Exit171… it’s all about the journey

Here are the finalists for New Jersey’s new slogan. Be sure to vote! The deadline has been extended to January 8, 2006.

1. New Jersey, Expect the Unexpected
2. New Jersey, Love at First Sight
3. New Jersey, Come See For Yourself
4. New Jersey, The Real Deal
5. New Jersey, The Best Kept Secret

Also, be sure to check out Jersey Slogans for some of the slogans that you probably won’t see.

[via Enlighten New Jersey]

01/12/2006 UPDATE: “New Jersey, Come See For Yourself” is now the official slogan for New Jersey.

Okay, settle down Beavis… not the implants you’re probably thinking of. This one involves Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). You’ve probably heard about RFID recently in some negative form (there’s much controversy on the use and control of RFID by large corporations), but you may have also heard of people starting to “tag” themselves with RFID chip implants. One example last year involved a bar in Spain that started offering chip implants for their VIP customers… easy club access, drink payments, etc.

I came across this RFID implanting post on Boing Boing. Ya gotta love DIY. Besides my fascination with RFID, this post caught my attention even more so… I know the person who did this! Wild! Congrats on being Boing Boing’d Mike!

Mikey Sklar installed a $2 RFID tag in his left hand. Why the hell did he do it? How can you cram an RFID under your own skin for fun and profit? How ever does one choose the right tag to subcutaneously implant, and what other crazy hacking hijinks are others exploring with RFIDS?

[via Boing Boing]

If you haven’t heard of RFID yet, you’ll probably hear more about it with Chase’s new Blink card now being offered. You’ll also hear of RFID being referred to as SpyChips. Yes, quite a bit of paranoia on the rise with RFID.

La Famiglia Ristorante… one of my favorites for Italian cuisine! Please visit them on the web and in Bogota, NJ.

As the year winds down it’s that time again for compilations of the best (and worst) things of 2005. There are a whole mess of lists out there, but Fimoculous has compiled the ultimate list of lists. Looks like they have it all covered. Special thanks to Amanda Congdon at Rocketboom for the tip!

[Lists: 2005]

Vlad transporting precious cargo… Head Bubba’s 4th year Single Barrel JD!

If you’re a blogger and use FireFox, you may want to take a peek at this extension from Performancing. It’s a quick and easy way to blog directly from FireFox. Very useful!

Performancing today launched a handy little Firefox extension that’s simply awesome. From any page in your browser, just right click and special blog publishing frame opens. Fill it out, add your categories and post. It’s like a mini version of ecto,

[via Micro Persuasion]

Well I finally got my Suunto T6 workout watch back from London! Woohoo! It came via Great Britain’s “Royal Mail” (fancy name for the postal service). For those of you not keeping track, I inadvertently left it there during my last visit in early December.

I must say that I was very fortunate to get my watch back. I just sent the Housekeeping staff at the Club Quarters a nice “Thank You” from a local shop in London — a big basket filled with chocolates and sweets. I hope they enjoy it (although they may need to start working out after eating that thing).

I couldn’t wait to workout and collect some data (yes, EPOC levels!). I kicked up my cycling time to 30 minutes and I’m feelin’ pretty good. I’ll probably stick with 30 minutes for a while and slowly increase my resistance (I’m only at level 1). Should be fun. I’ll post some pics of my workout graphs from the Suunto Training Manager, once I start collecting a bunch of data.

While I was waiting for my watch I decided to pull the trigger on the Suunto Foot Pod for the T6. The pod allows you to collect some interesting data when running or walking. I’ll probably get more use out of that once Spring comes (or if I join a gym). Next pod on the list is the Suunto Bike Pod, although I’ll need a bike for that.. Yes, I’m addicted.