For all my digital design friends who might be going on co-op interviews soon: the 8-bit tie. Memorable, kind of dressed up... and nerdy. :) (Also comes in Mario-red.)

Just kidding! Its actually Cindy Crawford dressed up as Amy at Kate Hudson's Halloween party. Ouch.

Kyle Doyle, former call center employee, has achieved international fame over a hangover:

HR: Please provide a medical certificate stating a valid reason for your sick leave on Thursday 21st 2008.

Kyle: "1 day leave absences do not require a medical certificate as stated in my contract, provided I have stated that I am on leave for medical reasons."

HR: Usually that is the case, as per your contract. However please note that leave during these occasions is only granted for genuine medical reasons. You line manager has determined that your leave was not due to medical reasons and as such we cannot grant leave on this occasion.

Kyle: My leave was due to medical reasons, so you cannot deny leave based on a line manager's discretion, with no proof, please process leave as requested.

HR:I believe the proof that you are after is below (a screen grab of the Facebook page is attached to the email)

Check out this awesome Coke Zero spot created by Buck. My friend Chris worked on it! Looks great.

My friend Allie is looking for a home for her foster kittens, Harley and Mario. View them on Petfinder.com: Harley and Mario. They would love to go home together...

The saga of Edna Jester continues. For those of you not familiar with the story, Edna is an 89 year old woman with an attitude.  Last week she refused to give back a football some neighborhood kids threw in her yard. Apparently this was a common occurrence, so finally the parents called the police on her.

When the police arrived, she refused to sign a citation, and told the police they would have to handcuff her. The didn't, but reluctantly took her to the police station. She was arrested and charged with petty theft.

She has gained fame in Cincinnati, and even received an invitation from the doctor Phil show. This morning, charges have been dropped. I heard a guy call into 700WLW who had been her neighbor for 15 years and he said she was awful to live next to. He told everyone not to pity her, because she is definitely not a sweet old lady. Good for Edna, I say. She should have been a nicer neighbor about it all, but it is the kid's responsibility to control their property from entering her yard. Congrats on not going to jail, Edna!

Read the heated debate over who was at fault here.

A kid gets detention for the best reason ever. And then is cool enough to post it on the internet.

The Big Picture has a beautiful photography set called "Lighting up the Night", which shows festivals of light around the world. This particular photo is from Petra, Jordan but for some reason I can't stop looking at it - it doesn't look like something that really exists in this world. It looks straight out of a Legend of Zelda game.

Alice Wignall channels a little Bridget Jones in her rant about "morning people".

Now, of course, the real niggle about morning people is that they are also the type of people who get stuff done. I'd like to think this is a coincidence, but possibly it's not. I suppose I am, by default if nothing else, an evening person, but evenings are a rubbish time to do anything constructive. There's too much good telly on, for one thing, and you're allowed to drink alcohol without people thinking you've got a problem.

Quickly share your daily agenda with your co-workers. Quickly scan your co-workers' agendas. Then cancel your daily status meetings! As each team member updates status and tracks time, Co-op automatically records the transcript. You can go back in time to see what your team has accomplished each day.

For those of you who want to exploit your amazing carving skills for political gain, the AP has released free carving templates with an election theme:



If you prefer a geekier slant to your Halloween, check out the amazing Death Star pumpkin:



More pumpkin inspiration at Extreme Pumpkins.

Burn After Reading

Today the Washington Post ran a great article by Peter Schiff (Ron Paul's former economic advisor) titled Don't Blame Capitalism.

Just as prices in a free market are set by supply and demand, financial and real estate markets are governed by the opposing tension between greed and fear. Everyone wants to make money, but everyone is also afraid of losing what he has. Although few would ascribe their desire for prosperity to greed, it is simply a rose by another name. Greed is the elemental motivation for the economic risk-taking and hard work that are essential to a vibrant economy.

Great resource: 1000+ Free High Res Photoshop Brushes:

For a humorously informative explanation of the current financial crisis, see The Financial Crisis, as Explained to My Fourteen Year Old Sister, which explains the current situation in terms of Pokémon cards.

Kevin: Now, instead of a loan of $50, imagine that it's hundreds of thousands of dollars; then instead of a Pokémon card, it's your house. The U.S.'s prosperity was built on the idea that real estate/Pokémon would never go down. Multiply this wishful thinking by thousands of people in America and you can see the scale of our problem.

An interesting site I learned about on the Colbert Report is FiveThirtyEight.com which takes all of the polls being conducted, weighs them and averages them through some formula to supposedly figure out the most accurate prediction of who will win where. I especially like the map which shows which states offer the highest return on investment... Ohio isn't quite a the top, but still very important.