Plurib.us

Intense Martian sand dunes.
msss.com/mars_images/mo...

Not sure what to think of this site.  They sent me a bogus site submission confirmation e-mail.  (I'm guessing it was not spam.)  They've got some bizarre descriptions of themselves, and slightly too many ads.

galaxy.com/

Participate in the return of my silly experiment, now renamed "Shrub of Consciousness".

plurib.us/shrubofconscio...

Updates:
* Now with more speed.  Cursor focuses to the form now so SOC can be keyboard controlled for you speed users.
* I just put in a "better" random function that may cure your "I keep getting the thought I just put in" woes.  (us2.php.net/manual/en/func...)
* Also, new "inside the shrub" feature (scroll down).
* Just passed 1000 thoughts already.  You are all animals.

One of my greatest regrets is not finding this site before Halloween:

extremepumpkins.com/

In order to fully protect your family, your home should be outfitted with Zombie Alert.

* Most Americans use and value their brains --  the natural food of zombies.
* Ninety percent of zombie related fatalities occur in the home.
* The only proven defense against zombie attack is an effective early warning system.

loris.net/zombie/index.h...

A useful technique in philosophical discussions is to posit a theoretical liminal situation.  This has the effect of reducing a complex situation to a few salient considerations which can better strike at the heart of the matter.  (Eg. Consider an android indistinguishable from a human, a friendly chimpanzee, and a fully-functioning disembodied human brain which cannot communicate.  Which is most "human?" Which is most intelligent?  Is any more or less valuable than any other?)

Because of this technique of reductionism, philosophical stances lend themselves surprisingly well to the new-ish genre of online quizzes.  What is your basic moral stance?  Are your views on God internally consistent?  Only an online quiz can tell you for sure.

philosophers.co.uk/games/games.ht...

Excellent meditation on Open Source and Microsoft.  It contains possibly the best argument for open source I've seen.

pbs.org/cringely/pulpi...

"It's very simple," said Linus. "Because the software is free, there is no pressure to release it before it is really ready just to achieve some sales target. Every version of Linux is declared to be finished only when it is actually finished ..."

The Register's take, including some background:

theregister.co.uk/content/4/3352...

Diet Alert:  Old-skool wheatgrass blended health frappes are out.

What's in?

meatshake.com/

A list of mostly-archaic occupations.  Some of the names are great, some of the occupations are odd, and sometimes the name and occupation match up perfectly in a strange way.

* FAKER - photographic assistant who added color to photographs by hand before color film was available.
* RECTIFIER - one who distilled alcoholic spirits
* WHEEL TAPPER - railway worker who checked for cracked wheels by striking them with a long handled hammer and listening for a clear ring.

cpcug.org/user/jlacombe/...

(via www.metafilter.com)

Isreal isn't getting enough Hebrew compatibility from MS product.  (So it's banning new government purchases.)

theregister.co.uk/content/4/3336...

Get Your War On gets back to the basics.

mnftiu.cc/mnftiu.cc/war2...

And a nice Maakies, while we're at it.

maakies.com/archive/m458.h...

The geology of the crater.  (Mars pic of the day)

msss.com/mars_images/mo...

An argument that the draft should be reinstated.  Frankly, I'm somewhat compelled.

salon.com/news/feature/2...

A discussion of the types of guys.  Funny, and probably true.    On behalf of guys everywhere, I apologize.

frolicanddetour.com/writings/archi...

Ebay is going to start aquiring more companies.  Scary.

theregister.co.uk/content/7/3345...

Kids rate various old-skool video games.

Brian: What's this supposed to be?
EGM: Football. It's one of the first great portable games.
Brian: I thought it was Run Away From the Dots.
John: I don't see how this has anything remotely to do with football.
Tim: They could've just as easily called this game anything—Baseball, Bowling, Escape From the Monsters.

egmmag.com/article2/0,436...

Versign is going to relaunch SiteFinder despite what has to be unanimous opposition.

theregister.co.uk/content/6/3343...

Today's "Mars picture of the day" is probably the coolest I've seen so far.  I think it is fairly representative of Mars' surface (craters, dust, ...)

msss.com/mars_images/mo...

I had always thought that Dr. Pepper was made by the Coke company, and 7-up by Pepsi.  After being told twice (by Brian) that this isn't the case, I've finally found the company responsible for these beverages: Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc.  What a boring name.

dpsu.com/

Their other products include A&W Root Beer, RC Cola, Hawaiian Punch, and Diet Rite.  (Oddly, their product list coincides neatly with my mental list of "Beverages that babysitters drink.")

Regular semaphore is for wimps.

The acquired skill known as Trouser Semaphore is swiftly gaining currency as the only way for people of quality to communicate in an age of rapidly escalating background noise levels. . . Surely, there is no sight more moving than a man and three square yards of carefully tailored cavalry twill moving in perfect harmony.

thechapmagazine.com/Trousers/semap...

(via the wonderful J-Walk Blog: j-walk.com/blog/ )

A new typeface which is designed to alleviate the problems of dyslexia:

readregular.com/english/intro....

Click on "Read Regular" on the right to see examples of the font.  Click on "Background" to learn why they did what they did.

The text of a once-popular rap song by Sir Mix-a-Lot, translated into Latin, and then given an interlinear English translation.

magnae clunes mihi placent, nec possum de hac re mentiri.
(Large buttocks are pleasing to me, nor am I able to lie concerning this matter.)

Verbum.
livejournal.com/users/quislibe...

A new state of matter found in laboratories?  (Very technical, but does an ok job at explaining to the layman [considering].)

spaceref.com/news/viewpr.ht...

NASA is (at long last) actively investigating the retirement of the Shuttle.

spaceref.com/news/viewnews....

China will put an astronoaut in space (the third country to ever do so) in three days.  The whole thing seems bizarrely iffy, though (i.e. we don't know if it will make 1 or 14 orbits).

spaceref.com/news/viewnews....

Another excellent meditation on privacy.  I highly recommend reading both last week's (linked to earlier) and this week's column.  (Also note totally fresh new format.)

pbs.org/cringely/pulpi...

Ultimately, it would come to function like a much larger version of eBay's feedback system which would result in subtle pressure toward more civil behavior -- something we don't have in any practical sense today.

The old Road-Runner-vs.-Wile-E.-Coyote ACME Catalog post?

Lame.  New, better catalog:

home.nc.rr.com/tuco/looney/ac...

Someone, get me an ACME All-Purpose Farm Implement!

How to road-trip.

themorningnews.org/archives/how_t...

I want to drive (or be driven) somewhere far away.  Appease me!

The Multiple-Use Interlocking Modular Container is like a cross between a milk-jug and a LEGO. 

Just when it  seemed that every container possible had been invented, an innovative concept that changes the essence of packaging has arrived on the scene.

It also solves transport and storage problems in unexpected ways.

I don't think I've ever been so excited about food storage.

emium.com.ar/ingl/home.html

My high-school chemistry teacher told us that elemental sodium is extremely volitile, that it will explode on contact with water.  (She also heated the classroom on cold days by lighting 30+ bunsen burners, and she good-naturedly answered the compulsory "Does it explode?" question before every demonstration.)

This guy decided that he hadn't been given sufficient proof of the sodium-water phenomenon.  (Great pictures, and video if you want it.)

theodoregray.com/PeriodicTable/...

He's also responsible for the Periodic Table Table:
theodoregray.com/PeriodicTable/...

Kentucky's new license was probably designed by kindergarteners:

gov.state.ky.us/plate/

It's certainly no "Famous Potatoes."

A campaign to get the Dutch out of the US:

They are beneath contempt!
They stink of Edam and Gouda!
The lewd litanies of the Dutch Reformed Church are ever on their lips!
Shun these sinister impostors!

Thank goodness it's from the National Lampoon--we can continue to foist our wooden-shoe-wearing ways on an unsuspecting populace.

nationallampoon.com/dutch/