The Pasty Quail Takes a Holiday

We're off to eat turkey. We suggest you do the same. If you don't know what Thanksgiving is, here's a quick primer.

We'll be back on Monday.

In the meantime, here's a recap of everything that has happened so far:

New Pasty Quail Features!

In our continuing effort to foster dialog on the issues raised here at The Pasty Quail, we've added a Meebo chat box over in the sidebar. Drop us a message, and have a chat with us if we're around; we're always happy to hear what you have to say. You can see if we're online, and you can click on your name at the bottom of the box and change it to say whatever you want. It's a neat little piece of internet technology; give it a spin and see how it works.

We've also added our del.icio.us headlines from each day to our RSS Feed. This is a great way to get a look at the articles we look at that don't make it into full articles, so if you're craving more content, look no further. It also usually contains most of the links for the day that do make it on the website, so it's an easy way to get the news in a short format.

As always, let us know how these new features work out for you, and don't hesitate to suggest something new if you find something you'd like to see here.

Public Service Announcement: How to Never Pay for Music Again

Wired has a special "How To" article on fun ways to never pay for music again. Enjoy, kids.

Public Service Announcement: Mac Users Should Watch Out For Malware When Surfing For Porn

In news that will put a new spin on those Mac vs. PC commercials, it has been reported that the world's first Trojan malware designed to attack Mac computers has been discovered. So far, the virus, which disguises itself as a video plug-in needed for porn downloads, has only been spotted on a number of sites.

Public Service Announcement: Safety First

In the event of a zombie apocalypse this Halloween, click here.

Now Even Pastier!

Take a look around TPQ's new layout, and let us know what you think.

Let us know if you like the new logo, too. We're planning to make up some stickers in the near future, so if it's offensive to you, speak now. Otherwise, you're doomed to be staring at a logo you don't like on a signpost, bathroom wall, or bus stop near you.

Facebook Says: "Get the F#$@ Out"

Dear Friends,

Many of you may have noticed that "Pasty", surname "Quail", is no longer appearing on your list of Facebook friends. Please rest assured that this is not because of something you did last weekend. Rather, the people at Facebook apparently look at the Terms of Service in a different way than we did.

For instance, they read the TOS and expect people to abide by them, whereas we didn't look at them and could not care any less what they say. As a direct result of this, "Pasty" has lost his Facebook profile.

But worry not, my friends. We will revive the old "Pasty Quail" group on FB, and we will be branching out to other social networking sites soon. We are also working on developing a Pasty Quail application for Facebook that will deliver our best content directly to your newsfeed.

Update: Apparently, Facebook is on an account disabling rampage at the moment. Check out this list of things you should avoid doing in order to preserve your account.

Public Service Announcement: New South Park Episode Tonight

The 11th season of South Park premiers tonight at 10PM on Comedy Central. On tonight's episode, Cartman gets himself diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome. I have no doubt that hilarity will ensue.

A Public Service Announcement

Following up on last week's PSA news, we've tweaked the Digg and Reddit buttons a bit, and added buttons for facebook and del.icio.us. Have fun with them, and and let us know if there are any others you'd like to see down there.

We've also added an RSS feed. If you click on the orange button in the top of the right column, your browser will let you know when we update the website. You can also use Google Reader, or My Yahoo!, and a few others.

Try one or two of these out, and let us know what you think about them: which ones you like, which ones you don't like, which ones (if any) you actually use.

A Public Service Announcement

Ladies and Gentlemen,

You may have noticed the recent appearance of some new buttons below the posts here on The Pasty Quail. Allow me to explain.

The first button, the yellow one, is for Digg. The second one is for Reddit.

Both Digg and Reddit are link aggregators; basically, one creates an account on the site, and then posts links to articles, pictures, video, etc. Once the links are up, everyone in the community can vote the material up or down. The most popular posts float to the top.

We have included these buttons so that we can share The Pasty Quail with the world. So, if you see an article you like, click the button. Creating an account is easy, and you'll be helping us to get the word out about what's going on here at the site. Click away, and thanks for your help.

EDIT: We are having some technical problems with the Digg button; don't worry, it'll be back soon. Reddit seems to be working fine for the time being. If you have any other technical problems, please don't hesitate to let us know.

EDIT #2: The Digg button is back. Having tried nothing, and succeeded, I feel content.

Public Service Announcement: Don't Buy AA Batteries

6 Volt Battery Hack! You'll Be Amazed! - The funniest bloopers are right here

A Public Service Announcement

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 
As implausible as it sounds, eating popcorn heated with microwave radiation after soaking them in genotoxic chemicals is bad for you.   Dr. Cecile Rose says so.  WebMD has picked up the trail. 

A New Friend Asks For A Favor

Welcome back, friends.

We have had a lot of fun launching this website, and we sincerely hope that you have gotten some enjoyment out of it as well.

In order to achieve our modest goal of taking over the universe, we need your help. We are planning a major overhaul of the site to come soon. We will be weening ourselves off of this Blogger format; but at this point, that's the only aspect of our plan that we are tied to.

And so to you, dear readers, we must submit this humble plea: Please, drop us a line and tell us what you would like to see here; what features you like or don't like; what new features you would like to see.

We also need help choosing the format and colors for the new redesign. Send us your suggestions, or even links to websites with designs you like.

Any suggestion you have at all, be it aesthetic, technical, or unsophisticated, helps us to make this website better for everyone.

The Pasty Quail

A Public Service Announcement:

We'd like to take a moment to introduce our very good friend, Dr. Dino, aka Kent Hovind.

And just for the record, there is no way this guy is a wacko. His principled refusal to pay taxes has no effect whatsoever on his qualifications as the world's premier Creation Science Evangelist.

Here is a short interview with Dr. Hovind by one of Britain's premier journalists. Here is a short summary of this brilliant man's belief system.

Surely He Who Watches While You're In The Shower will have mercy on this humble servant and get him out a bit early.

A Public Service Announcement:

Let's dispense with the pleasantries, and let me be perfectly clear: When you and your dating partner of choice are out on a date, don't sit on the same side of the booth.

Perhaps there are exceptions, but if your date is so ugly you can't look at them while eating, perhaps you should revise your potential-mate-screening practices to exclude people that make you physically ill.

If the thought of enduring an entire meal without any more physical contact with your date than can be accomplished across a tabletop is odious to you, then order in. Or learn to cook. Or do us all a favor, and stick a (metal) fork into an (active) electrical socket.

If both you and your date can't eat a meal without facing the door, do us all a favor and get sterilized. God knows we don't need any more crazy people running around anyway.

In the interest of full disclosure, at least one of our editors is a mouth-breathing moron who likes sitting on the same side of the booth with the physically co-dependent wildebeests that he takes out to dinner.

A Public Service Announcement:

Ladies and Gentlemen,

"Thusly" is not a word. Look here. If you'll be so kind as to scroll down, you will note its origin: "thusly" originated as a way to make fun of people who were attempting to speak as if they were educated.

Articles like this (see paragraph 3, introducing the second long block quote of the article) only make the world a less-intelligent-sounding place.

In sum, don't use "thusly." At the very least, it makes you sound dumb; if that's not enough, you are also risking a serious remonstrance and perhaps some unforgiving chastising if I happen to come across it.

Stay Classy.

[As an aside, don't use long block quotes. It's called paraphrasing, for Christ's sake. Also, don't quote Anchorman anymore.]