Today's sponsor appreciation post is especially exciting. As I'm sure you know, our sponsors help pay the bills (and as such, you should definitely check out what they do)... but this time, our friends at Microsoft took it one step further: they've agreed to buy you one of the elusive The Daily WTF mugs.

All they're asking in return is that you sign up for a Windows Azure 30 Day Pass and try out Windows Azure and SQL Azure. That's it. Everything's free, and there's no credit card needed, or anything like that. One thing - and I blame geography on this - you do need to be a US resident, as international shipping is so expensive that Microsoft can't even afford it. Supply is limited, so sign up soon!

To get started, just follow this link and, in a few weeks time, you'll not only be more knowledgeable about Windows Azure, but you'll be enjoying your beverages in a nice, hefty The Daily WTF mug.

Additional TDWTF Sponsors
ChangeVision   Fusion Room is looking for developers in Minnesota! They're a team of expert programmers who work on web, mobile, and social applications. In addition to being rated one of the Best Small Companies to work for in Minnesota, Fusion Room is a supporter of the development community and organized the Minnesota Developers Conference And obviously, they also read The Daily WTF!
BuildMaster   BuildMaster - a new and unique platform that applies the rigor of source control and the discipline of issue tracking to the rest of the application lifecycle. By integrating with numerous best-of-breed development tools, BuildMaster automates and faciliates everything from build management to workflow-driven approvals to database change scripts to production deployments.
SoftLayer   SoftLayer - serious hosting provider with datacenters in three cities (Dallas, Seattle, DC) that has plans designed to scale from a single, dedicated server to your own virtual data center (complete with racks and all)

And now, back to our regularly scheduled, slightly off-topic program.

 

Ann M found the perfect mix of practicality and pragmatism in this ingenious appliance. Not to be be mistaken with an entry in a Photoshop contest, this electronic kitchen scale with iPod station will prove to be the greatest innovation since Braun’s revolutionary coffee maker with built-in turkey slicer.

 

"I was considering buying these gloves, but they didn't have any in the Spanish Translation version," notes Tom H

 

"The head of a development project was asked to present his 6 month plan to the CIO and rest of the senior development team," writes Charles. "The highlight was this architectural diagram made out of word art. Particularly notice the direction of the gears as a subtle joy."

 

"Umbrella, Umberlla... same thing I guess," writes Conor.

 

"I know New York City is famous for their hot dogs, but this one from the IKEA in Brooklyn is ridiculous," writes Steve, "oh wait... what's that that asterisk say? It's not actually a twenty-footlong?!? What a rip off.".

 

Mike saw this a Kauai, Hawaii airport terminal and had was never so tempted in his life.

 

Mike B found this razor sharp collar while looking at Zazzle.

 

"I recently bought one of those self-setting atomic clocks and found this stamped on the back," notes Toby Johnson. "Shelley's position in customer service may not be glamorous, but at least she has job security!

 

"I came across this at the end of a job application," writes Andrew Hettlinger. " Normally, one just has to type their name as a digital signature, but I guess that wasn't enough for this company. I had to try at least 5 times before it deemed my signature large enough to accept (per step 2). On top of that, when it did accept my signature, it completely wiped out my last name and only took my first. At least it was accepted in the end."

 

"I recently bought a ceiling lamp that came with a package of space glass instead of some spare parts," writes Reinier Bruggers.

 

Matt Thompson was poking around here and found the best acronym ever: MSBPDHRBG.

The Purpose of the Mississippi British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon Response Block Grant (MSBPDHRBG) program is to expedite and accelerate the implementation of an approved Area Contingency Plan (ACP) and "other sensitive areas" related to Deepwater Horizon Response activities. The MSBPDHRBG program will be administered jointly by the Mississippi Department of Environment Quality (MDEQ) and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (MDMR) Executive Directors on behalf of the Governor of Mississippi.

 

"So that's what raw e-books look like," writes David, "I thought they'd be more, I dunno, silicon?"

 

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