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Simon's Cat

dave@deckmonster.com (Deck) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:16:10 -0700

Simon's Cat is a series of short animated cartoons produced by Tandem Films exploring the unique relationship between a cat and it's owner/servant.

The most recent episode in the series just came out this week, but I'm going to start with the first because it's my favorite so far...

Simon's Cat - Cat Man Do

Reminds me of someone, but I can't quite place it...

Continue reading for more adventures of Simon's Cat...
Continue reading "Simon's Cat"

Nerdvana!

dave@deckmonster.com (Deck) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:54:29 -0700

News overload in the past day or two...

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog - Watch Joss Whedon's latest bout of brilliance while you still can.
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic MMO - Finally!
DC Universe Online - Sounds like its coming along nicely.
Champions Online - Lots of recent coverage of this superhero MMO too.
Watchmen - I'm watching the Watchmen.
The Dark Knight - It's been a loooong week so I'm passing on the midnight show, but I'll definitely be visiting Gotham this weekend.

It's a good time to be a geek!

Mystery on Fifth Avenue

dave@deckmonster.com (Deck) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 21:31:07 -0700

How cool is this?

Finally, one day last fall, more than a year after they moved in, Mr. Klinsky received a letter in the mail containing a poem that began:

Weve taken liberties with Yeats
to lead you through a tale
that tells of most inspired fates
in hopes to lift the veil.

The letter directed the family to a hidden panel in the front hall that contained a beautifully bound and printed book, Ms. Benskos opus.

The book led them on a scavenger hunt through their own apartment.

Prior to moving into their Fifth Avenue apartment, the family hired a young architect to redo the place.

Inspired by the father's request to hide a poem he had written for his family in a wall somewhere as a sort of "time capsule", the architect and accomplices went much further and built an entire mystery adventure for the family to inhabit.

I love the creativity. Of course, having an 8.5 million dollar canvas to work with can be somewhat inspiring.

(via Kottke)

State government at its finest...

dave@deckmonster.com (Deck) — Wed, 28 May 2008 20:14:30 -0700

The following is from an online system used by the State of Illinois to procure supplies and services...

Only in state government would you issue an addendum to answer the question of whether any addendums had been published.

What About 9?!?

dave@deckmonster.com (Deck) — Mon, 12 May 2008 00:42:00 -0700

Another interesting video tonight...

This one of course is from my favorite band, Barenaked Ladies. It's from a new CD called Snacktime just released by the band. However, as you might be able to tell from the song, this CD is intended for a slightly unique audience...

"Our collective kids now outnumber the band more than 2 to 1," explains vocalist/guitarist Ed Robertson. "We set out to make a record that would be entertaining for themnot strictly a children's record, but a record that children would really enjoy. Our kids are in to all kinds of music. They love the They Might Be Giants kids records, but they also love The Beatles, Fountains of Wayne, Randy Newman, Black Eyed Peas and Green Day. Making the focus about what our kids like was a truly liberating process and fun for the whole band."

I believe it when he says it was fun for the whole band. I've played the whole disc (24 songs!!) twice now, and I've had a ball listening to the lyrics and picking out all of the musical styles that are there to find. There's one song called "Eraser" that starts with Ska, has a brief flirtation with Pink Floyd and then Queen, and ends up back with Ska again. Where else can you find that kind of variety?

Highly recommended for children of all ages.

Apple Mac Music Video

dave@deckmonster.com (Deck) — Sun, 11 May 2008 00:16:18 -0700

Very cool video, produced entirely on an Apple Mac...

The catchy though repetitive song is "Again & Again" by The Bird & the Bee.

Lori Loughlin's New Zip Code

dave@deckmonster.com (Deck) — Sun, 04 May 2008 22:13:00 -0700

According to Entertainment Weekly, Lori Loughlin has joined the cast of the as-yet untitled Beverly Hills 90210 spin-off that is currently in development.

I know... I don't understand either why anyone would think to create a 90210 spin-off now, but that's beside the point.

The point is that I've been in love with Lori Loughlin since I was a teenager (anyone else remember Secret Admirer?), and I'm overjoyed at the possibility of seeing her on a weekly basis again.

Welcome back Lori!

Great Sports

dave@deckmonster.com (Deck) — Sun, 04 May 2008 21:58:24 -0700

Check out this amazing story on ESPN.com about a college softball game that will be remembered for a long time because of the athletes, not the athletics...

Western Oregon senior Sara Tucholsky had never hit a home run in her career. Central Washington senior Mallory Holtman was already her school's career leader in them. But when a twist of fate and a torn knee ligament brought them face to face with each other and face to face with the end of their playing days, they combined on a home run trot that celebrated the collective human spirit far more than individual athletic achievement.

That's what it's all about.

The Great Quake of '08 (Updated)

dave@deckmonster.com (Deck) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 08:26:41 -0700

At 4:37 AM local time last night, a 5.2 earthquake struck near West Salem, Illinois, which is approximately 150 miles away from Springfield.

According to local news reports (and my coworkers), the quake rattled houses and knocked items off shelves and bookcases, but there were no local damage or injuries.

Of course, I slept through it all.

So far, I've survived the Godless Tornadoes of '06 and the Great Quake of '08...

I think Springfield is due for a hurricane in 2010. Or maybe locusts.

More quake coverage...

5.2 earthquake one of the strongest to hit Illinois (State Journal Register)
Earthquake measuring 5.2 rattles St. Louis region (St. Louis Post Dispatch)
Earthquake rattles Chicago area, Midwest (Chicago Tribune)
Earthquake rattles Indiana this morning (Indianapolis Star)
Little damage in Louisville from quake (Louisville Courier-Journal)
April 18, 2008 Midwest Earthquake (Wikipedia)

UPDATE 10:20 AM... We just felt a strong aftershock, which has been reported as magnitude 4.6. I work on the sixth floor of a building that was constructed sometime in the 1930s (I think), and our building shook noticeably for five or six seconds.

Hmm, why is it that I have the sudden urge to take the rest of the day off?

The Wall

dave@deckmonster.com (Deck) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 21:34:33 -0700

Visit the free Interactive Vietnam Veterans Memorial and leave a tribute, story, or photograph about any of the 58,256 veterans killed or missing in the Vietnam War...

Humbling.

Win a dinner with Kaylee!! (...and some dude)

dave@deckmonster.com (Deck) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 20:19:33 -0700

Jewel Staite and a number of other actors are auctioning off dinner dates on eBay to fund cancer treatments for a fellow actor named Babz Chula (which explains the sign Jewel is holding in the photo above)...

The winning bidder will receive a free dinner with Paul McGillian and Jewel Staite at a pre-selected restaurant in Vancouver, BC at a mutually agreeable date to be determined by both parties in between May 1, 2008 and December 1, 2009.

As any red-blooded sci-fi geek is aware, Jewel played the role of the adorable Kaylee in the Firefly TV series and the follow-up movie Serenity. She is currently appearing in Stargate Atlantis on the Sci-Fi Channel.

The auction runs through April 12th and is currently at $1,500 (Canadian). Other dinner dates include David Duchovny and Chris Carter from the X-Files, as well as other actors that you might (or might not) recognize.

So, anyone have a couple grand and a ticket to Vancouver to spare?

Pet Lag

dave@deckmonster.com (Deck) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 19:22:08 -0700

Ways To Tell That Your Pet Cat Hasn't Adjusted to Daylight Savings Yet:

When you get up he stares blearily at you like, "WTF, dude?!? It's too early to get up now." Then he sleeps an extra hour while you get ready for work.
He sleeps 20 hours a day. (Wait, scratch that... That's normal for a cat. )
Instead of waiting for you after work at the foot of the door (literally, I usually have to push him aside to get in), he looks embarrassed while running in from the other room to greet you.

(Confession... I was going to do a "Top 5" but couldn't think of two more. )

I learned a new non-word today...

dave@deckmonster.com (Deck) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 13:36:45 -0700

That word is: clbuttic.

Found this today on The Daily WTF (i.e. "Worse Than Failure" - a site for geeks to post "strange but true" programming stories)...

The Clbuttic Mistake

Browsing through a web archive of some old computer club conversations, I ran across this sentence:

"Apple made the clbuttic mistake of forcing out their visionary - I mean, look at what NeXT has been up to!"

Hmm. "clbuttic".

Google "clbuttic" - thousands of hits!

There's someone who call his car 'clbuttic'.

There are "Clbuttic Steam Engine" message boards.

Webster's dictionary - no help.

Hmm. What can this be?

HINT: People who make buttumptions about their regex scripts, will be embarbutted when they repeat this mbuttive mistake.

Took me a while to figure out just what "clbuttic" means, but I finally did.

Read more for the answer...
Continue reading "I learned a new non-word today..."

"But don't talk back to Darth Vador... He'll getcha."

dave@deckmonster.com (Deck) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 19:59:57 -0700

Star Wars according to a 3 year old...

The word "precious" comes to mind. I think she did a better job than I could've.

(via ExtraLife)

Sunday Sites - Netvibes.com

dave@deckmonster.com (Deck) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 01:16:00 -0700

Netvibes has earned a place on the list of tabs auto-loaded every time I open my browser. With Netvibes, I can satisfy my craving for daily info by organizing the sites I read regularly (currently a few more than fifty) into tabbed pages of RSS subscription feeds.

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a standard way for Websites to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines, or podcasts. An RSS reader like the one in Netvibes can display the content published on any number of sites without having to actually browse to each and every site. Even if I get ~~lazy~~, uh busy and manage to fall a few days behind, RSS makes it easy to wade through what would otherwise be information overload.

If you're not already reading this blog entry in Netvibes, I recommend you try it and see for yourself.