,” “Myra Breckinridge” and 20 other novels? That’s because they don’t know how to read. I can’t name three first-rate literary critics in the United States . I’m told there are a few hidden away at universities, but they don’t print them in The New York Times .


Are you saying your novels have been critically neglected? I don’t even read most reviews, unless there is a potential lawsuit on view. I’ve never had much attention paid by critics — nor has anybody else in the United States of America, as Mr. Obama likes to call it.

And what about Mr. McCain? Disaster. Who started this rumor that he was a war hero? Where does that come from, aside from himself? About his suffering in the prison war camp?

Everyone knows he was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. That’s what he tells us.

Why would you doubt him? He’s a graduate of Annapolis. I know a lot of the Annapolis breed. Remember, I’m West Point, where I was born. My father went there.

So what does that have to do with the U.S. Naval Academy down in Annapolis? The service universities keep track of each other, that’s all. They have views about each other. And they are very aware of social class and eventually money, since they usually marry it.

How, exactly, is your cousin Al Gore related to you? They keep explaining it to me, and I keep forgetting.

What about your grandfather, Thomas Gore of Oklahoma ? He invented the whole state. It was Indian territory. There was no state until Senator Gore.

In 1968, during the Nixon-Humphrey race, you became the voice of liberalism in a series of televised debates with William Buckley. Any plans to be a pundit at the coming presidential conventions?
No.

How did you feel when you heard that Buckley died this year? I thought hell is bound to be a livelier place, as he joins forever those whom he served in life, applauding their prejudices and fanning their hatred.

You live in California , where last month the State Supreme Court overturned the ban on same-sex marriage . As someone who lived with a male companion for 50-plus years, do you see this as a victory for equality? People would ask, How could you live with someone for so long without any problems of any kind? I said, There was no sex.

Were you chaste during those years? Chased by whom?

Are you a supporter of gay marriage? I know nothing about it. I don’t follow that.

Why doesn’t it interest you? The same reason heterosexual marriage doesn’t seem to interest me.

If we look at the situation apart from you — It’s my interview, so we’ve got to stay with me.

Have you ever considered leaving the United States permanently? No, it’s my subject.

Do you read a lot of contemporary fiction these days? Like everyone else, no, I don’t.

Anyone in the 20th century you might have a kind word about? Yes, I liked Italo Calvino, and I thought he was the greatest writer of my time.

Your new collection includes an essay in which you note, “Calvino does what very few writers can do: he describes imaginary worlds with the most extraordinary precision and beauty.” What about American novelists? Can’t think of one.

Norman Mailer? Oh, dear, we’re not going to go into pluses and minuses now.

Philip Roth? Ditto.

I admire Roth. He never became complacent. He had no reason to. He’s a good comic writer.

What do you think is your own best novel? I don’t answer questions like that. Ever. And you ought not to ask them.

Well, it was a great pleasure talking to you. I doubt that.



interview for NY Times Magazine by Deborah Solomon

Equity in parenting




Equals and peers. They would work equal hours, spend equal time with their children, take equal responsibility for their home. Neither would be the keeper of the mental to-do lists; neither of their careers would take precedence. Both would be equally likely to plan a birthday party or know that the car needs oil or miss work for a sick child or remember (without prompting) to stop at the store for diapers and milk. They understood that this would mean recalibrating their career ambitions, and probably their income, but what they gained, they believed, would be more valuable than what they lost.

An interesting look at couples and how they communicate (or don't.)

Read the article here

Painting with Light



"In the late 70's I created photographs: long time-exposures done at night in New York City.
While the camera was positioned on a tripod, with the lens opened for several minutes, I moved through urban spaces with a variety of light sources. These were exhibited and published world-wide. Cibachrome prints of these images are available through me."

Read more

Are men boring?




read then comment below

**A follow-up: We are a bit boring, men say.

Most complex crop circle ever discovered in British fields



The formation, measuring 150ft in diameter, is apparently a coded image representing the first 10 digits, 3.141592654, of pi. It is has appeared in a field near Barbury Castle, an iron-age hill fort above Wroughton, Wilts, and has been described by astrophysicists as "mind-boggling".

Michael Reed, an astrophysicist, said: "The tenth digit has even been correctly rounded up. The little dot near the centre is the decimal point.


read more

Mother duck walks two miles to save chicks



A MOTHER duck braved traffic and a housing estate during a TWO-MILE chase to rescue her babies from a sewer.

read more

57 Useful Google Tools You’ve Never Heard Of




If you’re like most people, you use Google’s products several times a day to search for information, check email, get a map and lots of other useful functions. What most people don’t know, however, is just how many useful tools Google has out there than can make everything from tracking a package to creating and publishing webpages a breeze. Here are just a few of the products Google offers that may be worth giving a try.

Read more here

6/19/08

for carrie

Russert's Rainbow

This one's for Karen



As mourners left the Tim Russert memorial, moments after hearing someone perform Somewhere Over The Rainbow at the service, a rainbow was seen over Washington, D.C.

Great b&w photos - Courtesy of Michael Kenna




his site

His Easter Island stuff is especially gorgeous.

Hugh Crawford




Those of you who know me, will recognize this story. Jamie Livingston's Polaroid-A-Day for eighteen years. (6,697 of them)

best podcast of the week

his site

Story Corps




Tim Russert interviews fellow Buffalo-native, James T. Malloy, retired Doorkeeper of the U.S. House of Representatives.

listen here

LOLmoxie

funny pictures
moar funny pictures

Vote for me here

or make your own here.

Smallest man-made orange



See how he did it here.

Join me - 100 Push Ups




Can you do 100 push ups? Maybe you think there's no way you could do this? But you can! All you need is a good plan, plenty of discipline and about 30 minutes a week to achive this goal. (And I'm planning to start it today...)

If you're serious about increasing your strength, follow this six week training program and you'll soon be on your way to completing 100 consecutive push ups.

6/18/08

Lemonade Stand Robber

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Call it a lemonade standoff. A girl whose lemonade stand was robbed of $17.50 chased the suspect into a nearby home and called police, who spent nearly an hour trying to coax the man into surrendering.

"The guy came up and was, like, 'Give me your money,'" said 12-year-old Dominique Morefield, who was running the lemonade stand with a group of friends. "I was shocked. It was just my immediate reaction to chase after him."

Dominique dashed after the man who ran into a house, and then she called police. Officers eventually persuaded Steve Tryon, 18, to come outside after 45 minutes and arrested him on a preliminary felony charge of robbery.

Tryon made an initial appearance in Superior Court on Tuesday and was ordered to be held in the Vigo County Jail on $50,000 bond. He will be formally charged Friday, county Prosecutor Terry Modesitt said.

A telephone message seeking comment was left at the office of Michael Wright, a public defender assigned to represent Tryon.

"I didn't think anyone would come up to a lemonade stand and steal. That's really low," 12-year-old Fred Erstine said.

The kids said they would continue to sell lemonade, but with an adult's supervision.


(Thanks, Carrie)

Guy kidnaps girlfriend to get ironing done.

ROME (Reuters) - An Italian man was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping his ex-girlfriend from a pub, taking her home and forcing her to iron his clothes and wash the dishes, police said Monday.

The 43-year-old man dragged the woman out of a pub in the port city of Genoa, shoved her into a car and took her to his home where he made her iron and wash dishes after threatening her, they said. Police arrived at his house after being tipped off by a friend of the woman who watched the scene at the pub. The man, who was apparently furious at his ex-girlfriend for leaving him, was arrested on charges of kidnapping, police said.

Thanks, Carrie. Great find. :)

Offshore Drilling



The story

President Bush asked Congress Wednesday to permit drilling for oil in deep water off America's coasts to combat rising oil and gas prices.

"There is no excuse for delay," the president said in a Rose Garden statement.

Bush also renewed his demand that Congress allow drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR, clear the way for more refineries and encourage efforts to recover oil from shale in areas such as the Green River Basin of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming

Read more here.



What are your thoughts?

Urban acrobatics

Learn the Presidents with this song

Folky troubadour Jonathan Coulton has recorded “Washy Ad Jeffy,” a mnemonic device/folk song that helps you remember the order of all the US presidents. By nicknaming the presidents with differing numbers of syllables (like “Jeffy” for Jefferson or “Ad” for Adams), the number of syllables tells you how many terms (or partial terms) that president served. Coulton describes the song’s history:




(here are the lyrics, for those of you like me...)
Washy Ad Jeffy
Maddy Monroe
Ad Jackson Van Hair
Ty Po Tay Phil Pear
Bu Lincoln John Grant2
Hayes Garther and Cleve
Hair Cleve and McKin
Roosevelt Taft
Wilson Hard Coolidge
Hoov Franklin Roosevelt Truman Ikey
Ken Johnson Nixon Ford Cart Reagan Bush
Clinton Dubya
And maybe you someday
And if you do they’ll say
What a fine president you made
Washy Ad Jeffy
Maddy Monroe
Ad Jackson Van Hair
Ty Po Tay Phil Pear
Bu Lincoln John Grant2
Hayes Garther and Cleve
Hair Cleve and McKin
Roosevelt Taft
Wilson Hard Coolidge
Hoov Franklin Roosevelt Truman Ikey
Ken Johnson Nixon Ford Cart Reagan Bush
Clinton Dubya…

new 3D coolness




Artist Joshua Heineman is breathing new life into the past using old digitized photographs from the New York Public Library. He makes them wiggle and by doing so he creates some sort of 3D pictures.

Very cool trick




Telespoof.com offers the first domestic Caller ID spoofing service, allowing business professionals to remain anonymous when making calls. We like to think of it as "mobile invisibility", the highest quality Caller ID spoofing service available anywhere in the world.

TeleSpoof

6/17/08

Coolest Little League Game Ever....

On Faith




A joint venture between Newsweek and the Washington Post...

Click the "All Panelist Responses" to see the entire list of the panelist responses to the weekly topic. New topics are usually posted on Tuesday.

Susan Jacoby is a weekly contributor and receives, unsurprisingly, the most reader comments. Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens occasionally contribute as well, though most of the panelists are believers.

Click here to read more of On Faith

Spencer on Letterman....

Top 10 Selling Albums of All Time

The 10-Best Selling Albums.

1. Thriller, Michael Jackson - 108 million copies
2. Back in Black, AC/DC - 42 million copies
3. The Bodyguard soundtrack, Whitney Houston/Various artists - 42 million
4. Their Greatest Hits, the Eagles 5. Saturday Night Fever, the Bee Gees/Various Artists - 40 million copies
6. Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd - 40 million copies
7. Bat Out of Hell, Meat Loaf - 37 million copies
8. Come on Over, Shania Twain - 36 million copies
9. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the Beatles - 32 million copies
10. Falling Into You, Celine Dion - 32 million copies

Um... Seriously? Number three? I would never have gotten that right on Cash Cab.

10 Essential Sites




Read about Time Magazine's 10 Essential Sites - the ones you can trust - here.

Carrie, number one is for you. ;)

50 Best Websites of 2008




Time Magazine named their picks for the 50 Best Websites of 2008.

(I give credit to Ruthanne for number one...)

Check them out and see if you agree. Best comment wins a tee shirt.

Solstice Moon


my moon....


Sometimes you just can't believe your eyes. This week is one of those times.

On Wednesday night, June 18th, step outside at sunset and look around. You'll see a giant form rising in the east. At first glance it looks like the full Moon. It has craters and seas and the face of a man, but this "moon" is strangely inflated. It's huge!

There's no better time to see it. The full Moon of June 18th is a "solstice moon", coming only two days before the beginning of northern summer. This is significant because the sun and full Moon are like kids on a see-saw; when one is high, the other is low. This week's high solstice sun gives us a low, horizon-hugging Moon and a strong Moon Illusion.

Click here to read more.

Reverse Graffiti




reversegraffitiproject

Small Step

Some people believe that the Apollo Moon landings were faked by NASA. They state that the Apollo astronauts did not land on the Moon, and that NASA intentionally deceived the public into believing the landing(s) did occur by manufacturing, destroying, or tampering with evidence.

And you know, they are right. Here's proof that the Apollo Moon landings were faked.


petit pas from mapo_mapos on Vimeo.

6/16/08

Salt water, fuel and cancer treatment



John Kanzius is an American inventor and engineer from Erie, Pennsylvania, who has invented a method that has the potential to treat cancer. He has also demonstrated a device that can "burn salt water". Both effects involve the use of his radio frequency transmitter. Sure, it's from Channel 3 News, but it could be true. ;)

I had no idea...



Play Tetris On Calculators! - video powered by Metacafe


By entering a specific code on some Canon calculators you can play a very simple form of Tetris on them.

Let's Go Europe!

Make McCain Exciting! :)

John Cusack on the election and his new movie

Blogging or Non-Blogging?

Jakob Nielsen asks How much of this page will you read? According to Jacob Nielsen, in a post of 500 words, readers can be expected to spend an average of about 45 seconds on the page, an amount of time in which they might read some 187 words, or less than three-eighths of the content.

The Marital Test

54

As a 1930s wife, I am
Average

Take the test!



84

As a 1930s husband, I am
Very Superior

Take the test!



I don't know what that means... :)

Eddie Izzard on Legos



Cake or death?

The most beautiful goat




Oahr, a Damascene goat, or Maaz Al Shami, which won the first prize for the "Most Beautiful Goat" title is seen at the Mazayen al-Maaz competition in Riyadh June 13, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)


Read more

Reserve a spot in heaven



It is now possible to enjoy your sin filled life and buy your way into Heaven, but how?


Reserve a Spot in Heaven claims to be 'the only licensed and registered distributor of reservations in heaven.'

The site offers two packages: The 'Essential Travel Kit' for $12.79, and an 'All Access Travel Kit' for $24.95 that comes with an additional VIP pass that 'will grant you access to VIP exclusive areas including the Land of Milk and Honey, where all the elite get together and kick it.'

The site is created by Edgar Kim and Nathan Davis of Tacoma, Wash., who say they don't want to offend anyone, and it's just a funny idea that no one should take too seriously.

You can also Reserve a spot in hell.

Falling to Earth



The self-portraits of Chinese performance artist and photographer Li Wei tend to astound; his relationship with gravity is not exactly predictable. Using mirrors, cables, wires and other tools, the artist produces sublime surprises. As he notes in his interview (after the jump), "I don’t consider danger very often when doing art."

You can read more about 'Falling To Earth' here.

Bridge of Glass




"I love to go to the ocean and walk along the beach. Glass is so much like water. If you let it go on its own, it almost ends up looking like something that came from the sea." --Dale Chihuly



Bridge of Glass

BierStick



The world was waiting for a contraption that addressed one of mankind’s most pressing needs -how to drink beer faster. The wait is over, because Bierstick is here!

This giant syringe can deliver 24 ounces of liquid to the back of your throat in two seconds flat. Alrighty then. It boasts a friction-fit mouthpiece that leaves no mess, at least as you drink. What happens afterward is anyone’s guess. And it’s small enough to fit into a backpack. You load the Bierstick with beer (you are warned NOT to use any other alcoholic beverage) and put the business end in your mouth. Then you prop the plunger end against a wall and lean on it to shoot beer into your mouth at a high rate of volume. Don’t forget to swallow, or your cheeks may explode.



Are parties really so short these days that it’s important to drink that fast? I guess so, because the Bierstick is currently sold out. You can still see some scantily-clad models at the site. Then again, this might just be a way around having to actually taste the stuff, in which case you should upgrade your brand. If you’ve already bought one and are wondering whether it’s safe to use, then you haven’t thought this all the way through. The company has a page of disclaimers , with a rather long list of potential occurrences they do not want to be responsible for. The Bierstick retails for $19.95 plus tax and shipping.

bierstick

Indians Game - with our garbage can.




Indians Game on Fathers' Day.

6/15/08

Happy Father's Day, Dad!


Today is reserved for dad - I hope you get to sit on the deck with your feet up and a nice cold Mojito (or three.)

Love you, Dad. :)

6/13/08

Flight of the Conchords - Business Time

Tidbit of the day


Sure, you surf a little - but are you addicted?

Crystal Ball Man

The online sticky note


sticky
Short-term memory not what it used to be? Post a sticky note on Postica. Plus, you can attach files and share with friends or family. It's easy. And free.

I'm voting republican...

Will you let her tattoo you?



Under the watchful eye of expert tattooist Robin Labreche, little Emilie filled in the black and yellow colour on the design as well as the green in the laurel.


And now 34-year-old security guard Dave says Emilie has already designed his next piece of body art - a flaming skull and crossbones. Dave said: "Emilie was sitting on a chair watching when Robin asked her if she would like to tattoo her dad by filling in the yellow in the bee. "She jumped at the chance so they gloved her up and with Robin's coaching she filled in the whole design without going outside the lines.

"It was quite impressive due to the weight of the tattoo machine."

Dave, who has six tattoos, was having the picture inked into his arm at the Adrenaline tattoo parlour, in Montreal, Canada.

He said: "Everyone who was in the shop, and it's a big shop, came to see Emilie at work and were all amazed and stunned at her relaxed demeanour. "Emilie has always been interested in all mediums of art and has always been curious about new art forms. "Now she says she wants me to get a new tattoo of a skeleton head with cross bones and fire so that will probably be our next project. "If she wants to work on that one then she can."

Is your shower curtain killing you? Prolli not...


That whole shower curtain scare? It turns out that the researchers only tested one shower curtain. Not one brand, one curtain

Read more here.