An Animal That Can Live Forever

The desire to live forever is no doubt connected to the survival instinct and has permeated itself in different ways through organized superstitions. However, there’s one animal on Earth that may actually have the chance to remain immortal.

The Hydrozoan, a small predatory sea creature like a jellyfish but without all their well known exciting higher functions, can achieve the dream of millions and become a child again. When adverse environmental conditions threaten death it can collapse into a rugged blob of cells to survive. When it re-emerges, it does so as a child – literally building itself up all over again. Since this isn’t just a shell to hide in, but a complete structural restart, it seems possible that it could keep this up forever.

The Real Names of Musicians

I know it’s hard to believe, but artists like Jon Bon Jovi and Sting weren’t actually born with super cool names. Instead, they were born with crappy names like you and me, and changed them when they entered the entertainment spectacle. Here’s just a taste of real names of musicians.

  • Adam Ant – Stuart Leslie Goddard
  • Alice Cooper – Vincent Furnier
  • Bob Dylan – Robert Zimmerman
  • Bono – Paul David Hewson
  • Elvis Costello – Declan MacManus
  • Faith Hill – Audrey Faith Perry
  • John Denver – John Deutschendorf
  • Jon Bon Jovi – John Francis BonGiovi
  • Macy Gray – Natalie McIntyre
  • Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana – Destiny Hope Cyrus
  • Pat Benatar – Patricia Andrejewski
  • Snoop Dogg – Calvin Broadus
  • Sting – Gordon Sumner

Jedi Wii Master

This is Tyler. Tyler likes his Wii. Tyler also likes Star Wars. Let the magic begin…

The World Will End In 2012

Ancient madness predicts that we’re totally screwed in 2012.

“You have to understand, there will be nothing, nothing left,” Geryl told ABC News from his home in Antwerp, Belgium. “We will have to start an entire civilization from scratch.”

That’s because Geryl believes the world as we know it will end in 2012. He points to the ancient Mayan cyclical calendars, the longest of which last renewed itself approximately 5,125 years ago and is set to end again, supposedly with catastrophic consequences, in 2012. He speaks of the ancient Egyptians, who, he claims, saw 2012 as a year of great change too. And he points to science: NASA predicts a sharp increase in the number of sunspots and sun flares for 2012, he said, sure to cause electrical failures and satellite disruptions.

All this adds up, Geryl said, to unprecedented catastrophe. First, a polar reversal will cause the north to become the south and the sun to rise in the west. Shattering earthquakes, massive tidal waves and simultaneous volcanic eruptions will follow. Nuclear reactors will melt, buildings will crumble, and a cloud of volcanic dust will block out the sun for 40 years. Only the prepared will survive, Geryl said, and not even all of them.

Cowboy Follies

So you want to be a cowboy? Think again. Cacties Western Clothes posted this cowboy beauty on YouTube.

Found Magazine

Curious little notes that people leave behind find a home at Found Magazine.

A Douchebag Named Floyd Brown

Floyd “the douchebag” Brown is a conserative asshole whose myopic world view helps contribute to a world full of unnecessary wars and oppression against those who are less fortunate (aka, not well do to do; aka, not abundantly rich). Floyd “crotch rot” Brown started a truth bending website called Expose Obama, where he and his cohorts make up lies for their own gain.

What’s great about Floyd “dick sucker” Brown is that he has a website that tries to harm you if you visit it. How do I know this, because Google and Firefox told me so. If you search for “floyd brown” on Google, his website comes up first, but there’s a warning. Google says, “This site may harm your computer.” Holy shit! Really?

If you click on the link in Google, you get another warning.

Even more, if you try to go directly to the website, Firefox says, no way!

Labeling his site as an attack site is both irony and sweet justice.

How Not To Prevent Suicide

A hilarious video about how not to prevent suicide. It presents itself as a serious video, but you’ll have to decide that for yourself. It starts to get pretty damn funny once they reach the forest.

Skyscrapers That Move And Make Their Own Energy

I’ve been predicting it for some time — skyscrapers will eventually become sentient and take over humans. That includes time travel to serve their deadly purpose. In my book, “Skyscrapers Will Fuck You Up,” I outlined how skyscrapers would evolve, with number fourteen being that they would be able to morph their shape to disarm us and number 8 being that they would be able to generate their own energy. If you read my book, you would know that all fourteen evolutionary steps have occurred, including number twenty six, where they store three symbolic brains in the steam room (most people don’t even know that’s happened already).

Another Reason I Use Mac

Todd Bishop published this priceless email from Bill Gates to his crew about how awful his experience was trying to do the most basic things with the Microsoft website and Windows XP.

—- Original Message —-

From: Bill Gates

Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 10:05 AM

To: Jim Allchin

Cc: Chris Jones (WINDOWS); Bharat Shah (NT); Joe Peterson; Will Poole; Brian Valentine; Anoop Gupta (RESEARCH)

Subject: Windows Usability Systematic degradation flame

I am quite disappointed at how Windows Usability has been going backwards and the program management groups don’t drive usability issues.

Let me give you my experience from yesterday.

I decided to download (Moviemaker) and buy the Digital Plus pack … so I went to Microsoft.com. They have a download place so I went there.

The first 5 times I used the site it timed out while trying to bring up the download page. Then after an 8 second delay I got it to come up.

This site is so slow it is unusable.

It wasn’t in the top 5 so I expanded the other 45.

These 45 names are totally confusing. These names make stuff like: C:\Documents and Settings\billg\My Documents\My Pictures seem clear.

They are not filtered by the system … and so many of the things are strange.

I tried scoping to Media stuff. Still no moviemaker. I typed in movie. Nothing. I typed in movie maker. Nothing.

So I gave up and sent mail to Amir saying – where is this Moviemaker download? Does it exist?

So they told me that using the download page to download something was not something they anticipated.

They told me to go to the main page search button and type movie maker (not moviemaker!).

I tried that. The site was pathetically slow but after 6 seconds of waiting up it came.

I thought for sure now I would see a button to just go do the download.

In fact it is more like a puzzle that you get to solve. It told me to go to Windows Update and do a bunch of incantations.

This struck me as completely odd. Why should I have to go somewhere else and do a scan to download moviemaker?

So I went to Windows update. Windows Update decides I need to download a bunch of controls. (Not) just once but multiple times where I get to see weird dialog boxes.

Doesn’t Windows update know some key to talk to Windows?

Then I did the scan. This took quite some time and I was told it was critical for me to download 17megs of stuff.

This is after I was told we were doing delta patches to things but instead just to get 6 things that are labeled in the SCARIEST possible way I had to download 17meg.

So I did the download. That part was fast. Then it wanted to do an install. This took 6 minutes and the machine was so slow I couldn’t use it for anything else during this time.

What the heck is going on during those 6 minutes? That is crazy. This is after the download was finished.

Then it told me to reboot my machine. Why should I do that? I reboot every night — why should I reboot at that time?

So I did the reboot because it INSISTED on it. Of course that meant completely getting rid of all my Outlook state.

So I got back up and running and went to Windows Updale again. I forgot why I was in Windows Update at all since all I wanted was to get Moviemaker.

So I went back to Microsoft.com and looked at the instructions. I have to click on a folder called WindowsXP. Why should I do that? Windows Update knows I am on Windows XP.

What does it mean to have to click on that folder? So I get a bunch of confusing stuff but sure enough one of them is Moviemaker.

So I do the download. The download is fast but the Install takes many minutes. Amazing how slow this thing is.

At some point I get told I need to go get Windows Media Series 9 to download.

So I decide I will go do that. This time I get dialogs saying things like “Open” or “Save”. No guidance in the instructions which to do. I have no clue which to do.

The download is fast and the install takes 7 minutes for this thing.

So now I think I am going to have Moviemaker. I go to my add/remove programs place to make sure it is there.

It is not there.

What is there? The following garbage is there. Microsoft Autoupdate Exclusive test package, Microsoft Autoupdate Reboot test package, Microsoft Autoupdate testpackage1. Microsoft AUtoupdate testpackage2, Microsoft Autoupdate Test package3.

Someone decided to trash the one part of Windows that was usable? The file system is no longer usable. The registry is not usable. This program listing was one sane place but now it is all crapped up.

But that is just the start of the crap. Later I have listed things like Windows XP Hotfix see Q329048 for more information. What is Q329048? Why are these series of patches listed here? Some of the patches just things like Q810655 instead of saying see Q329048 for more information.

What an absolute mess.

Moviemaker is just not there at all.

So I give up on Moviemaker and decide to download the Digital Plus Package.

I get told I need to go enter a bunch of information about myself.

I enter it all in and because it decides I have mistyped something I have to try again. Of course it has cleared out most of what I typed.

I try (typing) the right stuff in 5 times and it just keeps clearing things out for me to type them in again.

So after more than an hour of craziness and making my programs list garbage and being scared and seeing that Microsoft.com is a terrible website I haven’t run Moviemaker and I haven’t got the plus package.

The lack of attention to usability represented by these experiences blows my mind. I thought we had reached a low with Windows Network places or the messages I get when I try to use 802.11. (don’t you just love that root certificate message?)

When I really get to use the stuff I am sure I will have more feedback.