Changing the masthead 2 weeks late was a lousy way to start, though.
30
Nov

Friday Funday CLXXV

Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 0930 hrs

Friday Funday brings you some fun and interesting links from my travels around the internet. Funday links will open in a new window.

The Booze Test [del.icio.us]
How well do you know your drinks? Apparantly I know them pretty well, because I scored 92% and earned the title of Drunkard.

How Walt Disney Cartoons are made [del.icio.us]
This video shows how Disney cartoons are made. In 1930. I love stuff like this. Why don't people talk like this anymore?

V Water [del.icio.us]
Intended as a viral, this video features a fun and very creative animation that proves there's something in the water.

And here are a couple of videos from LG:

Hey Ya! Charlie Brown Style [del.icio.us]
Overall it's pretty enjoyable, especially if you like the song. The lack of diversity in video clips does cause it to get a little repetative, though.

Best Wedding Dance... Ever? [del.icio.us]
I wish I would have seen this before I got married! Even Morah thought this would have been pretty sweet.

8 Comments | 0 Trackbacks |


28
Nov

I Want My iPhone

Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1732 hrs

One of my coworkers has an iPhone and she let me play with it today. Damn, it's nice. I just wish the iPhone was available for the T-Mobile network because I'm about halfway through a two-year contract. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that by the time the contract expires, the iPhone will have been officially unlocked.

Then again, if someone wants to pay for a year of service with AT&T for me, I'd be happy to receive one as a Christmas present!

7 Comments | 0 Trackbacks |


27
Nov

Ceased and Desisted

Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 0900 hrs

This post comes exactly one month from the moment I was to, "remove entirely from your web page the entire section you posted about [SpeedTicketBeaters.com]".

Instead of me being the one to cease and desist, it would appear that SpeedTicketBeaters.com's legal department has ceased and desisted, as one full month later, I have yet to receive any notice of litigation against me. Perhaps they read my post about how they don't have a case and realized that any lawsuit against me would be a frivolous one.

I don't know how SpeedTicketBeaters.com's process works, but I wouldn't be surprised if they had an extensive knowledge of traffic law, and took advantage of other peoples' lack of knowledge with regard to those laws. If that's the case, I find it interesting that they think they can bully innocent bloggers into taking down material with which they disagree — but which is not factually inaccurate — by trying to take advantage of the bloggers' lack of knowledge of their first amendment rights.

Unfortunately for companies who send these threatening but baseless nastygrams, there is a growing faction of bloggers who know their rights and aren't afraid to defend themselves. Just as it would serve bloggers well to absolutely know what they write to be true, it would serve companies sending deceptive threats well to know that bloggers aren't going to take their bullshit any more.

After all, which is worse for the company? A barely-read blog that states a critical opinion, or a pissed off blogger who exposes the company as being a bunch of whiny, deceptive jerks, then submits the whole ordeal to Digg and BoingBoing?

1 Comment | 0 Trackbacks |


25
Nov

Green Team

Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1251 hrs

Living green is the trend these days, and Will Ferrell wants to help. You probably shouldn't watch this at work. Or your grandmother's house.

1 Comment | 0 Trackbacks |


23
Nov

Friday Funday CLXXIV

Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1338 hrs

Friday Funday brings you some fun and interesting links from my travels around the internet. Funday links will open in a new window.

Sorry it's a day late; the holiday weekend has had me all confused about what day it is!

Guess What I'm Craving This Morning... [del.icio.us]
A flowchart to help you decide whether or not to eat bacon. Another great link from Will.

Orangina Naturally Juicy [del.icio.us]
Somebody already posted this over his blog, but for those of you who don't read it, check out this thoroughly bizarre commercial.

Sushi Go Round [del.icio.us]
In this game, you're a sushi chef at a kaiten-zushi restaurant. Your customers are demanding, so learn to make the sushi quickly, and don't run out of supplies!

Cubicle Freakout [del.icio.us]
Next time work is stressing you out, destroy your cubicle. Not for real, but with this game!

Fox News Porn [del.icio.us]
This NSFW website shows examples of how conservative news channel Fox News is, well, not so conservative after all.

2 Comments | 0 Trackbacks |


20
Nov

Remembering Laika

Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1021 hrs

I missed it a couple of weeks ago, but 3 November marked the 50th anniversary of Laika's trip into space, and I wanted to take a moment to celebrate her.

Contrary to popular belief, Laika was not the first animal sent into space. That honor belongs to the humble fruit fly, a group of which were launched into space in 1947 aboard a U.S. V2 rocket. While other animals would be sent up over the next ten years, it was Laika who was the first living creature from Earth to enter orbit.

It was recently made public that Laika's journey was a harrowing one. During the launch, her heart rate more than doubled, and only 5 to 7 hours after liftoff, she died from overheating and stress. In 2002, Dr. Dimitri Malashenkov, one of the scientists behind Laika's Sputnik 2 mission, presented a paper to the World Space Congress, in which he wrote, "It turned out that it was practically impossible to create a reliable temperature control system in such limited time constraints."

Another Sputnik 2 scientist, Oleg Gazenko, expressed regret for allowing her to die: "The more time passes, the more I'm sorry about it. We shouldn't have done it. We did not learn enough from this mission to justify the death of the dog."

Laika's remains were destroyed along with Sputnik 2 during re-entry on 14 April 1958. She had spent over 5 months in space and orbited the Earth 2,570 times.

2 Comments | 0 Trackbacks |


19
Nov

Fischer Price Now Making Elmo Porn?

Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1314 hrs

Today on T.V. I saw the new Tickle Me Elmo ad. To see it for yourself, visit the official T.M.X. (Tickle Me Elmo Extra Special Edition) website and click on video #1.

It shows Elmo in various positions, waving his arm around like he's masturbating, giggling, and everything below his neck is obscured by a mosaic effect. You know, the one they use to censor nudity on the news.

Is this really how they should be promoting the new Tickle Me Elmo, especially given the toy's sordid past? More importantly, what parent would shell out $40 for this piece of crap?

4 Comments | 0 Trackbacks |


18
Nov

The Start of a New Chapter

Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1628 hrs

I have exciting news that I've been wanting to post for almost a week, but haven't been able to until now. Early last week I accepted a position at Kauffman & Associates Inc, and on Friday morning, I resigned from KAYU. My last day there will be 7 December.

Word has been spreading at work and everyone has been really supportive. As my supervisor put it, they all, "knew this day would come."

Some of you will have noticed that I gave 3 weeks notice instead of the traditional 2 weeks. I did this as a gesture of goodwill, as I know that the hiring process can be lengthy and the person who will fill my shoes has much to learn.

In the future, I'll have more on how it all happened and what all this new chapter of my life entails (there's more than just a new job), but for now, I just wanted to let you all know the news!

5 Comments | 1 Trackback |


16
Nov

Friday Funday CLXXIII

Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 0552 hrs

Friday Funday brings you some fun and interesting links from my travels around the internet. Funday links will open in a new window.

Not The Daily Show, With Some Writer [del.icio.us]
Jason Ross, one of the 14 writers for The Daily Show, breaks down the WGA strike in the style of The Daily Show. Do you get the feeling that the writers don't like not writing?

Fast Foods: Ads vs Reality [del.icio.us]
We all know that the food we see in fast food ads has been carefully crafted to look perfect, but it's still interesting to see this side-by-side comparison of the ads versus reality.

And now three videos, which are increasingly unsafe for viewing at work.

Party boy...oh god. [del.icio.us]
I'm not sure how I found this video, but I thought it was an interesting example of what underage girls get up to when left alone together. I'm not sure whether to laugh at their stupidity or lament the downfall of society.

Happy Birthday Dildo [del.icio.us]
This poor girl, can't she get off in private? Apparently not. Via The Book Bitches.

Mano-A-Mano [del.icio.us]
Two men. One job. What will it take to get hired?

4 Comments | 0 Trackbacks |


12
Nov

Going Around

Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1044 hrs

Morah was sick with a mild cold all weekend, so I spent the past few days taking care of her. Now, as is often the case, I'm the one who's sick. I woke up yesterday with one nostril plugged up (I hate that!) and knew that it was starting. I woke up at about 2 A.M. last night with a stuffy nose and a sore throat, and I couldn't get back to sleep for about an hour and half.

I don't feel too terrible, mostly just annoyed (at being sick, not in general). DayQuil is some fantastic stuff, but I'm still going to try to telecommute for the next couple of days if I can get my supervisor to O.K. it. I have stuff I can do from home (I'm currently learning Flash) and it's probably best for me to stay away from my coworkers for a little while.

I'm just glad that we already have Superfood and ginger ale around from over the weekend.

4 Comments | 0 Trackbacks |


09
Nov

Friday Funday CLXXII

Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 0812 hrs

Friday Funday brings you some fun and interesting links from my travels around the internet. Funday links will open in a new window.

Twin Musical Tesla Coils playing Mario Bros [del.icio.us]
Knowing my love for odd versions of the Super Mario Brothers theme song, my friend Will sent me this video of two Tesla coils playing the song. While watching this, remember that the lightning is the source of the music, not speakers.

Vadrum Meets Super Mario Bros [del.icio.us]
Here's another Super Mario Brothers theme song video, this time with drums.

Ice Slide [del.icio.us]
Pick a cute polar polar animal and slingshot it over great distances.

Thanatorama [del.icio.us]
This is a pretty cool concept, although the subject matter is kind of weird. It's a video, but the chapters work in a Choose Your Own Adventure style.

24: The Unaired 1994 Pilot [del.icio.us]
All that death business is a little gloomy, so let's end this Friday Funday on a high note. Here's a hilarious video of what the tv show 24 would be like if it had taken place in 1994.

2 Comments | 0 Trackbacks |


08
Nov

Guilty Pleasure

Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1120 hrs

I have a confession to make. It's not easy for me to admit this, but it's a conclusion that I've come to recently, and I feel I should tell you all.

I like that show Cavemen.

I hate the premise and I particularly hate how the show is based on the GEICO ads, but for some reason I still manage to enjoy it. The writing tends to be hit-or-miss, and I think Dorothy Rabinowitz said it best: "The chief source of [the show's] charm is the unmistakable hint of wit in the writing. Only a hint — but it's steady, which is enough to seduce."

The steady decline of the show's ratings could leave it extinct, however. It premiered with a rating of 3.3, but the most recent episode only managed a 1.7.

I can't help but wonder if the show would be as good without the caveman aspect. What if we took the same characters and same basic situations, but stripped out the ridiculous premise?

0 Comments | 0 Trackbacks |


02
Nov

Friday Funday CLXXI

Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 0602 hrs

Friday Funday brings you some fun and interesting links from my travels around the internet. Funday links will open in a new window.

Sky Diver [del.icio.us]
It took me a while to realize that you're supposed to jump from cloud to cloud, and even then, I had a hell of time finding them! Still, it's kind of a fun game to help kill some time.

The Klein Four [del.icio.us]
From the Northwestern University mathematics department comes this a cappella group! Their song Finite Simple Group (of Order Two) was funny and way over my head at times.

Make My Logo Bigger Cream [del.icio.us]
This goes on a little long, but as a designer, it had me laughing out loud. Via Daring Fireball.

Off the Rails [del.icio.us]
A game in which you must race your hand cart through the desert. It's kind of goofy. I like the music. And what are those green things supposed to be, anyway?

Wake Up Cat [del.icio.us]
As a cat owner, I can assure you that this video is dead-on.

2 Comments | 2 Trackbacks |


01
Nov

Mara's Meme of 10

Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1232 hrs

I know that Mara didn't actually start this meme, but she tagged me, and since I have a hard time saying no to pretty girls, I'll participate.

Here are the rules: Once you have been tagged, you have to write a blog with 10 weird random things, facts, or habits about yourself. At the end, you choose 5 people to be tagged, list their names, and why you chose them.

  1. I think skin is the most fascinating part of the human body. I could look at peoples' skin for hours.
  2. I enjoy urban exploration.
  3. I don't like my toenails.
  4. Disembodied hair creeps me out.
  5. All 5 people I tagged are female.
  6. I have a hard time urinating in public, especially if I think people can hear me.
  7. I talk to myself a lot, but most often when I'm alone.
  8. Usually it's because I'm rehearsing what I would say in a situation that I've imagined.
  9. I'll never believe I'm as smart as other people tell me I am.
  10. I'm such a geek that, instead of writing each of the numbers for this list, I used an ol tag.

Okay, five people:

  1. LG because she's pleasantly odd.
  2. McCutcheon because she lives in Vienna and that's just awesome.
  3. Brynna because she might just be the strangest person I know (in a good way).
  4. Nicole because she comes in a close second.
  5. AWFI because I'm fascinated by her.

7 Comments | 0 Trackbacks |


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