bookofjoe

Internet Pinball Machine Database — Who knew?

Not Mr. joe here, so out of the loop I can't even see the knot.

Only through the good graces of James Thornburg was I able to jump aboard the cluetrain as it roared through my Podunk town.

"The Internet Pinball Machine Database — also known as the IPD or IPDB — is a comprehensive, searchable listing of virtually every pinball machine ever commercially made."

As of 20 minutes ago there were 35,498 images of 4,980 games.

Radio to MP3 Recorder

I thought by now I'd seen every possible mashup but I guess I was wrong, witness this device.

Long story short: You record AM, FM or short wave radio broadcasts off the air in real time onto the built-in, removable MP3 player, then listen to them at your convenience.

Pretty cool, actually.

From the website:

Radio to MP3 Recorder

This radio has a removable MP3 player that allows you to record AM, FM, and shortwave radio broadcasts for future playback as digital files.

The MP3 player can be programmed to record a radio station at a specific time, has 256 MB of internal memory (enough for 10 hours of recording), and comes with software that allows you to download music from a computer to the MP3 player itself.

The MP3 player can be removed from the radio for remote use and also can be used as a voice recorder that stores up to 15 hours of conversations, memos or lecture notes.

The radio has single-sideband modulation for receiving two-way marine, aviation and ham radio broadcasts, and the device can access international radio stations through digital AM/FM and digital shortwave.

Features 400 presets, a digital clock with three alarms and a built-in digital NOAA weather band that can access all seven National Weather Service stations anywhere in the U.S.

Includes an audio line-in port for playing music from an iPod® or CD player, three AA rechargeable batteries, AC adapter, and an audio line-in cable.

6-1/2" L x 4"W x 11/4"D.

$179.95.

Domino's Pizza Tracker

Caroline, my Pittsburgh correspondent, just tipped me to this fantastic new Domino's feature.

She said she sat mesmerized for 30 minutes as a red bar (below) made its way from left to right across her laptop screen tracking her work in progress.

I'm so down with this I can't tell which way is up.

What's new, joe?

I just ordered and you can see where things stand below.

Among the many wonderful features of ordering online, I just discovered, is that you don't have to painstakingly spell out your über-complicated order over and over to a harried employee who will probably get it wrong anyway.

Topless Panama Hat

Think of it as a 360º sun visor.

From the website:

Crownless Panama Hat

This crownless hat is hand woven in Ecuador from bleached leaves of carludovica palmata, or Toquilla palm, the traditional plant fiber used to make Panama hats since they were first discovered by North Americans in the early 1900s during construction of the Panama Canal.

The hat is made using traditional Ecuadorian construction methods, resulting in an easy-to-pack visor that only weighs two ounces.

Its wide brim provides 360º of sun protection for your face and neck with a UPF rating of 50+.

Long hair fits through the hand-sewn cotton/ Lycra band to keep the neck cool.

14"L x 13"W.

2 oz.

$49.95.

Giant Squid Reveals Its Secrets

The frozen corpse of largest giant squid ever captured began a controlled thaw this past Monday in Wellington, New Zealand.

The 1,089-pound, 26-foot-long colossus will be carefully examined by experts from around the world as it defrosts over the next several days.

Watch the "Te Papa Colossal Squid Event" live right here.

An informative narrated video is here.

Richard Black's BBC News story about the creature follows.

Colossal squid comes out of ice

Technicians in New Zealand have begun to thaw a rare colossal squid specimen.

The operation to defrost the 10-metre (34 feet) long, half-tonne squid began on Monday afternoon in Wellington following a postponement of 24 hours.

The animal is now sitting in a bath of salt water. Once it is thawed, scientists will begin to dissect it.

Very little is known about colossal squid, which appear to live largely in the cold Antarctic waters and can grow up to 15 metres (50 feet) long.

"They're incredibly rare — this is probably one of maybe six specimens ever brought up," said Carol Diebel, director of natural environment at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa centre.

"It's certainly the one that we're being really careful about, completely intact and in really fantastic condition."

The Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni specimen was caught in February 2007 in the Ross Sea.

The colossal squid is remarkable for its size, but also for how rarely it has been sighted.

It was identified first in 1925 from two tentacles found in a sperm whale's stomach.

These deep-diving toothed whales regularly do battle with Mesonychoteuthis and other giant cephalopods such as the giant squid of the Architeuthis genus.

Since 1925, only a few Mesonychoteuthis have been sighted, all in the seas around Antarctica.

Very little is known about how and where they live. The one certainty is that they are fearsome opponents, with big beaks and unique swivelling hooks on the club-like ends of their tentacles.

One of the first tasks is likely to be ascertaining the squid's gender.

This one is believed to be male; and females are thought to grow larger than males.

So if this one is a he, presumably there are even bigger and heavier shes somewhere in the cold Antarctic waters.

The Te Papa scientists are also defrosting a smaller, damaged colossal squid specimen, and two giant squid. The defrosting and dissection are being shown in a live webcast.

Later in the week, scientists are expected to give public lectures about their initial results.

Once thawed and examined, the squid will be embalmed and preserved.

What is it?

Answer here this time tomorrow.

'Vanilla Bright Like Eminem' — by Michel Faber

My Glasgow, Scotland correspondent has been beating on me for weeks to read at least the title story of this 2007 collection by Michel Faber.

The book was originally published in 2005 in England as "The Fahrenheit Twins."

I finally did today and she was right — it's excellent.

The final short story of 16 in the collection, it's brief (seven pages, about 2,300 words) and begins with the following sentence: "Don, son of people no longer living, husband of Alice, father of Drew and Aleesha, is very, very close to experiencing the happiest moment of his life."

Catchy, what?

For all you know, so are you.

Not catchy, silly billy — very, very close to experiencing the happiest moment of your life.

Maybe this is it.

Anyway.

What makes this story so compelling to me is the way it views time — time present and time past, time future and time unimaginable — as an armature for a series of inevitable, unavoidable events cast in the temporal equivalent of stone.

Hugh Everett would approve.

Read the first five pages of the collection's opening story, "The Safehouse," here.

You can use Amazon's "Search inside this book" feature (click "Surprise me!" over on the left) to read two- or three-page-long chunks of the text, so you can get a sense of Faber's style.

Janet Maslin's September 13, 2007 New York Times book review is here.

Linda L. Richards interviewed Faber, going very deep, for January Magazine.

Google Books pages for the short story collection are here and here.

Portable Inflatable Instant Salad Bar

Now you're talking.

Keep one of these in your bag or pocket and a salad bar could break out anywhere.

From the website:

Portable Inflatable Instant Salad Bar

Fill with ice and keep food chilled for hours — serve large crowds indoors or out!

Extra-large rectangular serving station with 12" x 42" interior accommodates multiple serving bowls.

Its size, light weight and portability make this a no-brainer for parties, picnics, camping and more.

Exterior dimensions: 24" x 54".

.....................

"... make this a no-brainer..." — you're so playing my song.

$29.98.