The Inane Asylum

Somebody please buy one of these so i can come to your house:

gizmodo:

Bang & Olufsen’s BeoVision 7 32-Inch TV and Entertainment Center is the prettiest demand to hand over my wallet I’ve seen in a while. This home entertainment center is built around 32-inch widescreen LCD screen that automatically adjusts picture quality upon powering up. The screen also includes an intergrated DVD player and top box controller module for pulling in satellite channels. It’s only $12,000, or three stolen babies.

Engadget:

With LCD and plasma displays getting sleeker and slimmer by the day, you’d think Bang & Olufsen, which built their name on sleek, slim components, would be tearing their hair out, desperately trying to find a way to make their products stand out from the wannabees. While we’ve seen signs of that desperation — the BeoVision 5 TV, which mounted a gorgeous 42-inch plasma screen in a square frame, comes to mind — most of their TV products have managed to differentiate themselves from the competition in subtle, creative ways. The BeoVision 7 32-inch LCD does so with its built-in DVD player, distinctive speakers and integration with the company’s BeoLink network, along with a screen that automatically adjusts to ambient lighting conditions and can be swiveled via remote to an optimum viewing angle. Whether these features make it worth a price that’s likely to be at least $5K depends on how much you’ve bought into the B&O philosophy — and, of course, how much cash you’ve got to spare.

If there's a bigger version of that photo, I don't think I want to see it:

Kitten Born With Two Faces

When Teresa Morrison's cat had a litter Tuesday, she noticed something was different about one of the kittens.

"I thought it had growth on its face," she said.

The kitten has two mouths, two noses and four eyes. She immediately called her veterinarian.

"He said he's never seen it. Never," Morrison said.

The kitten is nursing from its mother, which the vet said is a good sign.

"(She's) feeding off one mouth now; sometimes go to the other one, but he's not getting it open," Morrison said.

The vet told Morrison he didn't know if the cat has one or two brains, but having one would give the cat a better chance to survive.

He said if the kitten lives 48 hours, he has a good chance of living a full life.

Wednesday morning, Morrison named the cat "Deuce."

A community on livejournal for all of you good citizens who are amused by screencaps of really really bad porn.

Does this mean the bad guys win?

Apple Wins Trade Secrets Legal Dispute

A California judge on Friday ruled that three independent online reporters may have to divulge confidential sources in a lawsuit brought by Apple Computer Inc., ruling that there are no legal protections for those who publish a company's trade secrets.

Apple sued 25 employees who allegedly leaked confidential product information to three Web publishers. The Cupertino-based company said the leaks violated nondisclosure agreements and California's Uniform Trade Secrets Act. Company attorneys demanded that the reporters identify their sources.

The reporters sought a protective order against the subpoenas, saying that identifying sources would create a "chilling effect" that could erode the media's ability to report in the public's interest.

But Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James Kleinberg ruled in Apple's favor, saying that reporters who published "stolen property" weren't entitled to protections...

Hunt for court shooter Brian Nichols spreads to other states

A man being escorted into court for trial Friday stole a gun, then killed the judge, a court stenographer and a sheriff's deputy before fleeing. The attack set off a massive manhunt and chaos across Atlanta.

Hundreds of officers in cruisers and helicopters swarmed the area in search of 33-year-old Brian Nichols, who remained at large Friday night. He had been on trial for rape, burglary and other charges stemming from an incident involving an ex-girlfriend.

Around the city, schools, restaurants and office buildings were locked down amid fears the killer might strike again. As the search spread to several states, Nichols' mug shot was all over TV screens, and highway message boards issued descriptions of the stolen vehicle he was in.

"Mr. Nichols is considered armed and extremely dangerous and should not be approached," Fulton County Sheriff Myron Freeman said. "We are not going to rest until we find him."

Nichols got a semiautomatic pistol by overpowering Sgt. Cynthia Hall, who was leading him to trial down an eighth-floor corridor in the Fulton County Courthouse, Assistant Police Chief Alan Dreher said.

After shooting Hall in the head, he went into the courtroom, held about a dozen people at bay for a short time and shot and killed Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes and court reporter Julie Brandau, authorities said.

Dreher said Nichols then ran down eight flights of stairs and fled outside, followed by another deputy, Sgt. Hoyt Teasley, who was fatally shot outside.

Nichols hijacked at least three vehicles, authorities said, before pistol-whipping a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, stealing his green 1997 Honda Accord and speeding away. "I thought this was a routine carjack," the reporter, Don O'Briant, said later.

Hall was in critical condition after surgery with a split forehead, facial fractures and a bruised brain, said Jeffrey Salomone, a trauma surgeon at Grady Memorial Hospital.

1. Tom Cruise is going out with Sofia Vergara?

2. They're still letting John Singleton make movies???

Shooting war in Toronto

Here's a tip for you paparazzi waiting to get a shot of Tom Cruise visiting his "new love," Sofia Vergara, on the Toronto set of her movie "Four Brothers": He's not coming.

So many snappers have been shivering behind bushes that director John Singleton has beefed up security.

Things got out of hand this week when Vergara was shooting a nude scene with co-star Tyrese. "Seven different paparazzi had to be thrown off the set," a source tells Daily News contributor Jawn Murray.

Tabloid tale-spinners have also been ringing up Vergara's relatives. Her aunt Lilita Jamarillo, 60, told Grazia magazine Sofia has "introduced [Tom] to her mother, Margarita." Aunt Lilita also said her niece adores the ever-smiling Cruise because "for Sofia, the most important thing in a man is that he has good teeth. She studied dentistry."

We're all in favor of good oral hygiene. But really, it's time the lensmen came in from the cold.

From hotjobs:

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Qualified candidates should possess:

BA/BS in Film, TV, Drama, Media Studies, Communications or equivalent

Minimum of two years writing and/or TV production experience; professional TV staff experience in drama and comedy, a plus

Willing to relocate to Stamford, CT

Knowledge of WWE talent and story lines is required

Excellent communication skills and the ability to work in a team environment

Flexible travel schedule

Aww shucks now. Paging O-Dub:

Sandra Oh Separating from Alexander Payne

Director Alexander Payne and wife Sandra Oh have gone from "Sideways" to parting ways, a spokeswoman told People magazine on Saturday. The Hollywood couple "have mutually decided to separate," the spokeswoman said. "They will remain friends." The couple met five years ago and married in 2003.

Of course the word "private" was never applicable to AIM.. but the idea that AOL might take our conversations and publish them somewhere for profit.. yikes:

AOL has some new "Terms of Service" for those who use their AOL Instant Messaging servers, and it's pretty crazy:

Although you or the owner of the Content retain ownership of all right, title and interest in Content that you post to any AIM Product, AOL owns all right, title and interest in any compilation, collective work or other derivative work created by AOL using or incorporating this Content. In addition, by posting Content on an AIM Product, you grant AOL, its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, assigns, agents and licensees the irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide right to reproduce, display, perform, distribute, adapt and promote this Content in any medium. You waive any right to privacy. You waive any right to inspect or approve uses of the Content or to be compensated for any such uses.

I'm keenly aware that by communicating with friends and colleagues via AIM, it's easy for someone to eavesdrop on our conversation. I know that anyone on the network can see what I'm passing back and forth, and thus try to not to have too many highly sensitive conversations via AIM. Nefarious observers of packets have always concerned me, but I never thought to be concerned that the company providing the service would share that information.

via screenhead: 111 classic ads, free for downloading right here. Sadly, the Greatest Ad of All Time (Barney Rubble's rap for Fruity Pebbles) is not included, there's plenty of other good ones.

Also some even older ads here.

Hmmmm. Apparently only in Safari right now, so I can't see it yet:

Amazon.com's Statistically Improbable Phrases, or "SIPs", show you the interesting, distinctive, or unlikely phrases that occur in the text of books in Search Inside the Book. Our computers scan the text of all books in the Search Inside program. If they find a phrase that occurs a large number of times in a particular book relative to how many times it occurs across all Search Inside books, that phrase is a SIP in that book.

Once we identify a phrase that is statistically improbable:

For books where the phrase is a SIP, we provide an exact count of and link to the occurrences in those books.

For books where the phrase merely appears in the book, we provide a link to those occurrences

We also display a link to search A9.com for the phrase

Bush's latest appointee:

The Rob Portman file Name: Robert J. Portman.

Age-birth date: 49; Dec. 19, 1955.

Education: B.A., Dartmouth College, 1979; J.D., University of Michigan School of Law, 1984.

Experience: Trade attorney at Patton, Boggs & Blow in Washington, D.C., 1984-1986; attorney at Graydon, Head & Ritchey in Cincinnati, 1987-1989 and 1992-1993; associate counsel, deputy assistant to the president, then director, Office of Legislative Affairs at the White House, 1989-1991; elected as a Republican to Congress, May 4, 1993, by special election to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Bill Gradison. Re-elected six times.

Family: Wife, Jane, and three children.

Achievements: The IRS Restructuring Act of 1998, which created 50 new "taxpayers' rights" and was the result of recommendations of a bipartisan commission co-chaired by Portman; the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act; the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, which prevents Congress from imposing unfunded mandates on state and local governments without first determining the cost and deciding how to fund them; the Pension Simplification Act, designed to cut the costs of maintaining pension plans for small business employers.

Quote: "I have a loyalty and allegiance to making them (the Bush administration) successful. I have a real commitment to that."

Obviously my first question: what is the "National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act"?

The National Park Service is implementing a national Underground Railroad (UGRR) Program to coordinate preservation and education efforts nationwide and integrate local historical places associated with the UGRR into a mosaic of community, regional and national stories. The NPS program builds upon and is supported by community initiatives around the country as well as legislation passed in 1990 and the National Underground Network to Freedom Act of 1998.

The name -- Underground Railroad -- is metaphorical and refers to the effort of enslaved African Americans to gain their freedom through escaping bondage. Their acts of self-emancipation made them fugitives according to the law of the times. While most freedom seekers began their journey unaided and many completed their self-emancipation without assistance, each decade in which slavery was legal in the United States saw an increase in active efforts to assist their escape. In many cases the decision to assist may have been a spontaneous reaction as the situation presented itself. However, in some places, and particularly after the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, the UGRR was deliberate and organized. Despite the illegality of their actions, and without regard to their own personal danger, people of all races, classes and genders participated in this early form of civil disobedience. Wherever slavery existed, there were efforts to escape, at first to maroon communities in swamps or other rugged terrain on the edge of settled areas. Spanish territories to the south in Florida, British areas to the north in Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and other foreign countries offered additional destinations for freedom. Free black communities in urban areas in both the South and the North were the destination for some freedom seekers. The maritime industry was an important source for spreading information as well as offering transportation and employment. Through ties with the whaling industry, California became a destination, as did possibly, Alaska. Military service provided another avenue as thousands of African Americans joined the military, from the colonial era to the Civil War, as a means to gain their freedom. During the Civil War, many fugitives sought protection and freedom by escaping to the United States army.

You might want to stop before the end of the first page, cuz the last one is gross. But there's some very clever cleverness before that. Though I feel bad for the girl, actually. Does anyone ever not look silly in a mosh pit?

from macworld:

Yahoo acquires Flickr photo sharing service

Yahoo Corp. has acquired the Flickr photo sharing Web site and Ludicorp Research and Development Ltd., the privately held Vancouver company that runs it, according to a posting on Flickr's staff blog.

Both companies are yet to issue official statements concerning the deal.

The acquisition, the value of which was not revealed, was disclosed through the posting on Sunday and comes after several rounds of rumors that had placed the two in talks.

The posting was credited to Caterina Fake, Flickr's vice president of marketing and community. In it, Fake outlined a few benefits to users of the acquisition while also stressing that the Flickr service will continue its current course and not lose its identity.

Yahoo's existing photos hosting and sharing service, Yahoo Photos, will gain features from Flickr and the two services will remain separate "for the foreseeable future." Another change will be the ability to log into Flickr using a Yahoo ID and password. Users of the company's free and paid-for services will get more space and prices for professional accounts will fall, the posting said.

The current management team at Ludicorp will also remain in place, it said.

CNet has an interesting comparison between Napster to Go and iTunes.

Napster vs. iTunes: Let the contest begin
For $15 a month, Napster to Go offers over 1 million songs, access to which lasts as long as subscription is valid, while songs for iPod must be purchased and last 'forever', but it takes about $10,000 to fill an iPod (assuming everything was purchased at the iTunes Music Store).

Will you rent albums the way you rent TV programming? If it makes financial sense--and if, armed with that knowledge, you can avoid the competing allure of iPod style and the Apple brand--you just might.

The radioSHARK by Griffin Technology

The RadioSHARK adds an AM/FM radio to any Mac or PC* — but that’s just the beginning.

The RadioSHARK can record any AM or FM radio broadcast in real time. You can also program it to record a scheduled show, or to ‘pause’ live radio so you can return right where you left off moments or even hours before.

This is what I need so I'll never miss jsmooth's Underground Railroad.

The Credit Card Prank II

John Hargrave is at it again. You may remember his classic Credit Card Prank, where he signed fake names on credit card receipts and no one seemed to care. Well that's nothing compared to what he did this time. He has posted The Credit Card Prank II.

My favorite is when he wrote a song on the touch screen at his local supermarket.

Also pretty amusing is his Turnpike Prank. I thought I would mention it since I also got stuck at one of the the famous Mass Pike $1.00 tolls with exactly 97 cents. It was 2am and I just drove 7 hours from Philly. Half of my change ended up on the floor as I threw the hand full of change at the booth's window and sped off, leaving the guy behind me pretty surprised.

From mlb.com:

Bonds: It's hard to dim the lights

My family has been incredibly supportive of me because playing baseball is what I've always wanted to do. But there has to come a time when I take some of this (muscular) weight off and forget what other people think or want me to do.

If I want to live until I'm 80 years old, I'm going to have to become a leaner-type, cardio-type individual who keeps his heart rate up. I'm not going to fight that losing battle against my weight when I'm retired and my metabolism slows down.

My family cares about me being healthy. They want me to be healthy when I'm 50, 70 years old. They want me to think about the long term. They make a valid point. I'm going to be 41 this year. They ask me: "Are you going to keep beating yourself up?"

Am I alone when I think Barry Bonds has one of the best PR guys working for him? I mean this is brilliant. Explain the drop in weight before hand so people can't blame it on the lack of steroids this season.

Funny fake(?) Mastercard Commercial from Comedy Central, where they try to collect on the promises Red Sox fans made to "give anything" if the Sox win one.

When I bought my current alarm clock, I thought it was the greatest because it rotated different beeping sounds to prevent you from getting used to the sound. The only problem was a quick slap of the snooze button and I was back to sleep, and I can hit snooze for hours.

Enter Clocky

When the alarm clock goes off and the snooze button is pressed, Clocky will roll off the bedside table and wheel away, bumping mindlessly into objects on the floor until it eventually finds a spot to rest. Minutes later, when the alarm sounds again, the sleeper must get up out of bed and search for Clocky. This ensures that the person is fully awake before turning it off. Small wheels that are concealed by Clocky's shag enable it to move and reposition itself, and an internal processor helps it find a new hiding spot every day.

I just want to know when they will start manufacturing and selling it.