It had to happen eventually… the world’s first “Hobbit motel”:http://www.woodlynpark.co.nz/thehobbitmotel.html has opened in New Zealand. They got the turf roof and round windows right, but somehow I don’t think Bilbo would like the interior so… white.

Overheard on “slashdot”:http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/06/01/2255208 today:

_If you could go back in time to 1980 and tell everyone that in 25 years, European governments would be spearheading an initiative called “Operation Spam Zombies”:http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/spam/zombie/, and that this name was not in any way meant to be humorous, the looks on peoples faces would be priceless._

Now *that’s* what I’m talkin’ about. None of this mumbling about the end of the world or strange portents. “Prophet Yahweh”:http://www.prophetyahweh.com/ has a simple, straightforward prophecy: “Spaceships Will Appear Over Las Vegas On My Signal”:http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/5/prweb243327.php.

His press release has all the details, including, “The spaceship will hover in the sky … for almost two days. All Las Vegans will be able to see it, day and night…” Even “James Randi”:http://www.randi.org/ would approve of such a bold, falsifiable statement.

And you thought nothing odd ever happened in my home town. Apparently there was a “rain of shrimp”:http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/bell/20050510-9999-1m10bell.html recently, which is the La Jolla version of a rain of fish.

Looks like “trouble at the Disney Concert Hall”:http://ktla.trb.com/news/local/ktla-030105disney_lat,0,4333459.story?coll=ktla-news-1 :

_Construction crews are set to take a hand sander to the some of the shimmering stainless steel panels that have wowed tourists and architecture lovers but have baked neighbors living in condominiums across the street._

_Beams of sunlight reflected from the hall have roasted the sidewalk to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, enough to melt plastic and cause serious sunburn to people standing on the street, according to a report from a consultant hired by the county._