Why is today less of a grind you ask? Well, it seems that I am about to get a new gig with my company. A few steps up the food chain and (hopefully) a few more scheckles in the pocket.

So with that merry news in my heart I bring you the news here.

First, I’ve added an exciting new piece to the site. Dragon Knight is a MUD style game that is simple yet addictive. It is also programmed in such a way that we can make some fun additions to it. If you would like to see some of the ideas and contribute your own stories, check out the Dragon Knight forum right here at Green Scissors. I will keep the game up and running as long as the badwidth holds out. If we start to use up too much I may look into buying more bandwidth.

With that said, here are a few more items for today…..

"Say Harry, does that invisibility cloak still work?" Fresh on the heels of the SNL skit last week comes news that someone actually has developed an invisibility cloak. Now I can think of some nifty uses for such a device, but none of them make me look like the fine upstanding moral citizen I pretend to be, so I’ll let you think up your own.

The inventor does seem to have the best intrest of humanity at heart though. He proposes windows for windowless rooms and planes that let the pilot see the runway through the floor. But really, Evil Masterminds everywhere have to be salivating at this one.

Disagree with me? You must be a vertically challenged heathen! Religion is one thing I try not to discuss too often since my general views seem to clash with my fellow man here in the midwest. But if I ever do find myself in such a discussion this guide to arguing religion should prove invaluable

Arguing is fun and religious argument should be treated as a game. Like other games, it has participants, spectators, winners, and losers. Problems arise, however, when none of the participants of a sacred-squabble recognize the purpose of the competition. It is mistakenly perceived to be either a defense of beliefs or a persuasion of truth. However, as in most religious activities, image is the actual objective.

What is the average air speed velocity of an unladen Fell Beast? There are an increasing number of mash ups of Tolkein’s works One of my favorites is the Sillmarillion in 1000 words. But the new champion of the Middle Earth mash ups is Monty Python Lord of the Rings. It gets good marks in both completeness and creativity. In fact, if you have the time you can giggle your way through all three Lord of the Rings books.

Frodo: Hello? Bilbo???
Gandalf: He has gone.

Frodo: What?!? Gone?
Gandalf: Yes, and he has left you his ring…
Frodo: Left me his ring? His most precious possession?
Gandalf: Yes, indeed. I had to whack his arse with a boat paddle, but he finally agreed to leave it. He left it there conveniently laying in the middle of the floor for you.
[Frodo picks up the ring]
Frodo: It is but a plain gold band.
Gandalf: Hmmmpfh. Is it now…
[Gandalf knocks the ring out of Frodo's hand, casting it into the fireplace]
Frodo: What the… Hey!
Gandalf: Fear not. The ring is unharmed.
Frodo: I’m not worried about the ruddy thing, you hit my hand you looney wizard!
Gandalf: Enough! Let us gaze upon the ring.
Frodo: Odd, the ring is cool though it has been touched by the flames… and strangely heavier.
Gandalf: Look for writing, Frodo… do you see any?
Frodo: Yes! Here… along the inside… it says "Orodruin Jewlers 10-Karat."
Gandalf: The tight-pocketed fiend! He could have at least made the forsaken thing out of 14 or 18-Karat gold…
Frodo: Who?

Who indeed. Don’t miss the Uruk-Cow in the first installment.

And with that, dear friends, I leave you to your day.

Hello all. Almost time for a sunny weekend. But before you go, I thought you might want one more edition of The Daily Grind

Before you star the grind though, take a minute to check out the review of Life of Brian posted today. Some needed information in there as you await the release of this classic in your town. Go on, read it. I’ll wait…..

…………

Done? Good, and now onto the Grind……

But will it only play ATRAC format? Regular readers of The Grind know that I suffer from gadget lust almost daily. But when I came across reviews for the new Sony U70 Tablet PC I was smitten even more than usual. Billed as the smallest full functioning PC available, the U70 sports some modest but effective hardware in a form factor that can be easily hauled all over and back again. With a 1GHz processor, 512 Mb of memory and a 20Gb hard drive, the pen based tablet PC should be able to handle almost anything the Road Warrior might want to do. And with a form factor of less than 8" x 6" it should fit neatly into almost any bag.

And if you buy this, I’ve got a bridge to sell you. It seems that the folks at Audio Advisor are big fans of wishful thinking and Defense Department contracts. How esle can you explain a $744 AC power cord? At that price I expect it to come with a 19" plasma screen attached to the far end.

Still one of the most interesting people I never want to meet. It seems that one of my favorite bloggers, Jawa has been pondering the need for mythical heros for todays youth. And as always, he has some off beat but thought provoking suggestions.

Face it. Youth have the attention spans of puppies. If you want to communicate with them, you have to be quick, clear and concise. Especially nowadays. ￜJust Say Noￜ is quick, itￜs to the point. You start on that ￜIt takes a lot of gutsￜ and youￜre screwed because kids are already tuning out. What they hear is ￜIt takes a lot of guts to talk to a friend about I wonder if thereￜs any pudding left.ￜ

The Cyborgs are coming. But maybe its not a bad thing. In the quest to control machinery with the mind alone, the folks at Washington University, St Louis Mo have taken a big step. They have managed to allow patients to play video games with their minds by embedding sensors on the surface of the brain.

They then asked the patients to play a simple, one-dimensional computer game involving moving a cursor up or down towards one of two targets. They were asked to imagine various movements or imagine saying the word "move," but not to actually perform them with their hands or speak any words by mouth. When they saw the cursor in the video game, they then controlled it with their brains.

I am still waiting for my hands free keyboard, but in the mean time, this shows real promise for people with disablitites.

Lassie! Bring me last week’s Sunday Times. Seems a well trained border collie is giving researchers some new things to ponder when it comes to animal intelligence. Rico, a 10 year old pooch can apparently identify over 200 objects by name and retrieve them, even when they are out of site. What’s even more amazing is the dogs apparent ability to associate a previously unseen object with a new word and retrieve that object from amongst a pile of its other toys.

When they put a new object into a room filled with old objects, Rico was able to fetch it 7 out of 10 times, evidently figuring out that the new word he was given must refer to the new object.

Four weeks later, he apparently remembered this new word about half the time. "This retrieval rate is comparable to the performance of 3-year-old toddlers," the researchers wrote.

Next you’ll be telling me that three year old children can be trained too!

Well, that’s all for today. Enjoy your weekend and remeber if you drop your keys on the interstate, just leave them there.

Well, as Jason pointed out, its been awhile. Many reasons for that and none of them interesting to you. So lets get back to it. Today’s grind features the vast array of human ignorance and general stupidity and some nostalgia for bad 80s TV. Are they one and the same? The only way to know is to read on….

Is being dumb a recognized disability? Well, I would have to say no. But in the wonderful world of corporate HR policies the line is blurred a little. Take this for example. I’m not sure how I would have handled this situation but I am pretty sure I wouldn’t have been as calm as the author of this story.

Me: “Exactly what did I do?”
Intern: “Er… nothing, really…. she said she’s intimidated by you, because you talk about people and events that she knows nothing about, and she said it makes her feel stupid.”
Me: “You’re kidding, right?”
Intern: “We have to take it seriously, it’s in the manual. ”
Me: “Exactly what was it I said that got her upset?”
Intern: “She mentioned something about medical references, and once you talked about Henry VIII…. it bothers her that she doesn’t understand what you’re talking about most of the time. Oh, and McGuyver. ”
Me: “She’s upset because she doesn’t know who McGuyver is?”

Read the whole story for even more amazement.

On a related topic, apparently no one in the Texas government has read the HR manual. Seems the state of Texas has decided that Unitarianism isn’t a religion because the church lacks a single unified system of belief. Being a member of a Unitarian Universalist church I find this a bit off putting. It would seem to me to be pretty easy to find the definition of the church’s beliefs if you were to simply ask. But I guess a religion that was good enough for two US Presidents isn’t good enough for Texas. Find out more about Unitarian Universalism.

Seems I’m running a whole story on dumb people so…. Why do so many of the really weird stories come from Germany? Seems there was a couple trying to start a family and, well, you just have to read the rest

A German couple who went to a fertility clinic after eight years of marriage have found out why they are still childless – they weren’t having sex.

Finally, a little guilty pleasure for children of the 80s. The Greatest American Hero was a show without peer and a hell of a concept. For those of you who don’t remember, its the story of an average young man who finds a suit (from aliens?) that confers great powers. But the instructions didn’t come with it. What ensues is sort of a cross between McGuyver (and for those of you scoring at home, that’s two Richard Dean Anderson references today) and the Three Stooges.

Seems I’m not the only one with a soft spot for the old show. There are rumblings and rumors that a movie may be forthcoming in a few years.

I have had the theme song for Greatest American Hero stuck in my head for two days now. I would be greatful to anyone who can point me to an MP3 copy of it or better yet, the chord progressions so I can bang it out on guitar.

Well, isn’t this a fine how do you do. Two weeks and essentially no updates to the website. Scary, eh? I’d blame others for this failing (actually, I DO blame others) but I have to shoulder much of the responsibility for the oversight. Laziness. Whatever.

Of late I have spent some time perusing the Television Without Pity recaps. These are generally hysterical synopses of your favorite (or not-so-favorite) television programs including Angel, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, West Wing, Sports Night, X Filesï¿œwell, the list goes on. Go on, check them out. If you arenï¿œt amused, I guarantee that Iï¿œll give you nothing at all in compensation.

Another interesting accidental discovery in the world of science may bring about the elusive blue rose. This sounds like a code phrase for something, but really, itￜs a rose thatￜs blue. This discovery came about while doing some research into cancer and Alzheimerￜs disease, as it turns out. Interestingly, thereￜs no mention of the researchersￜ ongoing efforts into studying disease or working to end suffering. But there will be, you know, blue roses. So thatￜs something.

In other news of interest to only a few, Latharia, Hawke and I are continuing work on a new board game which we expect to take the world ￜ or, more to the point, very very small portions of it ￜ by storm. If any readers are artistically inclined and would be interested in possibly doing some work for us on this project, email me or leave me a Private Message here.

Thatï¿œs all Iï¿œve got for the moment. See you next time in the Daily…er, weeklyï¿œer, whenever I get to it Grind.

After missing yesterday with work related Trauma and yet another loss for the Soccer Eagles (only 5 to 1, we are improving fast) the Daily Grind is back. And today I have a demand to make of all you loyal readers.

Submit a review! I am going to be adding more reviews in the near future and try to build up that section of the site which has gone neglected too long. Don’t worry about images or links, I’ll add em when your done. Two paragraphs is all it takes. So tell us about the Movie/Book/Band/Sports Team/ Software/Whatever that you’ve been thinking about.

And with that simple request we move on to the grind…

Gadget lust rears its head again. A review of the new Nokia 9500 for your pleasure. I am still looking for that perfect combination device and this one comes pretty close. Fold out phone with a big screen and a full QWERTY keyboard. Throw in an MP3 player and I would be in heaven.

Fuel Cells: Not just for concept cars anymore. Fuel cells are the next big thing for powering large equipment but now Casio has prototypes out there for a fuel cell laptop battery. With a projected use of 16 hours, it could seriously change the way a lot of people use their laptops. Release date is set for 2007.

I’ve known for awhile that power sources were the next big hurdle toward shrinking electronics even further. With a small fuel cell, almost anything is possible. I my lifetime I expect to see cars that cost one tenth the current cost to operate and personal electronic devices that use your own bodies physiology to power them. Rememebr, you heard it here first.

Sometimes, creative writing is not called for. These essays are short and hilarious. Funny to me because I didn’t have to grade them. The person who wrote them is probably in need of some counseling. Lucky for us, we don’t know him so we can laugh with impunity.

Where will you be when Andy returns. Andy Kaufman told his friends that he would fake his own death and return 20 years to the day afterwards. Well, that day is May 16th. So be ready, you’ll want to rememebr where you were when you heard the news.

Awesome mock up of the Ghostbusters gear. "We are each wearing an unliscenced nuclear accelerator on our back." Ah, the words all geeks long to hear. And now Jason Eaton has lived the dream. My firewall prevents me from accessing ebay, but you can actually buy this rig if you are so inclined.

Church of the Sub Genius. Don’t know what to say about this one. Just read through it. As with all religions, you will find bits you like and bits that make you scratch your head.

Library of Alexandria found? Well, the scientists think so. I am torn on this one. Part of me thinks it will be a gateway to a whole new understanding of the ancient world and part of me wonders what the overdue fines will be on the Dead Sea Scrolls.

And since I’ve got a thing for recursive images… on the heels of The Swirl found in Friday’s Grind I offer you this novel little version of a feline chain letter. The Infinite Cat!

That’s it folks, and remember no matter what anyone tells you, Coca Cola is not an effective spermicide

I think as a side note to the Daily Grind, I’ll throw in the quote from my Zen desk calanedar. So for today’s enlightenment….

A man cannot make a pair of shoes unless he do it in a devout manner. – Thomas Carlyle

I’m guessing ole Thom was a real hoot at parties. Also in today’s grind an item that all you RPGers should not miss. Grazing Antelopes! Read today’s grind!

On to the rest of the Grind….

Sony invented the walkman and then called it a day. This from Boing Boing (BTW, you should read Boing Boing everyday if you aren’t), Sony is tripping over itself these days. Ever since they became an entertainment company they have lost sight of what made them powerful in the first place

Back from 1976-1984, Sony was the company that spent hundreds of millions on the defense of its VCR, bringing it all the way to the Supreme Court, arguing that the entertainment industry didn’t have any right to its business-model; that if new technology could make the old business irrelevant, that was tough shit, and the movie companies needed to stop pewling and get with the program (they did, and made lots of money, besides).

These days everything Sony puts out has some pretty strict proprietary nonsense attached to it. Earlier this year I was thinking of buying a Mini-Disc player but the more I read about Sony’s efforts at DRM and their use of the completely crappy ATRAC format, the more thankful I am that I went with a traditional MP3 player.

For all you LoTR fans, now you can have the look and feel of old Rohan at home.

For your next roleplaying session what could be better than this great table from Middle Earth Furniture? I’ll warn you now, their site is a bit clunky but isn’t it worth it when you see this Ancient Ent Round Table. Of course the obvious question for me is whether the table is in the Entish style, or whenther it is genuine Ent? If so, aren’t there some "Sentient Species" laws that probably need to be put in place?

Speaking of Sony and the VCR battles of yore…

Seems the MPAA doesn’t think that making personal copies of DVDs falls under the "fair use" clause of the copyright and DCMA laws.

"There is no right in the copyright law to make backup copies of motion pictures, so the whole argument that people should have the right to make backup copies of DVDs has no legal support whatsoever," said Fritz Attaway, executive vice president of the MPAA.

 

"It’s against consumers’ interests to permit devices that make backup copies," he added, "because there is no way that a device can distinguish between a backup copy for personal use and making a copy for friends, family acquaintances or even selling on the street corner."

Huh? So I have no right to protect my media investment. Apparently DVDs never wear out (arguable) and never get damaged (wishful thinking). The good news in all of this is that it seems the lawmakers are beginning to see the light. Funny how they are only just now understanding the consequences of what they did when they passed the DCMA.

"I, like most members of Congress, had no idea that what would be deemed to be fair use for books, CDs, and TV programs is not the case for DVDs ï¿œ and nobody intended that the people that would enable you to make a single copy of a DVD should be held criminally liable and go to jail and that’s insane," Bob Livingston (search), former U.S. Republican representative from Louisiana and House Appropriations Committee chairman, told Foxnews.com.

Imagine that. A congressman out of touch with the real world.

Sometimes, the NBA really is FANtastic. Last night’s T-Wolves/Sacramaneto game was great. I saw two things I have never seen before in my life.

First, Sam Cassell racked up 5 fouls in less than 200 seconds on the floor. So Minnesota’s point guard was out of the game with over 8 minutes left in regulation. My brother will feel good about this since in high school he specialized in getting 2 fouls per minute of playing time.

This led to the second amazing event. Kevin Garnett, all 7’0" of him, running the point for the Wolves for the next 5 minutes. Folks, that guy is a stud. Long, smooth and oh so quick. Brings to mind Magic Johnson starting at center in the playoffs lo those many years ago.

Also, I should make a nod to Fred "The Mayor" Hoiberg who had 4 three pointers in a Steve Kerr like exhibition of shooting. I mention this because Fred went to high school with our own dawnuh here at Green Scissors which puts us all a mere three degrees of seperation from the NBA MVP.

Enjoy your day.

Well its Friday. And what should Friday bring but dozens of dastardly dum dums at work. Ok, its really only one or two but that’s alliteration for you.

So I am scrambling to do something in two days that should take a month but I still have time for the loyal readers of this site (all three of you) and so I present…..

Today’s grind.

Ever play this game with two mirrors? In computing this would be called an infinite loop. In real life its just ever so slightly nauseating and hypnotic. I am ashamed to admit I spent several minutes entranced.

Make your own Sci-Fi Script. I should really spend more time reading Davezilla and to that end I have added him to the RSS Reader. But this little gem from Dave is worth a look even if you aren’t a blog reader.

All’s fair in love war and ebay bidding. Remember the gentleman from a few Grinds back who put his ex-wife’s wedding dress on ebay. Well, celebrity has its price. Seems the high bid on the dress ($3800) was bogus. Luckily the gent isn’t hurting. Seems talk shows are willing to pay for his time.

And with that my fair friends, I am bailing out of the grinder and heading for home where a frosty adult beverage awaits.

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.