We've reached a landmark on The Scanner. For the first time the Scanner has dug up a use for bacon that even I'm not entirely comfortable with. That should tell you something.

Also, deep fried Cadbury Creme Eggs. That's when Easter hurts.

We just seem to be running behind schedule on the NXT Desk this week. Fear not, I think The Scanner will make up for it this week. It's got peeps, bacon, cute pets and a horrific new twist in The Snuggie.

My weekend plans got thrown out the window the other day. Why?

I found out I would be going to South By Southwest Interactive.

So much for college basketball...time to pack the multimedia jump kit again.

You know, when I first started up the Scanner a few years back, I really wasn't sure what to make of it. All I knew is I needed some place to collect and run down all the hilarious/awesome/bizarre/amazing stuff that pops up on the Internets.

There really is no other way to explain how Tom Brady's wife, a cover of Rush's "Limelight," Dr. Mario and more Facebook shame fit together.

When you flip the on switch to The Scanner each week it's impossible to know what you're going to get. How else could we end up with legislators trying Cocaine, a Twitter War, gold parties and ethical questions on porn?

The answer is meh.*

(*Why "Meh?" See below.)

How do Michael Jackson's garage sale, the Large Hadron Collider, the Snuggie and booze "shot guns" all fit together?

In the Scanner of course. He insanity (and inanity) of a week's worth of the Interweb's best.

It's no secret to anyone who has spent 5 minutes online that the Internet has made snooping on your friends, family and neighbors a lot easier.
But these days, as new social networks, mobile devices and location-based applications continue to spring to life, the question is becoming "what's acceptable stalking?"

First time I fired up the Scanner in 2009 and it ran like a dream. I take it as a good sign that no matter how times change or how crappy the economy gets, the Internet never seems to run out of hilarious, disturbing and downright bizarre stuff.

Dive in.

The long arm of Google has finally reached Maine, and now a lot of us are going to be spending time reading maps.

Google quietly increased its coverage of the "Street View" feature of Google Maps, and it now includes Maine.

Observe Press Herald Plaza.

The weekend that was, uh, was, a tiring one. Pop!Tech put a serious drain on the batteries, but I won't let that stop me from serving up some of things you may have missed in the last 72 hours.

The Monday fix was a bit of a necessity for me this morning, as I was off in Chicago over the weekend and in somewhat of a media blackout. No news, no blogs, not even a single Tweet for two days.

Actually, that was kind of nice, now that I think of it.

In these unsure times of financial turmoil, rest assured that some things are always constant, like The Scanner.

That is until The Scanner becomes insolvent and has to file for bankruptcy or gets bought out by AOL, who in turn gets bought out by General Electric, and so on.

So, relax. Really.

Oh sweet Internets, you'll never let us down. You're like the cow that never runs out of milk. Really, really bizarre, sometimes unfortunate, milk.

Uh...that means it's time for The Scanner!

Typically the only Mainers who get national exposure for their viral videos are the guys over at Eepybird.com whenever they roll out a wacky new experiment.

But over this last weekend, it wasn't a couple of guys in lab coats and some exploding Diet Coke - it was a local TV anchor and a presidential candidate.

Deep below a picturesque village on the Swiss/French boarder, scientists are toying with the very bits that may have started life in the universe.

Scientist! Toying! Universe! Doesn't anyone else see what this means?

SUPER SCIENCE!

I think I'm pretty typical of people my age in that I've got an online presence that doesn't take too much digging to find. I'm on the usual collection of social networking sites - MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter among others.

And like most folks I hopped on the social networking train with the same general concept most people have - staying "connected."

But what does that really mean?

We're back at full strength here on the NXT Desk, and we've got the Scanner all fired up and ready for another week's worth of fabulous Internet treasures.

Rob Landry asks why you wouldn't want to start up a web business here in Portland?

To begin a story about Web design in Portland, Maine, I'll start in the Atlanta airport.

That was where, while I was waiting to board the connecting flight that was to take me to the 2007 SXSW Interactive conference, that I found myself standing next to Andy Clarke. He isn't exactly a household name, but in the world of Web, Clarke - an expert on CSS and a member of the Web Standards Project - is a rock star (he even actually looks like a rock star, a cross between someone from the British Invasion and Austin Powers. You have to admit - he's got style).

Though I was kneecap deep in local stories while I was working at Press Herald Plaza over the weekend, something that came across the NXT Desk shocked me.

"Pandora Close to 'Pulling the Plug."

Wait...what?

By now most of the free world has gotten the word that Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama plans to announce his choice for vice president over text message and e-mail soon.

Aside from the gee-whiz (yesterday was neat-o, now it's gee-whiz. I can't explain it) and "shaking up tradition" factors, what does it really mean that a major party candidate for president is sending out major decisions the same way you make weekend plans with your friends?

One of the more inescapable news stories today is Apple CEO Steve Jobs' speech at Apple's Word Wide Developers Conference today.

Apparently it's a widely held rumor that Jobs plans to announce a next generation iPhone today.

But what if he doesn't?

Since DVD was effectively snuffed out of existence (by its own maker, how tragic), there are questions that need answering.

Most importantly – if you completely bought in to one format or another, were you setting yourself up for a fall?

Get an energy bar and a Red Bull, it's time for the weekly dose of all things tasty, techy and pop-culture-y (yes, that is not a word.).

Time for to fire up The Scanner.

Was there something going on at Portland High School yesterday?
I drove past there and it looked like the entire city was trying to get in there.

Since I'm the closest thing to a "technology" reporter for this fair establishment, I'm setting aside the pop culture in this week's Scanner in favor of more gadgets, toys and expensive high–tech goodness.

Why, you may ask?

CES.

Sure you like to think your time is precious, especially at work, but come on ... don't fight your inner procrastinator.

Succumb to The Scanner, it will waste your time in ways you won't feel so bad about.

Here are a few things I'm wondering from yesterday's big news that Verizon is opening up its network to any device with wireless capability.

The big footprint here obviously is that if you like your phone (and it's not an iPhone), you can take it with you over to Verizon.

It's been a busy week here at NXT, what with all the Democracy in action, late nights, meat pies and cocktails.

Wait, that's another story entirely.

Anyway, I haven't been around blog-town much this week, and for that I apologize. Not that anyone's looking forward to a daily dose of NXT, but what good is this thing if I don't update it regularly?

In recent years Apple has become a behemoth, known for its unrelenting release of new products and software innovation. (Also well known for forcing the lower-case "i" onto the world and Steve Jobs' love of black turtlenecks. All that money, where's the style Jobsy?)

In case you did not hear, Apple is making yet another stab at global domination, or at least cornering the coveted "Back-to-School!" market. They have released the newest iMac. It is sleek, cold and exhilarating ... according to all the news coverage and geek lust.