Jib-Jab

Jib-Jab has taken a hallmark of lazy internet animation (the cardboard cut-out motif), and refined it. From the subtleties of it's animation to the quality of it's music and celebrity impersonations, their shorts are 3 minute masterpieces.

Recently they've launched a service that allows you to place you and your friends faces into one of their pre-made skits. Hilarity ensues.

The Russians just used a pencil...

Everyone knows the old Joke... the Americans spent millions of dollars developing a pen that would work in space, while the Russians just used a pencil.

Fisher, the company that developed the nitrogen pressurized ink cartridge, does make a pretty nice pen. The "Bullet" pen is iconic, and was on exhibit for years in the NY MOMA. There's the original "Astronaut" pen, as well as many interesting designs.

There's also the "Mars" pen, which is guaranteed not to run out of ink until man lands on Mars. Or the "Millennium" pen, which is guaranteed not to run out of ink for the rest of your life. They're somewhat pricey, though.

I always carry a pen with me. In college it was a basic blue BIC pen, because I was always lending and losing them. Lately it's been a 3-in-1 Dr. Grip, but I've worn out two, and now they're discontinued. I just bought a Fisher "Multi-Action" space pen. We'll see how that goes...

Mini Steampunk

While the whole "Steampunk" craze seems to me a bit overdone, a few cool examples pop up. There's SteamPunk Starwars, Steampunk Lego, and of course, Steampunk Lego Starwars.

Novelty aside, my favorite examples are just beautifully crafted. This Mac Mini was 'steampunked' as a wedding present. The monitor and keyboard are cool too, but the Mini looks more like it could have been a real product if Jules Vern ruled the earth.