Amazon has released a somewhat strange application called the Mechanical Turk. Yahoo has taken up the challenge of Google Maps: Behold, Yahoo Maps, a heckuva Flash application (still in beta)! Found this new blog which features gadgets and goodies which are both small and inexpensive: CheapAndTiny.com.

Fantastic article on the biology of sleep, napping, effects of certain foods and drugs on sleep, etc. Could be the best article I’ve ever read on this topic. Some other interesting articles about sleep and waking up refreshed here and here. Pretty neat optical illusion here. Worked for me on the first try. This house is exactly what I would expect someone to build in Las Vegas. Huge, sparkly, and essentially, very, very tacky…just like the realtors.

Cool Flickr gallery of images taken by cameras tossed into the air! Futuristic spirals and waves, oh my! A very slick list of made-up words from the Simpsons show. Sacrilicious! In the spirit of the upcoming holiday - the everything-you-need-to-know website on carving your pumpkin for Halloween! Interesting timeline of video games history. Who knew that both Sega and Nintendo were around before the 1960s?

Really interesting article on how Apple succeeds in continually delivering the coolest stuff on Earth. This house has a really, really big yard. Don’t miss the awesome treehouse! To me, this looks like the world’s most expensive baby chair…for adults at only $52,000 per. Pretty nice mansion in Canada - $13,500,000. I especially like the deck. If you ever wanted to see a business presentation done the right way, take a look at Steve Jobs’ introducing the new video iPod.

Saw this yesterday and forgot to post it. Some woman in Arkansas has given birth to her 16th child. Seems a little excessive to me. How do you save for their college education, for example? Oh, never mind, it’s Arkansas. Ha! Is it just me or is there something very wrong about the logo for “NimbleText”? Scientists finally synthesize insect resilin. Possible uses include artificial arteries and spinal bones as well as shoes which allow humans to jump hundreds of feet in the air.

Money Magazine has a list of [](http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/savinganddebt/finddealsonline/p92985.asp)10 things you should never buy new. Another related article called “Why First-rate Folks Like Secondhand Stuff”. Very intriguing sculpture made of 14,000 carboard boxes. The Video iPod is now out. The black one is the new shiznit. Too bad about the screen width, though. 16:9 wide screen would have been better. Where the missing weapons of mass destruction went.

Verizon’s new FiOS, or fiber-to-the-home network, delivers 30 MB connectivity. Can’t wait ‘til this is offered in my neighborhood. A very cool wooden case for your non-scratch-proof Nano. Muhammad Ali’s house is for sale. Don’t miss the regulation boxing ring. I wonder how the real estate agent lucked into this one? This is living in your own hotel. Bad timing on this sign for Dairy Queen’s Earthquake dessert.

A searchable online version of Shakespeare’s MacBeth. Whoa. This python apparently died when it exploded while trying to eat a whole alligator. There’s a gluttony joke in here somewhere. Oh, man, here’s something for the next snowboard trip! Awesome! Now this is a ranch! Apparently, Ahu and I ate at the 8th most expensive restaurant in the U.S. while in Las Vegas. It was goooood.

If and when I ever go to Greece, I want to stay right here. Bloggers are making big money these days, see this, and this, and this. Intense cardio workouts linked to success?

Great source for plyometric jump boxes. Am thinkin’ maybe I get summa dat. All the poison ivy pictures you could ever need or want to see. Based on the pictures that readers have submitted of their rashes, I am now fairly certain that my poison ivy rash of 1989 was the worst case of poison ivy in history. Huh, this would have made for an interesting Tonight Show with Jay Leno.