Mixed Bag

   Yes, it's been a while since I've done a B-List post.  Lots of reasons, but
   basically I've lacked the time and motivation necessary to collect links
   and organise them into themes.  I hope to resume regular posts next year, but
   in a less structured, more random format.  A bit like this post really...

   Exercise Your Music Muscle
      < http://virgindigital.com/eymm.htm >
   The entry point requires Flash.  Alternatively access the wallpaper directly:
      < http://virgindigital.com/wallpapers/virgindigital1280x960.jpg >
   Spot the 70+ musicians represented in the Photoshop montage.
   Possible solution, courtesy of Flickr:
      < http://www.flickr.com/photos/65741850@N00/66722414/ >

   Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time"
      < http://www.rollingstone.com/500albums >
   Requires Flash (Why? Sigh).  I don't endorse the panel's list, but it's an
   interesting conversation (and argument) starter.
   I've said it before and I'll say it again:  Sgt Peppers is NOT the best
   Beatles album.  It's not even in my top 5 Beatles albums.  Even if it is the
   "most important rock album ever made", that doesn't make it the best.
   Arguably, George W. Bush is the most important current world leader, but
   I doubt anyone with the slightest bit of intelligence would say he is the best.

   Recently ABC TV had a show counting down the top ten films as voted by the
   (Australian) public, "My Favourite Film":
      < http://www.abc.net.au/myfavouritefilm/ >
   The site lists the top 100, top 10 by genre, selected celebrity favourites, etc.
   Last year they did "My Favourite Book":
      < http://www.abc.net.au/myfavouritebook/ >

   Windows Live Local - Microsoft's answer to Google Maps
   * Bird's eye view of Empire State Building
      < http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=40.752717~-73.982017&style=o&lvl=2
          &scene=1654722 >
   * Strawberry Fields, Central Park, NYC
      < http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=40.775341~-73.974936&style=o&lvl=2
          &scene=1644122&sp=aN.40.775352_-73.974938_Strawberry%20Fields_ >

   Google Zeitgeist 2005
      < http://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist2005.html >
   Google's annual snapshot.


   I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
   B!?

2005 Ig Nobel Prize Winners

   2005 Ig Nobel Prize Winners
      < http://www.improbable.com/ig/ig-top.html >

   In case you missed it, the 15th annual Ig Nobel Prizes were awarded recently.

   * What are the Ig Nobel Prizes?
      < http://www.improbable.com/ig/what-are.html >
   "Every Ig Nobel Prize winner has done something that first makes people LAUGH,
    then makes them THINK."
   "The Igs are intended to celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginative -- and
    spur people's interest in science, medicine, and technology."

   * This year's winners
      < http://www.improbable.com/ig/ig-pastwinners.html#ig2005 >
   A selection:
     + PHYSICS
   John Mainstone and the late Thomas Parnell of the University of Queensland,
   Australia, for patiently conducting an experiment that began in the year 1927
   -- in which a glob of congealed black tar has been slowly, slowly dripping
   through a funnel, at a rate of approximately one drop every nine years.
     + LITERATURE
   The Internet entrepreneurs of Nigeria, for creating and then using e-mail
   to distribute a bold series of short stories, thus introducing millions of
   readers to a cast of rich characters -- General Sani Abacha, Mrs. Mariam
   Sanni Abacha, Barrister Jon A Mbeki Esq., and others -- each of whom req-
   uires just a small amount of expense money so as to obtain access to the
   great wealth to which they are entitled and which they would like to share
   with the kind person who assists them.
     + ECONOMICS
   Gauri Nanda of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for inventing an
   alarm clock that runs away and hides, repeatedly, thus ensuring that people
   DO get out of bed, and thus theoretically adding many productive hours to
   the workday.
     + CHEMISTRY
   Edward Cussler of the University of Minnesota and Brian Gettelfinger of the
   University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin, for conducting a
   careful experiment to settle the longstanding scientific question: can
   people swim faster in syrup or in water?
     + NUTRITION
   Dr. Yoshiro Nakamats of Tokyo, Japan, for photographing and retrospectively
   analyzing every meal he has consumed during a period of 34 years (and
   counting).

   ----

   Two TV programs with a humorous take on science:
   * MythBusters
      < http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/mythbusters.html >
   * Brainiac
      < http://www.skyone.co.uk/programmes/brainiac/ >

Accountancy News

   I spent last Sunday afternoon preparing my annual tax return.  Doing so
   reminded me why I cut short my accounting career :)  Here are some recent
   news items on the topic of accountants.

   1. "Fly on the wall has firm's e-mail abuzz for four hours"
      < http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=717522005 >
   "In the latest embarrassing e-mail chain to leak out of the corporate world,
    it seems a team of London accountants spent more than four hours debating
    what to do about a fly buzzing around their office... 'It's hard to believe
    such a minor issue has troubled the brains of one of the most successful
    firms in the world'"

   2. "Accountants struggle with creativity: study"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200508/s1447754.htm >
   "Two Hong Kong researchers have concluded that accountants use anything but
    flowery language in their work and have immense difficulty when creativity
    is required"

   3. "Extreme accounting"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1327454.html >
   "Accountants visit challenging locations like mountain tops, seabeds, caves
    and rollercoasters. And, inspired by the extreme ironing craze, they take
    their work with them"

   4. "Blokey jobs encourage baby boys, study says"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200505/s1374229.htm >
   "Couples desperate to produce a son could boost their chances if one or both
    of them switches to a 'masculine' profession such as engineering or account-
    ancy, a report has said"

   5. "Accountants are kings among U.S. 2005 graduates"  [expired link]
      < http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050605/bs_nm/economy_jobs_dc >
   "Hot degrees in 2005 included business administration, management and elect-
    rical or mechanical engineering, according to a survey by the National
    Association of Colleges and Employers. But no degree is more in demand than
    accounting, where the starting salary averages $44,564 [US]"

Electoral Fun and Games

   1. "Wacky occupations listed on electoral roll"
      < http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3426401a4560,00.html >
   "For instance, Blair Christieson is a lion tamer. Cameron Curd is a Jedi
    Master. Mark Bryan lists his occupation as 'parasite'. Nikolasa Biasny-
    Tule is one of two philosophers in Hamilton East"

   2. "Dog enrolled to vote at NZ elections"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200509/s1466940.htm >
   "New Zealand's electoral office has asked police to look into how a South
    Island man enrolled his dog to vote prior to last weekend's general
    election"

   3. "NZ politician keeps election promise, streaks ahead"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200509/s1468158.htm >
   "A New Zealand politician who promised to run naked through the streets
    if he lost an election bet attempted to honour his pledge on Sunday, but
    in the nature of politicians he was not prepared fully to expose himself
    to the naked truth"

   4. "Political dispute ends in muck"
      < http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1125176.ece >
   "A heated disagreement over the prospects of the Center Party at the
    recent national elections literally ended with muckspreading"

   5. "Sri Lankan election chief's heart not in it"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200509/s1467699.htm >
   "Sri Lankan election chief Dayananda Dissanayake will be running November
    presidential elections but will not be voting - he does not trust
    politicians"

   6. "Donkey Wins Colorado Mayoral Election"
      < http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0704/161651.html >
   "No elephants need apply. This unincorporated area on Saturday re-elected
    Paco Bell, a donkey, as its mayor, and that wasn't even close. Two of the
    four candidates didn't show up... Residents like to poke fun at the
    political process, and they do it by electing a donkey as mayor"

   7. "British election a linguist's minefield"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200504/s1355800.htm >
   "After using 'dog whistle' policies and even 'playing dead', the main
    United Kingdom Opposition party is hoping to score a 'back-door victory'"

   8. "An election experience"  [expired link]
      < http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-libaxt0317,0,3976237,
          print.story?coll=ny-linews-headlines >
   "James Neville achieved a rarity in American politics on Tuesday night.
    He ran unopposed for a third term as mayor in a North Hempstead village,
    and lost"

   9. "Lucky dip selects new Sydney deputy mayor"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200509/s1458826.htm >
   "Sydney's deputy lord mayor, John McInerney, has lost office after a council
    vote and a lucky dip draw"

Essentialist Explanations + Other Wordplay

   1. Essentialist Explanations (of languages)
      < http://mercury.ccil.org/~cowan/essential.html >
   [A] list of 735 'essentialist explanations' of the form 'Language X is
   essentially language Y under conditions Z'
   Examples:
   * "English is essentially Low German plus even lower French minus any sense
      of culture"
   * "English is essentially a stripped-down Germanic lang with Baroque-style
      Norman French ornamentation glued on at odd angles"
   * "French is essentially Latin on a catwalk"
   * "German is essentially a language developed by a group of Teutons who
      gathered in the forest one day to come up with a language that their
      enemies would have no chance of grasping"
   * "Dutch is essentially English spoken with a French accent by a German"
   * "Welsh is essentially some reasonable language that had its stock of vowels
      pillaged by Polynesians, yes, but which one? Irish? They really don't
      sound that much alike"
   * "Welsh is essentially what appears on the screen after you have
      inadvertently been resting your elbow on the keyboard"
   * "Gaelic sounds like Dutch on Acid"
   * "Australian English is essentially Cockney without the refinement"
   * "Today's British English is what today's American English would have
      become if Americans hadn't had any fun either"
   * "Governmentese is essentially a branch of spoken and written English
      designed to say nothing with as many words as possible hoping that the
      nothing is lost in the translation"

   2. "Tingo, nakkele and other wonders"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4248494.stm >
   "English is a rich and innovative language. But you can't help feeling we're
    missing out... Malay, for instance, has gigi rongak - the space between the
    teeth. The Japanese have bakku-shan - a girl who appears pretty from behind
    but not from the front. Then there's a nakkele - a man who licks whatever
    the food has been served on (from Tulu, India)"
      "The Meaning of Tingo"
      < http://www.themeaningoftingo.com/ >
   A blog by the author of the book mentioned in the above article

   3. American and British English differences
     < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_differences >
   "Although spoken American and British English are generally mutually intelli-
    gible, there are enough differences to occasionally cause awkward misunder-
    standings or even a complete failure to communicate"
   a. List of British English words not used in American English
      < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_English_words_not_used_in_
          American_English >
   b. List of American English words not used in British English
      < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_English_words_not_used_in_
          British_English >
   c. List of words having different meanings in British and American English
      < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_words_having_different_meanings_in_
          British_and_American_English >

   4. "Show me the way to Scratchy Bottom"
      < http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,22750-1794328,00.html >
   "Rude Britain is a compilation of the country's 100 rudest place names"
      "Local names make rude Britain"
      < http://www.thisisscunthorpe.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=152816&
          command=displayContent&sourceNode=152546&contentPK=13088344 >
   Lists all 100 of Britain's most double entendre-riddled towns, villages and
   streets

Some Time-Wasters

   I haven't been able to post much lately.  Here are a few time-wasters
   that should keep you busy for a while ...

   1. iPod Flea
      < http://www.layersmagazine.com/features/feature_cs2/flea.htm >
   [Huge] QuickTime movie, a parody of Apple iPods.

   2. Moby Blaster
      < http://jonah.bigidea.com/html/arcade/moby_blaster/moby_blaster.dcr >
   A Breakout clone [Shockwave].

   3. Notepad Invaders
      < http://robmanuel.blogspot.com/2005/02/notepad-invaders.html >
   A version of Space Invaders.
   I managed 15530 points before the sounds got too annoying.

   4. Mergeroids
      < http://www.globalarcade.org/mergeroid/game.html >
   Asteroids with a political bent.

   5. Snow Storm
      < http://www.onlineflashgamez.com/?action=playgame&gameid=159 >
   Make like Homer J. Simpson and clear snow from the parking lot.

   6. Planarity
      < http://www.planarity.net/index.php?size=small >
   A thinking game: arrange the vertices such that no edges overlap.
   I completed level 7, scoring 2071 points, then got bored.

   7. Test your geography:
    * European Geography Level 3
      < http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/country_europe_G2_drag-drop.html >
      My score: 40/45 89%, average error=29 miles, time=362 seconds
    * Asian Geography Level 3
      < http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/country_Asia_G2_drag-drop.html >
      My score: 27/32 84%

   8. Infocom Adventures
      < http://www.xs4all.nl/~pot/infocom/ >
   Play Infocom Adventures online [require Java].  These were big when
   I got my first computer, but I was never into them.

   9. The Hitchhiker Adventure Game - 20th Anniversary Edition
      < http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hitchhikers/game_nolan.shtml >
   Requires Flash.

   10. Calculator Words
      < http://www.langmaker.com/calculatorwords.htm >
   Learn a "language" consisting of English written with the digits of a
   calculator.

Google Moon + Google Earth

   1. Google Moon
      < http://moon.google.com/ >

   Google Maps, but with imagery of the Moon:
   "In honor of the first manned Moon landing, which took place on July 20,
    1969, we've added some NASA imagery to the Google Maps interface to help
    you pay your own visit to our celestial neighbor"

   If you zoom in close enough, you'll find out what the Moon is really made
   of.

   BTW, the Moon is in perigee today (July 21) - which means the Moon is at
   its closest point in its orbit around the Earth (in the current cycle).
   If you want to find out more, check out ...
   "Inconstant Moon: The Moon at Perigee and Apogee"
      < http://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/moon_ap_per.html >


   2. Google Earth
      < http://earth.google.com/ >

   or, Google Maps on steroids.  It's a desktop app which takes Google Maps
   to a new level.  I've held off on featuring this because it's Windows-
   only (currently).

Vocab Boost

   1. "New words for Collins English Dictionary"
      < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2005/06/08/1077764-ap.html >
   "Chavs, yarcos and neds - these are the new tribes of Britain, as defined
    by compilers of the latest edition of the Collins English Dictionary"

   2. "Online dictionary breathes life into English"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1267618.htm >
   "Collins has launched a 'Living Dictionary' which can help people decipher
    new English terms like Santa stress, tinseltastic, mucus trooper or
    bingeworker"

   3. "Dictionary says Americans getting phatter"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200307/s892649.htm >
   "Fed up with your McJob? Then curb your agita with a phat brewski and be
    grateful you did not throw away your last dead presidents on the latest
    dead-cat bounce on the market"

   4. "New words are added to dictionary"
      < http://www.rednova.com/news/stories/6/2003/06/30/story146.html >
   "A former dot-commer working a McJob was listening to some headbangers
    while laying out the last of his dead presidents for longnecks and some
    less than heart-healthy Frankenfood"

   5. "Oxford 'bada bings' its latest dictionary"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200308/s929270.htm >
   "'Bada bing', the catchphrase popularised by the hit television show The
    Sopranos, has earned a place alongside 3,000 other new entries in the
    latest edition of the Oxford Dictionary of English"

   6. "McDonald's CEO upset over 'McJob' entry"
      < http://www.rednova.com/news/display/?id=32369 >
   "McDonald's says it deserves a break from the unflattering way the latest
    Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary depicts its job opportunities.
    Among some 10,000 new additions to an updated version released in June
    was the term 'McJob,' defined as 'low paying and dead-end work.'"

   7. "Farmers stew over 'couch potato'"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4108964.stm >
   "Farmers want 'couch potato' removed from the dictionary because they
    believe the expression is damaging the vegetable's image"

   8. "Website embedded in naming top words, phrases"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200312/s1016494.htm >
   "'Embedded', as in the reporters assigned to accompany military units
    during the war, beat out 'blog' and 'SARS' as the top word of 2003,
    website yourDictionary.com said"

   9. "'Ginormous' tops non-dictionary word list"
      < http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/custom/fringe/sns-ap-
          winning-non-words,0,6431077.story >
   "The editors of Merriam-Webster dictionaries got more than 3,000 entries
    when, in a lighthearted moment, they asked visitors to their Web site to
    submit their favorite words that aren't in the dictionary"

   10. "Vatican breathes new life into Latin"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3030169.stm >
   "An up-to-date Latin dictionary produced by the Vatican goes on sale this
    week, modernising a language considered by many best left consigned to
    history... In their day, Rome's rulers might have benefited from a
    'telephonium albo televisifico coniunctum' - or video telephone - to
    stay in touch with distant parts of the empire"

Dining Out Suggestions

   1. "Restaurant offers diners new pitch on blind date"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200507/s1410550.htm >
   "Diners rub their eyes as they emerge from behind a curtain after eating
    at France's only pitch black restaurant"
      "Dining in the dark in Paris"
      < http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/09/23/dining.blind.ap/index.html >
      < http://www.inclusiondaily.com/archives/04/09/23/092304frcafeblind.htm >
   "At 'Dans le Noir' -- In the Dark -- it's not just that the lights are off
    and curtains closed. Diners sit in a room of inky blackness that the eyes
    never adjust to"

   2. "Hushed reception for the Café des Signes"
      < http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,973593,00.html >
   "France's first silent bistro, where most of the 45-strong staff cannot
    hear, has been opened officially after a month's trial on the left bank's
    Avenue Jean-Moulin and there is little chance of being served quickly
    unless you use a bit of imagination"

   3. "A restaurant full of beds? Yep, it's no lie"
      < http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/263583p-225498c.html >
   "What do I mean, a bed-filled restaurant? You know - a restaurant filled
    with about 30 king-size beds, tons of satin pillows and some very awkward-
    looking waiters bending down to change the sheets between customers"

   4. "Piggybacking on other brands"
      < http://blog.fastcompany.com/archives/2004/11/29/
           piggybacking_on_other_brands.html >
   "Cereality, a Boulder, Colorado, company this Wednesday opens its first
    full scale, sit-down restaurant, near the campus of the University of
    Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The Philly location will serve 33 kinds of
    name-brand cereal, along with Cereality-created cereals, and specialty
    items like cereal bars... Cereality servers wear pajamas. The restaurants
    are starting out near college campuses, because as the New York Times
    reported several weeks ago on its front page, cereal is all the rage as
    the latest college eating trend"

   5. "St Peter's Basilica, serving heavenly coffee"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1269607.htm >
   "St Peter's Basilica now has its own rooftop coffee bar... Located on the
    terrace at the base of the cupola designed by Michelangelo, it commands a
    breathtaking view of St Peter's Square all the way to the Tiber River and
    beyond"

   6. "For the ultimate control freak: cook-it-yourself"
      < http://www.restaurantedge.com/index.phtml?news=1&newsid=525 >
   "Well, according to Time, 'restaurants where diners chop, grill, boil or
    dip their food are hot in the heartland'"

Sleepwalking Adventures

   1. "Sleepwalking teen rescued from crane"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200507/s1408445.htm >
   "A teenage sleepwalker was rescued after being found fast asleep 40 metres
    up on the arm of a crane in London"

   2. "Sleep walker wakes up and falls off roof"
      < http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/bizarre/65912004.htm >
   "Thomas Manninger climbed out of a first-floor window, shimmied up a drain-
    pipe and managed to walk across the roof of his house, before falling 20
    feet to the ground when he woke up and realised where he was"

   3. "German sleepwalker wakes up stark naked on street"  [expired link]
      < http://in.news.yahoo.com/030703/137/25meq.html >

   4. "Sleep walker mows lawn naked"
      < http://www.news24.com/News24/Backpage/Offbeat/0,,2-1343-1347_1679282,00.html >
   "A sleep-walking computer expert was caught by his wife mowing the lawn
    naked at 02:00"

   5. "Sleepwalk plunge halts wedding"
      < http://smh.com.au/articles/2004/08/23/1093246448592.html >
   "A couple's dream wedding had to be cancelled when the groom went sleep-
    walking and fell out of a window the night before"

   6. "Sleepwalker cleared of murdering father"
      < http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/03/19/1111086066638.html >
   "A British man was cleared of murdering his father after a court accepted
    his excuse he was sleepwalking at the time, a highly unusual defence
    seen just a handful of times in the country's legal history"

   7. "Knife-wielding sleepwalker stabs hotel owner"
      < http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/15/1058035005127.html >
   "A sleepwalker who stabbed the owner of a hotel in China where he was
    staying was freed after paying his victim compensation"

   ----

   Diary of a Somnambulist
      < http://www.sleepwalkdiary.com/ >
   Someone is keeping a diary of their sleepwalking adventures.  The site
   also has links on the topic of somnambulism.

Homewreckers

   1. "Ship crashed into house"  [expired link]
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1185201.html >
   "A Croatian man who settled down to watch an action movie was almost killed
    when a runaway ship crashed through the wall"

   2. "Norwegian tank strikes house, tank wins"
      < http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?sid=439084&nid=104 >
   "[A] 26-ton tank slammed into Viken's house in Vassbotna, some 350 miles
    north of Oslo, the military said ... The tank went through a wall and
    part way into the bathroom"

   3. "Satellite crushes house in China"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200410/s1221846.htm >
   "State media in China are reporting that a Chinese satellite returning to
    earth crashed into a villager's house on Friday"

   4. "Outhouse falls on man"
      < http://www.hwt.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,11773397%255E1702,00.html >
   "The utility then struck a brick outhouse - which collapsed on a man in the
    yard - before crashing into a neighbouring house"

   5. "Airborne car plows into Arkansas house"
      < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2005/06/20/1096580-ap.html >
   "In one instant, Rickey May thought a bomb had gone off outside his home.
    In the next, he realized a car had crashed through his home's brick wall
    and landed on top of him in his bed"

   6. "Crashing chooks ruffle residents' feathers"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200502/s1299042.htm >
   "There are two reports of houses being damaged by plucked chickens crashing
    through their roofs in Newcastle in the New South Wales Hunter Valley"

   7. "Fish-toting eagle crashes into alaska home"  [expired link]
      < http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050614/ap_on_fe_st/eagle_crash >
   "A bald eagle crashed through a window of a home and landed in the living
    room, scattering broken glass, feathers and a salmon carcass across the
    floor. Homeowner Jean Stack heard the crash and initially wondered if
    someone had thrown a dead fish through the window"

   8. "Plane jettisons ice through Japanese roof"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200506/s1390876.htm >
   "A block of ice which is believed to have fallen from an airplane has
    crashed through the roof of a house in Japan but no-one was injured"

Bombs Away!

   1. "Jet accidentally drops bomb on hiking trail"
      < http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6313239/ >
   "Military officials are investigating why a jet fighter accidentally
    dropped a 25-pound practice bomb on a hiking trail a mile from its
    intended target in southeastern Pennsylvania"

   2. "Fighter pilot mistakenly targets US school"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1235379.htm >
   "A United States National Guard F-16 fighter plane has mistakenly fired
    25 rounds of ammunition at the Little Egg Harbour Intermediate School
    in South New Jersey"

   3. "US bomber misses target for flypast at air show"
      < http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/07/21/nfarn21.xml >
   "An American B52 bomber flew from America for a flypast at the Farnborough
    Air Show yesterday but picked the wrong airfield"

   4. "Harrier crash forces evacuations in Ariz."
      < http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,159723,00.html >
   "A Marine Harrier jet carrying four 500-pound bombs crashed Wednesday in a
    residential neighborhood, forcing the evacuation of 1,300 residences"

   5. "British ships carried atomic weapons in 1982 Falklands War"
      < http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/050628/w062842.html >
   "British ships carried nuclear weapons to the Falkland Islands during the
    1982 war with Argentina because there wasn't time to unload them before
    setting off, according to an official history of the conflict published
    Tuesday"

Places with Dubious Distinctions

   1. "'Aliens choose Luton' as top town"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/4630329.stm >
   "A collection of 10 stories about Luton is being launched in an attempt
    to improve its image after it was voted 'crap town' of the year last year"

   3. "Town celebrates being named the Armpit of America by reporter"
      [expired link]
      < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2003/08/21/165833-ap.html >
   "About 2,000 people turned out over the weekend for the community's second
    annual 'Festival in the Pit' - a takeoff from Battle Mountain being named
    the 'Armpit of America' by a Washington Post reporter in 2001"
      "Why not the worst?"  [original article]
      < http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A31628-2001Nov28?
          language=printer >
   "We promised to find the armpit of America. Turns out it's only about five
    inches from the heart"

   4. "Detroit named America's fattest city"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1020001.htm >
   "Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has committed something of a cardinal sin
    in the motor city by blaming cars and trucks for Detroiters' bulging
    waistlines"

   5. "Baked bean capital dubbed Windy City"  [expired link]
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_870837.html >
   "West Bromwich has been dubbed The Windy City after a survey found its
    inhabitants to be the UK's biggest fans of baked beans"

   6. "Winnipeg still world Slurpee capital"  [expired link]
      < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2004/07/08/531948.html >
   "How sweet it is. For the fifth year in a row, Winnipeg can proudly call
    itself the Slurpee Capital of the World"

Where am I? - using Google Maps

   Google Maps has expanded it's catalogue of satellite imagery, now covering most
   of the known world.

   I've picked a few landmarks for you to guess "where am I?":

   1a. < http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-34.9152,138.5961&spn=0.003787,0.004957&t=k >
   1b. < http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-34.9152,138.5961&spn=0.060596,0.07930&t=k >
        Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, South Australia
   2.  < http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=45.4339,12.3387&spn=0.003787,0.004957&t=k >
        St Mark's Square, Venice, Italy
   3.  < http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=41.8902,12.4919&spn=0.003787,0.004957&t=k >
        Colosseum, Rome, Italy
   4.  < http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=48.8581,2.2942&spn=0.003787,0.004957&t=k >
        Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

Taken for a Ride

   1. "Cops say bogus bus driver collected fares, followed route"
      < http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/news/wabc_060303_busbandit.html >
   "The bogus bus driver apparently dropped every one of his passengers off
    safely, at the correct destination"

   2. "Bus driver is taken for a ride by pupils"
      < http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/06/20/
          nskool20.xml >
   "Rather than helping the driver, the mischievous pupils led him on an
    estimated 20-mile round trip"

   3. "Man charged with drunken ride in stolen plane; teen passengers not
       charged"
      < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2005/06/22/1099967-ap.html >
   "An intoxicated 20-year-old stole a small plane and took two friends on
    a three-hour, predawn joyride early Wednesday that ended with a safe
    landing at a closed airport, authorities said"

   4. "Teenagers stole bus"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1388457.html >
   "Australian police are looking for three teenagers who stole a bus after
    the driver nipped out to go to the toilet"

   5. "Police tell of teen tram thief's obsession"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200504/s1347521.htm >
   "A 15-year-old boy who allegedly stole two trams over the weekend, drove
    them a total of more than 25 kilometres and picked up passengers along
    the way is a good lad whose obsession got the better of him, according
    to police"

Random Pix

   Today, for your viewing pleasure, a random assortment of photo links.

   1. The Ugliest Cars in Britain
      < http://www.uglycars.co.uk/ >

   2. Swedish "Boy" Bands?
      < http://www.heysuburbia.com/cgi-bin/m4/headline/03_04_02_22_50 >
   Abba doesn't look so bad after all

   3. The Helipad Open photos
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/photo_galleries/4289977.stm >
   Federer v Agassi: "Just a normal day at Dubai's 321m high Burj Al Arab
   hotel, which is set on a man-made island"

   4. The World Islands
      < http://guide.tenuae.com/living/dubai/the_world_islands.php >

   5. Snow Crystal Photographs
      < http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/photos/photos.htm >

   6. Tornado and Rainbow Over Kansas
      < http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050613.html >
   First, the good news: your house is at the end of rainbow.  And now the
   bad news: your house is also in the path of a tornado.

Examples of Customer Relationship Mismanagement

   1. "Outrage at energy company howler"  [expired link]
      < http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11652324%255E2862,00.html >
   "A Melbourne man is seeking an apology from energy company TXU after it
    sent him a letter addressed to 'Paranoid Fool'"

   2. "Shock over 'strangling' tax letter"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/2952928.stm >
   "A woman who contacted the Inland Revenue for help was stunned when
    officials wrote back calling her 'Mrs Deserves-Strangling'"

   3. "Home Office enquiry into 'racist' letter"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1875640.stm >
   "The Home Office has promised an urgent investigation into letters it sent
    to a Nottingham asylum seeker addressing him as 'Mr Paki'"

   4. "Valentines cards prove the wrong medicine"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200502/s1310598.htm >
   "A pharmaceutical company that sent anonymous Valentine's cards to Dutch
    gynaecologists in a publicity stunt has been forced to apologise for
    sparking family rows"

   5. "Insurer apologises over letter gaffe"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2124713.stm >
   "Insurance giant Scottish Widows has apologised after sending out 100
    letters offering health cover to people it knew had died"

   6. "NTL admits billing letter blunder"
      < http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/07/28/ntl_admits_billing_letter_blunder/ >
   "NTL has apologised after sending out 800 letters by mistake to customers
    demanding payment on 'overdue' accounts"

   7. "Global village"
      < http://smh.com.au/articles/2005/06/10/1118347599380.html >
   "Customers who rang the helpline of one of Britain's biggest cable TV
    companies were shocked to be told to 'f--- off'"

Nowhere to Hide

   1. "Missing rugby player found in fridge"
      < http://www.srar.net/2004/07/missing-rugby-player-found-in-fridge.html >
   "A Tongan rugby player has been found hiding in a fridge as he tried to
    dodge deportation from New Zealand"

   2. "Prisoner hides in sofa"
      < http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_1-1-2005_pg9_14 >
   "An escaped prisoner was found by police - hiding inside a sofa"

   3. "Florida man on lam found inside of television"  [expired link]
      < http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-0115fugitivefound
          ,0,7406040.story >
   "A 6-foot man allegedly on the run from Florida authorities since September
    was found this week curled up inside of a television"

   4. "Fugitive's luck runs dry"
      < http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/1245512.html >
   "A second search of the home turned up a twisted, 6-foot Nunn hiding in a
    clothes dryer that was blocked by yet another clothes dryer"

   5. "Drink driver locked herself in toilet"  [expired link]
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1203154.html >
   "A drunk Dutch driver had to be freed by the fire brigade after she locked
    herself in a hospital toilet to avoid a blood test"

Museums of the Modern Age

   1. "New Swedish herring museum creates a stink"
      < http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1387491,00470002.htm >
   "A new museum dedicated to the smelly Swedish delicacy of fermented Baltic
    herring opens its doors this weekend in northern Sweden, giving visitors
    a unique olfactory experience"

   2. "Odorama celebrates Italy's 'white diamonds'"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1242138.htm >
   "Italy's warty white truffles, once aphrodisiacs for the ancient Romans
    and now the most expensive fungi in the world, are finally getting their
    own museum"

   3. "Elvis-A-Rama museum casts net for impersonators"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200506/s1386453.htm >
   "A Las Vegas museum dedicated to the memory and myth of Elvis Presley has
    launched a worldwide casting call for impersonators of the King"

   4. "Mining museum clinches arts prize"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4582869.stm >
   "Big Pit, a disused Welsh coal mine which reopened as a working museum,
    wins the UK's biggest arts award"

   5. "Historic hair salon museum piece"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/4574459.stm >
   "A 1950s hairdressing salon is being dismantled piece by piece to be
    rebuilt at the Museum of Welsh Life"

   6. "Kids, we're going to the foreign debt museum"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200504/s1356967.htm >
   "Three years after staging the largest debt default in modern history,
    Argentina has opened what may be the first Museum of Foreign Debt to
    teach people the perils of borrowing abroad"

   7. "Child's play at 20,000 toy museum"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4347025.stm >
   "A new museum of childhood, housing a collection of over 20,000 toys, is
    to open in west Wales"

   8. "Mower man's museum a cut above the rest"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200506/s1382815.htm >
   "Brian Radam is mad about lawnmowers - he loves their smell, their sound,
    the way they look and the way they are built, and he is not the only one"

   9. "Science museum ready to gross out visitors"
      < http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=98382 >
   "[I]n addition to the wonders of the world already on display, Minnesota's
    Science Museum will open Animal Grossology"

   10. "Gross side of life"
      < http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/mercurynews/entertainment/
          visual_arts/6923016.htm >
   "if you always wanted to know why vomit stinks, how much gas people pass
    on an average day or how to make fake boogers; well, friend, you may be
    a grossologist, and the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose has some-
    thing for you"

Some Toilet Humour

   1. "Exploding toilet leads to lawsuit"
      < http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1498923,00.html >
   "A man who says he was severely burned when a portable toilet exploded
    after he sat down and lit a cigarette is suing a general contractor and
    a coal company, accusing them of negligence"

   2. "Residents told to batten down toilets"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200505/s1372385.htm >
   "The authority is cleaning the sewerage mains with high pressure jets.
    During a similar operation about three years ago, the process caused raw
    sewage to explode out of a toilet at a house in King George Avenue
    coating the walls, floors and ceiling"

   3. "Court official sues after toilet breaks under him"
      < http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_27-4-2004_pg9_3 >
   "'I was sitting on the toilet bowl and the next thing you know, it exploded.
    I was on the floor, on top of a pile of broken porcelain, in a puddle of
    water and filth'... He now goes to physical therapy and a chiropractor,
    and stretches every morning for 20 minutes before going to work. 'It's a
    pain in the ass to do all this stuff,' he said"

   4. "Toilet traps man's neck in Frankley"  [expired link]
      < http://ruberyvillage.co.uk/news/article/render.asp?include=1185.asp >
   "Paul Sanders was fixing a disabled toilet in Frankley on Thursday at around
    1015 BST when his leg flipped a switch causing his neck to become wedged in
    a motorised section of the device"

   5. "Cop accidentally shoots man while on loo"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1366410.html >
   "An off-duty policeman's gun went off twice as he pulled down his pants to
    use the toilet, injuring a man"

   6. "Restaurant uses toilet bowl theme"
      < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2005/06/03/1069598-ap.html >
   "Taiwanese restaurateur Eric Wang has given new meaning to the traditional
    revellers' cry of bottoms up"

   7. "Gas station bathroom offers royal touch"
      < http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2005-03-16-luxury-loo_x.htm >
   "As Paul Moghadan puts it, a good toilette is good for the bottom line. A
    chandelier, faux travertine walls, silver columns and a marble counter
    adorn the bathroom at his Chevron gas station in West Covina, some 20
    miles east of Los Angeles"

Look What I Found

   1. "Nebraska woman finds $3,000 in chair bought at garage sale"
      < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2005/05/31/1065078-ap.html >
   "Stafford has found more than $3,000 in bills dating from 1928 to 1953 in
    the bottom of a high-backed chair she bought at a garage sale - for $2"

   2. "Beggar found 400 pieces of jewellery in rubbish bin"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_790082.html >
   "Assia Mladenova was looking for iron and cardboard objects to sell to
    recyclers when she came upon the treasure trove, worth about £4,400"

   3. "Orem Man Finds $10K in New House"
      < http://tv.ksl.com/index.php?nid=5&sid=198393 >
   "When he and a friend pulled the cover off of an air vent during the
    installation, he found a metal box. As he opened it up, he saw something
    was wrapped up in aluminum foil. When he unwrapped the foil, he saw cash"

   4. "£5 jacket had £600 in pocket"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1161188.html >
   "A Chicago woman bought a jacket from a charity shop for £5 - and found
    £600 in the pocket"

   5. "Woman finds expensive art in cheap wallpaper"
      < http://www.boston.com/news/daily/21/odds_art.htm >
   "In late June, Corinne Turner walked into a Utah discount store and spent
    99 cents on canvas wallpaper. She opened her purchase to find -- surprise!
    -- five pieces of art worth $6,000"

   6. "Precious cello saved from CD cabinet fate"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1111127.htm >
   "A Los Angeles nurse has found a stolen Stradivarius cello worth $5 million
    next to a rubbish bin and planned to turn it into a CD cabinet until she
    discovered it was the instrument the whole town was searching for"

   7. "Woman finds rare car buried in garden"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1096461.html >
   "A woman has found a 60-year-old car buried in her garden... The car turned
    out to be a rare Ford V8 Pilot"

   8. "Man finds tank in garden"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1321523.html >
   "A New Zealand man who hit a metal object while digging the garden was
    shocked to find it was a four tonne tank"

Tricks of the Trade + Medical Slang

   1. "Tricks of the Trade"
      < http://www.themorningnews.org/archives/how_to/tricks_of_the_trade.php >
   "For every occupation, there is a catalog of secrets only its employees are
    aware of - such as how waiters with heavy platters know to look straight
    ahead, and never down. Armed with a bag of reader mail, Matthew Baldwin
    unfurls a whole lot more true insider knowledge"

   Examples:
   * Butcher: In Australia, the butchers have a secret language called
     'rechtub klat' that they use to gossip about customers without getting
     caught
   * Nurse: Patients will occasionally pretend to be unconscious. A surefire
     way to find them out is to pick up their hand, hold it above their face,
     and let go. If they smack themselves, they're most likely unconscious;
     if not, they're faking"

   A blog inspired by the article, which collects "tricks of the trade":
      < http://www.tradetricks.org/ >


   2. "Doctor, doctor, I'm pumpkin positive"  [expired link]
      < http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,7031676%5E13762,00.html >
   "These and other terms are part of a secret language, indecipherable to
    outsiders, that doctors use with each other to convey a truth that is
    otherwise unsayable, especially to the patient"

   Examples:
   * "General practitioners may use LOBNH ('Lights On But Nobody Home') or
      the impressively bogus Oligoneuronal to mean someone who is thick"
   * "Then there is DBI, for 'Dirtbag Index.' This is a formula which
      multiplies the number of tattoos on the patient's body by the number
      of missing teeth to estimate the total of days he has gone without a
      bath"
   * "If a doctor is stumped for what is wrong with his or her patient, they
      may record GOK, for 'God Only Knows'"

   Archived at:
      < http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-chat/974932/posts >

   "Medical slang"
      < http://www.studentbmj.com/back_issues/0702/education/225.html >
   The paper referred to in the article.

Messing with your Head

   1. "'Info-mania' dents IQ more than marijuana"
      < http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7298 >
   "Far from boosting productivity, a constant flow of email and phone messages
    impairs an office worker's ability to focus, a study suggests"

   2. "Going on holiday 'lowers your IQ'"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_803146.html >
   "Fourteen days of complete rest can be enough to bring your IQ down by 20
    points"

   3. "Too much knowledge can be bad for some types of memory, study finds"
      < http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-05/osu-tmk051005.php >
   "As people become smarter, they start to put things into categories, and
    one of the costs they pay is lower memory accuracy for individual
    differences"

   4. "Romance health alert splits sexes"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3334145.stm >
   "Researchers found that men who get hitched are more likely to suffer
    mental health problems than those who simply live with their partners.
    The opposite is true for women - but they do best without any relationship"

   5. "Marriage may tame genius"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200307/s898675.htm >
   "Creative genius and crime express themselves early in men but both are
    turned off almost like a tap if a man gets married and has children"

   6. "Pretty woman ... Yeah, yeah, yeah!"
      < http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/12/10/pretty031210 >
   "Men's minds may be so rattled by the sight of a pretty woman that they
    behave irrationally, Canadian psychologists have shown"

   7. "Researchers say having babies alters mother's brain"
      < http://www.wpmi.com/news/weird/story.aspx?content_id=59CC7D3F-6BA9-
          4FD3-B2CC-43530E09C68A >
   "Motherhood doesn't just change your life. It also changes your brain"

   8. "Rejection really hurts finds brain study"
      < http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994257 >
   "The brain scans reveal that two of the same brain regions that are
    activated by physical pain are also activated by social exclusion"

   9. "As temperature drops, so does brain function"
      < http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforksherald/news/local/7766944.htm >
   "After a while, the blood turns slushy; brain cells become stiff;
    frost forms on the synapses. These changes produce brain numbing,
    followed by dumbing"

   10. "Lying makes brain work harder"
      < http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,65871,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_2 >
   "Brain scans show that the brains of people who are lying look very
    different from those of people who are telling the truth"

   11 "Mobiles 'make you senile'"
      < http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_medical/story.jsp?
          story=443248 >
   "Mobile phones and the new wireless technology could cause a 'whole
    generation' of today's teenagers to go senile in the prime of their
    lives, new research suggests

   12. "Internet delusions"
      < http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2005/05/internet_delusions.html >
   "A report in the medical journal Psychopathology notes that psychotic
    delusions increasingly concern the internet, suggesting high-technology
    can fulfil the role of malign 'magical' forces often experienced in
    psychosis"

Close Shaves

   1. "Tank crushes passenger car"
      < http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article984906.ece >
   "Knut Okkenhaug, 57, had a startling brush with death when an errant tank
    flattened half of his car... Okkenhaug was extracted with the help of a
    group of refugees that were being driven past in a bus"

   2. "Homeless man compacted in garbage truck survives"
      < http://www.rednova.com/news/display/?id=112216 >
   "A homeless man who fell asleep in a commercial trash bin was dumped into
    the back of a garbage truck Friday and compacted - but escaped serious
    injury"

   3. "Woman in Dumpster picked up with trash"
      < http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040702/NEWS01/
          407020364/1002 >
   "The unidentified woman was searching for her keys in a Dumpster on
    Wednesday morning when a dump truck picked up the garbage at her
    Ridgeland apartment complex - with her inside - and carried her about
    two miles"

   4. "Baby's miracle escape"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1315657.html >
   "A baby escaped without a scratch after her pram was pushed 100 metres
    down the road by a lorry"

   5. "Granny left dangling from 100ft drawbridge"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1270708.html >
   "A 79-year-old woman had an amazing escape after she was left dangling
    100 foot in the air from a drawbridge"

   6. "Driver plunges into icy Chena"  [expired link]
      < http://www.news-miner.com/Stories/0,1413,113~7244~2576478,00.html >
   "he decided to take a shortcut across the Chena River to the Princess
    Hotel, or maybe Pike's Landing. About 20 feet onto the ice, Voorhis'
    1994 Ford F-350 pickup broke through and sank up to its headlights in
    the Chena"

The Art of Improvisation + Two Questions

   First, some interesting examples of improvisation ...

   1. "Doctor uses store drill for brain surgery"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200307/s900264.htm >
   "Lacking the proper instruments, a Peruvian doctor at a state hospital in the
    Andean highlands has used a drill and pliers to perform brain surgery on a
    man injured in a fight"

   2. "Doctor 'told to use spoon in op'"  [expired link]
      < http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,6017863%5E13762,00.html >
   "British hospital managers gave a surgeon a dessert spoon to use in a hip
    replacement operation, prompting him to spend £150 ($405) of his own money
    to buy the proper instrument"

   3. "Woman uses gas to get rid of unwanted guests"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_960313.html >
   "A woman who tried to get rid of unwanted guests by turning on gas, was taken
    to hospital after being overcome by fumes"

   4. "Man peed way out of avalanche"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1261997.html >
   "A Slovak man trapped in his car under an avalanche freed himself by drinking
    60 bottles of beer and urinating on the snow to melt it"

   5. "Fireman use snowballs to quench flames"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1275583.html >
   "Romanian firefighters managed to put out a fire in an apartment by throwing
    snowballs through the window"

   6. "Dairy container slows traffic"
      < http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,145621,00.html >
   "At pickup and drop-off times, he walks out by the road -- and points an
    empty plastic milk jug at cars going by. The drivers think he's a cop
    holding a radar gun, and they slow right down"


   Two questions:
   1. Does anyone have a recipe for a delicious carrot and walnut cake?
   2. Has anyone got any suggestions regarding buying a Personal Video Recorder
      (PVR), i.e. a digital set-top box with hard disk?  I'm only interested in
      something very basic that does the job.

Medical Mishaps

   1. "All that glitters"
      < http://smh.com.au/news/Unusual-Tales/All-that-glitters/2005/05/11/
          1115585031396.html >
   "An undercover Florida policeman says he went to hospital for sinus surgery
    that required a shot of painkiller, but instead the syringe was filled with
    make-up glitter"

   2. "Fire burnt patient during op"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1324029.html >
   "A hospital patient suffered burns to his backside during an operation after
    a cloth soaked with disinfectant caught fire"

   3. "Dream holiday turns to nightmare"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1241850.html >
   "A German professor who went on a dream holiday to Costa Rica woke up in an
    airport departure lounge to find his leg had been amputated... 'When I got
    to the hospital they put me on a bed and I heard the word amputate. I tried
    to protest, but before I knew it they had given me drugs to black me out,
    and when I woke up I was at the departure lounge'"

   4. "Mexican doctor 'amputates wrong foot'"
      < http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=25299 >
   "A doctor at a Mexican public hospital mistakenly amputated the right leg of
    an elderly patient who had sought treatment for an infection in his left
    foot, the patient's family said today"

   5. "Swab in stomach caused pain"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1052145.html >
   "A German woman who suffered stomach pains for nearly 20 years, found doctors
    had left a six-inch gauze swab in her stomach after an operation"

   6. "Surgical wire left in woman's body"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1111034.html >
   "A Belgian woman is to undergo an operation to have surgical wire removed
    from her chest"

   7. "Swallowed penny found after eight trips to doctor"
      < http://www.poe-news.com/stories.php?poeurlid=19860 >
   "On previous visits, doctors diagnosed 15-month-old Erin Spaletta's breathing
    problems and persistent coughing as a respiratory infection and prescribed
    antibiotics"

   8. "Doctor missed 45 stab wounds"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1177977.html >
   "A doctor called to the death bed of an 87-year-old man failed to notice he
    had been stabbed 45 times"

   9. "Dentist pulls 14 teeth in surgery mishap"
      < http://xo.typepad.com/blog/2004/07/img_alt_srchttp_14.html >
   "A dentist has 'unreservedly apologised' to a patient for removing 14 teeth
    - instead of just four - in a surgical blunder"

   10. "Acupuncture patient left in the dark"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1322971.html >
   "A German woman suffered a bad case of pins and needles when staff at an
    acupuncture clinic forgot about her and went home"

Backyard Engineering Projects

   The B-List is back after a bit of a break.  The time I would usually
   devote to preparing B-List posts has been taken up by other things,
   such as updating the look of my website:
      < http://homepage.mac.com/bruno_andrighetto/ >
   For some reason the proxy at work blocks my site :(  But luckily some
   of us have browsers that can bypass the proxy (e.g. Netscape).
   Anyway, without further ado, today's B-List...


   1. "Farmer builds helicopter from scratch"
      < http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/7965993.htm >
   "With directions from the Internet and an old Russian truck motor, a
    Vietnamese farmer fulfilled his dream of making his own helicopter.
    The job took two friends, seven years and $30,000"

   2. "Pensioner builds plane in garage"   [expired link]
      < http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,9956080^13762,00.html >
     [archived at:]
      < http://suncafe.us/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1749 >
   "A Slovak pensioner has spent three years building his own plane in
    his garage, using only a model plane as guide, local agencies reported
    today"

   3. "Rocket man ready for DIY space race"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1083528.htm >
   "Intrepid Canadian computer designer-turned-astronaut Brian Feeney
    plans to strap into his red 4.88 metre Wildfire rocket later this
    year and soar to a height of 24,000 metres while strapped to the
    world's largest helium balloon"

   4. "Student satellite almost ready for space"
      < http://www.rednova.com/news/display/?id=107932 >
   "Building a satellite takes years and costs millions. Well, not always.
    Nearly one hundred students from all over Europe have been working
    hard on SSETI Express. From the drawing board to launch in less than
    one year, all the while keeping costs to a minimum"

   5. "Eastford man making his own energy"
      < http://www.wfsb.com/Global/story.asp?S=1874411 >
   "Rick Mackowiak's passion for power has resulted in a 13-year project
    to turn a river and a dam on his property into a hydro-electric plant"

404 Fun

   "Webmasters get creative with '404 Error' pages"
      < http://edition.cnn.com/2002/TECH/internet/03/22/creative.404.errors.idg/
          index.html >
   "Defunct Web pages and mistyped URLs generally deliver error messages that are
    as dull as dirt. But a growing cadre of witty webmasters opt to make light of
    AWOL Web pages. Instead of displaying the standard '404 Error File Not Found,'
    they dole out a dose of humor instead"

   The 404 Research Lab
      < http://www.404lab.com/ >
   A site dedicated to "404" pages, including Area 404:
      < http://www.404lab.com/404/area404.asp >
   "Links to the best 404 Not Found errors on the web, researched and categorized
    for your surfing enjoyment"
   History of 404:
      < http://www.404lab.com/404/history.asp >

   A selection of possibly humorous 404 pages:
   * Inspired by Marvin from H2G2?
      < http://freshsqueeze.com/404 >
   * Website Error Message 42
      < http://www.hhgttgonline.com/html/404.html >
   * Wha Chu Talkin 'Bout Willis?
      < http://www.wchou.com/errors/404.htm >
   * Ransom Note
      < http://homepage.ntlworld.com/a.leecy/404.html >
   * File Not Found Haiku
      < http://www.fool.com/haiku404.asp >
   * Play Zork (a text adventure game from the 80s)
      < http://thcnet.net/error/404.php >
   * Newsflash
      < http://www.trinicom.com/trinicom/servererror/404.htm >
   * Eyechart
      < http://www.2020hindsight.org/iuywoeifylkh >
   * Flowchart
      < http://rubberducky.org/404 >
   * The 404 Band
      < http://www.vudumedia.com/404/ >
   * Philosophical
      < http://tsbolton.com/bertramslair/error.htm >
   * Error - You have spent too much time on the net
      < http://thecenter2000.com/last/ >

Trying to Avoid the Inevitable

   1. "Man who jumped off bridge to avoid arrest survived fall"
      < http://www.lex18.com/Global/story.asp?S=2646161&nav=EQlpToCU >
   "Police in Louisville now believe that a man who jumped from a bridge after
    he was cornered by officers is alive"

   2. "Man swallows knife to avoid arrest"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_964920.html >
   "Doctors say a man who swallowed a three-inch knife to avoid charges of
    possessing a weapon is lucky to be alive"

   3. "Man accused of using poodle as weapon"
      < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2005/01/13/897466-ap.html >
   "Prosecutors are seeking a new psychiatric exam for a man accused of swinging
    a poodle to fend off a sheriff's deputy during a traffic stop"

   4. "German student eats evidence"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1130603.html >
   "A German student is facing charges after eating up all of a forged document
    except the part that contained his address"

   5. "Naked bid to beat fine"
      < http://smh.com.au/articles/2004/10/20/1097951771593.html >
   "A woman in Estonia, pulled over by police on suspicion of driving while
    drunk, tried to get out of her fine by performing an impromptu striptease
    that was captured on police video"

   6. "Potty-mouth man can't fool science"
      < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2005/03/30/976892-sun.html >
   "An allegedly drunk driver with a taste for trickery failed to foil a police
    breathalyzer machine after stuffing his mouth full of feces"

Everyone Will Want One...

   1. "Roaming alarm clock keeps snoozers on their toes"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200503/s1329598.htm >
   "Scientists in the United States have invented an alarm clock to make even
    the doziest sleepers - who repeatedly hit the snooze button - leap out of
    bed"

   2. "Boy's invention drops toilet seat automatically"
      < http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=9001337 >
   "That annoying habit that most men have of leaving the toilet seat is no
    longer an issue for women in the Attwood household in Palmerston North.
    Ben Attwood, 13, has invented a toilet seat that lowers by itself"

   3. "Hi-tech changing room 'will tell you what not to wear'"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_810156.html >
   "Installed in a changing room, an array of about six cameras would feed data
    to a computer running software that matches particular styles to individual
    body shapes"

   4. "German brothers invent internal handbag light"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_825019.html >
   "The bag will light up when opened thanks to a new type of plastic, which
    can be shaped and doesn't produce heat"

   5. "New invention revolutionises spaghetti eating"
      < http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=201&sid=4301270 >
   "The plate has been designed with a hollow in the middle, which the diner
    uses to twist the spaghetti onto his fork, instead of the usual spoon"

   6. "Tea industry turns to pill popping pills solution"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200503/s1330444.htm >
   "Indian tea scientists have produced a tea-flavoured pill that can be chewed
    or quickly dissolved in hot or cold water"

   7. "Artist invents pierced glasses"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1343581.html >
   "A Dallas artist has had permanent glasses pierced through the bridge of his
    nose"

   8. "German man's bananas plan"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1144997.html >
   "A German man who earlier this year tried to have Santa Claus banned, says
    he has a device that can straighten bananas"

Google Maps Revisited + Google Sightseeing

   1. Google Maps - via Satellite
      < http://maps.google.com/maps?t=k&hl=en >

   Google Maps recently incorporated satellite imagery.  Currently only USA and
   Canada have close-up resolution, but you can get nice long-distance snaps
   for other parts of the world.

   Here are some interesting places I found tonight:
   * Manhattan
     < http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=40.733,-73.980&spn=0.0699,0.0886&t=k >
   * Boston
     < http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=42.357,-71.058&spn=0.0175,0.0221&t=k >
   * Apple Computer's campus
     < http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=37.332,-122.030&spn=0.00437,0.00554&t=k >
   * Golden Gate Bridge
     < http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=37.814,-122.478&spn=0.00873,0.01107&t=k >
   * Las Vegas Boulevard
     < http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=36.111,-115.173&spn=0.0175,0.0221&t=k >
   * Strange blurry area in Las Vegas
     < http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=36.062,-115.085&spn=0.0175,0.0221&t=k >
   * Hoover Dam
     < http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=36.015,-114.739&spn=0.00436,0.00554&t=k >
   * Mount Rushmore
     < http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=43.878,-103.459&spn=0.00437,0.00554&t=k >
   * Grand Canyon?
     < http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=36.157,-112.036&spn=0.507,0.706&t=k >
   * Area 51? - limited zoom levels
     < http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=37.129,-115.132&spn=0.0175,0.0221&t=k >
   * Region around Adelaide, South Australia
     < http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-35.107,138.219&spn=2.2357,2.8345&t=k >
   * Italy
     < http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=42.078,12.854&spn=8.9,11.4&t=k >
   * France
     < http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=46.846,2.065&spn=8.9,11.4&t=k >


   2. Google Sightseeing
      < http://www.shreddies.org/gmaps/ >
   "Google Sightseeing takes you to the best tourist spots in the world via
    Google Maps' satellite imagery"

   It was inevitable - a blog that collects famous, unusual and generally
   interesting locations, as seen using Google Maps.

Red-Faced Firefighters

   1. "Woman sues city after alleged fire pole mishap"
      < http://www.ksat.com/news/4358514/detail.html >
   "A 30-year-old USAA employee is suing the city of San Antonio for injuries
    she received when she fell trying to slide down a fire pole... The woman
    claims on-duty firefighters served them beer and invited them to try on
    boots and fire helmets. They also allowed them to sit on the fire truck
    and slide down the station's fire pole"

   2. "Firefighters finnish off own sauna"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1270987.htm >
   "A squad of firefighters in Finland has accidentally set their own sauna
    ablaze but could not extinguish the fire, despite their training"

   3. "Firefighters stumped by blaze next door"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1152108.html >
   "A group of firemen were forced to watch helplessly as a house burnt to the
    ground next to their station"

   4. "Fire truck catches fire, burns down its own station in small Alabama town"
      < http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/09/10/
          national1600EDT0744.DTL >
   "The engine of the truck had been turned off, but some malfunction, possibly
    a gasoline leak, caused a fire under the hood"

   5. "Fire station bursts into flames while firefighters are out"
      < http://www.wftv.com/news/2897982/detail.html >
   "[T]hey left the station to respond to an emergency call and, in a rush,
    left grease burning on the stove"

   6. "Firefighters return to find station on fire"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1003219.html >
   "Firefighters in Dallas returned from a call to the suburbs to find a fire
    raging in their own station started by potatoes they had left cooking"

   7. "Pennsylvania fire truck too big for garage"
      < http://cms.firehouse.com/content/article/article.jsp?sectionId=46&id=35152 >
   "Officials may be in the market for a new garage to go with the fire truck
    they approved purchasing because the $557,600 aerial truck is too tall and
    heavy for the garage"

   8. "Livingston station won't fit new truck"
      < http://www.demopolistimes.com/articles/2004/11/11/news/05news.txt >
   "Though the Livingston Fire Department is happy to have a new 75-feet ladder/
    pumper truck on its way - it should arrive in the next three to four months
    - the department and the Livingston City Council now have a dilemma. The new
    truck will not fit into the existing station"

Bruno's Quality Produce + Search Different

   A. Bruno's Quality Produce
      < http://www.brunosqp.com/ >

   Many people on the list would be aware that I've been experimenting lately
   growing my own fruit and vegetables.  I stumbled across this site tonight,
   and it freaked me out a bit.  Check out the History page:
      < http://www.brunosqp.com/company_hist1.htm >

   I have nothing to do with this site, which is for a business run by another
   Bruno Andrighetto in San Francisco.  I may have to enquire to see if we're
   related.


   B. Search Different

   1. YaGooHoo!gle
      < http://yagoohoogle.com/ >
   Can be used to do a side-by-side search for both Google and Yahoo.  Using this
   site I found the site above, which comes up first for my "vanity search" on
   Google.  But one of my pages comes up first on Yahoo.

   2. A9.com
      < http://a9.com/ >
   Another side-by-side search, for the web, books, images, movies and reference
   among others.

   3. amaztype
      < http://amaztype.tha.jp/ >
   An interesting, Flash-based way to search for items on Amazon.

   4. iStockphoto
      < http://www.istockphoto.com/file_search.php >
   Allows searching of royalty-free stock photography by colour, in addition to
   words.

April Fool's Day Hoaxes + March Postings Reprised

   A. April Fool's Day Hoaxes

   * Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time
      < http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/aprilfool/ >

   * April Fool's Day Atrocities: The Top 10 Worst April Fool's Day Hoaxes Ever
      < http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/worstaprilfools.html >


   B. March Postings Reprised

   [Mutant (Non-Ninja) Turtles and Other Animals]
   * "Egg has tail"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1305920.html >
   "The egg, found by chef Wang of at his restaurant in Anyang city, Henan
    province, is normal size, but has a tail that is 3 cm long"

   [Modern Law Enforcement Techniques]
   * "Circus stunts to rev up Jakarta patrols"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200503/s1325886.htm >
   "A new police motorcycle squad has been formed in Jakarta to patrol the
    Indonesian capital's mean streets and perform circus-style stunts to
    entertain the public"

Take it Easy

   This post celebrates the fifth anniversary of the B-List (thunderous applause
   breaks out spontaneously in cyberspace).  I thought for many hours what would
   be an appropriate theme for such a momentous occasion, but then realised that
   as usual I'm thinking about it too much.  So I decided to literally "take it
   easy" (and no, I'm not inspired by that insipid song by The Eagles).

   1. "The virtue of idleness"  [originally from The Guardian]
      < http://www.quantumbalancing.com/news/idleness.htm >
   "It is a sad fact that from early childhood we are tyrannised by the moral
    myth that it is right, proper and good to leap out of bed the moment we wake
    in order to set about some useful work as quickly and cheerfully as possible."
   "I would argue not only that early rising is totally unnatural but also that
    lying in bed half awake - sleep researchers call this state 'hypnagogic' - is
    positively beneficial to health and happiness. A good morning doze of half an
    hour or more can, for example, help you to prepare mentally for the problems
    and tasks ahead." [I practice this often myself - that's what the snooze
    button is for :)]
   "The lie-in - by which I mean lying in bed awake - is not a selfish indulgence
    but an essential tool for any student of the art of living. As Sherlock Holmes
    knew. Lolling around in his smoking jacket, puffing his pipe, Holmes would sit
    and ponder for hours on a tricky case."
   "Idleness as a waste of time is a damaging notion put about by its spiritually
    vacant enemies. Introspection could lead to that terrible thing: a vision of
    the truth, a clear image of the horror of our fractured, dissonant world."
   "The intellectual benefits of being ill are demonstrated and reflected upon at
    length by Marcel Proust. Famously chronically ill and frequently bed-bound, he
    had plenty of time to theorise on being ill: 'Infirmity alone makes us notice
    and learn, and enables us to analyse processes which we would otherwise know
    nothing about."
   "There are many examples of the creative power of dreams: Kubla Khan came to
    Coleridge in a dream, as did the tune for Yesterday to Paul McCartney. The idea
    for Frankenstein revealed itself to the young Mary Shelley in a waking dream;
    Einstein said that a breakthrough in his theory of relativity had come to him
    in a dream; Descartes had a dream that set him on the path towards his whole
    philosophical system (he said it was 'the most important affair' of his life)."

   2. "In praise of clutter"
      < http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?story_id=1489224 >
   "Many companies these days ... run 'clean desk' policies, requiring employees
    to remove all evidence of work from their desks by the end of the day...
    Although office clutter is usually almost entirely work-related, it tends
    nevertheless to be treated as though it consisted of the dirty socks and crisp
    packets of an adolescent. Workers are confused. They know that creating clutter
    is an essential part of the way they work, but they are made to feel guilty
    about it"
   [on a slightly related note:]
   "Top 11 reasons a messy office is better than a clean one"
      < http://bbspot.com/News/2005/03/top_11_messy_office.html >

   Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to leave my messy desk and go lie down on my
   bed to listen to some music ("Hot Fuss" by The Killers if you're nosy).

Geography Gaffes

   1. "Britons just can't seem to find 'Chicago,' 'Dallas' on a map"
      < http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmafp/is_200401/ai_kepm343842 >
   "Sixty-five percent of Britons don't know in which US  city the hit musical
    'Chicago' is set in, according to a nationwide survey for an upcoming TV
    quiz show"

   2. "Brits welcome Luvania to EU"
      < http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/29/luvania_eu/ >
   "Almost one in ten Brits thinks that a country called Luvania will be joining
    the EU this weekend, according to a survey carried out by telecoms outfit
    One.Tel"

   3. "Irish EU stamp replaces Crete with Cyprus"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_946249.html >
   "A new Irish stamp issued to mark EU enlargement has Cyprus in place of Crete"

   4. "Eurocrats leave Wales off EU map"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/3715512.stm >
   "A bureaucratic blunder has left Wales off a map of Europe on the cover of a
    prestigious EU reference book"

   5. "Norwegian prince misplaces Portugal"
      < http://www.abcnews4.com/news/stories/0204/123730.html >
   "Norway's Crown Prince Haakon caused a stir in his debut as royal host by
    placing Portugal on the Mediterranean Sea in a speech delivered in honor of
    that country's visiting president"

   6. "Microsoft pays dear for insults through ignorance"
      < http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1285890,00.html >
   "[A] colour-coded world map showing time zones ... showed the disputed Jammu-
    Kashmir region as not being in India - an offence under Indian law. The
    mistake led to the whole of the Windows 95 operating system being banned in
    the country"

   7. "Typing error causes nuclear scare"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4338835.stm >
   "The Sudanese government had a nasty shock this week, when it read on a US
    Congress website that the Americans had conducted nuclear tests in the
    country... However, when alarmed Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail
    raised it with US officials in Khartoum, it turned out to be a typing error"

Major-League Embarrassment

   1. "Arm wrestling robots beaten by a teenaged girl"
      < http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7113 >
   "Flesh and bone triumphed in the first ever man-versus-machine battle of
    brawn - an arm wrestling contest between robots and humans in California
    on Monday. The champion, beating all three robotic arms each in matter of
    seconds, was a 17-year-old girl called Panna Felsen, a high school student
    from San Diego, US."

   2. "Double dress disaster for celebrities"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_808768.html >
   "Popstars reject Javine Hylton and Page Three model Leilani Dowling have
    turned up at a celebrity party looking virtually identical"

   3. "Cheerleader accidentally puts 'I' in 'Team'"
      < http://www.onthejohnnews.com/2004/007/cheerleader.htm?3 >
   "Brenning was doing her part in her squads famous home court 'go team' cheer
    when she accidentally yelled out the letter 'I' instead of the letter 'A'
    during the ritual cheer spelling of the word 'team'"

   4. "Roadworkers tells motorists to mind the BMUP"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_746053.html >
   "[T]he painters also put up a sign that read SLOW MEN WORKING"

   5. "Seeds of destruction"
      < http://smh.com.au/articles/2005/02/04/1107476803037.html >
   "Road workers trimming weeds north of San Francisco inadvertently cleared
    away some of the world's last wild examples of a rare plant"

   6. "Man crashes after receiving safe driving award"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1117394.html >
   "A deliveryman crashed his van two hours after his bosses gave him a safe
    driving award"

   7. "600 Thai cops fail traffic law test"
      < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2005/03/07/953044-ap.html >
   "The police department last month tested 4,475 officers on their knowledge
    of traffic law, and almost one in seven failed to show adequate knowledge"

   8. "Swiss conductor misses her own train"
      < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2004/11/30/742633-ap.html >
   "'This pretty young lady with curly blonde hair was still carrying her
    machine for selling tickets,' Joel Gillieron told Le Matin. 'In 10 years
    of taxi driving, I've never seen anything like that!'"

   9. "Jetliner Making Runway U-Turn Gets Stuck In Mud"  [expired link]
      < http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/4023304/detail.html >
   "An American Airlines jet slid into a muddy field between the two major
    runways when the pilot aborted a U-turn"

   ----

   I'm going to have to take a short break from posting items to the B-List.
   I don't know how long for yet, but I have some things I need to sort out.
   If you suffer from withdrawal symptoms, you can always visit the B-List
   Archives, featuring all the posts going back almost 5 years:
      < http://homepage.mac.com/bruno_andrighetto/B-List/ >