Hey! I saw these guys on Scrapheap Challenge! They made a steam-powered car. Actually the best American team ever (on the original version) were “The Long Brothers,” who won the World Final last December. They had to crush a car, and while the British team engineered a professional-type pneumatic crusher, these American farmboys simply made a “big-ass sledge hammer” and bashed the hell out of it. I was proud.

Signature just seen on Usenet: “If Laura Bush really wanted a gown that reflected the spirit of this inauguration, she should have shoplifted it.”

When Public Transport Goes Awry
I had completely forgotten about today’s Tube strike until I got to the office and noticed that over half the desks were empty. Thank God I live within walking distance of work. The little sandwich man who comes ’round told me that it took him over an hour to drive in from the other side of Hammersmith, which is seriously less than half a mile away.

Dammit. I’m desperately trying to find a Valentines card that says “I Choo-Choo-Choose You” on it (like on “The Simpsons”). I’ve looked everywhere! E-mail me if you have any ideas.

Lake Effect links to a hilarious and spot-on parody of both “Peanuts” and the Smashing Pumpkins… “Smashing Peanuts”. I really liked some of the Pumpkins’ music, but I never really got into them. I think it had something to do with Billy Corgan’s incredibly scary birthmark that covered, like, 90% of his body. And my 11th grade boyfriend’s snotty assertion that D’arcy was a shit bass player and Corgan wrote everything. (I know now that he was right, but he was only saying it because she was a girl, not because he knew any better.) And how much do I love that Snoopy uses a Mac?

Huh. Apparently you can now customize your own shoes at Nike’s website. Someone took them at their word and requested the word “sweatshop” emblazoned on their shoe to “remember the toil and labor of the children that made my shoes.” Nike didn’t see the humor. Now they’re having a hard time trying to defend their decision.

Jakob asks: “Are Users Stupid?” I think I’m going to send it ’round on the Developers mailing list here at work. The WAP kids cried foul when Jakob said WAP was crap, and here he is refuting all of their arguments again. Nothing like a usability expert to fan the flames of a techies vs. designers war. Heehee… (I suppose such humor looks like the height of nerdiness to people outside my industry – and it probably is – but it’s a Monday for God’s sake.)

Are you a Kevin Smith fan? News Askew‘s got pictures from the set of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Looks like it’s going to be hilarious… At least now we know what the deal was with that damn orangutan.

AICN has a great interview with Steven Kloves, the writer from Wonder Boys and Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone. Not a lot of new details, but apparently he’s already at work on the adaptation of the next book (“Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”). Just the way he talked about his love for the material and his respect for Joanna Rowling… It reassured me that the movie is going to be as true to the source as possible. I can’t wait!

Yay! Lizzie has taken it upon herself to leave blog comments. In celebration I hereby proclaim that this weblog is now All About Me and Lizzie. Everyone else should consider themself excluded until they can be bothered to contribute. So there! 🙂