Heather Moore, the talented proprietor and blogger of Skinny Laminx, recently wrote a couple of CAPTCHA security code poems that speak to the wordsmith inside me. The comments about them are pretty interesting and creative as well. Here’s one of Heather’s poems:

Aingee
Chedge criestme orstsper!
Shanesto…
Foref, myrac, munmanc,
Torse?
Hanim equin padwo?
Picar!
Mingin!
Corses aingee…

–Shawn

Skinny Laminx Security Poetry

(Shawn Connally and Bruce Stewart are guest bloggers)

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Today, the Israeli government sent ground troops into Gaza, after an intense 8-day air offensive on Hamas. Two recent Boing Boing posts related to this topic drew intense discussions with an extremely high number of comments, so I thought I’d open up a new thread today — clearly you, our community, have a lot to say about this, and about alternative resources for news, information, and insight on the conflict.

Among the resources I’ve pointed to before: Global Voices’ special coverage on the Gaza conflict. Rocketboom did special coverage from the region earlier in 2008, worth re-watching for FAQ about those homemade rockets from Hamas. Last week, representatives of the Israeli government held press conferences of a sort on Twitter, and today Twitter is abuzz with tweets pointing to Al Jazeera’s new “Gaza coverage” twitterbot. CNN is reporting that some of the weapons being used by Israel to attack mixed civilian and military targets come from the United States. There are an awful lot of protests, pro- and against, going on around the world.

A request in advance to those joining the discussion thread here on Boing Boing: keep it civil, respectful, on-topic, and please avoid personal attacks and moralizing. The road to Godwin’s law is a short one. Let’s not go there. Predictably, there is much fawning about in mainstream outlets over amateur op-eds on YouTube. If you *really* want endless rivers of unmoderated attack-comments, please just go there, instead. And to members of our international audience who have friends or fam on either side of the battle lines, my heart goes out to you. (Thanks, Derek Bledsoe)

Image: Israeli flag holder on right, courtesy formsixteen. Palestinian flag holder on left, courtesy jilliancyork.

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2008 has almost passed us by and we have looked back to put together the 10 funniest, craziest, most unbelievable videos of the year.

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10. Biggest Hockey Brawl Ever!

Okay, it may not be the biggest but it’s close. We have no idea what countries or teams are playing but someone got mad at the other team and all hell broke lose.

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Watch where you are going on the slopes this holiday! This video shows how dangerous it can be when these two skiers collided while going downhill.
Brutal Crash Between Skiers - Watch more free videos

(sking, skiiers, crashes,alps)

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Filed under: Cell Phones

Without a doubt, 2009 is destined to be the year of The Android. Samsung earlier this week announced its ticket to the party with a Q2 launch of its Android phones on both Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile in the US. Apparently, the touch-screen device will be an adaptation of the Omnia (Korea’s 800 x 480 pixel version please) and Instinct. In other words, a rectangle with a full-screen display and minimal set of buttons just like every other touchscreen device out there. In case you missed it, this game is no longer about the hardware. [Via ModMyGphone, thanks Neerhaj]

Samsung Launching Google Phone in 2009 originally appeared on Switched on Fri, 19 Dec 2008 11:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Audio/Video, Top Lists, TV, Holiday Gift Guide 2008

We hate to say it, particularly since you’re probably trying to save money, but now is a pretty good time to buy an HDTV. Prices have never been lower for televisions of every shape, size, and technology. In fact, you can get an HDTV for less than $300, which is finally getting close to what a TV should cost. That said, if you’re a movie watcher and have a big enough room, then we’d recommend spending a bit more for something in the 42-to-50-inch range. Guess what? You can still find some great TVs in that size for less than $1,000. So, in order of ascending price, take a look at our picks for best TVs under $1,000. [If you’re looking for an explanation of all those TV and tech terms, make sure to take a look at 5 Things to Consider Before Buying an HDTV]. Don’t forget to check out our slideshow of additional runner-up HDTV’s under $1,000 at the end.

Best HDTVs Under $1000 originally appeared on Switched on Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Cell Phones

Due to the masses expected to descend upon Washington D.C. for President-elect Obama’s inauguration, wireless companies are bracing themselves — and the public — for overloaded systems, according to Reuters.

As many as four million revelers and onlookers are expected to show up in Washington on January 20th to witness the inauguration, a number that makes cell providers uneasy. “It’s the mother of all demand,” assistant vice president of Washington’s wireless trade group Joseph Farren told Reuters.

For their part, Sprint Nextel strategists have laid plans to add equipment to cell towers, supplement telephone line connections and send patrols of satellite trucks to the D.C. area. According to Reuters, AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile are following suit.

Continue reading Cell Providers Prepare for Overload During Inauguration

Cell Providers Prepare for Overload During Inauguration originally appeared on Switched on Wed, 17 Dec 2008 14:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Is global warming really that bad? The Minnesotans for Global Warming would like us to consider the upside of global warming in this parody song and video set to the Barenaked Ladies song, If I Had a Million Dollars. FREE THE FLAMINGOS!

(wisconsin, minesota, glbal woarming)

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Their brains must be covered in grease because these three girls thought it was an awesome idea to take a bath in the sink at KFC…yeah, the chicken place. Lucky for them, they were smart enough to take pictures of their bawdy bath and posted the pics to Myspace for the local NBC station KNVN to find and investigate. Score!

Find more videos like this on www.truveo.com.

(kcf, shower, pics)

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You know your president isn’t well liked when footwear is thrown by foreign journalists during a press conference. Good ole G.W. got some black sneakers thrown at him during a press conference during an unexpected visit to Iraq. Good for him that he’s good at ducking.

(George W., duck, Iraqi)

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