So Miscrosoft just released a new product called MS Surface and although the functionality looks an alful lot like the Apple iPhone interface debuted months ago, it still looks pretty cool (Damn, did I just say that?). I’m sure the price will be too lofty for the average joe to own one, but the possibilities for restaurants and retail are exciting. Check out the video below or go to the site for more information.

The Northwest Angle, known simply as the Angle or the stovepipe by locals is a projection of land extending north of the forty-ninth parallel on the northern boundary of Minnesota. This 130-square-mile area, separated from the rest of Minnesota by the Lake of the Woods, is the northernmost territory in the contiguous United States.

Minnesota’s Northwest Angle was created by accident, tethered to mapmakers’ hazy conceptions of the origins of the Mississippi River. When the river turned up south of where they expected, the border dropped down too, leaving an isolated piece of the U.S. up north. Today, that piece is home to some 100 year-round Minnesota residents, who say the beauty of the place is without equal, and the living has never been easy.

Known for its great fishing and easy lifestyle the city of Lake Of the Woods can only be reached from the rest of the U.S. either going through Canada or crossing water . Most of the Northwest Angle is Ojibwa Indian Reservation and National Forest. Many of the inhabitants live on islands in the lake, but the village of Angle Inlet has a population of 100.

Crossing into Angle Inlet from Canada on the rough unpaved road only a sign indicates you are back in the US At the Crossroads or one of the boat landings you must call into US Homeland Security via a video phone booth and give your name, birth date, and license plate number. You use the same video phone on your way out this time calling Canadian customs and immigration in Ottawa, Canada.

And here are the actual lyrics

Theres a new site that is trying to start a new programming language using the strange, ungrammatical argot of the LOLCats meme. These crack me up.

HAI WORLD:

HAI
CAN HAS STDIO?
VISIBLE “HAI WORLD!”
KTHXBYE

COUNT!!1:

HAI
CAN HAS STDIO?
I HAS A VAR
IM IN YR LOOP
UP VAR!!1
VISIBLE VAR
IZ VAR BIGGER THAN 10? KTHXBYE
IM OUTTA YR LOOP
KTHXBYE

The editors of the American Heritage dictionaries have compiled a list of 100 words they recommend every high school graduate should know.

“The words we suggest,” says senior editor Steven Kleinedler, “are not meant to be exhaustive but are a benchmark against which graduates and their parents can measure themselves. If you are able to use these words correctly, you are likely to have a superior command of the language.”

Here’s the list. How many do you know? I crossed out the ones I didn’t know.

I post this only because I think it’s interesting that you can be an atheist and still have strong patrotism and believe in the country’s values and beliefs. Not to mention feel so strong about it that you’re willing to lay your life down to protect it.

A response from retired Master Sergeant Gid L. White. After Katie Couric declared that there were no atheists in foxholes on a TV newscast:

Dear Miss Couric,

While there is nothing wrong highlighting in the program the role that religion has played in the American Armed Forces, I find your mindless parading of that silly old aphorism, “there are no Atheists in foxholes,” to be thoughtless and downright offensive to the families of uncountable numbers of atheists, and I include Agnostics, who gave their lives wearing the uniform of the American Armed Forces. Yes, there are, and always have been Atheists, both draftees and volunteers on the battlefield, many of whom bare the scars of war or are ironically buried below white crosses in battlefields throughout the world.

I’m in a position to know. After initially being nominated to WestPoint, I enlisted in the United States Army as a Private in 1964, where I served 21 years on active duty retiring as a Master Sergeant in 1985. As one who is not shy about proclaiming my firm non-belief in any supernatural nonsense, religious or otherwise, I became aware of literally thousands of fellow Atheists in uniform all over the world. Some were overt and public about their beliefs. Some were not. But all were willing to lay down their lives if necessary. Many did.

The military is fully aware of the existence of Atheists in uniform, and in fact makes specific allowances for us in the oath enlistment. In the oath there is a clear choice. We can swear before God, the Great Pumpkin, or whatever, to serve our country. Or we can affirm the oath. There are no bibles or other sacred books used in this oath unlike for some political offices. The only item required to be present is the American Flag. All my reenlistments were affirmed as were hundreds of others I witnessed. Under affirmed oath I personally encountered dozens of soldiers wearing purple hearts bronze stars and at least five silver stars. Among them were Special Forces, Rangers, and Intelligence Officers, Artillerymen, Tank Crewmen, Cooks, Paratroopers, Combat Medics, Truck Drivers, and Infantrymen. There are no atheists in foxholes? I beg to differ.

Preachers may blather on about serving for “God and country,” but as any number of combat studies have proven, that is “pure crap,” to use a traditional military term. Soldiers certainly do enlist for patriotic motives and many of them no doubt have deeply held religious beliefs, but this is not why in the heat of combat they risk their lives. They risk their lives for their fellow soldiers, to not let their comrades down, and to secure the survival of their buddies and themselves by getting the job done as rapidly and brutally as possible.

Broadcasting a feel good puff-piece on religion is all well and good, but perpetuating the nonsense that only religious zealots defend their country is not only offensive but demonstrably wrong. Most Atheists and Agnostics in uniform get stuck with the Army’s famous euphemism of “no religious preference” on their dog tags. But mine simply said “Atheist,” after some initial arguments with my superiors. I am offended by your comments primarily in memory of the silent masses of non believers who did not make it back to object to your treatment of their deeply help beliefs. I believe you and NBC owe them an apology.

Gid L. White

Master Sergeant, United States Army (Ret)

Just got interviewed over at “It matters to J Dwivedi” about blogging. It’s a series he does called “Dollar Bloggers”.

Hey, someone actually gives a shit about what I think!

I blogged about their reunion for the Grammys in February, and their performance brought goosebumps. anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge Police fan.

To see the three of them onstage and still be as exciting and energetic as they where 30 years ago was incredible. They shortly thereafter announced tour dates of which sold out before I was able to get any. Okay so I could have gotten tickets, but they were priced at $52, $92, and $227 - $227! WTF!. Anyways, then came the inevidable rumorsof a new police cd.

Oh Snap! They haven’t releasaed a new CD of original music since Synchronicty in 1983 - the year I graduated high school. (Damn I’m old - I got the parachute pants to prove it)

The blood pressure rose, the cold sweat started, the involuntary shaking began. Then it was revealed. It will be a 2 CD greatest hits CD. A letdown at first sure, but after thinking about it, it’s gonna be nice to have all these songs on 2 CD’s instead of shuffling between all the originals in my car. Here are the tracks:

Although missing a few of my favorites, it pretty much covers all the radio hits, and I can still dream of a new, all originals police cd.

Also check out some the interviews and live footage on this site.

Originality is rare these days in the art world but we’re pleased to report that we’ve stumbled upon an artist whose work is both innovative and modern. Matt Bilfield, California based artist, won us over with this incredible three-dimensional piece “Peggy,” a brilliant and ambitious interpretation of a painting by famous artist Roy Lichtenstein. The mammoth work - it’s seven feet wide and three feet tall - is comprised of 2788 hand cut, sanded, and painted dowels that where then assembled together to recreate Lichtenstein’s image. The result is a cross between a graphic art image, sculpture, and installation which offers the viewer a different experience from every angle.

Via the coolhunter.net

My new favorite blog:

 some of the notes here are really more aggressive in tone, and some of them are more passive — polite, even — but they all share a common sense of frustration that’s been channeled into a written note rather than a direct confrontation. while it may be more accurate, “asshole-ish notes from roommates, neighbors, coworkers and strangers” (or “well-deserved notes from roommates…”) just doesn’t roll off the tongue quite as easily, you know?

Link here 

Howwww Rrhhhrll Youuuuuuhhhh Feeeellllllllbbbbbrrr

Okay, so it dosen’t quite translate into typed sentance very well.

And if you’ve ever wanted a website full of bad Bob Dylan impersonations, have I got a link for you. Oh and by the way, It’s Bob birthday today too.

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails was recently interviewed in Australia and goes on a tirade about his record company and how these guys are thieves and ruining the music business.

I walk into HMV, the week the record’s out, and I see it on the rack with a bunch of other releases. And every release I see: $21.99, $22.99, $24.99. And ours doesn’t have a sticker on it. I look close and ‘Oh, it’s $34.99′. Well, in Brisbane I end up meeting and greeting some record label people, who are pleasant enough, and one of them is a sales guy, so I say “Why is this the case?” He goes “Because your packaging is a lot more expensive”. I know how much the packaging costs — it costs me, not them, it costs me 83 cents more to have a CD with the colour-changing ink on it. I’m taking the hit on that, not them. So I said “Well, it doesn’t cost $10 more”. “Ah, well, you’re right, it doesn’t. Basically it’s because we know you’ve got a core audience that’s gonna buy whatever we put out, so we can charge more for that. It’s the pop stuff we have to discount to get people to buy it. True fans will pay whatever”. And I just said “That’s the most insulting thing I’ve heard. I’ve garnered a core audience that you feel it’s OK to rip off? F— you’. That’s also why you don’t see any label people here, ‘cos I said ‘F— you people. Stay out of my f—ing show. If you wanna come, pay the ticket like anyone else. F— you guys”. They’re thieves. I don’t blame people for stealing music if this is the kind of s— that they pull off.

Read the whole article here

File this under “There goes the afternoon”

I spent a good chunk of my college years reading punk rock zines. From the cheap photocopied publications sold at the local record store to the more “Mainstream” versions. I’ve recently come across a site that a butt load of Maximum Rock and Roll, Flipside and HeartattaCK issues in PDF format. It’s fun to look back at some of these issues and read interviews with bands just starting out, that would later become big “Rock Stars”

If you dig deep enough, you might find a review for a couple of yours trulys records.

Click here to start you downloading

Even in death, the Rev. Jerry Falwell rouses the most volatile of emotions.

A small group of protesters gathered near the funeral services to criticize the man who mobilized Christian evangelicals and made them a major force in American politics — often by playing on social prejudices.

A group of students from Falwell’s Liberty University staged a counterprotest.

And Campbell County authorities arrested a Liberty University student for having several homemade bombs in his car.

read more | digg story

Are you in a constant flux of rolling over one credit card into another new low rate credit card just as soon the free interest period expires? C’mon, I practically funded my college education that way. Here is a credit card search engine that has a spot to search all of the low to no interest cards, and then apply for them.

Better than waiting for the mail.

Everyone has heard the stories of the underground “Utilidor” tunnels that offer employees entrance to various spots of the park. I had heard stories of there being 4 stories underground complete with bowling lanes, movie theaters and hotel rooms.

My imagination was a little off it seems, but still nonetheless, it’s pretty interesting.

As a cast member, you park in a parking lot about 1 mile away from the tunnel entrance, and take a bus to the tunnels. If you’re hungry, your first stop with be the “Mouseketeria.” Burgers, pizza, sandwiches, and amazing omelettes are available for a fraction of the cost of the park prices. The “mouseketeria is immediatly on your right as you enter the tunnels from the bus (on the left in the map). If you look to the right of the entrance on the map, you will see costuming, and locker rooms. The best part of working in the Magic Kingdom was being able to show up in shorts and a t-shirt. You walk up to a window and say the name of the area or attraction you’ll be working for that day, and your measurements, and they hand you a freshly laundered (questionable) costume. You change, and travel the utlilidor to your final destination.

If you look at the map, you’ll notice the tunnels are fairly simple. It’s a large circle, with a line through it. There are other sections that branch off of the tunnel, but only a few. To make things easier, the tunnels have lines on the ground that are color-coded for the section of the park that is directly above you. To travel the tunnels faster, there are bikes parked at many of the exits to the park - so they say. I often saw people on bikes, but never saw one waiting for me to jump on. From wardrobe to the back of the tunnels is about a 10 minute walk if you travel around the circle.

Read the whole article here