A friend of mine recently hacked his Wii and while there are obviously some legal implications with downloading games I have to admit, it\'s one of the best hacks I\'ve seen. The interface for Homebrew channel feels like a legit Wii experience. It\'s not perfect but it\'s certainly lightyears beyond the hacks I\'ve seen for the DS or other systems in terms of integrating itself.

I\'m not sure how well this would work with games from the WiiWare store but if you\'re into expanding the functionality of your gaming systems and violating some Terms of Use / pirating software; this one is well worth it.

By now I would assume you\'ve seen the new $100 bill. Many people are saying that it\'s incredibly ugly but I don\'t see it being much of a departure from what we\'ve already got in circulation... Regardless, it does make me think about the changes that our money has gone through over the years and this Newsweek article is a great example of how we\'ve gussied up our Presidential representation over the years to be a bit more \"idealistic.\" Hamilton has been emasculated over the years and Lincoln\'s nose really got a massive chop job! The changes are subtle but comparing bills from 1923 to now, you can see a big difference.

There\'s a treasure trove archive of old currency to check out online that has some pretty interesting stuff going on. The Educational series (info here) of money that was release in the late 1800\'s to act as a primer for immigrants. Pieces like this or this would be a welcome change to the portrait style we\'ve got now...

Despite being difficult to pronounce on first viewing, Akihabara looks extremely promising. It\'s a set of Javascript libraries that aid in the creation of 8/16-bit era games for a web browser. I\'m sure diving into development with it has a bit of a hurdle but the sample games created are top notch Nintendo style. The best part is that since they are all Javascript / HTML5 powered, they work on all modern browsers; including those pesky iPhone / iPads. I seriously hope loads of games come from this and I\'ll be keeping my eye on it in case they do.

Some trusted friends have recommended that I check out CloudApp - a super simple storage solution that lets you drag any sort of file into a taskbar icon and have it forever stored \"in the cloud.\" Functionally, it seems a bit redundant with Dropbox but it\'s the details that make the difference. When you drag an item into the CloudApp it automatically copies a link to it to your clipboard and also ties right into your screenshot taking capabilities - allowing you to store them directly into the CloudApp without having to drag them anywhere.

The app itself is Extendible as well so if there\'s some functionality you wish it had, you could probably make it do just that. Added to all of that, there doesn\'t seem to be any documentation on what your storage limit actually is. I refuse to believe it\'s unlimited but since it\'s not noted anywhere it\'s hard to assume otherwise.

All this being said, I suspect CloudApp will be great for quick sharing and Dropbox will be great for long term storage.

This may be a bit of redundant information from the little \"Music News\" information sidebar but I assume that\'s so far down the page no one actually sees it.. so here\'s a heads up on some of the goods:

• Dr. Dog Daytrotter Session - new songs from Shame, Shame and a reworked version of \"Army of Ancients\" from Fate.
• Hospital Ships - apparently already have an album out on Graveface from 2008 with a new one on the way.. as well as a slew of tour dates. Liking what I\'m hearing so far and suggest you dig in as well.
• The Love Language - \"Heart To TEll\" - new track from forthcoming July 13th record, Libraries.

There\'s some intriguing typography work going on at Sicksystems. I\'m partial to the simpler pieces and logos but sometimes you can\'t deny some of the craziness.

Via Miguel.

Fact: Public School did a cover for the Neighborhood issue of GOOD Magazine? If you don\'t believe them, there\'s proof.

Fact: Jessica Olsen has joined up with the Public School team doing a myriad of tasks. I\'m quite pleased to hear that two of my sets of Austin friends are now collaborating much more efficiently.

Fact: This is hilariously awesome.

Under Consideration and Brand New have launched a new endeavor entitled Brand New Classroom in which they task various students with working on re-designs on well-known brands. They are, of course, asked to show their work and to explain their choices. There\'s not a ton there yet but you can get the general idea of it all by checking out the Dairy Queen and Google redesigns.

Via Genitempo.

For today only the new De Novo Dahl record Tigerlion is available for free download right here. The legit release isn\'t slated until the end of May so it\'s a bit of a treat to those willing to succumb their email address for the tunes (myself included). Having heard everything this band has done for the past seven years I can honestly say this is their finest work. So, please, head over there and get it.

Been enjoying an in-depth browse through the work of Julian Baker. There\'s a nice combo of texturing and clean layout to his work that it\'s certainly worth admiring. I particularly like that he shows the iterations of how some of his work reached the final version.

If you haven\'t been keeping up with the goings on regarding the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption, please take a moment to do so now. I suggest checking out a myriad of unbelievable photos from here, here and here. Seeing something like this and knowing it is not a Photoshop creation is a powerful feeling - and somewhat terrifying.

New Scientist has a quick gallery of The World\'s Oldest Organisms that I suggest taking a flip through. The formations are thousands of years old and, in one case, 400,000 to 600,000 years old. Beyond the impressive length of existence the creations are just compelling to look at!

Via Courtney.

Far be it from me to support a completely unbelievable and unsubstantiated rumor but the folks over at Gizmodo are claiming they\'ve gotten their hands on the next iPhone. The level of skepticism I have for this is really out of control.. particularly when the article starts with:

It was found lost in a bar in Redwood City, camouflaged to look like an iPhone 3GS. We got it.

Right. Sure. But then it goes on and on about a lot of tech details and such that seem to support the claim. I seriously doubt a prototype would leak in this manner but the nerd in me gets kind of excited to think such a thing could occur. So, for the moment, I\'ll allow myself to believe they\'ve maybe stumbled upon something with an in-progress outer case and the proper guts (no way Apple is doing those volume buttons).

If it\'s a hoax (and it certainly is likely to be), someone went to a whole lot of work to make it happen.

White Vinyl Design has made this great musical experiment called SolarBeat which takes the orbital frequencies of the solar system and turns them into a \"simple ambient musicbox.\"

While you wait for a full Pluto rotation take a moment to browse the whole portfolio of works.. loads of great stuff to see throughout.

You may have seen this on the tweets so I apologize for the doubling up but this compilation of Japanese commercials is too good not to mention again to ensure you\'ve seen it. I wonder if commercials like the ones shown here are the average style of commercial or if they stand out among the rest.. I can\'t imagine being inundated with such craziness at all times.

Fifty-five years ago today the world lost one of their finest - Albert Einstein. LIFE photographer Ralph Morse was allowed to the document the funeral but the majority of images have been left unpublished until now out of respect to the family. Overall it\'s not the exciting of a photo documentation - seems to be just about like any other funeral proceeding - but the images of Einstein\'s desk and possibly his brain are pretty fascinating.

Heads up via Public School.

I typically don\'t get too into LOST Fan Art no matter how well it\'s done but this imagined Tarot Card Set seems to fit right in with the whole mythos of the show and has a nice creepy \"smoke\" vibe to the elements displayed on each card that I just can\'t resist.

Please watch the bonus video this week.. Samsung removed the video due to copyright violation but Rich Fulcher and lots of absurdity is involved, so don\'t miss it. Here\'s the playlist and the breakdown...

• Do Ducks Blink? - perfectly dry. It\'s like Look Around You but more infographics. Via Chris.
• Jääkaappi - I apologize in advance for sharing this but it was too weird not to...
• Hambone Kneeslap - something pure to cleanse your palette.
• Vicious Dog Man - go guys a little too nuts in his imitation of some crazy dogs. The edit on it is perfect.
• Best Cry Ever - wait for it... wait for it...
• Red Parka - after the first minute you may move along but that sixty seconds is not to be missed.
• Wes Andersons The Fellowship of The Ring - it\'s a bit of a bummer that the proper typeface wasn\'t used here; as that seems perfectly obvious but the Character Introduction shots are spot on.
• Punk Rock Kittens - I\'m sorry.. I should know better than to be amused by this but I can\'t help myself.

BONUS

• Masterpieces in 3D - Rich Fulcher narrates a walkthrough of new technology used to investigate great works of art.

Have a great weekend!

Tomorrow is the annual celebration of indie music stores; Record Store Day. If you are unaware, the third Saturday of every April has slowly been growing as a celebration of a dying breed of retail store; an attempt to remind people how important they are to the community. So, if you\'ve got a local record store - be sure to go there this Saturday and see what they\'ve got going on for the RSD celebration. This years list of exclusive releases is pretty impressive and if I have my way I\'ll be walking away with a number of great little limited edition treats.

Encountered this intriguing quote via Frank Chimero regarding the drive that humans have beyond the biological and reward response. Very interesting:

We do things even when they don’t satisfy our biological urges, win us a reward or help us avoid a punishment. We play musical instruments during the weekend simply to master something challenging. We quit high-paying jobs to take new jobs that are less lucrative but more meaningful. Human beings, says University of Rochester psychologist Edward Deci, have an “inherent tendency to seek out novelty and challenges, to extend and exercise their capacities, to explore and to learn”. Few would deny that this third drive is also part of what it is to be human.

There are those with more insightful commentary on this than I could provide but I like the idea of a Challenge Drive. Choosing to do something not because it is easy but because it is hard is something we should all get behind.