Wake Property Taxes Will Increase!

Wake Property Taxes Will Increase!
Originally uploaded by hikikomorix.

Also, the Canes won. I can hear car horns outside as we... uh... speak.

Raleigh Flooding

No Left Turn
Originally uploaded by FotoDawg.

This is right down the street from my apartment.

Picasa Web Albums

I got into the beta for Google's new Picasa Web Albums service. So far it looks pretty good... not Flickr good, but promising. I've mostly been uploading pics from my Japan trip. You can view them here.

The most interesting feature is the geotagging function that works with the new version of Google Earth. Users can pinpoint the exact location that they took a picture and view all of their photos within Google Earth. Very cool.

What.

Ultra "Mature" Donkey Kong Box Art

For all of you who complain that Nintendo is too "kiddy", keep in mind that this is the alternative.
Oh European Intellivision Donkey Kong box art, you slay me.
via: Game|Life

Suntory Ads by Akira Kurosawa & Francis Ford Coppola

Click here to watch. Akira Kurosawa and Francis Ford Coppola are two names you wouldn't normally associate with commercials, so Suntory must have spent quite a bit of money to get the two. I've read that these commercials were the inspiration for Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation.
via: We Make Money Not Art

Number Stations

On the most recent episode of TWiT one of the guys mentioned something called "number stations." Intrigued, I hit up Wikipedia to find out what they're all about. This is some really fascinating stuff.
Number stations are mysterious shortwave radio stations that transmit sequences of numbers and little else. Most people believe they are coded messages to spies from intelligence agencies all around the world. They were first heard some 30 years ago and continue to this day. In fact, (and this is why they were mentioned on TWiT), they are now being transmitted via voip.
My first thought upon hearing this is how awesome it would be to sample a number station in a song, but apparently I'm way too late. A number of artists have already used them and Wilco even named their "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" after a message heard on one of the stations.
In 1997 a four disc compilation of number station recordings called The Conet Project was released by Irdial Discs. The label has made the entire collection available for free download. The recordings are a bit creepy, especially this one which features a little girl reading the numbers.
This is but one more reason why shortwave radio enthusiasts have a reputation for being the coolest kids on the block.

Update: What an amazing coincidence. I just saw this posted to del.icio.us popular.

I Heart Dubai

img7
Originally uploaded by Boudders.

Anyone who knows me who is my friend Rob knows that I've been saying for the last couple of years that Dubai is going to the be the next international hotspot. I mean hotspot in a good way, not in an armed conflict kind of way. Here's some more evidence of how amazingly correct I am.