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Who will win the office race -the digital camera, the mouse, the PDA, the remote control, the cell phone, or another hand held gadget? This is another of those creative Samsung ads that go viral about once a week. -via Bits and Pieces

Ana Rodarte was born with neurofibromatosis, which caused tumors to cover half her face. She was in her twenties when a team of doctors led by plastic surgeon Munish Batra performed a series of operations that transformed her life. A journalist followed the process and wrote about how Rodarte's affliction shaped her world. Her email correspondence is included.

"i don't want kids no, the risk is too high for me to have them be born with the same condition. . . . i wouldn't want them having to experience what i did, and i cannot work, no one will hire me so i gave up on that, and i don't plan on ever getting married, i don't believe in it."

Of course she claimed she didn't care. "Not all dreams come true," she wrote once, sounding more resigned than bitter.

In time I interpreted her rationalizations as a measure of how vulnerable she was to the truth: that she would never be married, never gaze upon her own child or be anything less than dependent on others for her livelihood, and all because of her face. I wondered if someday she would prove me wrong.

Link to part one. Link to part two. Link to photos. -via Digg

National Geographic is running a photo contest called Peeps in Places. Just take a picture of one or more marshmallow Peeps posing in some travel destination, add them to the Filckr pool, and tag them as "NGTpeeps." Due to enthusiastic response, the original deadline has been extended until Monday, April 13th. Winners get prizes from Nat Geo and Just Born (the maker of Peeps)! Link to contest information. Link to a slideshow of entries.

Today's Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss challenges you to remember the unusual way some celebrities spell their names. It's the first of a series of quizzes, today featuring female TV stars.

In this edition of Spellbound, you’ll have to key in the first names of each female TV star mentioned. Capital letters don’t matter, but spelling does - so be careful. And good luck!

I only scored 40% because I are a bad spellar. http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/24427

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From Think Family, a campaign from the National Family Council in Singapore. http://www.thinkfamily.sg/web/general/homepage.asp -via Viral Video Chart

Who knew there were so many kinds of lobsters in the world? See 19 different species in this post at Bukisa. Shown is a blind furry lobster. Blind or not, I couldn't eat something that looks at me that way! Link -via the Presurfer

Retired arson investigator and state trooper Ken Borders has opened a doughnut shop in Kentucky and named it Police Doughnuts.

"Being in police work for 32 years, it's been a standing joke that cops and doughnuts, they go hand-in-hand," he said. "I just figured that it would be a catchy name."

Borders said Police Doughnuts is meant to recall a time when officers really did hang out at doughnut shops, whereas today's police "are all into this fitness crap."

And what do the police think?

"I have two words for it: hysterical and genius," said John Keeling, a metro police patrol officer who lives in Eastwood. "I wish I had thought of it."

Louisville Assistant Chief Troy Riggs said doughnut shops once were the only places open in the middle of the night, which is why officers hung out there, establishing the stereotype.

He thinks that's outdated now, but "if it helps them do business, good for them," he said.

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090403/NEWS01/904030417 -via Unique Daily

This motorcycle helmet is DOT certified, available in several styles, for only $99. For those times your really want to strike fear into the hearts of all who see you. http://cnj.craigslist.org/mcy/1103192203.html -via Boing Boing

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This little guy looks like a Furby come to life! A commenter at YouTube identified this as the Spot-bellied Eagle Owl {wiki} which is native to southeast Asia. -via Arbroath

The 80s TV show MacGyver earned the name immortality as a synonym for a resourceful person who can solve any problem with only the objects within reach. It's also used as a verb for this process. Today's Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss will find out how much you remember about the show. I'm sure you will score better than I did! Link

There will be a lot of dyed eggs for Easter, but if you're going to eat them, you usually have to remove the colorful part first. Not so with these eggs! Jayne at Barefoot Kitchen Witch adapted the recipe for Chinese tea eggs to dye the edible parts of hard boiled eggs in bright holiday colors. You can serve them peeled in all their neon glory. Link -via the Presurfer

Tom and Ray Magliozzi are the stars of NPR's popular Car Talk, but they aren't the only people who make the show what it is. The website gives credit to a huge and interestingly-named staff. For example:

Alternative Fuel Consultant Amanda Livering Cole

Anger Management Coach Kirsten Hollered

Auto Seat Tester Fitz Matush

Bail Bond Provider Freida Gogh

Business Forecaster Luigi Bord

Door-to-Door Sales Annie Von Holm

Parts Inventory Manager Wayne Debach

Receptionist Sedona Tush

Link -via Bits and Pieces

Helmut from Austria and and Oliver from Switzerland took a train trip across Russia and into North Korea, without arranging their entrance point with the North Korean tourist agency. They took a route that was supposed to be "impossible" for tourists. In fact, the border personnel couldn't remember the last time Europeans traveled through their station.

Our two "translators" (they were about 30-40 years old) then wanted to see our passports. They thoroughly checked our visas and asked for where we were going and for what purpose (I answered by pointing on the Korean word next to the words "Purpose of entry" on my visa...). They asked for our nationality and I had the impression that they initially didn't exactly understand from what country I was from. I don't know how Austria is said in Korean language, and they didn't seem to know the Russian word "Avstriya". I finally tried to explain by drawing a map and saying that "Avstriya" is "nedaleko" (close) to "Germaniya"...
They sat quite a while with us and asked us also what was our job, what we knew about North Korea, how our media is reporting abouth North Korea, how we think about the United States, whether we have been there or were planning to go there, what we were thinking about Kim Jong Il and so on…of course we answered diplomatically.
However, they were always friendly and we had the impression that they were also very interested to talk with Europeans. Maybe it was the first time in their life they could do that.

The entire site is fascinating for train enthusiasts. If you are only interested in the North Korean part, you can skip ahead. Pictured is the Demilitarized Zone, which they visited from the northern side. Link -via reddit

The fast-paces time-wasting word game, indeed! DeepLeap is like speed Scrabble. Make words out of the letters you are given, but hurry before they disappear! Link -via BuzzFeed

Tomorrow will mark the 41st anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. LIFE magazine has published a set of pictures taken of the scene at the Lorraine Motel directly after the shooting. The photographs were previously unavailable to the public.

They were taken April 4, 1968, by Life magazine photographer Henry Groskinsky, who was on assignment in Alabama with writer Mike Silva when they learned that King had been shot in Memphis and rushed to the scene.

To their surprise, they had access not just to the motel but to King's room.

"I was very discreet. I shot just enough to document what was going on. I didn't want to make a nuisance of myself," the 75-year-old Groskinsky said in the caption to a photo showing a group of King's associates, including Andrew Young and the Rev. Ralph Abernathy, assembled inside the room.

"It's very somber, and there I am with a flash camera. So I took a couple of pictures and just kind of backed off," Groskinsky said.

Link to story. Link to gallery. -via Fark