a committee is a cul-de-sac down which ideas are lured and then quietly strangled

Cas is currently

Taking into consideration the (one, thank you JB) input I had about the new-format Sunday Roasts, here are my favourites from the past week. The del.icio.us tag ‘sundayroast’ is still very much up and running, so do subscribe to that as well, just to make sure you don’t miss anything.

Starters:
Japan photoset on Flickr. Flickr really does provide you with some visual treats sometimes.

Around China photoset on Flickr. Again, Flickr showing its wonderfulness.

Streetcards – Gaping Void. So hard not to just order a pack of these right now.

mamamusings: isowantone. This is linked to the next item and contains the story behind how it came into being.
I So Want One! Got that tween in your life who you just can’t think of the right present for? Everyone dreads that blank “thank you so much auntie cas, i’ve always wanted socks for christmas’ look you get when you’ve picked up something SO not cool. Well, this here might be the solution to all our problems. A blog written by an 11 year old, reviewing the toys that HE would want. An no, I wouldn’t have linked unless I thought it was a great idea and well executed. Kudos. Go, support the next generation 🙂

Barcode Art. Some of his portraits are mindbending. You’ll never look at the humble barcode in the same way again.

Guide to writing Sci-Fi and Fantasy.

Dr Who – animated series. From the BBC so they’re all official like. Got one written by Douglas Adams. I really wish I hadn’t found these – more blooming distractions!

Main Course:
Wikablog Home Page. I was tempted, mainly because it links two of my current favourite topics (blogs and wikis), but also because I think it is valid. Or not. What does it have that makes it stand out from all the other blog-listing things out there, other than that anyone can add blogs or change the description of blogs. In that sense, I like. Sharing what you know is good is always… good. At the same time, what if someone added you and you didn’t want to be added? There is no ‘delete’ mechanism. Wait and see. It is young yet. Needs a critical mass of people to make it work I think. I also think that there should be more expressed personality on the wiki. Just talking out loud here, but do think that on their homepages, people should put “and these are the blogs that I think are rather snazzy…” Get a community going. Hmmmm… *wombles off to have a quiet muse*
Five days later, I’m liking it, not only because it is (still) a wiki, but because it introduced me to the Scary Duck. Read the first post and laughed so much I sprayed Cookie Crunch all over the desk.

Wikipedia hardcopy for the developing world. Wikipedia in print… Does seem to detract some from the whole point of the site, but hey – if it is for developing nations. Only, there will be some kind of vetting of the articles used, won’t there? WE all know not to trust 100% what wikipedia says, but the thought of Wikipedia being the only/main source of information is a little scary. And I like wikis!

Jimmy Wales talking at SIMS about Wikipedia. Hear the founder in his own words. The file is large, but worth the download. I am not totally sold on everything he has to say, but it really is a treat to hear him.

JB’s nanowrimo2005 blog. Go, read, support. I will be doing just that once the Beast is fully tamed and handed in.

Megatrain.com. For London/So’ton/Portsmouth people, this is great. You can get to London on the train for £1. Yes, that’s right, £1.

apophenia: growing up in a culture of fear: from Columbine to banning of MySpace. More thought provoking goodness from Danah.
For American youths, life is an open book, via blogs – Technology – International Herald Tribune. A good counterpoint to Danah’s previous words.

Sleep – An Insight. I get grumpy if I don’t get my full 8 hours (and with the CC on lates, I am currently only getting 7, hence Cas = a bit snarky right now). This is a Nature (the journal) special all about sleep. Some pretty interesting facts actually.

An open letter to Disney Store UK. *Is nodding head in agreement with all said*

Blogger – turning on comment moderationTurning on the word verification has stopped 99% of my blog-spam, but a higher volume site might find this useful.

Afters:
Heated USB gloves. Tried to think of some snappy caption for this, and I really can’t think of anything to do them justice. I really am speechless,. I can make note only of my speechlessness.

Pastor electrocuted during baptism. This is just too bizarre NOT to be included in the Roast. Especially considering I just typoed it as ‘baTpism”. No idea what batpism is, but it must be dangerous…

Edible toaster. Why?

Walk like an Egyptian zombie thing… More zombie goodness, this time courtesy of Mata.

Designer creates wall of breasts. I couldn’t decide if this was worthy of serving in the Roast, or leaving for Leftovers. But the sheer glee in the CC’s eyes when he saw the headline told me it had to be main meal material. Actually, the reasoning behind the design is a good idea.

And for the best of the rest, go to del.icio.us tag ‘leftovers’.

Also, for more on both sides of the whole Google Print/online book debacle, keep an eye on del.icio.us tag ‘onlinebooks’, which is the tag under which I will be stashing stuff relating to that topic.