While I’d like smoking abolished from the world, I have to admit that this British pub owner’s idea to become an embassy to skirt the ensuing UK smoking ban is pure genius. The idea is simple: become an embassy for another nation and your property is considered “foreign soil” and local laws (and taxes!) do not apply. The pub could continue to allow patrons to smoke and even sell tax-free booze.

The likelihood of this move actually working is slim, but the publicity the pub has received is priceless.

Apple’s latest gadgetmania wraps up on Friday with the release of the new iPhone at 6pm on June 29th. I wasn’t impressed by the hype until I saw the iPhone Guided Tour. This phone is damn cool, but I’m still not shelling out $600 for it, especially not for a first generation release (how’s your first-gen iPod/paperweight treating you nowadays?).

At any rate, if you’ve been oblivious to all the news, here are a few resources to catch you up:

• Find AT&T stores that will carry the iPhone on Friday night
• Check out AT&T rate plans (individual & Family) for the device
• A decent list of everything that’s NOT in the iPhone
• The WSJ’s Walt Mossberg gives a video review of the iPhone
• The freak that got in line on Monday night

So it appears our “Women of the Internet” gallery has exploded. We’re working on restoring it, but things are looking pretty dim right now. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope to have something up in the near future.

In the meantime, check out FlickrBabes.com (NSFW) for all your hot-chick-viewing needs.

From the “why can’t I meet women like this” department: A wealthy chiropractor in Florida was duped out of at least $1 million dollars over a 2-year relationship she thought she was having with Mets’ pitcher Pedro Martinez. She met “Pedro” only once and “dated” him online for the remainder of their relationship. That one meeting and 2 years of email were enough for her to shell out $450,000 for a beach-front mansion, $150,000 in furnishings, a $50,000 SUV and engagement rings.

Seriously, how do con-artists find their marks? Are there really that many ignorant people out there? This woman is a fricken doctor and couldn’t tell the difference between an online conman and one of the greatest pitchers of our time.

Not sure if this is actually being aired or if it’s just on Bud.tv, but this has to be one of the funniest [BLEEPing] ads I’ve seen in a long time:

I may have just found my new favorite channel. I used to think CourtTV just played reruns of Judge Judy, but shows like Party Police – Wet and Wild and Beach Patrol are basically Cops meet Girls Gone Wild.

Other recent shows on CourtTV include Most Shocking, Speeders and Hot Pursuit, all of which could be titles of porn movies. Obviously, there’s no nudity, but watching drunken college coeds make asses of themselves is funny no matter how many clothes they have on.

Normally, I wouldn’t link to a site named “AfterEllen.com,” but I’ll make an exception for the “AfterEllen.com Hot 100 List” which is composed of women other women find attractive.

Maxim’s hot 100 list prompted AfterEllen to build their own list and they seem pretty damn proud of the differences between the male and female voted lists. “Eight of the top 10 women on our list aren’t mentioned anywhere on the Maxim list, and only four of the women who made Maxim’s top 10 appear somewhere on the AfterEllen.com list.”

Their top 10 is admirable, although I must admit that I haven’t heard of the majority of these chicks:

1. Leisha Hailey
2. Angelina Jolie
3. Kate Winslet
4. Lena Headey
5. Sarah Shahi
6. Jennifer Beals
7. Tina Fey
8. Jordana Brewster
9. Salma Hayek
10. Natalie Portman

I wish Tina Fey was still on SNL’s Weekend Update, because her and Jimmy Fallon would have a field day with this one.

I’m sure most of you have seen the Kohler commercial where a guy sees a hot plumber babe outside his apartment and then proceeds to unsuccessfully clog his toilet with everything from towels to dog food in hopes that the lady plumber will come clean his pipes. Well the marketing analysts at the toilet company must have received positive feedback on the ad (or the hottie in the commercial) because they’ve created a site where you too can impress “Jo” as she helps you pour stuff down your toilet.

What’s missing from this game is when Rosco the septic tank guy comes and charges you thousands of dollars to clean all that shit out of your septic system. Sure it’s great that your toilet can handle a bag of dog food, but the rest of your septic system likely can’t.