Although I’ve put this in the humor category, the following is no joke. It goes beyond the process of listening to MP3 tunes on the toilet or using Sudoko toilet paper.

Piss-screen.de:

The Piss-Screen - a pressure-sensitive inlay set within urinals, enabling users to play while they pee. We installed this newfangled creation in male restrooms across Frankfurt, teaming up with a variety of bars, clubs and cafés. The game itself was displayed on a screen above each urinal, and would automatically start as soon as someone began to pee. The player could then control the car whilst relieving himself – if they wanted the car to go right, they simply peed to the right (and visa versa).

Now why don’t we see more Piss-Screens in the US? Sounds like a good way to combat drunk driving. Why not go further? Test the blood alcohol level in the urine and text message the cab numbers to their cell phone. And if the BAC is too high, cut them off.

Talk about all new type of game controller, eat your Wiimote out, Nintendo. I better bail from this one before it gets ugly …

Hmmcast #157 mp4

We saw these Oreo Cakesters at the store and picked up a box of them. They are good. Too good. Damn you, Nabisco!

Perhaps my timing sucks or this is a really popular online application, but a couple different times I attempted to check the Walk Score in our area, the service errors out with messages like the one pictured above.

The Walk Score:

… helps people find walkable places to live. Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc.

We live very close to a trail and within walking distance to both our offices just off the main street in town. Recently, we’ve been doing more biking since my wife and I bought bikes.

Try. Service. Again. Once more before publishing and woohoo! Everything finally worked.

The Walk Score where we live is 69 out of 100. That didn’t seem very good or realistic until being compared that against Bill Gates house which scores a miserable 6 out of 100.

No need to feel for Bill, he can do plenty of walking around his home, and a chopper or limo to any services he needs.

Our score isn’t as good as the Brady Bunch house which boasts an 80 walk score. Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!

How does your home fare?

By now you’ve heard about the bridge collapsing in Minneapolis. Terrible thing that could have been prevented by tax dollars being put to the right use: fixing a deficient bridge.

Tacoma Narrows bridge, new toll bridge shortly before opening in July 2007 (does old bridge need work?)

[sigh]

Today my RSS reader carries me the sobering news that 20 bridges in our area alone — Pierce County — are in need of repair. One or two that I’ll probably be near and possibly crossing today. Um, not.

According to the federal data, 381 Washington bridges were structurally deficient as of 2006. That’s more than 5 percent of the more than 7,500 bridges in the state. Nationally, about 12 percent of bridges are structurally deficient.

Get that if you live in the US, there’s a 12% chance some of the bridges in your neighborhood need work too. This is comforting. Not.

Fix them. Please.

Hmmcast #153 mp4

Hmmcast #152 mp4

I’m not allergic to many things, but very allergic to bee stings. Doesn’t help that bees love it under the eaves in our house. We knock down the hives, but they keep coming back.

This morning I counted eight developing bee hives around the house (see video). In the past, the hives haven’t bothered me that much because we haven’t done a huge amount of outdoor stuff, but this year with the new barbecue and pool, we’re outside more at home and these bees need to go. A lot of the bees are landing in the pool and dying too making it one more thing to strain out of the pool. I know all the good things that bees do for mankind, so it’s nice to see them buzzing around, but they need to build their homes elsewhere.

As you might expect, it doesn’t make the bees too happy when we knock their homes out of the eaves.

Been thinking about using something like Demon WP, but curious if there are any other good home remedies for keeping bees from building hives under the eaves? Something you spray on? Perhaps something that’s environmentally friendly?

What do you use under your eaves to keep the bee hives at bay?

I’m hooked on Burgerville. Closest one to us is in Centralia, which is a good hour drive away, but well worth it. We stopped by Burgerville yesterday while taking one of our sons down to stay with a friend in Vancouver.

If you’ve never been to the states of Washington or Oregon then you won’t have seen Burgerville before. They feature local specialities like giant Walla Walla Sweet Onion Rings and Oregon Blackberry Shakes. If you come to this state, seek one of these burger places out and dine in fast food heaven.

I used to like Hardees when they had the true flame broiled burgers, but they made some change to the way they cooked them and they don’t taste as good any more. Jack in the Box is ok, lousy fries in my opinion. McDonald’s has great fries, but I feel like I’m getting fatter every time I walk in the door of a Mickey D’s. Burger King doesn’t do it for me. Dairy Queen actually has pretty decent burgers.

What’s your favorite burger joint? Or do you try and avoid these calorie factories? I’m particularly interested in burger restaurants that feature local favorites like Burgerville. You can learn more about Burgerville as well as locate stores in Oregon and Washington at the burgerville.com website.

Don’t worry I’m not going to start any kind of trend cat blogging, but I can’t resist a grim reaper story involving a cat. An adopted feline named Oscar lives at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center which treats people with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease and other illnesses. Oscar has a dark talent.

About four hours before the patients die, he curls up next to the dying one giving the hospice staff a cue to call family that the end is near.

No one’s certain if Oscar’s behavior is scientifically significant or points to a cause. Teno wonders if the cat notices telltale scents or reads something into the behavior of the nurses who raised him.

Eat your heart out, Freddy Kruger, Oscar’s in the house.

Hmmcast #142 mp4

For the first time since my wife and I got married, we bought a new bed and a five piece dresser set. It’s been something like 18 years, so she felt we we’re due. I was pretty happy with the existing digs, but will admit the bed was getting a bit weathered. The first thing you notice when you enter the room is the smell of the wood.

The furniture didn’t arrive without problems, unfortunately …

Behind the Hmmcast
This video was intended to be published at 4:20pm yesterday as scheduled, however yesterday turned out to be a really strange day all around. More on this in today’s Hmmcast which is already in the hopper to be published on time.

Hmmcast #140 mp4

It’s supposed to be a record heat day tomorrow and was getting hot today, so it was time to choose some outside work with water involved. This table needed a lot of work.