Tom McMahon

A cyber-deconstuctionist interpretation of Nietzsche. (via Erik Benson) 

Worlds Tiniest Tarot Card Deck: "Sometimes the word 'small' doesn't quite cut it. Case and point: this diminutive tarot deck says it is the 'World's Tiniest', and at 1-1/2' x 7/8', who would argue? While mind-bogglingly miniature, the wee set contains all of the major and lesser arcana. Each teensy-tiny card is nicely detailed and they come in a pint-sized box with an instructional, interpretive insert. " 

LibrarianActionFigure.com: Nancy Pearl. Yes, she's a real person! Director of Library Programming and the Washington Center for the Book at the Seattle Public Library. Nancy is best known for the, “If All Seattle Read The Same Book” project. This idea of one city reading the same book at the same time has been imitated in cities around the world. She is a book reviewer for the Seattle Times, Booklist, Library Journal, KUOW-FM Seattle, and KWGS-FM Tulsa.
 

John Walkenbach: Digital Images 

Things You Never Knew Existed: "An 'Electrifying' Halloween Get-up! Everyone will get a charge out of this shocking display of togetherness. She wears pull-over shift style sheath with sockets, he gets pull-up plug with elastic waistband and several feet of 'cord.' " 

One of our Great Character Actors 

The Shrine to John Kruk: "Why do I wear #29 for my summer league softball team? You can have your Hall of Famers, you can have your Griffeys and Rodriguezes and guys named 'Chipper,' but my favorite baseball player ever is John Kruk, first baseman for the Padres, Phillies and White Sox. He swung a mean bat, had deceptive speed, gave his all for the team, and always came through in the clutch. More than anything, though, it's just that he's so NORMAL. He looks like that guy from the machine shop you always see in the neighborhood bar. As he himself said, when admonished for being a professional athlete and yet smoking, 'I ain't an athlete, lady, I'm a baseball player.' Plus, he's funnier than hell, as evidenced by numerous appearances on Letterman. The Krukker retired a few years back due to bad knees, and he is sorely missed. Here's an archive of pictures, articles, and other items about him. " 

3

1 to actually change the lightbulb

2 to tell you over and over again how great the old lightbulb was.

I thought PubliusTX might like that one.  

TCS: Tech - Real World 101: "Many academics share the adolescent fantasy that government would be terrific if only the right leaders were in charge. They think that all of our problems would go away if only 'the people' could get their way over the 'special interests.' Their model of politics is the old Jimmy Stewart movie 'Mr. Smith goes to Washington.'

A good way to cure the adolescent fantasy is to spend time in government. Up close, it is hard to tell the people from the special interests. The crusaders for more low-income housing turn out to be construction companies. The campaign for energy independence and clean-burning fuel turns out to be a plea for a subsidy to benefit a large ethanol producer. Conversely, those of us arguing against drug price controls do so not because we are industry stooges but because we believe that markets incentives lead to better treatments and cures.

The Democratic Party is opposed to tax cuts. Is this a matter of principled concern for the fiscal health of the United States, or is it because 'the people' that dominate the party platform -- the teachers' unions; the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees; and opponents of Social Security reform -- all feed from the government trough?" 

Check out these fortune cookies 

JS Online A river of iron flows home:
Milwaukee welcomes thousands of motorcyclists as the big party kicks off. Wednesday was the unofficial "arrival day" for tens of thousands - by some estimates, hundreds of thousands - of people coming to celebrate Harley-Davidson's 100th anniversary. Some came in as part of The Ride Home, a Harley-sponsored series of four tours that started in different parts of the country and converged Wednesday in Milwaukee. Others just came on their own, by whatever route they chose.

Today, the official activities get under way across the metro area, leading up to a Saturday parade of thousands of motorcyclists, and then a Sunday celebration to kick off the company's next century
 

Black Walnuts: "There are good nuts and there are great nuts, but here you've found the Ultimate Nut - the American Eastern Black Walnut. Welcome to the on-line home of Hammons Products Company, the world's premier processor and supplier of American Eastern Black Walnuts " 

Madison Avenue Mall. 

ClicheCleaner is a program that helps you write better, by highlighting passages in your text that are either clichés, other overly-used common expressions, or phrases of your own that you have repeatedly used within the same document.  

Candy you ate as a kid: "Candy Cigarettes... In the new millennium they aren't called 'cigarettes' any more... they are now 'candy sticks.' They may have a new name but they are exactly the way you remember them. Each pack has 10 white candy sticks with a red end. A box of 24 packs is $3.99."

But first, I hafta see some ID . . .  

From NECCO, which purchased the brand in 1999. It's been forever since I had one of these. 

Mark Belling:

"Imagine if Timothy Nabors had died.

Milwaukee Police Officer Michael Lutz would have been the victim of the media/black activist lynch mob that was determined to believe Lutz shot and killed an unarmed man. If Nabors had died, he wouldn’t have been able to acknowledge repeatedly that he indeed was holding a gun when Lutz shot him. Demagogues like Milwaukee Common Council President Marvin Pratt would have been relentless in their insistence that Lutz be fired and criminally charged. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which originally reported as fact that Nabors was unarmed, would have fanned the flames.

Lutz wouldn’t have stood a chance." 

Whonamedit.com is a biographical dictionary of medical eponyms. It is their ambition to present a complete survey of all medical phenomena named for a person, with a biography of that person. Stuff like "Lou Gehrig's Disease" for ALS, that sort of thing. 

CatalogCity.com: "These caps featuring the double-headed eagle Imperial Russian crest, are fit for a Tsar. Caps (made in USA) are brushed cotton twill with embroidery. Adjustable–one size fits all. " 

At Customatix.com. Kinda fun, even if you don't buy. It's got an interactive Flash thingee so you get see exactly what you'll be getting.  

Clark University: " Fore-edge painting is a curious art form in book decoration that has delicate watercolors painted on the edges of the leaves of the volume and concealed under gilded fore-edges. The binder would hire an artist to fan the pages of the book, hold them in that position with a vise, and paint the image. Once it was dry, the artist removed the book from the vise and gold leaf was applied to the edge to help hide the painting. Thus, when the fore-edge of the book is slightly fanned, the image appears; when the book is closed, the painting remains protected and hidden.
This style of decoration began in the middle of the 17th century, reached its zenith early in the 19th century, and essentially died out by the end of the 1800s. These paintings were primarily, but not solely, done by the British. Although found in all types of books, these paintings often adorned poetry books. " 

Christmas Eve, 1941.

The predawn blackness over the frigid waters of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence is broken by the flash of signal lamps, "Execute the mission ordered.". A Free French task force slips past the undefended entrance to the harbor of Saint Pierre. A lookout reports no signs of life on shore. His Captain replies, "They sleep and dream of us for Christmas.". The mail boat to Miquelon approaches and is ordered to turned about and follow along side. It complies. A fishing dory emerges from the mist and passes the flotilla unmolested. The corvettes near the snow covered coal wharf. A solitary figure, an ancient Breton fisherman, spies the Cross of Lorraine and races down the Quai de Ronciere. The click clack of the old man’s sabots on the icy pavement and his bilingual curses, "Petain, le sacre bleu cochon, le old goat!" can be heard across the whole of the island. Sailors on the first of the ships to brush the dock toss him the bowline. As he secures it to the bollard the man exclaims again, "Vive de Gaulle, at last I can say it. Vive de Gaulle!".

Free French sailors and marines in full battle dress race from their ships. By now a crowd of bleary eyed Saint Pierrais has gathered to cheer them on with shouts of Vive de Gaulle!, Vive Muselier! Homemade banners, Tricolors emblazoned with Croix de Lorraine, flutter in the chill North Atlantic breeze. The assault force, intent on seizing the town’s key administrative centers; the town hall, post office, telegraph station and radio transmitter, seems oblivious to their welcome. They meet no resistance. The island’s 11 gendarmes surrender their Vichy supplied machine guns and offer to assist in rounding up the usual suspects. Not a shot is fired nor a drop of blood spilled.

The operation is over in half an hour. The Vichy Administrator, an aristocratic Parisian, Gilbert Baron de Bournat, is taken into custody and led off to the Aconit, Muselier’s flagship. The assembled crowd taunts him with shouts of Vive de Gaulle! The Administrator stops short of the gangplank, turns about, silences the mob with an intimidating glare, and snaps off a crisp, "Vive Petain!".

Admiral Muselier makes his way to the town hall where he reads a proclamation:

"Inhabitants of the French islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon;
Conforming to General de Gaulle’s orders, I have come to let you take part freely and in due order in a plebiscite, for which you have begged so long.
You may now choose between the course of the Free French and the course of collaboration with the Axis powers, who starve, humiliate and martyr our country.
There is no doubt in my mind that the oldest French territory overseas will side with Great Britain, the United States, Canada and our other allies and will show en masse its loyalty to the traditions of honor and liberty which have always been the pride of France. Vive la France! Vive les Allies!"  

Pep Boys trade Moe for Crackle, plus and year's supply of Rice Krispie bars. With the trade, the new lineups will be:

• Pep Boys: Manny, Crackle, and Jack
• Rice Krispies: Snap, Moe, Pop

 

So go tell that to your parents. And then to your grandparents. Keep going up the ladder until one of them says "Really?" instead of "Huh?" Or until you run out of grandparents.  

Welcome to the original Pointless Click Counter. (via dribbleglass)

And to remember the thrill of visiting the site, be sure to visit their online store !

Hey we could use this to count Flash Mobs . . .

 

smugmug: "Our mission is not to surround your photos with special offers. It's to provide great photo sharing. If you're tired of dull-looking photo sites, you've come to the right place. We'll make you look good." 

Human Events Online. A sampling: "In June, Davis illegally tripled the state's car tax by executive order. With Davis's hike, the average household will now pay the state $390 each year—up from $127—for the privilege of owning a car, according to the state Department of Motor Vehicles."
 

• Salt
• Sugar
• White Flour
• Lard

 

The Recipe:

1 can of Spam
3 brown eggs
4 oz portion of Velveeta block cheese
1 cup of Tater-Tots

Dice Spam. Fry Spam on high heat in an omelette pan, being sure to save as much rendered Spam fat as possible. When Spam is nicely browned, add Tater-Tots. Lower heat to medium and stir until Tots are cooked. Beat eggs in a bowl with a whisk. Pour over cooked Spam and Tots. Flip. When ready add cheese and fold omelette in half. (via Idle Type ) 

For being the jerk that he is. I realize that Americans with flabby brains will buy his new book and put it on the best-seller lists, but hey, sometimes you hafta just savor the moment . . . 

"Powermapper is an automatic site mapping tool for Information Architects, Usability Analysts and Web Developers. " 

I've used it for about a week now, and I really like MyBestBests.tv.  

I watched a show yesterday on the crash, delving into conspiracy theories, the white Fiat, all that stuff. What was not mentioned in the whole hour was the lack of any kind of the most basic safety railing in the tunnel. And that it took them forever to get Diana to a hospital.  

Well before video games or cable TV, the kids in my neighborhood used to play a game of "baseball" using a pair of dice and their baseball cards. You put 4 of the unused baseball cards down as the bases, then make your lineup of 9 using whatever cards you had. You rolled the dice, and the results were per the table below. We're not sure of the origin of the game. It might have been developed by Pat Shields and/or Howie Yoman, formerly of Hazel Crest, Illinois.

I should add that most of the fun of this game is the imperative to perform as your own mock play-by-play announcer!

Dice	Result
1 - 1	Home Run
1 - 2	Double
1 - 3	Out
1 - 4	Walk
1 - 5	Out
1 - 6	Single
2 - 2	Double Play
2 - 3	Out
2 - 4	Out
2 - 5	Single, Runners Advance 2 Bases
2 - 6	Out
3 - 3	Out
3 - 4	Single
3 - 5	Out
3 - 6	Out
4 - 4	Out
4 - 5	Out
4 - 6	Out
5 - 5	Out
5 - 6	Sacrifice Fly, Runners Advance 1 Base
6 - 6	Triple