I like the RX-8, but I like THIS ONE even better!!! :)

Transformers® RX-8

] BOSTON, Massachusetts (CNN) -- Frigid temperatures in New
] England -- expected to dip to 20 degrees below zero on
] Friday -- have brought life to a standstill, and
] residents are being urged to conserve energy.
]
] In Vermont, Gov. James Douglas appeared live on the
] state's largest television network Thursday to ask New
] England residents to save energy and help prevent rolling
] blackouts, which may be needed in an extreme
] circumstance.

That's just what I need.... a freakin' blackout.
It's not even funny how cold it is up here.
The pipes are frozen in my office building, and the coffee bar downstairs is closed because of it. So it's COLD, and there's NO COFFEE. Bring on the BLACKOUT.

Northeast power grid strained by cold

Interesting paper from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Exposure to Violent Media: The Effects of Songs With Violent Lyrics on Aggressive Thoughts and Feelings

] EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) -- Fear of mad cow disease hasn't
] kept Cecelia Coan from eating her beloved deep-fried cow
] brain sandwiches.

There is nothing I can add to this.

Brain Sandwiches

] Women around the world are being told they can now have
] an orgasm at the touch of a button.
]
] The makers of "Slightest Touch" say their device can give
] women longer, better and more intense orgasms.
]
] They claim their device can trigger an orgasm without
] touching a woman's genital area.
]
] According to the manufacturers, Slightest Touch works by
] stimulating the body's sexual nerve pathway.

I'll skip the "sex toy" comments. It doesn't actually cause orgasms. But it's interesting that you apply the electrodes to your ankles, and it shoots up your "sexual nerves". That's neat.

Orgasms 'at the touch of a button'

] BUTLER, Pennsylvania (AP) -- A woman who was drunk when
] she killed a man in a head-on collision must carry a
] photograph of the teacher in his coffin as part of her
] five years of probation, a judge ruled.

Best sentence I've heard in a very long time.

Judge: Drunk driver must carry victim's photo

Decius wrote:
] ] Some pictures of Brad Blines (aka CrankyMessiah)
]
] Flynn asked us to host these for a few days because several
] people have requested them.

I've been thinking a lot over the past week or so about our community, and I've been thinking how amazing it is in this day and age that people can become so tightly knit and have such a family-like atmosphere even though they've never met.

Many MANY MANY years ago, Nick had told me all about IRC and he was having these friendships with people online. I thought it was ridiculous. How wrong I was. We have the opportunity now to talk to people all over the world, and it's amazing that people across the country can have the same likes and dislikes and sense of humor. You'd be friends in real life, but for geography! It's incredible. The world is getting smaller, very quickly.

When I heard about Brad, it was a painful shock. He wasn't just a nickname on a screen, he was someone whose insights and humor I enjoyed, and it was painful to hear that he has moved to a different plane of existence. It's still painful, a member of my community is gone.

But seeing the pictures, that brings the nickname, the insights, and the face together. A real person.

I'd love to meet other members of our community. I'd love to talk to them, I find people truly fascinating, and I'd love to share likes and dislikes, senses of humor, etc. But again, geography.

Tom, I'm wondering how you and Nick (and everyone else on MemeStreams) feel about having some space to post pictures if anyone wanted, to put a face to the names. Just a thought..

RE: Brad Blines Pictures

] Here's a question you haven't been asked since the Carter
] administration: do you know how to do The Hustle?
]
] If you do still know, here's the chance to put that
] long-dormant disco knowledge to new use: queue up in
] downtown New London on Wednesday as a gaggle of
] enthusiasts try to set the world's record for the longest
] hustle line.

Just in case you needed another reason to stay away from downtown New London....

‘Hustle'-ing Into The Record Book

] Sultan, 48, said the trouble began February 26 when she
] and three companions sent their soup back to the kitchen
] to be reheated while dining at the Irvine, California,
] restaurant.
]
] Sultan said she was treated rudely by the waiter, and
] when she began eating the soup she encountered a chewy,
] rubbery object that she first thought was calamari or
] shrimp, she told local media. She spit the offending
] object into her napkin and discovered it was a rolled up
] condom, she said.

Call me crazy, paranoid, whatever, but this is why I am always -very very- nice to the waitstaff and I never ever send anything back.

Condom-in-soup lawsuit settled

GRAND PRIZE The $500 grand prize for the wackiest label was awarded to Robert Brocone of Euclid, Ohio for a warning he found on a bottle of drain cleaner which says: "If you do not understand, or cannot read, all directions, cautions and warnings, do not use this product." Brocone also wins a copy of the book, "The Death of Common Sense," by Philip K. Howard, chairman of the legal reform group, Common Good.

M-LAW ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF SEVENTH ANNUAL WACKY WARNING LABEL CONTEST