freaky deaky

Check out this set of color optical illusion. (From Fark.com)

a new planet

so they found a "planet" orbiting the sun farther out and larger than Pluto. So technically it should be the 10th planet. Or the real 9th planet, since some ppl don't think Pluto should be a planet in the first place.

oprah redux

Remember how I pointed out a little while back that if September 8, 1986 meant anything to you Oprah wanted to see you. Well i thought that it was interesting that if you did a yahoo search for "oprah september 8 1976" my entry is the 2nd result. Oh and by doing that search I also found out why that date was important to Oprah. It was the day her nationally syndicated show debuted.

I love Laguna Beach

I just got my first taste of a reality show on MTV called Laguna Beach. Apparantly it is in it's second and it is REDICULOUS. Even thought the disclaimer at the start of the show claims that it is real, there is very little to make it feel like it. It felt like an episode of 90120 where the actors adlibbed the script.

Now I have no illusions that any of the 'reality' shows on TV have any sort of reality aspect to them... but this show is a joke. The characters are all to aware of the cameras. The actresses (because calling them anything else would be disingenuous) look and act like 40 year old married women. All of the blondes look EXACTLY alike. The one named Kristen, seems to be the main character, but most of the time I can't tell which one she is. The camera work and cinematography is just too good (too many angles and too artistic), making things feel even faker. The only clue that any of it is real is the vapid nature and dialogue of the characters. One would hope script writers would be more creative than this.

New Urbanism

I remember first discovering the Kentlands (in Gaithersburg, MD) a few years ago. Driving through it gave me a creepy feeling. Like I was driving through the set of the Truman Show. I come to find out now that I wasn't that far off, it's called New Urbanism. (If you already know this, sorry... I'm late to the party.)

I had thought that Seahaven (Truman's town) was a set made for the movie. Well it's not. It happens to be a real town in Florida called Seaside. Seaside and Kentlands are based on the ideas of New Urbanism.

Now, I don't really know that much about it... and of what I've read, it seems like it has some good idea. But in existence, I just find it creepy. It doesn't feel natural.

Pi Approximation Day

In honor of Pi Approximation Day, I present to you Pi written out to 1,500,000 places. It might take a while to load, if you don't have time here is Pi to 1,000 places.

stuff for $2

Not sure how long this is going to last but Suave will send you 5 full sized products (shampoo, conditioner, hair gel/spray, body lotion, and deodorant) for $1.99 shipped.

maps and maps, oh my

So I've seen bunches and bunches of google map hacks like the craigslist and map measuring hacks. And most of them are pretty cool. But I don't want spend all my writing on the newest google map hack. To make things easy there is the Google Maps Mania Blog which list the newest and coolest hacks out.

success

So if you grew in washington dc you know how crazy this city (or at least the cities news) gets when there is news of baby panda at the zoo. Well here we go again: Mei Ziang had a cub this morning.
The last 5 times there have been cubs they have all died. One even lasted about a week. Well its time for this town to get all giddy and hope this cub's fate is better than Ling-Ling's offspring.

Another opening on the Supreme Court?

According to Robert Novak, Cheif Justice Rehnquist will announce his retirement before the week is over. (from PoliticalWire.com)

where is the hate

Espn.com has a poll asking which sports stars, managers and teams people hate the most. I would like to point out that currently 3 of the top 4 hated teams are rivals of my favorite teams: 1. The New York Yankees (Sox rivals) 3. Duke Basketball (Terps rival) and 4. Dallas Cowboys (Redskins rivals). The Sox are 2nd but I think thats mostly because of last year's World Series win.
The Lakers, who I also don't like, are 5th. After that I really don't have anything against the rest of the teams... except maybe Ohio State. Their national championship stills reeks of NCAA rules violations to me.

kryptos

One thing that a few people are aware of is that I am amazing skilled at wasting time with this internet thing. Well this one definitely took (and is still taking) up alot of my time.
I've just spent the past hour learning about Kryptos, a sculpture on the grounds of CIA Headquarters in Langley, VA. The articles at the bottom are very informative... including the Wired.com one from earlier this year.

new music

Moving like the fog on the Cumberland River
I was leaving on her Delta Queen
I wasn't ready to go, I'm never ready to go
27 years of nothing but failure and promises that I couldn't keep
Oh lord, I wasn't ready to go, I'm never ready to go

- Ryan Adams
Let It Ride