The Smarmy Carny

Buzzer Beater

Here's yet another exciting end-of-game video from a men's basketball game between Chicago State University and the University of Missouri-Kansas City. As the clip begins, CSU is down by 3 points with 10.3 seconds remaining and they are inbounding the ball.

This is some suprising stuff from a team that went 9-19. The shots were made by David Inabnit and Kevin Jones, Jr. You can read this PDF file for a bit more information.

Oh, and just for the record, that was a 55-foot shot. Distance-wise, that's nothing compared to the 87-foot buzzer beater, but the culmination of events still builds an undeniable excitement.

I'm not sure what it is about basketball, but it certainly is one of the best sports as far as culminating in exciting endings. I would have to guess that's the case because it's relatively easy to score points, unlike hockey, American football, and European football. Not a whole lot of buzzer-beating slap shots out there in the NHL, especially this season.

Mmm . . . Ice Cream

Whether you agree with Ben & Jerry's political philosophies or (probably) not, a free thing is hard to pass up.

Ben & Jerry's is promoting this year's Free Cone Day. Free Cone Day is this Tuesday, April 19, from noon until 8pm. Just head to a Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shop near you and ask for your free cone. Last year, you could get in line as many times as you wanted for your free cone or cup. You might want to verify with your location if they will be doing that this year.

During last year's Free Cone Day, they gave away iPods, iMacs, song codes for iTunes, and a trip to Vermont to be a Flavor Guru (taste tester) at the Ben & Jerry's factory. Don't get your hopes up this year, though. Remember that last year was an election year, and B&J partnered with Rock the Vote for that promotion. Big surprise.

Like I said, even if you don't care for Ben & Jerry's because of their political philosophy, take a drive and get some quality ice cream for free. You won't be padding the political groups' pockets that way.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

You must listen to this absolutely hilarious telephone prank. A radio show DJ calls up a Chinese restaurant and places a take-out order. He asks them to repeat the order after he comes back from hold. He then conferences in a second Chinese restaurant. Of course, they each think they are taking the other's order. As they say, "hilarity ensues."

Based on the sting at the end, this is from Scott Mills from BBC Radio One. I'm not familiar with him, but if he's got more of this up his sleeve, he's worth checking out!

Pie Hole

Here's a fun little flash animation by Norboto titled "Pie Hole." It's fun.

I always enjoy a nice little "this sound plus this sound plus this sound equals a song." Maybe that's why Fruity Loops (now called FL Studio) is so much fun.

I'll be posting another flash animation in a few days that uses a similar technique.

Rod Ham

Hillary's first night as President in January 2009

Hillary Clinton gets elected President and is spending her first night in the White House.

On her first night, the ghost of George Washington appears.
Hillary asks, "How can I best serve my country?"
Washington says, "Never tell a lie."
"Ouch!" says Hillary, "I don't know about that."

The next night, the ghost of Thomas Jefferson appears.
Hillary says, "How can I best serve my country?"
Jefferson says, "Listen to the people."
"Ohhh! I really don't want to do that."

On the third night, the ghost of Abraham Lincoln appears.
Hillary again asks, "How can I best serve my country?"
Lincoln says . . . "Go to the theater."
(Place your mouse between the quotes to see the answer.)

World Wind vs. Google Maps

Back in January, I heard some buzz about Google purchasing high-tech maps from a company called Keyhole. Keyhole has offered these maps for a while to companies for a fee. My concern was that these maps would be available at Google for a fee. It turns out that Google, the giant that it is, offers these maps for free at Google Maps! Huzzah!

I have long been a fan of Mapquest, using that mapping system for six years or more. Recently, I have been familiarizing myself with Google Maps. I'm impressed with the "clean" feel of the maps. Even snarled road systems (which usually look pretty messy on most online mapping systems) are easy on the eyes with Google Maps.

In January, I posted about NASA's World Wind program that is similar in nature. I think that Google Maps has World Wind beat out in all of the areas that Google Maps competes in. While looking at satellite images is fun, it's even more useful when you're using them for directions, especially considering that the Google Maps images are six months to a year old, whereas the World Wind pictures are well over five years old in most areas. Still, I'm not about to uninstall World Wind from my computer because there are features there that Google Maps doesn't offer (and probably never will).

This article has been re-posted at Idle Idols, the site for the funniest American Idol auditions.

Numa Numa Dance

Countless people have imitated the Numa Numa Dance video, but few compete. None truly compare. It is this precise reason why I have not mentioned any of them, until now.

Take some time to check out this Flash animation of Gary Broslma on American Idol. It's not so much a lame imitation, but more of an artistic representation of the Numa Numa Dance on American Idol. The artist behind this has also gone to some trouble to draw the male AI contestants.

Still, this item pales in comparison, but it is worth watching if you have the time, and especially if you watch American Idol on a at all this season. (In my defense, I normally would not have seen any of the non-audition episodes of AI, but several people at work have the television tuned for the full show.)

If you haven't seen the original "Numa Numa Dance" (a.k.a. "Mya Mya," "Mya Hee, Mya Haa," "Hilarious Dude Lip Syncing," and many other things) video yet, you simply must take the time to watch it. It's basically a guy lip-syncing to a song titled Dragosta Din Tei by O-Zone.

Read my original post about the Numa Numa Dance, too!