funny penguins

thanks to http://pigsnblanket.blogspot.com/ for bringing this to my attention!

midnight, 10/21: still makes me giggle :-}

my hero . . .

My Inner Hero - Wizard!

There are many types of magic, but all require a sharp mind and a cool head. There is no puzzle I can't solve, no problem I can't think my way out of. When you feel confused or uncertain, you can always rely on me to untangle the knots and put everything back in order for you.

How about you? Click here to find your own inner hero.

we love drug companies

from Utne:

Panexa. Ask Your Doctor for a Reason to Take It
By Staff, Stay Free!This parody drug ad with its excessive small print and sales-pitch drivel shoves a sharp peccadillo in the side of the big pharma bull. The panacean poison Panexa has side effects that include "really geeky laughs," "shiny, valuable feces," and "susceptibility to wedgies." -- Archie Ingersoll
http://www.panexa.com/

mapstuff

from Utne:

CARTOGRAPHY REMIXED
By Rose Miller, Utne.com
Online mapping technologies like Google Maps, Google Earth, and MSN Virtual Earth have created new ways of visualizing the world. Software programmers are following suit, charting new terrain by customizing interactive online maps to bring users interesting and useful place-based information.

and coming up next, martians from outer space

from SciTech daily:

New zombie worms found devouring dead whales [the story]

talented youth

sites I've run across while seeking to learn more about talented youth programs

• wikipedia - talks about the history and culture of the Center for Talented Youth
• K-12 Gifted Youth in the Yahoo! Directory
• alternate site for the Center for Talented Youth - provides additional links on the bottom left
• gifted links at education consulting service - lists most, if not all, of the talented youth institutions
• Prufrock Press - books 'n stuff

mimicing is friendly

from What's New at IEEE in Computing:

STUDY SHOWS MIMICRY BY COMPUTER CAN BE AS PERSUASIVE AS A PERSON
When computer-generated artificial intelligence replicates positive human behavior and emotions, people respond similarly to how they would when reacting to a real human, according to a new study published in Psychological Science. The researchers conducted an experiment where participants listened to an argument from an artificial agent that either copied the listener's head movements or those of another participant. Those who were mimicked saw their agents as more persuasive and likeable than those who were not. Read more

sketchee

lots of downloadable sheet music on this site: http://music.sketchee.com/

safe stuff plus cool website

from SciTech daily:

Check out this inspiring and ultimately uplifting catalog of human ingenuity [the story] [the cool website]

my favorite is the snowman murder scene

from Arts & Letters Daily:

Calvin and Hobbes was such an exuberant, strange, and metaphysical realm you wonder how it ever got shoveled into a comic strip... more»