It's a rainy, yucky Tuesday here in Baltimore, one of those days that kind of wants to make you hunker down by your computer with a warm sweater, a cup of coffee, and some nifty new music on the iTunes. In the interests of encouraging hunkering (and slacking) here are a few odd stories to check out while you avoid the bleakness outside:

Yahoo Thwarted by Mexican Authorities in Attempts to Contact Aliens
Appparently Yahoo has decided that it wants to contact aliens by using a high-powered laser to beam messages to the universe. Huh. Well, it turns out that Mexican authorities weren't too enamoured of their idea to mount their ET-contacting laser on the top of The Pyramid of the Sun. Go figure.

uWink Bistro
After nearly a decade of discussion and planning, Atari (and ChuckECheese) founder Nolan Bushnell has finally decided to open a line of video-game-themed restaurants. Sounds a little 1980's to me...


Play Money
Author Julian Dibbell spent a year in cyberspace making money by buying and selling virtual items in video games. Along the way he ran into Malaysian hackers, identity theives, and teen wizards coming to him for relationship advice. Sounds pretty interesting!

Googazon
Is "Googazon" (the combination of Google and Amazon.com) the next Wal-Mart? Eweek takes a look and examines what it might mean to online shoppers (and everyone else).

FlashEarth
A nifty zoomable and browsable photographic representation of the earth using images from various online mapping sources (thanks, Claire!).

Progress in Advertising?
Has the world of advertising made any progress in the last 40 years? Check out this (ancient and highly politically incorrect) commercial and decide for yourself.