This is not a Pipe

The superlative directory of wonderful things BoingBoing posted a bit of dadaism in signage last week for this bilingual road sign in Wales. I spotted this similar ad absurdia meme by the fleet garage at work. I wonder what sort of delivery system they have in place for slapping up these signs. It's sort of like dodgy, cheap underwear inspected by Inspector #52.

a very merry un-birthday from me to you

For sometime, I have been kind of reticent mentioning my birthday to colleagues and such because I in part feel that I've had quite enough of them as it is. A bit of a party among friends is something altogether different, though. I think, however, that the bigger reason I try not to call attention to my getting older is because it's a time for personal evaluation--but the sort of personal polite that is also acceptable at the office New Year's Eve party. I've cringed always on being questioned about my resolutions, so much so that I'd like to avoid the situation altogether. It's a bit of Schadenfreude, not of being perfect--not even necessarily content, but decidedly happy. It's like the raging drunk loudly declaring his resolve to have more fun as the rest of the gathering quietly toasts the passing year. And never brought to mind... I want to be smarter about things, generally, and dedicate more time to studies and being creative, but I am fully succumbing to the travel-bug, I like my job and I'm hopelessly in love.

All Hallows' Eve

Halloween causes reflection of the nature of terror, the nature of fear--though they all this ghoulish mimicry is to either appease or confuse what terrorizes us. Considering all the different lenses on what's scary, I doubt anyone wants to emulate the frightening things out there. It's time to play the Pyramid: stubborn stains, having a wash that's not whiter than white, not having the appropriate tool for DiY projects, not having superior supplemental homeowners' insurance, not having the perfect partner, paying too much for anything whatsoever, not having a perfectly-toned body, hay-fever and seasonal allergies, dated ringtones and Handys and PCs! Oh my! And guess what? That's just European tv. Apparently my mother purchased a giant plasma televison to experience larger-than-life pharmaceutical passion-plays in the States. Instead maybe we dress up like those consumers we see in the commercials everyday to appeal or confuse.

Asimov

Sometimes, while trowling the internet, humans encounter a succinct test such as this, which can once and for all establish the end-user as a sentient being. It's an odd sort of Turring-test that can prove that the gentle-surfer at the other end is not some malicious bug or a diabolical Evil-Genius. I wonder if such a lithmus test will endure into the future. Could humans devise such an ingenious test that a robot would never be able to pass? Text not recognized--malfunction, malfunction! Would it become standard to be asked to validate one's humanity when making any transaction? Discobear575--there, that shows I am legitimate.

The Maverick and the Soccer Mom

It's passing for excitement nowadays--maybe a bit of distraction from the implosion of the rest of the world. McCain and Palin are still tight like prom night, never mind that she might be the very co-efficient of drag on the entire campaign (hmmm...drag, I ought to be Sarah Palin for Halloween--I can't imagine anything scarier). I have no sorrow for the destruction of the Republican ticket--I think they're perfectly-matched, sort of like Caligula and the horse he appointed senator--but rather the way it dulls the entire discussion and maybe exaggerates differences that are not really there. Here's what we know: Obama is a Marxist, a befriender of terrorists, and a totally not esentially different person from John McCain. It is maddening.

Now McCain is playing dismissive with calls that his thrust is falling short and ignoring polls that show him slipping further and further behind. Maybe--Pepsi Choice sponsored by PepsiCo is an invitation to a little white lie: some responders may be too embarrassed to admit to a pollster that they want to vote for the ticket with the only candidate with executive office experience, but will do so in the privacy of the voting-booth, or to tell a stranger that they won't vote for a black man.