Something to check out: LibraryThing

Found posted on Neil Gaiman's LJ, LibraryThing is apparently a service for not only cataloging your library but suggesting similar books to read based on your previous reading preferences. Nice idea, but I shudder at the thought is attempting to catalogue our library. I simply don't have that kind of time. If someone has tried it, or is interested in it, have fun and let me know how it works for you.

For those Coke(tm) drinkers out there

Source: Vox

I've copied this verbatim from the website:

Have you ever wondered why Coke comes with a smile? It’s because it gets you high. They took the cocaine out almost a hundred years ago. You know why? It was redundant.

• In The First 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake.) You don’t immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down.
• 20 minutes: Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst. Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get it’s hands on into fat. (There’s plenty of that at this particular moment)
• 40 minutes: Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dialate, your blood pressure rises, as a response your livers dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. The adenosine receptors in your brain are now blocked preventing drowsiness.
• 45 minutes: Your body ups your dopamine production stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain. This is physically the same way heroin works, by the way.
• >60 minutes: The phosphoric acid binds calcium, magnesium and zinc in your lower intestine, providing a further boost in metabolism. This is compounded by high doses of sugar and artificial sweeteners also increasing the urinary excretion of calcium.
• >60 Minutes: The caffeine’s diuretic properties come into play. (It makes you have to pee.) It is now assured that you’ll evacuate the bonded calcium, magnesium and zinc that was headed to your bones as well as sodium, electrolyte and water.
• >60 minutes: As the rave inside of you dies down you’ll start to have a sugar crash. You may become irritable and/or sluggish. You’ve also now, literally, pissed away all the water that was in the Coke. But not before infusing it with valuable nutrients your body could have used for things like even having the ability to hydrate your system or build strong bones and teeth.

Something to keep in mind the next time you slug back a can of Coke.

The iPhone from... well, it's NOT Apple

Sources:
Linksys Not-Apple-iPhone Details and Photos
Linksys Press Release
Cisco -- not apple -- announces iPhone branded VoIP phones

It appears the Linksys scooped Apple it claiming the name, and have done so with a pretty innovative product. It is, essentially, a cordless phone (NOT a cell phone) with specialized Internet capability. Here's what it's capable of: - Integrated support for Skype and Yahoo! Messenger Voice so you can see if the person is listed as being online according to one of these services and so, presumably, available to talk. - Manually switch between VoIP and standard landline service - Local search via Yahoo!, aparently to allow you access to online telephone directories - Local weather search, also via Yahoo! - Able to access music, photos and video feeds via the Internet (gotta have instant access to all that porn). The video feed is supposed to be linked to Linksys's wireles video camera so that you can monitor your home to watch the break-in already in progress. - The basestation accepts both landline and Ethernet so the phone can operate do VoIP within requiring a PC be turned on. Looks like Apple will need a new name for it's soon-to-be-released cellphone/iPod love child device. You snooze, you lose. It turns out the Cisco (yes, the router people) have had the iPhone name trademarked for almost a decade and finally decided to use it to sell Linksys's new product line.