Mac vs. Dos

“The fact is that the world is divided between users of the Macintosh computer and the users of MS-DOS-compatible computers. I am firmly of the opinion that the Macintosh is Catholic and that DOS is Protestant. Indeed, the Macintosh is counter-reformist and has been influenced by the “ratio studiorum” of the Jesuits. It is cheerful,…

Spoof of "Nigerian E-mail Scam"

If you’ve ever gotten a “CONFIDENTIAL” e-mail from a Nigerian official whose shift key seems to be stuck, you’ll appreciate this spoof. —Spoof of “Nigerian E-mail Scam”Palnatoke) Similar:Did you put enough donuts in the elevator shaft of your #steampunk #neovictorian cruiser t…https://youtu.be/lSgv5L0sXtc &nbs…AestheticsWhy Tetris is the 'perfect' video gameRather than wanting to make a film…

Bar Code Tech Drives Nurses Nuts

“Nurses quickly learned how to hack the system to save time. For example, if a patient’s bar code didn’t scan correctly on the first try, nurses often entered the seven-digit bar code number manually rather than rescanning it. “Nurses also felt that the computer system’s demands forced them to focus on pill-pushing. If meds weren’t…

Fifty Word Fiction

Vocation“I want to be a Bohemian, Rachel.” “A what?”“A Bohemian, a hanger onner around the arts”“I thought you already were – all that cafe society poetry stuff”“Yes, but it’s kinda hard on your own – do you want to be one too?” “Erm, can’t I be a bum instead?”Elin Merriman —Fifty Word FictionAlistair Fitchett) Click…

Ink-jet Printing Creates Tubes of Living Tissue

“Three-dimensional tubes of living tissue have been printed using modified desktop printers filled with suspensions of cells instead of ink. The work is a first step towards printing complex tissues or even entire organs.” Charles Choi —Ink-jet Printing Creates Tubes of Living Tissue New Scientist) Similar:Loved part 2 of The Importance of Being Earnest (live…

Creating a Culture of Ideas

“[B]eing innovative flies in the face of what almost all parents want for their children, most CEOs want for their companies, and heads of states want for their countries. And innovative people are a pain in the ass…. [S]ome things?the nature of higher education among them?will have to change in order to ensure a perpetual…

The Year the Music Died

“Rightly or wrongly, record companies are detested by politicians (for corrupting youth), by webcasters (for demanding royalties), and by their customers (for inflating prices). Musicians and songwriters are famous for loathing the labels… Radio and MTV aren’t in the industry’s corner… And the electronics industry’s attitude toward the labels is summed up by an Apple…

Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, Reaches its 100,000th Article

“Wikipedia ( http://www.wikipedia.org ), a community-built multilingual encyclopedia, is announcing that the English edition of the project has reached a milestone of 100,000 articles in development…. Wikipedia is a public WikiWikiWeb, a website where anyone can edit any article at any time. Users build upon each other’s edits, and vandalized articles are quickly repaired by…

A Century of Sucking

“30 August 2001 was the 100th anniversary of Hubert Cecil Booth’s patent of the first working vacuum cleaner. To celebrate, explore our Potted History of the Vacuum Cleaner, or find out more Fascinating Vacuum Facts, all illustrated with historic cleaners from the Science Museum’s collections.” —A Century of SuckingScience Museum [UK]) Similar:Facebook Spot-tests New Local…

Interesting Photo Caption…

Interesting Photo Caption…Yahoo News) Wow… that must have been some slideshow. Similar:I know that look.This was my 9yo today. She doesn’…AmusingStories from the Tall Tales Club – Episode 1 The Time ElephantI’ve had a lot of fun in this new ensemb…AmusingThe Decline of Humanities Enrollments and the Decline of Pre-LawIt’s a myth that humanities majors…

A Plan for Spam

“I think it’s possible to stop spam, and that content-based filters are the way to do it. The Achilles heel of the spammers is their message. They can circumvent any other barrier you set up. They have so far, at least. But they have to deliver their message, whatever it is. If we can write…

One Tone Isn't Enough

“It happens to everyone – you accidentally cut someone off or do something bone-headed unintentionally… wouldn’t it be nice to have a conciliatory tone to indicate that you’re aware that you screwed up, and are willing to admit it?” jzb —One Tone Isn’t EnoughDissociated Presszilla) Similar:Moving from Debate to EmpathyIn my freshman writing class, my…

DMCA: Ma Bell Would Be Proud

“Not so many decades ago, you couldn’t buy or legitimately connect your own phone or other telecom equipment to the public telephone network in the United States…. Virtually everything related to telephone communications had to be leased from the local monopoly phone company, which also performed all installations and maintenance. Remarkably, it was even prohibited…