Friday the 13th: Radiohead remix and cool games

Hey, I was actually able to hold out for nine days before posting again. Below are some highlights I’ve been compiling for a couple of weeks. Music The remix of Radiohead’s “Nude” by James Houston using a bunch of old computer hardware is awesome. Don’t get discouraged by the extended intro. A Sinclair ZX Spectrum […]

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Miniature disasters and the Democratic nomination

Today this blog turned six years old. I’ll take a cake with marzipan icing, please (but hold the marzipan babies). Mmm . . . sugar-almond paste. Yesterday was a weird day of accidents in Corvallis. Driving to work in the morning, I was forced to stop because the westbound lanes of Philomath Boulevard had been […]

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Flavor tripping with miracle fruit (and Snuff)

Interested in flavor tripping? Try the miracle fruit. It’s a cranberry-sized West African berry (Synsepalum dulcificum) that numbs your sour and bitter tastebuds for a couple of hours after eating it, making certain foods taste weirdly sweet. Flavor-tripping parties are being held in New York City and San Francisco. The New York Times reports on […]

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Oregon primary election and random links

Oregon’s vote in the primary elections almost mattered this year! Barack Obama won easily, as expected. The Oregon primary election, held yesterday, was apparently the “most exciting Oregon primary in 40 years.” With the party nominations usually wrapped up well in advance of May, it’s not often that Oregon gets to be marginally relevant in […]

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Snow in the Quad, flags for Iraq, Fusion Man

Today was the third annual Snow in the Quad rail jam event on the Oregon State University campus. Read an article on last year’s Snow in the Quad in The Daily Barometer. Here’s a YouTube video and some Flickr photos by Blair Cook from last year’s Snow in the Quad. And here are OSU webcam […]

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Map of Strange, interactive satellite maps, Sarcasma

Here’s a well-worn concept for the day: Sports as a metaphor for life. That’s part of what makes following sporting events so compelling. I enjoyed this ESPN video: SportsCenter Flashback: Chris Paul Pays Tribute To His Grandfather. CP3 scored exactly 61 points, as planned, during a game in high school. In related news, the New […]

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Microsoft-Yahoo wedding called off (plus ceiling cats)

Today Microsoft said that it was abandoning its blockbuster bid to acquire Yahoo after the two companies could not agree on a price: “Microsoft Withdraws Its Bid for Yahoo.” Probably for the best. The news reminded me of this video: Microsoft designs the iPod package. Awesome. Every company has its own strengths, right? Remember the […]

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The Curse of Lono, Leonardo da Vinci, Tax Day

I’m currently reading Hunter S. Thompson’s illustrated hardback The Curse of Lono; somehow I missed this one before now. It’s Fear and Loathing for Hawai’i, which is appropriate because I’ll be vacationing in Hawai’i (O’ahu and the Big Island) in late summer. The book itself is enormous (15″ x 11.4″) and full of Ralph Steadman’s […]

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April Fools’ Day: Virgle, third-graders, Oregon

Hooray! We’re colonizing Mars. According to the latest April 1st humor from Google: “Announcing Project Virgle.” Virgle is a joint venture between the Virgin Group and Google. Visit the site: Virgle: The Adventure of Many Lifetimes. And there’s this handy time-bending feature from Gmail: Introducing Gmail Custom Time. Last year I listed a brief history […]

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WordPress 2.5 upgrade

Today spiral::notepad was upgraded to WordPress 2.5 (released yesterday). The basic design of my custom theme has stayed the same, but I took this opportunity to add some features and widgets I had wanted to implement in my theme for awhile. WordPress 2.5 improvements include “multi-file uploading, one-click plugin upgrades, built-in galleries, customizable dashboard, salted […]

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