August 2, 2001

Why is everybody so happy?

Why is everybody so happy?
This Thursday, U.S. regulators approved numerous copycat versions of Prozac. I wonder how long it will be until Bayer makes Flinstones Chewable Prozac for teens.
posted by lheiskell at 11:22 PM PST - 34 comments

Weather scientists to Thor : "Suck it."

Weather scientists to Thor : "Suck it." Small plane goes into big storm cloud, dumps powder, big storm cloud go bye-bye. It's finally starting to feel like 2001 around here.
posted by dong_resin at 10:54 PM PST - 30 comments

Another "new economy" company bites the big one. A month ago Metricom filed for chapter 11. Tomorrow they're shutting down the Ricochet wireless network, leaving their subscribers high and dry. Employees are getting one week of severance pay. They're leaving behind $1 billion in debt. (It's Webvan all over again.)
posted by Steven Den Beste at 7:43 PM PST - 19 comments

Microsoft is hoarding child prodigies in order to breed the next Bill.

Microsoft is hoarding child prodigies in order to breed the next Bill. You heard me.
posted by tweebiscuit at 6:21 PM PST - 20 comments

printable batteries.

printable batteries. a company in israel has produced a battery so thin, it can be printed on paper. think of the possibilities... look carefully at your next contract — make sure they can't rearrange the letters after you sign it! on another note, has anyone else noticed how many cool inventions are coming out of israel? via biz stone, genius.
posted by o2b at 4:41 PM PST - 19 comments

Kilroy's Kingdom

Kilroy's Kingdom Robert Kilroy-Silk is the 'king' of the British talkshows (a title conferred because he's the only male talkshow host). 'Off The Telly' investigates why an ex-MP and potential Prime Minister now finds himself attempting to relate with the common people three hundred and sixty mornings a year (including repeats). Typical quote: "I suppose I’m really lucky, I get on really well with my son - always have - but some fathers and sons don’t always find it easy to be friends ... some boys are even deprived of their father altogether, when he walks out, and dumps not just their wife, but them. Which is a bit like you Mike, you haven’t seen your Craig, who’s 15, for seven years. Why’s that?" No on screen fights then, but one old buffer got frisky one morning and tried to remove his pants . . .
posted by feelinglistless at 3:57 PM PST - 1 comments

25,000

25,000 people have subscribed to CBS' Big Brother live video stream. Triumph of "compelling" web content or fall of civilization? The article also says that 300,000 people have subscribed to GoldPass which is about $3,000,000...
posted by owillis at 2:43 PM PST - 9 comments

And So It Ends.

And So It Ends. With Guilty pleas, the Gold Club trial is over. Now the Feds own the most profitable strip club in the country. Will they pave it? Turn it into a wetland? Or set it up for exploratory oil drilling?
posted by dwivian at 1:54 PM PST - 21 comments

Just another nail in the head

Just another nail in the head Don't mind me. I will just be posting sites that are really crazy for the next month.
posted by aj100 at 12:27 PM PST - 40 comments

Just another artist

Just another artist whom i happen to like the work of.
Don't mind me, I'll be introducing everyone to lesser known artists randomly throughout this month.
posted by jcterminal at 12:23 PM PST - 6 comments

Nepotism

Nepotism as a family tradition. (NY Times link)
posted by mmm at 12:09 PM PST - 6 comments

Germs from Jupiter? Viruses from Venus?

Germs from Jupiter? Viruses from Venus? Nope, just live space-borne bacteria discovered floating around Earth. "Although the bugs from space are similar to bacteria on Earth, the scientists said the living cells found in samples of air from the edge of the planet's atmosphere are too far away to have come from Earth." (via waldo.net)
posted by carobe at 12:02 PM PST - 8 comments

Visualize whirled peas.

Visualize whirled peas. Informative spoof on the World Bank, which I think actually does an okay job relative to the IMF (who are about to sink Argentina). via haddock
posted by kliuless at 11:44 AM PST - 5 comments

The problem isn't too much greed, but too much cowardly greed.

The problem isn't too much greed, but too much cowardly greed. "Spineless lenders, weak-kneed investors and meddling regulators intent on reducing risk pose a greater threat to the global economy than the volatile financial markets... 'The critic's image of the global financial markets as a giant casino is wrong," [writes British financial writer Daniel Ben-Ami], 'On the contrary, the modern financial markets are more often characterized by a fear of risk-taking than a reckless disregard for danger.'"
posted by tranquileye at 10:51 AM PST - 6 comments

If you're a fan of Interactive Fiction then you'll certainly be familiar with Andrew Plotkin the author of some of the best works in the genre, including Spider in Web and So Far. Only Macintosh users, however, will remember his phenomenol early-90s puzzle game, System's Twilight, "An Abstract Fairytale." I recently played it again, and am astounded that such an early piece of work contains such a fully realized fantasy world (literally, it's abstract) and such goddamn hard puzzles. Download it and experience some gaming history, and a damn good time.
posted by tweebiscuit at 10:10 AM PST - 12 comments

NMD test rigged?

NMD test rigged? Bashers, have at it...
posted by fooljay at 10:06 AM PST - 13 comments

Chubby Checker

Chubby Checker has posted a rather sad and somewhat demented plea to the Nobel Prize committee and the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame on his website. Be sure to check out his fine merchandising line of jerky while you're there.
posted by gnutron at 9:29 AM PST - 42 comments

Michael Kelly to America: We are some kind of fat.

Michael Kelly to America: We are some kind of fat. Never mind what we consider to be beautiful; the sad fact is that many, many Americans are slobs who cover their guts with spandex pants and think they look good. If only they knew. Amen to this op-ed, and down with dress-down, too, while we're at it.
posted by werty at 8:34 AM PST - 96 comments

Sour Family Hour?

Sour Family Hour? This report from the conservative Parents Television Council made the top of the front page in our local paper this morning. If you visit the PTC home page, you'll get a pop-up calling for action against Comedy Central and "South Park" because they recently went over the top by not censoring the word "shit" and compounding the sin by using a counter in the corner to note how many times it was said. (Anybody catch that episode?)
posted by jdbanks at 8:21 AM PST - 16 comments

Laid-Off Workers Are Striking Back

Laid-Off Workers Are Striking Back What's interesting is the retailators are not doing so *because* they were laid off, but because of the *way* they were laid off. When will business learn humans need to be treated like-- well-- humans?
posted by christina at 7:29 AM PST - 16 comments

Stormy Space Weather Takes a Toll on Ozone

Stormy Space Weather Takes a Toll on Ozone A new study confirms a long-held theory that large solar storms rain electrically charged particles down on Earth's atmosphere and deplete the upper-level ozone for weeks to months thereafter. Said Charles Jackman, a researcher at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Laboratory for Atmospheres and lead author of the study: "[W]hen these solar proton events occur you can see immediately a change in the atmosphere, so you have a clear cause and effect."
posted by dagny at 4:22 AM PST - 4 comments

This is just too weird for words.

This is just too weird for words. *stunned*
posted by metaxa at 3:48 AM PST - 76 comments

The Blogger Purity Test - Phase One

The Blogger Purity Test - Phase One "Stage One is a call for questions. Go to the site (http://pure.fury.com) and submit the questions that you think should be asked of webloggers. You can also read the most recent submissions from other bloggers and readers. The site will be open for submissions until August 15th, when a few of us will hide away and pick out the best 200 or so questions and present the test survey for the month of September. Then, it's tallying up the responses and seeing what the state-of-the-blogunion is for 2001.
posted by minjungkim at 12:37 AM PST - 7 comments

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