Granted, blackouts are very disruptive, but did get a chance to do stargazing in the affected areas where light pollution would otherwise make it impossible?

Here are some references to "In Soviet Russia":
Everything2.com on In Soviet Russia
Also of note is their page on internet meme
c2.com on wiki on InSovietRussia
wikipedia.org's page on slashdot trolling references "In Soviet Russia"

And if you are bored enough, do a google search on "in soviet russia" and "all your base"

What are things that you do to make a minor nuisance of yourself (not major stuff that gets one fired, just small stuff to add some variety to an otherwise boring office environment)

Stuff like
Hum a tune and wait to hear one of your coworkers hum the tune back.
Or
Buy the last microwave popcorn from the vending machine, then after nuking it, swing it through the halls like an incence burner at Catholic mass on the way back to your office.
Or
Eat a couple of large Popeye's red beans and rice before that big afternoon meeting?

There are many localized spinoffs of the boardgame, Monopoly.

I'd like to see a couple of spinoffs of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego such as Where in the World is Saddam Hussein or Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden
The game could be a combination geography trivia and Machine Gun Duck Hunt or Whack a Mole.