here's a map of how long it takes to get to everywhere on the planet from major cities. less than 10% of the world is more than two days away from a major city. i like that i've been to some of the darker parts of the map, it makes me feel like i'm worldly when in actuality i rarely leave the house.
http://gizmodo.com/5436986/the-travel-times-to-every-spot-on-the-globe

kim peek, the guy who inspired the movie Rain Man died this week. check out the new york times obituary on him. not only could he tell you what day any given date was, he could read two pages of a book simultaneously (one with each eye), he remembered every page of the 12,000 books he read, he could tell when an instrument in an orchestra was one note off, and he could give gps-like directions for any major city in the US from memory.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/27/us/27peek.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

han solo and magnum p.i. mashup.
http://gizmodo.com/5277421/han-solo-pi-is-one-pitch+perfect-mashup

what to fry sensitive electronics with a portable gun?
http://gizmodo.com/5433018/rfiddler-rifle-zaps-usb-sticks-and-rfid-chips-into-oblivion
this thing could be bad news if someone brought a disguised version into a data center.

you know what's nice? taking time on your day off for sitting down, cranking up your stereo, and dedicating some time to just listening to good music. not as a background activity, but as your primary focus. i swear there's an 70 year old man trapped in my body.

james brown everyone!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4J84SJvOOQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnRgrG951Gc

they don't make them like they used to.

watch this video. click HQ to turn on high quality.
http://gizmodo.com/5428733/prepare-to-have-your-brain-exploded-by-this-known-universe-video

thanks to adam's new deep fryer i'm currently full of deep fried chicken, pizza, oreos, frog legs, and chicken heart. thanks adam!

Apparently Apple is very effective at stopping leaks to the press with their internal Police State.
http://gizmodo.com/5427058/apple-gestapo-how-apple-hunts-down-leaks

listen up people. if you're at a concert in a small venue and you are over 6 feet tall, kindly move to the back or side of the room. everyone behind you will thank you. same goes for drunken tongue wrestling couples and people who dance with flailing limbs and sharp elbows.

need to give someone bad news but want to soften the blow? try this:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0061673765/ref=nosim/theoutblush-20
be sure to check out the other sample images.

so i'm finally getting on the rock band bandwagon, two years late. if anyone's interested in the cheapest way to get all three rock band editions (1, 2, and beatles) for the wii along with a guitar, drums, and microphone, i did some research last night.

rock band 1 special edition bundle with game and instruments $100
rock band 2 game $20
beatles game $40
total $160 (amazon, no tax, free shipping)

normally that would cost $290.
now i just need to find a second guitar for less than $70.

some of these are hilarious. not sure if they're all real, but they're still funny.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/08/the-funniest-facebook-sna_n_383847.html

i spent the afternoon reading about the finer points of nats and statics in cisco's asa and pix firewalls. very dry but very useful. well, in my line of work anyway. however it does remind me why i hate the asa so much. it's a wily beast that can turn on you in an instant.
here's a nice sample of some highly engaging documentation:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/security/asa/asa82/configuration/guide/nat_control.html#wp1081389

if you like james lipton and odd PSAs give these a gander.
http://gizmodo.com/5418380/james-lipton-give-it-a-ponder-ads/gallery/1