Barcelona club injects members with chips so they can pay with a shrug of the shoulder.

Hitherby Dragons "When you promise something that humans can't fulfill," Erin says, "you don't have to be human any more." "Can't," Branwen says. "Not 'don't have to.'" more inside

The PATRIOT Act takes another hit today. A federal judge "ruled in favor of the ACLU, which challenged the power the FBI has to demand confidential financial records from companies as part of terrorism investigations." Big deal? This is the part of the PATRIOT Act that was being used to gather evidence against music pirates. (yarrr)

How to Be a Hipster So-called Hipness is not all about what you drink, or wear, or buy. It

Correcting knowledge gaps in the Wikipedia Some users are trying to create a project to get rid of knowledge gaps -- seen as "systemic bias" -- in the Wikipedia. more inside

Toutatis, the asteroid, came as close to earth as any asteroid in 500 years... the perennial question: what would you do if it was going to hit earth in the next 24hrs? (I would just cross my fingers and hope it hits Texas first)

A database of Congress travels. Find out who went where on whose dime, and perhaps gain some insight on why your representative voted a certain way on that drug bill.

Am I psychic? "This test is based on the Zenner ESP card test. Since the shape is not selected until after you have made your choice, this is a test of your ability to predict future events. The accuracy of the result increases with the number of guesses that you make. The significance level is determined by a formula that was used with the Zenner tests."

American Presidential Debates! Ha! Ha!

The Coming Civil War - Unlikely, but an interesting read anyway.

Networks Balk at Presidential Debate Rules Rules designed, of course, to make it not so much a debate as duelling stump speeches. Good for the Media. more inside

Learn to Speak American! Welcome to American Accent Training. I hope you enjoy this site as you learn how to speak with a standard American accent. Sko! [via The Morning News]

Create a Fake Phantom Limb - Ever heard of Phantom Limb syndrome? Well, there ya go. Now you can have a phantom limb syndrome of your own, by fooling your brain. See how stupid your brain is? Your brain can be fooled so easily. Mine too. Depressing, really. more inside

Art and UFOs? No thanks, only art... more inside

Can't find my way home An interview with Martin Torgoff on drugs and the arts in America during (his phrase) "the Great Stoned Age".

411blog "This service exists to create a constructive, symbiotic relationship between blogging and traditional forms of journalism." A new service, but looks promising. Here's the about page

Sample Size Artist Projects
Some REAL winners in here. Explore.

From Rio to Akron aboard the Graf Zeppelin, 1933: Alicia Momsen Miller recalls her childhood journey. Candid family snaps included! Her father somehow finagled the Goodyear-Zeppelin Company into footing the bill for his whole family's airship jaunt to the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. The family's governess, however, went by boat.

The Draft remains a real possibilty and it's odd we haven't heard more about it in the runup to the election. It seems like Kerry could do something with this. There are few issues tha elicit stronger emotional reactions than the Draft! more inside

How big is your ecological footprint? Answer three short screens of questions about your age, where you live and your eating and transportation habits and this site calculates the global real estate required to sustain your current lifestyle. more inside