Activity Corner

Happy Halloween!

• Michael Jackson's Thriller is such an iconic work that everyone recognizes the zombie dance steps. One fan went above and beyond by recording himself on 64 tracks to produce the a capella Thriller.


• Just like hobos used to make marks for others of their kinds, kids now have a Halloween candy code.


• The Halloween science project: how much candy can you fit in a pillowcase?


• The 6 best video game costumes for Halloween.


• 100 illustrated horror film posters, part 1 and part 2 (although they're not all horror movies).


• Harry Potter is very popular. So much so, that a large number of people get special Harry Potter license plates.


• Awesome pictures of slime molds.


• Awesome pictures of animal camouflage.


• I love logo design, so I loved these 35 stunning black-and-white logos.


• If you read a lot, and actually use bookmarks (instead of whatever scrap paper you find around the house), then you might like the liquid bookmark.


• Just what the intarweb needs: the Caps Lock training key.


• How do shopping carts get wonky wheels? Probably like this.


• One of the earlier internet memes was different versions of the Wazzup! TV commercial (here's the original). Now, eight years later, the original actors have reunited for Wazzup 2008.

Friday Game

You'll either find this puzzle game extremely easy, or extremely frustrating. But since the "directions" really don't tell you how to swap blocks, here's what you do: use your mouse to move the little brackets around, which outline the two blocks you want to swap, and click to swap them.

Can you complete the challenge of HDOS Databank Request?

5 More Friends

Remember the 5 Friends video? Well they have a new one now.



Awesome.

Halloween Comes Early This Year

It used to be that there were three things you could count on: death, taxes, and Halloween in the dark. But thanks to the "energy saving" changes made to Daylight Savings time this year, for the first time we don't set back our clocks until after Halloween.

Trick or Treating in the light? Geez, next thing you know, kids will be Trick or Treating at the mall.

Mantyhose

Pantyhose for men. Yes, really.

Nom Nom Nominee

A co-worker brought in leftover caramel apples from his Halloween party last weekend. Let me be the first to nominate them as the best caramel apples ever.

1. Apples plus caramel equals awesome.


2. The caramel coating contained chili powder. Spicy awesome.


3. The caramel apples were rolled in or sprinkled with Heath bar bits. Spicy toffee awesome.

He dropped off the apples in a large, heavy-duty Ziploc bag. Once I was done with the apple, I had the bag inside-out on my hand, like some clear tasty puppet, licking off the gooey goodness. I didn't even care what the passersby thought as they looked at me. Although, in retrospect, they might have been looking at me because of the licking and "Mmmm"ing noises they heard as they walked by.

One Week to Go

Only a week left before election day, and then we can finally (depending on your affiliation) start or stop crying. Then, instead of focusing on how much someone has spent on a wardrobe, we can get back to important things, like who's going to win on Dancing With the Stars.

Caption Contest

Your Taxes at Work - Fail

Election Monitoring

Next week is election day, and if you're even moderately interested in the results, then you'll want to monitor them. So here are the ten best online election monitoring sites I could find.

• Pollster


• Yahoo Election08 Political Dashboard


• MSNBC Decision 08 Dashboard


• NPR Election Map


• Electoral Vote


• Real Clear Politics


• New York Times


• Five Thirty Eight


• CBS News


• CNN

Have fun!

Caption Contest Winner

This week's winner is hurley.

See the original image here.

Activity Corner

• Have a cat that jumps on your counters? Would like to teach him to stop? Then you need a Blender Defender.


• Top ten TV news mishaps.


• In these tough economic times, you might need to know how to live in your car.


• Kim the talking robot clock.


• Just what you need for the modern nomadic life: the walking house. (Here's a movie.)


• 15 dumbest Web 2.0 startup names.


• Fight sleep apnea by playing the didgeridoo (see the section near the bottom).


• A brilliant bit of editing and short enough to enjoy: McCain Drums.


• Food sculptures.


• What do you do with doo in the big city? Call in the Sprinkle Brigade.


• Stop motion chess game. Much better than it sounds, especially when the pieces do battle.


• Cemeteries in parking lots.


• Chimpanzee on a Segway.


• If you like 80s music, you could spend hours on this site: 80s Music Videos.


• Kirk and Spock nutcrackers.


• 34 geeky Halloween pumpkins.


• Rant time. I just returned from a trip, and I can't tell you how livid the "security check" makes me. Just ask Raggs. And to vindicate my rage, I point you to the following article.
  Airport security in America is a sham “security theater” designed to make travelers feel better and catch stupid terrorists. Smart ones can get through security with fake boarding passes and all manner of prohibited items—as our correspondent did with ease.
  The Things He Carried.

Friday Game

An interesting word-spelling puzzle game that adds more tricks as you complete levels. It's quite engaging, despite its lame yet descriptive name: Blocks With Letters On.

The Mona Pizza

I love pizza, and I love art. Pizza art... awesome!

Bamf!

If you've seen the X-Men movies, or read the comic books, you know who Nightcrawler is.

Diana Nock loves Nightcrawler, and has been collecting drawings of him (sometimes by famous artists!) for years. You can see them all at the amazing Nightcrawler Sketchbooks.

Caption Contest

Golden Girls: Sex and the City Edition

Smile, Fido

You may not know this, but when you look at dogs lying upside-down, they seem to be smiling. Which is the whole point of Upside Down Dogs.

Caption Contest Winner

This week's winner is Ash.

See the original image here.

Activity Corner

• It's been said that Halloween is an excuse for girls to dresh trashy, and costumes like these don't do anything to counter that stereotype.


• 10 funniest law-firm names. (Although you might have a hard time telling them from the ads on this page.)


• Jeff Patterson conquers the Solar System.


• People like to poke fun at political candidates, especially ones they oppose. So check back every day for new content at the "What if?" site, Palin as President.


• How do coca leaves get turned into cocaine? Apparently, like this.


• Wedding ring exchange FAIL.


• Cats flushing toilets.


• 1978 Corvette converted into a 1989 Batmobile.


• Spooky Halloween food ideas.


• Have a LEGO artist recreate you out of the famous bricks as a life-size replica.


• Don't take crap from your neighbors. Get back at them with the REVENGE!™ CD. (Yes, it's actually Trademarked.)


• Surfing the web is good for your brain!

Friday Game

This game is maddening. All it asks you do to is "eyeball" the correct spot in the geometry. The best way to learn it is to play it. And once you learn, see if you can improve your score in The Eyeballing Game.

Half Empty AND Half Full

Watching a financial news channel lately is really a mixed blessing.

On one hand, you get up-to-the-minute details on just how crappy the economic situation is.

On the other, there aren't any political ads for the upcoming election.

Tractoriffic

The intartubes help people with specific interests focus on what they like best. Sometimes that focus is fun, sometimes it's scary, and sometimes it's just... interesting.

Start with the video concept of YouTube, but allow only videos of tractors, and you have YouTractor.

Perspective

Standing in the pre-dawn chill at the bus stop, my coat zipped all the way up, clouds of breath-fog floating away from my face, I can't help but notice a gaggle (herd? flock?) of teenagers nearby. They're dressed in jeans and t-shirts, no coats, and one is even wearing flip flops. It's like 45 degrees outside. They seem (as they do with so many things) oblivious.

"Dude, if you can score that beer, we'll be the illest mofos at the party, son!"

I smile, remembering the days when "scoring beer" was a life priority. Overhearing their conversation reminds me of a simpler time, and where my life is now. It puts things in perspective.

After all, the "illest mofos" at the parties I attend are the dudes with the coolest iPhone apps.

More Trading Faces

Also part of the below-mentioned meme: The Brokers with Hands on Their Faces Blog.

Caption Contest

Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, right down Santa Claus lane...

Trading Faces

Someone on the internet is quick to jump on any fad or situation, and the current economic crisis is no exception. Pictures of traders and humorous captions are the rule at Sad Guys on Trading Floors.

Caption Contest Winner

This week's winner is Raggedy Angst.

See the original image here.

Activity Corner

• I really can't say anything other than Klingons for Jesus.


• America's 10 most confusing traffic signs.


• Have you ever fallen asleep while watching a DVD, only to wake up to the menu loop? Then you'll love You Fell Asleep Watching a DVD.


• "Take On Me" by Aha is probably my favorite 80s music video. So I can't stop watching, and laughing at, Take On Me - Literal Video Version. They need to do more of these.


• I love progress bars.


• Halloween is coming, and a perennial costume favorite is the French Maid. But don't leave the page yet. Check out the customer review and accompanying photo.


• Mario action figure plus 3D software plus Legos plus big nerd with too much time equals Lego Mario.


• Machines that almost fall over. Strangely mesmerizing.


• Scam, or true heartbreaking story? Please give because my cat needs a sex change.


• Watch the speeding ticket from a cop's dashcam. It's not the ticket and lecture, it's what happens after.


• Propane tank versus truck.


• Internet superstars, where are they now?


• Best Halloween display concept ever. Hallowindow.


• Real life Simon's cat.


• The nine phases of dating.


• Dream captcha.


• How to install an air conditioner in Russia.


• I really don't know what to say about peanut butter slices.


• Freestyle rap battle translated into plain English.

Friday Game

It's sort of like Missile Command in that you control a station on the ground that shoots things coming at you. The difference is you have two types of projectiles. And the object is to hit the incoming balls so they are deflected away from your station. If a ball touches your station, game over. See how long you can last in Red.

Tough Times, Smooth News

Sure, there are problems with the economy, but why make it a self-fulfilling prophesy? You can still keep up with the latest events without feeding the frenzy. Make the news a better place by filtering it through Recession Blocker.

Coworker Roundup

• "Who are you trying to kiss up to?"
  "Everybody. I'm new! Is it working?"


• "We have to figure out how to measure customer dissat."
  (Yes, she actually abbreviated "dissatisfaction".)


• "Must learn to not want to smack people."


• "I don't know a lot of the music in Rock Band. I find that I judge the bands based on the people I knew in high school that wore their shirts."


• "I'm pretty unflappable, but I've been flapped."

A Rebirth

The new computer is up and running. It's so fast and quiet, I'd almost not even know it was there if I wasn't hugging it.

Caption Contest

The guy I'm directly behind when going through security at the airport.

Renter? I don't even know her!

Keeping up with the latest fashion can be expensive. Fortunately, you don't have to spend thousands for the purse you need to complete your ensemble. You can (yes, this is true) rent that Prada or Louis Vuitton or Fendi or Chanel... you get the idea, at Bag Borrow or Steal.

Caption Contest Winner

This week's winner is Ash.

See the original image here.

Activity Corner

• My recreational pastime often conflicts with this blog's Friday game research, as seen in this cartoon.


• In case you ever need to know, here's how to land a 747 jet.


• You know what your computer needs for Halloween? A 2GB USB drive shaped like a skull.


• A great do-it-yourself project that's bound to get noticed! The upside-down bookshelf.


• How can anyone live like this?


• Optical illusions, illustrated and explained.


• Fortified bottled water is better than plain ole tap water, right? If it's good enough for you, isn't it good enough for your dog?


• Six baffling mistakes every movie criminal makes.


• These kids today may not remember film strips, but they were still around way back when Star Wars first came out. Check out the Star Wars film strip.


• The fatty melt.


• Home video of the birth of a tornado.


• Upside-down houses and buildings.


• Two lucky climbers.


• Bacon cinnamon rolls.


• And, as a follow-up, Baconnaise. (Thanks, Ash!)


• A belly dancer wears a Princess Leia slave-girl costume and turns it into a career.

Friday Game

While this game has you controlling the movements of a small robot, it's really more about programming concepts, including functions and recursion.

The instructions are a bit light, so here's what I learned. The robot will only do what you tell it to. Moving, turning, and switching the light on/off are all pretty straightforward. The jump up/down command also moves you one space forward, only jumps up one level, but will jump down any number. And you'll learn to use one function to call the other.

See how well you can solve the puzzles with light-bot.

5 Friends

Leo DiCaprio gets kudos just for bringing all these people together. Well done.

Porcupines and Pineapples

Walking by the supply room at work, I noticed a new box of push pins. "Oh, I need more for my bulletin board, so I'll just grab a handful of ...AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Self-acupuncture, not so great, akshully.

The Rating Game

One of my theories is that the internet is there to prove to you that you're normal. Unless, of course, you're not.

Many people ask themselves that question, but therapy is expensive! Of course, the intarwebs comes to the rescue. You can not only voyeuristically see others' admissions, but rate them yourself at Sane or Insane.