Isaac.Eiland-Hall.com

Excite News

Quote: Panorelli was with a client and had just bought some lumber when the client picked up the pencil sitting next to a cash register for Panorelli to use. Panorelli pocketed the pencil and was met in the parking lot by a worker who asked for identification.

The worker presented Panorelli with one letter saying he was banned from Home Depot, and another advising that he would be hearing from the company’s lawyers.

Look, I’ve worked crappy jobs in my time… and there are plenty of times that I would have loved to have banned an evil customer from the establishment—maybe even from the human race, come to that—but not over a pencil... Yeesh…

So much for common sense!

(Although the article notes Panorelli as saying he won’t be back, even after the Home Depot corporate apology… So he himself is not immune from stupidity… What more would he have them do? Give him a $100 gift card for his troubles? He did, after all, actually make off with the pencil- it’s not like they were arbitrarily going after him, merely overreacting a bit…)

Excite News

Quote: Police accidentally hit a naked man in the genitals with a Taser after he was caught breaking windows and asking women to touch him, authorities said.

Seems appropriate. Yet another reason not to resist police, mind…

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Gloucestershire | Bag snatcher knocks himself out

Quote: A man has been charged with robbery after allegedly snatching a woman’s handbag and then running into a wall and knocking himself out.

Ah, how loverly it must be when criminals catch themselves…

Excite News

Quote: The 20-year-old man was arrested on Saturday soon after he let himself into Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Deputy Esther Beckman’s car while she was out of the vehicle questioning a bicyclist.

Ah… how lovely it must be when the criminals catch themselves…

TBO.com: AP United States

Quote: “I’ll put in both sides,” he said. “Especially if it’s going to cause a lot of grief.”

Sounds like it may be making a mountain out of a molehill.

On the other hand, I can understand the concern, as I wouldn’t want my [theoretical future] child being forcefed religion (e.g. Intelligent Design) in school…

And really, it sounds like a fun idea—I think the best solution (while only knowing the smidgen of information provided by this article) would be a more balanced approach—poking fun at all sides…

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Holidays (Black Friday)

Quote: Claim: The day after Thanksgiving is the biggest shopping day of the year in the U.S.

Status: False.

Mozilla Update :: Extensions—More Info:IE Tab – All Releases

Quote: This is a great tool for web developers, since you can easily see how your webpage displayed in IE with just one click and then switch back to Firefox.

I haven’t even tested this and I’m already posting about it.

Tres chic, and damned useful.

Phony Theory, False Conflict

Quote: Which brings us to Dover, Pa., Pat Robertson, the Kansas State Board of Education, and a fight over evolution that is so anachronistic and retrograde as to be a national embarrassment.

Rather eloquently spoken, I’d say.

I have long argued that if the Big Bang theory hold true—the concept of creating some complex bit of matter into being and have it spring into the entire universe is MUCH more dramatic, “awesome” (original sense), amazing, and wonderful than the concept of G-d picking up some dirt and shaping it…

I’d tag this “obvious”, but… I want to pretend I have an open mind…

(But seriously, I have a hard time respecting Intelligent Design, because I see it as a much lesser concept of G-d than if he caused the Big Bang or something similar… Why limit G-d?)

Couple not fond of 666 license plate

Quote: Ken Hasenmueller and his wife have been feeling a little uncomfortable while in the family car. The car itself – a 1996 cherry red Oldsmobile Cutlass – is fine. It’s the license plate that’s the problem. They were randomly assigned 666-KEN.

Weird…. I think it’s weird about Ken getting a licence plate with his name on it…. heh.

Although I probably wouldn’t want that number as well—I wonder why the state hasn’t retired it… Surely they don’t allow “ASS” as three letters, so surely “666” would make that list….

Glowing meat OK to eat, agency insists

Uhm…

I can’t quote the whole article… but please go read it…

I don’t think I could bring myself to eat glowing meat, even if it is probably okay…

Boy, home alone, flees to roof to escape burglars

Quote: “I looked through the eyehole and I saw a weird guy dressed in all black with black sunglasses,” he said,

Boy, “home alone”; two thieves breaking and entering house… Sound like a plot to a bad movie? Hands on cheeks with muffled scream......... Ugh… Now that I’ve tortured you with that….. Oddly enough, it sorta happened in real life…

Weird…...

(Thankfully, the boy is fine…)

The Australian: Why I cut my tackle: rugby fan [November 15, 2005]

Quote: A RUGBY fan who cut out his testicles with wire cutters to mark a Wales victory is at a loss to explain why he did it.

Well, he’ll certainly be a top candidate for the Darwin Awards this year…

As far as his thoughts about adopting: NO! Just.. NO… Please….. No….........

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Critter Country (Life Sentence)

Quote: Claim: Huntingdon Life Sciences is offering to pay cash for cats and dogs rescued from New Orleans.

Status: False.

Ugh… And the sad thing is, it’s so poorly written…

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Photo Gallery (Desert Meteor)

Quote: Claim: Video clip shows a meteorite striking a pickup truck in the desert.

Status: False.

Have I mentioned my love of Snopes on my blog yet? I don’t think I have… Snopes, for the uninitiated, is IMHO the best source of confirmation and debunking for urban myths, rumours, and various “ZOMG! I am teh forwardz0r to all my freindz0rz” crap…

I don’t know who believes things like the linked are true… but I didn’t happen to get this one from friends, so this gives a great chance to see it. heh…

Britain, UK news from The Times and The Sunday Times – Times Online

Quote: THE contestants believe that they are taking one giant leap as space tourists.

But their shuttle is a Hollywood prop and its inhabitants are set to become victims of one of the most elaborate hoaxes in the history of television, according to the makers of a new reality TV series.

...............

sigh

Prehistoric Lizard Called Historic Link – Yahoo! News

Quote: DALLAS - Amateur fossil hunter Van Turner felt certain he had found something important during his search of earth turned up by bulldozers making way for a new subdivision in Dallas County.

Sixteen years later, scientists finally confirmed that Turner had discovered the first well preserved early mosasaur found in North America — a prehistoric lizard that lived 92 million years ago that evolved into what some call the “T. Rex of the ocean.”

Woot! It’s called “Dallasaurus turneri”.

Okay, I don’t have much personal interest except for the location, note category, but still… WOOT!

wnbc.com – Family – Man One Piece Away From Completing Huge Jigsaw Puzzle

Quote: But there’s a problem. His dog may have eaten the last piece.

17,999 pieces down, one to go… o.O

String Master automatic guitar tuner keeps your strings tight – Engadget – www.engadget.com

Quote: According to the manufacturer, the $50 device can automatically tune your guitar by turning the tuning pegs the appropriate amount as you strum the strings. The device samples the audio as you pluck, and stops turning the peg when the string is tuned.

This sounds like a darned cool device, good for amateurs and pros alike… Surely it makes tuning faster…

Discovery Channel :: News :: Squirrel-Speak Deciphered

Quote: Squirrels can be very vocal animals, as backyard and park observers know, and now scientists have translated some of their squirrel-speak.

The findings, published recently in the journal Animal Behavior, present some of the most detailed information to date on squirrel vocalizations, which the researchers now believe constitute a complex language that is unique to the animals.

the Face of Tomorrow: the Human Face of Globalization, photographs by Mike Mike

Quote: What is the face of London, New York, Paris? What does a Londoner, a New Yorker, a Parisian look like?

The Face of Tomorrow attempts to find this face by taking photographs of the current inhabitants and compositing their faces to create a typical face. What we get is a new person – a mix of all the people in that city. A face that doesn’t exist right now, but a face, it seems, of someone quite real
the Face of Tomorrow

Okay, this is cool.

When you visit the site—the menu bar at the top – “THE FACES” is the option to select to see the various faces… Note that locations in black are done, grey are ‘coming soon’.

I hope this project keeps going and expands…

Sploid: DuPont poisoned you for decades

Quote: “They are toxic,” Evers said of the PFOA chemicals. “They get into human blood. And they are also in every one of you. Your loved ones, your fellow citizens.”

Uh… That doesn’t sound very good, if true…

And the old adage about how they get Teflon to stick to the pan when nothing sticks to Teflon—well, apparently that chemical doesn’t stay stuck in Teflon, eh?

Hmm…. o.O

BREITBART.COM – Just The News

Quote: Tooth decay, or cavities, is one of the most common health complaints in the world. It is caused when acids produced by bacteria that are normally present in the mouth eat away at a tooth.

Researchers in various countries have sought to develop a vaccine which would eliminate the bacteria that creates this acid from the mouth in order to prevent tooth decay from forming.

Yes, but does it give your mouth a fresh, minty taste?

Aurora – Secret Hypersonic Spyplane

Quote: Does the United States Air Force or one of America’s intelligence agencies have a secret hypersonic aircraft capable of a Mach 6 performance?

I recall reading speculation some time in the early 90’s about the Aurora project…

If you’ve heard of it, this is an interesting read. If you haven’t, it might be an even more interesting read…

BNL :: Barenaked Ladies Official Website

Quote: BARENAKED ON A STICK!
... is a USB flash memory drive containing songs, videos, and exclusive content from the Barenaked Ladies, and will go on sale November 22, 2005! Essential for any BNL fan’s collection, the 128mg USB flash memory drive (about the size of your pinky finger) is a fast and easy way to share music, videos, pictures and other data. It is PC/Mac compatible, re-usable and incredibly low priced at $29.98 (close to the same cost of the device on its own with no special content). It will be available on Amazon.com and Werkshop.com (Nettwerk’s online merchandise store), and will also be sold at all BNL shows this winter.

I have nearly no use for the couple of flash drives I own (work for myself, so no need at the moment), but this makes me want that thing… BNL kicks much arse – they are one of my all-time favorite bands… So this is just perfect.

SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT - cp.sonybmg.com/xcp

Quote: November 17, 2005

Ultimately, the experience of consumers is our primary concern, and our goal is to help bring our artists’ music to as broad an audience as possible. Going forward, we will continue to identify new ways to meet demands for flexibility in how you and other consumers listen to music.
Please click here for an FAQ on this topic.

Better late that never. This is good for a start. I’m still considering all the implications and deciding how many points I’ll give them for this… I think part of it is that we need to see about the newer, simplified uninstall – one that doesn’t cause more problems. The offer to replace the CDs does go a long way—I’m sorry, Sony, but I think that’s a “minimum” after a screw up like this…

Maybe Sony thought they could pull a quick one… Maybe they did screw up royally on the software deal… Time will continue to tell, but this is definitely a good direction to be heading in…

Keeping in the “Stupid” category to update any who might be looking only in that category—this move is certainly not stupid…