Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Virtual Magic Kingdom Hits Million Player Mark

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (PRNewswire) – Barely more than seven months after its official launch, Virtual Magic Kingdom, a free multiplayer gaming community inspired by Disney's theme parks, has acquired the one-millionth character in its virtual community. Quickly establishing itself as one of the coolest destinations online for gaming fans, the virtual theme park at vmk.com has grown to include several new lands, fun new games and more than 1.3 million personalized rooms created by its players. In December, VMK opened Frontierland, a Wild-West neighborhood. Players can create their own log flume ride or hunt ghosts in a new Haunted Mansion multiplayer game. Players can also enjoy tons of fun activities as they explore a virtual community inspired by Disney's famous theme parks and attractions.

· Adventureland offers players the chance to steer through treacherous rivers aboard the Jungle Cruise Photo Safari or battle other players in high-seas competition inspired by the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction and movies.
· On VMK's Main Street, players can create funky music mixes and share them with other players.
· Fantasyland lets players compete against 100 other characters in an amazing fireworks display game.
· In a future phase set to launch later this year, Tomorrowland will add an exciting, outer-space dimension to the virtual theme park.

Throughout each land, shops offer creative items players can purchase to decorate their personal space – or trade with other characters. Gamers can visit VMK Central in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World and Disneyland park at Disneyland Resort and participate in exciting real-world Quests. And, best of all, guests who successfully complete a VMK Quest in the real world will earn secret codes for game credits and other cool virtual rewards to enhance game play. In February, VMK added a new game where guests can build their own Expedition Everest ride in celebration of the Spring opening of Expedition Everest in Disney's Animal Kingdom. When players enter VMK they can really express themselves. Each character is completely in charge of the universe he or she creates, right down to their "look." Blue spiky hair is "in" and your wardrobe is your own, with dozens of colorful clothing pieces to buy or trade. Plus, Virtual Magic Kingdom lets players create personalized guest rooms and decorate them any way they want to reflect their own style. The fun is just a 'mouse' click away.

Neologism - Making up new meanings for words

Once again, The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly neologism contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.

The winners are:

1. Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.
2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
3 . Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.
5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.
6. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.
7. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.
8. Gargoyle (n.), olive-flavored mouthwash.
9. Flatulence (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.
11. Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.
12. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
13. Pokemon (n), a Rastafarian proctologist.
14. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.
15. Frisbeetarianism (n.), (back by popular demand): The belief that, when you die, your Soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
16. Circumvent (n.), an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

The Washington Post's Style Invitational also asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.

Here are this year's winners:

1. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
2. Foreploy (v): Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
3. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.
4. Giraffiti (n): Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
5. Sarchasm (n): The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
6. Inoculatte (v): To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
7. Hipatitis (n): Terminal coolness.
8. Osteopornosis (n): A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
9. Karmageddon (n): It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
10 Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
11. Glibido (v): All talk and no action.
12. Dopeler effect (n): The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
13. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
14. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
15. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a grub in the fruit you're eating.
16. Ignoranus (n): A person who's both stupid and an asshole

Monday, February 27, 2006

Whois Source - Wildcard Domain Search Lookup

Whois Source - Wildcard Domain Search Lookup

Lookup websites instantly. This is a cool and probably dangerous service.

The Canoe Race

A Japanese company and an American company decided to have a canoe race on
the Missouri River. Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak
performance before the race. On the big day the Japanese won by a mile.
Afterward, the American team was very discouraged and depressed.
The American company decided the reason for their crushing defeat had to be
found. A Management Team made up of senior executives was formed to
investigate and recommend appropriate action. They discovered that the
Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team
had 8 people steering and one person rowing. The American Management Team
hired a consulting firm to assist in analyzing this data, happily paying
their considerable fee. After six months of hard work, the consulting firm
concluded that too many people were steering the Americans' boat, while not
enough people were rowing.
So the American Team acted: To prevent losing to the Japanese again the
following year, the team's management structure was totally reorganized, to
include 4 steering supervisors, 3 area steering superintendents and 1
assistant superintendent steering manager. They also implemented a new
performance system that would give the 1 person rowing the boat greater
incentive to work harder. It was called the Rowing Team Quality First
Program, with meetings, dinners and free pens for the rower. In an all-out
attempt to further provide empowerment and enrichment's to the rower, new
paddles and medical benefit incentives were promised in exchange for a
victory in the next competition.
The next year the Japanese won by two miles.
Humiliated, the American Management Team laid off the rower for poor
performance, halted development of a new canoe, sold the paddles and
canceled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was
distributed to the senior executives as bonuses for a job well done.

Friday, February 24, 2006

Actor Tries To Trademark The N-Word

(Wired) – Damon Wayans has been trying to trademark the "N" word. Wayans wants to dress customers in 14 kinds of attire from tops to bottoms, and use the controversial mark on 'clothing, books, music and general merchandise,' as well as movies, TV and the internet, according to his applications. But, so far, his applications have been unsuccessful.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Tim Curry and Simon Russell Beale on Board for Spamalot in London

NEW YORK (Broadway.com) – Preliminary casting has been announced for the West End production of Spamalot. Tim Curry will reprise the role of King Arthur, which he originated on Broadway. He will stay with the show through January 2007. Current Broadway lead, Simon Russell Beale, will then take over for Curry. The production will also feature Hannah Waddingham as The Lady of the Lake, David Birrell as Patsy, Tom Goodman-Hill as Sir Lancelot and Robert Hands as Sir Robin. The musical is set to begin performances at the Palace Theatre on October 2.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Moira rocks

My sister is in a new Toyota Highlander commercial. Yee effen haw!

There can be only one!

Monday, February 20, 2006

'Spamalot' Addresses an Image Problem

NEW YORK (NY Times) – The Shubert Theater, home to the hit musical "Monty Python's Spamalot," has a new look. Gone from its facade, where it was flanked by images of a rabbit with a bloody mouth and a cow, is the image of a young woman in a low-cut dress, pursing her lips and playing with her hair. It was removed after a model sued, contending that it showed her in a foolish and undignified way without her permission, The Associated Press reported. The show's advertising and marketing agency, Serino Coyne, said in a statement, "After learning that the model objected to having her picture associated with 'Spamalot,' we decided to stop using her image, even though we firmly believe that we can legally use it." Susan Taylor, the employee who released the statement, said she would not comment on the status of the lawsuit, filed last month by Carla Collins. Ms. Collins said in court papers that the photograph was taken nearly two years ago after she finished a photo session in Cape Town.

Jaws Back in Action at Universal Orlando

ORLANDO (AP) – Universal Orlando has reopened its Jaws adventure ride, after using it only occasion-ally since last year. The theme park refurbished the ride before reopening it this month. Since September, park officials had only opened the ride for after-hours events and holiday crowds. The boat ride, which tours visitors through a lagoon infested with seven robotic great white sharks, was popular with guests, said Tom Schroder, a Universal spokesman. The ride is based on the best-selling 1974 novel "Jaws," by Peter Benchley – who died Saturday – and the 1975 blockbuster movie by Steven Spielberg. Universal closed the ride shortly after opening it in 1990 because of mechanical difficulties. It was rebuilt and re-opened in 1993. Outside industry sources estimate Universal may have spent $70 million on original con-struction and overhauling the ride. The Jaws ride will remain open at least through the end of summer, Schroder said.

Number 1 in Billboard

(Billboard) – The top performers on the Album, Singles and Airplay, and Home Video charts as they appear in the current issue of Billboard. Shown are title, artist, and album or video label:

Album Charts
? Billboard 200 – “Curious George” (Soundtrack), Jack Johnson (Brushfire)
? Bluegrass – “Lonely Runs Both Ways,” Alison Krauss + Union Station (Rounder)
? Christian – “Testify,” P.O.D. (Atlantic / Wea)
? Classical – “Opera Recital,” Rolando Villazon (Virgin Classics)
? Classical Crossover – “Amore”, Andrea Bocelli (Sugar)
? Compilations – “2006 Grammy Nominees”, Various Artists (Grammy / Sony BMG)
? Comedy – “You Can’t Fix Stupid,” Ron White (Image)
? Country – “Some Hearts”, Carrie Underwood (Arista)
? Digital – “Curious George” (Soundtrack), Jack Johnson (Brushfire)
? Electronic – “Demon Days”, Gorillaz (Parlophone)
? Gospel – “WOW Gospel 2006,” Various Artists (Verity)
? Heatseekers – “How to Save a Life,” The Fray (Sony / Epic)
? Independent – “You Can’t Fix Stupid,” Ron White (Image)
? Internet – “High School Musical,” TV Soundtrack (Disney)
? Jazz – “It’s Time,” Michael Buble (143 / Reprise)
? Kid Audio – “High School Musical,” TV Soundtrack (Disney)
? Latin – “Barrio Fino : En Directo,” Daddy Yankee (El Cartel / Interscope)
? New Age – “Amarantine,” Enya (Warner Bros. / Reprise)
? Pop Catalog – “Michael Buble,” Michael Buble (143 / Reprise)
? Rap – “On Top of Our Game,” Dem Franchize Boyz (So So Def / Virgin)
? R&B / Hip-Hop – “The Breakthrough”, Mary J. Blige (Geffen)
? Soundtracks – “Curious George” (Soundtrack), Jack Johnson (Brushfire)
? World Music – “Celtic Woman,” Celtic Woman (Manhattan)

Singles & Airplay
? The Hot 100 – “Check on It,” Beyonce feat. Slim Thug (Sony Urban Music / Columbia)
? Adult Contemporary – “You & Me,” Lifehouse (Geffen)
? Adult Top 40 – “Photograph,” Nickelback (Roadrunner)
? Christian – “This Man,” Jeremy Camp (Bec Recordings)
? Christian Adult Contemporary – “This Man,” Jeremy Camp (Bec Recordings)
? Country – “Jesus Take the Wheel,” Carrie Underwood (Arista)
? Dance / Club Play – “Rhythm Intoxication,” Rosabel (Tommy Boy)
? Dance / Radio Airplay – “Sorry,” Madonna (Warner Bros.)
? Gospel – “Looking for You,” Kirk Franklin (Gospo Centric)
? Hot Digital Songs – “You’re Beautiful”, James Blunt (Atlantic / Custard)
? Hot Latin Songs – “Rompe,” Daddy Yankee (Interscope)
? Pop 100 – “Check on It,” Beyonce feat. Slim Thug (Sony Urban Music / Columbia)
? Pop 100 Airplay – “Check on It,” Beyonce feat. Slim Thug (Sony Urban Music / Columbia)
? R&B / Hip-Hop – “Be Without You,” Mary J. Blige (Geffen / Interscope)
? Rap – “Grillz,” Nelly feat. Paul Wall, Ali & Gipp (Derrty / Fo’ Reel)
? Ring Tones – “Grillz,” Nelly feat. Paul Wall, Ali & Gipp (Derrty / Fo’ Reel)
? Rock / Mainstream Rock Tracks – “Animals,” Nickelback (Roadrunner)
? Rock / Modern Rock Tracks – “Wasteland,” 10 Years (Universal)
? Videoclips – “Check on It (Pink Panther),” Beyonce feat. Slim Thug (Columbia)


Video Charts

? Video Sales – “Legs of Steel 2000” (Warner Home Video)
? Video Rentals – “Flightplan” (Touchstone Home Video)
? DVD Sales – “Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride” (Warner Home Video)
? Kid Video – “Elmo’s World : Reach for the Sky” (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
? Video Game Rentals – PS2 : “Need for Speed : Most Wanted” (Electronic Arts)
? Music Video – “Gaither Homecoming : Live From Toronto” (Gaither Music Video)

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Blogworthy softball team names

Red Headed Step Kids
Empty Pitchers
Bottom of the Fifth
VOTE FOR PEDRO
Mixed Nuts
Ball Slappers
Kiss my Ashcroft
The Mr. Furley Experience
Scared Hitless
Drunk as Hit
High and Tight
Sigourney Beaver
The Fluffers
These aren't my Balls
Balls Deep
Free Bases

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Daily Dose of Excel - 2005 - March , 16

Daily Dose of Excel - 2005 March , 16: "I can't tell Steve to write in VB6 today. You're one Windows Update away from code that fails. You can write in .Net, but there's risk there. If Microsoft can throw away VB6 code assets so easily, what are you going to do in 10 years when .Net is old news? Are you going to rewrite your tens of thousands of lines of code in MS's flavor of the day?
Here's your choices as I see them.
Write in .Net and understand the risks. Resign yourself to rewriting your code every 10 years, and if you don't have to, then it's a bonus.
Write in C++. Microsoft writes its stuff in C++ and you'll notice that C++ hasn't gone anywhere. They know how to protect their code assets. So long as your language is the same as theirs, you'll be fine.
Write in Visual FoxPro. I don't know the whole story behind this, but from what I gather MS was going to dump VFP. Someone(s) made the right stink to the right people and it came back. There seems to be some freakish cult of VFP programmers and that's one program that doesn't seem to be going away.
Dump MS. I've heard of VB6 programmers moving to Delphi, Sun's Java and REALBasic. "

Rolling Stones Decry Super Bowl Censorship

(AP) – Nobody turns off the microphone on Mick Jagger without a fight. Censorship of their songs during the Super Bowl halftime show was "absolutely ridiculous and completely unnecessary," the Rolling Stones said through a spokeswoman on Tuesday. The NFL, which produced the show seen on ABC Sunday night, silenced Jagger's microphone during sexually suggestive passages of two of the three songs the band performed before an audience of 90 million television viewers. The football league, still nervous over the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction two years ago at the Super Bowl, has said it wanted to ensure family entertainment at the game. "The band was aware of our plan to simply lower Mick's mike at the appropriate moments," said Brian McCarthy, NFL spokesman. "It was discussed with the group last week prior to the Super Bowl." He declined further comment on the Stones' statement.

Fucking unbelievable. Why even bother? The Simpsons had it dead on when they had Ned Flanders do their SuperBowl halftime show and the world revolted.

Try to entertain everyone and you entertain no one.

DIC Entertainment & Warren Buffett Create ‘Secret Millionaire's Club'

This looks cool.

BURBANK, Calif. (PRNewswire) – DIC Entertainment and legendary investor Warren Buffett have joined forces to create an all-new, direct-to-DVD animated series, "The Secret Millionaire's Club," which will promote financial literacy to kids. "The Secret Millionaire's Club," currently in production, will consist of 13 titles with the first two titles scheduled for release in Fall 2006. The series, featuring the words, voice and likeness of Mr. Buffett, will focus on financial lessons utilizing kid-relatable characters and real world situations, as well as entertaining adventures. "The Secret Millionaire's Club," will be released by a major home entertainment distributor and will be available for worldwide distribution. An unscrupulous developer buying up properties in Omaha is foreclosing on the rundown local Youth Center. Its last four members are cleaning out the attic when they find a box of old sports memorabilia-including, among other rare and valuable items. They put everything up for bid on an online auction service -- and make millions. After they pay off the mortgage on the center, the "secret millionaires" ask local celebrity Warren Buffett for advice on how to invest the money. With Warren's help, the four kids meet secretly to decide what local companies and businesses to invest in. Each week, Warren guides them to discovering new aspects of his investment philosophy, by using the Socratic Method to help them put his rules into practice, and helps them learn sound financial management skills -- like avoiding debt. At the same time, the kids become involved in adventures as they deal with dishonest owners, corrupt accountants, security guards, corporate raiders, crooked politicians, and, of course, the unscrupulous developer.

Ride May Klonk After All


ORLANDO (Orlando Sentinel) – And it klonked. And it bonked. And it jerked. And it berked. And it bopped them about. But the thing really worked! Except at Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure. There, a children's monorail inspired by the Dr. Seuss rhyme that klonks, bonks, jerks and berks, never worked in its nearly seven years in the park. But that may be about to change. The ride, perched 15 feet above ground in Seuss Landing, may open later this year, though with a revised design and possibly a new name. Universal Orlando officials don't talk publicly about what happened to Sylvester McMonkey McBean's Very Unusual Driving Machines ride, an attraction that has sat unused since Islands of Adventure opened in 1999. During that time, millions of visitors have walked past the ride's closed building and under the long ribbons of monorail that pass over walkways, skirt the lake and circle the Caro-Seuss-el and the If I Ran The Zoo attractions. Occasionally from 1999 to 2003, signs went up out front declaring that it would open soon. But those signs came down, and the ride never opened, while critics complained that the park did not have enough rides for small children. Meanwhile, the park added two other children's rides from scratch, Flying Unicorn and Storm Force Accelatron. Now another sign has gone up, "Coming Summer 2006." And Universal lately has been talking to employees about helping open the ride, which was inspired by Seuss's The Sneetches and Other Stories book. Universal still is not ready to talk much about the ride publicly, except to say that its time is near. "We open new attractions when we're convinced they meet our obsessively high standards for creativity, overall guest experience and safety. We're not going to compromise on any of those things," spokesman Tom Schroder said. "It's true there have been some challenges with this attraction in more than one area – but this experience is now exactly where we want it to be and we look forward to watching our guests enjoy it." Past problems reportedly included concerns over how the ride might be evacuated if mechanical problems caused it to stop while riders were aloft all over Seuss Landing, said Steven Smith, a former Universal employee and now operations manager at Baker Leisure Group, an Orlando-based theme park consulting firm. Smith said Universal also reportedly has changed the ride's design, though he said he did not know details. Originally the ride would have featured individual cars moving along the track. Riders would have had some control over the speed, so they could bump one another, much as with cars at Walt Disney World's Tomorrowland Indy Speedway. The McBean name also might change, Smith said. Meanwhile, the "Coming Summer 2006" sign and the violet and teal rails meandering overhead in Seuss Landing are catching customers' attention. "I can't wait," said Tina Milam of Tupelo, Miss., who was at Islands of Adventure recently with her two daughters and said she would be back. "It looks adorable."

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

About 90.7 Million Watched Super Bowl

NEW YORK (AP) – An estimated 90.7 million people watched the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks Sunday, the largest Super Bowl audience since the Steelers last played in the title game in 1996. The audience was 5 percent bigger than the 86.1 million people who watched the New England Patriots beat the Philadelphia Eagles last year, according to preliminary estimates from Nielsen Media Research. ABC also scored solid ratings for an episode of "Grey's Anatomy" following the game. The Steelers beat the Seahawks 21-10, but the game wasn't really decided until the final five minutes or so, which kept the audience glued to the set, said Larry Hyams, ABC research executive. "The Super Bowl obviously is a national event and people are going to tune in regardless of whether the teams have national appeal," Hyams said. "It's up to the game to hold the audience." The Super Bowl is traditionally the biggest television event of the year. The Academy Awards, jokingly called the Super Bowl for women, often comes in second; last year, 41.5 million people saw the Oscars. Pittsburgh had the largest Super Bowl rating of any media market, with a 57.1, Nielsen said. Seattle followed directly behind with a 55. A total of 141.4 million people watched at least some part of the game, Nielsen said. The 90.7 million figured represented the game's average audience at any given moment. The "Grey's Anatomy" episode after the game was seen by 38.1 million people, Nielsen said. That's 15 million more than has ever watched a single episode of the medical soap. It was the most-watched entertainment program of the season so far — even beating "American Idol."

Friday, February 03, 2006

From the Superficial...

Brad Pitt is a chameleon