Thanks for the hip-hop yo.
I have been listening to nothing but hip-hop for these last couple of weeks. Thanks Al. You know, as much as I like the newer J5, the older stuff is still better. I should switch from being an indy-rock posuer to an indy-hiphop posuer.

Stop wasting the German's hard earned money!
With stupid studies like "Which direction are people most likely to tilt their heads when kissing?". Freaking ridiculous.

I'm really only posting this because I have the same sunglasses as this guy.
And he uses a tool called "The Slapper". And there are lots of washed up B grade celebrities. And jive talking grandmothers.

Come to think of it, this video rules. And I should really get some better sunglasses.

By the way, it's a big file.

Neil Armstrong - the Real Transcript
Turns out that the N.A. phrase that we know and love wasn't all that accurate... here's what he really said.

Note: This is probably one of the only times that I will post something that is potentially not safe for the ol' work. It's really not that bad at all, but I figured I would give those of you who work in some stodgy office a quick heads up.

I have the worst fake name ever.
Just call me Buttercup Toiletfanny. It's freaking horrible. Maybe your's better.

New Windows? Hmmm...
So, I was carrying on over at DailyRamblings about the new Longhorn OS from Microsoft that is due out. That got me thinking, "What exactly is going to be included in this new Uber-OS?" Here are some answers.

Boulder Update
Paul put them there. Thanks Paul!

Crazy smart 3 yr old rawks xylophone.
Mo Kin, the crazy smart 3 yr referenced above, is seen here rawking the xylophone like there is no freaking tomorrow. Remember that if you happen to not be here tomorrow... and blame Mo Kin. Oh, and it's a quicktime movie, but well worth it just to see CMK (Crazy Mo Kin).

Space Quest 0: Replicated
The not at all long awaited prequel to the Space Quest series is out, and it stays true to the original series. And it's free. I have fond memories of the Sierra games and really enjoyed playing through this one. That being said, it is no Police Quest, the greatest Sierra game ever invented. Anyway, if you have some time to kill, this is a good way to do it.

URB's - Unidentified Resting Boulders
In Yellowwood State Forest, there are 200 lb. boulders resting 45 feet in the air, nestled in the branches of some very strong trees. How did they get there? Nobody knows.

Return of the Albino Bowler.
You know, in many ways, Dick never left. He has always brought the same Albino flair to the game time after time. In fact, I do believe he is wearing the same shirt he did when he bowled that 702 series!

Because two wrongs never make a right.
But three do. Oh, and hire people with hooks.

Audio Recording Update!
Thanks to good ol' Paul, I was lead in the right direction regarding finding equipment that can capture live audio streams to wav files. Watch out NPR, because I'm building myself a radio Tivo, or, as I like to call it, Ravo.

Small tool envy
Who would have thunk it? Sony has a new sub-notebook out on the market that weighs in at a whopping 1.9 lbs. I want one. Now. In fact, this is just the thing you, the loyal reader, can send me since you forgot Sweetest Day.

Scrapbooking 101
Here's another addition to the "driver mistakes gas for brakes" scrapbook. Replete with picture!

Does anyone know how to pull audio off of a flash file?
I ask because I came across this game where you try to guess the song based on the lyrics. The game itself is kind of dull, but I could listen to the intro all day long. It's as if the cartoon guy is speaking directly to me.

Finally, one of life's great mysteries revealed
How to beat Pac Man. I might try to memorize the first two patterns. Then go hang out at the classic arcade for awhile. This site reminded me of the time Costanza was trying to push the Frogger cabinet across the road. Good times.

Greatest site in the world.
Grand Illusions will seriously suck all of the remaining time from your workday today. The entire site is chuck full of scientific toys, brain teasers and visual illusions. In my opinion, the best part is the page on historical puzzles, like the two turtles or the jolly jug. Cool stuff indeed.

What the FAQ?!
The guys over at VideoHelper have the worlds greatest FAQ, containing the answers to some of life's most pondered questions; such as "Do you think I look fat in this outfit?" and "Who the hell dresses Stevie Wonder."

Friday Five Suckas.
Since they didn't have a new F5 up on the site, I decided to do an old one. Here goes.

1. What was the last song you heard?
Son Volt - Drown
2. What were the last two movies you saw?
I saw a clip from Road Warrior on The 80's Strikes back, and I saw Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels as a final Netflix Rental.
3. What were the last three things you purchased?
Ooh, I know this one... Beer, pizza and Cheetos.
4. What four things do you need to do this weekend?
Put up some shelves, see a movie, finish that bag of Cheetos, ride the bus.
5. Who are the last five people you talked to?
In reverse order: Rob, Becca, Bog, Jess, Pat.

Excuse me, but that garden is secret.
I am extremely impressed by the pictures on this site. Who would have thought to take radiographs of flowers? Well... except for this guy. Fantastic... simply fantastic.

Have you hugged your computer today?
I spent all day yesterday backing up my and the lab's computers. When was the last time you backed yours up? And is there anything on there that you would really, really miss if it were to be permanently lost? Maybe you should back up your computer too. Or maybe you're one of those smart people who already have a regimine in place. In that case, bully for you!

Jeep's new Fuel Cell car
Fuel Cells - good due to zero emissions, bad due to zero refueling stations. That is, unless you live in LA. None the less, Jeep has come out with a little car of their very own. Too bad it looks horrendous. I this is coming from a guy who loves the looks of the Honda Pilot and the Smart Car.

Sandwiches I don't like
1. Arby's Pot Roast sandwich with Horseradish sauce.
2. Quizno's Philly Cheese Steak sandwich.

Is there some sort of unwritten rule that all fast-food roast beef based sandwiches need to have an unbelievable amount of salt in them? I think I just got my recommended weekly allowance from one stinking sandwich.

3. Egg Salad.

Make way for crazy flash
I don't normally put too many links up to your run of the mill "crazy flash" movies, since they all tend to be the same. But, this one has a pacemaker in it. A pacemaker!

Listening is hard work.
Whether it's the wife or the radio. And since the radio doesn't get mad at me when I'm not paying attention, I can get away with stuff like this. It's Eigenradio, and it compresses the twenty coherent songs into one statistically optimal one. Listen to more music than everyone else in a fraction of the time, then be one step closer to being called Indie Rock Pete (or Indy Rock Pete, which is what he calls himself. Since he's so indy. So indy it hurts.)

Shavin' and stuff
As the loyal reader knows (notice the singular usage there) I wholeheartedly advocate the use of the Merkur Safety Razor for shaving. Smooth, yet stylish, using the Merkur keeps the man from keeping you down. However, should you decide to go with some other sort of safety razor, there are a wealth of styles out there for you to choose from.

It's Hoverbump!
Just float your little marshmallow shaped guy around the screen picking up more coin thingies than the computer. It's fun for the whole family. Plus, I like the background music. So soothing.

Time for the Wednesday One!
What's your favorite form of relieving others of their money?
I would say dice, but the only person who gets relieved is myself. Still, dice is good.

Yeah, it's the picture of everything.
I drew a picture of everthing once. Turns out it was just a picture of a daschund with a rash. Who would have thought that everything simply comes down to a poor, itchy, weiner dog. This guy, however, has a slightly different take on the situation.

In order to better protect ourselves from strawing
It is important to be able to recognize when, in fact, one is getting strawed. And how to counter the strawing. Plus, it helps to not be alive during the time period when strawing was most proliferous - the mid 1830's.

Secret parking spot update
It's no longer secret, or a viable spot. I just got ousted from the Hilldale lot this morning. They gave me one last day of parking freedom, then no more.

Sci-fi cartoon action comedy drama at it's finest
Through the magic of Little People!

I don't like those new soap commercials
You know, the ones where the guys are scrubbing the oil covered ducks in Alaska, and the commercial goes "Dawn... the number one choice of detergent for all duck scrubbers." If I had my druthers, it would be the same tag line, but the duck they were scrubbing would be in bits from the bottom of a sauce pan. That might get me to buy the stuff.

It's time for Friday Five!
1. Name five things in your refrigerator.
- A corked bottle of Corona with a lime still in it, some meatballs, a pampered chef drink mixing pitcher, butter, a light bulb.
2. Name five things in your freezer.
- Venison, pheasant, Limoncello, strawberries, ice cube trays (sans cubes)
3. Name five things under your kitchen sink.
- White garbage bags, a garbage disposal, electrical outlet, twist ties, dish soap.
4. Name five things around your computer.
- A green pen, Wafer World sports bottle, The New Testament/Psalms/Proverbs mini edition, stapler, ear plugs.
5. Name five things in your medicine cabinet."
- Scissors, Ibuprofine, Q-Tips, shoe polish, stolen hotel goodies.

Remembering with Ronny
Looking to relax on this hectic Friday? Take a breather with Old Ronny Reagan's Memory Game!

Jenga!
Piling stuff on drunk people is fun. Especially when they are passed out. Just don't pile anything on them that they could use to hit you with when they wake up.

Science Alert!
Here is an entire page devoted to shrinking coins with electromagnetic fields. You will notice, upon reading said page, that they have both trademarked and copyrighted the word "Electromagnetically". What the crap!?!?! I think I may just go out and copyright the word "Enjoyable", so watch it. You may be relaxing with a nice cup of mocha somewhere and -BAM!- I come flying out of the blue with my enjoyable cops, threatening to sue you a new one.

A sad day in movie watching land
I cancelled NetFlix today. I just wasn't watching enough movies to make it worth my money anymore. Apparently, married life isn't as condusive to watching movies as I had hoped. I figured I would send off the flix with one final viewing of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. It was bittersweet. Much like the Cubs game. No wait, the Cubs game was just disappointing.

Finding Nemo?
I guess I just did.

Trendy + cheap = t-shirt stencil party!
So, I figure since I have spent about seven years sketching up designs for t-shirts, I should probably do something about it sometime soon. Enter the kind people at thriftdelux. They provide me with instructions on how to make easy and, more importantly, cheap t-shirts, I provide me with cheap t-shirts. It's like we both win. And you win too, if you send me a stencil that I like. Then I will turn it into a t-shirt for myself and wear it. Plus, I will proudly tell everyone it was copyright you.

People who sync Dark Side of the Moon with The Wizard of Oz are idiots.
They remind me of those people who read so much into a story, that the story makes absolutely no sense anymore. Plus they are idiots. And they smell funny. But that's all. I mean, freaking a.

Blogging for blogging's sake
Man, the favorites menu is getting so long these days that I have forgotten what the heck I bookmarked things for in the first place. Take the Count St. Germain for instance. I vaguely remember looking up some info on the musical group St. Germain and coming across this article. Intrigued by the alchemy (and do it yourself paper doll fun kit), I bookmarked it. Where it sat until now.

Hey Pete the Pirate!
Your beloved Cubbies will not win tonight. They will not win ever. In fact, I am amazed that they have even made it this far. Oh, and I paid that guy to tip the ball out there by the fence. Paid him a whole dollar. You see, people underestimate the value that a dollar holds these days. Whether it be paying off a guy to tip a ball or buying a vote for the govenor of California, the dollar is swiftly becoming the bribery unit of choice in these hard up times.

Advice from an old married couple
Make sure you have lots of frozen pizza, because if you don't, you may find yourself in a situation where you really want one, but can't get one. I hate that.

The Yog's wedding was a pretty good time. The food was quality, the service short and the drinks a plenty. Plus, my only friends where there... and Tom.

Since the newly married couple is off to Bermuda right now, I present a relevant flash game to honor this occasion - Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Have you heard about the latest pirate movie?
It's rated ARRRRRRRRRR!

Self-realization through vegetables
It's kind of creepy when you come across an article in the Onion that could easily have been written about yourself. (Of course, some areticles are a given, so they really don't count.)

Beat the quilters!
This one goes out to all of us who desperately want to quilt, but have neither the time nor the funds necessary to pursue it. And they like to play frogger.

Ahoy Matey's... wedding ahead.
I am one of the lucky bastards that gets to read in Zelgert's wedding this weekend. As such, I have been prepping, both physically and emotionally, for the experience. I figure, if I start to trip over some of the words, that I can just segue into some Revelations to get everybody back into the game. Fire and brimstone... to the EXTREME! Plus, I have been working on my tie tying skills. Having long since mastered the half-windsor, I am looking to up the ante with the full. It looks a little cleaner, though tends to require more time to tie, mostly since I don't know how to tie it yet. But that's what the internet is for, right?

More gossip... less science and crap.
Now that all of Enron's emails are public domain, you too can peruse the corpspeak and revel in the shennigan's of America's most trusted company. Just click on "Search iCONECT" to get started.

UW potheads make national news!
Who's got the dumbest would-be criminals around? Madison! I mean, come on, everyone knows that the pot plant to air freshener ratio has to be no greater than three to one. Freaking idiots.

Yeehaw!
I never thought I would be able to put into words, the love I have for Texas. Luckily, I didn't have to. TEXAS!

Don't be fooled by the pies that we got
Check the wee-lo for some serious flash grooves. And pies. And dancing chickens. And pirates. Yep, pretty much everything one has ever wanted in a music video.

Remember... westside!

On a whole, weebl and bob are pretty freaking funny. Catch up on all their latest adventures if you have time.

White Cheerleader Epiphanies!
Because it's all ready been broughten.

Earning a living the hard way
Play Money is a pretty interesting read about a guy who is trying to make it for real in the world of MMORG. In his own words:

On April 15, 2004, I will truthfully report to the IRS that my primary source of income is the sale of imaginary goods -- and that I earn more from it, on a monthly basis, than I have ever earned as a professional writer.

Will he do it? Hell if I know. But it is fun to watch him try.

The car. The myth. The legend.
It's betteroffdeadcamaro.com. The offical homepage of the car from the movie Better Off Dead! Why? Because the webmaster is a nut. Woo-hoo!

Time for the Friday Five!
And yet another excuse to use the exclamation point! Yeah! About two years ago, the Friday Five came out. Essentially, it is a series of five questions that you can answer every week. It is supposed to foster communication or learning or something. The one catch - there is typing (and thinking) involved. Two things I don't care to do too much of on Fridays. Nonetheless, I have decided to attempt to do the Friday Five myself. Hopefully, this will not go the way of Word-a-day and "Tours through the University of Wisconsin free student webpages".

CJ's first Friday Five
1. What housekeeping chore(s) do you hate doing the most?
Shaving. Though that's really not a schore, per say.
2. Are there any that you like or don't mind doing?
I rule at ironing. I have, in my possession, one pimped out ironing board, replete with one iron of doom.
3. Do you have a routine throughout the week or just clean as it's needed?
I like to clean as needed. Especially when I kick over a houseplant for the umpteenth time.
4. Do you have any odd cleaning/housekeeping quirks or rules?
No. Freakin weirdo.
5. What was the last thing you cleaned?
My lab. That way I can avoid actually work.

ASCII RAWKS!
Just when you thought that the art of ASCII had reached its climax. Along comes the ASCII music video. Prepare head for banging. And pit for moshing.

The life and times of Stew
Remember our bald headed friend Stew? You know, the physicist out a Brown? Or should I say was out at Brown. And was bald. You see, I have it from reliable sources that Stew has taken up another line of work as of late. All I can say is "good luck" my friend.

Media imitates life?
Well, not really. Greg has an excellent portfolio of digital retouching work that he has done for various media outlets. Be it print or screen. I am fascinated by what some guy with Photoshop can do nowadays. Just think, before digital, all of this retouching had to actually be done with a real airbrush.

On a completely unrelated note: I missed Reno 911 yesterday. Though I wouldn't have if we had Tivo. Damnit.

Question about Tivo
So, I'm thinking about getting Tivo. Does anyone have this, or do they know someone who does? What I am wondering is whether or not it is worth it to get. Separate out the information from the hype, so to speak.

Avast ye! New music ahead.
Check out Andrew Vincent and the Pirates. They are from Canada. Bahamas is a good song.

Scrapbook Ahoy!
With articles like this one, the book will fill itself in no time.

I'm starting a bad ass scrapbook.
Attention all scrapbookers, watch out. Because I'm about to start the worlds most bad ass scrapbook. Dedicated completely to people who accidentally crash their cars into buildings by hitting the gas instead of the break, this scrapbook will officially rule the scrapbooking world. Check out the first entry.

It's Swap-o-mania time again!
So, it's that time of the year again. The time where everyone floutes the law and makes mixes for their friends. Damned be those who listen to the mixes and experience new music!

I haven't roughed out a time table for all of this yet, but I was thinking three weeks for compiling and two for burning? Let me know. Also, I wanted to get some sort of bulletin board type thing up so we can discuss all this stuff. Anyone know of an available bulletin board where we could do this? Anyone? Anyone?

Finally, for all of those who participated last year... should there be any changes to the format? How many would you want in a 'swap group', if there are a bunch of people signing up?

Cheers,

Famous plane curves
Silly me. When I first read the title tag on this page I was thinking of pictures of planes taking headers into the Atlantic. Nope. Picture things like the famous Quadratrix of Hippias and you get the picture.

I want this shirt
That way I could get my favorite message across to all of those crazy bikers who ride on the sidewalk and make pedestrians dive for cover every time they pass by.

BYOBW!
Coming soon, to a crooked street near you. Every Easter Sunday for the last four years there has been an annual Big Wheel race down San Fran's crookedest street. Last year, a documentary was made on the event. Download it here. It is a huge file, so if you have a slow connection, don't bother. You can still see pics from the event here. This one happens to be the current background on my desktop.

I may actually have the opportunity to be in San Francisco over Easter next year for a conference. Time to start looking for the ultimate racing machine.