June 24, 2011
as good as the real thing
Key quote "All I can think about is that I hope that I live long enough to watch it all happen. Even if it all ends in a clusterfuck of destruction, it is going to be a lot of fun."
-- from Gizmodo
Posted by Michael at 03:04 PM
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March 24, 2011
meow
Kittens: “either smothered in onions or in a ragout they are excellent”
-
An Open Mind | Futility Closet via
Boing Boing
Posted by Michael at 12:57 PM
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February 11, 2010
Uzbeks
"An employee of the Uzbek general prosecutor’s press office said that only his manager was authorized to comment and that the manager’s position was at present unfilled."
Priceless. From New York Times
Posted by Michael at 02:59 PM
June 03, 2008
Tom Glocer sails off on a sea of others' troubles
Tom Glocer sails off on a sea of others' troubles - Times Online
In an act of callousness that might have brought a blush to the cheeks of Marie Antoinette herself, Tom Glocer, the Thomson Reuters chief executive, has chartered a yacht to moor in the harbour at Monaco just as the newly merged company announces 1,500 job cuts. The losses were put down to the urgent need to cut costs, and staffers there are understandably sick to see Glocer, as part of the group's sponsorship of F1, hire the yacht to entertain investment banking clients to coincide with the grand prix there.
Thomson Reuters is refusing to comment. Glocer made a �22.5 million windfall out of the merger between Reuters and Thomson that led to the job cuts. So 1,500 relatively poor people become poorer while a rich man, now considerably richer as a consequence, hires a yacht with someone else's money to entertain some other very rich people. Could there be a more perfect parable for our times?
Posted by Michael at 12:03 PM
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May 23, 2008
car lover
He added: "There are moments way out in the middle of nowhere when I see a little car parked and I swear it needs loving."
Man admits 'having sex' with 1,000 cars - Telegraph
Posted by Michael at 03:04 PM
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March 28, 2008
cold porn
Key quote: "I didn't recognise myself," said one soldier "Neither did my wife, thank God."
Secret Stasi pornographic films found - Telegraph"
Posted by Michael at 08:20 PM
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nice kitty
OK, props for "thinking outside of the box"; Pubic Topiary: Pube Grooming Kit Makes Your Muff Best In Show
Posted by Michael at 08:13 PM
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March 10, 2008
mmmm, bacon
Alcool + Bacon = fun
Posted by Michael at 02:35 PM
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January 08, 2008
tiny bursts of flavour
Yum! Key quote:
"This isn't the right sauce for everyone, but for someone out there, this is going to be absolute heaven. Of course, for a handful of people, it's going to be hell,"
Snacking on a wing and a prayer - Yahoo! News
Posted by Michael at 11:29 AM
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January 04, 2008
fast flu
I know 4 people who've fallen ill of sudden flu in the UK in the last week. Nasty.
"Noroviruses are a group of viruses that are the most common cause of gastroenteritis (stomach bugs) in England and Wales. In the past, noroviruses have also been called ‘winter vomiting viruses’, ‘small round structured viruses’ or ‘Norwalk-like viruses’."
from HPA | Norovirus | FAQs
Posted by Michael at 11:04 AM
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October 19, 2007
american justice
Sometimes, I really like American law enforcement.
Key quote: "This man had the nerve to raise sand about us making him clean up the mess he made in my house," she said. "The police officer laughed at him when he complained and said anybody else would have shot him dead."
Couple make burglar clean up at gunpoint - Yahoo! News
Posted by Michael at 01:52 PM
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September 15, 2005
Meow
CNN has a nice article about a terrific machine for extracting diesel oil from organic residue.
Key quote:
Koch said around 20 dead cats added into the mix could help produce enough fuel to fill up a 50-liter (11 gallon) tank.
Meow.
Posted by Michael at 09:40 AM
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August 22, 2005
Being
A wonderful, concise interview that rewards attention. Read Guardian Unlimited Film | Features | 'I am the only normal director'
Posted by Michael at 09:33 AM
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April 04, 2005
Glasteel
I grew up reading fiction that speculated on the future existence of something called glasteel -- a transparent substance strongerthan steel.
Guess what? ... Scientists develop metallic glass - Engadget - www.engadget.com.
Posted by Michael at 06:38 PM
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October 27, 2004
After law school, what's next?
Key quote: "It was her total assurance on the trampoline that really impressed us,"
-- Law graduate sets sail for Blue Peter
Posted by Michael at 11:22 AM
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September 17, 2004
Leonard
There are few things more delightful than to read of the thoughts and actions of one the rare people who demonstrate that human beings can have real value.
-- read
Guardian Unlimited | Arts Friday Review | Who held a gun to Leonard Cohen's head?
Posted by Michael at 11:19 AM
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August 23, 2004
Spices by mail order
Penzeys Spices Home Page
Posted by Michael at 10:20 PM
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August 13, 2004
Couch Potato
Hey, I can understand the attraction of sitting backon the couch, maybe having a snack and watching some TV. Eventually, though, you really need to get up again.
-- via Obscure Store
Posted by Michael at 09:22 AM
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August 11, 2004
Food for thought
And I thought Balut(recipe) was bad...
-- CNN.com - Police: Wedding guests eat victim - Aug 10, 2004
Posted by Michael at 11:05 AM
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July 16, 2004
Sancho and Hidalgo
I like these people... Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Crash mission to deflect Earth-bound asteroid
Posted by Michael at 10:08 AM
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July 08, 2004
Clippings
Oh, my: SmartKlamp: Single-Use, Automatic Circumcisions
Posted by Michael at 09:35 AM
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June 09, 2004
Listen to the universe
Take the fluctuating interference in the cosmic microwave front, turn it into sound, and Mark Whittaker gives you...this.
'This plays the sound from the big bang forward for the first 100 million years (way past recombination, almost up to the formation of the first stars). The movie shows a graph of the atomic gas power spectrum (green) and the cold dark matter power spectrum (purple) evolving with time, with the correct sound playing at any given instant. The x-axis is LINEAR in frequency (arranged for the human range) but the y-axis is LOGARITHMIC (which for sound, matches the decibel scale). In this movie, the sound is played in such a way that as each second passes the "real" time interval increases by a factor of 10. This allows one to follow both very short time intervals at the beginning (eg alot happens in the first 10,000 years), but also when things slow down (eg things happen more slowly in the last 90 million years). One sees the atomic gas powerspectrum grow after recombination as the gas falls into the gravitational valleys generated by the dark matter.'
-- from Mark's downloads page
Posted by Michael at 06:50 PM
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May 25, 2004
A thing of beauty
A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
-- via Book 1 of Endymion by John Keats
Posted by Michael at 12:50 PM
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Gee, ya think?
Gosh, James Bond may not be his real name?
"The memorandum criticizing the practice of keeping prisoners off the roster was signed by Col. Thomas M. Pappas, commander of the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade, and a James Bond, who is identified as "SOS, Agent in Charge." Military and intelligence officials said that they did not know of a Mr. Bond who had been assigned to Abu Ghraib, and that it was possible that the name was an alias."
-- From The New York Times > Washington > Abuse: C.I.A. Bid to Keep Some Detainees Off Abu Ghraib Roll Worries Officials (reg required)
Posted by Michael at 10:37 AM
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Unlocking your phone
Cell phones are often locked via software controls in order to prevent their use with other SIM cards. Popular Science, of all people, has an article on how to Take the Shackles Off Your Cellphone
Posted by Michael at 09:42 AM
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May 07, 2004
Collections
I've always loved collection nouns. It turns out the USGS has a very complete list of 'em at Animal Congregations, or What Do You Call a Group Of.....?
Posted by Michael at 03:39 PM
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April 19, 2004
The Danger Hole
"Set designer Jim Newton told me that the pinball set took over 60 days to build. The machine contained 250 pounds of steel and copper nails, four miles of electronic wiring, 38 gallons of bonding glue, as well as clear glue, 23 coiled springs, enough glass for eight to 10 car windshields, 25 gold marbles (balls) and several gallons of gold and silver paint for the pinballs. The playfield had seven bumpers complete with four enormous flippers and a huge 'Danger Hole' smack in the center."
Wow. From gameroom
Posted by Michael at 03:01 PM
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March 30, 2004
Editing Truth
A wonderful presentation on the press coverage of photos from the Madrid bombing. Excellent work by the dedicated Poynter institute...
Poynter Online - Beyond Taste: Editing Truth
Posted by Michael at 10:32 AM
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March 05, 2004
Linux
Ha, oh - stop, it hurts! Ha... hee...
"The only bright spot was that the company reported USD20,000 in revenues from its SCOsource licensing efforts, but it also recorded that the cost of the SCOsource licensing division was USD3.4 million."
Posted by Michael at 09:42 AM
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March 03, 2004
Green Eggs
"I must have gotten the knees wrong"
Hats off to Dr. Seuss. The prankster, polemicist and master of heartwarming verse is more popular than ever.
Posted by Michael at 07:00 PM
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February 19, 2004
Christian what?
"Officials at ROA Paintball, which is a member of the Christian Paintball Players Association, declined to comment Tuesday."
I'm going to need someone to explain to me why Christians feel it's appropriate to role-play combat with guns only with other Christians. Do they discuss what sort of a shooter Christ would have been, or play Romans vs. Christians?
From here.
Posted by Michael at 10:05 AM
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February 11, 2004
Burn fat chemically?
Leptin is a natural hormone that is related to your body fat. Research shows a strong positive correlation between leptin levels and: a) how much energy you produce from carb intake; and b) how much fat you've got in your body.
Interestingly, if you increase leptin levels the body starts actually burning fat. Cool.
The bad news? The body in question belongs to a rat. In humans, it appears that some mechanism stops the leptin from having this effect -- in fact, fat people have more leptin than thin, and exercise reduces leptin levels.
So... now they're trying to figure out how to get human bodies to react in a rat-like fashion to leptin...
"We would like to break down the normal defense system against leptin produced in the fat cell. If we could disable or bypass this system and transform fat (storing) cells into fat-burning cells, then we may be a step closer to solving the obesity epidemic".
- Dr. Roger Unger, the director of the Touchstone Center for Diabetes Research at UT Southwestern
Posted by Michael at 04:34 PM
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February 05, 2004
Around the world in 73 days
Speeds of 19 knots cruising, as much as 32 knots surfing! Around the world faster than anyone's ever done it, congratulations to Francis Joyon
Posted by Michael at 05:38 PM
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December 22, 2003
Not just in America...
In America, we all know that the only protection available is for corporations. This extends even into the area of liability for deaths, according to a recent NYT article: When Workers Die: U.S. Rarely Seeks Charges for Deaths in Workplace. Of course, the US isn't the only place where nasty deaths occur at work...
Posted by Michael at 01:16 PM
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December 16, 2003
Powerpoint Abuse
Too right - Doc Tufte repeats what is already well-known... Wired 11.09: PowerPoint Is Evil. My favourite PP site is the wonderful click to add title
Posted by Michael at 04:56 PM
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December 08, 2003
Christmas spirit
Dave Barry has produced another fine gem, this time on the topic of Christmas in town.
I'm happy to say that local towns in my area (Massongy, Douvaine, Sciez, Thonon) have for the most part not fallen into this trap. It's clear that the french love Christmas, and each town has lights on lamps etc. and usually a nice large decorated tree. Homes and stores, however, are generally very restrained.
When I look out my window in the evening, the only lights I see are house and street lights in the town below us (Sciez) and on the slopes of the Jura mountains across the lake.
And yet, the people I meet these days are somehow generally more cheerful, and I see that most homes have trees and/or lights in the windows. It's nice, somehow much warmer and friendlier than the 'outline every straight line in lights' school of Christmas decoration.
On the other hand, my tree still cost me 40 bucks, so some big-city habits still hold in the country.
Posted by Michael at 10:27 AM
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December 02, 2003
We miss you, Calvin...
Cleveland Scene | clevescene.com | News : Feature Missing!,Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson. Last seen in northeast Ohio. Do not approach.,By James Renner
- via Obscure Store and Reading Room
Posted by Michael at 12:02 PM
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Nous enculons le monde...
Aus aktuellem Anlass mal wieder ein Evergreen unter den politisches Filmchen:
Streaming Windows Media - funktioniert leider am besten im Internet Explorer :-(
(via
Open4all.net)