Day: February 23, 2010

Tuesday’s almost done

Today was a pretty good day, if only because I managed to accomplish more at work than I expected to. I wound up having to buy a new umbrella — and Duane Reade and I are just going to have to agree to disagree about our definition a of “full-size” umbrella — when my old one fell apart in the wind and rain during the walk from Penn Station. Luckily it wasn’t raining enough to get me drenched, and I was wearing a hat, but if the entire day had been like my morning, I don’t think I’d have been too happy about it now.

But it wasn’t. It was actually a pretty decent, if not altogether remarkable day. Now, I think I’m going to maybe watch tonight’s episode of Lost, then go to bed, almost certainly in that order.

Tuesday various

  • Will singing “My Way” in the Philippines get you killed?

    Still, the odds of getting killed during karaoke may be higher in the Philippines, if only because of the ubiquity of the pastime. Social get-togethers invariably involve karaoke. Stand-alone karaoke machines can be found in the unlikeliest settings, including outdoors in rural areas where men can sometimes be seen singing early in the morning. And Filipinos, who pride themselves on their singing, may have a lower tolerance for bad singers. [via]

  • Salon.com on Kevin Smith: The face of flying while fat:

    And then I read Southwest’s apology to Smith, which includes such gems as “If a Customer cannot comfortably lower the armrest and infringes on a portion of another seat, a Customer seated adjacent would be very uncomfortable and a timely exit from the aircraft in the event of an emergency might be compromised if we allow a cramped, restricted seating arrangement.” And I think, first, “If we allowed a cramped, restricted seating arrangement? Because ‘The Greyhound of the Skies’ is positively roomy when there are no fat people on board?” And second, I think, “Translation: Fat paying customers’ fully expected discomfort only becomes a problem for us if it also makes the paying customers we care about uncomfortable.” [via]

  • Speaking of apologies, does Tiger Woods owe you one? Probably not. [via]
  • A neat, albeit a little disturbing, H.R. Giger cake [via]
  • And finally, the truth behind elephant brain power:

    “We are a bit limited by how little we know about elephants, but the odd glimmers we get seem to be rather remarkable.”

    Incidentally, today is your last day to listen to Inside the Elephant Mind on the BBC player. [via]