UNDERDOG of PERFECTION

A Game Theoretical Approach to the Toilet Seat Problem

Clever, yes. And fairly well-reasoned (if decidedly tongue-in-cheek). However, for the paranoid and germophobic (including myself on both counts), this entire line of reasoning leaves out the most important component of the system: the lid.

Extra effort be damned, the lid must be closed! And if my anecdotal experience is any indication, women are far more likely to leave the seat down and lid up than men are to leave everything up vs. closing the lid.

C’mon people, the lid is there for a reason! (Several, in fact.) Use it! Besides, we all know the average American leads a far too (and increasingly) sedentary lifestyle. You need the exercise.

Yes, George W. Bush is in town today, but more importantly (if the KARE 11 teaser is any indication), so is Whiplash the Cowboy Monkey!

Apparently Keith Schofield is an indie music video director, specializing in working old-school video game imagery into his projects.

He’s getting a lot of attention in the Atari community for a video about the fabled E.T. cartridges buried in a New Mexico landfill, but personally I found the one about a rapping video game much more entertaining.

I’ve finally succumbed to the inevitability of reading the work of Dan Brown, not with the obvious The DaVinci Code but with an earlier work, Angels and Demons.

While it’s clearly a mass-market thriller, it’s actually pretty clever and wholly engaging. One of my favorite aspects of the book is the “ambigram” designs: words with carefully stylized letters such that they read identically when turned 180 degrees.

Confused? Check this out:
http://www.johnlangdon.net/angelsanddemons.html

John Langdon was the designer of the ambigrams for the book (all of which appear at the above URL). Langdon is also the last name of the book’s protagonist, presumably done in his honor. This guy’s talent is phenomenal. I’ve seen a few other ambigram artists’ work, and none is as legible, or as beautiful, as Langdon’s. Of course, now I want to do my own ambigrams.

So far I’ve learned one thing: It’s not easy. I actually do have a workable ambigram of ROOM 34 going, but it’s ugly. And barely legible. If I improve it enough that I’m not embarrassed by it, I’ll post it here.

Imagine my surprise today when I stumbled upon this particular variant on the tired YTMND site. They stole my Chewbacca audio!

I don’t know whether to be furious or elated, or both. It’s ranked #20 all-time, and it’s only been up for a month!

I guess I’ll have to be furious, considering how someone else is getting all of my accolades. But wow, it looks like it got played on WGN radio and Fox News! Holy crap, I’ve been on FOX NEWS. Kill me now.