New album: Girl Talk's "Feed the Animals." Adam described it as what happens when all of the music you've liked in the past 30 years gets in a room and has a giant mashup orgy. It's an accurate description.

You can get it online at illegal-art, his label. $5 for all the mp3s in the album, $10 for flac, another $3 for having a physical CD shipped to you when they're pressed. Or go listen to it on myspace. Whichever.

The wikipedia entry for the album is seeing constant updates as people figure out what samples were used to build the album.

NOT worksafe. NOT kidsafe. NOT safe if you want to preserve your memories of music from your childhood or teenage years in amber. NOT safe for you if don't want to spend an hour yelling "YOU DIDN'T JUST DO THAT" to your headphones or speakers.

(I write this as Salt-n-Pepa gets overlaid over Metallica. Oh yes.)

Sun acquires mySQL - cue standard O NOES from all involved geeks until we have some idea how this will actually shake out. I won't bother to pretend I know, but I'll be watching with avid interest ...

and

...an excerpt of Iain Banks' new novel is available on Orbit books -- and yes, it is a Culture novel. I've heard references that indicate his Culture novels are each intended to serve as a different perspective on the same civilization (from inside, from those they conquer, from those who run it, etc.). (Thanks, Patrick)

I'm curious to see what what point of view Matter uses.

Take a look at this google map of the San Diego fires. Zoom in and you'll see where the fires are, where the evacuation areas are, locations of human and animal shelters (both open and at capacity) and what areas are being evacuated.

TV station KPBS is using Twitter to broadcast updates, information, and evacuation directions directly to cell phones, aiding those who can't get net access right now.

Hats off to their webgeeks for creative thinking and use of resources in times of crisis.