Steve Jobs at D

Terrific, if for nothing else, the last 15 seconds.

Caption contest

Okay, so let's have some fun. Gates and Jobs were seated together at some D4 conference thing-a-ma-bob (I'm sure not as cool as TED).

Anyway, let's write some captions for this photo. Whoever writes the best one will be given…a brand new Zune! There's enough leftover, that we're willing to give some away. So, caption away.

*Zune prize to be awarded if and only if Zune sales exceed iPod sales in the next 3 months.

Day of Fools!

Yesterday was of course April Fool's Day, and I am catching up on my reading, and beginning to notice some nice web versions of jokes from the day. Here are a few that you also might enjoy… no joke:

Google TiSP: A new type of ISP service, bringing service through your toilet?
Millennium Falcon: make sure you read the press release about this new bird species very carefully.
The Consumerist Mutual Fund

Through sleet, snow, freezing rain… may the force be with you.

The United States Postal Service has got into the act of consumer feedback by asking Americans to vote for their favorite stamp choice in the new Star Wars stamp collection. There are many great choices and nice designs, but my vote went to the incomparable Boba Fett, whose look alone will ensure your letter's delivery. Other favorites were Chewbacca (of course), Storm Troopers, and the classic Princess Leia/R2-D2 moment.

Perhaps the coolest part of the relationship between Star Wars and the USPS is the creation of R2-D2 mailboxes to be scattered across the country. What a perfect idea… the mailbox is already shaped similarly to R2-D2, so they just overlaid R2-D2's likeness, and wha-la! Now R2 can delivery your message safely, just like he did for Lea and so many other characters. Plus, he knows a bunch of languages. That should help with international deliveries. It'd be interesting to see if the USPS gets any letters addressed to characters on Star Wars planets like Tatooine.

And just in case you don't have an R2-D2 mailbox near you, you can make your own with this PDF. Way cool!

Let's go shopping!

Recently, I have found a few interesting items online that seem very cool, but I just can't afford to buy right now. Figuring that you might have the same interest, yet more available cash flow, I post these sites for your shopping pleasure:

Perpetual Kid - which directed me to this (pictured above)

Mighty Goods - which directed me to this cool item.

Suck UK - another doormat, which looks eerily similar to the work of John Langdon (you don't know him now, but you know him if you read Angels & Demons)

Best title for a movie ever?

I was in Blockbuster tonight, and I had to stop when I saw this selection: Killer Drag Queens on Dope

The best part was that the way the cover read, it said, "Killer Drag Queens… (On Dope)" As if being a killer drag queen wasn't enough! :-)

Winterbells

So far, my high score is 45,744,940. What's yours?

Winterbells, the game. Happy Holidays!

Puzzling

The past few days I have been endlessly distracted by a new puzzle. It was sent to me by a former co-worker, who I am convinced was trying to sabotage my chances of getting a new job.

I had been trying to do the New York Times crossword puzzle as a stimulus for the mind, but this turned out to be that and so much more.

The puzzles are known as Weffriddles and they are created for a more modern audience, as the answers to clues turn into the URL for the next puzzle. So, you can only continue if you have the correct answer to the puzzle. It's an interesting way to puzzle in our new technological world. It's also leads to obsession and hundreds upon hundreds of 404 error message screens.

Luckily there is a Weffriddles message board that is filled with people bashing their heads against their screens (as they will prominently display in their signatures and posts). I'm not sure if I would have scratched my way through "batch 4" without some nudges from other "Weffers" along the way, but now that I am (temporarily) finished, it's nice to not have nonsensical words like NURLO and GORP running thorugh my head.

Since the holidays are coming up and you may have more time on your hands, I gift to you Weffriddles. Just make sure you start after the family obligations are over.

Another puzzle that I got into a while ago and finished the first round of is a Japaenese laser puzzle, by Hawkpeng79 (whoever that is). If you get through the first, there is a second level (at least). I had to cut myself off, but if you're into it... please enjoy. (Knowledge of Japanese not necessary, but it sure would be nice to know what it says.)