DIY Novelty Vegetables

VegiForms are a unique product designed to make gardening more enjoyable for each one of them. A clear two-piece plastic mold, VegiForms are secured over a vigorously growing fruit or vegetable while it is still on the vine. In about a week, the vegetable grows to fill the mold, permanently taking the shape of the mold.

Via J-Walk

McSweeney's Bit On Air Travel

Re: Increasing
Airline Revenue
Through Fear.
By Michael Patrick Sullivan
- - - -
From: Larry [CENSORED], Marketing
To: J.M. [CENSORED], CEO, [CENSORED] Airlines
Per our conversation in the elevator this morning, here's that short note to let you know how things are progressing on our end.
Now that we've gotten liquids banned from aircraft, it's time that we ramped up our revenue generation by charging for not just alcohol but all beverages onboard the aircraft.
We can also now begin to sell those liquid products that travelers need but can no longer bring through carryon luggage. An airline-brand-specific line of hair-care products and toiletries is called for.
This presents two unique problems: the availability of space for warehousing product onboard the aircraft, and those passengers who seek to subvert our revenue generation (and anti-terrorism measures) by placing their liquid-based necessities in their checked baggage.
The former dovetails nicely with the next phase of our plan, the elimination of all carryon luggage. Overhead bins will now serve as our onboard stock storage. The latter, of course, leads us to our plan for eliminating baggage entirely. Instead, we will provide consumers with the means to ship their baggage to their destination in a timely fashion. (It has been suggested that we do this by placing each passenger's baggage onboard the same flight as the passenger in question. I think this bears looking into.)
Surely, we can do more to maximize profits beyond these simple measures. I believe we can convince Homeland Security that all foreign material onboard an aircraft is suspect; therefore, all worn clothing is also a potential hazard.
Each terminal gate shall befitted with a clothing boutique that will sell a complete line of airline-branded apparel (or "clothing solutions"), which passengers may purchase rather than board the aircraft nude (which, if not already, will be prohibited) after the confiscation of clothing. By "complete line," I mean nothing more than one-size-fits-all socks, slippers, sweatpants, and shirts. Fashion is hardly a concern in matters of security. This approach will serve to keep our R&D and production costs to a minimum.
Upon further consideration, I suggest we also add a $20 handcuff fee to the price of each ticket, so we may recoup the cost of restraining passengers. (See my report on the program rollout scheduled for Thanksgiving.) First-class restraints, such as padded handcuffs, and the option to forgo three-point restraint are, of course, upsells.
Also, the department has still not resolved the issue of how to ban the passengers from the planes while still providing an incentive to purchase tickets. We might want to backburner this one for a while.
Lastly, I will be out of the office beginning this Friday, as I'm traveling to Oregon to see family. I've taken an extra few days to allow for travel by Amtrak.

62,006 - the number killed in the "war on terror"

The 'war on terror' - and by terrorists - has directly killed a minimum of 62,006 people, created 4.5 million refugees and cost the US more than the sum needed to pay off the debts of every poor nation on earth.
If estimates of other, unquantified, deaths - of insurgents, the Iraq military during the 2003 invasion, those not recorded individually by Western media, and those dying from wounds - are included, then the toll could reach as high as 180,000.
The extraordinary scale of the conflict's impact, claiming lives from New York to Bali and London to Lahore, and the extent of the death tolls in Iraq and Afghanistan, has emerged from an Independent on Sunday survey to mark the fifth anniversary of 11 September. It used new, unpublished data supplied by academics and organisations such as Iraq Body Count and Professor Marc Herold of the University of New Hampshire, plus estimates given by other official studies.
The result is the first attempt to gauge the full cost in blood and money of the worldwide atrocities and military conflicts that began in September 2001. As of yesterday, the numbers of lives confirmed lost are: 4,541 to 5,308 civilians and 385 military in Afghanistan; 50,100 civilians and 2,899 military in Iraq; and 4,081 in acts of terrorism in the rest of the world.

Via Grow a Brain

Ontario to return booze bottles for cash in 2007

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced Sunday the province will launch a bottle-deposit system in the new year.

If I'd saved all the bottles I drank in the last year or so I'd make enough bling on the returns to take early retirement...sigh.

The Lego Italian Job

Can't get enough of those little block structure creations? Love The Italian Job? This is the video for you.

Via Look At This

Thanks, Warren, I Feel So Much Better Now

The pope's nasty comments about Canada's gay-friendly ways cut me to the quick but Warren Kinsella informs us that Pansy Division still loves us. What a relief!

Here's their winsome tribute to us (sort of reminds me of This Land Is Your Land with it's sea to sea theme):

MANADA

Every time I go north of the border
Boy after boy always wins me over
I'm going to Manada
The weather's cold
But the guys are hot
I don't care if it snows a lot
I'll snuggle up with the boy I got in Manada
From Newfoundland to Vancouver Island
From Edmonton to the Breton Highlands
It's different from the USA
I'm not sure that I could stay
But I know I'll find my way to Manada
There's Scott in Halifax
Benjamin in Medicine Hat
There's Laurent in Montreal
In Manada, I want them all
I'm going to Manada

Super(rat)size Me

McDonald's can now refute the theory that their food is good for neither man nor beast.

If we ever needed a non-health-related reason to not eat fast food, here it is - rats. The estimated rat population in the UK has exploded to 60 million. That's one for every person in living in the UK. However, it's not just the quantity of rats, it's the quality of the rat. They're bigger, badder, and live a lot longer due to more protein in their diets. According to the Keep Britain Tidy campaign, the rats are turning to SuperRats, feeding off of the fast food litter like burgers, fries and kebabs, that Britons throw into the streets.
Alight, so the blame can't be put entirely on fast food. Apparently, Britons throw apple cores, banana and orange peels, bread crusts and chocolate onto the streets, all adding to the SuperDiet of these SuperRats.

Sort of ironic, isn't it, that the thing that makes us weak makes them strong?

Poodle Chair

Since most folks coming to my site via Google seem to be searching for "doberdoodle", I figure they'll also dig the chairdoodle another doodlicious hybrid.

SECRET LOVE- Andie MacDowell and James Joyce

Here's one hot romance you've probably never heard of:
Exploding Aardvark � SECRET LOVE

Tadoussac

The drive to Tadoussac from Quebec City along the slow road was breathtaking. The mountains dropped down to the St. Lawrence and the road wound up and down hills revealing spectacular panoramas at every turn. The little villages with their maisons ancestrales are quaint and beautiful, unspoiled by signage, fast food joints and all the other detritus we're used to seeing in tourist areas. We stayed at the Hotel Tadoussac (below). Point of interest: the outdoor scenes for the film, Hotel New Hampshire, were shot here. The little church for the early settlers is across the street.

  We hiked during the day through the Saguenay National Parks. They are strung out along the St. Lawrence and the Saguenay Fjord. I'm usually more of a city person (hate camping and cottages) but I enjoyed the indescribable views and the clean, clean air here. The dunes above were quite spectacular. Unfortunately I'm not much of a photographer so you'll just have to take my word for it.

  The porch below was my happy hour perch where I was content to read and drink red wine before stuffing my face at dinner. The hotel has three restaurants, one of which serves local cuisine. I was curious about it but Mr. Nag, the vegetarian, has a terror of terroir, it being heavy on moose, caribou, etc. - nonetheless we managed to eat well and too much.

 

We spent another night in Quebec City and one in Montreal before returning home. A great holiday with ideal warm, sunny weather every day and we didn't have to surrender our liquids or submit to invasive airport security checks and lineups. I can also feel holier than thou for spending my money here in Canada.