Chad’s News

Instead of using standard shipping companies, you can ship via Amtrak and save. The downside is that they don’t deliver directly to your location—packages are picked up at the train station.

Link: http://consumerist.com/…

My friend Josh received an ingenious type of spam that uses banner art to spell out the message (and thus circumvent spam filters):

xe    dl  no
ip    jc
 vc  kr
 hc  rv   vv   xjmq    fmltv  wsfm   jbst
 ci  wg   vi      qe  qw  td  ugx       dg
  ixbl    oj   zwxwy  ru  yh  ut     cwxtg
  kqfo    eq  yf  yx  ue  do  gl    om  rb
   wb     vl  jj  il  dz  es  gy    hj  kg
   ke     xl   vdjzj   cerlk  hp     ozkwz
                          mr
                      tlilb

If you look closely, you’ll see that the message is actually made up of text characters:

xe    dl  no
ip    jc
 vc  kr
 hc  rv   vv   xjmq    fmltv  wsfm   jbst
 ci  wg   vi      qe  qw  td  ugx       dg
  ixbl    oj   zwxwy  ru  yh  ut     cwxtg
  kqfo    eq  yf  yx  ue  do  gl    om  rb
   wb     vl  jj  il  dz  es  gy    hj  kg
   ke     xl   vdjzj   cerlk  hp     ozkwz
                          mr
                      tlilb

In light of the upcoming switch this weekend, it’s worth noting that a recent study definitively shows that daylight saving time does not save energy—at least not in Indiana.

Link: http://slashdot.org/…

An Iowa man posted this Dilbert cartoon on a bulletin board at work and was fired for it. Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, decided to spoof the situation, starting with last Wednesday’s strip. So here we have a case of art reflecting real life that was affected by the art that’s mimicking it.

Link: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/…
(via Neatorama)

Ever played that (extremely difficult) carnival game where you have to completely cover a red circle with five metal disks? As I recall, it was a great way to waste money. All is not lost, however, because there is an online version where you can refine your skills. After quite a bit of practice, I solved it, and am able to repeat it on a fairly consistent basis. Note that the white line around the gray circle counts as part of the circle.

Link: http://www.smart-kit.com/…
(via Neatorama)

The United States Food and Drug Administration has “ruled that meat and milk from cloned pigs, cattle and goats and their offspring is safe.” It’s not necessary to label the products as being from cloned animals.

Link #1: http://news.bbc.co.uk/…

Link #2: http://arstechnica.com/…

Talk about getting your revenge. And how did he even know about this particular law?

Link: http://afp.google.com/…

This short video epitomizes the spirit of Christmas as embraced by Chad’s News. And if you’re reading this on Christmas day, I recommend taking a look here.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/…
(via Engadget)

India definitely has a different way of setting up marriages than we do in the United States. I wonder how the bride felt about this.

Link: http://www.reuters.com/…

Take a close look at the picture in the linked article. There is something very, very wrong with it.

Link: http://www.iambetterthanu.com/…
(via digg)

Lassie was famous for saving Timmy when he was in trouble. And there have been some real-life cases where a dog went to extreme lengths to help a human in danger. Along this line, researchers decided to put average dogs to the test: would the dogs get help when their owners were in trouble? The answer is a resounding “No.”

Link: http://www.neatorama.com/…

Here’s an unintended consequence of daylight saving time. A woman had twins in the early morning of Nov. 4th. The first one was born at 1:32am, and the second at 2:06am—but the clock had turned back at 2am, so the second was officially born at 1:06am. Which makes her the oldest. Or does it?

Link: http://www.wral.com/…
(via Neatorama)