LMNOP

Saturday Morning Pancake Breakfast: Can't Catch Me

This Week in Internet: Otters, Rat Tails, and John Stamos

This is a pretty cool thing to do with your deck.

Plants are people, too!

OCLOTW (Obligatory Cat Links of the Week): Cats for Gold, Cats Chillin'

Crap.  Now I need a pet otter.

This is the best reaction anyone has ever had to anything. (Good share, Gorg-o)

Would you rather have EXCITING PEAS?  Yes.

OHTHANKGOD: John Stamos finally got a star of the Walk of Fame.

This beard is a must-see!  (thx, Buddy Love)

Wow.  As if regular rat tails weren't ugly enough.

This is great.  Probably my favorite thing in the world is watching dogs go through the process of getting comfy.

Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2009

The History of the Internet in a Nutshell

Reptiles Having Good and Bad Days . . . of the Day

Winner Reptile of the Day:

The Breakdancing Turtle!

Loser Reptile of the Day:

The Crocodile That Got Eaten By a Badass Hippo.

Both images via Buzzfeed, the Internet's No. 1 source for Pictures of Reptiles Winning and Losing at Life on November 18, 2009.

The Hamster-Related Opportunity of a Lifetime

 Today I read this article about a hotel in France that lets its guests live like hamsters, which I think we can obviously all agree is the best business idea since the origin of exchanging money for goods and services.

According to the article:

For 99 euros (£88) a night, visitors to the hotel in Nantes can feast on hamster grain, get a workout by running in a giant wheel and sleep in hay stacks in the suite called the "Hamster Villa."

That's right: it's a hotel that lets you pay approximately $150 to live like an animal that costs $10.  And I want to go there.

Sadly, I can't make it to France anytime soon.  However, my friend Michelle (author of this post and enemy of athletic trainers everywhere) happens to be living in France for the next few months.  After realizing this, I (somewhat jokingly) suggested to my friend Adam this afternoon that we take up a collection among our friends and all split the cost of sending Michelle for a night in hamster heaven.  By the end of our IM conversation, the idea had basically risen in our minds to the status of SWORN LIFE GOAL.  We then spent the rest of the afternoon devising a plan to solicit pledges from our friends in the interest of getting Michelle to the hamster hotel.

The hamster hotel is a few hours from where she is living, but Michelle has agreed that she will take the trip and stay there for a night if Adam and I are able to raise the money for the hotel stay and train or bus ride.  If you know Michelle and support this cause (or if you don't even know her, but are strongly in favor of sending people to hamster-themed hotels), please e-mail me at your earliest convenience to make your pledge.  A donation of $5 is the "One Cheekful of Sunflower Seeds" sponsorship level; $10 is the "Two Cheekfuls of Sunflower Seeds" sponsorship level; and finally, a $20 contribution puts you at the "Golden Hamster Patron" level of giving, which in turn qualifies you to receive, via U.S. Mail, a commemorative photo magnet featuring a picture of Michelle at the hamster hotel.  The magnets will be sent out at the conclusion of Michelle's stay, and yes, I am dead serious about this.

Afraid of Heights

This video was shot from the top of the Burj Dubai, the tallest man-made structure ever built.

It made me extremely queasy.  In fact, I have not been this nauseated by a YouTube video since "Insane Elephant Birth."  (Whatever you do, do NOT Google "Insane Elephant Birth."  It cannot be unseen.)

This Week in Internet: Woo Hoo, Yeeeeeeee Hoo

Apparently dogs really respond to Gwen Stefani's "Sweet Escape."  I will have to try this with Pancake.

Water on the mooooooooooon: check.

Requisite cat links of the week: cats sitting like people, awesome science project

"Michelle Khine's lab at UC Irvine couldn't afford the $100K equipment to make microfluidic chips, a sheet of material with tiny channels used for certain diagnostic tests, so she made her own with Shrinky Dinks."

Hehhhh, I like this squirrel.

This is cuuuuute.  So is this.

It probably sucks when you steal a van and then realize there is a live lion in it.

Speaking of lions: INVISIBLE LION CAGE

Good advice.

10 weird facts from the 1768 encyclopedia.

Some physics to help you with your free throws.

Life Was So Much More Awesome When You Could Just Hang Out with Your Rooster and Enjoy a Cigarette

I have really been enjoying Black and WTF, and blog that compiles old photos with completely absurd things going on in them.  A few recent favorites:

 

 

And my No. 1 fave:

Just good old Doreen, takin' an alligator ride.

Now I Really Want My Own World Record

I thought the World's Longest Handshake record seemed easily breakable, but that's nothing compared to the crap new record that was set yesterday in New York for the World's Largest Hot Chocolate.  The record setting cup came in at (ironic drum roll, please) . . .

FOUR GALLONS.  This is an actual picture of it:

(source)

It's pathetic, right?  Don't answer.  I already know this.  You know how I know?  BECAUSE ANY RECORD I CAN BREAK BY DUMPING 12 PACKETS OF SWISS MISS INTO A FULL BATHTUB IS PATHETIC.

This Post Contains Mad Men Spoilers, OK? OK.

In case the title didn't tip you off, let me repeat: THIS POST CONTAINS MAD MEN SPOILERS.  If you read it and then cry bitter, 1963-flavored tears because I ruined your Tivo lineup for the night, don't blame me, because I warned you.

So, the Mad Men finale last night was pretty sweet.  A lot of shit went down at once, so mostly all I was able to do was say "Oh, SNAP" every four minutes and try to keep up with the plot line.  Now that it's been almost 24 hours, I've had a little more time to process everything.  Mostly, I've been trying to wrap my head around the thrilling new corporate entity that is Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, so-named because "All the Good People Except Ken Cosgrove and the Kinda Communist Guy Ad Agency" is too long to fit on a door.

In order to help me understand things, I put together an org chart reflecting my understanding of the new agency's structure.  In order to be Mad Men-er, I did it by hand.

(click to enlarge)

As you can see, the rather top-heavy org structure consists of five partners (if you count Pete), plus three poached underlings and Pete's crazy wife, who technically doesn't work there, but will undoubtedly be around to serve food and wear bizarre hats, so I'm keeping her in there.  After all, what's an org chart without a sandwich-maker/dipshit?

Saturday Morning Pancake Breakfast: Big Nom

Probably my favorite thing about this photo is that one top tooth you can see hanging down.