This is great. This site, Cute Overload, got Slashdotted today. They fought back with this hysterical (and accurate) post.

Nice to see someone giving Slashdot hell.

Aaron posted a map of the states he's been to. I thought this was cool, but I've been to all fifty states (mostly in the back of a station wagon as we were growing up). However, the site also can generate maps of the countries you've been to.

I hadn't actually ever calculated how many countries I've been to. I've visited nineteen countries, as it turns out, all but eight exclusively for work. I expect to add New Zealand and India to the list this year and maybe Italy, again, all for work.

The number is actually less than I thought. I'm pretty sure many of my friends have been to far more countries. I've missed all of South America, the Middle East, and Africa plus huge swaths of Europe and the Pacific. Anyone have a conference you need me to attend in Fiji?

(As a side note, this project highlights the challenges of defining what a country is. Should Taiwan appear separately from China? How do you treat dependent territories? And then there is the problem of disputed borders. Kashmir anyone? I sometimes miss the days from Bookshelf and Encarta when our team dealt with stuff like this. Mostly not though...)

create your own visited countries map

According to the Business Opportunities blog, my blog is worth $13,548.96. That's certainly higher that I would have expected.

By contrast, the IE blog is worth $1,018,994.70. Honestly, that's less than I would have figured given that it's the #1 blog on MSDN and a CNET top 100 blog (Yes, I know this doesn't render correctly in IE7 -- we're working on it. Yes, I understand the irony.)

Anyway, fun stuff. How much is your blog worth?

How Much Is My Blog Worth?

I posted the other day about a giant octopus attacking a mini-sub, but I couldn't find the video. Al found it for me.

Check it out. Lots of inking and trashing around.

I've blogged before about the cool Star Wars fan films out there. They're dorky and amazingly well done, but I think this guy at the Lego Star Wars Project (LSW) takes the cake.

This crazy guy is redoing the original Star Wars movie using Legos. His attention to detail and adherence to the shots of the movie are impressive. So far, he's done 47:11 of the 1:53:41 of the movie, all set to the original soundtrack. You can watch the scenes that are already completed, but you'll need the DivX decoder.

I think I'd slit my wrists after a few hours of building all the models and sets and then animating them frame by frame to sync with the movie. But, this is his hobby, not mine, so more power to him, I guess.

He has lots of company too. Check out Brickfilms for more crazy people making Lego movies. For an old-school remix of Star Wars, check out this ASCII text version.

It seems that giant octopuses don't just attack sharks. Salmon researchers off the west coast of Vancouver Island in Canada caught video of a giant octopus attacking their remotely controlled mini-sub. Although the octopus was huge and the submarine virtually defenseless, the mini-sub managed to escape unharmed by using its thrusters. (I know you were worried...)

In light of this attack, I renew my call for a cessation of hostilities between humans and octopuses. We won't treat you like sushi if you stop eating our subs.

Thanks to Al for the tip.

This Honda ad is very enjoyable; it's a mouth-sound "orchestra" making the sounds of a Honda. Why can't Microsoft ads be this good?

Thanks to Boing Boing for the link.

In looking for an audio copy of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, I stumbled upon a great trove of speeches on the Top 100 Speeches website.

According to the site, this compilation contains the full text of the top 100 American political speeches of the 20th century "on the basis of social and political impact, and rhetorical artistry." 67 of the speeches have all or part of the speech available in audio form as well.

While I'm sure there is room for disagreement in the content and order of the speeches, the ones I've listened to so far have been great examples of superb speeches, ones that move people and demonstrate the art of oratory. (Ronald Reagan's address after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster was particularly moving for me. I remember that day very vividly. The speech got me all choked up again.)

I'd love to be that good some day.

While I'm on the topic of tape and my admiration for 3M, let me mention something slick Michelle brought home. It's the Scotch Tape Runner -- a cross between double-sided tape and a glue stick. You pass the Tape Runner along the item to be taped down. It lays down an archival, photo safe double-sided tape adhesive. No glue blobs, no drying, no tape balls, and no fingerprinty double-sided tape. It's amazing and super easy to use.

Click here for a demo of the Tape Runner.

Available at Amazon and fine stores near you.
Scotch Tape Runner-.33''X472'', Acid Free

For some time now, I had been planning on blogging about this great little tool that has been an indispensible part of our household for some time, but Cool Tools beat me to it. The good people at 3M (n.b. I grew up in a 3M ghetto in St. Paul, both my parents worked there, I interned there, and they helped put me through college) know tape and have created another tape masterpiece.

The Handband straps onto the back of your hand and has single cut, popup strips of tape. As you're wrapping a package, you just reach over and pull out a perfectly sized piece of tape to keep wrapping. You can do it one handed, so you don't need to let go of the wrapping paper or get someone to help you. It's amazing how useful this is and how much easier wrapping is. They also make a desktop base for the Handband, but that's only somewhat useful.

Anyway, I know I missed the Christmas wrapping season, but I highly recommend getting a few Handbands now for belated Christmas gifts, Valentine's Day, and the odd birthday. Great stuff.

Available at Amazon and stores near you.

3M 91P Handband Pop-up Tape Strip Dispenser