Skype Me

Busy day today. This will be short.

I've been using Skype as my telephone service. It's really convenient (and "cheap as free") for someone with broadband access. Click the little flash ad to the right to read all about it. Then call me. Skype Name: randomantics

StumbleUpon is my favorite Firefox browser plugin of the moment. It collects my opinions about websites while connecting me to favorites of similar minded folk whenever I press the Stumble button. It makes late night random surfing sessions more enjoyable.

Lastly, here is Brewster Jennings Protects America. It's Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? for GoogleMaps. Oh, Carmen...why so hard to get? You temptress.

I'm Scary!


Flood is throwing a huge downtown Halloween bash and sending the proceeds to Malawi. I decided that it would be fun to make my own mask for the event. I am pleased with it. Notice the jaw is its own piece, allowing for actual movement. If it were a toy I'd call that one point of articulation. So have a fun Halloween if you are in a country that celebrates it. Remember, there has never been an actual reported case of any child finding a razorblade in an apple so accept fruit from strangers with wild abandon.

For those of you without a party to attend this weekend, there is fun to be had with this.

It's Not Easy Loving Green

A few days ago I complained of lack of time. Now I'm posting daily.

Absinthe is hipsterific! Or so I hear. This herbal elixer has developed into a mythic mead of the Gods, lending the drinker creativity, insight, and the ability to feel like Johnny Depp. Enter, Ted Breaux, official chemist of the Green Fairy.
It seems that the much hyped toxin, thujone, played very little of a role in pre-ban absinthe. A recent Wired article on the subject reminds me of Mythbusters. Here science not only debunks the talltales of the coffeehouse crowd, but leaves us with a fine tasting drink from the past.

Speaking of imbibers, H.P. Lovecraft is having a good year (for being dead and all). A new film of The Call of Cthulhu has recently come out. This movie is silent, in black and white, and uses props created only with materials available in the 20s. Also, this week Call of Cthulhu the Xbox game has come out. It's next on my GameFly queue.

And Finally...

Printable Robots of Doom!

Artsy

I have a thing for photographs of diorama scenes. There is something about treating an imagined world as a photographic subject that I find enchanting. Lori Nix and Liz Hickok have both tickled my fancy in recent months. Each artist succeeds in creating the feeling of looking at a dream which seems to come from a well proportioned blend of mundane objects, unexpected color palates, and slightly askew angles. There is also something to be said for the strategic use of detail. Nix's works have just enough detail to make the mind want to believe in the substance of the subject. Yet, not encountering the exacting detail strived for by counterfeiters, the mind relaxes into iconic nature of the piece. Or at least, mine does.

In other news, I love this video.

Job Hunting

Having fallen on hard financial times, I have been job hunting for the last month. I'm looking for a simple job with flexible hours that doesn't require me to think about it at home. A barista, maybe. I am attempting a few personal projects that require much time, hence the pickiness.

I don't have time to think of an actually decent post, so here are a few links to make your checking up on me worthwhile.

A Katamari Damacy text game idea.
Flock: a new, firefox based browser
Placeopedia and MashMap: two great uses of the internet

Today was good so I drew you a picture. 

Here There Be Monsters

Yes, I know the whole giant squid thing is already old news (but have you heard about their sex life?). Calamari jokes have been made and the pop-culture irony of Japanese scientists finding a huge monster has already been pointed out. But I love the idea of undiscovered creatures so this is the perfect time to remind everyone of the wonderful field of cryptozoology. I just feel better about the world when I know that obsessive men in pith helmets actually are trekking through the jungles in search of dinosaurs. There is even a list of the major quests underway. It's a fantastic world out there.

Speaking of newly discovered creatures, check out the Google ant.