Biologists come close to cloning primates. We will create a grand army of the Monkey Republic to counter the increasing threat from the Humans.

The presidential election = Select the perennial idiot. A 2004 anagrammy winner... more inside

How a Swedish engineer saved a once-in-a-lifetime mission to Saturn's mysterious moon. [Via /.]

Penisland - SFW more inside

When the Turing Test meets AOL [NSFW text]. AOL/IM's "sex-starved" users have proven to be a fertile ground for people to surreptitiously test "chatterbots", ostensibly for experimentation, arguably for entertainment. The results are at times hilarious [NSFW text]. Runabot is a popular engine of choice. Also check out Leena Saarinen's neat paper on chatterbots. Nothing earth-shattering here but worth some Friday fun.

Vote and get Screwed (in a GOOD way!)

Coulter Confronted with Custard! Two men ran onstage and threw custard pies at conservative columnist Ann Coulter as she was giving a speech at the University of Arizona, hitting her in the shoulder, police said. more inside

n00bz 1337!!!111!! This guide is designed to give you a better understanding of what a noob is, how to recognize them, some details about them, and how to avoid or get rid of them. It mostly applies to online forums, which are the main targets of migrating noobs. w00t!!11!!

Cheer me up. I've had a crap day -- a surprise, after last night's Cardinals victory, but true. A really. Crap. Day. I asked Google to "cheer me up." more inside

Bush's tax cuts are monumentally unfair... to the rich.

Quite possible the best (something)awful movie review ever. Without question. It's a few pages, but this had me literally snarfing over my cereal.

Curious George: Anyone connected to Clear Channel? This MeFi posts suggests... more inside

Guess whose birthday it is today... more inside

Friday Flash! I conducted a search for "Bush" and "brain" in the same thread and, astonishingly, received no results. So here's a short little diversion for you: Give Bush a brain and be rewarded with a display of the U.S. President's amazing intellect!

Circuits discover... each other (May not be safe for work unless you have rubber shoes on)

D'you know what I have? - I got some Gmail invites with me. They are from a place of light. more inside

Diebold Voting Machine: Windows Media or QuickTime Last election post, I promise.

Religion can be fun. In an era of fundamentalism, martyrs, and most religious folks having no sense of humor whatsoever, this magazine is a breath of fresh air. I especially like the Mystery Worship section where people visit churches and surrepticiously review the services for the website.

A blood-red moon will appear in the USA on 27 October. Or possibly orange. Clearly a portent, anyway.

Political Sim fun I'm a big fan of the Sims series and was overwhelmed with amusement at this fantastic group of neighbors - enjoy!