Being Blogless, Some Shame, and Boredom Killers

First off, the Mozilla team has just released version 0.9 of Mozilla Firefox. Go get it [and go get the old 'Qute' theme from here if you like it better than the new theme, 'Pinstripe' - I think the new theme is hideous.]

After reading a story on Slashdot about 3000 Bloggers getting their blogs closed it seemed pretty obvious what I should do next:


WGET springs into action!  

Yes, this was just another ploy to have a reason to display another screenshot. And yes, I know one of the cardinal rules of storing your data on someone else's network is to always have backups under your control, and I failed this time. Thank god for those fine people who ported WGET to Windows for those of us not in the *nix world to use. For those of you not familiar with WGET, it's basically an advanced file-retriever. You can quickly and thoroughly download files from HTTP and FTP protocols, and it's very useful for "ripping" a site, or simply mirroring it on your hard drive. But regarding the closing of 3000 blogs, the best quote was from an Anonymous Coward on Slashdot:

At least LiveJournal didn't shut down without notice. Otherwise we'd all be up tonight digging mass graves for disfranchised teenagers all over the world.

The sad part about that statement is how true it is. Speaking of sad things, here are some things I am not proud, or am sad about:

1. I somehow got myself put up in the pictures section of my sister's sorority's website. I don't know the link, because I don't want to know the link.
2. My sister has a livejournal. Once again, I don't know the link, because I don't want to know the link.
3. I still can't find Euro 2004 coverage, but as Drew Magee pointed out, I can watch shit-tons of MLS and WNBA. Whoopity shit.

But who the fuck likes being downhearted? So instead of go on about that, I will instead list things online that make me laugh on a consistent basis:

1. SomethingAwful's The Weekend Web feature.

"The Weekend Web" is the project of Zachary "Spokker Jones" Gutierrez and the SA Forum Goons. What it is, simply put, is the worst-of-the-worst of internet message boards. The SA folks dive into these message boards, which are often absofuckinglutely rediculous [and hilarious] and they do what assholes do best - they make fun of people. Always worth a read, just like other SA features: the Comedy Goldmine [where the truly hilarious things are], the ROM Pit [where the worst of old video games are reviewed], the Horrors of Porn [where comically awful smut is criticized], and Your Band Sucks [an asshole's view on shitty music].

2. Fark's Photoshop Contests, and the much-better Photoshop Fridays at SomethingAwful

Photoshop contests, simply put, are contests where users are given a stock photo, and are challenged to create funny or technically gifted image modifications using an image editor. Since the most common editor is Adobe Photoshop, these contests are called "Photoshop Contests". Simple enough, eh? Well the folks at SomethingAwful have gotten particularly good at this, and every week you can see just how talented at their craft they've gotten. For example, last Friday's contest was to take the one of the old posters of Smokey the Bear and create your own new sign. What does this mean? It means something as innocent as this:


can be morphed into something as wonderful as this:


Another example. Here's the original:


and after the SA goon is done with it, it's much funnier:


3. Webcomics

The ones I frequent are as follows: Penny Arcade [video game humor], Diesel Sweeties [relationship and robot humor], Real Life [more game humor], PVP Online [even more game humor], StrongBad's Emails on Homestarrunner [general humor], 8-Bit Theater [yes, more game humor], and Sexy Losers [relationship/sex humor]. All are updated fairly regularly, and are good ways to pass the time.

4. The Onion

The greatest satirical publication of our day [even more so than the recently-faded McSweeney's - though in truth whenever I get money I'll subscribe to both] is online and free to read. Turned on to it by a coworker in my days at Tallahassee Memorial [circa early 1999], I've been reading The Onion for years. The compilation books are something that everybody should own, as they are quite possibly the most perfect bathroom reading material ever. You can read it in short bouts, or you can trudge through and read the whole thing - The Onion's perfect for all that.

5. X-Entertainment

X-E is a blast from the past. As a child of the 80s, like the webmaster, I enjoy looking back at the toys, commercials, and other things of my childhood years. X-E is essentially one living shrine of the 1980s, and the features are brilliant. While not everything is 80s-based, it's generally funny and worth the time you'll waste on it.


So there you go, ways to waste time. My primary time waster, nerd news blog Slashdot, is always a good place to waste the hours. Cheers for unproductivity. And a big thanks to the aforementioned sites for wasting my time, countless hours of my life I'll never get back. Whoo!

Oh, and here's a quick run-down of countries that have at least one visit to my blog to date: