P&G Want You to Win an iPod

Get some free shampoo while you are at it.

Clean Close Shave?

Need a free razor? Click Schick and they should hook you up with the means to shave those legs.

Free is free, right?

More Free Food

This time for your cat. Free sample of Whiskas Meaty Selections cat food.

Put some plastic sushi grass next to it and tell your cat you brought her some take out.

Sushi Zen


California makki, originally uploaded by Pink Sushi.

Reminds me of lunch last Saturday.

Eight-week Crime Spree Planned

A couple of students from Cornwall are intent on making American criminal history by spending their summer breaking as many US laws as possible say British reporters at The Guardian.

Planned crimes include, a bike ride in a swimming pool in California, napping in a cheese factory in South Dakota and the hire a boat and attempt to go whale-hunting in Utah.

Consider yourself warned and be on the lookout!

Penguins in the News

In what BBC calls the "P Diddy penguin faux pas" we learn that several penguins were placed on a floating glass platform in a swimming pool at a hotel launch party in Florida's South Beach.

According to onlookers, the birds cowered in a corner and faced away from the crowds and the music, fearful of slipping down a slide into the water.

Michael McGraw, spokesman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), said the event was probably unbearable for them as they are used to a cold climate, adding, "they're very sensitive to temperatures, so if it was as hot as we've heard, it's a wonder they didn't collapse."

Mr. Combs' spokesman said he had nothing to do with the organization of the party and the use of penguins was not his idea.

Jerk.

Penguin News Take 2

School Board Bans Photo Of Girl Wearing Tux



Following a Clay County Florida School Board meeting, the principal's decision to ban the picture from the Fleming Island High School yearbook stands.

Kelli Davis, 18, had her senior class photo taken in a tuxedo top and bow-tie outfit provided for boys rather than the gown-like drape and pearls provided for girls. The school's principal decided it could not appear in the yearbook because she didn't follow the dress code.

Kelli, a straight-A student with no discipline problems, is a self-proclaimed lesbian.

The picture in question will be in the yearbook however, her parents paid US$700 to run it as an ad in the back pages.

Free Movies

Canada's National Film Board has 2 short films nominated for the Oscar® on the web.

Check them out and invite them over for a free Academy Awards party.

Kansas Attorney General Targets Abortion Clinics

Republican Attorney General Phill Kline of Kansas is demanding the complete medical files of women and girls who had late-term abortions, saying Thursday that he needs the information to prosecute criminal cases reports the San Francisco Chronicle and NPR.

Kline emphasized statutory rape in his news conference, many in Kansas on both sides of the abortion debate suspect his real target is doctors who provide late-term abortions.

Noting that personal details like marital status, race, employment history and emergency contact information are in the records, lawyers for the clinics asked, "How can a woman's method of birth control, or prior history of abortions, or use of drugs and medications be relevant?"

Kansas is one of 31 states that bans or restricts a procedure sometimes used to terminate pregnancies after the first trimester that doctors call intact dilation and extraction and critics call "partial-birth abortion.'' But its law allows such abortions when a woman's health is endangered. Since those laws were passed in 1998, Kansas has become a national magnet for late-term abortions because of a Wichita doctor who performs them. The doctor, George Tiller, funneled at least $150,000 through political action committees to Kline's opponent in the 2002 race for attorney general, and his clinic, Women's Health Care Services, is one of the two whose records are being subpoenaed reports Jodi Wilgoren of the New York Times.

One More Thing



Podbrix has another Limited Edition piece for you Lego+Apple fans.

17$ but only 300 available so act fast.

That Cat is Everywhere



Looks like another Limited Edition Hello Kitty object hits the shelves, this time only in Japan. 400 Yen (6GB) if you are so inclined, but you do get a free key-chain!

The Abstract Life

Express your inner surrealist at Mr Picassohead.

Bonus points for having David Bowie or Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers' song "Pablo Picasso," playing on iTunes while you do so.

thanks to Britta for finding this one!

Inside Story

A new non-partisan group called Operation Truth provides Americans with the direct, unvarnished truth about the realities on the ground in Iraq.

Real-life reports and photos from those who are there - read about them in Esquire magazine, go check it out.

A Penny Saved Nets US$437,000

A 1792 penny sold for $437,000 at auction Monday reports the AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

The penny's owners, descendants of Oliver Wolcott - the governor of Connecticut in the 1790s and a signer of the Declaration of Independence, kept in a tobacco tin for decade.

Anthony Terranova of New York City was the highest bidder, said Donn Pearlman, spokesman for Beverly Hills auction house Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles Inc.

Music is the New Black

Apple Computer announces new 6GB iPod mini with longer battery life (and drops the "gold" model). They also now have a 30GB iPod photo (read:color screen).

Rumors of a color screen for the iPod mini proved to be false although there is still hope for that later in the year.

Appears to be no changes in price or format for either the iPod U2 Special edition or the iPod Shuffle.

Shutter Bugged

Digital Photography Review quotes the German newspaper Spiegel Online that Leica is in a financial crisis with banks cutting their credit line.

Leica introduced the 35mm still camera in 1924, but is rumored to be suffering from a combination of the weak dollar versus the euro as well as being late to embrace the digital format.

Is There Life on Mars?



The Temple of Veronica Mars has a petition to MTV asking them to rebroadcast UPNs Veronica Mars.

This is a great show and you should check it out if you don't already. Clever writing should be rewarded don't you think?

Printers Want To Be Free

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has ruled against a request made by Lexmark in the case where they tried to use the DMCA to stop companies from selling cheaper ink catridges for their printers, reports Engadget.

The case is expected to go to full trial in December.

springfield is for gay lovers of marriage

Out and Proud



Homer's sister-in-law Patty has come out of the closet as "Springfield" tries to attract tourist dollars.

500,000 Bricks Tall



"LEGOLAND California broke the Guinness World Record for Tallest LEGO Tower today (February 21, 2005).

The LEGO brick tower, built by park guests over a span of five days, took an estimated half-a-million bricks to complete. An adjudicator from Guinness World Records measured the tower at 92 feet and 6 inches at an official ceremony.

W00t! M$ Is 4 Teh Rox0rs

Hey Gramps! Here is the Official MS parent's primer to computer slang.

Mad points for the use of the term, "primer."

Fully Loaded On So Many Levels


"a9571" as originally uploaded by hapinachu.

Defamer is reporting that Lindsay Lohan’s is too big for Disney's Herbie: Fully Loaded and will digitally reduce her breasts as they’re "waaay too big (and distracting)" for a Disney movie.

Here's Johnny!

"I did. I guess, like a lot of people, I felt let down. I resented people like Nixon and Agnew moralizing from the tops of their voices about morality and putting down the kids who didn't want to fight in Vietnam and talking about high moral principles when they were deceiving everybody. If they weren't so damn highly moral about it, it would be one thing, but I don't know how many people even know how much they were screwing the political process and using it for their own benefit. I think politicians in those positions have to have better standards. If they ask for those jobs, then they better have better standards than the rest of us. I'm not saying my morals were any better, but I wasn't the president. And I think when you're in those kinds of jobs and you have the public trust, then you should play it by the book."

Sound familiar? Read the whole Rolling Stone interview with Carson - it's the longest interview he ever sat for.

Read My Lips, "Some New Fees."

Taxes = Bad, Fees = Cost of doing business? In the increasing game of Socialist costs and Capitalist profits, The White House proposed budget calls for a rise in the fees that airline passengers have to pay to cover some of the increase in spending on homeland security.

How is it that we can all band together to pay for this but everything from money for HeadStart to armor for Humvees is, 'too expensive'?

Apple a CELL out?

Mac OS Rumors has a nice summary of the new IBM cell processor and its potential applications (or lack thereof) for the Macintosh.

In short they tell of, "hearing repeatedly on the grapevine that CELL won't be used in Macs, but will rather be the heart of an ultra-high-performance, low-cost HD media hub device. Apple has been listening to consumers who want a video iPod, but believes an even cheaper HD video device is possible that would run virtually any Dashboard application and implement computer-like functionality in a "game console" price range -- perhaps as low as $299 initially and $199 in its second generation"

Espresso a go go

Hack A Day editor Jason Striegel shows Engadget how to make a cheap portable espresso machine out of PVC pipe and a caulk gun.

Cheaper than Williams Sonoma and you get the satisfaction of saying, "I made this!"

Hey - if you roast your own beans and you can control everything but the harvest.

Justice Department Denies Member of Congress Ability to Speak or Submit Testimony At Public Hearing on Health Treatment Protocol for Victims of Sexual Assault

Instead, Department Asks Her to Leave.

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (NY) was denied an opportunity to speak or submit testimony at a public hearing held by the Justice Department that was scheduled to gather public comment on its National Protocol for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examination. Instead of accepting Congresswoman Maloney’s statement or written testimony, she was asked to leave by an official who suggested that if she did not leave security would be called.

Entire press release here.

Napster Doesn't Want You To Read This

A 6 step guide to Burning through Napster's collection, free.

Seems like all you need is Napster, Winamp and the Winamp Plug-in Output Stacker.

Oh, and roughly 252 blank CDs for when you are done with the 14 day free trial.

You'll Never Rip Mix Burn In This Town Again

Pink iPod minis can't be that hard to come by are they? A recent Boing Boing post has eye witness tale of Melanie Griffith freaking out at an LA Apple store.

If she was still considered among the fabulous, would she really have to go to an actual store to get one?

I am guessing the people getting Motorola’s Special-Edition Black RAZR V3 aren't heading to the mall for their's any time soon.

Teacher Arrested

At New York's Kennedy airport today, an individual later discovered to be a public school teacher was arrested trying to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a set square, a slide rule, and a calculator. At a morning press conference, outgoing Attorney General John Ashcroft said he believes the man is a member of the notorious al-gebra movement. He is being charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction.

"Al-gebra is a fearsome cult," Ashcroft said."They desire average solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in a search of absolute value. They use secret code names like 'x' and 'y' and refer to themselves as 'unknowns', but we have determined they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country. As the Greek philosopher Isosceles used to say, 'There are 3 sides to every triangle'.

When asked to comment on the arrest, President Bush said: "If God had wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction, He would have given us more fingers and toes."

Yes, this is a joke. Happy Friday.

Thanks mischalicious!

Can You Hear Me Now?

Read Dan Gillmor's report on the ouster of 'Reporter' Jeff Gannon.

Then ask a Bush voter, "Why does the White House continue to treat the American people with such contempt?"

Free Screen Cleaner

Need the inside of your monitor 'cleaned'? Let this cat take care of it for you.

UPDATE:16FEB05: This link works again (it takes you to another site). Not sure what the legal problem was....

Google Ads Driving Blog Content?

Michael Buffington has launched a new site called "Asbestos News."

Why is this interesting? Because, lawyers are paying anywhere from $15-100 per click through on his Google ads. If this works for him (and that remains to be seen) does it imply that more people will do the same? And will Google clamp down on obvious topical-blogs that only exist to garner page impressions and click-thoughs? Or will the cost come down for such advertising?

We'll have to watch and see.

More Book Savings

Save 10% at any Barnes & Noble Bookstore with this printable coupon, valid through 08 February 2005.

Not valid at bn.com.

Fun With Lego Minifigs



Relive Apple's iPod commercials with PodBrix. They seem to have sold out (16.99 $US) their initial run of 300 but have a mailing list to keep you in the loop.

Alternatively - be a C.A.B. and just save the picture like I did.

Almost Instant Mardi Gras



Dead-simple mix that needs only butter, one egg and water to make a yummy praline-filled King Cake. Available via mail-order for about 6 or 7 $US.

Laissez le Bon Temp Rouler!

Videogame History For Kids

Burger King is giving away classic Activision games (Kaboom!, Grand Prix, Barnstorming, Tennis) in hand-held form in their kids' meal. (From waxy.org)

An Early Valentine to Ed Meese?

Reuters Entertainment and Yahoo are reporting that Daily Variety has a story today that 'Deep Throat' is to Be re-released in U.S. Theaters.

The film will not be ready until at least Feb. 18 and 5 of the 10 prints being struck will be edited with a R rating in mind.

The release is set to coincide with the premiere of the documentary "Inside Deep Throat," which debuts in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston on Friday the 12th.

SuperBowl Madness Begins

Need to relive the best (?) parts of the Super Bowl? Here is a link to the Apple / Pepsi iTunes Gwen Stefani ad.

Fun with IE Users

You are running Firefox, right? If so, you might add this to your page to hurry the rest of humanity toward the light.

Heavy on the Flash

But check out this amazing site devoted to SUV safety. Honestly - it's worth the click.

Use Your Best "Comic-book Guy" Voice

And say, "Worst. Boba. Fett. Ever." As you look at this LiveJournal page of Star Wars Con attendees.

One Quarter Off

Another coupon from Borders, this one for 25% off.

Penthouse "Pet"


Great interview of Gary ("Teacher's Pet") Baseman at Crown Dozen.

How GB made the jump to 3D, got his name next to Walt's and how he feels about "accessible art."

A Valentine For the Simpsons Fan

Lisa's "I Choo Choo Choose You" card to Ralph now available for download so you can give your special someone a neat little card this year, EPS or JPG.