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Happy Halloween 2006 style!

I'm not one to dress up for Halloween, but this year, I think my costume bakes takes the cake (and apparently eats it too).

Halloween Costume Idea: Aretha

I just happened to find a link to some Costume Ideas from AOL, and one of them happened to be a costume for Aretha "My Aching Back" Franklin. I think the best part of the costume is "What You'll Need." Perhaps they forgot to mention the back brace?

Please don't take my picture!

Well, it's Saturday, but I did happen to snap a picture of Blur of Friday Cat Blogging, but he said, "Please don't take my picture!"

Be sure to visit Watermark for this weekend's Carnival of the Cats, board the Friday Ark over at the Modulator, and KayakSoup's Halloween Weekend Cat Blog.

Cute Commerical

This is a kinda funny commercial.

I'm just sayin. I think it's for some kind of drop ceiling tile company.

Angry Data Nerds

Today was my co-worker Josh's birthday. Recently, Chris Lehmann wrote an article in the NY Observer called Angry Data Nerds Rain on Democratic Parade basically comparing the Catalist system with that of the DNC's efforts to build a national and usable database of American voters.

Here's the cake that we got him.

North Korea's government store

Apparently, if South Korea joins the sanctions of North Korea, PyongYang has threatened to declare war on South Korea.

That however is not going to stop the government of North Korea from trying to make some money.

Waxy.org brought this to my attention, and I can't remember exactly where it was linked from. It's true that some of the desktop wallpapers are distinctly anti-Bush, but the killer thing is that if you link directly to an image, you get the following error. You are fool!

I must say that my favorite desktop background is probably the one that is the fourth one over on the bottom row of this page. It does take a while to load.

If you want to (likely) violate UN sanctions against NK, you can download ringtones,

Stay the course. Never!

With the 2006 elections heating up, the GOP, who have continually referred to Democrats as the party of "cut and run" have flip-flopped on their Iraq motto of "Stay the course."

DC's police get super-hearing

According to the Metropolitan Police Department of DC has recently gotten one of Superman's powers: super-hearing.

So now, not only do we as DC residents have 48 cameras watching over us, we now have ears and our sounds could be monitored. Thanks FBI!

Apparently, this technology ShotSpotter can identify gunshots within 2 miles and pinpoint the shots within feet. This is a good thing for shooting victims, and a bad thing for shooters.

Three recent shootings have been picked up by the sensor system and in one case, led to the arrest of a suspect.

Well, I use the Google too!

In a recent interview with CNBC, President Bush said:

One of the things I've used on the Google is to pull up maps. It's very interesting to see - I've forgot the name of the program - but you get the satellite, and you can - like, I kinda like to look at the ranch. It remind me of where I wanna be sometimes.

My two comments: "The" Google?!?!?! and why don't you just go to the ranch! Get outta Washington!

P.S. The comments are hilarious!

Technology meets utility

According to NewScientistTech, a grid of wireless sensors will monitor River Ribble, in the Yorkshire Dales, UK. Two of the thirteen sensors have been installed already, but they expect the rest of them to be installed by the end of the year.

The final network will contain three kinds of sensor node. Eleven will measure pressure from below the waterline in order to determine depth. The other two will monitor the speed of river flow – one using ultrasound underwater, and the other using webcams to track objects and ripples moving along the surface, from the riverbank.

If changes are detected in flow, depth, speed, pressure and a few other variables, these nodes of the grid computer will send out signals via wi-fi or bluetooth or GPRS to either the lab, or those in the vicinity that might be affected by such a flood.

Expect to see more ubiquitous use of this technology in the future. This is a very cost-effective and efficient way to keep track of environmental changes that could affect millions of people.

via.

"This site is built for love"

No, not my site, but this site. The man that is trying to raise money ala Million Dollar Homepage to buy a commercial during Superbowl XLI. Last year, a 30 second commercial for Superbowl XL cost between $2.5M and $2.6M according to CNN Money.

Now, there are a few ways that this can pan out, and I'll expound upon some of these according to my views and frankly, my imagination. Obviously, the love of this guy's life could leave him before then or something could happen and they break up. His love could also figure out who he is, but this guy has done some clever things to hide his tracks as well as not mentioning her name nor his name (I only did a cursory scan of the site, so names may have been dropped), but he does leave his initial, JP. Assuming these two stay together, these are some of the situations:

1) The guy doesn't get the money.
This is totally possible. Although I would not be surprised if he does get the money, it is a lot of money, but he may not have started early enough to actually pull this off. Who knows, he may get Slashdotted, Fark'd, or BoingBoing'd but he's already been MeFi'd. If his site stays up, he could easily pull in the money that he needs. If he doesn't, then he says in his FAQ that the money will be donated to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville, TN which is honorable.

2) The guy gets the money but can't buy the ad
Also possible, although I don't know much about ad sales, so I can't talk with any certainty about this. He does address this in his FAQ too though and says that with enough public interest, the network will probably air it.

3) The guy gets the money and gets the ad
a) the girl says yes, everyone's happy
b) the girl says no, that would SUCK!!!!!!!

4) The guy gets more money than he needs
According to the FAQ, he'll use the excess money for the engagement ring, honeymoon, and give some to aforementioned Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. All's fine and good there, but I personally think that the engagement ring and honeymoon should be paid by him.

There are definitely some more possibilities including that this is a scam, it may be a girl posing as a guy to throw her boyfriend off, etc. but this guy does get kudos for being original. As of right now, he's already raised $61,931. You can help him along if you want.

One other thing that might be worth mentioning is that the reverse DNS according to Netcraft resolves to 911forpeace.com, which is registered to a Craig Tommola, but that is probably because the server is hosted by HostMySite.com, a division of LNH Inc. in Newark, Delaware. So, that's probably no help.

Oh yeah, or the site could get hacked or shut down, whatever. It'll be interesting to say the least.

24 Season 6 is coming

The trailer for season 6 of 24 is up. Looks like Baltimore, MD gets some love (or casualties) in this season. Also, it looks like Wade Palmer is POTUS now, Chloe and Bill Buchanan are back too.

I can't wait for this new season, but it looks like the series might end since the trailer hints at Jack having to sacrifice himself. I think we've heard that before. Heck, Jack has even died and come back to life! There's just no getting rid of Jack Bauer. You can read more facts about him here.

I need a new table

While browsing the web today, I stumbled across my dream table.

Joined a new pool league tonight

Tonight, I joined a new pool league. It's still American Poolplayers Association (APA), but this time it's scotch doubles. Basically what that means is that I shoot, and if I make a ball, then my partner shoots. Should my partner make a ball, I get to shoot again. It's really a very strategic game, since I'm the highest ranked player on my team (a 5 out of 7) and two of the players on my team are ranked a 3. The other guy on our team is a 5, but he's not as good as I am (in my mind anyway). We ended up sweeping the other team, but it was rough and closer than the other matches.

The name of our new team is Haifisch, which means shark in German. That is my girlfriend's nickname for me, both because I am fairly good at pool and because I'm a scuba diver and I can breathe underwater. Here's to a great season Haifisch.

Coincidentally, my girlfriend and I are on the same team, and we destroyed the doubles pair that we played in the first match, not losing a match and I shot on the 8 ball once (missed) and she made all 3 shots on the 8 ball to win it! Go Hon!

Apply directly to the problem

I've seen some bad commercials in my day, but I think this one takes the cake:

And if you don't get the reference, it's a spoof of HeadOn, a topical headache Chapstick-like product that you apply directly to your forehead. Another spoof is here. They really only play the original commercial on CNN.

Breaks Interstate Park

This past weekend, I went on a road trip with my girlfriend. After talking about Vermont for a while, we decided to go to Breaks Interstate Park in Breaks, VA. While it was a long trip, It was a great relaxing time. I only got pulled over once (for doing 75 in a 55, but no ticket), saw some crazy signs, went horseback riding, and caught some fish.

Not only that, but we had breakfast in Kentucky, saw some great scenery, and interesting rock formations.

On the way back, we drove a good portion of Sky Line Drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Shenandoah National Park.

More pictures are over here.

So you want to be a bodyguard

If you've ever wondered what it would be like to be a bodyguard for North Korean President Kim Jong Il, take a look at this video (pay specific attention to the few seconds around 1:16 where the guy has a shovel thrown at him).

My ferals

Here are the ferals that live near my house. Feeding time!

Be sure to check out the Friday Ark, and the Carnival of the Cats for more feline fun!

Give that S*** up!

Today around 7:45 PM, when I walked out of my local bar, I was going to my car, and a few kids came out of the South East branch of the DC public library. One of the kids yelled something, and I couldn't hear. Plus, I didn't think he was talking to me. So I ignored it. They walked down the ramp of the library, (he, about 14-16, and probably 5 other kids maybe 10-12), and he yelled again, and this time he was looking at me.

I still couldn't make out what he said, so I asked, "What?"

He replied, "Give that <incomprehensible> up!"

I couldn't understand what he said, so I asked him again, "What?"

Slowly, this kid replied, "Give that shit up!"

Not knowing what he was talking about, I asked, "What shit?" I was thinking, my pool cue? My jacket? What could this kid be talking about?

Trying to be more intimidating, he looks at me, stops, and says, "Your money nigga."

Now, when I was at that bar on Monday, the bartender told me about how some kids had come up to her, and showed a gun, and she stood up to them. Since I was in the same neighborhood, I thought, these are probably the same kids, so I said, "I'm not giving you my money!" Then I got in my car and drove away. I didn't call the police or anything, since they were all obviously minors, and it did freak me out a little bit. I go to that bar probably twice a week, and my car is pretty recognizable.

I'll have to be a little careful going forward, but I'm going to probably park my car in well-lit and well travelled areas for a while. Hopefully, I won't see that gun. Now, the area was right here, and the black thing above the two grass circles is the escalator to the Eastern Market stop of the DC Metro, and it was like 7:45 PM tonight, so it was still a little light out.

I have mice?

Last night, I apparently had a mouse in my house. I have found two before that one of my two cats have caught and brought to me, but never have I had this happen. I had just the back half of a mouse near my dining room table. Yeah, no head, just the tail, back legs, and half of the torso. I have no idea which cat caught and mutilated the mouse, but that must have been quite terrible. The pictures are pretty graphic.

You've been warned.

My alma mater

Recently, Newsweek ran an article called 25 New Ivies. It basically is saying that the rule of supply and demand also applies to American colleges and universities, and right now, there are so many qualified college bound high school graduates that the top schools cannot accept them all, so many higher education institutions are getting what essentially amounts to excess talent.

Whereas, a generation ago, the 8 Ivy League schools, Stanford, MIT, Caltech, and University of Chicago were the "top" schools and got most of the brightest high school students, these schools cannot accept all of the qualified applicants, so many are opting to attend other schools.

Some of you know that I attended the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, one of the 8 Ivy League schools. True to the Ivy rumor mill, UPenn is the party school of the Ivys, and as such, I didn't study much. I ended up graduating from the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY. I'm on the Rochester alumni email list, and just happened to notice an alumni email that mentioned the Newsweek article on Rochester.

University of Rochester
Rochester, N.Y.
Over the past decade, this small, private university has dramatically changed its curriculum. "We threw out general education," says Jonathan Burdick, dean of admissions. Students now pick all their courses. As a research institution, Rochester is particularly strong in science and engineering, but liberal arts are also popular, along with music and nursing. About 70 percent of humanities students study overseas, and about 80 percent go to grad school. Most students live on campus, which is some distance from downtown Rochester. Overlap schools: Cornell, Brown, Tufts, NYU and Northwestern.

A year or two after I attended Rochester, I remember that they were implementing some kind of new program to accept fewer students for more personal attention and so that they could become a little more "elite" and rise in the rankings (basically trim the fat). It' looks like that plan has worked since the 2006 London Times ranked the UR as 21st among American universities. I'm not sure that that report carries much credence in the United States, but the one that does is the 2007 US News and World Report's list of America's Best Colleges where UR ranks 34th. Looks like my alma mater is gaining some street cred!

Would You Let...Me Ride

Do you think you'd be able to get into this elevator? Admittedly, it'd be a little freaky.

The funniest thing I've seen all week

But seriously, Dick "Scarface" Cheney.

Warning from the police and FDA

Be on the lookout:

Police are warning all men who frequent clubs, parties & local pubs to be alert and stay cautious when offered a drink from any woman.

Many females use a date rape drug on the market called "Beer."

The drug is found in liquid form and is available anywhere. It comes in bottles, cans, or from taps and in large "kegs". Beer is used by female sexual predators at parties and bars to persuade their male victims to go home and sleep with them. A woman needs only to get a guy to consume a few units of Beer and then simply ask him home for no strings attached sex.

Men are rendered helpless against this approach. After several beers, men will often succumb to the desires to sleep with horrific looking women whom they would never normally be attracted. After drinking beer, men often awaken with only hazy memories of exactly what happened to them the night before, often with just a vague feeling that "something bad" occurred.

At other times these unfortunate men are swindled out of their life's savings, in a familiar scam known as "a relationship." In extreme cases, the female may even be shrewd enough to entrap the unsuspecting male into a longer term form of servitude and punishment referred to as "marriage." Men are much more susceptible to this scam after beer is administered and sex is offered by the predatory females.

Please! Forward this warning to every male you know.

If you fall victim to this "Beer" scam and the women administering it, there are male support groups where you can discuss the details of your shocking encounter with similarly victimized men. For the support group nearest you, just look up "Golf Courses" in the phone book.

Thanks K!