Get Cynical

From the Oregon Statesman Journal:

SALEM – Ted Richings, 76, finally fulfilled his prophecy of having only three months to live. He died of hepatacellular carcinoma. He was born in Lebanon, Penn. He is survived by his wife, Nancy; daughters, Diane Dargitz of San Diego, Laura of Seattle, and Cynthia of Salem; son-in-law, Bill Dargitz and grandson, Carl Dargitz of San Diego; brothers, James of Central Point and John of Tucson, Ariz.; and sister, Jewel of Savona, N.Y.

His dying words were, “I wish I had spent more time at the office.” He asked everyone to ponder the words of that great philosopher, Woody Allen, who said, “Death is not the worst thing that can happen to you; anyone who has spent an evening with a life insurance salesman knows what I mean.”

He was an environmentalist. He loved fly-fishing and the wilderness. He also enjoyed puzzles and left the following cryptogram for your amusement.

ABCDEBAF GH JIFFGHE

KILGMN, KOGPHTF, KMNKGFBGHE;

I JMIRP – NPMMCQFACHP;

I UPEGHHGHE – IDEDFA, HGHPAPPH KCOAN ABOPP;

I FCHE – “GH LN MGKP”

I UGOT – ABP KGFBBIQV;

I JCPL – “ABC LGEOIAGCH” (I KMGEBA CK EPPFP).

LPH EC IHT RCLP UDA PIOAB IUGTPF. PRRMPFGIFAPF 1:4

UPDATE
I solved the cryptogram. I put the answer in the comments if you want to know what it was. What a cool guy he must have been.

(via Incoming Signals)

Mix Beatles songs played like Metallica and you get Beatallica.

Cool Illusion.

This illusion was originally presented in Thompson, P. (1980) “Margaret Thatcher: a new illusion.” Perception. 9(4):483-4. It’s since come to be known as the Margaret Thatcher Illusion, so it seemed appropriate to demonstrate it in the US with George W. Bush. Look at the two pictures below. Although they may look a bit different, neither should seem too odd. Click on the picture to flip it vertically so you can see the faces right side up…

(via The always superb Bifurcated Rivets)

I could stay on this site for hours. Browse by song or artist. Here are some of the facts about the Beatle’s “Come Together”:

• The whispered lyric that sounds like “shoot” is actually Lennon saying “shoot me” followed by a handclap. The bass line drowns out the “me.”
• The line “Ono sideboard” refers to Yoko.
• Banned by the BBC because of the reference to Coca Cola, which they considered advertising.
• When rumors were spreading that Paul McCartney was dead, some fans thought the line “One and one and one is three” meant that only George, John and Ringo were left. The line “Got to be good lookin’ cuz he’s so hard to see” was supposed to be Paul’s spirit.

(via Bifurcated Rivets)

A very good site about George Barris who made customized cars including the Batmobile, the Munster’s Koach and the Green Hornet’s “Black Beauty”. His gallery is filled with cool looking cars.
(via Mookie)

Cool!
(via The Presurfer)

What is an “Easter Egg“? – The term “Easter Egg”, as we use it here, means any amusing tidbit that creators hid in their creations. They could be in computer software, movies, music, art, books, or even your watch. There are thousands of them, and they can be quite entertaining, if you know where to look. A couple of our favorites are the “Spy Hunter”-like game in Microsoft Excel 2000 and the “Wacky Search Menu” in Internet Explorer 5. This site will help you discover Easter Eggs in the things you see and use everyday, and let you share Easter Eggs you discover with the rest of the world.