“In a move that has millions across the Internet community frowning, Despair, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) had awarded them a registered trademark for the ‘frowny’ emoticon which serves as their logo. ” —Despair, Inc. Secures Official Trademark Registration for “:-(“Despair, Inc.) A good joke from 2001. They’re apparently…
“But despite the universality of URLs, we often forget that they’re not just a handy way to address network resources. They’re also valuable communication tools. They help orient users in your architecture, and can suggest whether other options are available.” Jesse James Garrett —User-Centered URL DesignAdaptivePath.com) Ironic… the URL of this article is needlessly long:…
“An Australian study on bellybutton lint, a dog-to-person translation device and an inquiry into what arouses ostriches have been recognised with Ig Nobel prizes for dubious contributions to science. The Ig Nobels, awarded annually at Harvard University as a spoof of the Nobels, recognise achievements that ‘cannot or should not be reproduced’.” Jay Lindsay —Navel…
“Better-written technical documents enable people to work with greater speed, recall, accuracy, and comfort. These qualities, when taken together, make up the usability factor. Caution: simply gathering opinions is not usability testing — you must arrange an experiment that measures a subject’s ability to use your document.” Dennis G. Jerz —Usability Testing: What is It?UWEC)…
“On the past June 15th, 2002, the US Congress officially recognized that the italian inventor Antonio Meucci is to be credited for the invention of the telephone, and not Alexander G. Bell, as so far claimed…. a poor italian immigrant in New York sold the prototypes of his invention to a Telegraph company, that later…
“WAAABOOOOM!!! A flash of light followed by a concussion of air shook the RPG fence in front of me and the safe house windows behind me. ‘Holy Schmidt (or words to that effect), that was close’ I thought to myself and ran to roust my buddies inside – Yeah right, as if they didn’t hear…
“A lot of people in the weblog world are asking ‘How can we make money doing this?’ The answer is that most of us can’t. Weblogs are not a new kind of publishing that requires a new system of financial reward. Instead, weblogs mark a radical break. They are such an efficient tool for distributing…
See sportscar. See owner take sportscar to garage. See mechanic take sportscar for joyride. See mechanic brag about joyride on bulletin board. See owner read bulletin board. See mechanic’s ass get fired. —…MAKE SURE THAT NO ‘PUNK’ DRIVES HER CARMustang Message Board) Similar:The YouTubers who blew the whistle on an anti-vax plotWhile rational minds worry…
“Every morning, between 8 and 8:30, an elderly couple take their morning walk, he in the same lightweight gray suit, she in layers of bright colorful wrappings; he in the lead, she always walking at least four feet back. Always crossing the road in the exact same spot, never speaking.” Shelley “Bb” —Morning RitualBurningbird) An…
“Say these two words to the next person you see: ‘Krispy Kreme.’ They’ll respond one of two ways. You might get a blank and puzzled stare…Or they’ll smile and start telling you a story about when they last had one of nature’s most divine foods: the hot glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut.” Stewart Deck —Krispy Kreme:…
“On June 27, 2002, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission issued guidelines that recommended that any ranking results influenced by payment, rather than by impartial and objective relevance criteria, ought to be clearly labeled as such in the interests of consumer protection. It appears, then, that any algorithm such as PageRank, that can reasonably pretend to…
“Well, I am certainly wiser than this man. It is only too likely that neither of us has any knowledge to boast of, but he thinks that he knows something which he does not know, whereas I am quite conscious of my ignorance. At any rate it seems that I am wiser than he is…
“I PROPOSE to treat of Poetry in itself and of its various kinds, noting the essential quality of each, to inquire into the structure of the plot as requisite to a good poem; into the number and nature of the parts of which a poem is composed; and similarly into whatever else falls within the…
“I have anguished over the embarrassment my speech-writing process has brought to our community. Ultimately, I concluded that it is in Hamilton’s best interest that I step down as president.” — Eugene M. Tobin —Hamilton College President Resigns — Plagiarized Welcoming Speech to Freshmen (Hamilton College) Similar:Traditional Reporters and Data-driven Analysts Both Underestimated Trump's ChancesA…
> N You cannot go that way. > S You cannot go that way. > E You cannot go that way. > W You cannot go that way. > NE You cannot go that way. > NW You cannot go that way. > SE You cannot go that way. > SW You cannot go that…
“Last Friday, several British newspapers reported that the World Health Organization had found in a study that blonds would become extinct within 200 years, because blondness was caused by a recessive gene that was dying out. The reports were repeated on Friday by anchors for the ABC News program ‘Good Morning America,’ and on Saturday…
“All you need to do is download the games, play them, and rate them. Although you are honor-bound to play and vote on as many games as possible, you may still vote as long as you have played five or more games. You may play each game for up to two hours before voting. If,…
“To be sure, writers and artists need and deserve continued copyright protection. But Eldred’s legions of backers maintain that the framers of our constitution never intended to extend that protection to the grandchildren of writers and artists. They add that it’s also pretty unlikely that struggling artists would decide not to create something today because…
“In a celebration of the Public Domain, starting September 30, 2002, the Internet Archive’s Bookmobile will be coming to a town near you, bringing with it the ability to access, download, and print one of the almost 20,000 public domain books currently available online.” —Internet Archive Bookmobile (Internet Archive) Similar:CEO’s brutalist office, for a Zoom-based production…
“In a four-paragraph release sent to area news organizations Tuesday, the sheriff department reported the investigation of several complaints of possible telemarketing fraud in the area, especially targeted at the elderly…. Detective Dan Nichols, who wrote the release, said Tuesday he did collect some of the information from The Onion, not knowing it was a…