Scary Bathrooms

When Lois and I have traveled around China and Japan the last few years, we were impressed with the range of bathroom facilities, from hole-in-the-floor "squatters" to hi-tech toilets with all kinds of built-in gizmos. Boing Boing points to a collection of "scary bathroom interfaces of India", starting with this one that features an electric water-heating element in the shower head.



Years ago, when I was traveling for Nabisco, I came across the same sort of (potentially) shocking set-up in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. Makes for quick showers. (If I remember right, that room also came with smoking mosquito coils instead of screens, as well.)

King William's College General Knowledge Quiz

And I thought the qualifying quiz for Jeopardy was tough. The King William's College General Knowledge Quiz is apparently an annual affair, since there's a pdf version of the 2004/05 quiz. [via MetaFilter, one of my favorite group weblogs]

A Tough Decision

My copy of The Return of the King (Special Extended DVD Edition) arrived this week. Do I jump right into its 250 minutes of extended running time and its plethora of commentaries and extras, or do I rewatch Fellowship of the Ring and Two Towers first for the full effect of the epic?

EastSouthWestNorth: Life In China

EastSouthWestNorth: Life In China contains a nice collection of photos on...well...life in China.

In Memoriam

"The holiest of all holidays are those
Kept by ourselves in silence and apart;
The secret anniversaries of the heart.
   -- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow