At least that's my guess. She was recently in Japan promoting her hand bags or something, and I think she convinced Nintendo to write this game for her to promote:

[ nintendogs ]

I'm sure she's just waiting for the new pink DS before using it in public.

I don't know why, but I always seem to like a cover, good or bad. Long story short I was in the mood for the Turkey Song this morning, and remembering how Elliot used to drive us crazy with that song I sent the Rhapsody link to Tom. Good call too, he clued me in to the most excellent cover CD ever, "Pigs Fly CD":

Dari has once again come through. Based on the recommendation that his father enjoyed the Philips Senseo, I picked one up for a coffee solution at work.

...the SENSEO® Coffee Machine brings great taste - in both design and coffee - to your kitchen. The patented system uses perfectly balanced proportions of coffee and water. Mild pressure and a special spray head produce an optimally balanced coffee filtering process.

The problem at work is the big industrial machine we have just doesn't make that good coffee. I'm not a big fan of drip, there is so much to clean up, and the coffee is decent, but frequently a bit weak for my taste.

Let us review some of Philips' claims about the product:

Each cup is perfectly brewed and topped with a rich, frothy coffee layer

Note here that Philips does not claim the "layer" is crema. It's not even really crema-like. However for the price, and what you can expect from this type of machine, it does meet their claims.

Quick and easy one touch brewing system brews a cup in 30 seconds.

Absolutly does this. It's not crazy loud like some would have you believe, although I did find the instructions a bit confusing, not mentioning anything about waiting for the power light to stop blinking before selecting 1 or 2 cups for the brew size.

Convenient, no worry auto shutoff after 1 hour

I guess it does this, I've never left it on that long. I'm not even sure why you'd want it to stay on, there is no hot plate or anything. Perhaps just a safety feature, which is always nice.

Clean up is simple with dishwasher safe removable parts

Clean up is simpled. Dead simple. Everything is neat and tidy, and for me that is a super big plus.

1450 watts of power

Well, yes, it does have that much power as far as I can tell.

All-in-all for an under $50 coffee solution (after rebates and if your shipping is free and there is no tax) it's possibly the best I've ever seen (all things considered).

The coffee selection is a bit limited, though, and although I've seen Kona pods, I've yet to see Maui pods (sorry Dad).

Do something stupid:

...the Guy Who Was So Into Super Monkey Ball Deluxe That He Decided To Live in a Ball.

[ The True Adventures of Chad... ]

I'm still not sure if this is stupid funny or stupid stupid, but if he ends up dating the ponytail girl, it could lean more toward funny.

Courtesy Doug:

A caulk gun? Hey, if it’s good enough for Taco Bell guacamole and sour cream, it’s good enough for a fine and delicate espresso, right?

[ How-To: Make a cheap portable espresso machine - Engadget ]

However, I'm not too convinced. The parts are not detailed well enough for me. If they had the part numbers so I could ensure that I had exactly what was needed, perhaps. Plus I'm not sure that everything he uses is food-grade or has been tested with the type of pressure that is required for espresso. I think I'll agree with a few of the comments and look into a COTS product that I can just stuff in my pack like:

or:

Update: Some site called Firebox also carries this Presso Coffee Maker, but has sexier images and a little movie showing it in action.

Update: Both of these are so tempting to add to my collection of coffee and tea paraphernalia, except I just dropped a couple bucks on a Philips Senseo. Perhaps I'll have to treat myself for my birthday with yet another coffee making device that I never or rarely use...

Interesting article by a hijab-wearing American Muslim.

During my senior year of high school, a teacher I had known for four years asked me off-hand where I had learned my English. He was so impressed that I managed to rid myself of all traces of an Arab accent. After an awkward pause, as it slowly dawned on me that no, he was not joking, and yes, he really thought I was an immigrant, I had to explain to him that I had been born 10 minutes away from the school building. The reason my English was so accent-less was because I really was an American, even with my hijab on.

[ The Harvard Crimson Online :: Opinion ]

Reminds me of when I was in Mecca, so many people asked where I was from. I said America. They looked puzzled, and would change the question: "where are your people from?", to which I'd say America. Usually more puzzled looks, sometimes the offering of "you mean Syria?". Basically the thought of an Irish American Muslim was just not conceivable.

I don't have to go to smoky clubs, or listen to crap pop radio stations, and get to find great music. Sure it's a few years old. Sure Sousa's been listening to this guy for years, I'm sure. But I like a new find:

Fantastic Plastic Machine is the project of Japanese DJ Tomoyuki Tanaka. Much of his music reflects a strong bossa nova influence; other tracks are representative of Happy Charm Fool Dance Music

[ Variety Is the Spice of Life - Fantastic Plastic Machine ]

FPM on Rhapsody Radio for those so inclined.

Not davidkearns.com, but Doceus:

Developers will work closely with our VP of technology to architect and deliver solutions for DC-area businesses, associations, and non-profit organizations.

[ Doceus - About Doceus - Employment Opportunities ]

And this job description neglected to say that all employees get to work with me!

Whether or not you are a fan of NPR, hopefully you can appreciate a good story:

Our storyteller shares the tale of an animal rescue -- or an attempt at an animal rescue -- involving a beaver, a box, great compassion and perhaps a bit too much beer.

[ NPR : The Great Beaver Rescue Effort ]

I'm always happy to hear of people willing to carry on story telling traditions, especially when they are this entertaining.

I've just received an email from gmail:

Thanks for signing up to be updated on the latest Gmail happenings. We hope it's been worth the wait, because we're excited to finally offer you an invitation to open a free Gmail account!

Since the email that I gave them now feeds into my gmail account, I received this invitaiton about gmail via gmail, but gmail was nice enough to tag my gmail invite as spam.

I assume that this means that gmail is invite-only no more. Though I still have 50 invitations available to me.

Update: someone should tell Google, though, as the graphic still reads beta...

I may have thought I'd see this on a Microsoft website someday:

ph34r my l33t skillz

[ Microsoft's parent's primer to computer slang ]

But never placed there on purpose, by Microsoft.

As seen on Joe Grossberg and Slashdot.

Odd, no mention of Micro$oft or 114m4 or Micro$ofty 114m4Z...

Which reminds me, I should be wary of my Sidekick II and it's evil H4X0R calculator:

Note the "secret" message typed in the calculator...

A.San did point out that there is only one true way to discover if your kid is a hacker.

Frequently I find Anisa Mehdi's editorials a bit too liberal, but this one is spot on:

Now that the elections in Iraq are over, the work of writing the Iraqi constitution can begin. A Shi'ite religious party will have the most representatives, raising some concerns that the constitution will be based on Islamic law. But commentator Anisa Mehdi says that basing the new constitution on the laws of Islam is a good idea.

[ NPR : Islamic Law and the Iraqi Constitution ]

Though I think pointing out terrorists justifications for obscene acts of violence has little to do with Islamic law.

Does anyone else think this is a good idea?

Ubisoft and U.S. giant Electronic Arts are holding talks two months after Ubisoft dismissed EA's acquisition of a near-20 percent stake in the French video game maker as "hostile," the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday.

[ Yahoo! News - Ubisoft, EA Hold Preliminary Talks -Paper ]

Does anyone else care? Stop the madness!

When Dari got me hooked on this stuff, I had no idea:

Listen, if you haven't yet, to the great pop stars of Senegal: Youssou N'Dour, Cheikh Lo, Baaba Maal. You'll adore what you hear and discover what they have in common, like the hustle and ping of their sound, etched with koras and horns. The other is what they sing about: transfixing passion, not for earthly lovers but for the holy men, marabouts, the Sufi saints of Islam.

[ Caught Up in the Aura of a Senegalese Saint (New York Times, requires registration) ]

I don't know much about this West African Sufi movement, but my brothers in Senegal sure know how to play some great tunes. If you Rhapsody, or even Napster, I recommend at least sampling a few tunes. Come to think of it, Dari digs the Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan too. Based on his recent post, perhaps I should check out the Sufi roots of Hall and Oates.