Links

Things I run across that I find to be interesting, but might not have the time or inclination to craft a fuller post around it. Generally, short little “go here, look at this, isn’t it neat?” posts.

Time to get nekkid!

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[![First Annual Nude Blog Awards]]

[First Annual Nude Blog Awards]: https://michaelhans.com/eclecticism/graphics/2003/01/graphics/nudebloggies.gif {width=”88″ height=”31″}
Here I’ve been doing my best to keep this weblog of mine fairly solidly PG-rated, with the occasional slip into PG-13, and now I find that if only I’d shown some skin, I might have been eligible for the First Annual Nude Weblog Awards!

The really funny thing, is that I’ve had a few people over the years comment that given my thin/slender/wirey/anorexic (pick one) frame, I’d probably make a very good nude model. I’ve occasionally toyed with the idea, and wouldn’t mind giving it a shot at some point (thinking more along the lines of some decent black and white photography), but the opportunity’s never presented itself. Who knows, though — maybe next year, I’ll have a shot? ;)

Boy, wouldn’t my parents love seeing that pop up on the screen when they checked my page!

If it feels good, do it.

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State of the Union…Not Good: a hilarious cut-up video assembled from Bush’s speeches to create the State of the Union address that we’ll never see.

(Via BoingBoing)

During these last few months, I’ve been trained by Al-Quaida. And I’m weak. And materialistic. I told our country and I told the world — if it feels good, do it.

(Applause)

I hope you’ll join me in expressing fear, and selfishness. We will embrace tyranny and death as a cause, and a creed.

(Applause)

We can be summed up in one world — evil.

(Applause)

I am committed to defeating, not only the good work of charities, but the values that will bring lasting peace. And we have a great opportunity during this time of war to lead the world towards suicide, and murder.

(Applause)

Let’s roll.

(Applause, fade out)

Singing my own song

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BurningBird brings us a parable today: The Mockingbird’s Wish.

The news spread first as a whisper and then as a shout: First Mother was granting to each creature one wish. One wish, only, but whatever was asked, would be granted. Mockingbird heard the news from Hawk who head the news from Sparrow who heard the news from Robin and the forest was atwitter with the sound of the birds as they discussed this extraordinary event.

I’ve always tried to do my best to sing my own song. Some days I do better than others, of course, and it’s easy to get lost in the chorus, but at least I can always keep trying.

Poke

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Mark has been looking at his writing/blogging influences. Good stuff, but the first thing that popped into my head when I read this part…

However, I feel he is dead on about the nature of weblogging conversation. It is most definitely talking at people, not with them. That they occasionally happen to talk back at you (and poke you with a wide variety of digital poking mechanisms) does not make it a conversation in any traditional sense.

…was simply, technically, isn’t a finger a “digital poking mechanism”?

Suckers

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How absolutely mindblowingly perfect is this? A French yacht taking place in a round-the-world sailing race was attacked by a giant squid. The perfect part? The trophy they’re going for is the Jules Verne around-the-world sailing trophy.

“The squid was pulling really hard, so we put the boat about and when we came to a stop the tentacles let go. We saw it behind the boat – and it was enormous. I have been sailing for 40 years, and I have never seen the like,” he said.

Crew member Didier Ragault, who spotted the creature through a port-hole said \”the tentacles were as thick as my arm wearing an oil-skin, and I immediately thought of the damage it could do.

“When we saw it behind the boat it must have been seven, eight or nine metres long,” he said.

(Via G’day Cobbers)

Yahoo's getting pushy again

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Yahoo! wants to know who you are, where you’ve been, and where you’re going…

Yahoo is now using something called “Web Beacons” to track Yahoo Group users around the net and see what you’re doing — similar to cookies. Take a look at their updated privacy statement.

About half-way down the page, in the section “Outside the Yahoo! Network”, you’ll see a little “click here” link that will let you opt-out of their new method of snooping. You may want to do this. Once you have clicked that link, you are opted out.

Notice the “Success” message at the top of the next page. Be careful, because on that page there is a “Cancel Opt-out” button that, if clicked, will undo the opt-out.

Sneaky little devils!

I hardly use Yahoo! anymore ever since they started charging for remote e-mail access, but other people might want to keep this in mind. I don’t want someone tracking my movements online anymore than I’d want someone tracking my movements in the real world.

(Thanks to Wil for the heads up.)

BlogFodder

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Here’s an interesting idea — BlogFodder, a daily e-mail with a short snippet of text intended to (hopefully) inspire musings, thoughts, and possibly future weblog posts. Meg’s likening it to the old school exercises where a class was given a single topic or title and ended up creating umpteen different stories seems right on target. Worth keeping an eye on, at least.