I don't care what you say:

Google Maps are cool.

If you've got more nifty Google Maps, post your links in the comments. So far I've seen plane taking off, a volcano erupting, a battle in Iraq, and the Stealth bomber above.

Hook me up.

I'm not normally this cruel, but...

This is for all you snake haters out there.

http://flyingsnake.org/

There's a species of South Asian snake that not only can leap from tree branch to tree branch, but can also glide in an amazing display of aerodynamics.

Go to the movies page, and check out the GLIDING movies towards the bottom. While some of the videos are a little hard to see, it's quickly apparent that these snakes are flying like frisbees.

If you didn't like snakes before, I fully expect you to never feel safe in a forest again.

I sense a horror movie coming on. With Jennifer Lopez in it.

This has been a public service announcement.

Oh, good, I'm not the only idiot in the room.

This fascinated me:

A recent study found that the majority of Nobel prize-winning economists are really lousy investors.

Normal investing tasks that ordinary folks have trouble with seem to create the same problems for the academics too.

Now I don't feel so bad.

Lvl 50 Senator LFG

I am so sorry.

(Profanity warning.)

I am weak.

I broke down and bought Guild Wars.

It is enjoyable.

You can only use 8 skills at a time, and navigation is really easy, much like Neverwinter.

All this adds up to the biggest selling point for me:

I can still play while my daughter sits on my lap.

Now to round up my buddies for fight/kill.

Badger

Almost Forgot!

If you don't celebrate Free Comic Book Day,

YOU ARE AN IDIOT.

http://www.freecomicbookday.com/

Tell your friends.

Divided Kingdoms: FightKillRendTearDestroyHurt

Got a call from an old friend today. Way back in the day we helped another buddy start up a Neverwinter Nights server. When it started out, I pumped out a lot of the scripting and started the local thieves guild. For you non-Dungeons-and-Dragons folks out there, this thieves guild was not true organized crime. More on that later, there's a whole array of surreality associated with that part of the story.
We started the server in the winter of 2003. I got burned out with school and scripting after about 4 months. Played for another 6 months or so, then called it quits.

So it sounds like my buddies are turning over the keys to the kingdom.
If you have Neverwinter, definitely check it out. It's called Divided Kingdoms, and they have a rabid, dedicated fan-base. The server is, hands down, an excellent world to play in. A whole squadron of DMs handle plots and quests.

http://www.typhoondigital.com/nwn/

It's about as much fun as you can have online without paying a subscription fee. Check it out. Go get your portable hole.

You Guildwars guys in the back there, hush up.

Turing Machines

jaywalkers move
red blood cells shuttle
forward forward write back read

Photons hit my eyes
the light of her
forward forward write back read

electrons, nerves
amped and sluggish
forward forward write back read

no amount of rain will clean this stain
Pacing away from her I
hear her smile as she bursts into flames
hear her smile as she bursts into flames

excellent posture
forward forward write back read
forward forward write back read

our minds meet
with shuffling feet
forward forward write back read

bleeding shins
counters of beans
Know the two of us are Turing Machines

forward forward write back read
forward forward write back read

There's no stopping us two Turing machines

forward forward write back read
forward forward write back read

It has occurred to me...

That that last post could have appeared on any blog in the entire universe, on any given day. You too can make a completely generic whiney work post of your own!
Here's the formula:
I am at work.
I dislike what is happening at work.
Wah wah wah.

I promise I won't let that happen again. I was a bit distracted.

In other news, I have unleashed an unholy tentacled monstrosity in our kitchen. My purchase of the $19.95 home training course, "Conjuring Hellspawn for Fun and Profit," has proven to be a sound investment.

Now I just gotta clean up this brimstone. How do you get demon slime out of kitchen tile?