Jail for 'Robin Hoods' who cost Microsoft millions Sorry for the yahoo news FPP, but I wanted to take the time to really poke fun of these guys for being, as the prosecutors described, "sad individuals living as they do for very large parts of their days and nights in a virtual world, in front of a computer monitor, cocooned from existence." What |0z3rs! On a wholely unrelated note, Microsoft offers "A parent's primer to computer slang". Finally!

Mascots who give me the creeps. Check out the picture on the right. Is it just me, or is this the stuff of nightmares?

Queen Anne's Revenge? Has Blackbeard's ship been found? Excavating a legend.

Dozen penguins at SF zoo die after chlamydia outbreak. Sigh. My efforts as a sexuality educator have been sadly mispaced. I should have realized after these guys came out, that the penguin community was sexually active and in need of outreach.

Discover now Sanford Bennett’s highly effective secrets on how to: • Restore and maintain overall vitality thru simple “exercises in bed” • Remove wrinkles in the face and neck, and maintain beautiful skin using “palm friction” • Reduce an obese abdomen by “percussion stomach massage” • Rejuvenate sagging muscles of the cheeks, throat and chin with a special massage technique • Cure rheumatism and varicose veins without medicine using the “palm friction” method • Minimize falling hair using scalp massage techniques and controlled hair-pulling exercises. • And many more unconventional but proven highly effective fitness and beauty tips for the middle-aged and beyond.

Ho, hoe, ho He was friendly at first, but he soon called Hayden a "snitch bitch hoe" and hit her in the head with the back of his hand. This is from an opinion filed by the justices of the 7th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals. Read footnote #1 (bottom of page 2). Link goes to the 9-page opinion in PDF format.

Curious George: Bypassing the IT Guy ... The IT manager at the office of a "friend" has blocked access to one of his favorite websites. Does anyone know of a website or a service or some other method that will allow him to access that favorite site? I know that sites such as Bloglines do a good job of aggregating content from other sites -- but Bloglines shows only headlines, summaries, and links to the original site. Ideas? Anyone?

May 6th (the first Friday of May) is No Pants Day. There's a no-pants photo gallery and even no-pants music. You can also participate in this year's pantsless photo contest. I ain't afraid of no pants. more inside

Tour of a 3D model Kiva (Better with QuickTime). Kivas are large underground structures built by the 'ancient ones', aka the Anasazi, of the Chaco Canyon.

Today is the 30th anniversary of the 1975 Omaha tornado which killed "only" three (compared to the Easter 1913 Omaha tornado which killed 101) and yet was the costliest in U.S. history. It was seen by thousands when it ripped through a popular race track at post time. Weather Service chronology of the event. Aerial damage photos. Tornado season is upon us in the Northern Hemisphere. Make sure your children know what to do in the event of a severe storm or tornado warning. Be safe.

Today on asciiartfarts.com... I check this everyday, and today's just seemed perfect for the current state of the internet. So very very true. Also look at the bottom of the page for various running ascii art gags. more inside

CuriousGeorge: Building a House My fiance and I would like to build a house, actually build it, not just hire someone else to do it. We understand we will need some help ocassionally, but we would like to minimize that. Neither of us are handy - but that's more from lack of effort than anything else. We are big believers in being able to do it if we can find the right books to help. We have been looking at some pre-package type deals like those at Menards. Any ideas on books, tutorials, help, recommendations or any other advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Boring boring boring? Seems as if Labour have won an historic third term in the UK General Election. Their share of the vote, and their majority, appears to be smaller than 2001, probably due to objectors to the Iraq war ... but the Tories have failed to stage a significant comeback and it seems unlikely that Lib Dems have made a breakthrough ...