New Link Up

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm proud to present to you... Su Doku!

[utter silence]

[cricket chirps]

[clap... clap...]

OK, so I'm one of about five Americans aware of Su Doku puzzles. It's pretty simple- you have a 9x9 grid with some of the numbers filled in. All you have to do is fill in every row, column, and 3x3 cell with all of the numbers 1 through 9. Sounds easy, doesn't require math skills (just logic); be warned, it's harder than it looks... well, at least on the Difficult and Fiendish ones. Once you get the hang of it, you'll likely find out what much of the world already knows- these things are crack in convenient pencil-and-paper format. The link is to the right.

There's an In-n-Out going in at scottsdale and the 202. Woohoo!

One More Week...

until the end of Cosmic Jester's first ever blog contest. Don is currently in the lead with 6 things in the room that came from IKEA. Technically, Thomas is tied with him since the item Thomas mentioned did *not* come from IKEA, but since Don got his answer in first, he's in the lead. You have until the clock on the Comments page for the original contest post says July.

Small hint for those of you who have been procrastinating- there are at least 14 items that came from IKEA; things that had to be purchased together count as one, things that could be purchased as multiple separate things if desired count for each individual part.

A Minor Neurosis Developing...

Since I ship orders around the globe for a living, I've become quite well aware of how many various countries prefer to have their mailings addressed. One thing I've noticed is that people from England want their mail to go to United Kingdom. You aren't United Kingdish, you're bloody English! I know it all gets to the same place at the end of the day, but still... :-X

/me reaches around to his back...

and feels wings start to sprout.

Some days, you feel like a friend turns into a guardian angel. Today, it's my turn to be one. The one I've been called to lives in England, and has seen more of the earthly underworld than anyone should ever have to. Addiction, dependence, you name it, he's been there. Sometimes, when I run into a person like this, I wonder why I've been picked out of six billion people to save this one person. But then, deep down, nothing is more satisfying than helping a lost soul find themselves again.

I had just realized that with addictions, the reason it's so hard to stop doing it (no matter what it is) is because any negative feelings that get pushed aside all come back to haunt you when you try to stop.

And yes, I know that's not quite coherent. I'll hash it out more when I have the time; consider the previous paragraph a stub to grow later.

Ikea: Taking Over The World, One House at a Time

Your house may already have Ikea stuff. If you're European, there's a 10 percent chance you were conceived on an Ikea bed. Now, they're offering the whole house too.

Congratulations, Thomas.

Holy Shit, It Worked

Last week, I mentioned a new show on ABC called Dancing With The Stars. I'm proud to report that it is a damn fine show. I had no idea just how retro they were going to go; not only did they have the flowing script logo, they also do a kaleidoscope effect on the intros and outros, they even have a live 15-piece orchestra. Watching the dancers is an awful lot of fun, too- Kelly Monaco from General Hospital looks positively frightened out there, but the rest of the crew is having a wonderful time. My money is on John O'Hurley, he and his partner have absolutely ripped up the dance floor on both outings so far.

Headline of the Day

Marijuana Clubs in San Francisco Unfazed by High Court's Ruling

Some days, the jokes write themselves.

Little Known G-Mail Features

Not too long ago, G-Mail, the Google webmail service, was an exclusive, prestigious address to have. These days, everyone and his cat has eighteen addresses. It's still a really cool service. If you want an invite, let me know (puzzle time: Put these parts together to get my email- gmail, com, jkgrence, ., @.) I was just clicking around and noticed that instead of the usual tech tips at the top of the inbox and small ads at the top of emails, the Trash section offers recycling tips. These can be slightly dubious ideas... one I just got was "You can make a lovely hat out of previously-used aluminum foil."

It Is Done

Some of you may have been aware that I was working on redecorating my room. This:

is the result. It looks just as good in person. To celebrate, for all of my loyal fans out there (both of you), we're having a contest! It's called The Great IKEA Search. The rules are pretty simple- as a result of my IKEA addiction, the room is chock full of stuff from the place. Your challenge is to name everything from IKEA in this picture. The first person to leave a comment on this post with everything listed (or whoever has found the most by June 31) wins... are you ready for it? Dinner at IKEA! Yes, that's right, you and a guest (me) will be whisked away to IKEA of Tempe, where you'll dine on traditional Swedish fare presented in a modern setting. After your fabulous repast, you'll get to tour the store with the Cosmic Jester himself (translation: We go shopping!), and pick up valuable tips for decorating your favorite spaces. As a super bonus prize, if you can actually give the IKEA name for every single item, you'll get a 100-pack of IKEA's Glimma candles (and possibly some other Swedish swag too)! Good luck, everyone!

Dear God, NOOOOOOO!

I heard some political pundit toss out a very frightening idea for the 2008 presidential election... John McCain vs. Hillary Clinton. At least it's not the 2004 election of Frankenstein vs. A Monkey, but still... the mind reels.

So weird it just might work...

Tonight, ABC is premiering a brand new show that has been popular in Great Britain. Over there, it's called Strictly Come Dancing. Stateside, it will be known as the very retro sounding Dancing With The Stars. Six celebrities team up with professional dancers in a heated competition, three judges critique the performance, and then America gets to vote for their favorite. Yeah, it's a bog standard talent competition. At least this time we aren't subjected to voices that had no right to leave the karaoke bar. And one of the judges played temptress Fook Yu in Austin Powers in Goldmember.