More evidence of the collapse of civilization as we know it: a website offering instructions for making a pink-fur-trimmed “Hello Kitty” laptop. Similar:Photo of William Crowther, 2012I just noticed that a few days ago, a Wi…CybercultureRestoring the first websiteVery important bit of history. For a st…CybercultureWho cares about hyphens, commas and capital letters? You should.You’re…
“Last week’s column about the death of my son Chase from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome set off something of a chain reaction across the Net… by the time I awoke on Thursday, words of support were already in from readers in Japan, Australia, India, and Kuwait.” Robert X. Cringely —Is That a Supercomputer in Your…
“Whereas poetry uses highly-charged combinations of words, equations are the most succinct descriptions of the aspect of reality they describe. Dirac’s most famous poem enabled him successfully to predict the existence of antimatter…” Graham Farmelo —Physics + Dirac = poetry (Guardian) Similar:Wearing A Mask Is A Sign Of Mutual Respect During The Coronavirus PandemicShortly after…
Have you ever been watching a movie, with sumptuous re-creations of period costumes, hair, and furniture — only to be annoyed by the anachronistic appearance of a modern typeface? No? Me neither, but Mark Simonson has. —Typecasting Similar:Babel (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 5) Virus Garbles Everyone's SpeechRewatching ST:DS9 Overworked O’Brien …DesignOn the Importance…
“I can’t change the laws of physics!” [44k wav] says a distraught Scotty in a classic Star Trek episode. But researchers have found evidence that suggests that the value of a fundamental “constant” has changed since the universe was young. —Laws of Physics “May Change” (BBC) Similar:The Decline of Wikipedia: Even As More People Than…
(Guardian): Treating earache: 2000BC: Here, eat this root. 1000AD: That root is heathen. Here, say this prayer. 1850AD: Prayer is superstition. Here, drink this potion. 1940AD: That potion is snake oil. Here, swallow this pill. 1985AD: That pill is ineffective. Here, take this antibiotic. 2000AD: That antibiotic is artificial. Here, eat this root. —Alternative Medicine…
With a popcorn plot engineered to appeal to sci-fi fans, Portal is an “interactive novel” published in 1986, and now available online as freeware. Rob Swiggart —Portal: A Dataspace Retrieval Similar:Thine Own Self (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 7, Episode 16) Data gets amnesia at a RenFe… Rewatching ST:TNG In the captain’…Empathy‘Aims’: the software for hire…
A confusing name for an amusing medieval personality test. What kind of vocation would have suited you back in ye olde days? —KingdomalityCareer Management International) Similar:Elementary, Dear Data (TNG Rewatch: Season 2, Episode 3) When a holodeck bet spawns a fict…Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…AmusingThe Myth of the Unemployed Humanities MajorStudents who work their…
Why choose Renoir’s “Luncheon of the Boating Party” as a subject for poetry? Stewart Conn says “The painting chose me.” —Luncheon of the Boating Party Similar:Imagine, if you will, a Shakespeare course / Propos'd in blank verse like the Bard would w…Verses Proposing a New Course: “Shakespe…AcademiaMinimalist Graphic Interpretations of Philosophical Concepts — Prints by Genis Carreras …Art…
“Some weblogs wither once the first flush of enthusiasm passes, while others go from strength to strength, attracting contributions and feedback from experts and interested Internet surfers.” Laurel A. Clyde —Weblogs and Blogging (FreePint) One of her examples looks very familiar… Similar:The Most Awesome 450 Page Presentation Everhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bt9F7tKc…AestheticsIf you want to work with words, then…
Do you remember learning that black moths gained an evolutionary advantage in soot-covered woods? “Once it had been cited enough times, it became an irrefutable article of faith. Hooper’s meticulous research provides a fascinating insight into the fallibility of scientists – after all, as she points out, they are only human.” —Darwinism in a FlutterGuardian)…
(NY Times): “At its best, the Internet can educate more people faster than any media tool we’ve ever had. At its worst, it can make people dumber faster than any media tool we’ve ever had.” Thomas L. Friedman —Global Village Idiocy Similar:America’s Real Digital Divide If you think middle-class children are…CultureA comic about Seagulls. If…
“Instead of a link… put a search box on your home page.” (UseIT.com) I e-mailed web guru Jakob Nielsen on 13 March 2000, telling him that 6 out of 6 college freshman couldn’t find the “search” feature on his website. I wrote: “I think it might help if, instead of a link, you actually put…
(UseIT.com) : “A company’s homepage is its face to the world and the starting point for most user visits. Improving your homepage multiplies the entire website’s business value, so following key guidelines for homepage usability is well worth the investment.” Jakob Nielsen —Home Page Usability Guidelines Similar:10 top writing tips and the psychology behind themThere…
“All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.” — Abraham Lincoln —Tribute to Mothers Similar:No, the Fed Did Not Just Give Stock Traders $1.5 TrillionI don’t know that much about the world o…BusinessThat's my daughter in the hoop. Pippin Oct 21-23 and 27-29. Aesthetics2001: Stanley Kubrick’s Exasperating MasterpiecePosting…
“FACT: A 1987 survey found that Canadians have the worst handwriting in the whole world. They also frequently misspell the word ‘sauce.’” —The Truth about Canada Similar:Swiss cheese metaphor for fighting the pandemic: "Multiple Layers Improve Success"The anti-maskers are right when they say…CultureWAOB MisSpelled (final episode airs)The final episode of the fantasy/comedy …AmusingThe Homecoming…
“What if a dispassionate computer had been making the decisions about [Andrea] Yates’ care, rather than a human doctor sitting across a desk from her? Would a computer have left her on medication? Would her children still be alive?” Ivan Oransky —Robo-docs (Salon) Similar:The Irreversible Damage of Mark Zuckerberg’s SilenceWired, obviously having worked on a…
Geek website Slashdot was reporting, as of about 20 minutes ago (6:20 EST), that the actor best known for his role as Chief Engineer Mongomery “Scotty” Scott from the original Star Trek series, was in a coma and not expected to recover. In the time it took for me to post this message, Slashdot posted…
“I have too many books. I have begun to hate their mess and reprimand (“You haven’t read me in a long time,” or even, in the case of Silas Marner, “You have never read me”). Many of them are crap….. And yet…” Ian Jack —Throw Out All My Old Books? I Don’t Have the Spine…
Humans appear to have a hard-wired internal resistance to persuasive arguments. “Scientists are uncovering ways of making messages more persuasive. Politicians and salesmen use such tricks already. Who can afford not to read on?” —Persuasion (The Economist) Similar:Portrait of a Ten-Year-Old GirlThis thoughtful article demonstrates how…CultureLet's talk about AI art (long, scrollworthy post from The…