September 2004

Thursday 30 September

  • Conan to replace Leno in 2009 (15:48) - I'm about 3 days late on this one. I only found out when Chrisopher Walken congratulated Conan on last nights show for getting the Tonight Show. Anyway, in case you live under a rock like I do, Conan is replacing...

Wednesday 29 September

  • Stoned slackers apparently still more well-informed and more well-educated than Fox viewers (00:50) - NEW YORK (AP) -- The folks at Comedy Central were annoyed when Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly kept referring to "The Daily Show" audience as "stoned slackers." So they did a little research. And guess whose audience is more educated?...
  • Medical Mushrooms to treat debilitating cluster headaches (00:43) - ...Bob Wold, a 51-year-old construction firm owner who suffered from debilitating cluster headaches, which are rare but brutal, until four years ago when he tried psilocybin to treat them. ...he was in the midst of choosing between three surgeries for...
  • Print-on-demand -- Uganda (00:24) - "Most kids had never read a book before. In some cases, they had never seen a reading book before." Anywhere Books has got a mobile book printer driving around rural Africa allowing kids who have severely limited access to real...

Tuesday 28 September

  • Found on Tour (06:44) - I saw Found Magazine. You should too. Here are some upcomming dates: september 29, 2004 -- columbus, oh » wexner center for the arts, 6 pm, 1871 n.high street, 800.678.6264 october 3, 2004 -- ann arbor, mi » the blind...

Monday 27 September

  • What's Better? (00:22) - At whatsbetter.com you are asked to vote on what is better between two different things that have absolutely nothing to do with eachother. After voting you get some statistics on how others feel about the particular objects you were voting...

Friday 24 September

  • Connecticut to Argentina by car (12:36) - I've thought about how amazing a trip like this would be for some time now. I wasn't even sure if it was possible. Turns out it is. Last year, during a seven month period the author drove nearly 25,000 miles...
  • Internet Addicts (00:11) - If you've ever seen a smack-head handcuffed to a bed gibbering uncontrollably because he can't get a fix, then be afraid, because that's what you'll look like after two weeks of internet-free cold turkey. Who would submit themselves to this...

Thursday 23 September

  • Science in the Developing World (23:34) - Last week stood out with a flood of great news on about infrastructural progress in science all over the developing world as covered by SciDevNet. In Costa Rica, Central America's first nanotech lab opened with an initial investment of only...
  • Rathergate (16:25) - Yeah.. a whole website dedicated to ol' Dan and the national guard report fiasco. http://www.rathergate.com/...

Wednesday 22 September

  • Rawr! (23:50) -
  • Relay me some more funny (00:25) - Most of you probably don't remember, but I posted something about relay calls meant to help the deaf. Well I found some call recordings. Not safe for work!! Though quite amusing. Hahahaha, it's just funny to hear operators say "touch...

Tuesday 21 September

  • Press Reports on U.S. Casualties: About 17,000 Short (20:04) - Nearly 17,000 service members medically evacuated from Iraq and Afghanistan are absent from public Pentagon casualty reports commonly cited by newspapers, according to military data reviewed by United Press International. Most don't fit the definition of casualties, according to the...
  • Jose Canseco: Most Valuable Playa (13:49) - Late 80s baseball is where it is at. Jose Canseco, Daryl Strawberry... those guys were tru playaz....

Monday 20 September

  • US to use microwave guns in Iraq (11:08) - This has bad news written all over it. The microwave guns basically microwave your skin, creating unbearable pain that immediately goes away when you step away from the microwave beam. The US says there are no after-effects, but what about...
  • Michael Moore, you are a F!*@ing Moron (10:45) - Anyone with a semi bitter taste in their mouth over Moore should enjoy this one. Not safe for work....

Saturday 18 September

  • It rubs the lotion on it's skin (20:32) - Someone wrote a song about Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs. It's accompanied by clips from the movie (not safe for work). It's a really catchy tune, I wish I knew who wrote it. Ween maybe? It sounds like...
  • Don't Forget.... (20:27) - Tommorow is national Talk Like a Pirate Day. arrrr....

Friday 17 September

  • Are Educational Games Possible? (00:42) - Games have yet to revolutionize the education system or even make much impact. Some would say there just isn't a way to make learning fun. But there are some areas where software can be truly one of the best ways...

Thursday 16 September

  • Cocaine is a hell of a drug (22:33) - To add to my previous post regarding Rick James... "The coroner listed nine drugs, including prescription medications for anxiety, pain relief and heart failure, along with cocaine and methamphetamine that were found in James's body." Here's the complete article on...
  • Johnny Ramone dead at 55 (00:25) - Johnny Ramone, guitarist and co-founder of the seminal punk band the Ramones, has died at the age of 55. Ramone died in his sleep Wednesday afternoon (Sept. 15) at his Los Angeles home surrounded by friends and family, his publicist...
  • Kryptonite Locks hacked with Bic Pen (00:22) - At first I didn't believe this... then I tried it. Takes me less than 5 seconds to pop the lock. These locks are the industry standard and this secret is out all over the place. Slashdot discussion here, no wonder...

Wednesday 15 September

  • Underground Cinema and Bar found in Paris (10:11) - After entering the network through a drain next to the Trocadero, the officers came across a tarpaulin marked: Building site, No access.Behind that, a tunnel held a desk and a closed-circuit TV camera set to automatically record images of anyone...

Tuesday 14 September

  • The Big Map of Springfield USA (11:18) - The mapping of Springfield began in the Spring of 2001 when we realized that no adequate map of Springfield existed either online or in print. Initially the content was collected from the City Profile and Springfield Vacation pages at The...

Monday 13 September

  • Ann Arbor-Astor Cube (21:30) - One of the first things I noticed outside my window when I first moved to Ann Arbor was this giant cube (2400 pounds!) that could be seen spinning at times. It is the twin of a cube at Astor Place...
  • News is stranger than fiction (18:43) - A 30-year-old patient was awarded $2.1-million by a jury in Spokane, Wash., after evidence that neuropsychiatrist Donald Dudley (who died before trial) tried to chemically erase part of the man's brain and turn him into a trained killer. Also:A barroom...
  • There's Nothing Wrong With Love (00:22) - My favorite album is 10 years old today. On September 13, 1994, Built to Spill released "There's Nothing Wrong With Love." ...

Saturday 11 September

  • Socialized Highway System (11:10) - The Interstate legislation, as enacted in 1956, put a stop to new toll-road construction, and we instead proceeded with a socialized transportation system, available to the consumer at no charge, mostly paid for from general revenue. Toll-road construction ceased, and...

Friday 10 September

  • Playboy to feature the Girls of Video Games (01:01) - I would have bought this, but they left Chun-Li out. Playboy is taking a chance on silicon instead of silicone. The October issue of the men's magazine features several video game characters posing in the nude — images created by...
  • Technology to save the environment (00:45) - Speaking of extremophiles, Wired News covers the discovery of a fellow bacterium that eats styrene (used in making Styrofoam) to make biodegradable plastic. Sounds like a great way to use new biotechnology to patch some of the problems caused by...

Thursday 9 September

  • Aliens Have Been Found (23:58) - Scientists at UCLA have used genomics software to reconstruct the likely history of all plants and animals (including people, of course) on this planet back to a single cell. Mentioned are "archae", the exotic, neither plant, animal, or bacteria creatures...
  • Sponsor a Bus Rider (12:49) - Here's a random thought: out of all those who, despite driving along a well functioning bus line, choose to commute by car how many would give up a few dollars to get someone else's car out of your way? Too...
  • Suburbs and Poverty (12:34) - Something that I've noticed around Detroit but never fully registered is the huge disparity in affluence between the inner/older, where the old 8 Mile boundary has shifted outwards, and outer/newer suburbs: The Suburbanization of Poverty. Today, 13.8 million poor Americans...
  • PAYD (Pay As You Drive) Insurance (01:15) - Maybe you've heard of it before. If not here is a rundown of why we should get the option of insurance-by-the-mile.Econ 101 says that when something is free, people consume too much. In this case, all-you-can-drive insurance encourages people to...
  • The HDTV Scam (00:03) - I got my new DVR cablebox from Comcast today. In addition to being a DVR, the box is a HDTV receiver. This meant little to me as I have a regular 36" RCA television, not an HDTV... Until I turned...

Wednesday 8 September

  • Project Rebirth (10:45) - Using time-lapse photography, Project Rebirth is currently documenting the day-by-day rebuilding of the World Trade Center site in New York City.Six 35mm time-lapse motion picture cameras, situated around the site since the six-month anniversary of 9/11, will continue to shoot...
  • News from the Wired (00:51) - An alternative to Lasik, an implantable, yet removeable, contact lens that takes only eight minutes (!) and some anaesthetic eye drops to install.. from STAAR Surgical. Does having this qualify one as a cyborg? -- Europeans should be aware of...

Tuesday 7 September

  • Bush: "Too many OB-GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country" (23:56) - POPLAR BLUFF, Mo., Sept 6 (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush offered an unexpected reason on Monday for cracking down on frivolous medical lawsuits: "Too many OB-GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country."...
  • Real World Philadelphia Drinking Game (13:09) - The Real World: Philadelphia premeires tonight. Philadelphia Weekly has provided a handy drinking game for your viewing pleasure. Some of my favorites: >> If the cast is on South Street drunk and one of them gets in a fight, finish...
  • McDonald's outsourcing drive thru window (12:04) - No, it's not a joke. McDonald's has begun to outsource the drive-thru window at some locations. You speak your order into the microphone, a call center in Colorado listens to your order, types it into a computer and sends it...

Monday 6 September

  • Are we being contacted? Part II (23:57) - Update: Seti@home. Is the previous story misleading? via Space.com. You can also check out this video from eBaumsworld. It really has nothing to do with the story above, I just thought it was a sweet vid. Some have suggested the...
  • Wacky News (10:13) - There are times when I can easily confuse CNN.com with The Onion. Today is one of those days: Two Muppets Named Top Scientists Record crowds for Burning Man Festival...

Friday 3 September

  • What happened to Gopher? (10:43) - I found myself reminiscing about the days of gopher last night when I decided to find out if there are any gopher sites still alive these days. For non IE users:Gopher is alive! For IE users:Gopher is alive!... kinda No...
  • What really happened at the Pentagon on 9/11? (09:45) - ***Conspiracy Theory Warning*** From Physics911.org: Detailed analysis of the debris field, physical damage, and other factors in the alleged impact of a Boeing 757 on the Pentagon building on the morning of September 11, 2001 reveals an almost complete absence...
  • Are we being contacted? (00:05) - Astronomers have been reviewing radio transmissions from deep space for some time now. Recently they came upon SHGb02+141 (signal name). It's being transmitted from 1000 light years away at 1,420 megahertz. Is the signal artificial or natural? They really don't...

Wednesday 1 September

  • Philadelphia to be totally wire(d)less (16:17) - CNN Reports: PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (AP) -- For about $10 million, city officials believe they can turn all 135 square miles of Philadelphia into the world's largest wireless Internet hot spot.The ambitious plan, now in the works, would involve placing hundreds,...
  • Le Parkour (16:08) - The key objective of parkour is to create a 'run' where a series of obstacles are overcome in a creative, athletic, fluid and acrobatic manner. The runs are typically composed of jumps, vaults, aerial spins, and wall runs, but the...
  • Reporting of the Resistance to the RNC (00:57) - Establishment media not giving you all the NYC protest coverage you want? Find out more at NYC Indymedia. ...