Life in Visual Numbers

This is a close-up shot of 426,000 cell phones....which is equal to the number of cell phones retired every day in the US.

Also on the site, you'll find 213,000 Vicodin pills, equal to the number of emergency room visits yearly in the US related to misuse or abuse of prescription pain killers. Here's a tiny picture, but go to the site to see not only much larger pictures, but zoomed in shots of each one.
You'll also find plastic bags, prison uniforms, office paper, money, and several others. Very cool to 'see' the numbers rather than just hearing the statistics.

101 Greatest George Carlin Quotes

77. The reason they call it the American Dream is because you have to be asleep to believe it.

101 George Carlin Quotes

Beware. If you aren't familiar with George Carlin, you might find some of the stuff offensive. Otherwise, most of them are funny....or so pathetically true that you'd rather cry than laugh, heh. :P

Once in a Blue Moon (Your Chance is May 31)

Thursday, May 31 brings us the second of two full Moons for North Americans this month. Some almanacs and calendars assert that when two full Moons occur within a calendar month, that the second full Moon is called the "Blue Moon."

The full moon that night will likely look no different than any other full Moon. But the Moon can change color in certain conditions.

The rest of the article with talk about the origination of the term can be found here, but just a head's up that two nights from now is a "blue" moon!

Flickr Vision (Photos from Around the World)

http://flickrvision.com/

If you like seeing photos from around the world, this is a spin on how to have it up-to-the-minute current. Just sit and watch as the map will pinpoint various places by popping up a photo, and at the bottom, you'll see something that says "posted 2 minutes ago" or "posted less than a minute ago" as users actually upload these pictures to Flickr.

Drug-Free Drugs and Mental Twists (Larry Carlson)

This first link is just, um, crazy. It's slightly hypnotic, slightly annoying, and slightly dazing. There's also sound, but even without your volume up, it's kinda hard to look away (or even if you do, it's hard to not look back just to see what the heck is going on).

http://larrycarlson.com/

The second link is the one that led me to the first set of 'digital art'...

http://www.larrycarlson.com/supreme_om/

He has a blog to look through also, if you so choose, although I found the site itself more enticing.

http://skyhaseyes.blogspot.com/

Why did I label this drug-free drugs? Because a couple days ago, I was sent the link below and it was called an LSD simulator because of it's effect (you've probably seen something similar before). I wasn't going to post the link because it wasn't necessary and not really worth my time, but after seeing the connection to these other slightly hypnotic flash 'arts', I couldn't help it.

http://www.neave.com/strobe/

Hogzilla is a Baby Compared to This!

A few weeks ago I posted about Hogzilla and a half ton of pork. I was quite amazed then, but this thing is just monstrous! This one is claiming to be 9 feet, 4 inches and weighs in at 1051 pounds!! I'd be afraid to even get near a wild hog that size....it looks like a rhino and could eat me (even if it didn't want to) in one bite, lol!

200th Post!!--Kick the Yapping Penguin Already!

Nuclear Nightmare--Chernobyl Photos

Nuclear Nightmare-20 Years Since Chernobyl

I've had this site sitting in a tab for almost 2 weeks now. Actually, I lost my tabs a couple times and hunted it down again, just so I wouldn't forget it. The thing is, I wasn't sure how to introduce it. It's rather lengthy....page after page after page of photos....and yet, it's hard to look away once you start.

Click through the first couple pages and then as you start to see photos, scroll your cursor over them for captions. Some of them seem normal....a boy jumping into a lake, men duck hunting, a family portrait, a girl sleeping....and others are too disturbing for words.

Do You Believe in Faeries?

Check out this site for some more pictures, the story, and a letter all the way at the bottom.

Popularity Caller--Need to Look Cool?

Popularity dialer is one of the handful of services floating around that will automatically dial your phone at a certain time. This particular one offers 7 callers:

1)The original popularity call (male voice)
2)The popularity call II (female voice)
3)The affirmation call
4)The boss call
5)The cousin in need call
and the newest two:
6) The band practice call
7) The male English lover call

Basically what happens is the the phone will ring, you answer, and this voice will start talking to you. It's prerecorded so you can listen ahead of time and plan your responses so you're not caught off guard when the 'caller' calls you. It leaves pauses for you to reply and will spare you any embarrassing moments where you pretend to be talking to someone on the phone....only for it to ring in your hand and give you away. It'll make you seem important or give you an excuse to leave someone at just the right time.

Screaming Beans!!

http://simon.supermegaactionplus.com/beans.html

Okay, so it's cute. I thought it was going to be gross and almost didn't even open the link when it was sent to me, but it actually turned out to be kinda giggle-worthy (especially once I pulled the little ones in the room and let them watch...they loved it, hehe). It 'does' have sound and you've gotta have it, so just make sure you don't have other things playing at the time and click away....and keep clicking. :D

There's Nothing Like Peeing on the City (Interesting Urinals)

Head over here for a set of urinals that most people don't see everyday. Well, I guess women don't typically see 'any' urinal everyday, but you get the idea.

What a Mixed Family....

Aren't they adorable? It's been a while since I've posted a cute animal photo, but this one seems appropriate for the time being. Here's the caption:

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, a dog feeds tiger triplets and her own puppy, right, at the Paomaling Zoo in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, Wednesday, May 16, 2007. The tiger triplets were rejected by their mother shortly after their birth. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Lu Chuanquan)

I've talked briefly about adoption before, but I want to take the chance to mention it once again. Notice how not a single one of those babies looks like the mama dog...not even her own flesh and blood puppy. She's still feeding them as her own, though, and will treat them as her own in every other way, too (until the zoo steps in here, of course). Kudos to all the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, older siblings, friends of the family--and the list goes on and on--who have stepped up and taken in children that they haven't given birth to themselves.

15 Cool Firefox Tricks

If you've been reading here for a while, you'll know that I'm a big fan of Firefox (um, 'firefox' has its own tag in my list of labels, heh). For other Firefox users out there (or those that are considering converting to the better side :P), here are a few cool things that you can modify to make Firefox better suit your needs. There are 'tons' of lists like this out there, but most talk about all the add-ons you can choose from and which ones are coolest. This link talks more about things you can change to help pages load quicker, increase your screen space, and how to use short cut keys to make your experience even better.

Sipahh Flavored Straws

Ya know, I spend half my time here turning you guys on to the quirky products I stumble across, lol. Well here's another one....Sipahh Milk Flavoring Straws. Get it? Sip the milk...and then 'ahh'...

Anywho, the straws have a flavor (chocolate, strawberry, banana, or cookies 'n' cream) inside and when you sip, you get a little bit in each drink. There's enough in each one to perfectly flavor 8 oz. of milk (any kind will do)...or----I should get paid for all the free advertising, I do. Geesh. Anyway, I haven't tried them myself yet, but they look kinda nifty. I think they'd be great for kids who are constantly asking for milk.....or for those dieters who are trying milk alternatives that don't taste the greatest (fyi, these guys only have 15 calories each, so it'd be worth it if it'd help you choke down nasty flavored milk type drinks).

Dog Went Away, Got Shot, and a Shark Ate Him....

A quick conversation I just had with the 4 (A) and 5 (M) year old girls...

A--Pretend I'm a new dog now because the old dog was bad.
Me--Well that's mean. You don't just get a new dog every time one is bad. Is that what I should do with you every time you're bad? Just get rid of you and get a new kid?
A and M--Nooo...
M--That would be mean.
A--Well, I don't want to be that dog any more.
Me--Well say that then. You just want to pretend to be a different---
A--I want to start over.
Me--dog. Or you can pretend that the other dog is at the vet getting his shots or he's on vacation. And you can be another dog now.
A--Okay, the other dog got shot while he was on vacation.
M--Yeah, now he's dead.
Me--No, no guys! That's not what I meant. I didn't mean kill him....just pretend that he's away doing something else.
M--Yeah, he went on vacation and a shark ate him.
A--He got eated by a shark and now I'm the new dog.
Me--Yeah, ok, fine....

I mean, I tried, right?

The Masks We Wear

(Click to get the full effect)

I love this photo and I wish I could give the creator better credit. I found it on a site...that linked to a site.....that showed a gallery, but from a random internet user, and not the artist. The only tidbit I have is the Kassandra in the bottom left hand corner, so if the artist ever happens to stumble across this place (as they sometimes do when they're watching out for their own stuff...or when a friend of a friend of a friend sees it), I'd love to be able to link to his/her site and see what else he/she might have.

As it stands, though, all I have is this lonely photo....but it speaks loudly enough on its own. I don't even have to do my own write up, critique, or analysis of it.....words cannot do justice to what the masks say everyday and just happen to be captured here all at once...

I Look Like My Dog

Well, not really, but some people do. I'm sure we've all seen them before, but it's still amazing to see some of the similarities. Go here for some more winners from a recent competition. Even I was slightly shocked by how closely some of them resembled each other.

The Power of Beer (Joke)

A man is waiting for his wife to give birth. The doctor comes in and
informs the dad that his son was born without torso, arms or legs. The son
is just a head! But the dad loves his son and raises him as well as he can,
with love and compassion.

After 18 years, the son is now old enough for his first drink. Dad takes
him to the bar, tearfully tells the son he is proud of him and orders up the
biggest, strongest drink for his boy. With all the bar patrons looking on
curiously and the bartender shaking his head in disbelief, the boy takes his
first sip of alcohol.

Swoooosh! Plop!! A torso pops out! The bar is dead silent; then bursts
into whoops of joy. The father, shocked, begs his son t o drink again. The
patrons chant "Take another drink!"

The bartender continues to shake his head in dismay. Swoooosh! Plip!
Plop!! Two arms pop out.

The bar goes wild. The father, crying and wailing, begs his son to drink
again. The patrons chant, "Take another drink! Take another drink!!" The
bartender ignores the whole affair and goes back to polishing glasses,
shaking his head, clearly unimpressed by the amazing scenes.

By now the boy is getting tipsy, but with his new hands he reaches down,
grabs his drink and guzzles the last of it. Plop! Plip!! Two legs pop out.
The bar is in chaos.

The father falls to his knees and tearfully thanks God. The boy stands up
on his new legs and stumbles to the left, then to the right, then staggers
right through the front door into the street where a truck runs over him and
kills him instantly. The bar falls silent.

The father moans in grief. The bartender sighs and says,

(This is so wrong...)

"He should've quit while he was a head!"

Rewritten Fairy Tale--Frog Prince

Some of you have likely seen it before, but I wanted to pass it on here anyway. Courtesy of another of my mother's emails...

Once upon a time in a land far away, a beautiful, independent, self-assured princess happened upon a frog as she sat contemplating ecological issues on the shores of an unpolluted pond in a verdant meadow near her castle.

The frog hopped into the princess' lap and said: " Elegant Lady, I was once a handsome prince, until an evil witch cast a spell upon me. One kiss from you, however, and I will turn back into the dapper, young prince that I am and then, my sweet, we can marry and set up housekeeping in your castle with my mother, where you can prepare my meals, clean my clothes, bear my children, and forever feel grateful and happy doing so. "

That night, as the princess dined sumptuously on lightly sauteed frog legs seasoned in a white wine and onion cream sauce, she chuckled and thought to herself:

I don't fuckin think so.

How to Change Your Favicon in Blogger

I meant to get this changed for my blog quite a while back and never got around to it. My blog got lost in my tabs of blogger blogs for the last time, and now I (and anyone else who has a thing for tabs) can quickly see who's site it is at a glance. That likely seems silly to most of you, but I happen to love favicons and am glad mine is finally changed.

Fortunately for me, when I remembered to look for quick directions and went for it, I stumbled across this site first thing and found a somewhat simple way to get it done. There's a lot of extra stuff in there that you don't necessarily need to know, but because I used her as a reference, I wanted to give her credit for it, too. Basically, grab her link for MyFavatar, follow the registration and upload instructions, and paste the code directly into your layout HTML where the site tells you to. It took less than 5 minutes because I already had my quirky icon and simply needed to upload, insert, and voila. :D

~Edit on March 18, 2008~ MyFavatar has been down for about a week or so now, which means everyone who had their favicons linked directly through them, no longer have their favicons showing, which is really sad. I checked and the site doesn't appear to have any issues with not renewing its hosting package, but who knows? Anywho, times are starting to change and many browsers now recognize formats other than the .ico, which was the biggest complication in the first place.

Here's how I corrected the issue. I used a photo editing program (paint, photoshop, etc) to create a 16 x 16 image. I then uploaded it to Photobucket (use whatever you're most used to). From there, I opened up my blog's template/html code and did a search for "favatar" to find where the old coding/url was in my template. I then simply replaced the two url/web addresses that were previously listed.....added in the new file location instead and I'm all set again. :)

~Edit October 30, 2008~ Something was changed and there seems to be an issue with some FF users where they won't see the favicon if it's place in at the top of the template. I don't like deleting old entries, so I just crossed out the old info. Here's all you need to know now:

• Create a 16x16 image.
  
• Upload it to somewhere like Photobucket or Flickr.
• Copy and paste this piece of code right before the tag in your template:
  
  < href="yourimagefilehere.jpg" rel="'shortcut" type="'image/x-icon'/">
  
  
• Take out the space after the after <, replace the "yourimagefilehere.jpg" with the url of where you hosted your image, and save. That's all there is to it.