AOL Instant Messenger will be shutting down on December 15th.

I'll admit that I didn't have an AIM account (I think...), but this still hurts. What I did use back in the day was mIRC.

Ah, the days of dial-up. Before YouTube. Before Facebook. Back when my websurfing consisted of e-mail, the old h2g2.com, Delta Blues, and Newgrounds. And the occasional site for college, of course.

Anyway, does anyone have any interesting AIM memories to share?

I already posted the Redshirt Tribute Song awhile back, but I had to do it again to relate some comments:

Crusader Nikolai: A redshirt and a stormtrooper get into a fight, the stormtrooper misses every shot and the redshirt dies anyway.
Martin Baxter: And we have a winner!
Dennis Vance: Second the motion.

The father is watching the scene from "Obsession" where there are dead redshirts all over the place:
Son: Are those guys dead?
Father: Yeah, but they're redshirts, they always die in Star Trek.
Son: (Beat) Can't they just take their shirts off?

I stumbled upon this huge Disney jigsaw puzzle...

I love how it goes beyond the usual Disney canon to include some more obscure characters, especially from the shorts. It was fun seeing them.

A compilation of a number of music-based memes through the years.

I must express my disgust that "All Star" by Smash Mouth was only referred to as the "Shrek Anthem", even though they showed video of the original music video.

A collection of Star Trek-related stories from Not Always Right:

You Will Be Medicated
(I’m a regular patient at a particular clinic due to a lasting disease. I’m going into a procedure that requires anesthesia; the anesthesiologist is asking me several questions.)
Anesthesiologist: “…and last, are you familiar with Star Trek?”
Me: “Yes, I am.”
Anesthesiologist: “The gas we’re about to give you is similar to the Borg. Resistance is Futile!”
(They proceed to put the mask on me. I show the Vulcan salute. And as I’m drifting off, he salutes back.)
Anesthesiologist: “Live long and prosper.”
(I was glad to have been taken care of by a fellow geek!)

Working Your Way Up To The Bridge
(It’s my first week on the job, and I’m talking to a few of my coworkers, trying to build some sort of friendship.)
Me: “Oh, do you watch Star Trek?”
Coworker #1: “Oh goodness, not another one.”
Coworker #2: *shaking her head* “You’ll get along with [manager], then.”
(Just at that moment, [manager] leaves for lunch. Before he leaves, he turns to the assistant manager.)
Manager: “Number one, you have the bridge.”
Assistant Manager: “Aye, captain.”
(I can’t stop laughing, while my other coworkers shake their heads. Later on, I need to ask my manager a question about my work.)
Me: “…so, [manager], I believe that’s the correct course of action.”
Manager: “Make it so.”
(I try to stifle my laughter, as I see my coworkers shaking their heads even more. Needless to say, my manager and I have become the best of friends!)

Aimless Assimilating
(This happened when the ‘Star Trek Experience’ was open in Vegas. One of the gimmicks were they had actors dressed as the franchise’s iconic aliens walking around the hotel.)
Me: “Excuse me; my son is asking for a picture with the Borg drones that were in the lobby earlier. Do you know where they went?”
Receptionist: “Hmm, if they aren’t on the floor then they’re probably participating on one of the rides.”
Me: “Well do you know when they’ll be back? I mean are they on a rotation to come out, or do they just walk around aimlessly whenever they aren’t needed?”
(The receptionist gives me a funny look.)
Receptionist: “Sir, they’re the Borg. Walking around aimlessly is kind of what they’re known for.”
(I stare blankly for a moment.)
Receptionist: “Sorry, I just couldn’t let that one slip.”
Me: “No, no that was actually pretty good.”
(We eventually did manage to snag the drones after they reappeared, and specifically asked the receptionist to join us in the photo.)

Boldly Going Into Employment
(We just hired on a bunch of new people. The kid I am training has never had a job before and is a bit nervous, so we chat a little.)
Coworker: “You do everything so fast! But, I guess you’ve been doing it for a while.”
Me: “Yes, long enough that the managers are comfortable with me training new people.”
Coworker: “So why don’t you have a red shirt like the other crew trainers?”
Me: “Oh, there was a little part of my certification that I didn’t complete in time so I was not officially promoted to a crew trainer. However, I still make the same amount as them and I still train people. The only difference is the red shirt.”
Coworker: “I think it was a good idea to pass up on the red shirt.”
Me: “Was that a vague Star Trek reference?”
Coworker: “Yes! I think I’m going to like it here…”

A Long But Prosperous Day
(I have been summoned for jury duty and am going through the courthouse security checkpoint. As requested, I empty my pockets of all metallic objects, including my keys, before passing through the walk-through metal detector. When the guard sees my keychain he does a double take with a quizzical look on his face.)
Me: “Oh, that strange-looking item is my keychain. It’s just a small electronic toy that resembles one of those communicators from the original Star Trek series. I’m not sure if you’ve ever watched it, but I assure you, this keychain is definitely not harmful.”
(Anxious to prove that the keychain wasn’t in fact a concealed weapon of some sort, I demonstrated to the guard that it just flipped open and made chirping noises that sounded just like the communicators from the show. As the guard observed this, his expression became overly serious, which worried me.)
Guard: “Here. I need to examine it more closely.”
(He motions for me to hand it over to him. After I comply, he flips it open and holds it up as though he is about to speak through it.)
Guard: “This is Captain James T. Kirk. Beam me up, Scotty!”
(Needless to say, I had worried for nothing! Furthermore, this put a big grin on my face and brightened up what was otherwise a long, dreary day in the jury room.)

Hopefully The Next Supply Will Live Long And Prosper
(I work in the deli section of my store. Lately we have been having trouble getting supplies in stock.)
Me: “Where are all the trash bags?”
Coworker: “We don’t have any.”
Me: “Are you serious? Again?!”
Coworker: “Yup.”
Me: “I’m going to head over to bakery and see if they have any.”
Coworker: “Not gonna work.”
Me: “Why not?”
Coworker: “[Baker] is working today. You know how he is. He never helps anybody out.”
Me: “I know how to handle him. Trust me.”
(The baker who’s working today happens to be a huge ‘Star Trek’ fan. I head over to the bakery and don’t see him as I proceed to grab a few trash bags, but then he shows up as I’m about to leave.)
Baker: “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Me: “Getting bags.”
Baker: “No, you’re not. Put them back.”
Me: “We have zero bags at the deli.”
Baker: “Well, I have almost zero bags here. I can’t let you have any.”
Me: *deadpan, holding up a Vulcan salute* “It is only logical. The needs of the deli outweigh the needs of the few.”
(A few seconds pass.)
Baker: “HA HA! All right, all right. Take your stinkin’ bags.”
(I can still hear him cracking up as I walk away.)

Dusty Abel strikes again!

The villains from the Adam West Batman show

Oh, I love these guys. Every so often a guy just wants to watch villains who are 100% Eeeeeeviiiiilllll and are as shallow as a puddle. Just to cleanse the proverbial palette, you understand.

'60's Marvel Villains

That'd be Kraven the Hunter, Klaw, Mr. Hyde (looking remarkably Ferrigno Hulkish if you ask me), Absorbing Man, and The Melter

'70s TV Detectives

I'm the first to admit that I didn't watch these shows, but my parents sure did! The only ones I recognize are Kojak, Columbo, Starsky and Hutch, Charlie's Angels, and Scarecrow and Mrs. King.

Superman through the Years

'70s Action Adventure

I didn't watch these shows, and the only ones I recognize are Captain Marvel (still wish they'd renamed him to Captain Thunder and not Shazam, Shazam is the wizard!) and Isis.

Captain Kangaroo visits Mister Rogers

As the cliche goes, "who's been cutting onions around here?"

Gizmodo's wish list for a Gameboy Classic Edition

First, I wouldn't want Pokemon Red, Blue or Yellow, I'd want a version of Yellow that had all 151 first-gen Pokemon in it. Make us jump through hoops to get Mew, but have the option! And throw in NPCs to trade with for the trade-only evolutions. Since trading wouldn't be possible and all that.

Second, no Marble Madness? Heathen! You do remember my Marble Madness Day, right?

I could've sworn that I've shilled for Cockeyed/How Much Is Inside before, but I can't seem to find it. I'm going to do it again, then!

How Much Is Inside

Are there really 360 threads in 360 thread sheets?
How many celery sticks can you fill with a jar of peanut butter?
How large is a million dollars of hundred dollar bills, and what do you need to carry it around?
How much gold is in goldschlager?

Cool Homemade Halloween Costumes

Fidget Spinner
Spinning Tornado
Paparazzi (old school reporter surrounded by a cloud of cameras)
Doctor Octopus

Pranks

Calling every store in a mall at once
Replacing job application forms with parody versions
No Dancing Pickles (I don't need to say any more, do I? You're going to click the link anyway!)
Fake roadkill

Star Trek fan shirts from Shirtoid

I'm not being paid, I promise. I just stumbled on this site and thought the designs were cool.

TNG vs. Borg Pokemon Parody
Cochrane Delta-shaped starfield with silhouette of the Enterprise
Janeway-branded Coffee Ad
Stormtrooper vs. Redshirt
Star Trek Rock (parody of Schoolhouse Rock)
Ten Forward Cheers Parody (classic sepia tone!)
The ABC's of NextGen
Super Tribble Trouble (fictional NES game)

I know I plugged Tom Lehrer just a few days ago in the Amazing Things thread, but when a fan combines "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" with Mary Poppins clips, something special happens.

It's not really the "Halloween Season" anymore, but here's some fanart of Roll from MegaMan as various other characters (SFW, I promise). My only problem is the NES Link costume combined with Navi from OOT. That's two different game generations, artist! I also like the use of a mini Wily dragon as Lockheed. And I think that's a Matt Smith Doctor costume...

What a shock, I'm a sucker for geek humor:

A Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe for Chemists

I'll leave the instruction list full of chemist-babble on the website for those of you who are interested, but I'll give the ingredients list here for you to guess what the more common names are:

1.) 532.35 cm³ gluten
2.) 4.9 cm³ NaHCO₃
3.) 4.9 cm³ refined halite
4.) 236 cm³ partially hydrogenated tallow triglyceride
5.) 177.45 cm³ crystalline C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁
6.) 177.45 cm³ unrefined C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁
7.) 4.9 cm³ methyl ether of protocatechuic aldehyde
8.) Two calcium carbonate-encapsulated avian albumen-coated protein ovoids
9.) 473.2 cm³ theobroma cacao
10.) 236 cm³ de-encapsulated legume meats (sieve size #10)

Thanksgiving joke roundup!

Site One:

What kind of music did the Pilgrims like?

Plymouth Rock.


Why do the pants of pilgrims keep falling down?

Because their belt buckles are on their hats!



Why do the pants of pilgrims keep falling down?

Because their belt buckles are on their hats!



Site Two:


Why didn’t the turkey bake properly on Thanksgiving?

I’ve no idea but I suspect some fowl play.


Can you tell the difference between a female and a male turkey?
The male is the one with the TV remote.

First, a plug for The Lost Media Wiki. There are lots of things that were made but were assumed lost, not just a bunch of Doctor Who episodes.

Well, today's discovery is the alternate Singapore dub of Yu-gi-oh. It's just so wonderfully cheesy!

It's time for another Star Trek Deviantart day!

Black and White sketch of all the main characters
The TOS crew copies the Abbey Road cover. Note the classic Trek bottle.
The TOS crew in the style of Lucky Star. Just look at it!
The MLP: FIM cast as the TNG crew.
The Stargate Atlantis cast as a variety of Star Trek aliens. Excellent job matching alien races to cast members here.
What if TOS was set in a steampunk world?
The TNG cast along with major recurring characters
The TNG cast as chibi manga characters
Starfleet emblem stained glass window
DS9 cast in deformed webcomic style
Star Wars cast in TOS uniforms

Jim Nabors died today.

I confess that I never watched the Andy Griffith show, although my parents did (and apparently Don Knotts was really good in it). I remember Jim more for his guest appearance on The Muppet Show.

Today's shilling target is the Today I Found Out channel. I don't like how much self-promotion and in-video ads that they do, but since this is their full-time job and they make daily videos I guess I can't complain.

Anyway, today's video is about whether tapping a shaken can of pop (they call it soda, but to me it's pop!) helps to stop foam spillover. If you don't want to watch it, the short answer is...no, it doesn't. Just give a shaken can a minute to settle down.

There are lots of charts and experimental results (and lots of pouring perfectly good coke into a foam cooler to throw out later, ugh). To quote Adam Savage, "The only difference between screwing around and science is writing it down".

And I think I already posted the pop vs. soda survey results years ago, but I can't find it, so here it is again.