For anyone who doesn’t already know about it, there’s an easy way to score free songs from Pepsi’s iTunes Giveaway. There’s a free song code under the cap of one out of every three bottles. You can read detailed instructions on how to win every time, or I’ll just summarize it for you:

1. At the store, tilt a participating Pepsi bottle so that the liquid almost touches the cap.
2. Look up toward the cap through the side of the bottle, just above the label. You’ll be able to faintly see the inside of the cap.
3. If you see “PLEASE” upside down or “AGAIN” right side up, put the bottle back and try another. Rotate the bottle a little bit to be sure. If you see something other than that, buy the bottle.
4. Just like washing your hair, repeat as desired.

I hope this will help anyone who’s into iTunes and doesn’t mind drinking Pepsi instead of Coke for a few weeks.

At some point, razors had only one blade. Then they had two, and then three. Next they had three blades and a lotion strip. Then three blades and two lotion strips. Recently Schick introduced the Schick Quattro, with four blades.

Well, friends, I’ve decided to make millions of dollars by inventing the next breakthrough in razor technology way ahead of its time. Introducing… DIECI.

City University has an amazing web site dedicated to Barnum’s American Museum (via bb), which was destroyed in a fire in 1865. The museum is especially interesting to me since it’s mentioned throughout the musical Barnum, which I happen to love. Anyone else who’s familiar with the musical will enjoy seeing some of the bizarre items and people (his “living collection”) that Barnum talks about in “The Museum Song.”

A few things I’ve noticed:

– When I add milk to Earl Grey tea, it tastes like Froot Loops. Perhaps that’s actually the Sweet-n-Low that tastes like Froot Loops, actually. Not that there’s Sweet-n-Low in Froot Loops, but… I think it tastes similar.

– The designers on those design shows always want to paint rooms really bright colors. And really, who does that? I mean, besides Chelsey, who recently painted her kitchen turquoise. But besides Chelsey, does anyone actually paint their walls a really bright color?

– In the winter in California, it was always colder when it rained. Here in New York, it’s always warmer when it rains. Technically I understand why, but it’s still a bit unnerving.

I’m planning to participate in the 24in48 project this weekend. I’m excited. Twenty-four people with cameraphones in New York City, including myself, will take photos this weekend and post them together on a website. They did this once before, last November.

Jason Kottke wrote about his “analog Palm Pilot” today. Clearly he is not familiar with the PaperPalm, which I wrote about a few years ago. But he should be. So Jason, if you’re reading this, you should buy a PaperPalm.

Amid all the acclaim, someone actually had criticism of Christo and Jean-Claude’s multi-million dollar art installment (via kottke.org):

As I approached the gates from the Upper West Side near the park’s northern edge, I spotted a bluff topped with orange flags. I had seen all the sketches and early installation photos and even pieces of the project being assembled near Central Park South, but still, my first thought was, “Oh, another construction site up here.”

I think the last paragraph of the article, regarding an elderly woman discussing some ducks, sums up how I felt about the experience. I quickly became bored.

Both of my morning trains were remarkably uncrowded this morning.

I walked right onto the 6 without having to squeeze myself in or wait for several trains to pass by. There was even room to read my shitty newspaper. (The shitty newspaper is free, and I have little interest in reading it, but it’s handed out at 77th Street by the nicest lady in the world, who sings, “Good morning! Have a good day! It’s a happy day! Have a lovely day!” and you just can’t say no.)

The NRW (I never notice which one I actually get onto) was even less crowded. Very few people were waiting for it, very few people got off of it at Lexington, and very few people were on it in the first place. I actually got to sit down on a bench all by myself! Oh, and now that I think of it, it was definitely a dark green or blue bench, not individual orange seats, so that means it was definitely… um… unfortunately, I don’t know offhand which train has those benches.

I’m assuming a lot of people took the day off for Valentine’s Day. Good for them. While they’re scurrying around looking for the florist who still has red roses, I’m enjoying an easier commute.

I’ve got a horrible idea, folks, and I need to pitch it to ABC as soon as possible. It’s called Extreme Makeover: World Edition, and they rebuild the entire world.

I mean, they could start out small and just do one third-world country on each episode, and eventually after a few seasons they’d be completely done. Clearly, if Ty Pennington had been in charge of the liberation of Iraq, the Iraqi people would all have Philips flat-panel televisions instead of death and rubble. So who’s gonna help me pitch this?

Dammit! Someone else built it first. Man, I coulda’ made millions. Shit.