mormon

Facebook is about to get a whole lot creepier. A small group of users are beta-testing a new "subscribe" button located under users' profile pictures that could make Facebook stalking as simple as a single click.

The button is a lot like "following" someone on Twitter and here's how it works: If you click the "subscribe" button, all of that user's activities, from new pictures to status updates to videos and links, will show up in your notifications. Few details have been released so far, but we're interested in knowing if the service will show you who's stalking your profile or if you can subscribe to non-friends, which would take the creep factor up to a solid 10.

Moving on to another creepy story, a school zone in West Vancouver is testing a rather extreme measure to force drivers to slow down in their vehicles.

The experiment places a 3D hologram of a young girl chasing a ball in the middle of the street that drivers will see about 100 feet away, giving them plenty of time to slow down...or have a heart attack and veer off the road. We can see the utility in a 3D cop on the side of the road or a flashing light to alert drivers entering school zones, but this is a little nuts.

To Jeff's delight and Wilson's girlfriend's dislike, Angry Birds is now available on the Android operating system. Granted, it's a "Lite" version in beta and many users (including Jeff) are experiencing random restarts and freezes, but it should tie over your addiction until the official version finally drops. For all the iPhone players out there, don't forget that the Angry Birds Expansion Pack is also available.

Finally, we have a handful of voicemail messages that we haven't gotten to play all week, and today's batch inquires about the infamous "Cheese Stands Alone" episode, voicemail phone numbers, and a rare appearance from everyone's favorite Verbose Asian Guy! Set it on repeat, guys--it ain't happening again! :)

We have a winner! After poring over a ton of submissions, Natali chooses a winner to attend a non-date with her tonight to see an exclusive screening of The Dark Knight on the IMAX screen. Here's the haiku that took the prize, courtesy of Kin::

Scallyyyyyy! Congratulations Kin, we've sent you an e-mail with instructions on how to pick up your tickets.

Our favorite guest ghost Rana Sobhany joins us again and brings her friend Alex Cone, who dishes the dirt on the Apple … Read more

Open source has clearly gone mainstream when religions start requiring it on employment applications.

It does my heart good to see my church putting its tithing dollars to work in an inspired cause: open source. A friend just sent me a job posting on the LDS Church's website calling for a Linus Torvalds-like figure to lead open-source development efforts for the LDS Church and its IT projects.

You may not want those missionaries knocking on your door, but you've got to admit that every religion needs at least one Linus Torvalds. :-)

Go to the LDS Church's employment site and type "open source" into the search box. You'll find several requirements for open-source savvy engineers (including someone familiar with Hyperic - got something to tell me, Javier? Is my tithing paying for your Wii addiction?), but this is the one that I find fascinating (and encouraging):

Technical Program Manager - Community Development

Description:

This person has the exciting responsibility in leading the Church's efforts to establish community software development efforts. The Community Development Program Manager will work with key stakeholders to identify opportunities to leverage community resources to design, develop and maintain software applications that can be made generally available. Success in these endeavors will greatly accelerate the development and proliferation of technology that can be used by church members and local leaders.… Read more

Today is Pioneer Day in Utah, a day when Utahns reflect on the sacrifice that brought 70,000 people 1,300 miles across the United States into present-day Utah. My own family was part of this group. In fact, there's a wonderful quote from Brigham Young about the Asays when he bumped into them while traveling in Southern Utah. He critiqued their sloth in still living out of their wagons, but said they made him the best fish dinner he'd had. Some things never change.... :-)

As I look back on what my family and others did, I'm impressed by how hardship focused and shaped the thoughts and feelings of a people. While some of the pioneers suffered greatly in making the trek, for others it was more hearty inconvenience and discomfort. But for all, it was a formative time.

Years later, a group that hadn't been through the ordeal criticized those who had for foolishly leaving late in the year, such that the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies were caught in a terrible winter. Here's the response from one who had lived through it:… Read more