January 2008
Best Buy, we need to talk →
What the fuck is up with this poster? Dear reader Mike spotted it at a Best Buy in Atlanta. Note the Windows logo on the Apple advert? Heads are rolling as we speak. I just dragged Ron Johnson out of the hot fudge sundae room at the Mitchell Brothers O’Farrell Theatre to make him deal with this. That’s just how we roll at Apple. I don’t care if it is New Year’s Eve.
Baby Born in McDonalds Toilet →
A baby was born in a Washington State McDonald’s restroom and the mother says she didn’t know she was pregnant. Most mothers have months to prepare for a child, but Danille Miller had just minutes. Miller was working the nightshift at the McDonald’s in Vancouver, Washington on Friday, December 21st when she suddenly ran into the restroom feeling ill. Her co-worker, Jaynae Herrera...
Just plain wrong: Ron Burkle non-dating Miley... →
Man oh man. I just talked to Larry and he asked me if I’m going to be freaked out if Ron Burkle brings Miley Cyrus to his party tonight. My first reaction was who the frig is Miley Cyrus? So then Larry explained who she is and that she actually works for me at Disney and she’s this big star and there’s paparazzi everywhere she goes and they’re going to have to sneak her in...
Britain Drops 'War on Terror' Label →
The words “war on terror” will no longer be used by the British government to describe attacks on the public, the country’s chief prosecutor said Dec. 27.Sir Ken Macdonald said terrorist fanatics were not soldiers fighting a war but simply members of an aimless “death cult.”
December 2007
Hello Kitty contact lenses →
Hello Kitty Hell posted this photo of a young lady modeling Hello Kitty contact lenses. Link
Hidden Water Tank Windproofs San Francisco Condo... →
Want to prevent your own condo tower from bending back and forth like a stick of rubber? Easy, hide a 50,000 gallon water tank at the top and cover it up. That’s exactly what developers did for San Francisco’s One Rincon Hill, the tallest residential building west of the Mississippi River. The building uses a 416,000-pound water-filled tank to create tuned liquid damper (a first for...
Man with tail →
Occasionally, humans are born with tails that are usually removed surgically shortly after birth. According to this brief video, Oleg Polovski of Moscow appears not only to to have kept his tail but can even, er, “wag” it. I don’t buy the description that he’s the “first case of human moving tail” but it’s still a rare sight if it’s indeed real....
Sprint halted sales of the LG Rumor due to ...... →
Sprint halted sales of the LG Rumor due to a firmware update that inadvertantly reveals a data-erasing debug mode. Spring is offering free repair to those affected, offer over the air updates to unaffected owners, and resume sales when the firmware issue is fixed.
Monday, December 31, 2007 →
Time to look back at some of this year's... →
With the new year looming (at least in the opinion of Euro-centric people who abide by the Western calendar; I’m not one of them, preferring to live one day at a time, regardless of month or year) it’s time once again for us to take stock of the year that’s gone by and try to learn from it. Which is why I’ve posted this wonderful video of John Dvorak predicting the huge...
Major settlements found underwater. Russian 2500yr... →
Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a 2500-year-old advanced civilization at the bottom of Lake Issyk Kul in the Kyrgyz mountains in Russia…The expedition resulted in sensational finds, including the discovery of major settlements, presently buried underwater. …ex 2,500 year-old ritual bronze cauldron …and MORE
Starbucks Might Be Helping, Not Hurting,... →
Taylor Clark in Slate: According to recent figures from the Specialty Coffee Association of America, 57 percent of the nation’s coffeehouses are still mom and pops. Just over the five-year period from 2000 to 2005—long after Starbucks supposedly obliterated indie cafes—the number of mom and pops grew 40 percent, from 9,800 to nearly 14,000 coffeehouses.
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Couple arrested in beating death of 2-year-old →
12:06 p.m. Dec. 29 (UNION-TRIBUNE): A San Diego Navy wife and her boyfriend have been arrested in connection with the beating death of her 2-year-old daughter, authorities said Saturday.
Pilot to TSA: Let my people go! →
Patrick Smith, the airline pilot who co-writes the NY Times’s Jetlagged Blog has written a corker of an editorial railing against the bullshit “security” procedures that the TSA has put into place. Smith is hopping mad and stops just short of calling for a revolution. Man, I’d be with him at the barricades.
No matter that a deadly sharp can be fashioned from virtually...
Sunday, December 30, 2007 →
Doppelganger →
Dear reader Alexander asks, “Has anyone else noticed the striking resemblance between L. Ron Hubbard, the creator of Scientology, a bizarre cult whose members badger everyone they know to join their movement and, when threatened, flock to its defense with lawsuits and noisy acts of harassment and terrorism; and Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux? Could they perhaps be related?”...
Hybrid carp with "human faces" →
A Korean newscast reports on a hybrid breed of carp with “human faces.” Not exactly human, but helllp-meeee freaky Fly enough to give me the willies. Link (via Neatorama)
Trekkie Sues Christie's for Fraudulent Props →
Token_Internet_Girl passed us a link to an MSNBC article on a very disappointed Star Trek fan. Mr. Moustakis of NJ bought a poker visor he thought was worn by Data in Next Generation at a Christie’s auction for some $6,000. When he brought it to a convention to have it signed, actor Brent Spiner explained that he’d already sold the well-known visor in a personal sale; like Senator...
Police Sting Uses Topless Women →
Ludicrous entrapment.
Want A Thriving Coffee Shop? Open Next To A... →
The funny thing about Starbucks is it’s helped to create a coffee culture filled with a significant number of people who don’t actually like Starbucks—which means that, despite conventional wisdom, it’s actually a good thing to be a mom & pop coffee shop with a Starbucks nearby, writes Slate. Instead of stealing your business, you get the spillover from their store....
Insurance Company Denies Coverage For 3-Year-Old's... →
Hannah Devane is 3 years old and is allergic to food. Not certain specific foods. Hannah has a rare disorder that makes her allergic to every kind of food except a certain formula that her insurance company says is a “nutritional supplement.” Feeding Hannah costs $300 a week, but without the formula Hannah can’t eat enough to survive without doing permanent damage to her...
Letterman Makes Deal With Writers →
The deal will allow David Letterman to resume his show next Wednesday with his team of writers on board.
Letterman Makes Deal With Striking Writers →
The deal will allow David Letterman to resume his show next Wednesday with his team of writers on board.
For the love of all things holy please tell me... →
Much love to dear reader Brinke for ruining my mellow with this horror show of a photograph. I’m sitting here listening to Pink Floyd (Animals, in case you’re wondering, and I know you are; and yes, I’m finding it to be better than I remembered, though not on par with DSOTM or WYWH). But back to the photo. I can’t even begin to list all of the things that are wrong here....
More scandals surface inside Smithsonian →
Carl Malamud says, For the past 18 months, Jacqueline Trescott and James V. Grimaldi of the Washington Post have covered the never-ending scandals that have plagued the Smithsonian, reporting for which they deserve the Pulitzer Prize. They’ve broken the story of the resignation in disgrace of the previous Secretary, the subsequent resignation in disgrace of the previous Deputy Secretary, and...
RIP: Netscape Navigator (1994-2008) →
Netscape Navigator, once the de rigeur browser for more than 90% of web users, will no longer be supported by current owner AOL after February 2008. Link. Post your ode to this code in the comments. Extra points if you can manage to refer to yourself as a “netizen” with a straight face. (thanks Bill)
Starbucks Settles Lawsuit After Employee Spills... →
Starbucks has settled a lawsuit in which a barista accidentally spilled hot coffee on a 7-month-old baby.
Ethan Thorn was an infant when his parents brought him into a Starbucks in Somerville’s Davis Square in April, 2006. According to the lawsuit, a store employee serving a cup of coffee to Ethan’s father accidentally spilled coffee on the baby’s legs and groin, causing...
AOL to Shut Down Netscape Support/Development →
Kelson writes “After years of trying to figure out what to do with it, AOL is officially discontinuing the Netscape browser. In the four and a half years after they dismantled the development team and spun off the Mozilla Foundation as a lost cause, only to see Firefox take off, AOL has tried twice to reinvent Netscape. There was the chimera-like Netscape 8, which used both Mozilla’s...
Boing Boing Pirates "toddler" toy →
Genius babies sells a toy called “Boing, Boing, Pop’n Pirates” — “Pirates will delight toddlers who are fascinated by cause-and-effect play. Three wooden pirates (each with a patch on his eye) fit into three slots in a sturdy red ship, then pop up and down on springs when pushed by little fingers.” Delight toddlers? Hot damn — this thing delights me!...
Boing Boing Pirates "toddler" toy →
Genius babies sells a toy called “Boing, Boing, Pop’n Pirates” — “Pirates will delight toddlers who are fascinated by cause-and-effect play. Three wooden pirates (each with a patch on his eye) fit into three slots in a sturdy red ship, then pop up and down on springs when pushed by little fingers.” Delight toddlers? Hot damn — this thing delights me!...
Lithium batteries to be banned from air luggage →
Within days, air travellers will no longer be able hold loose lithium batteries in their luggage, the US Department of Transportation says. As of January 1st, batteries will either have to be inserted into a phone, notebook or other electronic device, or else dropped into a plastic bag, and bundled along with carry-on baggage in a limit of two bat…
Netscape browser support to end in February →
All support for Netscape web browsers will stop as of February 1st, the AOL-owned company has announced. Security updates will continue to be developed until that date, but afterwards, users will only be able to download archived versions of browsers such as Navigator. The company is instead pushing users towards Mozilla’s Firefox, as the group w…
Annals of Improbable Research Goes Free Online →
prostoalex writes “The Annals of Improbable Research, a scientific publication that hosts the annual Ig Nobel awards, has decided to offer its publication free online, News.com reports. According to the journal Web site, visitors can view HTML articles with low-res images or download low-res PDFs for free. High-resolution PDFs and ‘traditional on-the-toilet-readable...
A list of the 50 most loathsome people in... →
A list of the 50 most loathsome people in America for 2007. #9 is “you” because: You believe in freedom of speech, until someone says something that offends you. You suddenly give a damn about border integrity, because the automated voice system at your pharmacy asked you to press 9 for Spanish. You cling to every scrap of bullshit you can find to support your ludicrous belief system,...
Blackwater wishes you a very mercenary Christmas →
Danger Room has scanned a copy of the holiday card sent out by Blackwater Worldwide: Link to larger-rez scans. Hey, this eggnog tastes like blood.
Blackwater wishes you a very mercenary Christmas →
Danger Room has scanned a copy of the holiday card sent out by Blackwater Worldwide: Link to larger-rez scans. Hey, this eggnog tastes like blood.
Priests brawl at Jesus' birthplace →
At a Bethlehem church built over the manger where Jesus was alleged to have been born, two groups of “robed and bearded” Greek Orthodox priests and Armenian priests fought each other for over an hour “using fists, brooms and iron rods as weapons.” Seven people were injured in the brawl.
The brawl apparently began when Greek Orthodox priests set up ladders to clean the...
Priests brawl at Jesus' birthplace →
At a Bethlehem church built over the manger where Jesus was alleged to have been born, two groups of “robed and bearded” Greek Orthodox priests and Armenian priests fought each other for over an hour “using fists, brooms and iron rods as weapons.” Seven people were injured in the brawl.
The brawl apparently began when Greek Orthodox priests set up ladders to clean the...
A Sad Milestone: AOL To Discontinue Netscape... →
Please observe a moment of silence for the Netscape browser. Netscape Navigator, the browser that launched the commercial Internet in October 1994, will die on February 1, 2008. AOL, which acquired Netscape in November 1998 for $4.2 billion, will announce today that they will discontinue development of the browser, currently on version 9.
In an email exchange yesterday with Tom Drapeau, Director...
82-Year-Old Woman Sues Chase To Recover Life... →
Chase is refusing to honor a cashiers check for $19.700.22, 82-year-old widow Willie Floyd’s life savings. Willie stored the check, originally drawn by her late-husband in 1985, in a $10 per year safe deposit box at the local bank. When she tried to shift the funds into a regular savings account last year, she was told that the check expired after five years, and that her life savings now...
A Big List Of Foods That You Can Bring Through... →
The Transportation Security Administration is very clear on what types of foods you can and can not bring onto an airplane, but most people think that the “liquid” ban extends to cheeseburgers. Not so. The TSA’s only restrictions are that any food items brought through security must be either be whole, natural foods (like an orange), or be in placed in a container or otherwise...
Walmart: Santa Brings A MP3 Player Full Of Porn To... →
Daryl Hill of Cookeville, TN purchased an MP3 player from Walmart for his 10-year-old daughter. He handed the player over to his daughter thinking it was new, when in fact the previous owner had filled the player with pornography. From WSMV:
There were video clips of XXX rated sex scenes, and the pornography was so graphic that Channel 4 could not broadcast it. “I wish I could take the...
74-Year-Old Man Jailed For Shoplifting $3 Sirloin... →
A North Carolina Food Lion called the cops on Joe Neal for pocketing a $3 steak. The 74-year-old didn’t have enough change to pay for the sirloin, which he intended to cook for his son’s birthday dinner. The steak was later consumed, not by Joe’s son, but by a fire that ravaged Joe’s house. The cops were summoned when Neal returned to the store to pay for the steak....
Anal Leakage: Chiinese Billboard Assesses Sewage... →
If sewage pipes and their smells somehow don’t get enough notice by local communities, an ad like this might raise some eyebrows. Developed by a Chinese advertising company for use in Shenzhen, in Guangdong province, the posters drive home the message that pollution is poopy (while reminding people where some of that pollution originally comes from). In the world’s ecological ground...
Friday, December 28, 2007 →
Best Buy Refuses To Stop Misleading Customers With... →
Once again a reader contacts us to complain about Best Buy misleading their customers with an in-store only website that looks identical to the “real” website—except for the prices. From kevinq2000’s livejournal:
I had read that this happens (Consumerist.com has been following this for a while) but I had never had it happen to me. I had gift certificates, and my eye had recently...
EB Games Sells You A Phone Book In A PS3 Box For... →
13-year-old Brandon Burns thought he’d received a Playstation 3 for Christmas. Sadly for Brandon, the box contained a local phone book and not a PS3. He wasn’t upset, just amused. His reaction: “Dang, those elves jacked my Playstation.” His parents, however, are pissed. They paid $500 for a phone book. Brandon’s mom says that she’ll try to return the phone book...
Lillian Vernon Fires Employees Four Days Before... →
Longtime catalog business Lillian Vernon, famous for its dinky personalized items—and under corporate ownership of one sort or another since 2003—decided to personalize the sensation of being terminated last Thursday, reports the Virginian-Pilot. Although seasonal workers have always been a big part of LV’s holiday workforce, this time around the axe fell on longterm employees who showed up...
Claim: Oil Group Renovated Stevens' Home →
Employees of an oil company renovated the home of U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, the head of the renovation project said. via The Post Chronicle
Sean Ohlencamp works at Chiat Day and recorded his... →
Sean Ohlencamp works at Chiat Day and recorded his computer desktop once a day for the past year. (via le monoscope) (link)