You're The Webby Awards Now, Dog

She taps my shoulder, because I'm laughing so hard at the computer. I take off my headphones, she asks what it is, so I unplug the headphones to allow the sound to fill the room.



She, sadly, was not as amused.

No, It's Not Good At All

You know I love Banksy, and Simon Cowell does now, too, thanks to a million-dollar gift from Santa. Cowell got the above artwork by Banksy, a poorly photoshopped version of Degas' Dance Class At The Opera, with the bitchy American Idol judge included, ready to release a deluge of insulting cruelty on the Victorian ballerina before him. Maybe she can come back next year, after getting some professional training first.

Find The Red Balloon

If you see one of these today, let me know. I, um, lost them, and, er, want them back.



DARPA are offering a big cash prize to anyone who can correctly list the GPS coordinates of these red balloons. I can only gather that, in the interest of making it difficult, one or more will be here in North Dakota, so I'll be keeping my eyes open. The game is designed to test the reliability of information found by mechanical turks, social networks, or other online adhocracies. Bigger social sites, notably Fark and Metafilter, are planning on donating winnings to charity. Contestants have nine days to turn in their data; I'm predicting a correct and vetted winner will come forward within an hour of the balloons' release.

Fart on Pet

English teachers at Ben Franklin Junior High in Fargo, only a block away from this sign, must be patting themselves on the back. Some students actually paid attention on anagram day:

I'm not sure what they did with the extra 'R' when rearranging 'APT FOR RENT', but they did 'fix' both sides the same way.

The Only Explanation

The photo on the left has been passed around the internet for a while, causing much consternation about how the guy could even walk in those pants without looking like a goofball. Now that we've got the diagram on the right, things make much, much more sense:

Dogs: Cheap Labor

Either the shrooms are taking hold, or this pharmacist screwed up my prescription again.



"Huh? Oh, yeah - Marlboros, hard pack. Sorry, was I staring?"

Illinois, Home of Superman

National Geographic asked all 100 US senators to draw a map of their state, including at least three points of interest. Dick Durbin of Illinois included Chicago (home of Obama and the Bears), Springfield (Home of Abe Lincoln and Durbin himself; no mention of the Simpsons) -- and Metropolis, home of Superman. Cute, funny, but before you start to rant about Durbin being a jackass when Nat Geo just wants to spread the literacy of geography, always check Google Maps first. Yes, Metropolis, Illinois is a real place.