I Found the Strangest Things on My Way Here

While the site is called Cat Boxing it focuses on the friendly little rivalries and "arguments" cats get into when they share the same human habitation. I suspect some of it is just a little horseplay as humans can get boring very quickly and... What's an energetic cat to do? Broadbanders can watch the action on videos while those with dialup connections can look at still shots and imagine the action.

Finally an answer to the question of "What is the 'I'm Feeling Lucky' button for in Google. Apparently it's good for something called "Google bombing." Normally when you type in a search term to Google and click on I'm Feeling Lucky you are whisked off to the first citation that would normally come up in the Google search. However a number of folks out there have an understanding of how Google searches and have been able to manipulate what Google finds with certain phrases or words. It usually works best with the I'm Feeling Lucky button. Here are three examples. All of the following should be typed without quotation marks.

weapons of mass destruction
french military victories
waffles

1. Type in one of the above three phrases without quotation marks.
2. Click on the I'm Feeling Lucky button.
3. Read the screen that shows up very carefully, even if it looks like an error message or another Google screen.

If anyone out there knows of more please send them in the form of comments.

My friend Al from California sent me an image that places the high price of gas in the proper perspective. With a little searching in Google Images I was able to find the source with a news story attached. It comes from a website called knoxpatch.com and reads like a newspaper but is apparently a parody paper produced by a couple of Knoxville, TN locals. Go to the site and get a little chuckle.

Artists, sculptors and Hollywood have all taken a crack at various stories from the Bible. So why not Lego blocks. The Brick Testament has scenes from both the New and Old Testament rendered in Lego blocks. We are not talking one or two constructions here. Genesis alone has 37 constructions for viewing.

On the same subject in a more traditional format, the Holy Bible (King James Version) at Bartelby's has the complete text New and Old Testament. It can be searched by keyword or Book/Chapter/Verse.

The strange web sites posted here frequently come from the most unexpected places. This is one of those situations. The weekly magazine eWeek bills itself as "The Enterprise Newsweekly." It falls under the category of trade journal to my way of thinking. While the articles cover all the latest info on corporate technology, who's who in the industry, and Linux vs Windows discussions there is the back page which is the domain of one Spencer Katt. The column is billed as Rumor Central and along with various industry gossip the page looks like a scrap bookers dream. It is covered with images of matchbooks, beverage coasters, etc. Part of the etc. is a plain white napkin in the upper right hand corner. Like many napkins in many gin mills around the world some business person has quickly scribbled some URLs on it. If you subscribe take note of the URLs. I don't think the author ever mentions them in the column but they will take you to some pretty amazing places. This week's issue takes you to Weasel Circus an online source of Flash based online games and Awful Plastic Surgery. The latter is self explanatory but if you can't figure it out, the web site will explain in great detail.

This site has a chicken (human dressed in chicken outfit) performing whatever the viewer requests. This consists of things like dancing, flapping wings, etc. If the chicken can't do what you ask, it does its own thing.

A site called Gender Genie claims to be able to determine the sex of a writer if given a sample of writing. When I tried it with a sample of my writing it correctly determined I was a man. It claims to have about 80% prediction success. My boss (a woman) tried this and the Genie determined she was a man. Only 50% by my count. Also it claims its success rate for 20th century writers only. That could be true since when I copied some text from Jack London's "Call of the Wild" it suggested the writer was a woman. Try it and see how it works for you.

Winter appears to be gone for the summer and now we can relax in the great outdoors. Not a worry in the world. Right? Well... Maybe one small problem but this site will help you get in training for that. This web site was sent to me via Igor, a friend and colleague. Thanks, Igor.

I admit it. I'm addicted to surfing the Internet. I don't so much surf as I follow the trails blazed by others. I merely follow in their wake. A great number of my sources come from email newsletters. Over time I will occasionally post the access information to some of these sources as I am doing today.

The first newsletter I'll mention in this blog is the one produced by Kim Komando. Kim has a syndicated radio show and she has several newsletters: one for "Cool Site of the Day;" another with a "Tip of the Day;" and a general information newsletter filled with computer news, info, web sites, and more. Kim knows how to promote herself. Each newsletter contains information about her radio shows, and always information about her latest book with ordering and pricing information. While there is far more advertising in her newsletters than I like, I almost always find some new tidbit of information I didn't know before or a web site that hits the spot after a long day at the office. You can sign up for her newsletters at The Kim Komando Show web site and check it out or you can go directly to Kim Komando's sign up page and start your subscription.

Programming Language developer or serial killer? That is the question as you are presented with 10 photographs. Some are photos of serial killers while others are of program developers. It asks the question: "Can you tell the difference between a program language developer and a serial killer?" The question it should ask is which one is more dangerous? www.malevole.com/mv/misc/killerquiz/

When I was a kid (a long time ago) a popular game/toy was Mr. Potato Head. It came with various plastic pushpins with ears, eyes, nose, mouth, etc. You would then proceed to stick these into a raw potato and create a face which was called Mr. Potato Head. Well someone finally did a similar thing on the Internet. It's called Mr. Picasso Head. Using various Picasso-type features the artist (you) can create your very own Picasso masterpiece. The only problem I have with the site is you cannot save your masterpiece to your own system. To save it you must store it in the web site's gallery. You can view it later if you want. You can also print the picture after it has been stored in the gallery. Find it in the gallery, right click the image and click print.

If you are a fan of Steven King this site is probably not for you. The site requires Flash and takes quite a while to load if you are running with a dial up connection. It is a re-enactment of The Shining including "Here's Johnny!" as performed by very two dimensional looking bunnies. Find the action at: http://www.angryalien.com/0504/shiningbunnies.html