Verily, it tied the room together.

And there we have the Big Lebowski with one of his most famous lines.

[linky]

http://xkcd.com/695/

It works soooo hard too.

Mount Everest from a Mile Above  …linky

This awe-inspiring photograph captures the majesty of Mount Everest as you've never seen it before - from more than a mile above.

The spectacular panorama shows the breathtaking landscape of the Himalayas from six miles above sea level. It was shot by an intrepid British photographer wearing breathing apparatus in -56C temperatures 36,000 feet up.

It is believed to be the highest panoramic picture taken by hand from a balloon, and was described by mountaineer Reinhold Messner as the 'best snap on earth'.

'Best snap on Earth': Everest dominates the picture, shot from 36,000ft and in -56C temperatures by Leo Dickinson on the world's first-ever balloon flight over the highest mountain. The curvature of the planet is exaggerated by the wide-angle lens.

The summit of Everest, the world's highest peak at 29,035ft, takes centre stage above the 11,000ft vertical drop of the Kangshung Face, on the eastern side of the mountain.

British filmmaker and adventure cameraman Leo Dickinson took the photo from the stratosphere during his record-breaking balloon flight over Everest.

With Nepal on the left of the frame and Tibet on the right, the stunning skyline westward shows nine of the planet's highest summits.

These include Lhotse (27,940ft), Cho Oyu (26,906ft), Gyachung Kang (26,089 feet), Nuptse (25,850ft), Peak 38 (24, 904ft), Changtse (24,770ft), Shartse (24,471ft) and Ama Dablam (22,349ft).

Up, up and away: Adventure filmmaker Leo Dickinson in his hot air balloon over the Himalayas shortly before he took the photo

Mr Dickinson, 62 & married, soared to 36,000ft - where temperatures dropped to minus 56 degrees Celsius - to become the first person to fly over Everest in a balloon.

He took this picture using a hand-held 35mm camera with a wide-angle lens while standing in the balloon's wicker cabin. The original photograph was shot in 1991 on the classic Kodachrome film - axed last month due to the rise of digital cameras. It was digitally remastered for the first time this week.

Dickinson of Budleigh Salterton, Devon , said: 'This photograph is one of the finest I've taken, and I'm immensely proud of it'.

'It took several minutes to set up - I was in the stratosphere and carrying bulky breathing apparatus - and I wasn't sure it would even come out'.

'So when it was developed, and it came out like this, you can imagine my delight. It's a scene that I'll remember for the rest of my life.' 

Dickinson's Everest expedition took 10 years to plan, involved 150 porters and 50 yaks, and almost cost him his life. His epic journey from the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu to Tibet was chronicled in an award-winning documentary Ballooning Over Everest.

*Thanks for this post goes to Lazy MO

I was sent this link and I have to say it’s one of the funniest things I’ve seen on the internet in a while.  Imagine you’re asleep and yet you speak coherently.  Your wife records you and puts the results on the Internet.  Recipe for hilarity.  To understand how this guy’s mind works would be very interesting, to have such vivid dreams and then speak out loud.  I wonder if he has conversations while he’s sleeping?  Here are a few of his quotes that I thought were excellent and need to add to my repertoire:

"You can stop clapping now if you want. Really. You'll need your energy for cheering me later. Shhhhhhhh. shhhhhhhh."

"Don't... Don't put the noodles and the dumplings together in the boat. They'll fight! The noodles are bullies. Poor dumplings."

"I'd rather peel off my skin and bathe my weeping raw flesh in a bath of vinegar than spend any time with you. But that's just my opinion. Don't take it personally."

"You can't be a pirate if you haven't got a beard. I said so. MY boat, MY rules."

"Hey, don't... don't say anything. Why don't you put it in an email, then I can ignore it at my pleasure."

"Peeing standing up rules!"

"WHHOOOoooooooooooo... falling down.............. plop."

"Look out! Marshmallows!"

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=9629732

skillz.

From our friends at Failblog.org.  It’s so sad.  I used to lower boats slightly smaller than this one, luckily I never lost one.  Can’t imagine what that operator must be feeling…. probably jobless.

http://universe.lego.com/en-us/gameinfo/Default.aspx

But the water is so cold up here…