Friday Roundup of Weird Stuff

Here's the week's roundup of time killers, things to help you avoid deadlines and keep from finishing important projects.

I always get a kick out of the way the folks at Google occasionally transform their logo to match up with the day. Here are some of the Google logo rejects.

Take a deep breath -- and good luck!

This looks like the Netherlands, but your guess is as good as mine

Tempted to buy a set of those newfangled color-pencil input devices? Be sure to read the review first -- it looks at advanced features, usability, and, no surprise, bugs.

Sometimes what you need is a shoot-'em-up game. No thinking, no complex labyrinths, just a lot of firepower -- and lots of enemies.

The Front Fell Off -- or maybe Abbott & Costello meet the Marx Brothers. My editor started kvetching that while hilarious, it also looks quite plausible. And that the two guys aren't getting the credit even though there are lots of clips floating around the 'net. A search reveals the guys are Australian comedy team Bruce and Dawe.

Oh, how I would have loved being in Plaster City, California to watch the launching of a 21-foot-long X-Wing rocket.--and then run for cover as it exploded and fell to the ground, almost taking one poor soul to Mission Control heaven. Watch the video -- and don't forget to duck.

Whenever I go to CES in Las Vegas, my first stop's the craps table for some fast action -- and if the table's hot, a chance to make a couple of bucks. Yet after watching these videos of Texas Hold'em -- the game that "takes five minutes to learn and a lifetime to master" -- I may have to find a low-stakes game.

"This one's STUPIDLY SIMPLE, people!!!" It's true, it really is, but for what it's worth, I often use the wrong one. [Oh, I love it. Another pet peeve is when people use apostrophes in their own names, as on cutesy house signs: "The Smith's" -- Editor]

Try your hand -- or cursor keys -- at fishing. You'll need patience and a steady hand.

Remember the image below? It looked Photoshopped, but sadly, it was the real thing. (Ah, the loss... ) Well my buddy, Phil Barnes-Roberts sent me the ultimate truck crashing site -- Truckspills. Overturned trucks with potatoes, flour, glue, garlic, milk, and peanuts, not to mention concrete blocks, goats, and, yes, a house. (The site's often overloaded, so you may get "Service Temporarily Unavailable." Might even be a server spill…)

Got beer?

Newton's first law in action

Comments

Tell your editor you could make an argument for using "the Smith's" on a cutesy homeowner sign. You'd be wrong, because under that argument, it would still be "the Smiths'." But thanks for the comic. Apostrophes that don't belong are one of my biggest pet peeves and it's probably the one that gets attacked most these days.

Gesualdo

March 14, 2008

2:07 PM PT

Thanks Steve for linking to my article about the best Australian and US comedians

One small error - the comedy duo you refer to is John Clarke and Bryan Dawe (Clarke and Dawe) not Bruce and Dawe :-)

neerav

March 14, 2008

8:32 PM PT