Solace in the Lap of your Lady

as the exam train bores on, it is nice to know that this world has not yet fallen so far afield as to preclude us from finding healthy comfort.

Japanese toy manufacturer Trane Corporation, Ltd., brings us this charming pillow complete with your choice of RED/BLACK mini-skirt for a mere $90-100 USD. Now tired and lonely men of all ages can take solace in the lap of their lady.

if you find her, let me know, if you catch her, let me go.

12/12 SCE's new PSP released! DS wa?

a great shot by John, what do you play yours on?
John, a fellow Tokyopian, along with IGN's Anoop were in Shibuya to pick up their pre-ordered systems. They even had an encounter with Ken Kutaragi. Despite the good fortune in Shibuya, it sounded like there was fun to be had in Yodobashi as well: a van full of chinese speaking men were actively recruiting homeless Japanese men to wait in line to pick up copies of the system (1 machine/person). I guess that's how the eBay game is played (ex. 1, 2).
[something's amiss]

The system itself has some pretty mad functionality, utilizing Sony's proprietary Memory Stick storage device and a standard IEEE 802 network (remember from class?) for a one-two-punch in a sleek black dress. While Sony's online plans are a ways off, the fine online crackers of Team Xlink are working on a system (called Kai) to tunnel the PSP. If you've never been desperate enough to resort to tunneling, then you wouldn't know, but basically it is a system where by you use your PC to intercept the game's wireless LAN (in this case) and, acting as a middleman, send out the signal via the Internet to another user running the same setup. Bam, you've got unofficial internet gaming.

US launch is slated for next year.

"...treating dandruff by decapitation"

In 1985, Frank Zappa came before the U.S. Senate Commerce, Technology, and Transportation committee to combat censorship, specifically to address a proposal by a group of bored politicians' wives known as Parents Music Resource Center.

"The PMRC proposal is an ill-conceived piece of nonsense which fails to deliver any real benefits to children, infringes the civil liberties of people who are not children and promises to keep the courts busy for years dealing with the interpretational and enforcemental problems inherent in the proposal's design.

"It is my understanding that, in law, First Amendment issues are decided with a preference for the least restrictive alternative. In this context, the PMRC's demands are the equivalent of treating dandruff by decapitation."

An old video clip from CNN's Crossfire surfaced over at ifilm's viral video section. It features then-Washington times columnist John Lofton and Frank Zappa in the crossfire. Why isn't Crossfire like this anymore?

Something's amiss.

Mutant Whale Cruises Ocean's Depth

apparently much of the research remains classified, but marine biologists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution have compiled 12 years worth of hydrophone data to track the movements of a lone whale who has been consistent in not adhering to typical baleen whale (the ones that filter feed) migration patterns. unfailing in its irregularity, this "whale afield" sings at 53 hertz -much higher than the typical 20 hertz. the latest print edition of New Scientist features the story on the research, though specific information is not yet available (see title link for the online version).

the great leviathan, traditionally thought to be the beast of the sea, is a creature that has long since captured my fascination. if you consider that the length of time whales have been evolving on this planet far outweighs that of all other mammals, and certainly humanity, you may begin to wonder at the complexity and vastness of the social and communication networks that surely must have existed between the ocean's whales of yore. "have existed" because the radius with which whale songs can travel through the water has been drastically reduced by increasing ambient noise from human activity. think back to a time where the only disruption would have been an intervening landmass, so that whales in the Antarctic could sing to those in the North Pacific. and we understand so little.