Why Some Moms Don't Do Yoga...

Cute home video sent by a friend this afternoon. Can someone tell me if this is French or Israeli? (Windows Media WMV file -- approx. 2.0 Mb)

Three Marriages and Still a Virgin

A woman had been married three times and was still a virgin. Somebody asked her how that could be possible.

"Well," she said. "The first time I married an octogenarian, and he died before we could consummate the marriage."

"The second time, I married a naval officer, and war broke out on our wedding day."

"The third time, I married a Microsoft Windows programmer, and he just sat on the edge of the bed and kept telling me how good it was going to be."

Holy Sashimi, Batman! Rev. Sun Myung Moon Controls the Sushi Industry!

In a revealing feature article, The Chicago Tribune did an extensive investigative report on one of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's sprawling global enterprises: fishing. Sushi, to be specific. Turns out the Head of the Moonies (Remember them?) has been going completely vertical in building a global fishing empire, from building his own fishing trawlers to acquiring processing plants. His fish company wants to be one of the top suppliers of sashimi-grade tuna for sushi. Food for thought the next time you go out for sushi. Full article here (very simple registration required to log in -- but well-worth it to get to the article). If you go that far, be sure to read all the sidebars that cover more of the latest on the Rev! He's ba-aaack!

Bird Flu Hits Florida!

Don't know where this one originated but it's fun!

Deadly Russian Roulette

Lefortovo Tunnel in Moscow is one of the deadliest tunnels in the world.

Security cameras in Russia's recently-completed Lefortovo Tunnel captured some pretty wild high-speed car accidents.

This 3150 m long tunnel in Russia is the longest in-city tunnel of Europe. There is a river running over it and water leaks at some points. When the temperature reaches -38 degrees like it did this winter, the road freezes and the result is this video. The 3.2 km tunnel appears rather cramped, but that doesn't stop any of these drivers from traveling at ridiculous speeds, nor has it prevented them from being generally careless. (Windows Media WMV file Approx. 2 Mb)

Exaggerated Diseases in Modern Times?

The London Times Online published a recent article on Big Pharma's "Diseasemongering."

A quote from the article states, "The practice of “diseasemongering” by the drug industry is promoting non-existent illnesses or exaggerating minor ones for the sake of profits, according to a set of essays published by the open-access journal Public Library of Science Medicine."

You can read the rest of the article here.

I did a Google search for those articles from PLoSM and found the entire set here. You can also download the collection of articles by right-clicking on this link (Adobe Acrobat PDF format approx. 4.4 Mb). Some eye-opening reading. I had no idea how bad it was. And these articles aren't written by lay people either!

National Gas Price Map

Are you SURE you want to see the price of gas in your city or town? Or maybe you'd like to know how much more someone else is paying in another part of the country. Check out GasBuddy. And then have a good stiff shot...

Print and Show This to Your Boss!

Ziff Davis Publishing just published a short article by Jim Louderback on web surfing at work. Apparently, a New York judge ruled in favor of employees who had been admonished for spending too much time online instead of working (!). Here's the clip along with the link to their more extensive article. The longer piece also cites several studies to make the case that on-the-job surfing actually benefits employers and employees alike. Bring out that porn, Fred!

"It's OK to Web Surf on Company Time

I'll bet you wish you worked in NYC — or if you do, enjoy reading and exploring these links at work, because it's perfectly legal! That's because a New York judge has just ruled that it is perfectly OK to surf the Internet during company hours. Check out our story for more, and then print it out and show your boss. And when you're exercising your inalienable right to Web surf, might I suggest Gearlog.com or PCMag.com? Great places to spend some quality time away from work — while you're there!"

Yow! Alcoholics Anonymous Comics from 1968 - 1974

Everyone I know -- me included -- has a favorite (or despised!) alcoholic friend or relative. (OK, OK -- maybe more than one!)

I didn't know that Alcoholics Anonymous had published a series of AA Comics from 1968 through 1974. In typical 60's comic-book genre, they try to convey the soap opera drama of life with alcoholics and the consequences they bring on themselves and those around them. A real glimpse into attitudes of the times... and a fun read!

Air Force One Graffiti Video

Hey, another damn bin Laden tape is on al Jazeera? Fuggedaboutit! The BIG video that's been circulating all day has been the one of Mark Ecko tagging Air Force One! The AP release on WIRED starts:

"WASHINGTON -- A startling internet video that shows someone spraying graffiti on President Bush's jet looked so authentic that the Air Force wasn't immediately certain whether the plane had been targeted.

It was all a hoax. No one actually sprayed the slogan "Still Free" on the cowling of Air Force One.

The pranksters responsible for the grainy, two-minute web video -- employed by a New York fashion company -- revealed Friday how they pulled it off: a rented 747 in California painted to look almost exactly like Air Force One."

Rest of the article is here on WIRED.

If you want to watch the video, here it is (or click on the picture). Pretty damn good hoax. And not too cheap to make according to Ecko. The rest of his site is here: StillFree. (Windows Media wmv file -- approx. 5.9 Mb)

Today's Worth1000 PhotoShop Contest

I like checking in on Worth1000 from time to time to see what subject they've chosen as the PhotoShop project for the day. Today's challenge was to create your own US postage stamps, complete with any theme of your choice. Here are the entries for the day. One of my favorites is the Homer stamp but I also like the first one: Elizabeth Taylor and all her ex-husbands.

Happy 420!

Hey -- it's another April 20th! Happy 420, all! The myth surrounding 420 has spread from a hippie slogan to any of a gazillion other references. Here's a link to the Urban Legends site Snopes on the facts and fiction surrounding 420. And High Times Magazine has a special 420 episode preview from their upcoming June 2006 issue here on YouTube. Happy Hippie New Year to one and all!

Response to My Earlier Ugliest Dog Contest Post

My neighbor has a puppy he's giving away (FREE!). It's a Dachshund, it's house broken and it's great with kids.

He's giving it away because his wife says the dog 'stares' at her when she is undressing and that gives her the 'Heebie Jeebies'. I think she is just weird!

If you're interested -- or know someone who is -- let me know.

Here's a picture of the dog. (See picture below)

WikiHOW: How to Adopt a Chinese Baby

A subset of the incredible Wiki online encyclopedia (I consider it a knowledge base) is the WikiHOW series. They post a dizzying array of HowTo articles written by people supposedly with experience in their particular areas of knowledge. Of course, sometimes you'll get someone talking out their a** about something of which they know nothing but just as in Wiki, the writer generally gets called to task on it and the piece gets either yanked or corrected for accuracy.

I was kind of surprised (even me!) when I saw this piece come up today on How to Adopt a Baby from China (probably written by some Hollywood starlet who needs to upgrade from her Paris Hilton-style chihuahua?). I'm very torn on the social implications of global adoption but not necessarily for the reasons you might think. The long-term ripple effects of what we do are generally very hard to foresee. Think about it this way: For several decades, China followed a one-child-per-family policy under Mao's communist rule in order to maintain the "noble" cause of population control: control the growth of population and you'll better manage limited resources like food. However, the consequences that fell out of that were because of old social mores that made sons more desirable than daughters, given the choice. As a result, many baby girls were abandoned or simply given away to orphanages for years. The real consequence? Now there are too many young males in China and not enough women for romance and marriage causing a different kind of imbalance brought on by social re-engineering. They will be paying for this earlier mistake for generations to come. So now what happens when we start to introduce those children into our society over here? Food for thought...





















(This image used under a Creative Commons license through Flickr)

Commercial of the Week -- FedEx (?)

A friend sent this one along as a FORD - Quality is Job 1 commercial. But it's actually a FedEx commercial. (Or is it? May be a spoof? But good!) (Windows Media wmv file approx. 1.65 Mb)

Ladies First

Ah, the consequences of not following a Golden Rule: Ladies First!
(Sorry -- no sound on this animated gif file!)

Annual World's Ugliest Dog Contest

Well, the Sonoma-Marin County Fair is coming again this June and with it comes -- you guessed it! -- The Annual World's Ugliest Dog Contest. Pick from this year's litter and vote for your favorite!

Happy Slapper Meets Instant Karma

Apparently, if you believe some of the articles running in the UK press, there's a new "phenomenon" sweeping across Britain. Bored city dolts -- like some of the same geniuses you saw in Trainspotting -- are running around randomly slapping strangers on the street for kicks. Most of the Happy Slapper attacks are filmed (generally on crappy video phones) for posting online. As many of my friends know, I LOVE irony. In this recently posted YouTube video clip, one happy slapper gets his when a pissed-off victim decides to slap him back -- out cold!!! Ha ha - I REALLY love it. And a link to the related story in the London Times here.

Fire Extinguisher Test

As with all mission-critical fire suppression systems, even the Air Force has to occasionally test out their foam sprayers that are built into hangars. These are the very hangars that often house billions of dollars worth of planes and equipment. Anyway, the testing crew sets up scaffolding inside the hanger so they can videotape the foam system working the way it's supposed to work. So here's an incredible inside look at what happens when the foam suppression system works TOO well from a test done at Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota. And if you want to check out the site for Ellsworth AFB as well, here's their link.

Evolution of Math

Last week I purchased a burger and fries at McDonalds for $3.58. The counter girl took my $4.00 and I pulled 8 cents from my pocket and gave it to her. She stood there, holding the nickel and 3 pennies. While looking at the screen on her register, I sensed her discomfort and tried to tell her to just give me two quarters, but she hailed the manager for help. While he tried to explain the transaction to her, she stood there and cried. Why do I tell you this? Because of the evolution in teaching math since the 1950s......


Teaching Math In 1950

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit?


Teaching Math In 1960

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?


Teaching Math In 1970

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit?


Teaching Math In 1980

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20 Your assignment: Underline the number 20.


Teaching Math In 1990

A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can make a profit of $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes? (There are no wrong answers.)


Teaching Math In 2006

Un ranchero vende una carretera de maderapara $100. El cuesto de la produccion era $80. Cuantos tortillas se puede comprar?