beancounters

4th of July Fireworks

St. Louis 4th of July Fireworks, originally uploaded by Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton.

Happy Independence Day, blogfolk! Have a great weekend ...

Friday dog-blogging: cognition

One of the best sci-fi novels of all time, Neuromancer, turns 25 this year. A look back at what it got right, and what may be yet to come.

Speaking of what is yet to come, what if blow-'em-up director Michael Bay pitched The Great Gatsby?? Aaaand ... ACTION

It’s going to be tough to get fans of the book and representatives of the Fitzgerald estate behind the idea of putting robots in this movie. And it’ll also be hard just getting your average, general audience-member behind the idea of introducing robots out of nowhere 40 minutes into what is either an apocalyptic party film or a romantic tale about obsession and class wars. I’m not doubting your abilities (loved Transformers!), I’m just suggesting that you might want to either introduce the robots earlier and explain their presence, or not introduce them at all.

Iran or Star Wars? I didn't get a perfect score, much to my surprise.

The governor trash-talked the Legislature for conducting a committee hearing on the practice of docking cow tails. But a few weeks ago, Arnold had a set of brass bull testicles delivered to the Senate Speaker. So I guess the message is, if you're gonna discuss bovine body parts in Sacramento, keep it funny. (Or stick to boy parts.)

15 of the creepiest vintage ads of all time - nice grouping!

The Lord of the Rings as told in Dungeons and Dragons style [comic]

Twitter zzz machine - every time someone posts "zzz", anywhere in the world, the birdies sing. Pretty!

Meeting ticker - start it running before you leave for your next meeting. (No fair forwarding this to Arnold - I don't want to hear he used this knowledge against some poor Legislative committee hearing.)

And for the aspiring hypochondriac, NCBI ROFL, a blog that shares a funny medical journal article every day!

In which I manage my summer schedule

Is it July already? In trying to get a handle on my summertime, I decided to crunch the numbers to see where the time goes. Using the exploded chart feature in Excel, it's easy to identify any time-management issues.

 

As we can see, I am spending way too much time working, which severely cuts into my NCIS schedule. I have learned to prep food and eat meals during NCIS - score one for multitasking. And five percent of the time is spent with family? Well, the couch holds three people - we could easily be watching NCIS together. At least my time on Twitter is normal.

Ohh I get it

I've already gotten so much out of the 78 photography rules for complete idiots.

Hope you have cookies enabled, Neo

This is worth getting caught laughing in your cubicle for: The Matrix Runs On Windows.

WWIII Propaganda

WWIII Propaganda: Support Net Neutrality, originally uploaded by Brian Lane Winfield Moore.

Those great motivational posters of yesteryear are perfectly re-tooled for today. See the whole set here.  (Thanks, Fritinancy)

Compartmentalized beauty

Every once in a while, it strikes me just how freakin' bizarre the world of cosmetics is.I just put on a product that "tans" my legs, which get very little sun. Then I put on another product on my face and arms, to shield them from getting tan.Two different sunblocks, at that - one for the arms and a separate one for the face.

I ask you! Can you top that?

Friday: I'll be there

Yesterday, we lost two celebrities from my high school years. Here's a lovely tribute to Farrah [h/t @Fritinancy], and a simple but moving glimpse at the King of Pop [h/t @2hrlunch].

How to drop $400k at Disneyland. I'm down with everything but the native dancers.

Very funny - my mother corresponds with a Nigerian puppy mill scammer

Does your summer reading list contain the requisite amount of zombie lit?

An artist invents suburban landscapes, ranging from inventive to horrifying, at least from this commuter's perspective. The names are what get me the most. Goldenwood Shores? There is no gold, there are no woods, there is no shore. Much like real life subdivisions, the names reflect the natural resources that were stripped away.

Three frame movies - I was insulted by the Titanic one, which takes some doing.

Yikes! Crunches don't work? It's back to the 100 pushups challenge, I'm afraid.

Okay, that's it. I can't resist anymore. Off to watch more MJ videos. See you!

Good morning

25, originally uploaded by J & ~J~ Funcpl.

Enjoy your Monday breakfast, y'all.

It's Super-O!

It's Saturday, so you have plenty of time for a rueful chuckle or two, watching Jibjab's new video.