If you haven't already, listen to this chilling audio file of CNN's Jeanne Meserve, reporting about what she witnessed yesterday in the Katrina-damaged zone. In her words, journalists "are sometimes wacky thrill seekers, but when you stand in the dark, and you hear people yelling for help and no one can get to them, it's a totally different experience."
I stumbled across Gravatars today. A Gravatar is a globally recognized avatar. Any site that uses them will display the same avatar for you, automatically (it's based on your e-mail address).
Within half an hour, I had them up and running on my site. Now it's time for everyone to get one. Visit the Gravatar website and register. It's free and super simple (they just want your e-mail address and a password). Then upload an 80x80 image and away you go!
Damn, this movie looks awesome.
Frickin' Spokane.
Friday Funday brings you some fun and interesting links from my travels around the internet during the previous week.
Pregnancy Test Mix Up [del.icio.us]
Paul and Anne are about to find out if they are expecting. But those home pregnancy tests are always so hard to read. What does that say?
Name that Video Game [del.icio.us]
Can you guess the name of the retro video game based on a sound effect from it? I managed 11 of 18, which is pretty good for me.
Your Concept Car [del.icio.us]
Answer a few simple questions and Nick Pugh will sketch a concept car that's uniquely you! The end result is a photo of you standing next to your concept car.
Masturbation Horror Stories [del.icio.us]
Reader beware: some of these will make your stomach hurt; guys I know you know what I'm talking about.
Cumming: The Fragrance [del.icio.us]
Always-hot, bi-sexual, Scottish actor Alan Cumming has his own scent. Just like everyone else. You can buy a bottle from the site and I'm still not sure if this is real. Totally work-safe.
My parents were out of town this past weekend and I happened to be over at their house on Saturday (Morah wanted me to hoover out the car, plus I had to check on the cats). I went down to get the central vac hose out of the utility room in the basement, only to find the water all over the floor. Turns out the water pump on the central air unit wasn't pumping water, so the reservoir filled and overflowed.
I spent a couple of hours cleaning it up and afterward, my back hurt, so when I got home I did my traction, hoping to push my spine back into place.
When I tried to get up, the pain in my lower back was unbearable and I screamed out in pain. Morah came running in to see what was the matter. She helped me get the foam block out from under my back, and in so doing I rolled onto my side, which caused even more pain. So there I was, on my side on the floor, grabbing onto the bed, trying not to move because no matter what I did my back was killing me, and screaming out in pain. It was scary.
It took about an hour to get me from the bedroom into the bathroom, then back into the bedroom.
Since then, I've been laid up on the couch, unable to do much of anything. I can't work, because I can't sit up long enough to edit. I can work on my laptop, but only because I can use it laying down. I have to ice my back for thirty minutes every two waking hours and the only pain killers I have are naproxen sodium.
My chiropractor is out of town this week, but luckily his son, also a chiropractor, is in town and has been helping me out. This afternoon, he told me to expect not to go into work until Monday, which sucks, because I have work to do (apart from my weekly work). I feel bad because we're already down one person and I know there's plenty to do. Still, I'd rather miss one week of work and heal properly, as opposed to going back to work, hurting myself further, and having to miss even more work.
Thankfully, my chiropractor says it's not serious enough to require surgery, so here's to hoping that I get better soon.
It's a sad day for electronic music. Bob Moog has died in his home at the age of 71. As Barb Dybwad said on Engaget, "it's officially the end of an era."
Friday Funday brings you some fun and interesting links from my travels around the internet during the previous week.
Unusual Homes [del.icio.us]
Unusual is right! From the House of Mystery to a real life version of the house in which the Simpsons live, real estate agent Marlow Harris has an odd assortment of homes listed on her page.
Sister Jensen's Words of Wisdom [del.icio.us]
Sister Jensen's Words of Ignorance is more like it. This "courageous Mormon woman's" blog is all about how homosexuality is an "egregious sin", despite the fact her son is probably gay.
Radioactive Consumer Products [del.icio.us]
According to the site, "everything is radioactive. The question is, 'How radioactive?'" Well, this page seeks to answer that question. Be sure you look at Glossy Magazines because, well, you'll see why. I've been exposed to at least 13 of the products on this page. Hmm.
OBJECTIVE: 4kidz [del.icio.us]
This is the kids section of the OBJECTIVE: Christian Ministries web site. All I can say is: what the fuck? Cheers to Phoenix for pointing this one out to me.
Balancing Point [del.icio.us]
This video has been making its way around the internet, so I thought I'd share with you in case you hadn't seen it yet. Most of us who have shot video have also, at some point, reversed the footage for the sake of some cheesy effect. Danny Brown takes reversed footage to a whole new level of cool in this video. I am =extremely= impressed by his 1337 balancing skillz.
Friday Funday brings you some fun and interesting links from my travels around the internet during the previous week.
It's been a busy week at work, so I haven't been surfing the web a whole lot (I do have a few good links, but they'll just have to wait until next week). So I decided to take the easy way out and revisit some links from previous Friday Fundays. It's not a total cop-out, however, as these are sites that have been updated since I first linked to them.
Timothy McSweeney's [del.icio.us]
All the way from Friday Funday I, here's a link to more of the McSweeny's lists that had me rolling on the floor, laughing my off (yes, that was a longhand version of roflmao).
The 30-Second Bunnies Theatre Library [del.icio.us]
From Christmas-themed Friday Funday XVII comes Angry Alien's 30-Second Bunnies Theatre Library: the plots of famous films told in 30 seconds, and re-enacted by bunnies.
Jesus of the Week [del.icio.us]
Friday Funday XXI brought you Jesus of the Week for the first time. While on the page, be sure to take a look at the Jesus of the moment; just reload to resurrect.
The Pepsi Holiday Spice Diet [del.icio.us]
November's Friday Funday XII told you about one man's quest to drink nothing but Pepsi Holiday Spice for 45 days. What ended up happening to him anyway? Well, it took a really weird turn...
Tumble Forms [del.icio.us]
Friday Funday VII featured At Home with the Munsters, which I knew wouldn't be on the page anymore, since the page promised a new album every month. Sadly, Dana's Downloadable Album of the Month is taking a break for the entire 2005 year. On the upswing, however, some links were provided and I managed to find this (very similar) site. So far, my favourite album is Plastic Zoo.
I forgot to mention what I did last weekend. Last weekend I went to Silverwood Theme Park and rode roller coasters for the first time in my life.
As Morah and I were climbing the slope of the Timber Terror, both of us never having ridden on a real roller coaster before, I was somewhat nervous, partly because I didn't know what to expect, and partly because the entire thing is made out of wood. Dodgy as it seemed, the ride was amazing and as soon as we got off, I queued up again for another ride.
The second roller coaster we rode on is called Tremors. It goes sixty miles per hour, has a hundred foot drop, and goes underground several times. It was a blast.
For the last few hours that we were in the park, I tried to decide if I wanted to ride on the third roller coaster at the park; The Corkscrew. So called because part of the track is shaped like a corkscrew, causing the riders to be upside down twice. My sister rode it years ago and said that it was a really bumpy ride, plus I was nervous about it, so I decided not to go. Then, several hours later, I thought about it some more and came to the conclusion that I would rather regret riding it, than regret not riding it.
It was tons of fun and something I look forward to doing again.
We did lots of other stuff at Silverwood that day, but riding on the roller coasters is what sticks out in my mind as the highlight of the day. So, total roller coaster riding count to date: once on The Corkscrew, twice on Tremors, and three times on the Timber Terror. I think next time I go to the park, I'm going to spend most of my time riding the roller coasters.
Now what I really want to do is go to other theme parks and ride on other roller coasters!
Who's in charge of naming wild fires and how on Earth did they get that job? There are some weird (read: stupid) names for wild fires right now. We have the School Fire, the Burned Bread Fire, and the Dirty Face Fire.
Canada, on the other hand, has the Thunder Bay 57 Fire, which is a kick-ass name for a wild fire.
We should be more like Canada.
I've always thought that cheerleaders were... Well, dumb. Not so much that the girls themselves were actually stupid (though they often seem to be), but that dancing around in skimpy outfits shouting earworm-missives was pretty pointless.
It was because of their annoying "skills" that a group of cheerleaders in Ann Arbor played a pivotal role in capturing a hit-and-run suspect. They simply turned his difficult-to-remember license plate number into a cheer.
Pretty clever, actually.
Friday Funday brings you some fun and interesting links from my travels around the internet during the previous week.
Flex Your Rights [del.icio.us]
A really interesting look at how to handle confrontations with police and really simple explanations about how far your rights extend. The basic message is that if the police ask permission to search (your car, your person, or your home), it means that they do not have probable cause and therefore must get your consent. As such, you are within your legal rights not to consent to a search. You also don't have to answer any of their questions and they can't detain you unless you're a criminal suspect. visit the site for all the details. This really is the kind of thing that every American should know.
Bob's Cube [del.icio.us]
This hosting company seems to have a great sense of humour (and man, do they ever know how to waste office supplies!). Explore the various facets of Bob's cube, but be sure to check out Shirk Your Work, which is the whole reason I posted this site in the first place.
Colour Perception [del.icio.us]
"Our perception of colour is strongly affected by the surrounding colours." I'll say. This is =really= tripping me out. Illusions 1 and 3 are the best.
Least Favorite People On The Right [del.icio.us]
Right Wing News asked more than 200 right-of-center bloggers to send a list of their, "Least Favorite People On The Right." Because it's funny when snobs turn against one another.
Best Movie Mistakes of All Time [del.icio.us]
According to MovieMistakes.com. It's amazing that some of these mistakes made it into the final films. I'm going to have to go back and watch some of these now.
I just watched The Daily Show's report on Scientology. In the report, they name some of the celebrities who... Believe in the... Religion. Hmm.
Anyway, I was shocked, shocked to learn that most of the female celebs named are ones on whom I have a crush. The chick from Dharma & Greg? The chick from JAG? Say it isn't so!
Alas, further proof that beautiful != pretty.
Kamehameha School is in a lot of hot water over their admission policy, which requires students to be at least partly Hawaiian (by blood, not by having been born in the state).
Is it racist?
I say no. A lot of information isn't making its way on to the news; something that doesn't surprise me at all. Here's the deal: way back when, Hawaiian queen Bernice Pauahi Bishop set up a trust (to be run by the Bishop Estate Trustees, which is a whole different scandal) that was to be spent specifically on education, with a "preference" toward Hawaiians. Kamehameha is a private school and, to the best of my knowledge, receives no state or federal funding. Just as my school was allowed to preach Christianity, Kamehameha School is allowed to say that non-Hawaiians cannot attend their school.
This is a policy that has been in place for over one hundred years. While the argument could be made that this is an dated and out-of-touch policy, I think that everyone is missing the obvious solution. Bishop's will does not state that non-Hawaiians cannot attend (it does say that the board of trustees can regulate the admissions process, and to ensure that Hawaiians have been getting "preference", that's exactly what they've been doing), so go ahead and let non-Hawaiians in, just with a slightly different set of rules.
I don't know what tuition is like for the Hawaiian students who are able to attend, but it seems to me that non-Hawaiian students should be able to attend, but the Bishop Estate shouldn't have to pay for it. Non-Hawaiians would just have to pay a lot more in tuition, which, if they want to attend a private school in Hawaii, they would have to do anyway.
Yes, I'm still alive.
It's been over two weeks since I posted anything that wasn't a Friday Funday, but I've been busy. The strange thing is, if you ask me what I've been busy doing, I won't be able to tell you. Not because I've been away on top-secret missions for the CIA (although, how cool would that be?), but because when I try to think about what has kept me so busy, I draw a blank.
This past weekend, I was at my parent's cabin in Idaho, where I got to ride a jet ski for the first time in my life (in fact, now my entire family, including Morah, is convinced that we need to buy a jet ski). There have been other things throughout the week that have kept me busy; shopping and the like.
This afternoon I'll be interviewing Shelby Knox for the next episode of ALLOpod. I have about two pages of questions for her, so I'll have to rank them in order of importance in case we run out of time (which may be the case).
Second Life has been taking up a fair amount of my time. Chatting with people aside, I keep logging on to try and build things, but when I get in there, I can never decide what to build.
I really don't have much to say, just wanted to let everyone know that I'm still here.
Also, I recently found out that
Kris has a blog after all. Thanks for telling me, Kris! Sheesh. -)
ALLO v5.13 © 2008 Thomas J. Brown under a Creative Commons License.
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