Okay, what do you think... in memory of Douglas Adams, we all participate in Towel Day? Thanks to Nicholas C. Weaver who sent this in last week, as well as Deron deFreese and Falkenberg who sent along more recent emails about it. Towel Day, planned for tomorrow, is just what it sounds like, a day when you bring your towel with you wherever you go... even the bathroom (wait, scratch that -- I mean even to places other than the bathroom). This of course, is a tribute to what's probably the third most useful item a galactic hitchhiker could own in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy after a Babel Fish and the guide itself, and since those two items are fairly difficult to come by, Towel Day is the natural choice. In a related note, there are also plans for a Happy Adams Day on February 11, which is (naturally) the 42nd day of the year, and word is that it's possible that in the future Happy Adams Day and Towel Day may share that same date. Finally, there's also word of another planned memorial June 21-22 (which is 42 days after Adams' death), this is mentioned on the Happy Adams Day link, though it's not clear what this will entail. So for tomorrow, don't forget your towel, and don't worry that you will be laughed at... remember: "any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is is clearly a man to be reckoned with."

R.I.P.: Whitman Mayo, Grady of 'Sanford and Son,' Thanks Miquel. Surprisingly, he was only 70 (I thought he was at least that old during the show).
Story of the Day: Thunderbirds under the hammer (BBC). Thanks theAntiELVIS. Word that the Thunderbirds puppets (as well as some props and costumes from James Bond movies, among others) are going up for auction.
Weird Science: What's Next: Batteries Push Paper Into Electronics Age (NY Times-free subscription required). Thanks Jonathan C. Forster.
Wild Science: IBM offers free mainframe access to Linux developers (Reuters). Thanks Digital Silence.