Curious (fasting) George. I frequent a cafe in my neighborhood where the majority of the employees are Algerian. This weekend is the beginning of Ramadan, and most of the guys at the cafe are currently observing the month long fasting. I see these guys everyday (often 2 or 3 times a day) and count them among my friends -- they play with my 7mo old son, we talk about current events and gossip in the neighborhood, make fun of the tourists, etc. Which brings me to my question...what does one say to someone who is observing the fast? "Happy Ramadan?", "Good Luck?", "Keep it up?"

Marshall McLuhan, the Man and his Message Canada's CBC presents several archival radio and television clips of Marshall McLuhan and discussions about the man and his ideas. [Clips are embedded Windows Media] more inside

Monty Python and the Holy Grail to become the musical "Spamalot". This info is months old and I can't believe it got past me.

Please dial one, the area code, and then the number. Long a feature on the back cover of 2600, a "Hacker" magazine, has been pictures of payphones from around the world. It is pretty interesting when you realize that the US has some of the most low-tech payphones compared to other countries. Even more interesting is that it is illegal to take pictures of payphones in places like Egypt. more inside

Become a millionaire in space! No, really! Silly looking space craft, interesting products to buy and sell.., takes some of the mystery out of playing the market. more inside

Serious George...I often take cabs for my work, as I don't drive, and usually talk with a lot of cabbies if they're the talkative sort. Here's my question; when someone tells you they are from a country pretty much going up in flames at the moment, how does one respond? For example, a cabbie remarked that he was from Sudan, when the news of the crisis in Darfur was all over the news. I think I just said, "ah" as in "ah, I see", and the conversation moved on. I wondered what was better form; responding neutrally as I did, which may have given the impression I either didn't know about the situation in Sudan, or, worse, that I thought it unimportant; or if I should have said something along the lines of, "I'm sorry about what's happening there", and moved on. This happens relatively often, and the awkward pause after someone's announced they're from somewhere you see on the news every night is something I'm interested in hearing how other people handle.

Hey you damn kids, get off my polling data! I think we all heard the thing about a month back, about how the election pollsters are missing the 5% of the population who have only cellphones and no land line (myself included) But what's shocking in this article is that the pollsters seem to blame the young people for not showing up in their data more inside

Freeway Blogger Via DailyKos: the anonymous Freeway Blogger has recruited over 1,000 foot soldiers in 48 states to create low-tech, high-visibilty freeway signs to broadcast political protest against the junta- I mean, the administration. A whole slew of blisteringly clever ones reached commuters all over the United States for the hitherto unknown occassion of "National Freeway Free Speech Day" on October 13. more inside

The Amazing Adrenalini Brothers Some wonderful flash cartoons, apparently commissioned by the BBC.

Whistling records Some truly fine pieces of whistling here. Try a couple.

Curious George: T-shirt aging. I am wondering why my T-shirts always start out soft and fashionable, then after a few months they are tough, prone to wrinkles, and embarrassing to be out in. My wife thinks it is a fabric softener / high pH washwater problem, but I've often used softeners. I think it's all the fine fibers being gradually being eroded out in the dryer (thus all the lint). Any idea what is going on, and how to improve a shirt's lifespan (or restore an old shirt)?

Gary Busey, George Bush, and a box of ferrets

Light verse Just because it's poetry doesn't mean it has to be serious... more inside

Worry us, flurry us, new monkeys: New Monkeys, especially: How did you get here? What attracted you? What do you hope to get out of being here? What do you like about monkeyfilter? What sucks? How can we fix it? Do let it all hang out! Be inventive, raise hell, don't be shy! Tell us who you are and why we old cretins are all WET!

Curious, George - who are we? Before we lost our history, we had several threads where people told us about themselves - a/s/l, what jobs or pets they had, etc. Maybe it's time to update that. more inside

This damn hp ad always freaks the hell out of me (the one on the left)

Curious, Punk? Bring out your DEADboys: okay, define punk. jon stewart is a punk ralph nader is a punk [and was stunning on Letterman last night, scared Dave] bjork is a punk xena is a punk rocker buffy had punk thrust upon her

Jon Stewart on tonight's CNN "Crossfire" (96.5 AVI) This video seems to be in demand so I thought I'd host it here for a bit. Definately worth watching.

US Government sends mixed messages about flu vaccine. President Bush wasn't properly briefed on the flu vaccines issue before the third debate, both getting the facts wrong and trying to take credit for something the US didn't do. more inside

Mississippi Reservists in Iraq Arrested for Refusal of Suicide Mission _ All related from Google News. "When my husband refuses to follow an order, it has to be something major." <via MeFi discussion> more inside