Today we offer gadgets, games and guns (well sort of). And for all of you anxiously awaiting the results of my soccer match…. We lost 10-2. Apparently the top half of the division is young, fit, and practicing regularly. We are not in the top half. Bring on the consolation bracket! And bring on the rest of The Grind……

Who remembers the "Someone Else’s Problem" field from Douglas Adams? Seems that scientists are learning what the Hitchhikers gang knew all along. People don’t see things that simply don’t fit. This article is pretty amazing. People failed to notice a woman in a gorrila suit walking through a basketball game? I’d like to think I’m more observant but then again….

How common is your name? Cool little site that help proves that we are all a little less unique than we thought.

Levi is the #416 most common male name.
0.025% of men in the US are named Levi.
Around 30625 US men are named Levi!
source namestatistics.com

But then again

Tamarin is a very rare male name.
Very few men in the US are named Tamarin.
Be proud of your unique name!
source namestatistics.com

The moral here? Names created for completely random purposes are cool!

The dawn of the ultimate gadget is drawing nigh. Bigger than a PDA, smaller than a laptop. Look and feel of Windows XP witha truly mobile operating system. Its a phone! Its an email machine! Its an MP3 player! And its only available in europe

Once is an accident. Six times is a stunt worthy of "Jackass". Kids, I can’t stress this enough. When playing with your nail guns at home please point it AWAY FROM YOUR OWN HEAD! You may not be as lucky as this gentleman.

Seems file swappers aren’t the only ones ripping off musicians. In the midst of its crusade against file sharing, it seems the members of the RIAA "forgot" to distribute $50 million in royalties to various recording artists big and small. Perhpas their legal fund will dry up a little now.

Guess the logo. Fun game to test your knowledge of fast food logos. Some of them may be regional and therefore trickier but its a fun time never the less. Post your scores as a comment if you dare.

And finally….

Being a smartass has some advantages. I offer the same advice here as I did for the nail gun. Don’t try this at home. Police and the courts tend to take a dim view of sarcasm in my experience. Then again, if you do try it let me know. I am about due for another speeding ticket.

There you have it. The daily Grind. And remember, please wait at least 30 minutes after reading before you go swimming.

Thereï¿œs a lot of dispute about many things related to our countryï¿œs overseas adventures in Afghanistan and Iraq, but regardless of my political leanings I certainly support the individuals who are stationed there. With the exception, of course, of what I can only hope is a very small number of people who have been, for lack of a better word, torturing prisoners held by the US. See here for information on that particular story.

However, this entry is not about that (though Iï¿œm sure a future one will be). Rather, I wanted to mention something I came across today that strikes me as a wonderful idea: The Books For Soldiers program.

Apparently this site is set up for members of the armed forces who are stationed overseas to receive books, DVDs and other supplies. They post (or someone posts on their behalf) with items they would like to receive, and if youï¿œve got a copy you can part with, you reply to the post and send the item out. I think this is a phenomenal idea, and one that Iï¿œll definitely be taking part in. Check out the program at http://www.booksforsoldiers.com/

Not much of a Daily Grind, I guess, but thatï¿œs all the news from Jason today.

"The best laid plans of mice and me…" As the saying goes, good intentions only get you so far. But I’m back with some snippets for general consumption.

My soccer intramurals start today. Needless to say I am woefully out of shape. Luckily I’m playing against folks who are (hopefully) in the same condition. Stay tuned for scoring updates from "The Eagles".

As for the rest of the world…..

Anything related to the Hitchhiker’s Guide desreves some space. Found this one awhile ago but just re-discovered it buried in my Yahoo bookmarks. This is a Java based version of the original Infocomm text based game for Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Its damnably irritating since you have to follow each step exactly right or perish in a creative way. But its a nice flashback to the days when computer games resembled a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book.

Someday you may see the Green Scissors bumper sticker. Another great thing about the Internet. You can order, customize and receive darn near anything for a reasonable rate. I have been playing around with designs for Green Scissors swag for awhile. Perhaps when I get the car paid off at long last.

This just in. Red vs. Blue. Episodic animated cartoon made using the Halo graphics engine. I just got this link mere moments ago so I haven’t had time to peruse it. But after skimming a few episodes I can vouch that it is well done and at least mildly amusing. (Some language in the clips may be NSFW).

All the Stuart you could want, for a price. It seems that Stuart Davis‘ partnership with Integral Naked has blossomed. They now offer STU TV, a running series of writing and video following the Punk Monk on his journeys. Now, I think this is great. But I don’t think I can pony up the $10 a month that they ask for a subscription. Time was when you could get your full fix of Stu’s personality through his website. In exchange, I bought his CDs and went to shows. I wax nostalgic for the good old days.

Well, that’s all the grinding for today. This afternoon I attend my work groups’ "team builder" hilarity shall surely ensue.