Take the Color Test

The Color Test Try this! It's tougher than you first expect! I promise you you'll take it more than once!

What Friendship Means to Men and Women

Friendship among women:

A woman doesn't come home at night. The next day she tells her husband she slept over at a friend's house. The man calls his wife's 10 best friends. None of them know about it.

Friendship among men:

A man doesn't come home at night. The next day he tells his wife he slept over at a friend's house. The woman calls her husband's 10 best friends. 8 of them say he did sleep over and 2 claim he's still there.

How to Start a Fire with a Coke Can and a Chocolate Bar

Something you really have to know in case you're ever stuck in the woods and need to start a fire. With nothing more than an empty Coke can and a chocolate bar, you can get a fire going in short order (but you WILL need sunlight).

VEHICLE PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENT -- Read before viewing!

Hmmmm....maybe red-light cameras aren't such a bad thing! Read the story first then watch the video. In this amazing video taken from a Dayton, Ohio traffic camera, a PT Cruiser blows a red light and then T-bones a Subaru Forester. The Subaru then rolls over a pedestrian who didn't wait for the walk signal. What's even more amazing is that everyone survived the crash, even the pedestrian.

Dayton Police released the dramatic video that shows the SUV landing on top of a pedestrian after a crash. It happened yesterday at West Third and Edwin C. Moses. There are cameras at the intersection to catch red light runners. They show the victim walking in the cross walk when a car and an SUV crashed. The SUV then rolled over the pedestrian. Police say it all started when the driver of a PT Cruiser ran a red light and slammed into the SUV. At least one passer-by witnessed the crash and called 9-1-1. Police say the drivers got away with minor injuries. But the pedestrian, 43-year-old Scott Tegtmeyer was critically injured.

Now prosecutors are taking a close look at the video to determine what charges the driver of the PT Cruiser could face. Investigators say analysis of the video has already revealed some crucial factors. Police say the light had been red for 28 seconds when the PT Cruiser entered the intersection. They say Tegtmeyer should not have been crossing the street at the time because the crosswalk signal was red.

Amazingly, investigators also say that the massive dent left on the side of the SUV, caused by the impact of the crash, created a hollow space that kept Tegtmeyer from being crushed to death as the vehicle rolled over him. Tegtmeyer was listed in serious condition Monday night. So far, no charges have been filed. (His rabbit foot survived too!)

And Now for an Important Message on Backing Up Your Data

John Cleese on why you should back up your data.

Guess the Google Game

So just how good do you REALLY think you are at Google search words? Are you visually-oriented? Try your hand at figuring out the search word used to generate these images.

WARNING TO MEN: Playground Dangers

Dads -- you must be ever so vigilant of the hidden dangers lurking in our modern playgrounds these days! You have been warned!

Small Distractions for the Day

OK, OK -- this might only hold your attention for a few minutes. But maybe a break on Monday morning is just the thing you need. Drop kick members of your punk band, The Faint, into the audience. Best shot? All the way out to the parking lot!

Introducing amaztype from amazon.com

The folks at amazon.com have kicked up the creative folks a notch and given them more freedom just to have some fun! Their latest creation is a new site called amaztype (it's currently in Beta) that's based on their very own home-brewed search metrics. Type in names of books, authors or film directors and you'll see their name spelled out with pictures of their body of work. For example, when I typed in Truman Capote, every Capote book that comes up in amazon's database is used to spell out his name. You can click on each of the video, CD or movie covers to enlarge them and get more information on that item (and -- of course -- buy it from amazon! Slick!). Cool marketing gimmick and hours of distraction for the bored...

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

It had to happen! I've been marvelling for years over the ever-expanding amount of knowledge that we can find at any given moment online. Here's a new find for me: The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Comes in handy when you want to tell the difference between Sun Tzu from Lao Tzu..

The Church Gossip

Mildred, the church gossip, and self-appointed monitor of the local church's morals, kept sticking her nose into other people's business.

Several members did not approve of her extra curricular activities but feared her enough to maintain their silence.

She made a mistake, however, when she accused George, a new member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his old pickup parked in front of the town's only bar one afternoon. She emphatically told George and several others that everyone seeing it there would know what he was doing.

George being a man of few words, stared at her for a moment then just turned and walked away. He didn't explain, defend or deny. He said nothing.

Later that evening, George quietly parked his pickup in front of Mildred's house... and left it there all night.

Johnny Cochran -- R.I.P.

His final word.

Forget Britney Spears: The ORIGINAL Oops! I Did It Again!

Oops! I Did It Again! was originally recorded in April 1932 by Louis Armstrong but went out of circulation not long after. It wasn't until Britney Spears put out her bubblegum version that anyone heard this song again. At long last, Supermasterpiece has released a cleaned up copy from the original wax cylinder recording for your download pleasure. This company specializes in re-mastering old originals. Check their other offerings out!

Creation of the Universe: The Chinese Version

This link was originally sent to me by a freind who pointed out that the second to last frame mentions the origins of stupid people (according to Chinese Mythology). But the animation and story are really well done and simply too good not to pass on. You might also want to check out the section on Chinese Culture.

And Just How Strong ARE Those Concrete Barriers?

How many times have you wondered how strong those cement barriers were that you see in front of military base entrances? Read the forwarded message below and then view the clip...

From time to time someone asks me what the concrete barriers are in front of controlled and secure buildings. When I tell them that the barriers will stop traffic, even trucks, from approaching the secure building usually get a look of disbelief. I've been looking for some footage like this to prove my point. In this test, the following parameters were used. Read them and then watch the film.

Truck = 65,000 lbs.

Speed = 50 mph

Kinetic Energy = 5.5 MILLION ft. lbs.

Stopped in 24 INCHES !!!

Bacon Strip Bandaids

One of my favorite gag and novelty stores anywhere is Archie McPhees right here in Seattle. What started off as a small novelty distributor business years ago now occupies two buildings in the Ballard area of Seattle. They also have a thriving mail order and catalog business so you can order stuff from them 24/7 from anywhere if you really, really can't make it to their store. I even dragged my children's Grandmother there when she came out here to visit at Christmas for some last-minute stocking stuffers (she was impressed!). Anyway, had to post these new must-have Bacon Strip Bandaids -- they're so cool! I'm going to pick some up for the medicine cabinets at home and at the studio right away! And be sure to check out the rubber chickens and the boxing rabbis and nuns while you're at it.

The Computer Shopper Freeware 50

Computer Shopper creates an annual list of their favorite 50 Freeware selections. Games, Utilities, Productivity and more! Check 'em out!

Pimp my shopping cart

A lot of you already know that mTV's Pimp My Ride is one of the few network shows that I love. Here's enGadget's take on the same theme: Pimp My Shopping Cart. These guys just might be on to something here!

The New NEW Food Pyramid

Remember the old Food Pyramid that was introduced years ago? Well, the people in the PR department over at The Dept. of Agriculture have been at it again. But instead of one pyramid, they've now come up with twelve! A dozen! Might as well make it REALLY confusing. This will probably give Mrs. Brown -- the dowdy old Grade 4 Science and Health teacher -- at least two weeks of material to bore her class with!

Airline Food!

Ah yes! Remember the old days of real meals on the airlines? Heck, they even served it with real cutlery on some flights. Well, here's a site that claims to be the first "about nothing but airline food." Seems like most of the best airlines that care about feeding their passengers are over in Asia. Pretty soon, there'll be two kinds of airlines: one that charges appropriately and treats its customers with class and another that gives you a shot of Demerol, packs you in a box and ships you from Point A to Point B for the lowest possible price! Personally, I'd prefer to be awake for the whole flight...

Indigo Arts

Since eBay first began in the mid-90s (man, does that sound like a long time ago!), I've often thought about the possibility of an online marketplace for worldwide craftspeople. You'd browse the widest selection of arts and crafts and in every price range. You'd pick and pay for the items that you liked, receiving your prized work in a short while.

Well, it turns out that Indigo Arts was started in 1986 by a young couple determined to bring folk art to the masses. This labor of love has grown into a wonderful web presence that still has incredible potential for growth. I wouldn't be surprised if eBay (or amazon.com) bought an interest in their company soon. The advantages would be exponentially beneficial! PayPal for seamless international (and guaranteed) payments and a forum to vet out honest Buyers and Sellers. Art to and for the people!

Slashdot Random Story Generator

So-ooo Cool! Those crazy Slashdot inside tech news folks have created their very own Random Story Generator! Keep refreshing the screen and you'll see new, whacky stories generated from title words taken from past stories. An endless source of new news!

Aha -- That Sand Artist!

A lot of you have already written to me about the sand artist at SICAF 2003! Anyway, he's a Hungarian artist named Ferenc Cako and you can get to his website here. He also has more on his sand art at another site here (unfortunately, I think any bandwidth access might crash his host!). This dude ROCKS!!!

Webster's Online Dictionary - The Rosetta Edition

Referred by my friend, Peter:

What do you get when you start with Webster’s classic 1913 unabridged dictionary, and you add updated definitions, thousands of images (one picture being worth a thousand words…), quotes, trade names, references, timelines, translations and any other bit of information that can help someone understand a word from as many perspectives as possible? For any given word, what you get is Webster’s Online Dictionary - the Rosetta EditionTM.

[An extraordinary reference source!]

Wow! I've never heard of this guy before but...

A friend just sent me this video clip of a unique sand artist who performed at SICAF (Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival). Apparently from the credit at the end of this video, it was shot in Seoul, Korea in 2003. Maybe you can Google SICAF to find out more about this guy. He's definitely VERY unique and one of the best on-the-fly artists I've seen in a long time. Performance art? This isn't a small file (approx. 19 Mb) so you might just want to stream it instead of downloading to save.

I'm so impressed with this guy that I'm posting him up on both of my personal blogs.

Teachers Do The Funniest Things

A primary school class started a class project to make a planter to take home to their parents. They wanted to have a plant in it that was easy to take care of, so they decided to use cactus plants. The students were given greenware pottery planters in the shape of a clown, which they painted with glaze. It was great fun. The students planted cactus seeds in the finished planters and they grew nicely, but unfortunately the children were not allowed to take them home... The cactus plants were removed and replaced with small ivy and the children took those home instead.

The teacher said, "Cactus seemed like a good idea at the time!!"

Drink and Get Smarter

Strong Cough Syrup

The owner of a drug store walks in to find a guy leaning heavily against a wall. The owner asks his clerk : "What's with the guy out there by the wall?"

The clerk responds: "Well, he came in here this morning to get something for his cough. I couldn't find the cough syrup, so I gave him an entire bottle of laxative."

The owner, wide -eyed and excited shouts: "You idiot! You can't treat a cough with a bottle of laxatives."

The clerk calmly responds: "Of course you can. Look at him. He's afraid to cough."

Smart Engineers or Just Geeks?

From this picture, I might conclude this work was 1) done by guys, 2) they had wa-ay too much time on their hands, 3) they were engineers, 4) this a good use for old CRT monitors.

Campaign for Canadian World Domination!

Be afraid. Be VERY afraid. The worldwide headquarters site of the Campaign for Canadian World Domination. Yikes! Do I stay in the States? Do I run back to Canada? Oh the agony of it all!

Casualties of War

This bit of information from a friend in Ohio. While every single casualty of war is hard to take, looking at things with a different perspective can make you think a little more.

According to icasualties.org , there have been 88 hostile fire deaths caused by firearms since the beginning of hostilities in Iraq. The remainder of coalition deaths have been due to explosives or accidents.

What does this mean?

If you consider that there have been an average of 160,000 troops in theater during the last 22 months, that gives a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000.

But the rate in the District of Columbia is 80.6 per 100,000.

That means that you are more likely to be shot and killed in our Nation's Capitol, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation, than you are in Iraq, where just about everybody is armed.

The conclusion?

We should immediately pull out of WASHINGTON, DC!

The Google Wow Factor!

Well, Google has been punching my Wow! button every week or two with all the new features and products they keep bringing out, adding to current products or acquiring. On Monday, they announced that they were adding a Beta version of their satellite imaging feature to Google Maps. They acquired satellite map company, Keyhole, based in Mountain Valley CA, around six months ago. You can type in an address, then click the Satellite button in the upper right corner to get the satellite picture; you can even zoom in with amazing detail. I found our house and my studio in Seattle and you can currently find just about any place in North America. Hey -- print out an image of your Mom and Dad's house and send them a framed copy! Surprise your friends! Spy on your enemies!