Zip-Linq is a company that specializes in retractable cables. It looks like they have everything from phone, pda, iPod chargers, USB, ethernet, etc. It looks like a good idea. Has anyone used them?

Morrowind is the best RPG for Xbox. This is undisputed (or should be). While there is a main quest, it doesn’t have to be completed. The game has a non-linear structure, which makes it a little more like a tabletop RPG. Perhaps the best feature of its non-linearity is that you can do whatever you want. In my game, I did 50% side quests, 20% main quest, 30% exploring. By contrast, Crabby did 10% main quest, 15% side quests, and 75% burgling. Watch your wallet around her.
Anyway, Oblivion is the 4th installment in the Elder Scrolls world. It will be out for PC and X360 and it looks stunning. Boomtown has a preview. The article has this to say about the new physics engine:

We were also shown a scene in which the hero shot an arrow at a bucket hanging on a strap. Not only do did the arrow get stuck in the bucket, making it swing from side to side, it was also retrievable. And even cooler, the arrow made the bucket tilt to the side because of its own weight.

Above image pre-op.

Lara Croft (the video game character, not the movie character) gets a breast reduction for the next installment of Tomb Raider. From AFP:

British computer game firm Eidos, which created Croft, has changed her physique to one less likely to put off female players. In the soon-to-be-released “Tomb Raider: Legend,” the eighth title to feature Croft, her DD-size bust has been reduced to a more modest C-cup and some of her more revealing outfits have been ditched, the report said. The adventurer even sports a modest round-neck sweater with full arms for part of the game, the paper added.

No… that’s a good idea. The game sucks on its own, so it makes sense to get rid of the one gimmick (or two) that sells it.

Everyone knows how obsessive Japan is with toilet technology. I don’t know what any of it means, but it’s kind of funny. They really want you to buy this toilet.

The US Department of Health and Human Services has given over $1M to Silver Ring Thing, a faith-based that distributes “abstinence rings” to teenagers, as part of a government initiative to expand abstinence-only sex education. From the BBC article:

…official rings are inscribed with verses from the Bible, 1 Thessalonians 4, 3-4, reading: “God wants you to be holy, so you should keep clear of all sexual sin. Then each of you will control your body and live in holiness and honour.”

The church/state separation issues and health issues here are obvious and horrible. But aside from that, I’m curious how it plays out with dating among teens.
My speculation is that it’s a boon for punani-seeking teenage guys. First, it lets them quickly identify those that won’t give it up. Already, that saves them much time, effort, sexual frustration, and money. Second, wearing the ring becomes a valuable tool to pass off his hormone-induced advances as platonic intent. Previously this was accomplished by the guy pretending to be gay. Conclusion: more cooch will be gotten.

Kansas is well known as the perennial subject of ridicule of the international scientific community. Here’s more of why that is.
The Kansas school board has implied that Intelligent Design falls outside of the definition of science. So they will attempt to redefine science to include pseudoscience.
From the AP article:

TOPEKA, Kan. — The Kansas school board’s hearings on evolution weren’t limited to how the theory should be taught in public schools. The board is considering redefining science itself. Advocates of “intelligent design” are pushing the board to reject a definition limiting science to natural explanations for what’s observed in the world.

Instead, they want to define it as “a systematic method of continuing investigation,” without specifying what kind of answer is being sought. The definition would appear in the introduction to the state’s science standards.

It’s hard to find the words… How about, Kansas is the rectum of American science education.

Combining Pinball and the RTS genre? Say hello to Odama. Contending for this years surreal award. Look out, Katamari Damacy.

Take the driving style of Burnout, add big guns like Twisted Metal, and then mix in the reverse time mechanic of Prince of Persia, and it appears you’ve invented Full Auto, for the Xbox 360. The video makes it look like it might be awesome, if not too original. Still, pretty nice combo of ideas.