Friday Fun

As usual, lots of fun and interesting stuff out there:

• Chess and You by Mig Greengard at Chess Ninja. Talks a bit about the obsession, the fun, the books, the lack of improvement. Lots of great comments too. (As an aside, I've yet to get a challenge from a chess-playing librarian over at GameKnot. Sign up, it's free, challenge me at john_d.)
  
• Awful Plastic Surgery is strangely, sickly compelling.
  
• Woohoo, Futurama will return to Comedy Central!
  
• Yoda backpack
  
• Electrical substations disguised as houses. I have a couple of these in my neighbourhood. It's sometimes surprizingly hard to spot them.
  
• TOC: The Space Opera Renaissance. The table of contents of the forthcomming book The Space Opera Renaissance, edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer. Their anthologies are always wonderful, I'm really looking forward to this one.
  
• 2006 Software War Map between FOSS and Microsoft is here. This is too cool. Pincer movements, counter attacks, sieges, encirclements. It's like a History Channel show on Stalingrad!
  
• Tote bags, On hating. I've always preferred the briefcase-style bags, like they give at SLA. I've been using the briefcase I got at IATUL a last year at IATUL ever since.
  
• Six Rules for Eating Wisely. I would emphasize #5 Shop at the farmers' market with the idea of eating locally grown/raised food whenever possible. It's good for your local farmers and good for the environment.