Crackbaby scratchpaper

I've been having mindless fun lately submitting interesting locations found in Google Maps to the Google Globetrotting site. Click here to see the locations I've submitted.

One of my favorite finds is the Post-It note I found in Thailand.

Via Google Satellite maps I am having fun locating and identifying interesting things in Baghdad (click on the images to see the location within Google Maps) --

Monument to the Unknown Soldier: (more info and pics)


Grande Mosque:


No idea what this one is:


The Shaheed Monument: (more info and pics)


The Abu Ghyriab palace in Baghdad (home of Cobra Base, headquarters of Coalition Joint Task Force-7): (more info and pics)


Republican Palace (Saddam's office): (more info and pics)

Google Maps went international yesterday with additional satellite imaging.

What is this structure in Baghdad?

How much you wanna bet that there will be a bizarre sitcom based on these kinds of stories?

From the article:

The soldiers also said Saddam was a "clean freak" who washed after shaking hands and used diaper wipes to clean meal trays, utensils and table before eating. "He had germophobia or whatever you call it," Dawson said.

The article said Saddam preferred Raisin Bran Crunch for breakfast, telling O'Shea, "No Froot Loops." He ate fish and chicken but refused beef.

For a time his favorite snack was Cheetos, and when that ran out, Saddam would "get grumpy," the story said. One day, guards substituted Doritos corn chips, and Saddam forgot about Cheetos. "He'd eat a family size bag of Doritos in 10 minutes," Dawson said.

Click the image to see a video clip of a commercial showing a younger William Shatner hawking the ol' Commodore VIC-20. (1MB WMV)

"The Wonder Computer of the 1980s!"

(I'm such a poseur because I grew up on the boring old Apple IIc rather than the cool Commodore that the COOL kids had!)

22 minutes until the Jacko verdict is read. Lots of IMing going on at work right now. Chris mentioned the CNN feed at APL showing an overhead helicopter shot (shades of OJ).

[16:24] backlyte: OH NOES! they are losing the heli feed
[16:25] doranchak: the overhead shot looks like the "entourage heading to court" (caption on cnn.com)
[16:25] backlyte: ok, it's back. shew...though i was gonna miss some of this exciting "low speed non chase"
[16:25] doranchak: ROFL

I bought an extremely useful web development reference from Visibone recently. It was probably the best $30 I've spent on web development in a long time! Lots of extremely useful information packed into a easy-to-access space. It came with a cover letter from the company owner filled with dramatic inspirational language that I got a chuckle out of for being a bit over-the-top. Some funny examples:

I cannot imagine what wonders you will create on the web, what new forms of online usefulness you will define, what bright visions you will arrest into pixels.

This excerpt is funny, and very true:

The tools and technologies available for this job are numbingly, embarrassingly difficult. The design software, the formatting standards, the codes and symbols. Using them is like building a ship in a bottle with buttery boxing gloves.

Double-meaning aside, that ratty sign sure does add to the greenery, eh?

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From Jerry, in a post related to Episode 3 of Star Wars (which I am again seeing tonight, this time with Josh, Stacy, and Jon):

I still prefer my Yoda somber and somersault-free.

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Speaking of Star Wars, I'm
reminded of this pic I saw in a recent FARK photoshop
contest:

In case you never saw the original:

Tom Cruise's recent ongoing freakshow continues to attract people's interest. Check out this photoblog for an example: (link)

Some of the related blog quotes have been hilarious:

“I like Tom Cruise now. His insanity has come to the fore. He had no personality before. Now, he’s like a member of your family.

If your family had an crazy uncle who was liable to take a dump on the Thanksgiving turkey. “

and

It doesn't take Bill Frist to diagnose bipolar disorder from afar in this case.

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Here's a pretty funny Star Wars script: (link)

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The importance of Proper Capitalization was conveyed to me by one of the quotes from bash.org:

I had to help my uncle Jack off a horse

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Pulp Fiction in 30 Seconds, As Re-Enacted by Bunnies! (link)

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Some older quotes from Overheard in New York (link) that got me interested in that site:

Woman #1: Ah, look at those beautiful puppies.
Woman #2: Puppies are bullshit.

--Bay Ridge

and

Dumb teen: Hey, look at this! It says "Train for jobs in beeyotch."
Smarter teen: Fool! That word is biotech. Why you gotta be ignorant all your life?

There is no escape from the Michael Jackson circus (link). A few minutes ago, I got one of the trojan horse emails the article describes:

Last night, while in his Neverland Ranch, Michael Jackson has made a suicidal attempt.

They suggest this attempt follows the last claim was made against the king of pop.
46 years old Michael has left pre-suicid note which describes and interpretes some of his sins.

Read more... <-- this appears as a hyperlink

I automatically clicked the button like a dumbass (expecting a spammer site of some kind; curiosity got the best of me), then quickly cancelled the browser request, thankfully before anything happened.

On a related note, because of all this Jacko attention, I learned some new British slang related to child molestation: "Kiddy fiddling". The Brits are having a field day with Jacko. I think there is a lot of attraction to seeing the mighty American pop culture machine take a big dive.

I just can't wait to see his picture in the California online sex offender registry. Makes me wonder if there are office betting pools across the country right now bubbling over with anticipation...

Well my weather forecast extension for Firefox looks quite depressing at the moment:



That's all the way through Monday! Daaahhhhh!