No, not the purple dinosaur parents love to hate, but Barney, one of the Bush dogs. Go here and look for the Barney Cam link to see Barney terrorize White House Christmas trees and discover a new rawhide bone. Pretty entertaining for dog lovers. (Thanks, Kel!)

If you are one of many who receives "The Paradox of Our Time" email this holiday season, and it's attributed to George Carlin after 9/11/01, or a Columbine High student, it was written by Jeff Dickson in May 1998. Just so you don't embarrass yourself. It is a fabulous piece of writing, however.

Ever been shopping and when you check out they ask you for your zip code? That make you feel even the least bit uncomfortable? Well, here’s an idea for the next time that happens, courtesy of the latest Dilbert newsletter (and yes, the spelling of Induhvidual is correct—if you get it):

"A store clerk asked for my zip code, apparently as part of their market research. Rather than just saying, 'No,' I told the young Induhvidual at the cash register that it was unlisted. The Induhvidual looked at me with obvious confusion and said, 'I didn't know that you could do that.'

“I replied, ‘Of course, but like telephone numbers, it costs extra.’ I looked back as I was leaving, and observed the Induhvidual still lost in thought, and the next customer impatiently waiting for service."

As a warning to Gummi Bears everywhere. . . Ok, so I work with odd people. And who is more odd—those who perpetuate such acts, or those who capture them for posterity. . . ?

Watch the boundaries of the U.S. and the individual states change from colonization to the modern age. (Thanks, Rick!)

Speaking of QuickTime, Apple is hosting the teaser trailer for X-Men 2 that was shown at ComicCon 2002.

Cool site courtesy of one of my co-workers. Requires a Java-enabled browser. From the site:

"View the Milky Way at 10 million light years from the Earth. Then move through space towards the Earth in successive orders of magnitude until you reach a tall oak tree just outside the buildings of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee, Florida. After that, begin to move from the actual size of a leaf into a microscopic world that reveals leaf cell walls, the cell nucleus, chromatin, DNA and finally, into the subatomic universe of electrons and protons."

"Michael Jackson horrified German onlookers by dangling a baby over his hotel balcony railing in Berlin. He's there for a reason. Americans are so annoyed at Germany for insulting President Bush that we sent them a fruitcake for the holidays." —Argus Hamilton

Speaking of Think Geek, I have updated my Think Geek wish list, just in case anyone feels generous enough to buy me anything. My top picks include the Bounty Hunter t-shirt, the Megatokyo "Capture the b34r" t-shirt and poster, and the O'Reilly 2003 calendar. No pressure, though. Really.

Thanks to the overlords at Think Geek, I am now a fan of the online manga strip, MegaTokyo by Fred Gallagher. Computer geeks, especially gamers, and any manga/anime fans should check it out.

Yes, yes, 32 today. Well, officially, 32 as of 11:03 am, about half an hour from now. Eh, just another birthday. Thirty-two doesn't feel any different than 31 or 30 did. Phil, the department's resident cook, made peach cobbler today for all of the December birthdays. YUM!

For the first time ever, NASA mounted a "RocketCam" on the external fuel tank utilized by the Space Shuttle. From a launch of the Atlantis earlier this year, you can watch the launch until the separation of the booster rockets, as the Atlantis hurls into space at a whopping 2,800 miles per hour. (QuickTime required)

Remember that Monster.com ad with all the kids talking about what dead-end career they wanted “when I grow up?”

If not, you’ll certainly remember it when you see this advertising-centric version that apparently slipped through the cracks. It’s by far the funniest thing I’ve watched all week; two-thirds of the way through, I was already in tears. QuickTime is required. (from Grant)

A very interesting web page clock. (Thanks, Jay!)

I'm on vacation on the Garden Isle of Kaua'i, Hawai'i, right now, so posts will be few and far between. I'll try to get a few pics up here and there, but don't hold your breath. :)

Courtesy of Neil Gaiman, and like Neil, it made me smile: McSweeney’s Internet Tendency: Windows Messages, as if Rewritten by Scott, This Guy Who Bullied Me in the Second Grade.

To be honest, it made me, and a couple of my coworkers, out-and-out laugh.

America's Finest News Source has revealed that the FAA is considering a ban on air passengers in order to make our skies safer. In the wake of September 11th, this kind of thinking, while not surprising, is still disheartening.

Thirty-eight inches long. Twenty-four inches wide. Over 3,100 pieces. Twelve-hour minimum build time. I must have one. Perhaps someone will buy it for me for my birthday or Christmas?

Are you one of those people that loves to annoy others by popping bubble wrap? Me, too. Now you can pop the bubble wrap that always comes back for more popping action! (Thanks, Brian!)