Can you turn crappy vodka into good vodka using nothing more than a Brita filter? A team of scientists set out to find whether a 1.5L bottle of shit vodka can be charcoal filtered to smoothness. The opinion of the panelists was that the result after 5 filtrations was exceptionally smooth and better in this respect than Ketel One, although it did not posess its character.

Curious, George: Food, glorious food! I'm sitting in my (slightly gross) dorm room, trying to think of food I can easily make with my electric kettle, the slightly risky microwave in the lounge, or my bare hands. I've got a tiny fridge, but as grocery shopping occurs rarely, long lasting foodstuffs are a plus. What are your favorite bizarre/easy/comforting snack foods from those first "Oh my god, mom's not here to cook me dinner" days/months/years? Extra points if it's vaguely healthy!

For the Marine Corps birthday and young Marine Sam Crist, recently wounded in Falluja, the story of Evans Carlson and the meaning of Gung Ho. more inside

Arafat dead more inside

Nice elephant you got there.

This Link has been Making the Rounds It's shown as evidence of a grand conspiracy in certain Florida counties to mess around with the vote. However, by simply looking at past elections 1996 and 2000, it's easy to see that despite the difference between party registration and actual voting patterns, it's not quite that big of a difference. *NOTE - WHEN CLICKING ON THESE LINKS, SELECT OFFICE - US PRESIDENT, THEN ON "PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES" for county results - sorry for the extra work, can't get directly to the proper page* more inside

Mars Rovers Still Sending Back Fantastic Images Just because they aren't making the news anymore doesn't mean that the Mars Rovers aren't still up there on Mars moving around, grinding rocks and looking at stuff.

Cows With Guns!

Tanks against US citizens? Freedom? It seems it didn't interest the media too much(there's a war goin on, ya know, but it interested some to remove the video from the web (via BoingBoing)? Anyone remember tiananmen square? more inside

Curious, George: Help me dress my husband, please? Mr. MonkeyToes has decided that he needs more flair in his professional wardrobe. Any recommendations for books on clothing for men? Ideal book leans toward the classic and conservative, and has color illustrations. Though I recall a thread on this topic on Metafilter, my MeFi-fu turned up nothing, and Amazon offers too much choice. What book has helped you or your guy become a spiffier dresser?

Finally a reason for pop up ads: Humor. This is just ridiculous. If I ever see someone with this phone (considering Pink is the new "Ghetto Black," it could very well be a man), I will personally slap the crap out of them.*
*Disclaimer: Unless they're bigger than me (via the internets, found while surfing for a Halo 2 buddy icon)

OOOK, so who wants to put this live-wire to their forehead? it'll help you remember better...I promise. (I can see it now: Monkeys the world over walking around with electrodes on their foreheads to promote memory and prevent double posting)

Curious George: Go, my seeker monkeys! Fly! I'm looking for a site I saw on Metafilter ages ago. It was some art project, where some Spanish (I think he was Spanish) guy took loads of headshots of people in different social groups. I've searched and searched but I can't find it. If anyone could help me out, I'd <3 them forever. more inside

Uranus is well lubricated. There's bound to be more inside

Curious George: Life in Ottawa Any monkeys with the inside scoop on living in Ottawa? more inside

curious George: IM clients for mac I've just switched from pc to mac and I'm having a hard time finding a IM client like GAIM where I can use both Yahoo and AOL IM accounts. Suggestions?

Army Spc. Bryan Freeman Jr was killed Monday in Iraq. Bryan was the 1,334 US soldier killed in Iraq. Bryan was a very good friend of my wife in High School and needless to say she was very upset. Normally I would not post such a downer of a link but I feel that in general many of these soldiers that have been killed lately have not been getting the attention they deserve. RIP Bryan.

Curious, George: Suggestions for email providers? Curious, George Any Suggestions for (paid) email providers? more inside

"Don't take us there!"... At least not until we decide whether "There" exists. Wikipedia's NPOV (Neutral Point of View) Disputes Page more inside

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." [Oscar Wilde]. For your night-skying pleasure: Free monthly skymaps at (of course) SkyMaps; local satellite and spaceship activity at Heaven's Above; and my favorite, what's in the sky tonight at Earth & Sky. Great resources for the backyard stargazer.