via·gric adj. Something or someone possessing a superlative quality that brings one to the brink of sexual ecstasy.

The above definition of "viagric" was put forth by Daniel Dolinov, who exhorts us to go forth and spread the word wherever possible. "Sprinkle it generously upon the ears of both suspecting and unsuspecting listeners, so that soon it will be heard all over the land and become an active part of our vocabulary (and maybe will be featured in William Safire's 'On Language' column in the Sunday Times). For extra credit, sneak into people’s computers, start MS Word, type a sentence with 'Viagric' in it, do a spell check, and when the silly checker does not recognize the word you just typed, add it into the internal dictionary."

The use of this neologism is well under way, as a quick Google search shows. Searching further, the earliest use of the word on newsgroups was on August 17, 1999:

Squickety-doo-dah, squickety-ay
My oh my what a viagric day!

However, previous uses of "viagric" seem to be describing an object as similar to an erect phallus or the actual state of stimulated erection, all in reference to the effects of the little blue pill itself, all of them synoymous to "priapic." For my part, I'm more than happy to spread the new, aphrodisiac gospel put forth by Daniel. Viagric now!

Hey, Spanish speakers: Want to know what Driver 8 reads like in Spanish? Thanks to Google's translation technology, now it is possible! Take a look while the articles on Hugh Hefner are still on the front page. For some reason, the translator can't chew past the last paragraph on the topmost article. Maybe Hef's still got some stamina in him after all.

Programmer's genius stumps investigators
By Tom Gorman
October 6, 2002

Any new details on Brett Keeton's story? Not that many, and what few there are only muddle the picture further:

September 19, a suburban Las Vegas casino: Brett is playing bingo on a machine manufactured by GameTech International Inc., a device that electronically keeps track of winning bingo numbers during a game and records those matching the players'. Brett wins constantly, calling the attention of the house. They call state investigators who review surveillance tapes and identify Brett as a GameTech employee.

The next morning, GameTech: The investigators arrive looking for Brett. They'd like to ask him a few questions, like how was he able to pull this trick. Did he slip a hack into the machines during their manufacture? Was he aware of a failure he used to his advantage? But also, why. Why do it if the winnings were just a few hundred dollars? Just for the thrill of it? But Brett never showed up and, based on the agents concerns, the company fires him. (Here the story contradicts a previous report, which mentions he "showed up for work on Sept. 20.")

That afternoon, the Keeton household: Brett and his wife, Hilary, get word of the agents looking for him. They hire an attorney, but it's too late now. He won't be meeting his client anymore.

Nighttime, the Golden Gate Bridge: Brett, having driven all the way from Reno, parks his car next to a tollbooth. He steps out and walks to the middle of the bridge. With the lights of San Francisco in sight, he climbs over the guardrail and jumps. All he leaves behind is a note in his car, whose contents haven't been disclosed. (The previous report doesn't mention the car or the note, and simply states Brett "apparently committed suicide.")

Perhaps one day the whole story will be known. For now, the only answers are those yet to be found, and the most important question is what drove Brett to attempt this scam. Dennis Neilander, chairman of the Gaming Control Board: "My experience in situations like this is, it's the thrill of trying to defeat the system. But in this case, we don't know."