SATURDAY, 6/30/2001, 11:58m HST by Penfold

Mortadella

It's finally in and for $350, it's a steal. The ability to have 100-160 songs on a single cd just boggles the mind.

Yes, they're still around, Estes model rockets. Note that this new motor is E sized. AH the days of 6th grade science class.

Once upon a time, Star Trek was cutting edge political commentary. So in the 24th century, are they gay's in Star Fleet? Read about the plight of Ensign Tutti Frutti here.

Got stiffed? Restaurant refused to give you katsu sauce with your katsu burger, but just don't have the time to write a complaint letter? Well let the internet do it for you.

No, it's not your everyday copyrights violation suit against Napster. This company is complaining that the music lacks warning labels.

SATURDAY, 6/30/2001, 8:00pm HST by Raul

Lucky you live Hawaii. Unlucky if you don't. Diamond Head still looks the same, so rest assured. Pic by Jui from yesterday.

Kitty cats have "third eyelids" that lubricate and protect the eye from injury. It's called a nictating membrane. Managed to catch one in mid-close for your viewing pleasure and educational benefit. By the way, that's MELANIE, the crazy kitty that lives next door to GGY.

FRIDAY, 6/29/2001, 12:00pm HST by Raul

Gotta do some computer tweakin', so this is gonna be short.

New at this year's PC Expo: Paceblade unveiled the first true advancement in laptop PC design in recent memory. The Pacebook PC has separate keyboard base and screen units. The Transmeta Crusoe CPU is contained in the screen side, and a touchscreen means it can function as a tablet PC without the keyboard at all. It is the first laptop capable of operating in "portrait" mode, which could be very useful in some situations.

Word is that Hawaii-based chef Roy Yamaguchi has been chosen as Iron Chef Asian in a new US-produced version of Iron Chef, filming right now in Las Vegas. I still cringe at the concept, and will continue to do so until I see it -- I really, really have to wonder if they will "get it right" or not. Penfold points out that Roy should instead be "Iron Chef Pacific Rim," given his cullinary specialty, but oh well ...

Spotted over at DPReview's Olympus SLR talk forum, the Olympus E-10 digital SLR has a fixed lens, so to do close macro or long telefoto lens work, you need a conversion lens, that attaches to the end of the factory lens. However, these converters are typically expensive, $200+ propositions. Well one member recently posted about a $6 macro converter made by gluing a magnifying glass lens to a filter. The results, surprisingly, are not too shabby, and can be seen from the top of the thread here.

Co-creator of Usenet dies

One of the two men behind Usenet, Jim Ellis, has died aged 45. He died at his home in Pennsylvania yesterday morning after losing his battle with non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

THURSDAY, 6/28/2001, 11:58am HST by Penfold

E hele ana au i ka hale 'ai 'O Kincaids ia 'apopo.

First was the Bush tax cut, now comes the Bush tax form.

Got an idea that just might work? Or want to check out some interesting ideas? Check out this site.

Seems this week, the producers of Xena did their last show and killed off the breasty warrior. Read about it here.

THURSDAY, 6/28/2001, 1:50pm HST by Raul

I normally eschew Bacon pics, but this one is too good to pass up. Benny, ouch!

This is kind of along the lines of virtual bubble wrap: virtual stapler lets you pound out staples to your heart's content on a variety of staplers. They'll even think of making a new one if you submit a unique stapler.

I actually saw this like several months ago, but only now decided to post it. AmIGoingDown.com plots your chances of going down on your next plane flight. You don't need to put your name or email in to make it work.

It's almost a relic from a bygone day, a sentiment not often expressed in this time of Fast and Furiousness. At least someone's trying to carry the torch.

Think gas is expensive where you live? Check out Gaspricewatch and see just how it stacks up.

WEDNESDAY, 6/27/2001, 9:58pm HST by Penfold
The "Peanut Noodle Salad" Edition

And then you add the potatoes.

So what do you do? Do you play against a bunch of fish?

Remember reading about Phil Bronstein gettin' chomped on by the komodo dragon? Now hear the story straight from the dragon's mouth here.

While I've heard of breaking up via instant messaging service, this is the first time I've heard of a divorce by cell phone sms.

Rubs

Shiatsu ($80 for one hour)

What It's Like
When I showed up for my appointment with Randy, whom I'd contacted through a local "healing arts" center, he led me back to his office and I was greeted with a strong smell that I took for incense until I realized, "That's not incense—that's pot!"

Seems that retiring twice wasn't enough for Jordan. He's cotemplating playing AGAIN. Guess he got jealous of all publicity Lemieux got when he came back. Wonder if The Great One will play for the Coyotes yet.

WEDNESDAY, 6/27/2001, 1:30am HST by Raul
Nullus Postus

Since Penfold didn't provide the goods, I shall clue you all in. NHL.com has a huge selection of Borque media (and multimedia) online now. It's the biggest hockey news of the week, check it out. Some nice video clips of Ray as a Bruin.

Well Palm's official numbers perhaps weren't as dire as people had expected, but they were still pretty bad. Will the company be able to come back? Check out the story here.

While you're at it, check out the Palm ECG (electro-cardiogram or heart monitor for the non-acronimble). Hey, did I just invent a new word?

I am running on empty and have a whole bunch of stuff to do early tomorrow, so this is about all there is for a post from me today. I'll have some good stuff for you tomorrow.

TUESDAY, 6/26/2001, 10:58pm HST by Penfold

Netflix makes you watch some pretty silly movies like Smokey and the Bandit.

Jagr busts out the sad face today over not being traded yet. Hehe, read the whole story about the pouty Jagr here.

Also in hockey news, Ray Borque retires.

Beer defense

EVERETT, Wash -- Childress hoped to argue that he was literally dying for a beer — he thought he was having a heart attack and and needed beer.

Looks like 2.5 tons of marijuana were "mistakenly" delivered to a South Carolina resident. Why doesn't anything like that ever happen here? Sniff out the story here.

TUESDAY, 6/26/2001, 11:45am HST by Raul

So much to do, so little time ....

It's a full-blown Geoshitties phenomenon. Upper-middle class (to upper-class) white kids dress up like "gangstaz" and decide that they can rap. Sites range from the downright silly to those that take themselves painfully seriously. Have a look at Caucasion Invasion, which falls into the former category. They've done some work for us and linked to a bunch of other sites on their main page that run the gamut. Stop by for a laugh.

I haven't had a chance to check this out yet, but head on over to the official site and have a peek.

Another E mishap

A deadly batch of contaminated drugs circulating at an all-night rave yesterday killed a teenager and left two others critically ill.

Britain moves to decrim it

LONDON -- London police officers will no longer arrest or caution marijuana smokers in the southern part of the city, officials announced Friday. Instead, police will issue verbal warnings to users and confiscate their pot, under a pilot program backed by Scotland Yard, Britain's largest police force.

As a firm believer that many cell phone users need a foot in the ass, I applaud this.

MONDAY, 6/25/2001, 10:58pm HST by Penfold

You need the magic wallet.

Had some time to demo this deck in the show room, works surprisingly well. Goes in on Saturday, full comments coming up soon. Check out the specs here.

Low budget kung fu? How about no budget kung fu. Kung fu movies made for the love of the art. Check out a movie here. (Be warned, the full movie is 120 megs)

Man, I'm turning into the walking Zero Tolerance golf clubs ad already. Hopefully this new putter will help my short game more than my POS current putter. Anyone looking for a cheap putter?

Flaming

Men are more likely to swap harsh personal insults on the Net, a practice known as flaming.

MONDAY, 6/25/2001, 2:00pm HST by Raul

First off, you might ask yourself, what is EXIF? Well it's a file-format standard that applies to most digital cameras on the market today. Here's a link with some info. But what makes it interesting is that EXIF formatting contains metadata in the file header which contains information about the photo ranging from the hardware it was taken on, to the actual settings of the hardware, to information about the photo itself. So, on to the cool link: The EXIF reader by Ryuuji Yoshimoto. This is a kickass piece of FREE software that scans image files for metadata. Try it on all your digital cam pics, and other image files as well.

Check out DraganFly, a site offering relatively cheap remote-controlled airships of the type seen flying around arenas nationwide. Sounds like a lot of fun, really.

Google gears up for IPO

Top search engine Google is planning to take on the wobbly money markets with a $250 million flotation this year, Sunday Business reports.

Well Adobe has released beta version of its VRML-type system called Atmosphere. The idea is to turn Web pages into 3D first-person experiences, with visitors walking around and rooms with objects to click on. I am not a big fan of VR-type interfaces, but this one might be worth the relatively small download to poke around in. It shows the potential of the technology. Still needs a lot of work though.

For Amy: Here's an article on tattoos and piercings becoming workplace issues.

SUNDAY, 6/24/2001, 11:30am HST by Raul

An actual CARTOON in the Cartoon of the Moment. What a concept!

First off, I'll quote from an email I sent that sums up purchasing my E-10:

Just some general information on the buying experience first. I very nearly jumped at the $1500 price I had seen advertised in a few spots in the Web until I cleared my head long enough to check out the resellerratings of these almost exclusively NY-based suppliers, and of course, they were downright atrocious. So I weighed my options and decided that I could spend a few extra hundred to go with a more reputable supplier.

I eventually chose essentiallyyoursdigital.com, based on the positive customer feedback on resellerratings.com. It is a California-based outfit but ships from warehouses across the U.S., a fact I did not notice until after I ordered. So, not surprisingly I suppose, the camera was shipped from a New York warehouse (shipping from NY being something I had hoped to avoid). To their credit, essentiallyyours shipped the camera the next day after I ordered it via Airborne, getting it here (Hawaii) Friday after a relatively late Wednesday night order.

ANYWAY, I get to my point. First, my box was missing the UPC, which would indicate to me that this supplier is taking advantage of the current rebate on Olympus products and using that money to lower their prices. While they were not up front about the practice, after some thought I became more comfortable with the fact, figuring that I had benefited some from the rebate and not had to buy the second half of it, a P-400 dye sub printer. Kind of a good thing I didn't intent to take advantage of the offer myself. Everything else seems to be in order in the box, including a US warranty card with barcode and all proper accessories.

In the blink of an eye, the New York Islanders are contenders. At least they should be. In two separate blockbuster trades, the Islanders acquired Alexei Yashin and Mike Peca, which instantly gives the team star power. Other draft weekend news:

• NY Rangers traded winger Adam Graves to San Jose.
• Valeri Bure to join his brother Pavel in Florida.
• St. Louis has had enough of Roman Turek and dealt the goalie to Calgary.

Hashish found to be good for joints

JERUSALEM -- If your joints are going to pot, a hashish derivative may be your salvation. A doctoral student at the Hebrew University's School of Pharmacy in Jerusalem has discovered that a substance taken from the hallucinatory drug can be effective as an anti-inflammatory drug for rheumatoid arthritis.

You still got 7 hours to go to Taste of Honolulu if you'd like to. There are some pretty good things there, but be prepared to spend a decent amount, it's not cheap. At least its benefiting Easter Seals Hawaii. Above are two of the dishes to be had: kataifi and macaramia nut-crusted jumbo black tiger prawn with shredded green papaya salad and fresh pineapple from Chais Island Bistro (proceeds go to getting their head chef out of jail) and the 'ahi sampler from The Colony. My pick of the night, being the meat-lover that I am, was this thing called bistecca from Ciao Mein, which reminded me of a steak version of chocolate meat.

Okay, so the world is finding out that The Fast and the Furious, known here as "The Dumb and the Spurious" and elsewhere as "The Rice and Ridiculous," sucks. Was there every any doubt? From Jui.

Okay, I wasn't going to post this, but hey, she sued a spam company and won. She's the sexiest geek alive.

This might amuse you for a minute or so, it's kinda like rubbing your eyes real hard to see the "fireworks" ...