BrianAndPamela.com

Live! from Nkorho Pan, South Africa! It's WATERING HOLE LIVE! Here's a live high quality feed from a camera in South Africa. We've checked in a few times and seen antelope, rabbits, and heard LOTS of other things. There's a live operator 24/7 that zooms in on interesting things. Don't miss this one if you've got a good connection! Clicky!

I love my iPod. I haven’t mentioned that here before, at least not on B&P 2.0… so hey it’s new to you, right? Anyway… One of the best things about the ‘pod is the accessories. Cases, earphones, connections to stereos, cars and televisions… so many accessories, so little time. But when you’re as popular as the iPod (83% of the market I think?) it inspires people to make some uhhh strange accessories. Like the iBelieve case that turns your (G1) iPod Shuffle into a cross, iBreath which turns your ‘pod into a portable breathalizer, the iRon combo iron and iPod dock, or the iPod bra that keeps you “abreast of your music”. Don’t blame me, I didn’t invent it.
My TECH Lists » 10 Very Odd iPod Accessories

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Seemingly Beggin Strips aren’t the only things that taste like bacon. Yes, NEC’s cute little wine tasting robot was presented with the living human flesh of a reporter and decided that it tasted like salted pork products. Full story from Engadget. I can’t decide which kitschy snowclone to use. Right now the top contenders are:

• I for one welcome our new robot overlords.
• Move over bacon, now there’s something media!

Tough call.

PS. You can thank PJ for the “media” pun…

Well, work’s been nuts lately. This is the end of the FY after all, but I’ve been looking for something to write about.
Recent Windows security problems? No, you should know by now to keep your system patched and not to use Internet Explorer or Outlook Express. (You know that, don’t you?)
Or, keeping with the Microsoft theme, how about the Zune? (computerworld via slashdot) Nah… everyone is talking about the Zune, it’s over done. Jack Thompson’s latest crusade against Rockstar and Take-Two? Like he needs more publicity.

No, what I needed was something new, unusual, yet relevant. Then I found it courtesy of Boing Boing: It’s Sausage! It’s Pancakes! It’s Chocolate Chips! AND (as if that wasn’t enough…) it’s on a stick. Would I lie? You must click for the picture. Oh, it’s worth it. (more…)

Ok, several people have written to say that they wanted me to let them know when new things get posted to the blog. Well, of course I always mention the RSS feed (http://www.brianandpamela.com/?feed=rss2) but normally, I just get a blank stare. "RS-wha?" Alright, so I've set up a mailing list. Just go to the email page and enter your email address. You'll have to confirm your address (we'll email you a link, you click it to confirm you're you). Whenever a new post is added to the blog (and we think it's something you'll care about) you'll get an email with the subject of the post. Then you can decide if you want to check out the whole article. Of course you can still register and control which categories the system sends you, but this is quicker and doesn't require you to login. So, try it out, and let me know if there are any problems with it. It seems to be working but I haven't had time to do much testing. _b

Man bites panda in Beijing zoo - Animal Peculiarity - MSNBC.com

Seriously. Can’t blog. Laughing. Too. Hard.

_b

New item on the site. On the right, you’ll see a list of “Brian’s recent play list”. Thanks to LastFM, Pandora, iTunes and the internet, I’m auto-posting my recent listen list.

It get’s pretty crazy when I just let my entrie collection shuffle. Today in the same half hour I got Glad, Cypress Hill, Dennis DeYoung (from Styx, remember?), Goo Goo Dolls, The Corries (Scottish Folk), Merle Haggard, NWA, The Fray, Snow Patrol and Death Cab For Cutie and a couple of things from Worship CDs. I think there was some broadway stuff in there too… go figure. Good luck figuring out my tastes!

Oh by the way, if you’re into it, the new Evanessence album is out on Oct 3, I’ve heard the preview track (”Call Me When You’re Sober”) on iTunes, and Amy Lee’s voice seems to really have matured. Let’s hope the whole album is as good as the preview.

If all the new series this year are as good as the premiere of “Standoff” (Fox 9PM), it’s going to be an awesome year.

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Add me to the list of people opposed to eBay’s ban on Teachers Edition Textbooks. Short version of the story is that eBay, responding to pressure from “parents, educators and publishers” (more on that in a moment) has banned the auction or sale of Teachers Edition (TE) Textbooks and other curriculum and materials that are intended to only be used by “professional teachers.” Given that many homeschooling parents rely on the TEs for sample lesson plans and other material and that purchasing these books from publishers can cost a great deal, and most homeschoolers are very budget conscious (shouldn’t they be? they are paying for everyone else’s kids to go to school plus their own but don’t get me started…) the secondary market for homeschool curriculum is very active.

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Ah, Autumn. The leaves turn, the air cools, and young men’s thoughts turn to Football and TV schedules. With the welcome shift recently of cable networks airing first-run shows during the traditional networks summer hiatus, the launch of the fall premieres isn’t the event it once was. And while I’ve been fairly happy with the summer offerings (like Rescue Me, The 4400,Treasure Hunters, Monk and Psych) some have left me a little unfulfilled (Kyle XY). — Hmmm… Summer Season Wrap Up sounds like it might be a good blog post. — Anyway, I’m looking forward to the launch of the new Fall Season and several shows in particular, here’s what will be on my TV, computer screen, video iPod and Orb stream this fall. If you ask nicely, Pamma just might be convinced to talk about her Fall watch list and explain her devotion to Ty Penningtion, Mark Harmon, Hugh Laurie, and (of all people) Anderson Cooper.

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