Say hi to Duck Cheney. Alan Greenspan, mebbe you'd better start looking for another job soon.

I shouldn't check the news before lunch. Yes, from the party who posted the (at the time, low-profile) story of the human-finger-in-fast-food-chili comes another story that should be urban legend. SFW.

Sleight of hand: Extreme Card Manipulation. "Warning: Don't buy this DVD. Almost no one can actually do the stuff you're about to see...Minimum recommended daily practice time: 4 hours.... Throughout your training you'll destroy five or more decks per day." Watch the 2-minute trailer and blow yer mind. (Me, I can do a riffle shuffle and sometimes not spray the cards into your face by accident).

Old Black Dog, he knew my name. He takes the form of a huge black dog, and prowls along dark lanes and lonesome field footpaths, where, although his howling makes the hearer's blood run cold, his footfalls make no sound.

Vintage Paperback Covers including lesbiana, sleaze, and good old Science Fiction. more inside

The world's oldest 3D porn has been discovered in Germany.

The incredible Wing Wing is a Hong Kong native who immigrated to NZ ten years ago. She sings the greats for retirement homes and hospital patients. Now she's been discovered by the creators of South Park. You may have heard of Wing before, but if not then I highly recommend downloading at least one of her tracks to hear her unforgettable voice.

MySQL Madness My cache seems to require optimization and flushing all the time, or the database locks up. Is there an SQL query that will automatically optimize and truncate the cache table on a regular/periodic basis? more inside

So yeah, Google maps' new satellite images feature has really been turning heads since its inception. myGmaps (alpha) "enables you to create, save and host custom data files and display them with Google Maps." A booming new Flickr pool, MemoryMaps, lets users share their old neighborhoods with others using Google Maps satellite captures and Flickr's note-labeling feature (blame mathowie - he started it.) Also of interest is the cool new blog Google Sightseeing, which links satellite Google Maps of famous US locales such as Area 51, the Hollywood sign, and the Golden Gate Bridge. more inside

What's the Matter with Kansas? Homophobia, rampant Fundamentalism, assorted manic idiocy and outright insanity. Things certainly have changed since 1896, boy howdy. Much more than William and even Tom would like to admit, I think. My good friends have a question for Kansas. Kansas, y'out there?

'Me eat less cookies,' says Cookie Monster Oh dear...the apocalpyse is nigh!

On August 7, 1974 a Frenchman named Philippe Petit walked a high wire [strung via fishing line and a bow & arrow!] between the two towers of the World Trade Center. He discusses his exploits here and here. Anyone, IMO, who is proud of being arrested more than 500 times around the world is worth a look! more inside

Fiat currency as folk art. I'm pretty sure this is a federal crime. more inside

Pay with $2 bills, get taken to jail. (site registration required) A guy tries to get a little revenge on a store by paying in all $2 bills. The store calls the cops and has him taken to jail. America: Conform or we'll call the cops.

Reach! (Quicktime) A musical lecture by Prangstgrüp. more inside

Family ties to the Royal Wedding calculated by the Family Forest, which tells us that, yes, Marilyn Monroe was indeed Prince Charles' half 14th cousin once removed, and the Wright Brothers were Camilla Parker Bowles' 15th cousins four times removed.

What the Dickens? Not to be confused with Dickensworld or Dickensworld. But it's an idea that's been around for a while, and has doubled in cost. more inside

Captain Cook's Endeavor Journal Online Digitised scans of 700 pages of the journal of the H.M.S. Endeavour, 1768-1771. Written by Captain James Cook. There's no transcript, so far as I can tell, and the thing is difficult to read in places, but, well, voom.

What with the Pope dead you might be cast adrift in a sea of Catholic angst. To whom do you pray about your syphilis? Luckily, there's patron saint for that (three,actually). more inside

Meet the Honey Badger. Also known as the ratel, this handsome beast is one tough mother. Besides digging into bee hives for their honey, they also fight leopards and eat scorpions. I love 'em.