May I present some interesting links which have found themselves encoded, compressed, transmitted, decoded, and displayed upon my various internet access points around the house, my work, and uni.

Warning: laughter more than likely.

First up, now you can own your very own George Bush 1:6 scale replica. Not meaning to jump on the Bush-bashing bandwagon, but I find the idea of owning a presidential action-figure rather amusing. Frankly, I can't see a large market for John Howard figurines here in Australia (though this is probably more reflective of a difference in political culture than their relative popularity).

Next up: cultural kafuffles - what better opportunity for generalisation and offence? It turns out the Austrian authorities have mistaken a kangaroo for a giant beaver. Quite humorous when it is remembered that people (Americans) often confuse Australia and Austria - "those countries". But then again, considering 1 in 3 Californians (note: limited sample population) don't know from which state Kentucky Fried Chicken originates, I'm not at all surprised.

Another interesting article detailing the demise proper punctuation, capitalisation, grammar, spelling, and syntax in electronic communications. This is a trend of which I'm sure we're all only too aware, and one which the tone is this site is designed to counter. Of particular interest is the use of prolepsis, which the author employs to great effect.

On a more serious note, InsertCredit has this insightful article into the state of online video game journalism. One of my ambitions was once to pursue a career in journalism (along with becoming an astronomer, architect, nuclear physicist, vulcanologist, and professional gamer), and from what my experiences in the industry it seems spot on.

A Californian P2P user has challenged the RIAA's policy of issuing subpoenas to ISPs and users suspected of file sharing, claiming a violation of her right to privacy. There's nothing new here, it seems; arguments are standard rights-violation fare, and breach of contract with her ISP, Verizon.

Well, we all knew mobile phones were dangerous (ahem), but now it seems they're at risk of combustion. A woman suffered burns to her face and hands when the battery in her phone (a Nokia) caught fire after she dropped the phone. Apparently the phone short-circuited and the battery overloaded. Maybe those signs in petrol stations warning against mobile phone usage aren't as absurd as they seem.

Finally, an interesting application of chaos theory: calculating the likelihood of failure in so-called 'megasystems'. After the recent power outages in the eastern United States, the sustainability of large commodity-delivery infrastructures is an important topic.