Astronaut or Space Cadet? Astronaut Lisa Nowak has a court appearance today, relating to a kidnap plot in a love triangle over astronaut William Oefelein. more inside

British cops clamp down on lone flasher Somerset Police handed out disposable cameras to women to help them catch a lone flasher in Burnham-on-Sea. Ladies are helping the police doing their job in this "winkie-cam" sting!

Chillis [sic] galore. Here are some pretty pictures of chilis and how hot they are. There are chile facts, growing tips, recipes, and links. more inside

Curious George I'm looking for monkeys who are currently residing in Nigeria, and have been for at least 4 years. Odd request, yes, but lets just say I have interesting professors.

Hiroshi Sugimoto: "One evening while taking photographs at the American Museum of Natural History, I had a near-hallucinatory vision. My internal question-and-answer session leading up to this vision went something like this: "Suppose you shoot a whole movie in a single frame?" The answer: "You get a shining screen." Immediately I began experimenting in order to realize this vision. One afternoon I walked into a cheap cinema in the East Village with a large-format camera. As soon as the movie started, I fixed the shutter at a wide-open aperture. When the movie finished two hours later, I clicked the shutter closed. That evening I developed the film, and my vision exploded before my eyes." more inside

Web 2.0 in just under 5 minutes. (YouTube)

The Briefcase That Changed the World In the summer of 1940, Sir Henry Tizard carried a briefcase to the US. This was the Tizard Mission. Contained in the briefcase were plans for the Cavity Magnetron, a device that would change the world. Sir Henry Tizard's mission was to simply hand over the plans for the cavity magnetron and the rest of England's military technology to the US. more inside

Snickers' Super Homophobia For their contribution to SuperBowl advertising yesterday, Snickers ran an spot where two mechanics start eating a Snickers bar from opposite ends until they end up kissing, a la "Lady and the Tramp." Then, to prove how not gay they really are, they have to "do something manly" to compensate. The SuperBowl version has the men ripping out their chest hair as their proof of manliness, but other versions of the ad have the guys swilling motor oil or attacking each other violently in response. As if this wasn't explicitly disapproving enough for probably the most-viewed gay kiss ever on US TV, there is also an accompanying site which shows the ads and various football players being appalled by the kiss. I guess the only thing that satisfies more than Snickers is not being gay? via.

Court Martial Is 1st Lt. Ehren Watada standing up for what is right, or is he a Quisling? The court martial refuses to consider the first question, and hopes to convict him for treachery. more inside

Vincenzo Lunardi made the first balloon trips in England. more inside

So far, about 340,000 are homeless as Jakarta floods again. Not really much of news here in the US, but it's quite a mess! What can one do? Keep their hopes up as the worst is yet to come... more inside

The Cynosphere. An unusual tricycle built in France in 1875, the Cynosphere was driven by two caged dogs.

[Curious George] Dad-to-be? Going to be a Dad in June/July and wondered if there was an experience-based "must have" list: I'm getting conflicting opinions from british sites. I know I need a moses basket/travel system thing and a cot bed etc. Seeing as i want to get a lot of stuff second hand I thought I'd start with a list of things.

Shave 'em dry! [sound; NSFW] Here's some old-time smutty singing, with a great giggle mid-song, from this side-long-glancing gal, Lucille Bogan. There's more listenable smut here.

A Week in Vegas The company is sending me for a massive conference. Anyone got some insider info on something awesome to do that a tourist wouldn't normally know about? more inside

!Sydneysider Alert! Koko is Koming! I will be in Sydneyville from March 24th through April 7, and would love to meet you! This will be my first ever meetup yay!!!! more inside

Let's Be Friends... A site that could go on for ever. via

Celebrity StupidBowl Picks! Bears or Colts? Colts or Bears? StupidBowl XLI is just about . . oh . . 49? Hours away! Yes, enjoy the predictions of celebrities such as John Travolta, Jimmy Buffet . . um, Okay I don't know who that is . . nnnope don't know them . . uh, some dude . . Anyway - What's your prediction??

It's Just a Plant: A Children's Story of Marijuana. Free .pdf available until Valentine's Day. In French and German as well as English, in case you're teaching your kids and want to work on some, uh, state-dependent learning. more inside

Curious George's birthweight. A very big baby was born in Mexico this week, tipping the scales at 14.1 pounds. How much did you weigh when you first showed up? What are your birth stats?