geekent’s stuff’n things

“…and we’re excellent spellers.”

Ha!
Saw this on the news last night and it made me laugh, hard. A marketing campaign for the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie was mistaken for terrorist devices in Boston yesterday.
It is funny. Seriously, it’s funny.
I imagine for some people it’s not funny, but then those are the people that fear that they are individually targeted by Osama Bin Laden and respond exactly as the BushGov wishes them to respond to the perpetual notion that the nation is going to be bombarded by Agent Orange and dirty bombs. It’s been… 5 years, and what’s happened since? A lot of paranoia, a whole bunch of arrests and deportations (whether justified or not, we rarely find out) and a big screw-job on the American public by their government. Keeping them in line with fear so that they don’t see how poorly things are really running. It’s not funny living in fear, I’ll grant you that.
But the reason this story is funny is because the Mooninite giving the finger to the news media that perpetually hyped the terrorist threat for hours upon hours yesterday is probably the single finest capper to a news story this decade (and notice that in the above linked article, the finger is blurred out… oh you wacky, wacky people). The media had this coming. Egg on the face of Fox News and CNN should only further prove (especially considering CNN’s ties to Turner) how silly these News stations get, and how much influence they have in working up the populace into a panic.
Anyway, this is some awesome promotion for the ATHF movie. Probably shouldn’t be repeated though.

Other reports

Gizmodo shows us what the “device” actually looked like
Gothamist says the New York promotions were taken down, but with less fanfare (video also on page showing the placement of many of these guerrilla advertising signs)

“Boston officials could have avoided the emergency response drill if they only read bloggers or trolled Flickr”
The Daily News Editorial denounces the validity of urban marketing campaigns because someone overreacted. I’m sure if it was an advertisement for 24 or had the face of Jennifer Aniston, there would have been no reaction… but since it’s a niche-market character not widely recognized, well, ignorance played out as it did.
Suing Turner isn’t really the smart thing to do. Fining them for vandalizing, maybe, as this was, in essence a “high tech” (as “high tech” as a battery operated LED display can be) version of spraypaint tagging, but suing them for their own overreaction… well, I guess that’s the American way, isn’t it?
The implication that Turner intended to cause mass panic with “black boxes” is ignorant finger pointing. The quote above says it all. A quick google search would have solved a lot of problems.
Adult Swim apologizes to Boston…
Apparently they arrested the person who put up the signs in Boston… I don’t know, can you get arrested for graphitti?
“At some point, I’d love to see them arrest someone at Fox or CNN for inciting a panic before they have all the facts.”

Did you know/Were you aware that dryer sheets and fabric softeners contain numerous chemicals which are excessively hazardous to your health? Though we’re exposed to these in only small doses, the reactions can cumulate over time causing respiratory damage, central nervous system impairment and various skin and allergy reactions.
You have a choice not to use dryer sheets and instead use easier and more economical/environmental solutions. I’m trying some, and I’ll let you know how it works.
Obviously, hang drying outside is easy, but apartment dwellers don’t really have the option most of the time. Static can be reduced if clothes aren’t fully dried in the drier and instead laid out on a rack.
Keeping 100% cottons separate from synthetic fibers (which cause morst of the static) will also help.
You can also stick a sheet of tinfoil in the dryer, apparently, and it will help negate static (I’m trying this right now).
Or you can pour a 1/2 cup of vinegar into the wash cycle. That smell, that’s a sweet smell.
**UPDATE**
The tinfoil itself worked okay, but things like polar fleece were still pretty static-filled. The vinegar in with the wash worked quite well and things actually feel a little softer because of for some reason. Combine the two and it’s all okay.
more info

Action fresh

Fuckin’ A(team)… Mr. T dolls and everything else T! (thanks Josie).

Vowels are free

This is a great Scrabble word finder. If only I used it in my last game it would have given me bRulziers (created from an existing R, two blanks, L,U,I,S and Z with the “B” blank landing on a double word score and the Z landing on a triple letter [it would have given me a score of 120 - 70+ 50pt bingo bonus] and I would have went out and won the game with my opponent stuck with a full rack)… Brulzies is another word for brulyies which I believe is a Scottish word for a loud argument. *meshrug*

Our office is one of international flavour… we’re like Baskin Robbins with 31 countries served or somesuch. Whenever a remote office is on a holiday they send out an email company wide to alert us to their closing, like Japan’s upcoming “Sports Day” or our “Thanksgiving”. As well, included in the email is a little discription of the history of the holiday.
Invariably, if you examine them all they’re all a little goofy, but some are just a little weirder than others… like this one:

Please note that the S

Cellular phones are a plague on our society… really and truly.
Things wouldn’t be so bad if people didn’t use cell phones irresponsibly. You know, picking them up in the middle of dinner, trying to drive while conversing with one hand to your ear, ringing in movie theatres and plays and concerts and stand-up performances etc, people with no volume control, annoying rings, and all the rest.
But tops in the most irresponsible use of cell phones is (and not just cell phones, but portable phones at home as well) using them while going to the bathroom.
Seriously, nobody wants to even suspect that you’re taking a leak or even worse, excrementing while you’re on the phone with them… and there’s a whole bunch of audio clues that would tip someone off, especially in a non-domestic bathroom situation.
Case in point, I step into the 6th floor bathroom at work and behind the closed stall door a one-sided conversation is going on. Now, mind you, he could have been a crank-job, but I’m not sure how a crank-job would get into our fairly secure building.
Worse still, he wasn’t even using the stall as a secluded location to have his conversation. Nope, I definitely heard a *plop*… and if I heard it, then the other end of the phone heard it. And even if they didn’t hear that, they must have heard a) my urinal flush, b) me washing my hands, and c) me using the hair dryer.
Plus there’s the fact that bathrooms have a distinctive echo which is amplified when you’re in a stall.
Dude, that’s sick. Hope you drop your phone down there BEFORE you flush. Teach you a lesson.
Bet you wouldn’t be putting that phone to your ear anymore.
Nyuk nyuk nyuk.
This of course makes me recall the time honoured tradition of Phonebashing. Ahh, sweet smashy smashy relief.

when blogs collide:
there’s only 6 ideas in the world:
great minds sink alike:
imitation is the sincerest form of flattery:
crappycat:
coincidence?:
monkey see, monkey do, monkey pee, monkey poo:
Compare and
contrast
Do not adjust your set.
Whose cuisine will reign supreme?
Black Vulcan? Why don’t they just call Aquaman “Whitefish”?

-Do souls look like pickles?
-Aye, indeed they do.

from the trailer-park fire-spinner:
“owing an apology is no different from owing money. You don’t pay it back based on your idea of how the other person might react or what they might do with the money. You pay it back because you owe it.”
words to ponder:
thanks Jenny

“Everything doesn’t have to be sex and donkeys you know.”
Is donkeys the proper plural for donkey?
Or is it donkies? Like monkeys or monkies?
English, you’re a shitty shitty language you know that?
oh, and btw, I created a new shorthand for IM chatting
*w* = whatever in that retro-1995 “Clueless” ‘tude sorta way.
I’m the king of great.

What’s more important? Safety or comfort?
Can you really be comfortable if you are not safe?
If I were worried, could I sleep?
A little inconvenience (hell even a big inconvenience) is worth even the smallest peace of mind.