SATURDAY, 7/7/2001, 5:58pm HST by Penfold

This nigga goin' beach.

Just got back from seeing the new Jet Li movie, Kiss of the Dragon, and in the words of The Critic, "It stinks". This movie has incredibly huge, gaping plot holes in it.

SATURDAY, 7/7/2001, 3:00pm HST by Raul and Penfold

Blacklights are fun.

Take the pyro purity test and find out. I thought I was a pyro, but according to this test, I'm pretty smalltime. Some of the stuff, though, sounds more like stupidity than pyromania.

From Penfold: Placed a bid today for a hotel room at Priceline.com today. If you don't know, Toronto has incredibly expensive hotel rooms, especially in the downtown area. I submitted a bid for 3 days in August for $65 a night with the average rate for rooms in that class as listed at about $130. And, amazingly enough, I got my hotel. Granted I didn't know what hotel I'd get, but cheap is cheap. Ended up with a room at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel

Toronto and the Hockey Hall of Fame in August anyone?

FRIDAY, 7/6/2001, 11:58pam HST by Penfold

No really, this post was up before midnight.

Miss Cleo prepaid psysic network plan, now for just $30 a month for 30 min prepaid. Man, are people really that dumb?

Now everyone do the Miss Cleo head bob now.

The road will be closed for a little while now.

Will the rumors never cease?

Brett Hull to Pitt?
Jagr or Lindros to LA?

FRIDAY, 7/6/2001, 1:00pm HST by Raul

There was a holiday this week ... why am I so tired?

Just in case you thought Jan Ken Po was just a game for kids, have a look over at the World Rock Paper Scissors Society, where they take the game quite seriously. I quote: "Use of the 'vertical paper' (sometimes referred to as 'the handshake') is considered exceptionally bad form." I tend to agree. And no "dynamite" or "superman" dammit.

Just what is that thing they call Compact Flash? Well it's a solid-state storage system in a small form factor that, among other things is extremely durable. Don't try this with your microdrive!

MSM still in the shitter

Microsoft's Instant Messenger service is still giving people problems across the world - with those capable of actually getting on finding their contact lists are missing.

The service was down throughout the world on Wednesday. It started working on Thursday but many people were reporting difficulty in getting on and a complete loss of the contacts saved on it - which kinda makes the service useless. These problems are still going on.

Here's an amusing little story about a carjacker who couldn't drive stick. Has he no self-respect?

THURSDAY, 7/5/2001, 9:58pm HST by Penfold

It is like a finger pointing a way to the moon... don't concentrate on the finger or you will miss all of the heavenly glory.

Guilty on all counts, Honolulu City Council member gets busted. This is what happens when you try to go after Honolulu's finest pr0n mongers. You might say Mirikatani is going down like a $2 whore.

Uno mas?

The New York Post reports bosses at Paramount Pictures are considering scripts for another film, 12 years after the last Indiana Jones movie.

Ford is said to be keen to reprise the title role of the adventure-hungry archaeologist.

Sir Sean is also reportedly keen to return to the role of Indiana Jones' father, after playing Professor Henry Jones Snr in the Last Crusade.

George Lucas and Steven Spielberg are tipped to take back the reigns as producer and director respectively.

Feel the need to play some old arcade games? Check out this site for some Java based arcade games.

Think of it as a clearing house for various online tests from IQ tests to the multitude of purity tests.

Ok, I can't resist saying it anymore. All your tests are belong to us.

Sick of those damm pop up ads for the X10 wireless cameras? This is on way to solve the problem by opting out for 30 days. Or for a more permanent solution, try this.

THURSDAY, 7/5/2001, 1:00pm HST by Raul

Well the Ala Moana fireworks show, usually at least a half an hour of straight spectacle, suffered two big delays yesterday after some of the equipment failed due to a low shell burst. And the barge holding the windward-side display equipment -- recently moved off of an offshore island due to environmental groups' concerns -- sunk, scattering debris along Kailua beach. Check out the story here. Grabbed a few shots, my first time shooting fireworks. Wasn't too happy with the results, I guess I have to try some different techniques next time, and get a damn cable release. 1 2

Nothing too earth-shattering today, but Philadelphia, the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh made moves to solidify their defenses. And everyone's favorite non-player Eric Lindros said he would consider playing for the Rangers next season. That's interesting, in light of the Jagr-to-Rangers rumors floating around. Imagine if they signed both ...

ViewSonic, usually known for its monitor-making prowess, has announced its entry into the handheld computer market with its ViewPad 100 SuperPDA. With a 10" TFT, it's a hybrid tabletPC and WinCE PDA (What, no PocketPC?) I'm not entirely sure where a product of this size and weight (2.5lbs) fits into the handheld market, but what I do find interesting it that it really strongly resembles the devices Captain Kirk used to do his Captain's Logs on.

Buggy

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) -- A Malaysian woman living in a glass cage with 2,000 scorpions for the last five days said on Thursday she's been stung once, but was still determined to enter the record books.

WEDNESDAY, 7/4/2001, 6:58pm HST by Penfold

There is no try.

Follow the evolution of the humble water gun from a cheap, piece of crap plastic piece to the high tech water bladder based water cannons of today here.

Proof positive that with the age of the internet, anyone can become famous for a little while. Check out the Titanic movie done with legos here..

The Register is reporting that Microsoft Messenger is being all fuddy today.

Note: My MSM just started working an hour ago, but it seems to have forgotten my whole contact list. Anyways, I'll see if it starts working again by tommorow.

WEDNESDAY, 7/4/2001, 2:00pm HST by Raul

Going to check out a fireworks show tonight with camera in hand? Hope it's not a POS PAS! Anyway, check out this article for tips on how to capture fireworks on film or CCD. If you missed it, here's the article I posted on the same subject at New Year's time.

More huge shakeups in NHL rosters this week:

• The Philadelphia Flyers took a huge step toward plugging the gigantic hole left by Eric Lindros by signing star Phoenix center Jeremy Roenick. With Keith Primeau already on the team and the recent signing of Jiri Dopita (known as the best non-NHL player in the world), Philly now has a trio of towering forwards that can only help their Cup chances.
• Fresh from signing Vezina-winner Dominik Hasek, the Detroit Red Wings signed former Los Angeles winger Luc Robitalle, whose mix of speed and sniping skill can only help Detroit. Looks like for Detroit, it's "if you can't beat em, hire their talent!" hehe
• The Toronto Maple Leafs, finding that their offense needed more punch after basically trying to absorb opponents throughout the playoffs, signed Alexander Mogilny, one of the most highly skilled forwards in the league. Yes, another case of "if you can't beat em, hire their talent."
• The Dallas Stars, now evidently counting Brett Hull out of their 2001-2 plans, signed Donald Audette fresh off a 79-point season with Atlanta and a Cup run with Buffalo.
• Having lost a lot of offense in Robitaille, the Los Angeles Kings signed Steve Heinze, also fresh off a Cup run with Buffalo. Which leaves the observation that Buffalo has lost three major reasons they went so far last season, perhaps the most major one in Hasek. What kind of team will they be next season?! Is a big move in the making? (Jagr, anyone ... ?)
• The Boston Bruins made two big moves towards regaining respect by signing winger Martin Lapointe and defenseman Sean O'Donnel, both off Cup runs with Detroit and New Jersey, respectively.
• The "Grim Reaper," Stu Grimson is moving from Los Angeles to Nashville after a season in which he reached a career-high 235 penalty minutes. Grimson is a gigantic 6-foot-4, 240 lbs. and primarily filled the role of enforcer for the Kings, scoring just 5 points, including a career-high 3 goals. He has just 37 points in his 699-game career, but has 2,037 penalty minutes (!) Now I know what the announcer meant about hell freezing over when he scored twice in two consecutive games.

While it is a matter of interest that Estes Rockets has moved into the "E" rocket engine range, Estes really is just rocketry for the masses. Rocket engines actually range at least to "N" and depending on the level of power you are using, you fall into one of several hobbies: "model rocketry" for engines up to "D", "high-power rocketry" for engines up to "G" and "amateur rocketry" for engines "H" and beyond. Check out a quick overview here. Those at the "amateur rocketry" level may look towards the CATS and X-Prize competitions, which provide big money prizes for amateur forays into space.

131-lb. man eats 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes. New world record. Enough said.

TUESDAY, 7/3/2001, 11:58pm HST by Penfold

There shall be content tonight.

Wish you remembered physics from way back then? How about a refresher course using amusement park rides.

Now if they used more ads like this against hard drugs, the police might get results.

You want to make income sitting at home on your ass all day? Set up a pr0n site and watch the money roll in. Read about the Adult Webmaster School (you know who your are) here.

TUESDAY, 7/3/2001, 1:00pm HST by Raul

Well at the Pagoda restaurant, the world's largest captive ulua are doing just fine. The largest specimen, according to the keeper, is around 80 lbs. These ulua have been in the Pagoda pond for over 20 years; the koi on the other hand usually die within 10 years, he said.

I only saw a pair of 'omilu swimming around, but they seem to be doing fine as well. These specimens appear to be approaching 5 lbs.

I saw this while poking around Milk and Cookies: Breakaway foods makes a product called Incredibles, which is like a modern take on the push-up pop. It's a tubular container with some pasta dish (including macaroni and cheese) or egg dish (like eggs and bacon) inside. You pop the sucker in the microwave, put the stick in the bottom and voila, food for the road. According to their fact sheet, Breakaway claims that "(h)and-held foods are the No. 1 growth category in the U.S. frozen and refrigerated food industry today." That's really funny -- last year they were saying the same thing about the computer industry!

Well, no, it didn't officially keel over, but Napster went offline for the first time yesterday and remains offline today. So why do I say R.I.P.? Editorial comment begins here.

Today is the day I uninstall Napster. Late last week, Napster introduced its latest client which is now required to access any of its services (i.e. backward compatibility and compatibility with other non-official versions is gone). I tried to hold out as long as I could, even though Napster was clearly on the skids. This latest move, however, coupled with the service interruption, most likely spells its doom.

Napster was and will be until its death, about its users and dependent on them for survival. Moves to implement filters and other forms of blocking have alienated them. I specifically kept Napster installed and tried to use it as a statement, but now I feel the biggest statement to make is to uninstall and never use Napster again. To be fair, Napster is not Napster anymore. It's trying to become some gross corporate hybrid that it was never meant to be. Napster was designed specifically to AVOID paying money for music, so it's ridiculous to think that any of its original technology can be used to make money.

My opinion is that Napster, rather than spending another dime on what is sure to be a failure, should close its doors for good. That would be its best statement at this point. It's kind of like a discussion I was having with Penfold about how people "go out" (die). Some people go out like men, others like bitches. Napster is not going to survive. It should end its own life now while it still has a shred of dignity.

I spotted this article today on blind kickboxing, a new twist on a popular sport in Thailand. Boxers blindfold themselves and try to fight each other by sound. Reminds me of an ESPN commercial, but ALSO reminds me of the now-infamous "pollock fight". Hehe.

One of the pioneers of desktop productivity software, Lotus, is rumored to be dying. I suppose Microsoft just plain squeezed them out.

MONDAY, 7/2/2001, 10:58pm HST by Penfold

Learn the secrets the pros use.

Think Flintstones meet Star Trek. Check it out here.

Previously posted by Raul, now with more episodes and a different server.

Coming soon for you Babylon 5 fans, the upcoming movie, Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers.

Mix liquid oxygen and a grill, and what do you get? One hell of a charcoal lighter.

Longest game

WINDSOR, Ontario (AP) -- Thirty-four hockey players stepped off the ice Sunday after a grueling, record-breaking game that lasted 24 hours. The final score: White 271, Red 245.

Playboy Entertainment, already an owner of the Spice Channel had just acquired the more hardcore Hot Network, The Hot Zone, and Vivid TV. Read about it here. Looks like the pr0n market just keep rolling.

I declare under penalty of perjury blah blah blah....

Washington, D.C. -- Jim Robinson, Smith's attorney, claims to have had a phone conversation with Thornton in which the latter referred to the form as an "affidavit." Robinson says the document is indeed an affidavit, as opposed to a declaration, since it is composed of the specialized vocabulary of the legal profession called legalese.

MONDAY, 7/2/2001, 12:58am HST by Penfold

Was going to save this for tommorow, but since I'm up....

Not to leave out a large part of the target demographics, Naked News introduces to you the Naked News with male anchors. And yes, they're naked too. Read about it here. Amazing what you can find in the The Peoria Journal Star.

Also in The Peoria Journal Star comes this story about the 420 in the grass.

SUNDAY, 7/1/2001, 1:00pm HST by Raul

Party for TheDino tonight, check the very precise directions in the Member's section.

Kaku (great barracudas) survive quite well in captivity, given enough space. This specimen is approaching 8-10lbs and has been living in this pond since the 3-4lb range.

As aspiring wetlands biologist G.L. pointed out, most reports say the auku'u, or black-crowned night heron, is brown with white streaks while a juvenile and assumes the typical grey-and-black pattern shown here when mature. This specimen, spotted atop a trash boom in the Ala Wai canal, exhibits the former pattern but G.L. says this is clearly an adult.

Of course, common ducks adapt well to urban environments, no matter how polluted.

Today is the day when NHL players destined for free agency become so. Madness often ensues. To kick it all off, here's the official list. Now here's what happened so far:

• Star Buffalo goalie Dominik Hasek is going to play for the Detroit Red Wings next season. What are the Sabres thinking??!
• The Colorado Avalanche will have the core of its star-studded lineup intact next season. They signed Sakic, Roy and Blake. Easy to keep players when you're the Stanley Cup champions eh?
• Edmonton star center Doug Weight went to the St. Louis Blues in a trade that included Jochen Hecht and Marty Reasoner.
• The Dallas Stars signed former Blues high-scorer Pierre Turgeon, which will definitely help make up for the loss of Brett Hull, should be leave.
• Goalie Garth Snow will be playing with the emerging New York Islanders next season, as former Isles goalie John Vanbiesbrouck retired this season after going to the NJ Devils for a Cup run, and current goalie Chris Terreri is going into unrestricted free agency and will not be back with the team.