"What do you call a yo-yo that goes down but won't come up? A yo. Wokka wokka wokka. " Fozzie Bear

April fool’s Day is one of my favorite holidays. It used to be that only a few websites would do a prank on their users like Google. Now everyone and their brother’s website have gotten in on the act. Unfortunately some of these prank pages will be gone by tomorrow. Thankfully the site Aprilfoolsdayontheweb is here to help. It is a user contributed to site where people drop of websites and descriptions about what is being pranked. Now I do not want to ruin a joke especially if it is creative but the chances of me missing it is high on the web so that is why I am recommending this. They also have past years fool's days that you can look back and see what went on. Lastly you can rate jokes up or down. So enjoy in the fun and see what you may not expect.

"Men, I want you just thinking of one word all season. One word and one word only: Super Bowl." Bill Peterson

I love the internet! The reason is simple. I do not have to watch football. Yes I can skip all the fanfare of people playing catch and get to the real reason to tune in. Of course the commercials. Now before I get angry emails let me say I have a short attention span and commercials are just the right length while the actual game that many people watch the Superbowl for is a bit too lengthy. In the past you have been able to watch some of the commercials at one site and then some at another but this year it has all boiled down to HULU. Just click the site and watch away. The only issue I find a bit strange is that the commercials are all sponsored by other 5 second commercials but this is our new world. It is some strange twilight zone when commercials have to pay for other commercials to be watched. Anyway enjoy them if you like or if you would like to rewatch the highlights of the game click here.

“My mother is such a lousy cook that Thanksgiving at her house is a time of sorrow.” Rita Rudner

We have made another turn around the Sun and have finally come to the time when everyone starts recipe hunting for the best holiday ever, Thanksgiving. I cook every year and enjoy it completely however I do not only read about recipes during November. I am constantly on the prowl for the next best dish. Recipes are everywhere on the net and there is a glut. Some sites are better than others and below I have tried to list some of the ones I go to repeatedly. I may not cook everything I see on these sites but it is fun to see what is possible.
Food blogs

• 101 Cookbooks
• Ramblings of a frantic home cook
• Brownie Points
• Green Avocado
• FXCuisine
• Start Cooking
• Everyday Food

"I got a rock." Charlie Brown

Last year for I did a post about Halloween music. I think I shall continue the tradition and add a few more to the list. So if you are stuck at the office or just surfing the net click a link and listen to some newish Halloween music.

• RE: Brains by Jonathan Coulton
• The Mummy by Benji Hughes. A favorite of mine.
• Friendly Ghost by the Eels
• Halloween on the Barbary coast
• Alkaline Trio by Halloween
• Halloween Head by Ryan Adams
• Halloween Night by Throwing Toasters
• Halloween with Morrissey by Cheekyboy
• Halloween is comin' to town by Tin Lounge
• Hallowe'en dance by American Symphony Orchestra. A very old recording from an Edison Record
• Halloween Parade by Lou Reed

A special to thanks to the following sites.
obscuresound mattsommers
cylinders.library.ucsb.edu popbytes
throwingtoasters sixeyes productshopnyc

"We're eatable ants." H. G. Wells

As a kid traveling from craft show to craft show with my mother I always had my cassette tape player. It was my constant friend and accompanied me everywhere. Most people that asked what I always listening to were usually surprised. I listened constantly to old radio broadcasts from the thirties and forties. One of my favorites, next to the Jack Benny Program, was the broadcast that frightened most of America. Today is the anniversary of the War Of The Worlds first airing. If you are unfamiliar it was a science fiction broadcast about invading aliens. The people that tuned in from the beginning knew that it was just another radio show. Those that tuned in after the introduction heard what sounded like a real news broadcast talking about the first invader complete with radio break ins ,and on site interviews . People literally fled into the streets to get out of cities and hide from the oncoming extraterrestrial army. Orson Welles’ voice sets just the right dramatic tone through the whole experience. The Mercury Theater was well known for this sort of thing. You can listen to the entire broadcast from this link. Even if you cannot listen to the whole thing at least listen to the first twenty minutes. Whenever I listened to this I tried to imagine inching up closer and closer to an old giant radio waiting for more details to spill out and tell me of the ever approaching dangers. I know it seems like old hat now but seriously in the spirit of Halloween and all things spooky set the lights low tonight, get the kids and some popcorn and give a listen. Let yourself start to wonder if the noises you just heard were from the broadcast or something just outside of your house.

"But one man of her crew alive. What put to sea with seventy-five." Jim Hawkins from Treasure Island

Another year has set sail but we have come full about and reached our destination once again. Of course you know the great and glorious annual event is here. What am I talking about you say? International talk Like a Pirate day is September 19th. Well blow me down that is today! It was created way back in 1995 and has become an internet holiday. How does one celebrate you ask? It be very easy. When ITLAPD comes around just talk like a pirate the whole day. Essentially all the goofy stuff you have ever heard from bad pirate movies needs to be repeated. To get ready I recommend a few websites below. Now that you have marked that date on the calendar don’t forget about talk like a pilot day, International Day of the Ninja and World Zombie day. Just more treasures from the bountiful internet.

• The original website where this all started. It has all sorts of info like a list of phrases for young and old. Also if you are not sure how to say something they have a convenient translation device.
• The magazine Wired has all sorts of great pirate ideas and is doing and entire week of piratey stuff.
• Wikipedia of course has all the details and history of the phenomenon.

There are three kinds of death in this world. There's heart death, there's brain death, and there's being off the network. Guy T. Almes

Finally a tech related holiday has come. Today is system administrators day. A byte of cake anyone? OK that was bad but what is a system administrator. Essentially they are the people that keep everything running when it comes to your workplaces network, servers and all the communication that runs through it like webpages and backups. As we all know communication is the circulation that keeps any business running. Without a proper systems admin threats from things lie spam, hackers, and just general wear would eventually stop the server from functioning properly and thus stopping the normal flow of a workplace. To read more about is check the sysadminday site. They have everything from explanations to photos which I really recommend. So to all the sys admins out there I raise half a bottle of Mountain Dew and a bag of your favorite snack cake and say thank you.

I recommend celebrating with the movie that first brought computers and their possibilities to the screen Wargames. I saw this as a kid and was forever hooked on computers. Also it is the 25^th anniversary of this great geek movie. Here is a link to the trailer.

“I've a grand memory for forgetting.” Robert Louis Stevenson

Things are forgotten and misremembered. Some people keep diaries to help them remember the succession of events. The problem that I have eternally is I remember the big items but all the small stories of my life get thrown into a big junk drawer of my history. I saw a site that attempts to start getting all this a bit straight. DandeLife is devoted to pulling all the online strings of your life together. If you are blogging, videoing, and part of social networks it tries to put all those into some sort of order. However this is not why I am excited by this site. I have no real interest in being that organized but memory is a tricky thing. One event leads to another and I cannot seem to untangle the Gordian Knot of what came first. It would be so much easier if I had a timeline. Seems so simple, just a matter of ,lets say once a month, putting down some of the months important events on this easy to use timeline. You can add a one line description or on another page fill it with a real description. Just think of a page that contains a small list of the important stuff, or at least the important at that moment stuff. At anytime you could go back and review events that led to some major crisis or superior epiphany. Now this is all cool and neat-o but why would you want to do this? Well New Years Eve got me thinking of well meaning and well forgotten resolutions. For some people this might be the extra bit that helps them keep it all going or maybe they rediscover this in April and see what they said they would be doing in the future. There is an old school method that is similar to this that my wife reminded me of recently. The practice of writing yourself a letter to be mailed by a friend at some future date. This holiday you may want to give one of these a try because who knows what you will have to say in the future.

“Santa's elves are just a bunch of subordinate Clauses”

It being the last Friday before a holiday I thought of all the parties and general goofing off that goes on today and so in that spirit I give you a site that more people have sent me than I can imagine. Elf your Self is a site that is similar to JibJab. It allows you to upload some pictures and have them be part of a singing dancing holiday card. It is fun to do and you might as well because you most likely not getting work done. So why not produce a masterpiece of elfness? Give it a try.

“Leftovers in their less visible form are called memories. Stored in the refrigerator of the mind and the cupboard of the heart.” Thomas Fuller

Another Thanksgiving is under our belt (both figuratively and literally) and it is time to figure out what to do with all the leftovers. Last year I provided a site that had a list of recipes and help. This year it seems appropriate to keep up the tradition. I personally recommend a leftover party for everyone. I also ask people to bring the carcass if they are going to get rid of it so I can make a turkey stock out of it. As far as the actual meat and the rest of the dinner CdKitchen seems to have our backs with a long list of recipes. Everything is segmented into categories for all your grand turkey experiences. As far as party ideas head to Better Homes and Gardens for all sorts of ideas. So when you have finally digested the first meal and getting ready for the next give this one a try.

"I've learned there are three things you don't discuss with people: religion, politics and the Great Pumpkin. " Linus

Halloween makes me think of costume parties but the backbone of any party is always the music. Halloween music can be difficult to find and so I have put together a quick list of some sites to either learn more or download some. There should be enough as a beginning. So go forth and spook some one for the night is young. Oh ya, give it a try.

• First off, NPR has had several treats on Halloween Music from the classics to the brand new. They even have a free download from the Evangelicals.
• This has to be one of the best lists of Halloween music I have ever seen. They do not have any direct downloads so you will have to shop around.
• OK you need some creepy chains moving in the attic or a moaning ghoul? Check this one out. It is a long list of sounds in wav format. You can download them by right clicking and choosing save as. However, you can play them from the site.
• A remix of the Munsters Theme called Munsterbeat
• This site has tons of Halloween themed music from the 50’s and 60’s. The only strange thing is that you have to scroll to the right instead of down. Just click on a number to hear it. You can also download them.
• Lastly is a site that has all the perennial classics from TV and movies like the Addams Family. Great for any playlist.

“All religions must be tolerated... for... every man must get to heaven in his own way.” Epictetus

Religion can be tricky to write about on a blog like this and I have avoided it until this point. Unfortunately religion on the web breaks down into the two usual camps: a glorification of one’s own religion and bashing of another’s. This is too bad because it kills discussion and understanding. However, there is a site that is really trying to make a difference in the religious information realm. Beliefnet has information on most religions. Now when I say information I do not mean a quick definition. I mean a real investigation that allows the user to really explore different religions. They use things like audio visual tours and interesting news stories to round off the information. They even have cooking recipes for each faith and holiday that it is associated with. There are discussion forums for every belief from Atheism to Zoroastrianism and everything in between. My favorite part has to be the Belief-o-Matic. Don’t be fooled by the name. It is a fill in survey that shows you which faith is in line with your thinking. I found it to be right on the mark. Faith is part of out society and makes its way to technology just like any part of our social makeup. So if you are interested give it a try.