Cat Taxi

If you’re in Wakayama City and call a taxi, you might have a chance of summoning Mr. Hiraga’s catmobile:

Hiraga started his cat collection 12 years ago with a single lucky cat decoration he bought from Kimii-dera temple. He thought the one cat looked kind of lonely, so he soon bought it a friend. His taxi now is filled with 888 lucky cats:

According to the Wakyama Shimpo, those interested in taking a ride in the cat taxi can call up Mr. Hiraga at 090・7965・2135 (assume that he only can speak Japanese, because the article says nothing about foreign languages).

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A Modest Proposal: What If We Required Mandatory Gun Insurance?

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First of all, this isn't my idea. It's my oldest son's, and he told me about it a few years ago when he was trying to figure out a way he could make money. (Did I mention the kid is a genius? If you use this idea, you owe him.)

He said it made more sense to sidestep the entire gun control controversy and instead pass state laws that require anyone who owns a gun to carry insurance. If they have risk factors (like teenagers in the house), their rates go up. If one of their kids sneaks a gun out of the house and gets caught, or uses it to commit a crime, the insurance gets canceled for some meaningful period of time -- say, 10 years.

And if someone steals your gun and you don't report it in a 24-hour window of you finding out, your insurance is suspended.

If you have a rifle and it's only used for hunting, low rates. If you have a Glock and you carry it in an open-carry town or state, your rates will be very high -- because odds are so much higher that innocent bystanders may get caught in a shootout.

Homeowners could be required to carry gun insurance as long as they're still paying on a mortgage, because a gun accident or misuse could result in a large legal judgment against the house.

Oh yeah, and you have to buy coverage for each gun you own.

I think it has real possibilities. What do you think?

How to Buy Into Android at the Worst Possible Time [HUMOR]

Is the above pro-iPhone? Probably. Is the above poignantly fitting given all the recent talk of Samsung denying updates and class action lawsuits? Absolutely. Rip me apart in the comments, but you have to admit the above bit of humor from DesignDare is at times painfully true.

[via DroidLife]

TV: Great Job, Internet!: Robert Vicivious Lowe is even more bitter about the Parks And Rec hiatus than we are

"Rob “I Bought Miramax” Lowe was an excellent addition to Parks And Recreation last season—and is even more so in the upcoming third season—so he’s understandably pissed that the world has been missing out on him and the show for the past five months. Watch him take out his anger on production assistant Aubrey Plaza and the rest of nobodies he co-stars with, and be sure to watch the return of Parks And Rec this Thursday, or else the little Indian guy gets it.

Rob Lowe Goes Nuts from Rob Lowe

Man, I wonder what he’d ...

PS3 hackers make Modern Warfare 2 'unplayable,' Infinity Ward cannot patch a fix

'It's in total shambles and unplayable.' That's how one Joystiq reader describes Modern Warfare 2 on PSN. With PS3 system security in disarray, hackers and cheaters have run rampant on Infinity Ward's Call of Duty games. Players unwittingly placed into a hacked server can meet the unfortunate consequence of losing all their stats and, unfortunately, it doesn't appear a fix is in sight.

'Games rely on the security of the encryption on the platforms they're played on,' Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling explained on the game's official forums. 'Unless the security exploit itself is resolved on the platform ... updates to the game through patches will not resolve this problem,' he admits, adding, 'at this time, we do not have the ability to restore or adjust individual stats.'

Although Bowling adds that 'we are looking at every option available to us to help any user affected,' it appears the situation is quite dire, especially when one considers the workarounds Bowling suggests. You can submit a PSN grief report, play exclusively with friends via private matches, or play Black Ops, which does 'not rely solely on platform security' -- something Infinity Ward promises to learn from in future games.

[Thanks, Jordan!]

PS3 hackers make Modern Warfare 2 'unplayable,' Infinity Ward cannot patch a fix originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 17 Jan 2011 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

W3C Introduces an HTML5 Logo

W3C unveiled today an HTML5 logo, a striking visual identity for the open web platform. W3C encourages early adopters to use HTML5 and to provide feedback to the W3C HTML Working Group as part of the standardization process. Now there is a logo for those who have taken up parts of HTML5 into their sites, and for anyone who wishes to tell the world they are using or referring to HTML5, CSS, SVG, WOFF, and other technologies used to build modern Web applications. The logo home page includes a badge builder (which generates code for displaying the logo), a gallery of sites using the logo, links for buying an HTML5 T-shirt, instructions for getting free stickers, and more. The logo is available under 'Creative Commons 3.0 By' so it can be adapted by designers to meet their needs. See also the HTML5 logo FAQ and learn more about HTML5.

Random attacker terrorizes Winnipeg family at gunpoint - Vancouver Sun

Nanaimo Daily News

Random attacker terrorizes Winnipeg family at gunpoint Vancouver Sun Winnipeg police have slapped 18-year old Jesse Daniel Brown with a long list of charges after he allegedly forced his way into a North Kildonan home armed with a pellet gun and steak knife. ... Family fights suspect in break and enterCTV.ca Charged laid against teen suspect after family tormented in home invasionCTV.ca 18-year old man charged following North Kildonan home invasionGlobal Winnipeg Winnipeg Sun all 24 news articles »