The only thing more troublesome than an Octopus....

....is apparently a bored octopus.

Great advances in retail marketing, NOT

For years the kids kept us from even passing through Bloomingdales, for fear of being chased down by "the scary ladies with the smelly spray" who haunted the aisles.   I thought that marketing method was the nadir, with its single-minded focusing on the selected demographic to the exclusion of all others. 

But now, even that scheme has been surpassed by this. It's got MIMES!  IN BOXES!  It's got silver bodysuited actors ensnaring pedestrians on public sidewalks!  It's got body scanners flashing out your "hot and cold body spots" to all assembled!

Is there a measure for marketing effectiveness that is so far below zero that it actually causes an entire segment of the city to depopulate?  They'll probably make a holiday movie about the aftermath someday, titled "the Crickets chirping in Times Square."

Google Maps: Where to Vote

Not sure where to vote on Election Day?  Google Maps to the Rescue!

(Maps may not be applicable for Absentee voters, Dr Who companions, and others of widely varying location.  ;-)

The Atlantic: Think. Again.

Wow, this is a great series of articles.

Cartoon Off: XKCD vs Farley Katz

Hilarious mini-interview of Randall Munroe at the New Yorker.  Don't forget to look at the cartoon-off slide show!

Hey, What's That?

As an offshoot of the recent interest in whether you can actually see Russia from Alaska (answer:  yes, but probably not from anywhere Sarah Palin has been) this website has gotten a lot of interest.  It can show you a virtual panorama from any spot. 

Bad Karma on the Kippur

Now that it's over, I hope that I can avoid any bad karma associated with forwarding this.
Very funny!

Seed: How We Evolve

There are some who are wishy-washy about Evolution, conceding it may have shaped life over eons, but convinced isn't doing so now and certainly not in Humans. Ask them to consider the ability to drink cow's milk, then.

Time-waster of the day

The Eyeballing game

Worth its weight in Gold

According to the latest research from Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories, there actually aren't many things that are worth their weight in gold. 
Peacock Feathers, saffron, stacks of $20 bills?  Worth less by weight than gold.  Platinum, fancy diamonds -- Worth more than gold. 
Antimatter or supercooled neutrons?  Don't even ask.

Interestingly, almost anything on the International Space Station is approximately worth its weight in gold, given the >$10,000/lb orbital cost.

Photo of the day

The dull ol' moon looks a bit different, if you bump up the color saturation a bit.