LHR for the LHC

Rappin’ about CERN’s Large Hadron Collider!

Terra incognita

Why doesn’t Google provide any map data for Korea?  At the time of this writing, the only indications of human habitation are in the satellite view.  Compare with nearby Japan and China.  Even Kyrgyzstan gets more love.

“Let me see capital of South Korea.”
(waving hand) “You don’t need to see the capital of South Korea.“
“We don’t need to see the capital of South Korea.”
“These aren’t the major asian nations you are looking for.”
“These aren’t the major asian nations we’re looking for.”
“He can go about his business.”
“You can go about your business.”
“Move along.”
“Move along.  Move along.”

Stars and Stripes Forever

Happy Independence Day!

(Stars & Stripes starts ~1:06)

Bill Tapia’s still got it. When one hundred years old you reach, play as well you will not, hmm?.

I also really like Troy Fernandez’s nuanced version, which can be heard as a full track at last.fm. Props also to Dominator, who I think does more justice to Souza’s march than  Jake Shimabukuro’s excessively frenetic arrangement on  Song of America.

The Tragicomedy of the Surfers’ Commons

Daniel Nazer’s interesting paper The Tragicomedy of the Surfers’ Commons examines surfing through an economic lens.  More specifically, not surfing as an industry (equipment, contests, apparel, or media), but as an activity with a finite resource: surf spots.  Nazer suggests certain parallels (and differences) with the tragedy of the commons and resource management via surfing’s social norms, and localism in particular.

WWII chat

From If WWII was an RTS

If World War Two had been an online Real Time Strategy game, the chat room traffic would have gone something like this.

[...]
deGaulle: eisenhower ur worthless come help me quick
Eisenhower: i cant do **** til rosevelt gives me an army
paTTon: yah hurry the fock up
Churchill: d00d im gettin pounded
deGaulle: this is fockin weak u guys suck
*deGaulle has left the game.*
Roosevelt: im gonna attack the axis k?
benny-tow: with what? ur wheelchair?
benny-tow: lol did u mess up ur legs AND ur head?
Hitler[AoE]: ROFLMAO
T0J0: lol o no america im comin 4 u
Roosevelt: wtf! thats bullsh1t u fags im gunna kick ur asses
T0JO: not without ur harbors u wont! lol
Roosevelt: u little biotch ill get u
Hitler[AoE]: wtf
Hitler[AoE]: america hax, u had depression and now u got a huge fockin army
Hitler[AoE]: thats bullsh1t u hacker
Churchill: lol no more france for u hitler
Hitler[AoE]: tojo help me!
T0J0: wtf u want me to do, im on the other side of the world retard
Hitler[AoE]: fine ill clear you a path
Stalin: WTF u arsshoel! WE HAD A FoCKIN TRUCE
Hitler[AoE]: i changed my mind lol
[...]

George Carlin: 1938–2008

Well, shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits.

:(

update: George Carlin was revealed to be Where’s George’s celebrity user.

The Big Picture

The Boston Globe’s, The Big Picture, features one news story or theme per day told in a set of stunning high quality photos.  Terrific photojournalism.

Greatest concept album ever

Track Listing (both sides):
1. Silence—19:00
2. Applause—1:00

The Onion’s A.V. Club is the best source of additional information I can find on this magnum opus. At least one wag recounted how he used to make love to this “…19 minutes of silence, followed by a thunderous ovation. When we timed it just right…”

Unanswered questions: best mashup with John Cage’s classic 4′33″, or Ciccone Youth’s alternative “(silence)” from the The Whitey Album?

Tied!

After 43 years, Earth finally ties the score at 20-20 with the successful landing of NASA’s Phoenix Mars Mission. Earth is on a hot streak.

Dishwasher safe

The phrase, “Seriously, WTF?” was invented for shit like this.

Turd Twister: like those Play-Doh extruders, except not for Play-Doh.

Sadly, the USPTO doesn’t seem to have an actual record for “E-Z Grip Sphincter Lok”. However, “Screaming Sphincter” and “Dr. Sphincter” were once live registrations.