Government Allows Bank Merger

Evil has a new name, and it's "TD-Canada Trust Bank". I predict that within a month service fees will skyrocket...

AdCritic has most of the SuperBowl spots available online, for those who don't watch football. Of the ones I've seen, e*trade's 'monkey' commercial was the funniest, while the anti-smoking ad gets the award for "Most in the Spirit of '1984'". ('1984' link needs Quicktime)

Speaking of ads, for some reason I thought the actors in the new Life cereal commercial were the original ones... it doesn't seem quite so cute now I know that they're all new people. It does, however, lend some credence to the tale of Mikey's untimely demise.

More proof that Hell is freezing over: At Saturday's NME Premier Show, Elastica performed actual new songs from their forthcoming album.

"The plaintiffs involved in the case include Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., Disney Enterprises Inc., Columbia TriStar Television Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., Paramount Pictures Corp., Universal City Studios Inc., and Time Warner Entertainment Co." Say bye-bye to iCraveTV.

The Museum of Dirt is more exciting than it sounds. Really.

January 30, 2000

Manning faces leadership review

The World Economic Conference at Davos has picked the "Ten Websites that will change the world". Winners include The Drudge Report, Webnoize (digital music news), and MAPS RBL, which is a "system for creating intentional network outages for the purpose of limiting the transport of known-to-be-unwanted mass e-mail." I'm not entirely sure what that means, but it sounds impressive and vaguely menacing.

Yesterday I played around with Internet Explorer 5.0 for the first time, after years of being faithful to Netscape. It really does have better DHTML capabilities (meaning that it's even easier to play "Family Feud"), but seeing as most comparisons I found weren't very decisive, I think I'll use a mix of both browsers...

It was B-movie night on Friday, and gosh, did they ever stink... in a good way. First up was "They Saved Hitler's Brain", winner of a Golden Turkey for The Most Brainless Brain Movie. Next was "Blue Sunshine", in which tainted acid causes yuppies to lose all their hair and become killer zombies. These fine movies, however, pale in comparison to the cinematic masterpiece that is "Elves", starring Dan Haggerty (TV's "Grizzly Adams"). It seems the Nazis (again!) had created an army of super elves, one of which must mate with an Arian virgin on Christmas Eve... well, let me just say that any movie with the line, "When there is no more room in Hell, the elves will walk the Earth," is okay by me.

BrainLog is running a survey to see what readers would change about it. I've thought about doing the same myself recently, especially in relation to whether readers like weblogs to be more "journal-like" and whether specific or general topic blogs are preferred.

Take a tour of the "Great Mobile Homes of Mississippi"! Search for YETI@Home! Count the inflatable reindeer!


January 28, 2000

Congress cools to giving Elian citizenship

"'We knew Alan Keyes was insane,' Moore said later. 'We just didn't know HOW insane until that moment. We now want to test the remaining field of candidates.'" Michael Moore plans to take his portable mosh pit to New Hampshire.

If a trial by mosh doesn't convince you, SelectSmart.com has a "Presidential Candidate Survey" that matches your opinions to a politician. An informed vote is the most powerful control we all have on our governments... use the force wisely, Luke. (survey from metafilter)

"Welcome to AOL Planet. It's the year 2005 and the last remaining independent ISP satellite has been blown out of the skies by AOL lasers." It's the action blockbuster "You've Got Hell!", brought to you by Trailervision.

Bibliomania has an extensive collection of classic books available in HTML, ranging from the "Kama Sutra" to "Emma" , including all of Shakespeare's plays. If only I had known about this site when I needed textbooks... (from LarkFarm)

According to an evil British health expert, adding a 17.5% tax to high-fat foods would save over nine hundred lives a year. If this catches on, I may have to get a second job.


January 27, 2000

U.S. committee says Canada is a terrorist haven

For some reason I watched some of the Republican candidates' debate last night-- is it just me, or does Gary Bauer look like a middle-aged version of Chucky? I kept expecting him to pull out a little knife and threaten to steal someone's soul. My favourite part was when he was questioning Alan Keyes about the "mosh pit incident", and mentioned that music by "The Machine Rages On" was involved. Meanwhile, at one point poor Steve Forbes seemed to get confused and started harassing Bernard Shaw, declaring that he did not want to be "treated like a potted palm". Really, I'd forgotten how much fun watching politics could be.

"Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" may actually have some redeeming social qualities. Regis Philbin, champion of equality-- who woulda thunk it?

If nothing else, the Net has become a great medium for reminiscing over 80's pop culture... witness the "Sledge Hammer! Arsenal".

"My letter–writing addiction escalates daily, and I fear it may soon interfere with my routine drinking." Will Hertes writes prank letters so you don't have to.

It's "The Ultimate Build Your Own Cow Page"! As opposed to those other average Build Your Own Cow sites.


January 26, 2000

After five years in prison, Murrin acquitted of slaying

Actual thought-provoking articles today, starting with an oldie but goodie from FAIR about the press corps' reluctance to report that Ronald Reagan was a wee bit senile while in office. Next, booksonline asked contemporary novelists which classics they should have read, but haven't (my literary Waterloo is George Eliot's "Middlemarch"-- hello, "A&E Presents"). Finally, Straight Goods has an essay on one of my silliest pet peeves: the hype around anti-bacterial soaps.

Skim has a new line of clothes and accessories with your personal e-mail account number written on it, thereby making life easier for stalkers everywhere.

"A 'live organism being used as a game... brings an ethical problem,' said Greece's consumer general secretary. This means there could be restrictions on Sea-Monkeys being marketed as a toy. Even the Greek chapter of the environmental group Greenpeace has said it could throw its weight behind Sea-Monkey rights." (from Bird on a Wire)

The website for "Scream 3" has a really clever concept: it's designed as the home for fictional Sunrise Studios, the makers of "Stab" (the movie-in-a-movie from "Scream 2").

I'm sorry, but there is just something unsavory about a nudist club named "SLUGS" owning the slimetrail.org domain.


January 25, 2000

Ottawa plans to give banks $100 million for student loans

Those wacky Vancouver-area police are at it again: During a drug raid, masked cops burst in upon a child's birthday party and shot the family dog, "splattering blood on a nearby infant". Police found some (ooh!) marijuana and magic mushrooms in the house. (FYI: The Manchester Police recommend that new mushroom users "should start with a small amount and work up slowly." Ummm.. thanks for the tip.)

A List Apart has announced the winners of their first design contest, and they're all definitely worth a look, if not downright intimidating. (from Strange Brew)

The Jack and Rexella Van Impe website presents "Everything you always wanted to know about Bible prophecies", including the good news that our pets will indeed be taken in the Rapture.

The Whole Pop Magazine has monthly multimedia features on such things as ant farms and lunchboxes-- nice design, and wonderful whimsical content.

Oh sure, Brad gets paired up with Harrison Ford, whereas my celebrity match turns out to be Danny DeVito.

Housekeeping: My e-mail has been touch-and-go over the last couple of days, so if you've mailed me and I haven't responded, I'm not ignoring you. That goes for both my regular readers.


January 24, 2000

Time Warner and EMI join forces-- AOL copyrights concept of "entertainment"

Okay, so I made that last part up.

The Golden Globes went pretty much as expected... at least there were no tap dancing homages. Unlike E!, I liked Courtney's "prom dress through a shredder" look. Plunging necklines are back in style, but looking at all the bones jutting out on most actresses made me hungry. Really, I understand that some people are naturally very thin, but last night I kept expecting Sally Struthers to pop up and tell us how we could help.

Today's Salon has an article about the surly critics on alt.tv.simpsons. All this unnecessary (in my opinion) "Simpsons"-bashing would depress me, except apparently only ten percent of Internet users know about Usenet. And half of those are All Advantage subscribers.

WOIFM? has a nice rant on the legitimacy of weblogging as an expression of one's personality. I have a feeling that Neale of Wetlog would agree.

Pilfered content: Mattel's Barbie PC comes with half the educational software of the HotWheels PC system. Is Jeeves gay? Cats that look like Hitler! (from Megnut, Baylink, and tim's bandwagon respectively)

January 22, 2000

Ottawa flip-flops on NHL bail out

Load up on popcorn and mixers, 'cause tomorrow is the Golden Globe awards. Yes, Oscar is more prestigious, but where else can you see movie stars get tanked and blatantly ignore mere television actors?! For the record, my money is on: Best Drama Categories- American Beauty (picture), Hilary Swank (actress), and Kevin Spacey (actor); Best Comedy Categories- Being John Malkovich (picture), Janet McTeer (actress), and Jim Carrey (actor). E! Online has its own thoughts on the matter.

Speaking of E! Online, today I noticed their "Top 10 Aborted TV Shows" list, and I totally agree with most of their choices. What ever happened to "Parker Lewis Can't Lose," anyway?

Well, gosh, I guess punk really is dead: Johnny Rotten has a new show on VH1.

More twenty-first century England: British film censors have finally approved The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Parts two through four still forbidden due to terrifyingly bad scripts.

"A doctor delivered a baby by Caesarian section, then used his scalpel to carve his initials into the mother's abdomen. Dr. Allan Zarkin was later dubbed "Dr. Zorro" by hospital staff members..."

A big thanks to Himself from The Other Side, who suggested I keep the daily quote in Pith's new design, and was absolutely right.


January 20, 2000

Tonight is first lunar eclipse of 2000

Lots of stuff in the news today, starting with the announcement from the FCC that micro-radio stations will likely be legalized. I think this is a great idea, although some kind of "No Cher Allowed" clause might be in order...

Michael Moore's latest article is an excellent commentary on exiled Cubans' ineffective attacks on their homeland. Really, it does seem kind of silly when the "leaders of the free world" get so upset over this tiny island nation... the only thing the current embargo does is create a booming Canadian cigar market.

Welcome to the twenty-first century: England has just repealed a two-hundred year old law that bans a "jig round the dance halle" (or bar, or anywhere, really) on Sunday. And they say the English are repressed...

When good tech goes bad: Halfway, Oregon has renamed itself Half.com in exchange for $75,000 and 22 computers from a company of the same name. For the record, I'd be willing to change my name for $300 and a new video card. If you've been coveting your neighbor's G4, The Confessor is now available online to hear your sins. I know the Lord works in mysterious ways, but I really don't think that includes a JavaScript pop-up window.


January 19, 2000

Three die, fifty-eight injured in dorm fire

The Canadian Health Minister announced today that cigarette packages will now have graphic warnings that cover half the box... because before now, I had no idea that smoking could kill me. It's called 'addiction', people.

I have to disagree with Ethel the Blog's feelings that anyone wearing a backwards baseball cap should be swiftly and harshly punished-- the cap makes it so easy to spot men with Extended Adolescence Syndrome (along with "No Fear" t-shirts). Now, don't even get me started on that sideways visor trend from a few years ago... (article half-way down page)

Get your genitalDrive, "the ultimate remote sex solution". This is a joke, right? Right?! (from iBoy)

A big congratulations to my best friend and defacto little brother Anthony, who just got shortlisted for the Chapters/Robertson Davies Prize for unpublished novels. If you win that cross-country promotional tour, I'll be your business manager...

<sigh> I left my laundry in the laundry room overnight, and someone stole all the towels I own. That's right, I no longer know where my towel is...

And finally today, possibly the funniest site I've seen in weeks, the Cat Scan Contest... poor kitties.


January 18, 2000

Child pornography case goes to highest Canadian court

Well, I bet you can guess what I did last night. One of the reasons I started a weblog was to play with site design... besides, I was getting tired of all that dark green. The archives and portal will be switched over to the new design later today.

And just what is the typical colouring and texture of a flying ball of crap?

"We didn't stop... but shortly afterward began wondering. Why would someone build a device for kicking asses? How was it made? Who was the inventor?" Visit the World's Only Ass Kicking Machine.

Next Christmas, give your kids the gift of radioactivity with "the rarest and most dangerous of children's books," The Radium Book. Available through eBay, of course.

And there was great rejoicing: After a long holiday hiatus, a brand new episode of "Buffy" is on tonight. The trailer looks good...


January 17, 2000

Chileans elect socialist president

Just a quick update today, since I'm still feeling under the weather...

Coming soon to bandwidth near you: the first virtual newscaster. Ananova will deliver news bulletins and headlines, and looks like Angelina Jolie (sounds like a hit to me). I bet she'd enjoy having lunch with the British hologram teacher...

Fox has created a special website for The Simpsons' tenth anniversary. You can vote for your favourite episode and show off your trivia knowledge in the Bart Bowl. (site needs JavaScript, Flash, and all that other crazy crap)

Last week Julia's Journal mentioned an interesting article about the Seattle chapter of "Webgrrls". I really wish there was a group like this in my area...

Proving once again that Canadians can be very, very silly, Bobcanada.com is the website for "the renewed effort to re-name the Northwest Territories 'Bob'". I personally would have chosen something with a little more character, like 'Raoul'.

As if the name wasn't enough, "Bobo the Opinionated Bastard's Weblog" is also damned funny. That's one surly bear... (from attack force D, also entertainingly surly)


January 14, 2000

Cuban women rally for return of boy

Well, I think the flu has finally found me. Consider this your warning that anything I write today is the product of a fever-addled brain, and may or may not have any bearing in reality.

According to this story from Reuters, James Dale was expelled from the Boy Scouts when leaders discovered that "he was a gay rights activist," meaning, I suppose, that both gay men and women and their supporters are too unclean to be around children. I don't understand why some folks seem to think that gay men will sodomize any male who bends over... especially anti-homosexual advocates like Jerry Fallwell, most of whom are too damn ugly (inside and out) to even think of in a sexual manner.

And a cheer rose up from Hollywood: Plastic surgeons have created a new softer, safer breast implant. I bet Britney Spears is sleeping better at night, knowing that.

<sob>I only heard about The Kids in the Hall reunion tour gig in Vancouver yesterday.</sob>

twernt's latest feature is a Field Guide to the Baldwins, including my fave, the enigmatic Stephen. What kind of career choice was following up "The Usual Suspects" with "Biodome" (starring Pauly Shore)!?

I caved in to 'blogger peer pressure and took the "What Breed of Dog are You?" test. Apparently, as a Pekinese-type person, I am "a member of the most socially elite breed... probably a high maintenance individual who is extremely aware of appearances and the newest trends". I guess that's what I get for being Teacher's Pet in high school. (from Mirasol)

And finally today, from an ABCNews.com article on Canada's immigration system: "Then [terrorists are] free and easy, they're in Canada, and they can do what the hell they like." Because we Canadians are a shifty, lawless bunch.


January 13, 2000

US government wants Microsoft split

The US Supreme Court has ruled that the Department of Motor Vehicles cannot sell personal information to direct marketers. What's next-- companies offering the garbage man five bucks to root through your trash?

First Viagra, and now this: Toss away that rug, gents, because the comb-over is cool again.

Woohoo! The Simpsons are getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

I suddenly realized that Michaela from ZDTV's "Internet Tonight" used to be my local weathergirl (I wondered where I knew her from...). As I recall, she wasn't very good, but at least she didn't give the forecast while naked.

"The Bibleman Show, a series of fast-paced, rollicking productions, features a new kind of superhero empowered by the limitless might of Scripture. He's powerful, he's exciting and he's going to thrill you as he defends the Truth and all that is good." (from Magnetbox)

The first BlogIRC went very smoothly, with attendance hitting the mid-twenties. A round of applause to metajohn for throwing a good party. Rumours are that the chat will be repeated next week.

Windows crashed on you again? Why not relax and surf the "Pie Bill Gates Webring"! Mmm.. Redmond Cream Pie.


January 12, 2000

Turkey agrees to delay Ocalan death sentence

It looks like I had better get posting to Usenet out of my system this week, as @Home has been given a Usenet Death Penalty notice. Stupid spammers.

Medley has started an interesting discussion on the journalistic responsibility of webloggers, with this article as the basis. I think many weblogs don't claim to be authoritative sources on subjects (just one person's point of view), but as with all things on the 'Net, they should be taken with a grain of salt.

That snarky Mr. Blackwell has released his Worst Dressed of 1999 List, and has given Cher the top "honour". I guess her career is back on track, then...

The Onion is back from the holidays in fine form, with headlines such as "Energetic Self-Starter Despised by Co-Workers."

If you enjoy off-beat genre television, you'll get a kick out of Lexx. It's distributed by the same Canadian company that makes the gut-busting "This Hour has 22 Minutes".

Subterranean Notes is collecting weblog poems as created by Rob's Amazing Poem Generator. It's amazing what a little script and a lot of spare time can produce...


January 11, 2000

Chinese migrants found dead in shipping container

Well, if this is any indication of things to come, don't be surprised if one day our children are singing "M-I-C... R-O-S...Ooo-F-T".

Despite the fact that they're "all so sleek and shiny," Matt Groening has managed to pick his top ten favourite Simpsons' episodes. Just for the record, my favourite three are Treehouse of Horror V, The Spin-Off Showcase, and Lemon of Troy ("I love you, Dr. Zaius!!").

"It just wasn't fair. Triple H never plays a fair game and he was hitting poor Mr Austin with a hammer." Why nice old ladies and wrestling don't mix.

Yet more weblog navel gazing: (meta)John has proposed a weblog chat session for December 12, 5:30 PT on EFNet's #blogirc channel. Sounds like good fun. On another front, Larkfarm has a nice new design... no more "graph paper" background! Now it's even easier to concentrate on the always excellent content...

Go ahead and throw away that old Ikea catalog, because now you can get your "Hot All Chair Action" online from Furniture Porn. (from Mouse... check it out)

Okay, so when I wrote yesterday that one could crash into a telephone "poll", I was indeed talking about driving into the man who calls and asks you questions about your vacuum... stupid spellcheck. Isle reed threw it next thyme.


January 10, 2000

Israel-Syria talks crumble

Let's start the week with a little entertainment news: Melissa Etheridge announced that David Crosby is the biological father of her children (can you inherit a bad liver?), and British police are reporting that they thwarted an attempt to kidnap Posh Spice's baby.

I was a little bored last night, so I entered random '.com' words to see what treasures I could turn up. The best discoveries were purple.com, which lives up to its name, matt.com, who seems like a friendly (if not overly complex) guy, microsfot.com, which I'm sure Mr. Gates isn't pleased with, and finally ennui.com, which was sufficiently boring.

Further proof that Trekkies are insane: someone translated "The Jabberwocky" into Klingon. For more translation fun, maybe you'd like to learn how to say "The turtle brings wheat at dawn" in twenty-five different languages.

The car of the future will have over 500 horsepower and a connection to the Internet. So you can get up some speed before hitting a telephone poll while checking your e-mail.

Next Christmas, I'm doing all my shopping at LordCo. (Motto: Repentance is Futile).

Meet Dan, Kim, and Nate, the Microsoft Certified Professional action figures!


January 8, 2000

Controversy erupts over mammogram study

I just can't hear any more about little Elian Gonzalez-- it angries up the blood. If that boy was from any other country in the world, he'd be home by now. Yet another example of Republican "family values"...

I discovered Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox through a Usenet post by Jorn Barger of Robot Wisdom (who doesn't seem to like the fellow, to say the least). As a neophyte designer, I found the articles pretty informative... but I'd love to hear about other 'usability gurus' out there.

Nibelung lets you create a personal webring of your favourite sites. I've set one up with my daily weblog reads, named "The Burning Ring of Fire".

I finally checked out the Brunching Shuttlecocks site today, due to its frequent mention on the excellent BradLands. Lo and behold, "The Blair Family Circus Project" made milk come out my nose.

Here's one for my Dad: Author Patrick O'Brian died this week at the age of 85. Fans of his nautical novels might enjoy this guide to O'Brian web resources.

Conspiracy Time: "Dilbert" is communist propaganda, Yoda is on crack, and David Hasselhoff is the devil (okay, so we knew that last one already).


January 7, 2000

Cuban boy's return causes Miami protests

One of the big stories on Headline News last night was celebrity stalkers and the websites that encourage them. One of the sites shown was "Assassins", which I'm only pointing out so you can avoid its evil lure. I would particularly avoid crushing sweet Britney Spears with a monster truck. That would just be wrong.

While we're on the subject, the Mark Hamil Watch has declared itself the "official webpage of Mark Hamil stalkers". Have you seen Mark lately?

Bad Ideas: Senator John McCain says he likes Nine Inch Nails! The Blair Witch Project is going to have a sequel and a prequel! A website about someone's giant rubber-band ball!

From McSweeney's: "There is no average day when you live in a Port-a-Potty."

Forget those dancing hamsters... here's a surly rodent you'll want to hang out with on Saturday night.

Got a question? Let the hideous, jabbering head of Abraham Lincoln answer it for you. (from Bird on a Wire)

Is it just me, or does Boxlor kind of resemble an old Doctor Who monster?


January 6, 2000

Arrests made in Indian Airlines hijacking

Well, it turns out that all the bids for Year2000.com were bogus, and it remains unsold. Tragic.. simply tragic.

Florida put itself back in the running today for 'Scariest Police Force' (it's neck-and-neck with that perennial favourite, Southern California) with news of a nine-year old boy being handcuffed and searched. Apparently the little juvie was guilty of riding a bike without a helmet. Good thing he didn't forget his front bike light.

Slashdot churned out a sizable list of funny sites yesterday. The two best were "Find your Wu-Tang Name", and the Slashdot Man's eerie fan site.

With so many "sex-crazed, psychotic clowns" around, it's no wonder some people are terrified of them.

Oh my. Look at the dryer lint pets. Somehow "as fun and cute as pet rocks" doesn't strike me as being much of an argument. (from Strange Brew)

January 5, 2000

12 dead from Sri Lankan suicide bomber

The headline for today's appalling news: the domain name Year2000.com was auctioned off on eBay for a record ten million (US) dollars. In other domain news, I noticed today that God.com is owned (but unused) by the clever people at Groves Online Delivery.

Ever wonder what Tommy Lee's favourite website is? Me neither, but I happened to stumble upon it anyway: Troma Films' answer to the Magic Eightball, "Hairy Balls".(Site is not for the easily offended. Neither is Tommy Lee).

While I'm on the topic of toilet humour, I'd be amiss not to mention the The American Bathroom Review. So far only the restrooms at Bullwinkle's Bar in Tallahassee have scored a perfect 10, although the Hardees on Exit 54 off the I-85 came close.

The Death Test concluded that I'll finally die on February 14, 2040 of cancer. I'd like to apologize to my family now for ruining their Valentine's Day. The same website also has a disturbing article entitled, "Study Reveals Nation's Moms Have No Game". Simply shocking.

Cool ideas: VirtuallyVancouver has 360° walkthroughs of my favourite city. Trailervision shows action-packed trailers for movies that don't exist.

In my constant quest for objectivity (HA!), I should counter the Sea Monkeys Worship page from a few days ago with this site for negative Sea Monkey poetry (like this touching haiku:
  a wasp in the tank
  brave sea monkeys taste the sting
  desert in water).


January 4, 2000

At least 7 dead in fiery Norwegian train collision

Well, the aftermath (or lack thereof) of the new year and Y2K is still being assessed, which means there's still time to laugh at the websites that had problems, including Microsoft.com
and Apple. If you were prepared for more apocalyptic issues, have hope-- the Rapture Index advises that we "fasten [our] seatbelts," and many survivalists seemed to be convinced that the worst is yet to come. (Index from Bird on a Wire)

Only in Canada would there be a recognized "bad-boy fiddler". At least Ashley MacIssac didn't try to sell his instrument for crack again.

Uri Geller is suing Nintendo over their "Un-Geller" Pokemon character. If he wins, hopefully he'll bend Pikachu in half with the power of his mind.

Bored? YukYuk.com features lots of little interactive Shockwave cartoons, like the hilarious Zen Cat Box. (from peterme)

Why yes, that certainly is a geeky ID card photo. Thanks for sharing.


January 3, 2000

US economy feeling no Y2K bite

Just a short entry today, as now that the holidays are over I have to actually start looking for a job (Would you like fries with that?). Hopefully I can find some computer-related grunt work, rather than become a retail slave again. I'd love to hear from a few of the techies out there as to their first job in the industry... were you hired because of training, knowing people, blind stupid luck, etc, etc?

Salon has an article on the best music singles of the 90s, and shockingly enough I agree with about half their choices. Who knew they would have a Bikini Kill fan on staff!?

The first question of 2000 on Ask Jeeves was "What is Y2K compliant?"... better late than never, I suppose.

Do you like kittens? Do you reeeeeally like kittens? Well then, whatever you do, don't go visit the twisted "Kittens" website, which features "innocent, playful, little cute kittens in a decadent and corrupt world."

Sadly, my apartment manager doesn't allow any pets with fur or feathers, so I'm spending my time at the Sea Monkey Worship page.

Bikkety bam indeed-- twernt has a swell new design today. Medley has also started out the year with a new design and a new URL, so adjust your bookmarks appropriately.

And finally, if you've still got credit on that holiday phone card, why not waste it calling the payphone at the Eiffel Tower? The Payphone Project lists lots of numbers from around the world, located anywhere from famous landmarks to Texas strip malls.



January 2, 2000

World survives roll-over, no sign of Y2K or Armageddon

There, that wasn't so bad, was it? A little on the anticlimactic side... Not that there wasn't a bit of millennial weirdness, what with a newborn beginning its tech portfolio, and "Dotcomguy" (his new legal name) starting his yearlong stint in lockdown, buying everything through ecommerce. Sure, we all expected a little more chaos Friday night, but the people at Y2K Survive seem to be taking it a little personally...

If that wasn't pointless enough for you, perhaps you'd enjoy iewingvay ouryay avouritefay ebpageway asyay anslatedtray otay Igpay AtinLay.

Of course, it could all be too pointless, in which case you may as well go and crash your browser with some "quality bombs". (Link is about browser-crashing and not an actual bomb, silly.)

Always anxious to shamelessly promote webpages by friends and family, I must announce my uncle Jeff's first page (coded using Notepad, no less), which is all about his Toronto-area barbershop quartet, "Inclination". (second from left in photo)

I knew I'd forget something on my Best of the 90's list, but I didn't think it would be something as obvious as mentioning Goodfellas as one of the decade's best movies. Consider it retroactively listed.

Let me end this first entry of the new century by recommending Super Bad, a bizarre journey through animation and snippets of fictional content. A good way to waste 15 minutes...