Crash

Of my work hard-drive. I'm in a lab right now, reinstalling windows on my pc. Don't know when I'll be back to regular posting.

City Of New Orleans Launches Free Wireless Internet - Yahoo! News

City Of New Orleans Launches Free Wireless Internet - Yahoo! News
A tall task, but it should help in the rebuilding efforts, with policing, and an attraction to the convention business. The network was already being constructed prior to Katrina and is already available in the French Quarter and Central Business District. Algiers is next, and the whole city is hoped to be up within a year.

BBC NEWS | In Pictures | In pictures: Spoof signs

BBC NEWS | In Pictures | In pictures: Spoof signs
More fun with signs. This time, made-up signs that look official at first glance.



Several more at the site. They come from a new book, "Signs of Life", by Dave Askwith and Alex Normanton

TheThingsIWant.com : Universal Wishlist, Wedding Registry And Baby Registry Service.

TheThingsIWant.com : Universal Wishlist, Wedding Registry And Baby Registry Service.
See some things at the Cool Hunting Gift Guide that you'd really like for yourself? Want others to know about it? Want to tell others about things you'd like from any webtailer? Try thethingsIwant.com. After your free registration you can set up shopping lists and a wishlist. They give you very clear and easy instructions to add a buton to your browser's toolbar so as you surf if you see something you want you can just click the bar and they scan the page and put all the details in for you (item description, price, link, picture, etc). It does a very good job of pulling the details, but you can edit or add info as you like. You can also tag the item, because it's the web and we must tag everything!

Cool Hunting 2005 Holiday Gift Guide

Cool Hunting 2005 Holiday Gift Guide
Looking for cool gifts to give, or to ask for. Cool Hunting has put it all together, updating daily. With a really smooth interface.

Hall of Technical Documentation Weirdness

Hall of Technical Documentation Weirdness
Gallery of amusing technical documentation, usually with commentary:

Caution: Sitting down may cause your erection to become noisy.

Warning: Readers will be smacked with a novelty hand.

From a Dell computer box. I believe the caption should read 'If you drop this box on a dog, don't trip over its tail'.

Thanks Leanimal

18 Tricks to Teach Your Body

18 Tricks to Teach Your Body
I try not to reblog BoingBoing, but had to share this list of bodyhacks. Specifically this one:

One too many drinks left you dizzy? Put your hand on something stable. The part of your ear responsible for balance -- the cupula -- floats in a fluid of the same density as blood. "As alcohol dilutes blood in the cupula, the cupula becomes less dense and rises," says Dr. Schaffer. This confuses your brain. The tactile input from a stable object gives the brain a second opinion, and you feel more in balance. Because the nerves in the hand are so sensitive, this works better than the conventional foot-on-the-floor wisdom.

Other tips cover reviving sleeping arms/hands/legs/feet without the pain/tingle, clearing a stuffed nose, and preventing acid reflux at night.

Via BoingBoing

Thanksgiving Cocktail

The Webtender: Thanksgiving Cocktail
2 Different Drinks with the same name. Here's the one with Wild Turkey:
-1.5oz Wild Turkey Bourbon
-.5oz Applejack
-1tsp Rose's Lime Juice
-4oz Cranberry Juice
Stir in Collins Glass with Ice


Here's one I recall from a party long ago:
* 1 oz. Dry Gin
* 1 oz. Dry Vermouth
* 1 oz. Apricot Brandy
* 3 drops of Lemon Juice
Shake with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass. Another version I found suggests a splash of Creme de Casis.

Cheers!

Martini Republic � As Thanksgiving Hurls

Martini Republic � As Thanksgiving Hurls
I intended to get a Thanksgiving Cocktail up today, but I might not make it. However, I did find this interesting brief history of American Whiskeys. Cheers!

Via the cocktail chronicles

/spadassin/: Webmasters who didn't think when they registered their URL

/spadassin/: Webmasters who didn't think when they registered their URL
Funny urls due to running words together, or not running words together, e.g. Pen Island, or Therapist Finder.

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Schoolboy voted in as America's youngest mayor

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Schoolboy voted in as America's youngest mayor

Just the thing to reduce my political cynicism. An 18-year old won election as mayor of a Michigan city as a write-in candidate. He wasn't old enough at the time to get on the official ballot, so he sold $700 worth of toffee apples over the summer so he could fund his campaign after he turned 18. He won, in a recount, by 2 votes.

Singapore Students Invent Waterless Washing Machine

:: Singapore Students Invent Waterless Washing Machine

Title pretty much says it all. It uses negative ions, compressed air, and deodorants. It's not intended to replace traditional washing machines, more of a hybrid washer/dry cleaner for the home.

Happy Chrismahanukwanzakah!

Happy Chrismahanukwanzakah!
A little pre-holliday sillyness.

NPR : There is No God

NPR : There is No God
Essay by Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller.

A couple days off

from blogging. I'm headed out of town Thurs and Fri.

Cheers!

Wayfaring Map - White Light Night, Baton Rouge, Nov. 2005

Wayfaring Map - White Light Night, Baton Rouge, Nov. 2005
Wayfaring.com is a neat social mapping website. Create a free account and start creating and sharing your own maps. Clicking on the link takes you to a map for the White Light Night Art Hop event in Baton Rouge this Friday evening. I have made it editable by anyone, so if anyone has the time and wants to add details to the stops (e.g. Who's showing what type of work at each stop, or pointing out that the Circa 1857 waypoint includes several businesses) you should feel free. There's also all kinds of sharing and commenting options that I haven't fully explored.

If the link doesn't take you to the map, just go to the wayfaring site. Click search,. The default map is the San Francisco area. Each point indicates a different map you can explore. To search, you have to zoom out so the map includes the area you want to search, so click the minus or drag the zoom bar down until Louisiana is included in the map. Then type Baton in the search bar and my map will appear. Click on it to zoom in and see the details.

Weight Watchers recipe cards, circa 1974

Weight Watchers recipe cards, circa 1974

Hillarious Weight Watchers recipes with snappy text similar to Threadbared. Here's the test accompanying the above picture:

Um, I guess this is a salad best enjoyed at the house of that one scary lady down the street who never leaves the house and talks to her knicknacks.

I showed this card to a friend who said, "What the hell's in that bowl-- bong water?!"

Is that why the ceramic animals are so drawn to it? Is it their magical pond?

Why have they gathered? What do they want?

26 cards in all, each one a gem.

Seriously, you gotta see this:


Thanks Mikey

BBC NEWS | Health | Caution over HIV 'cure' claims

BBC NEWS | Health | Caution over HIV 'cure' claims
A man diagnosed with HIV in 2002 was diagnosed HIV free over a year later. The article is short on detail, but consistently says the tests were good. It's unclear bout further tests. One line says the man declined further tests, but later he says he would do anything he could to help find a cure, so who knows what's really going on here. Still, it's from the BBC news, so I trust there's something going on that might be positive.

MercuryNews.com | 11/11/2005 | Fox puts abrupt stop to 'Arrested Development'

MercuryNews.com | 11/11/2005 | Fox puts abrupt stop to 'Arrested Development'
Damn them, damn them to hell! We watched the jet pack man vs giant mole in tiny town scene 4 times in a row last week.

Cocktail of the Week: Blue Blazer

Jerry Thomas :: How to Mix Drinks (A Bartender's Guide)
The Art of the Drink has transcribed Jerry Thomas' original bartenders guide from 1862 and made it available online. Lots of interesting cocktail history and helpful hints like:

When preparing cold Punch, the bowl should be placed in a tin or metal vessel about the same depth as the height of the bowl, the space between the bowl and the vessel being packed with ice, and a little rock-salt sprinkled over the surface, which has the effect of producing a freezing mixture, much colder than the plain ice. Towels may be pinned around the exterior of the vessel, and the exposed surface of the ice trimmed with fruit or leaves, giving the whole an attractive appearance.

There are lots of punch recipes.

I found this image scan of the Blue Blazer from the book on another site:

Do bars even serve flaming drinks anymore? I remember my Aunt ordering some type of flaming shot back in the late 80s. She was probably just doing it to show off for me (about 16 years old, eating the happy hour snacks while my Mom and Aunt enjoyed happy hour)

At any rate here are the instructions, for historical purposes only. I guarantee this will not be served in my bar.

Blue Blazer.
(Use two silver-plated mugs.)
Take 1 small tea-spoonful of powdered white sugar
dissolved in 1 wine-glass of boiling water.
1 wine-glass of Scotch whiskey.

Put the whiskey and the boiling water in one mug, ignite the liquid with fire, and while blazing mix both ingredients by pouring them four or five times from one mug to the other. If well done this will have the appearance of a continued stream of liquid fire. Serve in a small bar-glass with a piece of twisted lemon peel.

The novice in mixing this beverage should be careful not to scald himself. To become proficient in throwing the liquid from one mug to the other, it will be necessary to practise for some time with cold water.

Since we do need something to drink this week, here's the White Lion:

White Lion.
(Use small bar-glass.)
Take 1 tea-spoonful of pulverized white sugar.
½ a lime (squeeze out juice and put rind in glass).
1 wine-glass Santa Cruz rum.
1 tea-spoonful of Curacoa.
1 tea-spoonful of raspberry syrup.

Fill the glass half-full of shaved ice, shake up well
and strain into a cocktail glass.

Cheers!

Black Friday 2005 - The OFFICIAL Site for the Hottest Day of the Year

Black Friday 2005 - The OFFICIAL Site for the Hottest Day of the Year
Preview the ads for the day after Thanksgiving, so you can plan ahead. Best buy has a $149 computer with 17inch crt monitor.

reThink / reDesign / Recycle

reThink / reDesign / Recycle
From this:

to these:



Contest winners for a redesign contest for recycling containers in Chicago. I love the green balls. They're visually interesting, and probably adaptable to existing containers in a variety of settings. The paper recycler also suggests reuse. Wonder how the Chicago Tribune feels about it? The balls are the 2nd place winner, with the 3 sectioned oblong column taking first. The last was the people's choice winner and I think it probably is better in person.

Via Inhabitat

Vintage Barware

Last weekend a simple choice to move one end table from the bar to the kitchen resulted in a complete redecoration of our bar room (the actual bar is unchanged). We've ditched the pepto pink for an icy blue (left the circles on the ceiling, but painted over the most of the pink circles with the icy blue). We also ended up with new display shelves. The new shelves, combined with moving every glass and trinket out to paint and back, and the recent annual xmas list request from my Dad, has be thinking about my barware collection. We will be doing some thinning, most notably we're looking for a good home for our original bar (a gutted 60s stereo cabinet, painted and arted). More on that after we get some pictures. Today, I'm more focused on additions and a couple of new vintage barware sites. These are both very pricey "antique" sites, but that makes it easier for me to look.

Moon Indigo
Excellent quality barware from NYC.


I'd like to find the red version of the leg shaker someday.

I have a red version of this cocktail pick set (the bottles have 3inch metal picks keeping them in place on the bar). No box, but I do have the little cocktail book.

Atlanta Antique Gallery

Give the shaker a spin to mix. Keeps your hands from getting cold when bar tending.

Nice set

Empire's 50 Greatest Independent Films

Empire's 50 Greatest Independent Films
Need more flicks for your netflix queue? Make sure you've seen Empire Magazines 50 greatest independent films. There's a forum where you can expound on your disagreements.

Crony Jobs

CronyJobs.com
Great HotJobs parody for the current administration

Via essays and effluvia

BR: Weekend Fun

Tonight:
Red Stick Ramblers at Live After Five downtown at the New State Museum across from the capital.
and
The Open Show at the Backyard Gallery on Violet Street.

Saturday:
7th Anniversary of the Downtown Arts Market

Sunday:
Sale at the Honeymoon Bungalo

Friday Cocktail: The Fancy-Free Cocktail

The Fancy-Free Cocktail
Looking forward to two events tonight: the open show, and Red Stick Ramblers (more on these in a separate post). The open show led to the suggestion that I select an open type cocktail and the Ramblers put me in a cajuny mood, so I went to the gumbopages and scoured their recipes. They have tons of great sounding recipes with history and stories. Just have to find the Maraschino liqueur and orange bitters and I'm pretty sure I'll be pleased with the Fancy-Free Cocktail:

-2oz Bourbon
-1/2oz Maraschino liqueur
-dash or two Angostura bitters
-dash or two orange bitters

Shake with cracked ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a Maraschino cherry.

Bubble Cars

Shake, Rattle and Roll

Swanky cheap tiny cars of 50s Europe through today. Lots of pictures and history.

Via Tacky Times

Office Space - Ditch Lumbergh Game

Office Space - Special Edition With Flair
Silly flash maze game where you run around the office picking up tps reports and red stapers while trying to avoid Lumbergh who will make you work Saturday. All to go with the release of the Office Space Special Edition DVD.

MapMyRun.com -- Run. Plot. Save.

MapMyRun.com -- Run. Plot. Save.
I've always meant to check my odometer and drive my typical running route, but really when am I going to do that. This nifty website allows you to type in a starting address, then plot points along your route. It will calculate the distance you ran and calories burned. Unfortunately, my route is much shorter than I thought (damn).

'Belligerent Drunk Man' Gets Into Fight - Yahoo! News

'Belligerent Drunk Man' Gets Into Fight - Yahoo! News
Started out as a Halloween Costume, turned into self-fulfilling prophecy.

Sounds like a certain someone from my college dorm days.

Defend yourself against the coming robot rebellion

Defend yourself against the coming robot rebellion

Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Ph.D. writes a satirical book with practical advice for defending yourself against robot rebellion. The book, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising: Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion" is clearly humorous, but with real information about robot technology like:

A robot trying to find you will use thermal imaging based on the roughly 91-degree temperature of human skin, so smearing yourself in cool mud will confuse them. If being chased by an unmanned robot vehicle, flee to a rustic, unmapped area with lots of obstacles. If your robot "smart" house -- one wired with video surveillance and computer gear -- tries to trap you, chop your way out with an ax and don't take your cell phone, because the house will track you with it.

The book has caused some minor bristling by the other robiticists at CMU. They don't want any negative robot related publicity.

The book is available not at Amazon.