Oh cruller fate. Dunkin Donuts has ceased production of that New England staple: the cruller. The twisted straight donut was incompatible with their new fully automated donut making process. Human hands are no longer a part of the Dunkin Donut creation process, and human hands are apparently a requirement for twisting a cruller. (via Obscure Store)

Seattle’s Museum of Flight has announced that it will be receiving one of the retired British Airways Concordes. The supersonic aircraft is scheduled to land at Boeing Field on November 5th at approximately 3pm. Public tours of the aircraft should begin by the end of the month.

Problems worthy of attack, Prove their worth by hitting back. –Piet Hein
Take a break and have some fun playing with a virtual SOMA cube, written as a Java applet.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist David Lazarus was greatly concerned over the news that a Pakistani sub-sub-subcontractor for UCSF Medical Center threatened to reveal confidential patient data if she was not paid by the man who had hired her. The woman sent an email, with doctors’ dictation files attached, directly to UCSF, demanding restitution. Her employer’s employer ended up paying her and she withdrew her threat, but UCSF has no guarantee that the data is safe, and no one there was aware that patient data had been sent overseas. This week Lazarus calls our attention to Bank of America’s decision to open a subsidiary in India which would potentially be handling “sensitive customer information.” His point is not that offshore employees are less trustworthy than American ones, but that we can’t depend on the enforcement of privacy and extortion laws overseas. If the Pakistani woman had been a U.S. worker, U.S. law enforcement would have been on her case immediately. As customers we are not aware of, nor do we have control over, the transfer of our personal data to locations with lessened protection.

Annie Lennox has recorded vocals for the theme song of “The Return of the King.” The song also features soprano Renee Fleming and flautist Sir James Galway.

If you’ve ever entertained the notion of commissioning your very own piece of music, now there’s a guide to help you out. Published by the composer advocacy group, Meet the Composer, the booklet tells of the experiences of others who have commissioned works and offers a pricing guide (solo or duo work: between $2,000 and $20,000, depending on the length, full-length opera: $465,000 or more). It’s just the thing for that fabled someone who has everything.

Better start practicing. There’s only a couple months remaining before the annual Rutabaga Curling (Hurling) Contest in Ithaca, NY.

Our local paper, and perhaps yours, has started running old strips of The Far Side to publicize the release of Gary Larson’s “Complete Far Side” two volume set. Talking cows, chickens, and blah, blah, blah, Ginger.

Which is better for measuring the length of a cat’s tongue: the “Beefy Bovril” or the “White Wine” method? (via leuschke)

Eric Idle is back touring the U.S. and Canada again, advertising “songs, skits, and skirts” for his Greedy Bastard Tour.