Subversive Cross Stitching. Make Grandma Cry! more inside

The World's Most Dangerous Password: Minutemen ICBMs were deployed in the early 1960s, and grew to over 1000 in number. They were allegedly protected from a "rogue launch" by an approach known as PAL (Permissive Action Link). The PAL required that the correct 8-digit launch code be entered by the missiliers before the missile would establish ignition. What if all the PAL codes had been set to '00000000,' and 'everyone' in the Strategic Air Command knew it? That is unbelievably what happened, as described in this article from the Center for Defense Information. Not exactly a great example for getting people to choose difficult passwords! Via Slashdot

Curious George: Do you play video/computer games? If no, why not? And if so, what have you been addicted to recently? Finally, what was the most influential game on you, ever? Just a friendly "get to know you better" survey. more inside

Army attributes another death to friendly fire. While his is a high-profile death, perhaps it should make us more aware of the United States' consistent problem with friendly fire - and that rates of "blue on blue" are getting higher, in spite of technological advances. more inside

What The Billionaires Are Buying. What do you buy the guy who has everything?

22 panels that always work
22 panels that always work (sometimes)

Mordechai Vanunu: I squealed on Isreal to prevent nuclear holocaust. He went to the world with details of Israel's nuclear program. He did 18 years in prison for it and doesn't regret a single day. Now he's out and wants to leave his country, but the government has said "no way, Hosea."

A Hole. Its fascinating to watch it develop over the last five years or so. more inside

The first vienna vegetable orchestra: if you carrot all for music, consider these sal-lads.

Men with breasts. Probably NSFW.

An Uncommon Lama: Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, director of "The Cup" and "Travellers & Magicians."

Aaaaahhhhhhh! They're horrible! Horrible!!! Actually, these photoshop jobs are really kinda sweet. This one is my favorite. Via RealityCarnival Thanks Nostrildamus!

Cold winter with fake snow Dennis Quaid, starring in 'The Day After Tomorrow' recalls past winter: "Here we were in Montreal making a movie about a killer Ice Age and the weather channels were telling us it was the coldest winter Montrealers could recall."

Newsflash: Living in 1628 is hard work So that big reality show that had us all on the edge of our seat is finally over: that's right Colonial House! This is the latest in a series of programs done joinly with PBS and Channel 4 in the UK that explores what it would be like to live in a certain historical time period - modern people try to recreate that time with as much accuracy as possible. Hilarity, controversy and awesomeness insue (with video diaries!). more inside

Non-MacOS users need not apply. But if you like little choo-choos, you might want to get access to some fruity machine just for this 3D model train simulator (3Mb .SIT file). Need fresh air this weekend, SO keeps calling just to see if you're still alive, got plenty work piling up? Then DON'T look at this nifty toy. You've been warned. This post goes in loving memory of someone I know would have really liked it.

Friday Funnies Songs that stick in your head, comics, art, literature, politics...lots of the recent monkeyposts are tied together here.

Rodeohead. Bluegrass tribute music. Found here.

Read books online for free - Read Print is a free online library that "offers thousands of free books for students, teachers, and the classic enthusiast." Authors include George Orwell, Mark Twain, Louisa May Alcott, and many many more. This makes me very, very happy. more inside

Art Imitating Life: So while cicadas have taken over large chunks of the United States, they now seem to have invaded the modern rock scene a theme song courtesy of the awesome band The Shins. Their song, Those to Come wasn't written with the red-eyed devils in mind, but the song appears to be a perfect fit, and band members seem happy to play along.

FreshHotGraphicArtFromRedChina!