Musings of a Chicagoan

• Cute Overload: Don’t Fear the Meepers
  The third photograph on this page is just adorable.
• Ever wonder what that thing was that people use to measure feet size? It’s a “Brannock Foot-Measuring Device.”
• “The Government Printing Office sells a set of flash cards that are designed to help soon-to-be citizens learn about our government. Question 80 asks, ‘Name one right or freedom guaranteed by the First Amendment.’”
  “The answer lists freedom of speech, religion, assembly and the right to petition the government — but omits freedom of the press (screen shot provided just in case the Web page mysteriously disappears).”
• A picture of a baby Ronald McDonald should not be used to advertise a new franchise opening. Brrrrrr …
• Cute Overload: One reader writes: “Dear Casey,”
  “Rudy got a big floppy dog for X-mas and he requested it be placed in front of the part of the wall that breathes hot air. He spent the day there, but it wasn’t long before Kitty had to get in on that action.”
• Five Dollars: The Paper Currency Of 1896
  To think that once upon a time, this was the money of our nation. It’s so beautiful!
• Ozy and Millie: Superheroes and supervillains
  Millie’s fantastic theory about superheroes and supervillains. “Batman?” “Rich kid with expensive toys.”
• A moment of silence for the PowerBook, which has now entirely disappeared from Apple’s lineup. (Even with the MBP, there was still a 12″ Powerbook G4 in the store. No longer.)
• Tony Snow starts off his term as Press Secretary by using a racial slur (the “tar baby” of commitment).
  Man, I gotta love it. Talk about karma coming home to roost in a big way … the Bush Administration just keeps repeatedly shooting itself in the foot these days! It’s a foin’ time to be a Bush critic!
• Attorney General Alberto Gonzales “unsure” if his grandparents were illegal immigrants.
  “You know, it’s unclear. It’s unclear. And I’ve looked at this issue, I’ve talked to my parents about it, and it’s just not clear.”
• “Hi, kids! My name is Localized Telephone Surveillance Unit 53-4, but you can call me PT. That’s what all my friends call me, and you know what? I think we’re going to be great friends!”
• Tricks of the Trade: Hustler
  “If someone tries to sell you a ‘Rolex’ that ticks once per second, beware — the secondhands on real Rolex-brand watches appear to ’sweep’ acround the dial.”
• Waiter Rant: Pomeranian Tough
  “‘You’re not gonna mess with an old man are ya?’ Bill says, his large hands hanging loosely by his sides, ‘Because that would not be good.’”
• Da Vinci Code Actor: Bible Should Have ‘Fiction’ Disclaimer
  “[A]ctor Ian McKellen managed to pour a refinery tank’s worth of gasoline on the fire on this morning’s ‘Today’ show, asserting that the Bible should carry a disclaimer saying that it is ‘fiction.’”
• Two votes have made Black Jack, Missouri a town that won’t let unmarried parents live together!
  “The current ordinance prohibits more than three people from living together unless they are related by ‘blood, marriage or adoption.’ The defeated measure would have changed the definition of a family to include unmarried couples with two or more childre
• Wal-Mart gives a secret speech where they divulge their plans to become an incredibly green company.
  “If these words came out of the mouth of Yvon Chouinard or John Mackey, everyone would stand up and cheer- it is a remarkable speech that all should read and hold up as a standard for any company. That it comes from Wal-Mart? We will wait and see.”
• burk504’s LOST Places
• Editor and Publisher: Sink or Skim
  “I’ll read the lede and the nut graf, and maybe I’ll scroll down to hunt around for hidden relevant bits, but if I take the time to finish every article I won’t be able to get through all the other stuff that is part of my daily news diet … “
• West Wing: “At the time of Mr. Spencer’s death [...] the election was to be won by Alan Alda’s Arnold Vinick, a maverick Republican (modeled a bit on Senator John McCain), whom many Democrats (including the Democrats who write the show) could learn to lov
  “But after Mr. Spencer died, Mr. O’Donnell said in a recent interview, he and his colleagues began to confront a creative dilemma: would viewers be saddened to see Mr. Smits’s character lose both his running mate and the election?”
• A funny Snopes post about rather quirky and funny songs played at funerals. Hmm. Gotta remember this next time I redo my “funeral arrangements” letter.
• “Some Democratic leaders are suggesting that it might be better if the Dems lost in November, because it would be more politically advantageous to let a GOP majority shoulder the entire responsibility for Bush’s failures.”
  Shakes Sis: “Listen up, Democrats—this is a disgusting attitude.” You tell ‘em!
• The differences between various Apple laptops.
• “Giant structures stretching more than a billion light years across have been revealed by two new maps of the distribution of galaxies in the universe. The updated atlases lend more support to the idea that the universe is dominated by dark matter and dar
• Star Wars Mos Eisley Cantina Bookends
  “These collectible bookends let you get to decide who shot first, Han Solo or Greedo.” Cool. But not $99 or $125 level cool.
• Ever wonder what it would be like if the big media companies had their way? Check out Australia.
  “Q: Does this mean I can record my favourite television or radio program to enjoy later?” “A: Yes. For the first time you will be able to record most television or radio [...] The recording must be deleted after one use.”
• “The NSA would like to remind everyone to call their mothers this Sunday. They need to calibrate their system.”
• Neil Gaiman’s Journal: Farewell MCI, an Epilogue
  “I’m glad I just left MCI. I’m happy I’m not an investor in MCI. I wonder if they hung up on me, or if they just aren’t very good at this whole making telephone calls thing.” MCI should learn not to piss off celebrity authors.
• The black MacBook comes with a white Apple Remote and a white AC adapter? Whaddafuck?
• Christian Science Monitor: Why E-Mails are So Easily Misunderstood
  “[E]-mail lacks cues like facial expression and tone of voice. That makes it difficult for recipients to decode meaning well. [... T]he prospect of instantaneous communication creates an urgency that pressures e-mailers to think and write quickly … “
• Houstonist: Virgin Surgeon Mixes Cultural Politics, Vanity
  “According to the article she’s treated wives who want their husbands to re-deflower them (Houstonist isn’t sure this would be our thing, but whatever works for you), rape victims seeking control over their own destiny … “
• Gizmodo: Jockey Cures “Plumber’s Ass” With Tech
  “We’re hoping the company doesn’t decide to ‘fix’ this same occurance in the fairer sex, a rather pleasing phenomenon … “
• Ask Metafilter: Why do movies shown on airlines suck?
  “Airline movies are chosen based on least objectionable content. They don’t care whether you love it or not, but whether you’ll complain or not. More people will complain about interesting, controversial movies than the dross they normally show.”
• Ask MetaFilter: How many credit cards?
  “On average, today’s consumer has a total of 13 credit obligations on record at a credit bureau. [...] Of these 13 credit obligations, 9 are likely to be credit cards and 4 are likely to be installment loans.”
• Seinfeld Bloopers
• Video Wombat: Star Trek Bloopers
• NYT: “[T]he virulent bird flu that raised fears of a human pandemic has been largely snuffed out in the parts of Southeast Asia where it claimed its first and most numerous victims.”
  This is *extremely* good news to hear. I had been reading a little about avian flu. Granted, I was reading about humans who caught the bird form of the flu, not about human-to-human transmission, but, still, it was *very* scary shit.
• Feral Children
  “It was soon revealed that Genie had been locked away in a room alone for over ten years. She had been tied to a potty-chair and left to sit alone day after day. At night, she was tied into a sleeping bag which restrained her arms … “
• Women who puts up Bush protest posters gets sent to psych ward by neocon judge, threatened with 3-year prison term.
• No black holes, but dark energy stars? “This energy is related to the star’s size, and for a star as big as our universe the calculated vacuum energy inside its shell matches the value of dark energy seen in the universe today.”
  “‘It’s like we are living inside a giant dark energy star,’ Chapline says.”
• “We just announced that SkypeOut is now free within the US and Canada to all landlines and mobiles, until at least the end of 2006.”
  So, essentially, you can log onto your Skype account and call any telephone number free of charge. Very, very neato.
• David Hart: L.A. Public Access TV Legend
  “For one day I shared the city’s experiences with a different person. For one day I saw things through a different lens. For one day I split a 12-inch subway sandwich with a complete stranger in a part of town I have never been to in my life … “
• Clublife: My shot
  “‘You’re both wearing sashes,’ I said, still in club industry mode. ‘What are you trying to sell?’”
• Boing Boing: Animal sounds from around the world
  How do you say “meow” in Danish? “Miav,” evidently.
• AppleInsider | Up close and personal with Apple’s MacBook (photos)
  I’m not gonna buy it anytime soon, but man-oh-man, do these photographs of the black MacBook look schweeet.
• I learned a few things — like that Google evidently lifted the 10-word limit on search terms. Good!
• Yahoo’s new homepage looks rather clean. I like the design.
• Apple - MacBook
  Apple finally rolls out another black laptop. Took ‘em long enough. I doubt I’ll ever get it, but the $1.1k is an attractive price for a laptop, so hopefully it’ll encourage Apple adopters.

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