Curious George: Finding rural DSL coverage. We may be buying some rural land. Is there any definitive way (besides dslreports) to see whether it gets DSL service? more inside

History of computer graphics. Probably the best site I've seen delving into the early years of commercial computer graphics, with things like an ancient CGI console (bottom), and Tron and Scrubbing Bubbles. Lavishly illustrated and with QT movies.

Is Paypal out of control? Personally I haven't had trouble with Paypal, but I'm thinking of jumping ship. Paypal has sparked a rash of slew of complaint and help sites. Paypal seems to be legendary for freezing funds of legitimate businesses. Others get hacked and are then thrown to the collection wolves. Funny that the BBB says they're a-ok, however New York has recently busted them. Anyone here had any Paypal woes? Should I jump ship as a seller? Main link seems to disappear in my Firefox but shows ok in IE.

Curious George: Made in China. Here in the US I am absolutely astounded by the amount of merchandise made in China. It seems to be a quiet revolution that swept over retail America during the late 1990s. One curiosity that comes to mind is Wal-Mart, which back in the 1980s trumpeted "Made in the USA" on all of its TV commercials and has since gone a full 180. What are your thoughts on whether Made in China is good or bad? Is there any virtue in trying to buy American? And are there any department stores that maintain American inventory?

Curious George: Realtor listings. I'm looking at land on realtor.com. Is there any way I can pull up expanded listings at 1 a.m. without having to wait until morning for a Realtor(TM) to intervene? I'm sitting here trying to shop for rural properties, and I have all the maps I need, but I have to deal with their sucky website that doesn't give expanded listings, and thus won't show directions or location of most rural properties. Anyone ever get around this hurdle from the comfort of home?

Curious George: Population dispersion model? Reading some survivalism newsgroups I have been curious exactly what might happen in a hypothetical economic collapse and am wondering how one would go about modelling population dispersion into the countryside. more inside

Curious George: Posting to Usenet. What are some good ways for posting to Usenet for free, not counting Google Groups? more inside

Feds claiming 337,000 jobs created since July. What do you make of this? Genuine improvement in the economy or bad metrics? It seems 98% of my household goods are now made in China. If these are indeed mostly service jobs, then by analogy, how can business be booming at hot dog stands outside an auto manufacturing plant that has been bleeding jobs?

Curious George: Emigrating within the U.S. In a really old MoFi thread (last spring) I asked about leaving the country, and I see the subject returned here today. However it's not the answer. Is there an affordable leftie haven inside the United States? Why is the deck seemingly stacked against us to where we can't find a like-minded community within our own borders? more inside

Curious George: CD-R reviews. I've spent most of the morning trying to locate a certain review site for CD-R blanks, almost identical to videohelp.com. It is/was an awesome "epinions" of the CD-R world with detailed user reviews on what CD-R products are best and where they are cheapest. I cannot find it due to the results noise in Google. Any ideas here?

Curious George: Build it but they won't come. I just built a news satire website, but I have an audience of zero. Where is a good place I can get a few people to look at it? I did the Google thing a week ago but I'm still not in there, and I can't hope to be in Google Directory / dmoz for a long while. What are some options?

Curious George: IRC server. I have a website that is needing realtime chat, but I am having trouble understanding my options. ... more inside

Lip-syncing screwup goes out live on SNL. The king of evening comedy claims to have never allowed lip-syncing, but just this evening Ashlee Simpson's voice track started too soon. The result: a big gaffe onstage, followed by an abrupt cut to commercial. Strike one against corporate music. Anyone see it?

American voter registration fraud clearinghouse. This site contains an late-breaking, organized state-by-state directory of problems that may destabilize the results of the U.S. Presidential election. I have to thank it for giving me something to watch for at my Austin polling station. Any similar sites worth watching?

When the Turing Test meets AOL [NSFW text]. AOL/IM's "sex-starved" users have proven to be a fertile ground for people to surreptitiously test "chatterbots", ostensibly for experimentation, arguably for entertainment. The results are at times hilarious [NSFW text]. Runabot is a popular engine of choice. Also check out Leena Saarinen's neat paper on chatterbots. Nothing earth-shattering here but worth some Friday fun.

Curious George: The future of Monkeyfilter? Monkeyfilter is on a growth curve and is picking up 10 users a day. With only linear growth we will hit the 3000 mark by Christmas and 5000 by summer. Can its cozy, eclectic roots be preserved in the face of this onslaught? And how can we keep from locking the door like MeFi did?

Curious George: BugMeNot alternative? During the past month I have not gotten a single successful login from BugMeNot. Just tonight BugMeNot gave me 36 logins for one site, none of which worked, before I gave up. Also the logins I report as "This Did Not Work" are never deleted. I'm fed up with it. Are there any alternatives out there?

Curious George: T-shirt aging. I am wondering why my T-shirts always start out soft and fashionable, then after a few months they are tough, prone to wrinkles, and embarrassing to be out in. My wife thinks it is a fabric softener / high pH washwater problem, but I've often used softeners. I think it's all the fine fibers being gradually being eroded out in the dryer (thus all the lint). Any idea what is going on, and how to improve a shirt's lifespan (or restore an old shirt)?

Curious George: The "good" side of town? Moneyjane's question about the bad side of town got me to thinking: is there any such thing as a "good" side of town anymore? more inside

Box Nasty Hall of Shame. Slow afternoon here at MoFi, so here's my paltry contribution. If you ever are flying on a U.S. Air Force plane, and if you ever get hungry on that flight, well, this guide may come in handy. White blood cells a bit low? Try the Pope Air Force Base meal.