TED Conference Videos (and more to come) on Google Video, sponsored by BMW.

“Sam and Max” return in October through the GameTap service ($9.99/month) from members of the original creative team who formed TellTale Games after LucasArts cancelled the sequel. They plan to produce a six-game “season” of “Sam and Max”, releasing one per month. (thanks Waxy)

Is your cat too sophisticated for those corrugated cardboard catnip scratchers? Well, for a lot more money you can buy artsy scratchable cat furniture in u, chair, and abstract shapes. It’s made out of triple-wall laminated cardboard with enamel finish on the ends in the pet-speak colors of Maltese, canary, koi, and iguana. (via Luxist)

TV Guide’s Ausiello Report rumorizes (yes, I just made that word up) that Lauren Graham, the Gilmore Girls mom, will have a guest stint on Aaron Sorkin’s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Gilmore Girls fans may recall that creator Amy Sherman-Palladino’s swift-tongued, quick-witted dialogue actually resulted in a hoax article claiming that Palladino was an Aaron Sorkin pseudonym. We can expect that Graham won’t have trouble with whatever Sorkin and team pen for her, if it comes to speed anyway. Gilmore Girls returns on Sept 26 and Studio 60 premieres on Sept 18.

The Munch paintings have been recovered and the M&Ms; press release is out: “Could it have been the dark chocolate M&M;’S(R)? Just days after launching the new M&M;’S(R) Dark Chocolate ad campaign and announcing a reward of 2 million dark chocolate M&M;’S(R) for the return of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream,” police in Oslo say they’ve recovered the famous masterpiece which was stolen two years ago.” They should’ve released the dark chocolate version earlier.

“10 gallons of gas and a match” was Jim Goodall first thought on viewing the Museum of Flight’s British de Havilland Comet which he is in charge of restoring. The original Comets were the first commercial jet, carrying passengers in the 1950s. First flown in 1959 this particular airplane was last used to train firefighters and was full of water and green slime when the museum took possession in 1994. It had been grounded by the FAA during its final flying job sometime after being sold to Redmond Air in 1978. The cockpit restoration is complete but Goodall believes it will be another 4-6 years before the plane is ready to be put on exhibit.

Are you a raisin connaisseur? Probably not. But UC’s Kearney Agricultural Center ran taste-tests comparing grapes dried on paper trays to those dried on the vine. 120 tasters were recruited at UC Davis. The results seemed to favor vine-dried raisins: “Grapes dried on the vine were fruitier, softer and lighter in color. The ones dried on trays, like the common supermarket raisin, were a bit more sour, chewier and stickier.” However the vine method does have a sour tannin flavor that some do not prefer. Vine drying takes longer and is not suited for the Seedless Thompson grapes which most raisin farmers grow. But a foodie niche market for luxury grapes is certainly a possibility.

Many Washington State rest stops now feature wireless Internet service provided by Road Connect. Access to the Department of Transportation Web site and other travel sites is free. Full access costs $1.99 for 20 minutes, $3.99 a day. Road Connect is also available or coming soon in Texas, Oregon, California, Kansas and Florida.

The possibility of encountering “water scorpions, leeches, of course, a few trout and maybe the odd eel” did not deter competitors in the World Bog Snorkelling Championships. Now featuring corporate sponsorship (auctioned off on eBay) and worldwide press, the annual event is the product of a late night barroom brainstorm. Llanwrtyd Wells, Britain’s smallest town, hosts the 100+ competitors (and fans). Participants, wearing snorkels and flippers, are allowed to kick but can only doggy paddle to navigate the 60 yard trench twice. For the first time in the 21 year old event, a “swim-off” tie-breaker was necessary to crown the World Champion Bog Snorkeller, Haydn Pitchforth.

The Floating Homes Association of Seattle is holding its biennial houseboat tour on September 10th. 15 homes floating on Lake Union will be open for viewing. (Seattle Times’ impressions of a two-story model)