So the new metro signs rock:

The advanced signs have only begun to start being used properly, displaying the proper times for each train coming into the station. Remember those trains that would show up as "arriving" but never arrive? Or the ones that would say absurdly large times like "45 minutes"? Those days, hopefully, are over...

Technically, of course, the signs are the same, they just show useful information now. WMATA: making do with less! Even software upgrades seem like a blessed relief to us now.

The Best Achenblog Post Ever just went up this morning. A brief excerpt:

A couple of weeks ago I found a mysterious key in the trunk of my car. As a general rule, I don't put keys in the trunk. No corpses had been stuffed in there after a gangland murder, so far as I know. The key wasn't attached to anything. It was a long, thin, gold-colored key with a few enigmatic numbers etched into the metal. I put it in my pocket and assumed that I would discover its significance in a matter of course...

Go read it all.

It's about time. As someone who believes the death penalty makes no economic sense (lawyer's appeals cost the system far more than simply housing a person for life) this is a great first step toward getting rid of the whole problem.

So I'm reading this great story about Lucha Libre and I came across what may be the funniest line in all of the Post today:

The other night, Reyes was busy stalking the canvas and drop-kicking the two remaining Good Guys -- including Mr. Niebla, a crowd favorite known outside the ring for his charitable work with disabled children.

Ah, the subtle charm of beating up those who work with disabled children. Truly, a sublime pleasure.

werkz advice: pick it up.

so forrest gave me a tip about a new EP, freedom of speed released by the Junior Communist Club. I've listened to a few tracks and they're simply great. Even better, of course, is this review someone posted on amazon:

This CD has NOTHING to do with communism. The music doesn't even sound very good. None of the lyrics even come close to having a communist message. I gave it 2 stars because some of the techno beats were relatively ok. In my opinion, techno/electronica/house is the perfect music for a communist society... it's modern, progressive, intense, and a lot of fun, but it's not subversive or nasty like heavy metal or rap. Music should fulfill people's 'fun' need without making them want to hurt someone.

Wha-huh? That's like saying "Anthrax doesn't even have anything to do with cattle!" or "AC/DC has little to do with electricity or the Edison/Tesla debate over current!"

Regardless, go pick up the EP today. I guarantee it won't make you "want to hurt someone".

So it appears Iraq is falling apart, Lebanon is falling together and the rest of the world is just falling.

At a time when states have continued to oppress their own people we need less nationalism, not more. But increasingly, the violence across the world seems tied to a belief that if we could just "get rid of the foreigners" things would be better. Balkanization breeds more hatred, however, and soon you have an unbreakable cycle of violence.

Here you go. Cart heaven:

The machine that lives at the end of this area where the carts rest is truly one of the most interesting in all of IKEA. All it does is simply dispense carts, one at a time, to the lucky customers who wait, patiently, for their cart to arrive.

It's snowing. Again. And not sticking, again.

I like when people comment on the website. A lot. Using the address at the bottom of the page...

So this guy wrote in to say he enjoyed the site and would we link to him? My answer? Sure!

If you guys have thoughts about his site, post them to this thread...that way he gets some feedback.

Here's your daily dose of photo phun:

Yeah, those employees at Target really shouldn't leave objects with letters lying around. I wonder how long the display lasted like this after we set it up...