Okay, this begs the question: Why? Why would someone decide to replicate currency using eggs? Was the job contracted first, or did the artist just get permission to build it somewhere and then head to the egg farm? We may never know, but this site has photos of the work in progress…

I’m always fascinated with technology. In this video, a hip-hop DJ/beatmaker uses an AKAI MPD24 and FL Studio 7 to digitally create and mix this tune. No real instruments were harmed (or used) in making this video.

And yes, that’s how he spells it.

Inner voice: “No Doug, don’t post it!”

Another inner voice: “Aw, go ahead, Doug! It’s your blog, do as you please!”

Me: “Well…Okay…”

Once upon a time, a blonde became so sick of hearing blonde jokes that she had her hair cut and dyed brown. A few days later, while driving around the countryside, she stopped her car to let a flock of sheep pass.

Admiring the cute wooly creatures, she asked the shepherd, “If I can guess how many sheep you have, can I take one?”

The shepherd, dubious but always the gentleman, replied, “Why sure, little lady!”

The blonde thought for a moment and, for no discernible reason, said “352.”

That being the correct number, the shepherd was understandably amazed and exclaimed, “You’re right! Okay, I’ll keep to my end of the bargain. Take your pick of my flock.” The blonde carefully considered the entire flock and finally picked the one that was by far cuter and more playful than any of the others.

The shepherd then turned to her and said, “Okay, now I have a proposition for you. If I can guess your natural hair color, can I have my dog back..?”

(I always listen to my inner voices.)

I remember stacking cards as a kid, once using two full decks to create a primitive multi-story structure. It stood intact for perhaps ten minutes, long enough for my mom to see it and my two mischievous little brothers, one of whom is today an architect, to knock it down. Just think what I might have accomplished had I stayed with it instead of pursuing a career in business!

Bryan Berg broke the Guinness World Record for the World’s Tallest House of Cards in 1992 at the age of seventeen, with a tower fourteen feet, six inches tall. His latest record-holding structure in the category is over twenty-five feet tall. In 2004, Guinness created a new record category for the World’s Largest House of Cards to recognize a project Berg built for Walt Disney World — a replica of Cinderella’s Castle. He continues to hold both records.

A self-taught artist, Berg uses no tape, glue, or other tricks in his work. With 3,000 decks of freestanding playing cards, some scaffolding, and a view of the real building, he worked for a month on the Disney grounds to build the 450 pound card version of Cinderella’s Castle. The structure was 14 feet tall and 14 feet square, detailing all the turrets and tunnels of the actual castle.

Take a look at some of the structures Bryan has built in the galleries. Maybe if I start practicing now…

Apple, Inc. announced today that it has developed a computer chip that can store and play high fidelity music in women’s breast implants. The iBoob will be available in Apple Stores as early as next week and will retail for $499 or $599 depending on speaker size.

Experts consider this both a technological and sociological breakthrough because women have long complained about men staring at their breasts and not listening to them…

Thanks Bob!

 From Shannon…

Peter Russell has created what he calls a World Clock. Using statistical averages, it keeps track, to the second, of world population, barrels of oil pumped, the earth’s temperature (it leans toward the theory of global warming), cars - and bicycles - produced, internet users and access points, and more. Select either year, month, week, day or “now” and the clock shows running totals for that period.

Russell acknowledges that the actual numbers cannot be precise, but says the rates of change are what’s most interesting. Take a look; it’s fascinating!

Friends Michael and Sisko threw a birthday get-together yesterday afternoon to help good friend Larry (left) celebrate his 54th trip around the sun. Sisko (bottom left, with Dawn) made her famous gumbo, always a big hit, and topped things off with a fantastic bread pudding. Mix-master Michael whipped up some cocktails none of us had tried before - “Sand in your Shorts”, “Washington Apples” and some kind of shooters concocted with cinnamon schnapps and habanero sauce - and played country music on the stereo in honor of the occasion, something I’ve never seen him do before.

F.A.R.T. (Fraternal Associates of Rolled Tobacco) members gathered in the back yard and fired up a few of Michael’s finest while accepting two new members (Larry and Pat’s daughter Michelle and son-in-law Brian) into the esteemed Lodge. New member Brian “volunteered” to provide an air conditioning unit for the “lodge hall” to cover his initiation fee. During the “meeting,” member and guest-of-honor Larry reaffirmed his promise to write a column for this blog about guitars, and member Noah agreed to write one about the restoration of his Baja Bug. It was a nice afternoon, a good time with good friends.

Even though we’ve been back from our mini-vacation for more than a week, Dawn and I are trying to maintain some of the level of relaxation we achieved while away for as long as possible. So we remind ourselves every day that “the vacation’s not over ‘til we say it’s over - and it’s not over yet.” And this was another nice, relaxing “vacation” weekend.

After our Saturday morning four-mile power walk along Lake Natoma (my knees won’t tolerate jogging these days; ageing sucks!), we decided to drag out the bikes yesterday morning for a longer ride along the south side of the scenic lake. I hadn’t ridden in almost two years and knew I would be out of biking shape, but I had no idea just how out of shape I’ve become. It hit home as we sailed downhill for much of the first leg of the route, meaning there would be a lot of uphill peddling on the return.

Now, we used to bike this route, and some far more challenging, with regularity. But yesterday’s ride was difficult for me. I even had to stop a couple times after the longer climbs to catch my breath. I vowed to drop the thirty or so pounds I’ve gained over the last couple years and get back to the outdoor sports we’ve always enjoyed! I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

Yes, it was a nice weekend. We were active, got some of our errands done, and finished it off with good friends. Life is good!

From Michael…

Two men were standing inside a restaurant on an extremely windy day. There was a woman outside sweeping the floor of the outdoor seating area. She was extremely small and, on account of the wind, she was having a difficult time trying not to be blown away.

When she came back inside the restaurant, the men started joking with her. One of them suggested that she put rocks in her shoes when she went outside. The woman said, “You mean, now I weigh me down to sweep?”

Ouch! Don’t shoot the messenger!

Dawn and I spent a few days in Orange County earlier this month to decompress. We took few photographs; I’d packed one “walk around” lens, determined to travel light, and Dawn’s new camera was still being repaired. Most images are of the Casa Laguna Inn, our digs for the second leg of our trip, with a few “wildlife” shots taken within walking distance of the Laguna Cliffs Resort in Dana Point, our first leg hotel. We strolled Laguna Beach and Balboa Island, Crystal Cove in Newport Beach, even ventured up to San Clemente, a first for both of us.

Our trip almost didn’t get off the ground — moving through airport security took an hour and forty five minutes! Our flight attendant told us they’d had to leave 37 people in San Diego because of backed up security! But once we arrived at our hotel, we immediately began to unwind. There’s something about sitting on your balcony with a glass of iced mint tea and a cool breeze in your hair, gazing at the endless blue horizon of the Pacific Ocean, that brings an almost instant calm to even the most troubled soul. And so we relaxed. It was wonderful!

We had forgotten, however, how warm — and crowded — Laguna Beach becomes at this time of year. We’ve usually visited during May when the temps are cooler and family vacationers haven’t yet arrived. We’ll remember next time. But we were finally able to attend the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters, an event we’ve wanted to experience for years. It was even more remarkable than we had imagined.

I’ve also linked to some Orange County images taken last May when we had a little more time and fewer crowds. An amazing contrast. I hope you enjoy them.

The California State Fair opens today in Sacramento. Dawn and I look forward to it every year and usually go two or three times in order to take in the full “experience” — the kids with their livestock exhibits, the craft displays, the product demonstrations, the rodeo, the horse races — and we always ride the giant ferris wheel and the tram at least once. Both give us a bird’s eye view of the fairgrounds and, let’s face it, ferris wheels can be pretty romantic at night. We take a pocket camera to record the fair “atmosphere” — I’ll try to post some of images this fair season.

Meanwhile, I thought you might enjoy a slide show compiled by one of the Sacramento Bee’s premiere staff photographers. During the past several years, Manny Cristostomo spent his summers taking pictures for a series called “Postcards From the State Fair.” Hundreds of “postcards” were published in the newspaper and on-line at sacbee.com. Here are some of his favorites.

This is streaming from the Bee’s server, so it probably requires broadband and may require a free “subscription” to the Bee’s web site. Enjoy the slide show and “See ya’ at the Fair!”

Pittsburgh blogger Justine Ezarik received her first iPhone bill from AT&T — all 300 pages of it — delivered in a box. So she made a video and posted it on YouTube and a few other video posting sites. Almost immediately, the video “went viral” with more than 200,000 views…

Like many others, I suspect, I was alarmed; I didn’t think we’d received our AT&T iPhone bill and wondered if we should expect a similar surprise-in-a-box. Well, after seeing Justine interviewed on TV (yes, her video landed her an interview) I think we’re safe. Turns out she’s a heavy text messager, with 30,000 texts on AT&T alone. And she receives cellphone billing detail which accounts for all the pages. In AT&T’s defense, customers can request billing without detail, and there’s even an option to receive e-bills (pdf files via email) instead. But since most adults use text messaging more sparingly, I think the video is much ado about nothing, although it’s certainly garnered Ms. Ezarik a lot of media buzz.

The Betrothed

A Poem by Rudyard Kipling

- Breach of Promise Case, Circa 1885 -

Open the old cigar-box, get me a Cuba stout,
 For things are running crossways, and Maggie and I are out.

We quarrelled about Havanas—we fought o’er a good cheroot,
 And I knew she is exacting, and she says I am a brute.

Open the old cigar-box—let me consider a space;
 In the soft blue veil of the vapour musing on Maggie’s face.

Maggie is pretty to look at—Maggie’s a loving lass,
 But the prettiest cheeks must wrinkle, the truest of loves must pass.

There’s peace in a Larranaga, there’s calm in a Henry Clay;
 But the best cigar in an hour is finished and thrown away—

Thrown away for another as perfect and ripe and brown—
 But I could not throw away Maggie for fear o’ the talk o’ the town!

Click to read more ...

Another cool ‘toon from Randall Munroe…

Can I relate? Yup.

In 1986, Mkele Mbembe was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University. On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed distressed, so Mbembe approached it very carefully. He got down on one knee and inspected the elephant’s foot and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it. As carefully and as gently as he could, Mbembe worked the wood out with his hunting knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot.

The elephant turned to face the man and, with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments. Mbembe stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away. Mbembe never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.

Twenty years later, Mbembe was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his teenage son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Mbembe and his son, Tapu, were standing. The large bull elephant stared at Mbembe, lifted its front foot off the ground, and then put it down. The elephant did this several times, then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.

Remembering the encounter in 1986, Mbembe couldn’t help wonder if this was the same elephant. He summoned all his courage, climbed over the railing and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder. The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Mbembe’s legs and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly.

Probably wasn’t the same elephant.

From Michael via Kim.