Friday, June 25, 2004
QOTD
"If you haven't found something strange during the day, it hasn't been much of a day." John A. Wheeler
What's the difference between a whale and a fish?
The answer, as any school child knows, is that a crumbed whale fillet would clearly be out of proportion to a scoop of chips (fries) and there's not a sheet of paper in the world big enough to wrap it.
(from Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy)
(from Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy)
'Plagiarist' to sue university
A student who admits down-loading material from the internet for his degree plans to sue his university for negligence. Michael Gunn claims his university should have warned him his actions were against the regulations. (from BBC News)
Dog toy or marital aid?
Take the test! You insert, you decide. Arf!
(NSFW unless you work at a kennel. Or a sex-toy shop.)
(via Metafilter)
(NSFW unless you work at a kennel. Or a sex-toy shop.)
(via Metafilter)
Formica
"[Formica] was intended to serve as an electrical insulator and was created as a replacement for mica, which was used for that purpose at the time. Hence the name 'for mica'."
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
QOTD
"Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath. At night, the ice weasels come." Matt Groening
It's a job thing, it's a life thing, it's a crap thing.
Have you been underpaid, over-worked and bored out of your brain? Have you been forced to carry out un-ethical procedures, massage figures, sack the innocent and promote the worthless? Is (or was) your company a major polluter? Or does your job just suck? The Idler Wage Slave Support Group
Enjoy the wit and wisdom of these legendary men and women who set their minds against endless toil. Idle Idols.
Enjoy the wit and wisdom of these legendary men and women who set their minds against endless toil. Idle Idols.
Finally absinthe is legal in Switzerland
After nearly a century of believing the hype that the green liquor could lead people to madness, the Swiss government now realizes legalizing "would actually enable authorities to control the production of the alcohol and tax its sales." Yahoo News
(via metafilter)
A detailed history and review of absinthe.
(via metafilter)
A detailed history and review of absinthe.
dittoheads (n)
People who mindlessly agree on an issue or idea because it fits in with their ideology or because they are followers of the person who put forth the idea in the first place. Originally used to describe Rush Limbaugh fans. (from wordspy)
Related "drink the Kool-Aid".
Related "drink the Kool-Aid".
Saturday, June 19, 2004
QOTD
"One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries." A. A. Milne
For the guy who defies all trends
If you are looking for unique, playful, and functional men's gifts, Danger Men Cooking® is the answer!
Gravity + other games (Flash)
Oleaginous
1. Of or relating to oil.
2. Falsely or smugly earnest; unctuous: oleaginous flattery.
adj : unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating in manner or speech; "buttery praise"; "gave him a fulsome introduction"; "an oily sycophantic press agent"; "oleaginous hypocrisy"; "smarmy self-importance"; "the unctuous Uriah Heep"
[From Middle English oliaginose, and from French oléagineux(from Old French) both from Latin ole ginus, of the olive tree, from olea, olive tree, alteration (influenced by oleum, olive oil), of ol va; see olive.]
2. Falsely or smugly earnest; unctuous: oleaginous flattery.
adj : unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating in manner or speech; "buttery praise"; "gave him a fulsome introduction"; "an oily sycophantic press agent"; "oleaginous hypocrisy"; "smarmy self-importance"; "the unctuous Uriah Heep"
[From Middle English oliaginose, and from French oléagineux(from Old French) both from Latin ole ginus, of the olive tree, from olea, olive tree, alteration (influenced by oleum, olive oil), of ol va; see olive.]
Who Says Scholars Are Humorless?
Andrew P. Morriss, "Bad Data, Bad Economics, and Bad Policy: Time to Fire Wrongful Discharge Law," Texas Law Review 74 (June 1996): 1901.
Philip Mirowski, "The Economic Consequences of Philip Kitcher," Social Epistemology 10 (April 1996): 153.
Patrick Shaw, "The Tortoise and the Prisoners' Dilemma," Mind 105 (July 1996): 475.
Donald L. Doernberg, "What's Wrong With This Picture? Rule Interpleader, The Anti-Injunction Act, In Personam Jurisdiction, and M. C. Escher," University of Colorado Law Review 67 (1996): 551.
Thomas Anderberg, "A Critique of Critics: A Visit to Humbugland," Theoria: A Swedish Journal of Philosophy and Psychology 59 (1993): 18.
(from analphilosopher blog)
Philip Mirowski, "The Economic Consequences of Philip Kitcher," Social Epistemology 10 (April 1996): 153.
Patrick Shaw, "The Tortoise and the Prisoners' Dilemma," Mind 105 (July 1996): 475.
Donald L. Doernberg, "What's Wrong With This Picture? Rule Interpleader, The Anti-Injunction Act, In Personam Jurisdiction, and M. C. Escher," University of Colorado Law Review 67 (1996): 551.
Thomas Anderberg, "A Critique of Critics: A Visit to Humbugland," Theoria: A Swedish Journal of Philosophy and Psychology 59 (1993): 18.
(from analphilosopher blog)
I hate when this happens
Pardon?
From the transcript of a phone call made by Kevin B. Wyckoff to his parents, Charles and Martha Wyckoff, a few hours after they had attended his funeral on December 22. Kevin B. Wyckoff is an inmate at the Lexington Correctional Facility in Oklahoma, where he is serving a five-year sentence for offenses including kidnapping and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Originally from Harper's Magazine, March 2004.
(via Metafilter)
From the transcript of a phone call made by Kevin B. Wyckoff to his parents, Charles and Martha Wyckoff, a few hours after they had attended his funeral on December 22. Kevin B. Wyckoff is an inmate at the Lexington Correctional Facility in Oklahoma, where he is serving a five-year sentence for offenses including kidnapping and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Originally from Harper's Magazine, March 2004.
(via Metafilter)
Feed your eyes!
If you care at all about webdesign, you should see this - Netdiver, a new media design portal and digital culture magazine.
(from metafilter)
(from metafilter)
Friday, June 11, 2004
QOTD
Father guilty of 'stupid' DIY job
Pendery's loft conversion failed miserably. A man has been sentenced to 160 hours of community service after a botched attempt at DIY.
(from BBC News)
(from BBC News)
Cliches and Mixed Metaphors
In an op-ed column in The Dallas Morning News a few years ago, Bonnie Erbe wrote the following:
"[L]ots of career women with children are tap-dancing on thin emotional tethers-mentally torn apart by the sometimes overwhelming demands of juggling family and career."
In one sentence of twenty-five words, Erbe manages to deploy five metaphors. Five distinct and clashing images. That may be the highest metaphor-to-word ratio I’ve ever seen. The first metaphor is tap-dancing. The second is skating on thin ice. The third is being tethered to something. The fourth is being torn apart. The fifth is juggling.
The mind reels. We get a sense of what Erbe is saying, but the way she says it is disorienting. Good writers do not disorient their readers.
(from analphilosopher)
"[L]ots of career women with children are tap-dancing on thin emotional tethers-mentally torn apart by the sometimes overwhelming demands of juggling family and career."
In one sentence of twenty-five words, Erbe manages to deploy five metaphors. Five distinct and clashing images. That may be the highest metaphor-to-word ratio I’ve ever seen. The first metaphor is tap-dancing. The second is skating on thin ice. The third is being tethered to something. The fourth is being torn apart. The fifth is juggling.
The mind reels. We get a sense of what Erbe is saying, but the way she says it is disorienting. Good writers do not disorient their readers.
(from analphilosopher)
the double click
Microsoft patents the double-click. Microsoft has been granted a patent on the double-click. The Public Patent Foundation is protesting this as they did Microsoft's patent on the FAT File System. Double-click today, tomorrow... typing. Bwahaha!
(from Metafilter)
(from Metafilter)
Mephisto morphed art-pr0n
Our pals at Fleshbot say:
"Sure, any hack with a copy of Photoshop and a few hours can turn women into barnyard animals, but if you want to see beautiful models transformed into slugs, chocolate bars, or five-and-a-half foot tall anthropomorphic cigarettes, you'll have to consult the work of a master. (Anyone curious to see how Britney looks as a pig, cow, or dog should check this out as well.)" Mephisto Gallery
(from Boingboing)
"Sure, any hack with a copy of Photoshop and a few hours can turn women into barnyard animals
(from Boingboing)
Saturday, June 05, 2004
QOTD
How To Make Tea - Douglas Adams
One or two Americans have asked me why it is that the English like tea so much, which never seems to them to be a very good drink. To understand, you have to know how to make it properly. From H2G2 - The Guide to Life, The Universe and Everything.
On-line "real" book
It's Not Always What It Seems To Be!
I just text messaged to say ILU
Hot-n-heavy haiku, fone-flirting, and pickup lines by text are all hot. Breaking up by SMS is not -- but it's also not entirely uncommon, particularly among late teens and twentysomethings. Fox News - Language of Love for the High-Tech Set.
(via BoingBoing)
(via BoingBoing)
Tuesday, June 01, 2004
QOTD
"It's so much easier to suggest solutions when you don't know too much about the problem." Malcolm Forbes
April Fools Days
Homepage for the laughing cartoons
Help a naked guy get through a labyrinth
And one for yourself?
Use Passport to the Pub to initiate yourself in the strange and subtle rules and customs of the British pub.
(via Metafilter)
(via Metafilter)
Top 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time
Premiere magazine has printed a list of the Top 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time. I'm not sure if I neccessarily agree with them (and from the Talkbox on the side, it seems I'm not in a minority), but it's certainly an interesting read.
(from Stormwerks)
(from Stormwerks)
Police chase vehicle - Italian style
