Category: Web

I have a feeling I will be watching 24 long past the point of it jumping the shark; such is my love for J. Bauer, Esq., that I will probably watch every episode up to and including the one where Jack and Chloe are sent to the moon to prevent Tamil Tigers from detonating a Chinese nuke on the surface and dislodging enough moon dust to obscure the sun from the earth, which would start a new Ice Age.
It was much the same with the X-Files. I was one of the semi-dedicated who stuck with it until the movie came out, and I religiously watched every episode. I was in denial that it started sucking for quite a while. Maybe with some luck and more judicious tasering of ardorous salarymen by Chloe, 24 can last a while longer. Meanwhile, it is the long period before the next season starts, and it is good to know that others are keeping the dream alive:

“If Jack Bauer was in a room with Hitler, Stalin, and Nina Meyers, and he had a gun with 2 bullets, he’d shoot Nina twice.”
“If Jack Bauer’s gun jams, it’s because he wanted to beat you with it.”
“When life gave Jack Bauer lemons, he used them to kill terrorists. Jack Bauer fucking hates lemonade.”
“There are no such thing as lesbians, just women who never met Jack Bauer.”

Ad infinitum, here: Random Jack Bauer Facts

An insider’s view of the miserably failed EV1 line of electric cars produced by GM: LINK
I’m pretty sure I saw one of these parked at a recharging station in front of Fry’s Electronics in Fountain Valley a couple of years ago. I wonder if it’s still there…
(link via waxy; the movie he refers to is covered here)

This is great news. One can only hope that Wired Japan will recover as well; they stopped updating their site at the end of March.

Mostly because it is an overused marketing term with seemingly no real meaning aside from “a new generation of web sites with nifty features and groundbreaking/useful services.”
However, there’s a great comparison of US/JP Web 2.0 sites over at PingMag that’s definitely worth a look: Web 2.0 in Japan

Engineering nerds in Tokyo are building the ultimate fart joke:

“IMAGINE being able to record a smell and play it back later, just as you can with sounds or images.”

Read the full article here.
I can see the tagline now: YESTERDAY’S SMELLS TODAY!
………
In all seriousness, though, I have recently been thinking of what I will miss the most when I leave Japan. Unsurprisingly, certain smells are scoring high on my list. A sample:

1. The smell of the pine forest in Nara on a hot summer day
2. Old tatami (not rotted, just properly cured)
3. The smell of fear when you enter a classroom full of new English students
4. The pinsuyaki stall at a village matsuri
5. The heavenly scent of yakitori / yakiniku on an empty stomach
6. The aromatic combination of natto, sesame oil, and diced shallots spread evenly across the quivering naked body of a geisha
7. The stench of shit when you disembowel an uppity peasant with your +7 Flaming Wakizashi!

The full list is being drawn up in my mind and will appear sometime before departure.
(link found over at Collision Detection)

How many times must people be told not to build stuff on ancient Indian burial grounds? On the other hand, it might serve as a handy scapegoat for endeavors that are doomed from the start.

Yo, this shit is pretty dope:

Eternal Sunset endeavours to ensure you can enjoy the sunset live from any location, at any time. As the sunset moves westward, Eternal Sunset continuously tunes into different webcams, chasing the sunset around the globe. This service is currently provided through the use of 206 west-facing webcams across 42 countries.

They need more webcams, though. I’ve been watching the same shot of Tehran for five minutes – that’s four too long.
check it out here (click on the “more” link on that page for background info)

I saw a commercial for this on SkyPerfect today and almost bust my gut laughing.

Up at youtube: LINK
Downloadable mp3 here: LINK (embedded audio myspace page)
UPDATE: Don’t miss GB’s Star Wars performance at the MTV Music Awards, either: LINK