Yummy Wakame

Hehehe!

Just for Quiddity:

Bibliochaise, is a literal armchair library “for those who like to be immersed in deep reading.”. The chair can house up to five linear meters of books.

Found on Limn!

KING5 Seattle News: Manuel Villanueva realizes he has been getting a pretty good deal since he signed up for Netflix Inc.’s online DVD rental service 2 ½ years ago, but he still feels shortchanged.

That’s because the $17.99 monthly fee that he pays to rent up to three DVDs at a time would amount to an even bigger bargain if the company didn’t penalize him for returning his movies so quickly. Netflix typically sends about 13 movies per month to Villanueva’s home in Warren, Mich., down from the 18 to 22 DVDs he once received before the company’s automated system identified him as a heavy renter and began delaying his shipments to protect its profits. The same Netflix formula also shoves Villanueva to the back of the line for the most-wanted DVDs, so the service can send those popular flicks to new subscribers and infrequent renters.

The little-known practice, called “throttling” by critics, means Netflix customers who pay the same price for the same service are often treated differently, depending on their rental patterns.

“I wouldn’t have a problem with it if they didn’t advertise ‘unlimited rentals,’” Villanueva said. “The fact is that they go out of their way to make sure you don’t go over whatever secret limit they have set up for your account.”

Los Gatos, Calif.-based Netflix didn’t publicly acknowledge it differentiates among customers until revising its “terms of use” in January 2005, four months after a San Francisco subscriber filed a class-action lawsuit alleging that the company had deceptively promised one-day delivery of most DVDs. “In determining priority for shipping and inventory allocation, we give priority to those members who receive the fewest DVDs through our service,” Netflix’s revised policy now reads. The statement specifically warns that heavy renters are more likely to encounter shipping delays and less likely to immediately be sent their top choices.

Read the full article here…

Pen Flipping Rawks!

Thanks Bob!

This guy is amazing! I might even prefer his version to the original. If you’re curious and want to know all about him - his name is Jake Shimabukuro and here’s his official website.

Another great find Bob!

YAY! A parcel arrived in the mail today from my lovely bruvva Kenneth (of the Kenneeeeee ee eeee e fame). Inside was a pair of gorgeous studio headphones - his most prized and favourite and only pair in the world packed in bubble wrap just for me:

SENNHEISER HD 265 LINEAR Closed-back Studio Monitoring Headphones
It even has 24kt gold jack plugs! I laughed when I saw it doesnt have markings for L and R. Made me realise what a N00b I’m used to being.

Thanks Ken! You’re my favourite brother in all the world! :@)

YARN CORE baby doll Tee

Did you know you can search for and add publically available calendars to your personal calendar? Nathan made a fantastic Pagan Calendar (applies mostly to the Northern Hemisphere) which you can easily search for in Google Calendar and add if you’re interested in information about the today like this:

Moon V/C

Mon, Apr 24 8:35pm - Tue, Apr 25 2:12am

voc stands for Void of Course, and it has to do with the moon not falling into any particular Zodiac sign for a period of time. It is believed that when the moon is Void of Course a person shouldn’t start anything new, as this is a bit of a “Time out of Time” and nothing begun during this period will come to fruition. The period only lasts for a few hours, typically, so what better time to relax with your favorite distraction and enjoy life.

For a more exacting definition:
A planet is called being void of course in a sign, when it won’t make an aspect with another planet as long as this planet is making his journey to the last and final degrees of this sign of the zodiac. The fields that are represented by this planet, will have a lack of any action. For example: the hours in which the Moon is void of course, are the hours people don’t feel in the mood to do anything. Any actions starting in those hours, are starting off slowly.

It was a long, dry spell and we didn’t think we’d make it for much longer without her, but YAY! For Miko has returned to Caiterwauling. Here are some excellent examples why you should be checking out Cait and Miko’s blog every day:

Dance Monkeys Dance!
Yes, that includes you.

Chattering Puss
Illustrates how cats squeak uncontrollably. Purely for our amusement.

Imagine if these stuffed animals were for sale! Would you spend ALL your pocket money on them?

This is something I could watch for hours… just not today.

Found by bob.

NewScientist.com: A hydrogen fuel cell that uses enzymes instead of expensive metal catalysts to drive chemical reactions has been developed by UK researchers.

… Researchers from Oxford University in the UK used two enzymes, one harvested from bacteria and the other from fungus, to catalyse the same chemical reactions. Each electrode is coated in one of the two enzymes. The bacterial enzymes break down hydrogen as part of their natural metabolism, and the fungal enzymes naturally combine hydrogen with oxygen – usually to break down wood.

More at NewScientist.com

monster rabbit devours English veggie plots
In a tale reminiscent of the last Wallace and Gromit movie, furious villagers in northeast England have hired armed guards to protect their beloved communal vegetable gardens from a suspected monster rabbit.

BBC: Zimbabwe’s white farmers say they have been invited to apply for land - in an apparent U-turn by the government which has seized their land.

All but 300 of the 4,000 white farmers have been forced off their land since President Robert Mugabe started his “fast-track” land reform in 2000. A farmers’ leader says some 200 applications have already been made and more are coming in.

Critics say the reforms have devastated the economy and led to massive hunger. Much of the formerly white-owned land is no longer being productively used - either because the beneficiaries have no experience of farming or they lack finance and tools. Many farms were wrecked when they were invaded by government supporters.

The government has admitted that the exercise has been beset by corruption. But Mr Mugabe blames Zimbabwe’s economic problems on a plot by Western countries to topple him.But Mr Mugabe blames Zimbabwe’s economic problems on a plot by Western countries to topple him.

“Oggie” is a skater. Like many other skaters, he’s been at it for a long time and can do amazing things like flip the board around under him and slide down big rails. The big difference between him and other skaters is that Oggie doesn’t have the use of his legs. He does everything with his hands.

Check Og in motion.