Getting Started - 12/02/08

• Ever wonder which friend spends the most time surfing porn? Do you have a friend still in the closet about her furry fetish? Wonder no more, Facebook is preparing to roll out a new feature called "Facebook Connect" that allows users to view their friends' web history. "No really, it was for a research paper." Mmmhmmm, indeed. (NY Times).
  

• The Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research, or BCDCNBER, for short, officially announced that JPMorgan is taking Wells Fargo to the winter prom. They also confirmed lurid rumors that AIG, Citigroup and Lehman all caught the recession last December, but continued transacting without protection. (Time).
  

• Arrrgh!!! Who says crime doesn't pay? The Pirates negotiated ransom for a captured Ukraine ship loaded with tanks and heavy weapons. Riddle me this - how do somali pirates capture a boat loaded with heavy artillery? The ramifications are far-reaching and sent the role-playing community scrambling to post new odds for Pirate (minus Ninja) defeating Boat+Tank+Artillery on a 20-sided die. (AJC).

• New York Giants receiver Plaxico Burress is a Jedi, or so he thought. After shooting himself in the leg, Plaxico reportedly sought treatment under an alias and claimed the shooting did not happen at the Latin Quarter nightclub, but at Applebees. Yes, the same Applebees that welcomes portraits of small town coaches all over America. (The Smoking Gun).