The Landa Kongreso: Saturday

When I was in Europe, I spent quite some time at Esperanto events. But I had never been to one in my own country... till last weekend.

My Esperantist friend and roommate Andy has been away for the summer, but we met up at the Jacksonville airport on Saturday. I took a bus there; Andy flew from Fort Lauderdale. From Jacksonville we flew to Baltimore, where Andy's dad met us and drove us to the site of Esperanto-USA's national convention, a hotel in Bethesda, Maryland, near Washington, DC.

Andy and I arrived during one of the excursions to Washington, so not a lot of people were around. We registered on-site (not much planning had gone into this trip) and hung around, waiting for people to come back. The person I most looked forward to seeing was Darcy Ross, who had started an Esperanto club at the University of Illinois around the same time that Andy and I started one at the University of Florida. I wanted to know the secret to her success; while our club had virtually no members, Darcy had brought some of her many club members to the convention for the second year in a row.

Fortunately for Andy, there was a piano in the hotel, so we spent a lot of time hanging around there as Andy played. Some other Esperantists who were milling around conversed with us. I had seen in the program that there was an "official" cafe that was giving a discount to convention participants, so Andy and I decided to check it out. It was a Caribou Coffee located a short walk down the street from the hotel. It seemed exactly like a Starbucks, except it was decorated more like a lodge and less like a generic coffee place.

A little while later, it was getting to be dinnertime. Andy and I decided not to go to the banquet, which would have cost us around $40 per plate. Instead, we went to dinner with Andy's dad and his dad's friends, who lived nearby and let us stay at their house. We ended up having dinner at a Lebanese restaurant that was a short distance away from the hotel. By the time we were ready to leave the restaurant, it was getting late, but Andy and I decided to go back to the hotel instead of going to the house where we had planned on staying.

At the hotel, we finally met the famous Darcy Ross, who was very surprised to see us there. (To be fair, I was surprised to see us there too, since we had decided to go less than two weeks before.) Darcy had her friends from her Esperanto club with her—we called them her sheep—and there were a few people from other universities as well. They all (including Andy) wanted to go out to a club, and I, having woken up very early that morning, didn't. So they went out, and they let me sleep on the floor in one of their hotel rooms.

Stay tuned for the rest, because it gets more interesting.

One of those lists again: the Top 5 Unluckiest People Who Ever Lived. (Via The Presurfer)

This may be a repost, but I like it. Book-A-Minute is a collection of extremely condensed versions of classic books.

You know how you always hear about people who are in the hospital in critical condition or stable condition or something like that? They just expect you to know what each one means. Wikipedia explains the whole scale of medical states.

Esperanto in the USA

Last year, just before Andy and I left for our European vacation, Andy made a quick trip to St. Louis for Esperanto-USA's national congress (convention). At the time, I said,

Although he makes spontaneous trips like that all the time, I wasn't ready to take a plane trip halfway across the country on a few days' notice. He called me a few times and seemed to be having a good time. I wish I could have been there. Maybe we can go together next year with some more planning.

Well, with a little more planning, we're going. This year's congress is in Washington, DC, which I first visited only a few months ago with some other friends. There were piles of snow everywhere then, and now it's probably as hot as it is here, so that should be interesting. Oh, and I have my own camera this time!

I'm in Gainesville, and Andy is in South Florida, but isn't stopping us from traveling together. Tomorrow, Andy's taking a flight that goes from Fort Lauderdale to Jacksonville and then to Baltimore. I'm going to get on the plane in Jacksonville. Andy's dad is going to pick us up in Baltimore and take us to Bethesda, Maryland, where the congress actually is. We'll be staying with friends of Andy's dad. On the way home, Andy and I (and Andy's dad's car) are taking the Auto Train from Lorton, Virginia, to Sanford, Florida, overnight. From there we'll drive back to Gainesville, hopefully in time for my class.

It's funny. I never used to consider myself a big traveler. Before last year, I had only flown in an airplane twice. Tomorrow I'll have flown five times in 369 days!

Anyway, when we're not traveling, we'll be checking out the sights in Washington and spending time with some cool Esperantists from throughout the country. I expect to have a good time and do a lot of interesting stuff. I'll be sure to write all about it when I get back.

Wired presents: science! How to Make a Solar Cell with Donuts and Tea.

Attack of the parasites!

A few months ago, my sooth-seeking friend Andy took in a stray cat. He named him Tucker and kept him in his bedroom in our apartment. I would go in once in a while and see Tucker there. He was affectionate but unfortunately never very healthy. After about a month, Andy and his vet decided to let Tucker go to the great scratching post in the sky.

Three weeks later, Andy and his friend Scott, who was visiting, discovered that Tucker had left something to remember him by: fleas.

They took swift action, vacuuming and flea-bombing Andy's room and the living room. They asked if they should do my room too. I said not to worry about it. Mistake of the Century. Shortly after that, I said:

Andy and Scott left on Wednesday, and I've been alone in the apartment. It hasn't been so great, but not for the reasons I would have expected. I'll go into that later.

I was left to fend off the fleas by myself. On Thursday afternoon, I went to the front office to ask for pest control to come, and I was told that they only come on Thursdays and that I had just missed them. Andy, who took responsibility for the whole situation, gave the office a call and got the pest control people to maybe come on Monday.

It was a long weekend. I called a vet's office, and they said to put Borax onto the carpet and vacuum a week later, but I couldn't find Borax at the grocery store. (Is that something you can get at the grocery store? I don't want to waste my time again.) I did buy some insecticide for fleas, and it seemed to get rid of them after a few days of spraying. I also did some vacuuming to (hopefully) get rid of the flea eggs.

I don't like spraying chemicals all over the place. It's not due so much to my concern for the environment as it is to my tendency to accidentally spray myself (which did happen, as usual). So I made a flea trap by setting a bowl of soapy water on the floor and angling a desk lamp over it. Fleas are attracted to heat (this ordeal has made me a damn flea expert), so they jump toward the light bulb and fall into the water, where they get stuck. It's also a fire hazard, so don't try this at home. I won't do it again.

Needless to say in a world where "yes" means "maybe" and "maybe" means "no," pest control didn't come on Monday. They called me on Tuesday and asked if the whole place had been vacuumed up because apparently they wouldn't even come if it weren't. I said no and asked them to come on Wednesday. They didn't. They were definitely supposed to come on Thursday, as usual, but they didn't even appear then. They finally showed up on Friday, but by then they could tell I had already gotten rid of the fleas, so they didn't do anything.

(Before you say anything: no money was lost here. The management of my apartment complex hires said company to do free pest control work for residents. We had considered hiring another company, but it would have been too expensive.)

I haven't seen any fleas in five days, so I think they're gone for now. Then again, they hid for at least three weeks, between the time Tucker died and the time anyone noticed them. Hopefully they're not like an STD that pops up from time to time and can never go away. I'll have to do some more vacuuming.

This is why software is awesome. Someone wrote a Python script that does some time-stretching and -compressing on a song to change the beat. The result: everything swings. Sample tracks include "Every Breath You Take," "Enter Sandman," "Around the World," and "Don't Stop Believin'." (Via waxy.org)

Here's a breakdown of cable subscription fees by network, showing how much you're paying for channels you don't watch. (Via The Consumerist)

American kids don't have a monopoly on stupidity: 10% of British children surveyed thought that the Queen invented the telephone. Some also thought that Luke Skywalker was the first person on the moon and that Isaac Newton discovered fire.

Tour de Gainesville

Last weekend (as in, not yesterday), my friend Andy got a visit from his friend Scott. They first met up with me when I was down at home at the end of my spring-summer break. We went back up to Gainesville together; Andy wasn't about to start classes like I was, but he wanted to show Scott the area.

After my first day of classes on Monday, the three of us watched Avatar at the apartment. We hooked up Andy's gigantic stereo to the TV for a huge sound that was sure to annoy our neighbors (if they were even there for the summer, which I hope they weren't).

I had been looking forward to seeing Avatar, but I was pretty disappointed by it. All the CGI got to be distracting, which I suppose was good because it distracted me from the predictable plot. The nickname "Pocahontas in Space" is well deserved. I might watch it again if I could see it on a huge screen in 3-D. Maaaaybe.

On Tuesday night, the three of us went to dinner at Satchel's Pizza, a local restaurant that's renowned for its eclectic atmosphere. The decor is eclectic, the pizza toppings are eclectic—even the plates are eclectic. In front of the restaurant is an old van that has a couple of tables in it. Eating in the van at Satchel's can earn you some serious bragging rights. (Well, maybe not, but I like to brag about it anyway.) After dinner, we went to the junk shop out back and got some Satchel's swag.

Andy and Scott left on Wednesday, and I've been alone in the apartment. It hasn't been so great, but not for the reasons I would have expected. I'll go into that later.

A star-studded Funny or Die video: Barack Obama gets a surprise visit from ex-presidents. (Via The Consumerist)

Here's someone's list of The 12 Biggest Ripoffs in America. And before you ask, college textbooks are indeed on the list. (Via The Presurfer)

From The Big Picture: aerial photos of New York and Las Vegas at night.

Summer bummer

My break between the spring and summer semesters is history. I did some stuff, took it easy, and then figured I would write about it once I got back to school. Well, I haven't had time. I've just got a little bit of time here to squeeze in a quick post.

So, Thursday was my friend Nick's much-anticipated 21st birthday. He and our friend TJ started out by shooting some golf, but they called it a day early because it was so hot out. After that, they picked me up, and we had lunch at Clamsters, a neighborhood place.

Next, we went to The Home Depot. Yeah, that's right. Let me explain.

The last time I was around, my friends had caught wind of the Red Bull Flugtag, which would be coming to Miami in July. My understanding is that it's a contest where various groups build flying contraptions that may or may not be airworthy but are always fun to watch. In Miami, this would involve shoving your craft over the edge of a dock, with a pilot inside, and seeing how far it goes.

So, my friends decided to enter the contest. Since each group is apparently supposed to have a theme, they planned to dress up as the members of Kiss and have their airplane thing look like a guitar. (I can't help but think that Role Models may have been an influence.) But anyway, to everyone's surprise, including their own, they were accepted into the contest. So they've been getting ready to build their giant guitar thing.

So, after considering various types of lumber, we went to see their friend Jonnie as he moved out of his dorm room at FAU. Then the guys signed some Flugtag paperwork, we moved Jonnie's stuff into Nick's house, Nick's cousin Mike had his long hair cut short, and we had dinner with Nick, who was now old enough to drink. To top off the day, we went to Bru's Room, a local bar/restaurant, so Nick and the other over-21s could have some more drinks.

The next evening, Nick had a party, and there were a lot of people there. And the day after that was Sunday, so I had to go back and get ready for another exciting semester. I'll fill you in on that later.

By all accounts, Google Chrome is fast. Here's a pretty cool video (that you may have already seen making the rounds on the Internet) showing just how fast it can be. Be sure to watch the making-of video as well. (Via waxy.org)

Interfaith forum

Regular readers probably have forgotten that I attend meetings of Gator Freethought, the campus organization that's friendly to atheists, agnostics, and all others who question religious beliefs. We've had our last meeting of the year, but that wasn't the end. Blake, the outgoing president of the club, was going to be representing freethought at an interfaith forum on campus.

The event was held on Wednesday evening, the last day of classes, in the smaller ballroom in the student union. There were a lot of empty seats, probably because people were at home studying for their upcoming exams. I guessed that most of the audience members were there to see their guy or gal take part in the discussion; not many people looked like they were genuinely disinterested. I have to admit I was in the former camp. I sat with a group of Freethought members.

(Derail: People always seem to say "disinterested" when they mean "uninterested." I've also seen an excellent clip from The Rachel Maddow Show [which I otherwise don't watch, by the way] in which Ms. Maddow says "uninterested" instead of "disinterested." If you're uninterested, you don't have any interest—you're bored or you don't care—and if you're disinterested, you don't have any interests—anything that could be considered a possible source of bias or prejudice. Paul Brians has an entry on this error in his Common Errors in English Usage web site, which is worth checking out. In the associated book, there's a cartoon in which a man says to a woman something like, "Let me make myself clear: I'm not disinterested, I'm uninterested.")

Um, right. So, the forum was emceed jointly by what appeared to be a Christian and a Muslim. Answering their questions, as well as some from the audience, were the panelists:

• Representing Christianity was a guy from Campus Crusade for Christ. He seemed ill at ease and spoke with thinly disguised contempt at the other belief systems that were represented. He must have said that Jesus "stepped into the pages of history" at least six or seven times. I was surprised they couldn't get a better speaker, considering how many Christians there are.
• Representing Islam was a dapper local businessman. He had a good sense of humor and explained how Islam gives people advice on how to live their everyday lives. He used the word "brother" in referring to some of the other panelists and joked with brother Blake that only a freethinker was brave enough to sit between a Muslim and a Jew.
• Blake was the only student on the panel. His answers were short and to the point (giving him less of a chance to dig himself into a hole, he said later), and he was careful to represent freethought in general without mentioning the A-word. I liked his answer to the question, "Who is the most important figure in your religion (or lack thereof)?" He said, "Yourself," because freethought is about thinking freely (hmm...) and not taking for granted the things that other people tell you.
• Representing Judaism was a local rabbi, who explained how Judaism also gave advice for everyday life. A kid from the audience, badly feigning ignorance, asked him some innocent-sounding questions to try to get him to link Judaism with Zionism. The rabbi didn't fall for it. You could have cut the tension in that room with a knife right then.
• Speaking for all denominations of Hinduism was a distinguished Indian woman of a certain age. She explained how Hindu beliefs and practices vary greatly and called out some of the moderators' questions as being specifically geared toward the Abrahamic religions. She had to dip out about halfway through, so she made a quip about avatars as another distinguished Indian woman of a certain age took her place.
• Speaking specifically for Hare-Krishna-ism while wearing Krishna robes and Krishna face paint was a young representative from the local Krishna House. She gushed with enthusiasm while getting all buddy-buddy with the other Hindu and quoting the Bhagavad Gita in Sanskrit. Though she would get extra credit in the enthusiasm department, she used a lot of terms that were vague (like everyone's favorite, "energy") or not very clear to us laypeople.
• Finally, representing the Bahá'í Faith, whose name I had to copy and paste from the Wikipedia article, was a professor or something (what, you want me to actually read the program I took home?). The Bahá'í Faith (Ctrl-V) is essentially a greatest-hits compilation of the world's major religions, but Ms. Bahá'í Faith didn't do a good job of explaining what it was actually about. She talked a lot without saying very much.

It was a great way for Blake to go out as Gator Freethought's president. He was definitely one of the better speakers on the panel, and even though freethought was the odd belief system out (as evidenced by the tacking-on of "or lack thereof" to seemingly every question), he did a good job of representing our club.

And this is what I do when I should be studying for exams. I'll be glad to have them over with. By the time I write my next post, I'll be home free... for a little while.

Need to come up with blog post titles that are sure to draw readers in? Go to the Linkbait Generator for random gems like "8 Ways to Get Rich with Ninjas" and "10 Myths About Mustaches That Hollywood Wants You To Believe." I was sure that "Sony DSC-H55 Digital Camera Review" would net me some intense comments from photography-loving Google searchers, but it's nothing but the same old same old right now. (Via The Presurfer)

Get the best deal

I've been living in my apartment since August, and it's getting to be (or has already been) that time when you're supposed to renew your lease or find another place. Since I've been pretty satisfied, I decided I would renew my lease for next year.

Andy and Ryan, two of my roommates, were a little less sure; they both wanted to move closer to campus. Ryan ended up finding another place, but Andy is more likely to stay with me next year. (My other roommate will be graduating and moving out, I think.)

Last year, we signed early and got punished for it because the rates plummeted later. Our rate is $449 per month, but if we had waited a few months, it could have been $299. I was gambling that the same thing would happen this year, so I decided to hold out for the best deal possible. A few months ago, I could have renewed with a rate of $348 and gotten a Visa gift card that would essentially drop the rate to $299. But it wasn't really $299, so I decided to wait some more.

The incentive program ended, the rate didn't go down, and the renewal deadline (for keeping your same apartment) was drawing near. What could we do to get the best deal? I decided that we should bargain.

A couple of weeks ago, there was a pool-party-slash-barbecue to promote renewals. Uniformed representatives were going around, asking people if they were going to renew their leases. One guy asked Andy and me what it would take for us to renew. I mentioned a comparable place I had heard of that was within walking distance to campus and was $290 per month, so that would be the price to beat. I also thought it would be nice to get new kitchen appliances for free. He made a note of it.

Last week, the rate still hadn't fallen, but they started another incentive program, giving out Visa gift cards that would essentially lower the rate to $330. Even if we couldn't strike a bargain, I thought, it would be a good deal.

On Tuesday, Andy and I went to the office and talked to a manager about possibly negotiating a more favorable price. She refused, saying it was against their policy. So much for that idea.

Right after that, I renewed my lease to take advantage of the Visa gift card deal. $330 is pretty reasonable.

No matter what they end up doing, Andy's and Ryan's current leases expire in August, and they'll pretty much be spending the summer at their respective homes. Our other roommate's lease runs out very soon, I think, and he (and his girlfriend who's shacked up with him) will be moving out.

That should leave me with the whole place to myself for a few months as I take summer classes. I'm not really sure how I feel about that. I'm not depressed by it, but I'm just kind of concerned about being bored. Any ideas on how to not be bored?

This video is a collection of infomercial clichés: a tribute to doing it wrong. The soundtrack is appropriate. (Via The Consumerist)

I personally find it terrifying that some people are this big into Jeopardy!, but here you go: an archive with details of every episode ever, including the questions and answers. (Via J-Walk Blog)

Here's a look back at 20 years of Adobe Photoshop. Includes screenshots!

The evil eye

In one of my classes last week, a girl I study with passed me a note. I was a bit confused until I opened it up and read it. It said that a particular guy in the class was creepily staring at her and that she was going to leave class early if he didn't stop.

I felt really bad for her. No one should have to choose between being able to pay attention in class and not feeling used or threatened. I wanted to do something to help, so I positioned my chair so that he (hopefully) wouldn't be able to see her. I don't think he bothered her again.

I was glad that I could try to do something, but at the same time, I felt bad about myself. I look at young women too, and while I don't intend for them to notice, they probably do sometimes. In fact, I'm sure of it, because there are sometimes the awkward moments when they see that I'm looking. I don't mean anything bad by it, but they have no way of knowing that.

I don't have much of an idea of what it's like on the other side. Once in a while I hear female friends talking about creepy guys staring at them. It seems therapeutic for them to discuss it together, even if they're seemingly just laughing it off. One friend once told me she'll stare back at a man's wedding ring until he realizes it and averts his glance, visibly embarrassed.

Along with this article I linked to recently, last week's incident made me slightly but painfully more aware of some of the things that women have to deal with all the time. I'd like to get some more perspectives so I can try to understand what's really going on here and what can be done about it.

With that in mind, I have some questions for my female friends and readers: How often do people stare at you? How does it make you feel? What do you do about it? Do you ever ogle anyone yourself? Is it ever okay? Leave a comment. Discuss. I really want to know. (And let's not make it heteronormative; anyone may chime in.)

You know what I haven't done in a while? Answered an Ask Jordon question, that's what. And look, it comes from Kate. Yes, that Kate!

Kate: If you could get a free ticket to any country (any city, any place) of the world, what would you choose and why?

That's a tough question. In the past, I probably would have answered London or some other big city in Europe, but I've already been to Europe, so I think I'd try something new. Since money is no object here, I think I'd want to go somewhere I'd never otherwise be able to go to, like the South Pole. That would make a great Facebook profile picture.

If we're talking about actual cities in actual countries, then I'd probably consider Tokyo as well. My impression of Japan, which comes mainly from Lost in Translation and the kinds of people I hung out with in high school, is that it has a very different society from ours and is far ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to technology. That's something I'd like to see for myself.

Interesting video: a British doctor explains the placebo effect and its practical consequences. (Via Pharyngula)

The great debate

My university brings a lot of notable speakers to campus every year, although lately it seems that they've been lacking in the star-power department. I don't usually bother to see speakers I've never heard of, so I haven't been to many speaking engagements in a while.

But on Monday, I found out from an Alligator opinion column that Christopher Hitchens and Dinesh D'Souza would be participating in a debate called "The Great Religion Debate" on Tuesday night. As soon as I read about it, I knew I had to go.

Okay, I hadn't heard of Dinesh D'Souza, but I had heard of Christopher Hitchens. Maybe you've heard of his book, God Is Not Great. Just by the title, you can tell which side he was on. And maybe by the fact that I had heard of him.

On Tuesday evening, my friend Mark and I went to the debate. We were a little late because we had come from Free Culture's last meeting of the semester, but fortunately, some of Mark's friends were saving seats for us. Needless to say, we were able to get tickets just fine, even though the place was pretty packed.

The moderator was a UF professor who asked extremely long questions and then gave each speaker a little bit of time to answer. I was familiar with some of the arguments they made for and against religion and gods' existence. D'Souza was a relatively engaging speaker, which made him sound fairly convincing in spite of all the untruths and logical fallacies he trotted out.

Hitchens offered plenty of witty remarks, though, and some of his comments inspired applause from the audience. In one such remark, he characterized Vatican City as a fiefdom, carved out by an agreement with a fascist dictator, that was being used to shelter child-rapists from justice. Incidentally, my mental applause-o-meter indicated that more people agreed with him than with D'Souza.

The most interesting part was the Q-and-A session at the end. Most of the audience's questions were pretty simple, and the debaters provided short answers. One guy, however, literally referred to Hitchens as Satan, provoking shouting and jeers from the rest of the audience. Bad memories suddenly came back to me, but things calmed down after a minute.

Blake, the president of Gator Freethought, asked each debater what it would take for him to switch to the other side. I believe Hitchens' answer was "Rabbit bones in the Precambrian layer," and D'Souza seemed to dodge the question.

During the debate, Hitchens mentioned that he and D'Souza had been discussing a certain topic over dinner beforehand, and they also mentioned how they would be debating at Notre Dame (where, I assume, D'Souza would be the audience's favorite) the next day. I thought it was pretty interesting that two people who disagree on so many things could be touring together and debating night after night while still being able have dinner together. That's professionalism.

For more quotes and a pretty picture, see the Alligator's article about the debate.

In San Francisco: humorous signs from a counter-protest of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church.

News from Canada: Students Failing Because of Twitter, Texting. Speaking of which, you can now follow The World of Stuff on Twitter!!

Tired of your big, evil bank doing evil things with your hard-earned money? Then stop doing business with them. Duh! Move Your Money is a campaign urging people to switch to local banks and credit unions. (Via The Consumerist)

Installapalooza

I talked about my Thursday, but I didn't get a chance to mention my weekend yet. It was... interesting.

For many college students, the weekend begins on Thursday, and the people living in the apartment below me are no exception. They had a party on Thursday night. I don't mind if people have parties, but I do mind if said parties are extremely loud and preventing me from going to sleep. Usually I go downstairs with my roommate Andy and we ask them to turn the music down, but this time, Andy volunteered to go by himself. He didn't come back; he had joined the party.

On Friday night, there was another loud party downstairs. A normal person probably would have been able to sleep through it, but I have a hard time getting to sleep unless it's quiet. Still, I thought I should try. I did sleep for a little while, but the noise woke me up at 4:30 in the morning. That's when I called the police.

Over the next hour or so, the noise still didn't go away. At 6:00, I went downstairs and told one of the guys that if they didn't turn the music down, I would call the police. He asked if I already had, so presumably some officers had paid them a visit. I said I hadn't called, and he said that that the party was ending anyway. A half an hour later, the music stopped, and I instantly went to sleep.

I probably won't call the police again. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now they probably know that I did it, and I don't want them to be mad at me. There are more of them than me, after all, and they know where I live.

I always wake up early, even if I go to bed very late, so I wasn't worried about oversleeping. Imagine my surprise when I woke up well-rested at 11:15 in the morning. I was supposed to be on campus at 11:30 for a Linux installfest!

Technically, I didn't quite oversleep, but I came very close to it. The only time I actually did oversleep was about a year and a half ago when I was supposed to be giving a presentation for a class. Why do I only oversleep (or almost oversleep) when I have to do something important? Well, I guess if it's not important, then you're not really oversleeping.

My friend Mark, who was going to give me a ride to campus, had been waiting outside for a few minutes. I got ready as fast as I could, and we weren't too late. The installfest actually went pretty well, and we had a pretty good turnout. I helped a guy dual-boot Ubuntu and Windows, and Mark got a guy's graphics driver working. There was also a lot of food, and we got to take home what was left over.

Know Your Meme is indispensable. If you've seen the one with the old-fashioned painting of a guy striking a non-old-fashioned pose and saying things like "It feels most outstandingly pleasant to be involved in gang-related activities," the site explains what that's all about. (Via waxy.org)

British humor: How to Report the News, presented in the style of a news report. (Via waxy.org)

Do you use Last.fm? HacKey will show you the musical keys of your favorite songs. Apparently a whole 18% of my favorite songs are in B major, which I thought wasn't a common key in popular music (well, it's hard to play on the guitar). (Via waxy.org)