I triple-dog-dare you to take this test

You wimps are way to chicken to visit this link. I bet anything that your Huggies®** are too tight even to click on the link. There's no way you could outscore me on this. I ruled this test.

Go on, I dare you to take it. What's that? Afraid? That's what I thought.

Go and measure yourself against... The Competitiveness Index!

_{** If you dare actually to click on this link, beware the image on the front page of the site. That is not one woman, but two. Yes, it's two pregnant women, sliced into pieces and digitally edited together to appear 'more leaning back' and 'more freakin gravid,' 'n stuff. Personally, I think it's disturbing.}

Better this than your e-IronLung™

I guess Times Square crashing is a little better than your WinCE ATM crashing right BETWEEN the moment you press the '$40 Fast Cash' button and the little door opening...

From the teeny article:

And then, across the square, I saw it: the world's largest Windows error message - on a two-story high e-billboard (I guess everything really is bigger in New York). It was the only billboard in the entire square with absolutely no movement....

Read about it at Network World.

First hands-on with the Nintendo DS Lite!

I want one of these so bad.

Read about it at Endgadget and Lik-Sang.

Movies to watch out for

Street Fight
A documentary about democracy at any cost in Newark, New Jersey.


Street Fight
Marketing your despotic presidential candidate may not be as easy as you think.


The Squid and the Whale
Not your Ordinary People.


The Squid and the Whale
The true story of Germany's most famous anti-Nazi heroine. Hook me up, I can't wait to see this!

Rotation Of Earth Plunges Entire North American Continent Into Darkness

The end is nigh!

From the article:

Darkness victims describe hunger pangs, lassitude, and a slow but steady loss of energy, forcing many to lie down. As many as two-thirds of those believed afflicted have fallen into a state of total unconsciousness.

Jesus Christ

A new South African film tells the tale of Jesus as a black South African. This has gotten mucho good attention at the Sundance Film Festival, which just closed. I can't wait to see it.

Read about it at Southafrica.info

Ever wanted to destroy someone ELSE'S computer?

Go ahead, try and crash it!

Flying Spaghetti Dinners for the whole Utah House

House of Representatives that is, as in, the Utah State House of Representatives that voted down a bill that "would have required teachers to issue a disclaimer to their students saying that not all scientists agree about evolution and the origin of species."

My favorite quote from the article:

"If the creationists can't win in a state as conservative as Utah, they've got an uphill battle,"

Read about it at the New York Times.

Harper's Week in Review

Time for the weekly news round-up from my favorite dour, if well-informed, Humanities-centric news Monthly.

Read about it at Harper's Magazine

Mars's ship has come in.

Space.com reports that the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) arrives March 10th!

You can imagine how freakin excited I am. From the article:

MRO totes powerful instruments that can investigate every level of Mars: From underground layers to the top of the planet’s atmosphere.

For one, the Mars-bound spacecraft is hauling the most powerful telescopic cam­era ever sent outward to scan another planet. That gear can spot rocks the size of a small desk.

MRO will chart water-related deposits in areas as small as a baseball infield. The Italian space agency supplied the mission with a radar designed to probe for buried ice and water.

Also, a weather camera will monitor the entire planet daily, while an infrared sounder is assigned the duty to gauge atmospheric temperatures and the movement of water vapor.

JPL’s Graf said that MRO will return more data than all previous Mars missions combined.

Read about it at Space.com

Answers... or, Ask Dr. Stupid

A look at what's hot at Google Answers.

Can an Alligator climb a tree?

Can dogs taste sweets? Short answer: not really, especially if it's Aspartame.

Do fat people fall faster than skinny people?

How do I contact Bill Clinton to lament the current political state of the country or maybe invite him to my Birthday Party?

How do they come up with gas prices at the pump?

DDO advertises on WoW?

Blizzard is so funny. They allowed a DDO advert on their main WoW web site. Hahaha Click the pic above for the screenshot.

Apples-To-Apples Wireless Plan Comparison

Well, it's probably only good for this week, but someone took an average new customer, and compared available plans from all four of the nation's wireless carriers.

From the comparison:

There you have it – while the two largest carriers are neck-and-neck with costs, the overall cheapest plan is from T-Mobile USA (4th largest carrier), while the most expensive plan is from Sprint Nextel (3rd largest carrier). T-Mobile USA’s plans seemed the most straightforward and easiest to understand, while Sprint Nextel’s options were the most confusing to us, especially in the wireless internet area (Power Vision). Cingular and Verizon give you what T-Mobile USA and Sprint Nextel don’t (without extra charges), which is mobile-to-mobile calling within their networks for free; this feature alone could be worth it to many customers when decision time comes.

http://www.thewirelessreport.com/2006/02/13/apples-to-apples-comparison-of-the-big-four-u-s-wireless-prov/

Dragon Quest + Final Fantasy = PSP, ugh

Why are they so mean? This is the second time they've done this and the U.S. just doesn't want to get it. Besides, I hate the PSP.

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=63039

"Japanese magazine Shonen Jump has revealed the first snippets of info about the game, including news that it will feature playable characters from both series, including Final Fantasy XII's Fran and Balflear. Stages will include one based on the Phantom Train in Final Fantasy VI. This isn't the first time Squenix has produced a DQ/FF game - back in 2004, they released Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Special for the PS2. It was a big hit in Japan, but never made it over here. The PSP game won't be a direct port of the original - instead it'll feature all-new characters and stages. "

Is my laptop actually a Quantum Computer in disguise?

The New Scientist reports of a quantum computer that really only works when it's off...

"It is very bizarre that you know your computer has not run but you also know what the answer is," says team member Onur Hosten.

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/info-tech/mg18925405.700.html

Video Game Maps

Here's a link to a fan's site that has pieced together maps of all your favorite old video game classics (and a few new ones too). Take a walk down memory lane.

http://ian-albert.com/misc/gamemaps.php

EA does something for me, finally!

Electronics Arts, the world's largest game company, has decided to lower its prices. Is this the start of a price war? From the article:

"[US]$39 is resonating with consumers given the transition," EA spokesman Jeff Brown said. "There are indications that $39 is a solid and sustainable price point."

Read on!
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060221-6229.html

HP Misto Coffee Table PC

Hell yes! Hook a brother up! This would be awesome for playing games with your pals or surfing for tv listings, or anything.



http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/pcs/hp-misto-coffee-table-pc-156305.php

The Phantom is vapor ware? Again?

Looks like the Phantom has disappeared again. And I have to admit that although these guys are obviously screwed up, at least we have to give them credit for announcing a game downloading console before anyone else -- one that would have done almost exactly what Sony is now planning.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6144631.html

From the article:

"From its inception in December of 2002 through September of last year, Infinium racked up $62.7 million in losses. Of that, only $3.5 million has been lost to development costs. The company has spent more than half that in advertising, even though none of its products or services have been released yet. More of the company's money has been going toward consultants ($12.8 million), salaries ($11.9 million), and general and administrative expenses ($5.9 million)."

NM Spaceport gets the go-ahead. Yes, I said SPACEPORT

This is the kind of thing that makes me think that promise of jetpacks for everyone might not be such a distant dream after all! And it's cheap too, check out the article.

http://www.space.com/news/060216_spaceport_update.html

Where the chips may fall

Where is the Xbox 360 in the console wars? This is part one of a three-part article.

http://games.slashdot.org/games/06/02/17/2059202.shtml

Dawn of the Dead 2006 - Updated!

This is seriously insanity. A virus that kills you in two days and can restart your heart? Does Umbrella Corp. have an office in Cambodia?

http://65.127.124.62/south_asia/4483241.stm.htm

Well turns out this is a hoax, thank god.

From the Urban legends reference:
http://www.snopes.com/humor/iftrue/zombies.asp

1.2 Petabyte Hard drives, too small?

http://hardware.slashdot.org/hardware/06/02/17/0051234.shtml

I'm sure I will have to get 2 for all my porn and mp3s.

Scientists prove that being neurotic hurts decision making

Of course nobody in Seattle is even going to change their mind. Screw that, we love our Neuroses!

http://science.slashdot.org/science/06/02/17/1357253.shtml

Apple has awesome lawyers

Another day in the exciting news of Maxxuss forcing MacOS X to run on non-Apple Intel hardware. Apple has invoked the DCMA. Not surprising, but check out the easter egg poem that Maxxuss found buried in the code. It's at the end of the article.

http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/02/17/osx86/index.php

Video iPod confirmed, whee!

Here's a link to a confirmation of the April 1st release of a Video iPod with a 3.5" diagonal screen, and no buttons.

http://thinksecret.com/news/0602videoipod.html

ok, the list goes: cooler phone, 360, HDTV, new laptop, new car, dog food, teeth, ad nauseum, haha

jj

Meet the Seaspam Crew!

So here's the Seattle Spammer crew. If you click on a picture above you'll see a larger pic of our illustrious electronic jammers. Juicy, Biochemlab, Selaka, Goateed, Jeffrey, and the devious, sly, and perhaps even crafty, Pinball, comprise our regular panel. Frequent appearances are made by our Seaspam irregulars, Stonedrew, Olaries, and a few others as well.