Month: February 2006

I totally missed this last year, but apparently The Cars is reforming as New Cars:

Cars principals Elliot Easton and Greg Hawkes are in talks to team with veteran singer/songwriter Todd Rundgren in a new incarnation of pioneering new wave rock act The Cars, which will tour and possibly record an album next year. Rundgren will step in for Cars frontman Ric Ocasek, who has no plans to participate in the project. Cars bassist/vocalist Ben Orr died of cancer in 2000.

I’m not quite sure how they’ll manage without Ocasek or Benjamin Orr, but I’ll guess we’ll see. I was e-mailed a teaser video (WMV or MPG) that doesn’t have too much more info, but supposedly there will be a press conference in March with more details. I’ll let you know if I here anything more…

Slashdot posts about new missile technology that Russia has developed that has the potential to render the United States’ anti-missile system obsolete before it’s even deployed (or shown to be at all successful during rigged tests):

[Russian President Vladimir] Putin said the new missiles were capable of changing both altitude and direction, making it impossible for an enemy to intercept them since “a missile defense system is designed to counter missiles moving along a ballistic trajectory.”

Check out Brokeback To The Future (YouTube video), a mash-up of Brokeback Mountain and Back To The Future. Click on the image above to watch it now (embedded Flash video).

They did a good job editing it together, but now I can’t think of Back To The Future in quite the same way…

Check out this insane Japanese ad starring none other than Ah-nuld. Or, as Screenhead so eloquently puts it, “I’ve got a headache THIS BIG and it’s got ‘Schwarzenegger’ written allll over it!” 🙂

A day after stating that “America is addicted to oil” in his State Of The Union address, The Borowitz Report reveals that W has now admitted that he is an “oilaholic:”

In a nationally televised address from the Oval Office last night, a visibly agitated [W] began his speech with the following simple statement: “My name is George W. Bush, and I am an oilaholic.”
…
Mr. Bush’s decision to enter rehab for his petroleum addiction drew applause from many quarters, including from James Frey, author of the bestselling memoir A Million Little Pieces.

“He has a rough road ahead of him in rehab,” Mr. Frey said. “I hope that none of the things happen to him that I pretended happened to me.”

• 10 Useful Firefox Extensions That Don’t Get Glamorised [Connected Internet News]
  I use almost all of these…
  (tags: firefox mozilla software howto www)
• State Of The Union Transcript [C-SPAN]
  includes transcripts from 1945 to present, and videos of the addresses from 1989 to present (excluding 1991 for some reason)
  (tags: politics video history)
• Funniest Super Bowl Questions from “Media Day” [SI.com]
  (tags: sports humor images photography)
• Pandora and Last.fm [Steve Krause]
  “Nature vs. Nurture in Music Recommenders.” Nice comparison of two internet audio services that base recommendations on different factors. I like them both, but perhaps Pandora a little more…
  (tags: music software www review)
• Optimus mini three keyboard.
  Very cool miniature version of the OLED concept keyboard rumored to be coming soon. The site doesn’t seem to work well with Firefox… 🙁
  (tags: computers hardware wishlist)
• Scratch n Spin [ZippyVideos.com]
  fun video; a DJ scratch is superimposed on a set of “real” roundabouts
  (tags: ads music video)

• FOX screws Arrested Development. Again. [TV Squad]
  “They’ve scheduled the final four episodes to run in a 2 hour block (so far, so good…) on Friday, February 10…against the opening night of the Olympics.” Just when I thought that Fox couldn’t get any worse, they surprise me yet again…
  (tags: dick tv)
• W’s State Of The Union Address to be Simulcast in English [The Borowitz Report]
  (tags: politics w humor 2006)
• Livestrong Data [Gizmodo]
  Imation is capitalizing on the Livestrong bracelets and their ilk by offering a 256MB Flash Wristband. I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised…
  (tags: hardware shopping)
• Why Reboot?
  “WhyReboot is a small (60KB) Windows application that displays a list of pending file operations that will occur after rebooting your computer. This is useful in determining why an installer has notified you that a reboot is needed.”
  [via Hot Links]
  (tags: software microsoft)
• Space Shuttle Requirements Creep [MetaFilter]
  A thread on the 20th anniversary of the Challenger disaster yielded a somewhat long comment that nicely summarizes the politics and tradeoffs NASA was forced to deal with in the development of the Space Shuttle.
  [via Hot Links]
  (tags: history nasa space politics military)
• Critical Security Flaw Found in Winamp [BetaNews]
  “An ‘extremely critical’ security vulnerability has been discovered in AOL’s Winamp digital media player, relating to the way the software handles filenames that include a computer name.” Winamp 5.13 addresses this issue and is available now.
  (tags: mp3 audio music software)
• A Genius Explains [The Guardian]
  “Daniel Tammet is an autistic savant. He can perform mind-boggling mathematical calculations at breakneck speeds. But unlike other savants, who can perform similar feats, Tammet can describe how he does it.” Very cool article…
  [via reddit]
  (tags: language science health)
• Military Hides Cause of Women Soldiers’ Deaths [t r u t h o u t]
  I wonder if this will hit the mainstream media? A pretty damning story, to say the least…
  (tags: military politics dick)
• State of the Union 2006: Make Your Party Plans Now [The Huffington Post]
  (tags: politics humor w games alcohol beer 2006)
• The State of the Union Address Drinking Game 2006
  (tags: politics humor w games alcohol beer 2006)
• The George W Bush 2006 State of the Union drinking game [WorkingForChange]
  (tags: politics humor w games alcohol beer 2006)