On the nose

Found in Melbourne CBD: Numerous evidence bags containing white powder and a plastic spoon.
Lost in Melbourne CBD: Credibility of one Sydney marketing company who reportedly planted 300 of the evidence bags around the city to promote the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Comicide. At least two of the "authentic" looking bags were handed in to police - although it's unsure if those handing them in had read the instructions on the label which would have landed them free tickets to the gig.
No mention was made of the fate of the other bags; what the white powder was, and whether it would harm anyone ingesting it (thinking, perhaps, it was something else).

Contracting service

It's not often that my dissatisfaction with a service coincides almost exactly with the expiration of a contract for that service. Yes "3", this is about you - and that the internet service I've been receiving on my phone seems to have "dried up" - all of a sudden places where I had coverage before have now become "Roaming", with either a loss of service or, so it seems, a service will be available but at an additional charge per Megabyte. Not happy. Research into other providers about to start happening - and yes, I'll pop in to one of your retail outlets for a chat as well. (I can't help but wonder if this has something to do with a rumoured merger with Vodafone.)

Safety first

You know when safety has been inculcated in you when you are early into the parking lot, there are heaps of available spaces, and your first thought is driving into a space you can drive, not be forced to reverse, out of - rather than parking undercover because it looks like rain.

Changing the formula

It doesn't seem like 24 years ago - but it is - that Coca-Cola replaced its traditional secret receipt with "New Coke" - which fell flat and had the company revert to the original recipe after sales declined. To paraphrase another logo ... when you're on a good thing (business-wise) ... stick to it.

Hold the phone

When is a phone not a phone ... in terms of driving and "talking" on the mobile phone. Each year in Australia, more than 40,000 people are fined for talking on their mobile phone while driving. But what constitutes "talking" - is it having your mobile phone in your hand, in a stationery vehicle, while you transfer it to the handsfree set-up? Or is it using the organiser features of the phone while stationery? Does there have to be talking involved? And why are there only 40,000 people a year pulled up for this - on any day in the Sydney CBD I can clock up to 10 in 10 minutes - anyone doing the math can work out there should be heaps more because the message about not using your mobile while driving certainly hasn't gotten across to lots of folk. (Revenue each year from mobile phone-related fines - $9 million - and rising?)
But maybe using a mobile phone while driving is safer than what a Norwegian man and his girlfriend were doing - as well as 133km an hour in a 100km zone on Easter Sunday. The report I read said the man faces a "heavy fine and driving ban" after police caught him "having sex" while driving. No further details were provided.

Reviews

When you're planning to go to a movie - do you read the reviews before you go? And if you do, do you want to know the whole plot or just how many stars, the reviewer gave it, plus their general comments? I've been more than a little disappointed a few times because I've tried not to read/watch/listen to anything about an upcoming film - except perhaps the trailer - but even that can be misleading, or contain too much information (eg The Reader - "the secret" wasn't that hard to work out). I know other people just want to "know" - and I wonder if the desire to know what it's about before you settle into a darkened theatre (because surely it's a different experience and expectation if you've shelled out to see a film on the big screen) depends on whether you arte a child "of the screen" or "of the book". It seems that sometimes this is the big divide between folk - not necessarily which "generation" they belong to. And speaking of "generations", according to the TV ads we're currently being bombarded with, a new quiz show is about to hit our screens - pitting the generations - X, Y and Baby Boomers - against each other. This is slightly more appealing than a new reality show I've heard about - a direct result of the economic downturn perhaps - where workers at a company decides which of them should be "let go".

Angel over Marrickville

On Anzac Eve, the statue atop the First World War Memorial at Marrickville Town Hall has been removed for a long-awaited restoration. Pictures of the removal are here.

Fighting the Club

News yesterday emerged of a fight club - involving very young (4 years old?) boys. Footage showed two boys punching it out, using boxing gloves but without protective headgear. One boy is obviously outclassed and goes down, when hit, at least twice. In the background, at least one male voice encourages the other boy to keep hitting him. When the boy does the sensible thing, and runs away, he is brought back to continue the "fight" so the other boy can "finish him ... finish him". (Has violent behavior become more prevalent since mobile phones became capable of capturing/sending video footage - and since YouTube grew in popularity?) Investigations by the police and child welfare agencies are underway. I'm still deciding whether to watch a current affairs program this evening to see the person who thinks the fight club is a "good" idea.

Not true blue

On a current affairs television show last night there was talk of the increase in cheating at casinos as the economic downturn bites deeper. Of the various methods shown, the one that wasn't shown was the one that made front page news this morning "Casino Fake Chips Alert" - and they weren't talking about fries. Seems Melbourne's Crown Casino has found some near-perfect fake $1000 chips - and is checking the authenticity of all of its chips. They've also changed to a batch of dark blue-coloured chips rather than the "compromised" royal blue $1000's - 36 of which were found in their checks. There was no word about the cost of the loss to the casino - but it does raise an interesting question - does it know how many chips are in circulation in the casino at any time? (I don't really need an answer to that.)

Collectables

To the casual observer (that would be me) it could seem like a strange pairing - an exhibition currently on display at The University of New Hampshire - of the Betty and Barney Hill* Collection: highlighting the couple's reported alien abduction as well as Barney's civil rights activism.
* Betty and Barney Hill rose to fame after they claimed to have been abducted by aliens in September 1961 - it is an amazing account. The exhibit features “Junior,” the leader of the aliens depicted in a sculpture and drawings, the dress Betty wore the night of the abduction, and documents about the abduction.

On the up and up?

Arriving at the local coffee shop this afternoon, I was surprised to see they were being visited by the police. Apparently someone had been in a little earlier and tried to fiddle with one of the sensors for the alarm system - turning it towards the wall so it would not register movement. Is crime going to become more prevalent/increase in severity as we move deeper into the economic downturn?

Whale of a story

Okay, it's actually about a shark. This quote from fisherman who, in February, caught a large shark in Sydney Harbour. "Ours was at least 300kg, it took five of us to get it in the car and take it home." Wonder how they fitted it in - what happened to it then.

(Not so) happy meal

After all that, did McDonalds go ahead and raise their prices in Sydney's Western Suburbs? There was a report in the press in late February that McDonalds was planning on putting prices up (more) in some suburbs because it was thought they would accept higher charges - now that the chain is reportedly relying on socio-economic factors rather than restaurant overheads as a key criteria in its new demand-based pricing. One "definite", and large, price rise is slated for May, when the cost of a children's Happy Meal will rise 70 cents, from $4.25 to $4.95.

Job threats

Are you one of the many people who have applied to recent job advertisements for Posties (to deliver mail by motorbike)? Wouldn't you have liked to know this before then? Australia Post said that last year there were 340 incidents in NSW and the ACT where posties were attacked by dogs (approx 170), injured by vehicles (55 reversing from driveways and about 100 on-road accidents), and because of unsafe letterboxes. Sounds like a justification for "danger money" if there was ever one.

English usage

Words and their use in common English can be confusing and raise more questions. Take for example this entry in today's On This Day (The Daily Telegraph): "2007 - Virginia Tech student Cho Seung-Hui shoots 32 fellow students and then himself in the deadliest peacetime shooting in US history." Note the use of "peacetime" which wasn't carried in other On This Days I looked at on the net (at least one of which didn't include this event at all). Does leave it open to some thought - especially if you think of "shooting" in terms of one or two people doing the shooting. Were the others in wartime, as opposed to "peacetime" - and what were they?
Other confusing language use - the report, also in The Daily Telegraph, of riot police at a Sydney university after they were called in response to a "disturbing" letter. They were at the campus yesterday "following last week's discovery of a letter in the student administration centre". Hmmm ... "a" letter, as opposed to "the" letter. All (or both) very confusing language.

Hindsight

On 15 April 1788, early settlers in Australia found something they were not expecting and which, according to all common knowledge, could not possibly exist: yes, they found black swans which , says On This Day in The Daily Telegraph, were a "creature from ancient mythology". So rare were they that there was a belief that "all swans are white" and "black swan" had become a metaphor for something that could not exist. Now "black swan" has been adapted in Nassim Nicholas Taleb's theory to mean a large-impact, hard-to-predict, and rare event beyond the realm of normal expectations - such as the rise of the internet, the personal computer and World War I. (Thanks Wikipedia.) While others have dealt with the notion of improbability as it relates to its role in human history, Taleb suggests that "almost all consequential events in history come from the unexpected" and it is only in hindsight that we convince ourselves that these events are explainable.
Another piece of information gleaned from reading about this, John Stuart Mill, who first used the Black Swan narrative to discuss falsification, was greatly influenced in his studies by his wife, and then daughter, who were instrumental in his work in human (and women's) rights. He and his wife, who was already married when the met, shared what Wikipedia described as a close but chaste friendship for 21 years - before her first husband died and she and Mill married.

Retail lust

It's not often these days that I get hit with a bad case of the "I wants", but I had it yesterday when I read that Air New Zealand was selling off one of its Boeing 747-400s, admittedly without seats, for the very reasonable price of $10 million. Not quite sure what I'd do with it, since I don't have a lock-up garage and I couldn't afford to insure it, but it seems like too good a bargain to let pass.

Untrustworthy plant

A Polish man has plunged to his death from the cliffs of Devon in the UK while having his photograph taken. Usually it's the photographer who comes to grief in these situations, not taking notice as they take another step backward to "get the shot". In this instance, the man was posing for a photograph, holding on the cliff by a tuft of grass. Unfortunately, the grass gave way under his weight and he fell about 100m to his death. A couple of comments accompanying the report I read in the Daily Mail Online suggested that he could be a Darwin Award* candidate, and that the local council needs to employ an IPO (Idiot Prevention Officer). On a more serious note, this preventable tragedy has resulted in local authorities renewing their warnings that cliffs can be dangerous places, especially as a Russian tourist also fell to his death earlier the same day.
* "The Darwin Awards salute the improvement of the human genome by honoring those who accidentally remove themselves from it." (Visit www.darwinawards.com for past winners)

Age-old comment

It's funny that within a couple of days I've come across the same "thought" attributed to different authors. Of course, it's not a "new" thought, and is the basis of the "Up" series by Michael Apted, premised on the Jesuit motto: Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man.
Charles Darwin: It is worthy of remark that a belief constantly inculcated during the early years of life, while the brian is impressible, appears to acquire almost the nature of an instinct; and the very essence of an instinct is that it is followed independently of reason. (The Descent of Man)
Vladimir Lenin: Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted.
Seems there's absolutely nothing new in show business.

Happy Birthday

Gertrude Baines turned 115 this week and while some people attribute their longevity to specific things eg herring and orange juice (not in the same glass although you can find recipes for them together on the net) she credits "her religion and clean living". I prefer the more pragmatic answer my great-grandmother gave when being interviewed on her 100th birthday. When asked how she'd lived to be 100, she replied "because I haven't died yet". Alas, she died not long after, within the week I think, just after receiving a congratulatory message from The Queen - which is not to say they found her with the paper crumpled in her hand - but I'm fairly sure it was the next day.

Fair cop?

It's been a while coming but two police officers who accessed confidential records and told a prisoner that his girlfriend had previously been a male (resulting in her being bashed when the man was released from custody) have been sentenced . The constables have, according to a report, "showed no contrition". The sentence - perform 125 hours of community service. It would be interesting to know if an area for that service had been nominated by the sentencing judge. There was no mention if the pair had faced departmental discipline and/or counselling for their actions. Nor how the ongoing revelation that the woman was a man affects her each time the details, including her name, are published in media reports of the trial. (I'm still not quite sure on how the privacy laws work.)

A little cross

Actually, it's not a little cross that has caused a few people to get more than a little cross. It's a life-sized work entitled "Naked Woman on Cross" by sculptor Mitch Mitchell who says it is meant to portray the suffering of women around the world. In a report in The Daily Telegraph, Mr Mitchell says he has travelled to 35 countries and found downtrodded women in all of them. Alas, one church leader suggests that he's confused the imagery. Said Francis McNab, St Michael's Uniting Church chief minister "... it's a shame he chose to sexualise it by the use of a younger female. Older woman had to suffer longer and much more." However, it's doubtful that even the depiction of an older woman would have made the work more palatable to some. Perhaps it would have caused less of a stir if it hadn't gone on public display so close to Easter. It would be interesting to know if it would be more culturally acceptable in places like the Philippines, a country with a large Christian influence but which sees some young men physically crucifying themselves each Easter.

Abundantly clear

I followed a link from The Feminist Bookshop's Facebook entries yesterday and ended up at the "Mega site of Bible studies and information" because their link (now corrected) directed me to feministbookshop.blogpsot.com instead of feministbookshop.blogspot.com - note the transposition of the letters in red. Funny that that should happen, thought I, and went on to investigate a little further this morning when my brain had kicked in. Seems that the blogpsot.com domain points to Abundantbible.com and any Blogger blog you go to with a mistyped "blogpsot" will take you there instead. Now that's really using the net!

Photos online

News just in ... life.com is online (admittedly in Beta but it's there) for your daily dose of sensational photographs from around the world. Or, if you prefer something closer to home - and really there's no contest - there's always my daily photo blog - because you have to start somewhere!

Song titles

Who knew? Award-winning songwriter/singer Janis Ian (Happy Birthday for today!) is also a science fiction writer. It gives a whole new meaning to her 1980 hit "The Other Side of the Sun".

Metre made

213 years ago today, in 1795, the French introduced the metric system of weights and measurements. The metre was 1/10,000,000th the distance between the equator and the North Pole. (Small pause while calculator is hunted out - and just as well - make that 214 years!) However the word was around a little before that when Italian scientist Tito Livio Burattini used it in 1675 to rename the Universal - a (decimal) measure proposed in 1668 by Englishman John Wilkins in "An Essay towards a Real Character and a Philosophical Language". Hmmm - the net is a wonderful thing. In a very quick, but very interesting search, it variously reports the launch of the metric system as 1791, 1795 and 1797 - and I'm not even thinking about the actual date any more.

Plain sailing

Looking forward to going on the Maiden Voyage of the new Cunard line "Queen Elizabeth" in May next year? Well, unless you were one of the lucky ones who bought their tickets within 29 minutes of the tickets going on sale, you're out of luck. Previous record: 36 minutes - for the final voyage of the QE2.

Misguided help

Nadya Suleman received a baby's car seat during the week - unfortunately it was thrown through the rear window of her vehicle. Ms Suleman is famous for being the mother of 14 children - including eight at once earlier this year, earning her the title of "Octo mum". Her nannies found the seat lodged in the shattered window when they arrived at the house for work. It's unfortunate because while Ms Suleman needs all the help she can get, it would probably have been cheaper for her to buy another baby car seat herself rather than having to replace the car window. Or maybe this was another of those instances where someone is showing their scorn for Ms Suleman's maternal instincts and actions? There's apparently been a bit of that.

'Armless joke

It probably seemed like a good idea at the time ... April 1, an observer on deep sea fishing vessel, and news of a severed human arm in the net. It was a report that was taken seriously and the police were on the verge of a major search and rescue operation - to find the rest of the person belonging to the arm - before the observer admitted it was an April Fool's Day prank - which will now be the subject of a departmental, and possibly a police, investigation. April Food's Day jokes aren't what they used to be .... ahhh, the spaghetti trees.

No honour (among thieves)

Who knew that American outlaw Jesse James was shot in the back after a reward was posted for his capture - presumably "Dead or Alive"? The shooter was one of Jesse's own gang - one of two brothers Jesse had moved in to help protect him. Jesse might still be alive today (well, not really) if it had not been a hot day, if he'd not taken off his coat, then taken off his guns so he wouldn't look suspicious (in the robberies planned for that day), and if he hadn't noticed a dusty picture on the wall - and then stood on a chair to clean it. It was then that Robert Ford shot James in the back of the head. They say that "Cleanliness is next to Godliness" and in this case, perhaps it was.
Also something I didn't know, rather than just being an "outlaw" there are suggestions that Jesse and his brother, Frank, were Confederate guerrillas in the American Civil War - before going on to be what Wikipedia calls a "regional insurgent" post-War.

Tea stainer

There's research findings ... and then there are research findings. Latest news from some American dentists is that white wine stains your teeth. Well, actually, their tests were carried out on cow teeth because the surface of cow teeth closely match those of humans. They immersed the teeth for an hour in white wine - to simulate drinking wine with a meal - or water. Then they immersed the teeth in black tea for an hour. The teeth soaked in the wine turned darker than the teeth soaked in the water. So it's probably more accurate to say that exposure to white wine allows chemicals from other food and beverages to penetrate the teeth. Whether it's a fair test to immerse the teeth for an hour in each substance and suggest this replicates drinking substances, and using cow teeth rather than human teeth, to reach their conclusions is open to conjecture.

Hold the phone

On 3 April 1973, it's claimed, the first non-car mobile phone was made by Motorola executive Martin Cooper. It was on the streets of New York - and he was talking on a ... shoe-shaped handset! The shoe phone was, of course, made famous in 1965 by Control secret agent #86 Maxwell Smart, who was anything but. Luckily he was assisted by Agent #99 who was billed as the "clever one" - and, it seems, she was. Back in 1955, she won $64,000 in the television quiz show "$64,000 Question". Her special subject? William Shakespeare.

Paying for it

It kind of takes away the whole attraction of social networking on the net if you're expected to pay for it. Apparently there's a plan afoot to make Facebook users pay a fee - I'm not sure how that would work - would you pay on a per view basis, per device, per message or notification? And how will the marketing work given the application started out as and is currently free? Would it offer a "premium" service similar to the one offered by Hotmail (not sure if it still is) so you could have your Hotmail automatically forwarded to another account? Interesting times - especially as many ponder if Facebook would be worth paying for. Hmm - what do I use it for?
I've also heard about something else like this, is paying for a service that was previously free, but I seem to have blocked it out completely.

Pass

Position vacant:
Waitress/er classy lingerie restaurant, well presented, flex hours, top $$, student/tourist welcome, no exp nec. [Phone number snipped.]

Classy eh?

Hot stuff

I love The Simpsons episode where Homer hallucinates after eating chillis and starts the search for his "soul mate". You too can have hallucinations after eating chilli if this report is anything to go by. It seems that jolokia chillies are the hottest in the world - tipping the scoville scale more than 30% over the previous record holder - the habanero. Australlia's Chilli Factory is now producing the jolokia - in three varieties - and they are so hot they cannot be handled or cooked raw. Half of one chilli was enough to send Marcel De Wit's wife for a lie down - "she didn't know what was happening. Her head was spinning, hallucinations ..." The chillis will be made into paste, which will be launched at this year's Royal Easter Show in Sydney. So, if you want to have a chance to name this, what promises to be a flaming hot product, go along to their stand (#56 in the Food Hall) for a taste test and enter their competition.

Police procedure

Bikie gang member Peter Zervas was shot late on Sunday evening, a week after his brother Anthony was bashed to death. Peter was warned days before his shooting that his life was at risk. So, knowing this, what efforts were put in place to protect him? A report in The Daily Telegraph suggests his club, Hells Angels, refused to co-operate with police attempts to secure his safety. Now, I'm not sure if this is related, but the report also says that "His refusal to become a police witness meant he was not eligible for ... witness protection". So at what point does police protection for an individual kick in? This is probably something Peter won't waste time on ... he had surgery yesterday and has been listed as in a serious condition.

Testing times

When I went into the CBD the other day, I noticed the message "This is a test of the CBD emergency warning system" scrolling on a fixed electronic board. It occurred to me that they would need to have a few people out and about in the city to check all the boards, and wouldn't it have been nice if they could have tailored the message to something a little more "useful" - certainly it shouldn't have mattered what the words were as long as they were there. The next time I thought about the system was last night, when a power failure blacked out a large portion of the CBD. At least, I thought, the emergency warning system would be useful in advising people of ... well, I wasn't totally sure "what" but it was an option. Ahem. Perhaps not. It seems the emergency warning system runs on power and there is no back-up, but, not to worry, we were advised, because even if the system had been working, it wouldn't have been used because it wasn't ... a terrorist attack. The outage was caused by a "fault" in a 132,000 volt power cable - but no remedial action could be taken until the power authorities determined which one (of four possibiles). The cause of the "fault" appears to have not yet been made public - but at least we know it wasn't a terrorist attack - otherwise the emergency warning system would have been used ... Mind you, and it's obviously a moot point,wouldn't it have been reassuring it the system could have been used to advise people that it wasn't a terrorist attack?
An SMS alert informing 2400 building wardens of the blackout did get out - after 40 or so minutes, and after most buildings had been evacuated.
(Information taken in part from an Exclusive in today's The Daily Telegraph.)

No harm in asking

In the last few days, he's asked for the door to be left slightly ajar and to have a massage - which has led to the reported comment from an insider "Clearly it hasn't sunk in yet where he is". The "where" is prison where disgraced judge Marcus Einfeld will be until March 201! It does seem a price-to pay for lying over a $77 speeding fine. I wonder - can GST registered entities claim the GST portion back - that's if it applies?
(Source: The Daily Telegraph.)

Buried Alive

Planning to go to this year's Easter Show in Sydney?  Looking for something new in the rides department?  Well ... you can try "Buried Alive" - the ultimate horror simulator attraction.  I don't think it's for me - I remember the problems I had getting onto the ghost train ride some years ago - the ride itself wasn't an issue - it was walking through the pitch black to get there - the imagination is a strange and frightening tool.  Want to know more about Buried Alive?  It's apparently the latest motion simulator hailing from the US and the site warns "watch out for bugs". Hopefully this is the horror kind rather than the technical kind - although perhaps "hopefully" isn't the right word in this context. The good news is that you"ll be able to watch your mates on an infrared camera - because, you know, these things aren't as much fun if you go it alone - or if you're claustrophobic, or likely to be influenced by a "haunting soundtrack". On second thoughts, I might go along for a look - actually a listen, because there's nothing quite like the sound of people being parted from their hard-earned cash, and being scared witless in the process. (Can you tell I come from a "show" tradition?)

Electioneering

Sitting at a coffee shop this morning, I heard a man excitedly telling someone that elections are currently being held in Lebanon and they are paying people's airfares to get them to come back to vote. They also pay for motel accommodation but his friend who had taken up the offer had opted to stay in the village instead. Not sure if it's true or not but you'd think that a system for postal voting would be a lot cheaper although not nearly as people-friendly.

Comment: Garbage

Letter to the Editor, The Daily Telegraph, commenting on NSW Premier Mr Nathan Rees, who used to be a garbage collector:

"I would not trust Nathan Rees to bring in my garbage."

(My emphasis - I could have sworn it worked the other way!)

Hold the phone

How much are you paying for your SMS text messages? An article in The Daily Telegraph this week (I do their crosswords and puzzes) surprised me - at 25 cents per 160 characters, that puts SMS messages at $1000 per megabyte. It's a pretty penny to pay - and if they weren't included in my phone/data plan already, I might have to think seriously about using them as a (serious) communications method.

Pocket watch

The broad-headed snake is the most endangered in Australia - apparently because of encroaching bushland. However, I am confused - or I could just be reading the situation incorrectly. According to the article I saw in The Daily Telegraph "The snakes are only found in small pockets within 200km of Sydney". Rather than the researchers suggesting more bushfires might be the answer to saving the broad-headed snakes, shouldn't they be looking to have more people with clothing with small pockets move into the areas?

Freedom of Information

News yesterday of proposed new Federal freedom of information laws here in Australia that would mean the Government could not refuse a request on the grounds that it would embarrass them. Neither will they be able to refuse on the basis of causing misinterpretation of its activities or causing confusion or debate. Why is it that I’m getting the feeling that freedom of information prior to this hasn’t really been … especially since application fees have been charged. The report I read in The Daily Telegraph (“Still only $1”) did not say when the draft legislation is likely to be enacted.

Cheerio Homer

Homer passed away earlier today from lymphoma complications.  He was 15. This is him in happier times, doing one of his favourite things (he had many) - playing the bed game. Thanks for spending the time with us Ho. You were terrific and it's not going to be the same around here without you.

Great Escape?

Most of us remember the iconic scene where Paul Newman's - big oops - that should be Steve McQueen's* character, on the run from the Germans, riding a motorcycle which was later (reportedly) used by The Fonz in "Happy Days", attempts to jump a fence to freedom. Of course, some of us cannot remember whether or not he made it (or, apparently who "he" was). The question is not that ... but rather whether the film "The Great Escape" was based on the real life escape On This Day in 1944 where 76 prisoners of war escaped from Stalag Luft III. Only 3 made it to "freedom". Of the others, when recaptured, 50 were executed as an example to the other PoWs. (How much has film and television done to desensitize us to the real impact of war?)

*The bits in red were added as an update - for obvious reasons - once the error was pointed out - ever so discreetly - thanks D.

Special little somethings

If you're after that special something for a little person in you life, Smiggle has two products that rate a second look. First there's the Voodoo Pencil Case (heart-shaped black and red pins apparently sold separately) which is doll-shaped, made of canvas, and has a place on the head for a photo! And then, supposedly, but I haven't been able to find details on this, there's another product which encourages children to "Hug a Stranger". Concern about these products has been raised with Smiggle by the Kids Free 2B Kids group.
For all non-children whose curiosity is now piqued and who do want to hug a stranger, full instructions can be found at Hug-a-Stranger which also has links on how to give a good hug; and how to defend against a bear hug from behind.

Photo story

Front page news last weekend had nude photos of one of Australia's more controversial political figures as a teenager ... almost. Pauline Hanson immediately protested saying they were not photographs of her teenage self and has had papers served on several media outlets - probably including the one that said when they contacted Ms Hanson before publication she had not kicked up a fuss - and surely, they posited, she would have if it had not been her. Ms Hanson is contesting a seat in this weekend's Queensland elections. It was odd though that the next day, when media were interviewing the gentleman who provided the shots, they had obscured his face. He reportedly found the photos, taken over 20 years ago, while going through images to be digitally copied and the person helping him commented that they would be worth some money. Going price for chivalry: $15,000 or thereabouts was the figure mentioned I think.

Numbers question

If there are 10,921,246 people currently online with Skype - am I one of them - ie are there really 10,921,247? If I go offline, and without wasting other people's time on this ... how can I check if the online number has decreased by one ... hmmmmm (^scratches head thoughtfully^)

Extreme sports

Hillah, Iraq: It was a close game ... and in the final minute of play the BudKirat striker had only the Sinjar goalie to beat to tye the game at 1-1. Then a shot rang out - yes, that was a shot rather than a shout - and the about-to-score player was dead. A Sinjar fan was arrested soon after. I suspected some people took their sports seriously, but this is taking it too far.

True words

There's a saying that goes a little like: if we forget history, we're doomed to repeat it. But what "makes" history? "On this day" gives little slices of it, and two of today's entries in The Daily Telegraph's column deal with famous "true" words. In 1912, with the words "I am just going out. I may be some time" Englishman Lawrence Oates, on his way back from the South Pole with Robert Falcon Scott, and celebrating his 32rd birthday with frostbite, left the tent in which they were sheltering - and died in a blizzard.
In 2003, citing as one of his reasons that he believed Saddam Hussein's regime did not have viable weapons of mass destruction, British cabinet minister Robin Cook resigned rather than support plans to invade Iraq.
In retrospect, both of these were statements that turned out to be correct. Would the course of history, as we know it, have been changed if, at the time, people had "heard" what they were saying - and acted accordingly?

More "hope"

"Someone will call you soon ... hopefully." What a strange and worrying thing to be told after registering your arrival for an appointment. Was it because I was 15 minutes early - having been third in line at the General Enquiries desk when I arrived - or because "soon" is a relative term of time at a customer-service-based government organisation.

March madness

Hearing of the massacres in Alabama and Germany, I was wondering yesterday about other similar tragic losses of life and remembered the one at a school in Scotland some years ago. incredibly, it was noted in today's "On this day". It was at Dunblane, Scotland, and the shooting spree left 16 children and their teacher dead. That was 1996 - March 13. So, is there a possibility that these are not random dates? Has any research been done on the timing of similar incidents. Could they be related to Seasonal Affective Disorder in the Northern Hemisphere? Or is this just a way of trying to make sense of the unfathomable?

We hope ...

Words you don't necessarily want to hear/remember as you're sitting atop a rocket waiting for it to blast your shuttle into space - something like:  "we hope the repairs took care of the (dangerous) leak".  NASA apparently wasn't able to find the cause of last week's leak but have replaced the parts which could have been causing the problem - and hopefully this will fix the problem.  

A bli(m)p on the radar

Hmmm ... more from Slashdot - and just as well it isn't April 1 (yet) or I'd be worried that what I was reading wasn't truthful.  The headline "US Pentagon Plans For a Spy Blimp".  The story:  the Pentagon is intending to fly a blimp at 65,000 feet to provide a continuous view of Earth's surface via radar surveillance.  It would be too high for surface-to-air missiles, or other aircraft, to reach, and solar power will keep it operational for its 10-year life.  A prototype is under design.   Of course, there's getting to be so much "stuff" in orbit now that before long there'll be no space for anything else.  Don't believe me ... here's an artist's impression.

Personal worth

Ever pondered the real value of your contribution to your workplace?  The 'good' news is that some companies, reportedly with IBM and Microsoft among them, are apparently measuring just that for each employee.  The key currency seems to be (non-verbal) communication and the greater the measure - the greater your value:  better to be one with a large dark-coloured circle - 'thought leader' rather than a small pale circle 'not contributing a hell of a lot''.  (Thanks to Slashdot for the article.)

Ink jet

My fountain pen has sat, unused, in my drawer for some time but I fished it out this morning to start using it again. Ink colour this time: purple - a change from the usual jet black. Well that's the eventual plan but first I have to wait for all residual traces of the black to depart. I flushed the business end of the pen under running water for several minutes earlier today yet three crosswords, several notes and a dozen scribbles later, the ink still writes black. Thank goodness I am a patient person with a passion for the feel of ink on fine quality writing paper. There's nothing quite like it.

Fogging

A good while ago a work pal told me of his response whenever someone made a disparaging remark to him. He replied with "and so am I" which, he told me, left the other person with nowhere to go because he was agreeing with them. This tactic made an appearance in Sydney's The Daily Telegraph yesterday in an article about bullying. "Fogging" as it was called, is reportedly a good counter to bullies because it confuses them - they usually expect their intended victim to fight back rather than agreeing with taunts. Hmmm. As long as the bully isn't a thug too this could work well.

Fighting Words

The Palm operating system for PDAs may be dead (or at least dying) but it seems PalmI the company, is not. A recent Engadget report tells of Roger McNamee's claims that the new Palm Pre will bring the downfall of the iPhone. McNamee is with Elevation Partners, "the Palm-rescuing investment firm'! The rationale - by launching the Pre two years after the i Phone's appearance, all the "early adopters" will be coming off the two-year contracts they signed and be looking for the next funky new thing - the Pre. It might just work - for the initial push - but for the not-so early adopters, the battle to convert them may just depend on features and functionality - and if Apple ever introduces copy and paste functionality for the iPhone and iPod touch!

Plane sight

Spanish police have arrested a 66-year-old Chilean at Barcelona airport after discovering the cast on his broken leg was made entirely of cocaine. X-rays revealed the man did indeedhave a broken leg - but there is some speculation as to whether the break was intentional. The man was also transporting cocaine in two fake beer cans, and in two hollowed-out stools. Total haul - just under 5 kg. So much for hiding the contraband in plain sight!

Time on your hands?

There is probably at least one person right now who is scanning Google Earth, pixel by pixel on a computer monitor looking for items of interest: Atlantis? Crop circles? Naked people? If you're pressed for time but are still a little curious, you can check out the Top 10 Google Earth finds as reported in a recent issue of Time.

Vegetable peeler 0; Swivel Sweeper 1

I purchased a new vegetable peeler the other day - one that slides on your finger and fits in the palm of your hand. And that should have been all there was to it - except that when I tried to peel on apple it wouldn't. Hmmm. Not very good; until I realized it was a vegetable peeler, and an apple isn't a vegetable. I have not yet had the opportunity to try it on a vegetable and I am actually a little hesitant because I don't want to know I wasted my $3-something, or that I'll need to take it back to the shop for refund or exchange. The good news is that I am absolutely ecstatic with the Swivel Sweeper - a carpet sweeper/vacuum clearer hybrid of sorts - and it's not just because it has "headlights": it works ... as long as you remember to empty the dust tray when it's full!

Facing the cuts

Aaargh - the global economic downturn continues and has now started to hit television - remember that was what some of us were planning to watch more of rather than going out on the town.  Latest casualties from the UK are Wire In The Blood, Heartbeat, and The Royal.  The Bill is being cut back to a single episode a week.  The good news is that I still have entire runs of some programs on DVD and will keep investing in ones that take my interest when the price is right.

Vinyl revival

Well, not exactly, but it may be a way to finally get those LP records transferred to a digital format so you can listen to them in the car, or on a portable music player. In Jaycar's new catalogue, out today, I noticed something called a USB/SD Turntable/Receiver which can record your LPs directly to an SD card or flash memory without a computer or software. Of course, you could use it as a turntable too, but that wouldn't be as convenient to carry around as, say, an MP3 player or iPod Touch. The price is a very reasonable AU$169 - and as well as recording to SD card, it can also do playback from them. Hours of fun - and useful to boot.

Sending a message

A German bus company has apparently introduced "chat buttons" so passengers can let other passengers know they are open to having a conversation. I was unable to find other reports on this in a quick net search so I don't know the details of how it works - and whether it can also let your co-riders know that you're not interested in chatting with them. (Source: Daily Telegraph)

Take note(s)

I'm not sure that I have a use for this right now but this tool looks fantastic. It's Etherpad - an online tool which allows everyone to see and work on a document at the same time. And obviously, if you're also on Skype you can talk to each other while you're doing it - which will make the exercise a whole lot easier! There's a brief intro video showing what it can do on the site. (Of course,it could also be a way of sidestepping the lack of an IM program on your work computer but I'm sure no-one will advocate that ... especially when you can already do that through GMail.)

Open letter to Apple

Dear Apple
Wouldn't it be wonderful if all the flash memory you have ordered from Samsung (is it really their total production until the end of April?) was going to be used for a new product to be announced at the June Conference? Well, it probably is, but wouldn't it be fantastic if that product was the new NetTouch: a cross between an iPod Touch and a netbook (apologies to Psion if they have finally managed to successfully trademark/protect the term "netbook"). My vision of it: it has an environmentally friendly clam shell which folds completely to the back of the machine - or, more likely, an optional leather case which the NetTouch slips into for protection. There is a 10" touch screen and the same great features as the iPod Touch except that there's also copy and paste functionality. It has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 2 or 3 USB hubs, built-in mic and speaker, and a built in stand so you can sit and watch iTunes content or do VOIP calls without having to hold the NetTouch. Now this may seem a bit far-fetched, but I've seen the (now discredited) rumours of the MiniMac doing the rounds and know that it's time for a "new" product - and you could really do so much better than another iteration of the iPhone. And we don't need a small device with a keyboard. What's the use of learning to type if you can only peck at tiny tiny little keys; oh wait, there's an idea - what about some interconnectivity with wireless keyboards? And the ability to use your existing phone as a modem?
I know that all of this would need to be well in hand for a June launch - and, given that, I'd also like to say that I'd be happy to test-drive the NetTouch for you - and I'd do a better job of holding on to it than Telstra senior management did of holding on to the dog-food/Windows Mobile 6.5-loaded phone at WMC earlier this week.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Cheers.

New experience

We're off to see a performance of Fairy Queen this weekend and already it has had a profound impact on me. It was responsible for my first visit to Spotlight - a fabric and craft chain - where there are aisles and aisles of things to do, things to see. Who knew there was such a thing as a quilting calculator or that you could get metres and metres of faux fur from animals that could never really exist in the wild - not to mention large wooden initials, bigger than a handspan (notice that convenient sidestepping of another metric vs imperial decision and/or conversion). Or shiny fabrics; fabrics with animals, plain fabrics, textured fabrics; zippers, buttons, tulle ... too much to take in. My mission (a success bar the hyperventilation and getting lost among the fancy dress costumes and paint sets): purchase at least 300 metres of Gutermann #23 thread (which is actually dark brown) for Oberon's costume. Don't think I won't be watching that character with much interest!
(Did I mention that this production of Purcell's Fairy Queen is the first anywhere in the world by a GLBT choir.)

Name of a movie starring Nicolas Cage

What's the best way to approach a monkey? Try not to appear "different" seems to be the answer, based on the attack this week by an otherwise "tame" chimpanzee on a person known to him. Travis, the 14-year-old 91kg chimp, had just finished a meal of fish and chips and ice cream when he stepped outside for a moment - and then refused to come back in when his owner, Ms Herold, called. At some point, Ms Nash arrived on the scene - except it was not the one Travis was used to - she was now driving a different car and had changed her hairstyle from long brown to short blonde. When she offered Travis a teddy bear, he "went" wild, attacking her - possibly because he did not recognise her. (Gives a whole new meaning to "stranger danger" doesn't it?) His owner, who has said that she and Travis had often shared a glass of wine before snuggling into bed, was forced to use a shovel and knife to try to save Ms Nash who was so badly mauled in the attack that attending paramedics initially thought she was a man. The New York Post carried a story entitled: "Pri-Mates. That happy couple: Bizarre love of gal & ape". It will be interesting to see if this story ever makes it to one of those US reality shows featuring police and/or other emergency services - especially for a replay of the 911 call - part of which follows but you'll need to select it to read it - as some may find it distasteful. During the call, Ms Herold screams "Oh, my God! He's eating her! He's eating her face!"

Update 6 March 09 (select the following lines to read): The woman has lost her hands, nose, lips, and eyelids and may be blind and suffering brain damage.  Hospital officials are reported in The Daily Telegraph as saying it's unclear if her condition can improve at all.  Travis was destroyed soon after the attack.

ATM raiders

Sydney has seen a number of BAM raids in recent months where people use gas to blow up ATM machines to rob them. We’re about to be hit by a new lot of ATM raiders – the banks who own them. They are changing their fee structure for ATM usage - including introducing a disloyalty fee if you use another bank’s ATM. Seems part of the new economic modelling: automate and then charge more and more for your customers to self-service.

Subs Zero

Probably the last thing you want while you’re deep underwater in your submarine is to run into something. This happened to two submarines earlier this month when they collided with each other mid-Atlantic Ocean. Both subs were damaged but didn’t spring a leak. So how do two 150metre-long subs come to find themselves at the same spot and same depth in the ocean - displaying a skill which would have no-one lining up to challenge them to a game of Battleship? Investigations continue but early suggestions are a possible procedural error – ie not maintaining a safe distance between the vessels; bad luck - or by design - the two vessels may have been unable to hear each other because of technology designed to make then invisible to enemies. This particular innovation, if it were the cause, may ”need more work”. The good news is that the collision did not compromise nuclear safety: important as each sub can carry up to 48 nuclear warheads on 16 missiles. (Source: The Daily Telegraph.)

Hold the phone

First there were reports of the iPhone being used by folk wishing to gain an unfair advantage while playing pub trivia – phone a friend and/or consult the internet – and now there are concerns that some people are cheating at casino blackjack using a card counting application on the iPhone or iPod Touch. This is, of course, illegal as it gives people a better chance of beating the odds at tables. Where will it all end?

Art or handiwork?

Reading about the Mona Lisa in Lego, ie made out of, this morning I was intrigued to see the angle columnist Elizabeth Fortescue had taken. She questioned whether art is still art if the artist doesn’t "do” it. She used the example of Damien Hirst, the UK artist famous for dead sharks and cows in tanks of preserving liquid. If the work is carried out by others, albeit to his specifications, is it still “his” – especially as that special touch the artist brings to the finished work is not included – and anyone following the same specifications can reproduce the piece? (Can you patent an art idea?) As an aside, mate T, when we were talking about this, pointed out that Elizabeth’s background is in architecture – where award winning designers have their works assembled by others.

Losing your memory

How would you like it if someone showed you pictures of spiders while giving you a mild electric shock – and encouraged you to remember the images so you would come to associate the pictures with the pain? Then they have you in the next day, show you the pictures again, and try to startle you with random sudden noises? Then they measure how strongly you blink, in reaction to the sounds, to see if you’ve had a strong startle response. Oh, and did I mention that you and the group of people with you have been split into two smaller groups, known only to the researchers, who has given one lot of you a beta blocker – similar to that given to heart patients – and the other have received a placebo pill.. (There could also be a group there who get no pill but this isn’t reported in the Daily Telegraph article I’m reading about the experiment.) This is what Dutch researcher Dr Merel Kindt and his helpers have done with a group of 60 men and women. The result: the group given the beta blocker showed a much milder startle response than the others – and when they were re-tested the next day, after the drug had left their system – they still had a milder startle response than the others - leading researchers to the conclusion that the painful memories were erased. In theory, the report says, it could eradicate memories of traumatic events from years earlier. It might also help-patients overcome phobias, obsessions and eating disorders.
Across the Channel, British experts are raising possible ethical concerns: “... before eradicating memories we must reflect on the knock-on effects on individuals - society and our sense of humanity.” How can you learn from a mistake if you can’t remember it. Or, I could pose other questions: what effect are these drugs having on people who are already taking them for heart conditions? Are their memories already undergoing change/s? Would the use of beta-blockers be a feasible defence in a criminal trial – either for or against the accused?
Back here in Australia, T reminded me that wiped memory is part of the premise for Joss Whedon’s new (first broadcast in the us last Friday!) series, Dollhouse. In it the Dolls aka Actives are reset after each mission with new personas including memory, muscle memory, skills and language. The story follows key character Echo who begins to become self-aware, which you wouldn’t think would be a problem since the Actives are supposedly volunteers ... unless, perhaps, their deal is that they’ve signed up to forget. It may be some time before we know here I haven’t heard of an Australian release date yet.

Milk

We saw “Milk” yesterday, the new Gus Van Sant film about Harvey Milk - the first openly gay man to be elected to office in the United States; also the first one to be assassinated. I have vague recollections of the events that unfolded in San Francisco in the mid-to-late 1970’s. I’m sure Milk’s murder made the news here in Australia but fear it may have been overshadowed by the other breaking news at the time: the Jonestown Massacre where over 900 souls were lost after following Jim Jones’ instructions to drink poison. In the closing sequences of “Milk”, there was a graphic which read that Milk’s ashes had been scattered together with some grape Kool Aid (reports suggest Flavor Aid packets were found at the JonesTown scene), and bubble bath. The film raised, for me, many questions. If you have an end in sight; is any action justified to reach that goal? What is the nature of power; does having influence change a person? If so, is it possible to have power and not be corrupted by it? Can power be taken or does it need to be bestowed? Did Pat White shoot Milk and Mayor Moscone because he perceived they had slighted him – as I understood it from the film. Or because he was a man under pressure and they seemed to be the focal point for no reason except they were there and he believed them responsible? It was also humbling (? it’s difficult to find the right word here) to know that some of the folk who helped and supported Milk are still around, and doing good works, these 30-odd years later. Makes me wonder how they have reacted to the film and their, and Milk’s, portrayal. For example, Anne Kronenberg, who worked as Milk’s campaign manager for his successful Supervisor bid. In the film she is a lesbian then – and now, a mother of three working in a US Government department. I read a comment by her on an item on the Ellen.com site and she made the point that Harvey Milk had been a great bridge builder – bringing together different groups – woman, seniors etc – and that was certainly portrayed in the film. Lots to think about here including how close to actual events is Van Sant’s portrayal of the Life and Times of Harvey Milk eg Milk had apparently made an audio recording to be played in the event of his death: there was no mention in the Wikipedia entry as to the contents of the tape except for Milk’s suggestion for possible replacements for his Supervisor position in the event of his demise.

Dodging a bullet

It’s not uncommon to hear of Apple chasing someone for infringing on their intellectual property, but the shoe’s on the other foot at the moment with Picsel Technologies claiming that Apple, and others, have used their patented method of accelerated screen updating in over 250 million handset worldwide. It’s good to know that Apple don’t have a stranglehold on innovation. Although it doesn’t seem as though IBM is doing a bad job – according to Engadget, they’ve apparently just been granted a patent for bionic body armour which is intended to bestow the wearer the power to dodge bullets. Hmmm ... was it only last week that Microsoft investors were complaining about its R&D?

An uncertain tale

AKA Vacuum Cleaner 1; Lizard ? ... Well, there really isn’t that much more to say about this, except that it’s probably proof, yet again, if it were needed, that I can only concentrate on one thing at a time. The lizard was hiding behind the power point under the sideboard, among the cat-fur tumbleweeds. As I whooshed them up, I noticed movement as the lizard made a dash for it; tail-less, but whether that was from the vacuum cleaner or some previous encounter, I couldn’t tell. (I’ve never thought to ask before: does a lizard tail amputation look like a wound, or does it sever cleanly?) I encouraged it to “run” or at least hide properly, and determined to keep the nozzle well away from it – until I was distracted by Em, our timid cat, as she made a dash from under the table where she had been hiding, past the vacuum cleaner and up the hall, slipping and sliding on the floor boards as she went. When I was sure she was away okay, I turned back to the vacuuming, just in time to wonder what that “long skinny black thing” was – as it disappeared into the nozzle. I think Mr Lizard might have fared better if I hadn’t emptied the vacuum dust repository before I started cleaning today (and yes, NOW I know NOT to press the button on the top, because that makes the bottom swing open, dumping the contents on the floor). I turned off the vacuum and emptied it straight away but couldn’t find an intact lizard (sans tail) in there so I’m not sure what happened to it. I shook the hose a few times but nothing fell out so I can only hope it’s in there, clinging, spiderlike, inside the hose until it thinks it’s okay to come out. It has about a week to make its escape – hopefully it still can!

Mark (my) word

What do you do if you accrue scarce resources? You use two words using _c_r_e in the same sentence. Of course, if you play ecarte while doing it, you've used three - which is all that the WordBook dictionary lists for this letter combination. Of course, Aard lists others: ecurie, scarfe, scerne and scorse - but until I can find them in a standard dictionary, they'll never be allowed in Scrabble. And I've just found an interesting function on my WordBook dictionary - on the iPod - when looking for "ecurie" - to check it wouldn't show up in a standard dictionary - WordBook offered a list of "Sounds-like Matches". I'm not quite sure how they figure "whackier", "joker" and "each year" make the cut - but it's nice to be offered alternatives. Finally a way to look up a word when you're not sure how it's spelled (long an enigma for me with hard-copy dictionaries).
WordBook is available for iPod Touch (and iPhone) and includes contents from WordNet 3.0 c 2006 Princeton University, Wiktionary.com and Wikipedia.com plus it has crossword and anagram functionality. (Yes, I know, another reason to move to the iPod Touch but it's probably also available for other platforms.)

Public reaction

News last week from the UK of a 13-year-old boy fathering a child has been followed this week with the news that the boy, Alfie Patten, is only one of three teenagers who claim they could be the father of Maisie. Two other lads, one 14, the other 16, claim that they, too, slept with Chantelle Steadmans (then 15) and could be Maisie's real father. One is even calling for a DNA test to confirm the child's parentage. According to The Daily Telegraph today, both of the other boys and their parents (although what they could add is unclear) have made sworn statements in front of a solicitor detailing their nights of sex with Chantelle. Chantelle's family insist she lost her virginity to Alfie and that he is the father. Earlier reports had suggested that Chantelle was taking birth control pills but missed one.
My question: is it possible that there would be fewer "fathers" stepping forward if the story had not made front page news around the world? This is where newspaper reporting just doesn't work sometimes ... I'm curious to know when Alfie was identified as the father - before or after the birth. It's unlikely that Chantelle kept her pregnancy secret and you'd think that all of the lads might have cottoned on sooner that they could have been the father - rather than when the birth became "news". But at least there might be some support and help forthcoming for mother and child given the story has gained such prominence .. and served as a reminder for others to be vigilant with their chosen method of birth control. (My Uncle Mick used to say that a pill held firmly between the knees worked every time!)

In the bag

This is intriguing. Both in it being "capable of arousing interest or curiousity" and "disturbingly provocative". I noticed the ad last week but filed it away somewhere in the back of my brain - but here it is again in today's paper: Forensic Medicine. A one-night a week Certificate course - no entry requirements or exams - over 25 weeks - covering the basic elements of forensic medicine, and open to the general public. As the toe tag on one of the two feet in the ad reads: "What happened? Who is the person? When did he die? How did he die? And possibly, who did it?! Fascinated? Then this certificate course is for you."
The course is being run at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, and information packs are available by calling (02) 9554 3100 between 10am and 4pm Monday - Friday. (I'm calling for mine today - and I'll be looking for my book on forensic medicine that I have secreted away somewhere in the bookshelf. Well, it can be a fascinating subject!)

Name game

Today mark's the 72nd anniversary of the granting of US Patent 2,071,250 for "Linear Condensation Polymers". Without /it them, the nylon toothbrush (1938) would not have been possible ... because "nylon" wouldn't have been around - by that name at least. We know the patent was applied for in 1931 but the origin of the name "nylon" is unclear. Wikipedia carries a couple of theories including that if inventor Wallace Carothers had his way it would have been called "No-Run" (which is how cartoon dog Scooby-Doo might pronounce Nylon). According to the WordBook and SlovoEd dictionaries the word Nylon was coined in 1938 - the year following Carother's (lemon juice and potassium cyanide) death following a lifetime of depression and a belief that he had no ideas left (according to Wikipedia). Carothers had earlier invented neoprene - as found in wet suits and laptop pouches.
But back to nylon: on another website (PBS) it's suggested that nylon was patented in 1935 before hitting the market in 1939 - which just goes to show, you can't be sure who to believe on the internet. As they say ... hours of fun.

No comment

I wasn't aware that there was a Gizmodo Australia site until earlier this week; and was excited because here was a place to go for home-grown comment. Of course, you have to take the following into account, as quoted from the site: Gizmodo Australia moderates comments to avoid spam and abuse. We're looking for comments that are interesting, substantial and/or highly amusing. (My emphasis - but only because it's scared me off!)

Two sides

It seemed like a nice enough story and one that I thought I would read because it screamed "good news". The NY Times story "A Ring, a Grate and a Rescue" told of a "blogger ... thrilled after workers retrieved her college class ring, which appeared to be lost in Time Squares." I'd read about it on an RSS feed so went to find the actual story for the full details - except I didn't have the URL so I Googled the blogger, Jean J. Hsu, saw a link to her blog and thought I'd check it out there. It would have been better to stick with the original plan - because on her blog, Essential Luxuries, Ms Hsu tells how she is less than impressed with the NY Times piece and the reaction to it, and to her original blog about the incident. Not quite the "good news" story I was looking for but quite an interesting look at human nature.

Chinese food for thought

It could just be one of those stories that circulate on the internet and are better suited to the urban legend site snopes.com but I couldn't find this story there when I checked just now. There are allegedly 40 "death buses" currently operating in China, replacing firing squads as the preferred execution method. They've been in use since 2004 and as well as carrying out the execution by lethal injection, and streaming video of the death to watching officials, it's rumoured that the execution buses facilitate the harvest and sale of organ - a criticism that was levelled soon after the buses began operation. USAToday carried the story back in June 2006 so I'm not quite sure why it's been posted as on the Gizmodo site this week, referring to the "new" buses.

Ipso facto not exacto

It's nice to have "facts" at your fingertips thanks to the internet - but it can propagate mis-information. Case in point: the correct name of the new German minister of economic affairs - Mr. von und zu Guttenberg. His full name is Karl Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg. All good so far, except at some point before he was appointed, someone changed his Wikipedia entry to add the name Wilhelm (between Philipp and Franz). When German and other media reported his appointment Wikipedia was among sources checked, so the incorrect full name was used in some cases. Meanwhile, back at Wikipedia, the change was reverted, and the call went out for a check on what Mr von und zu Guttenberg's correct name was. This shouldn't have been a problem - facts at fingertips remember - unless you're checking with one of the media outlets that had picked up the incorrect name from the Wikipedia entry. So, says an article in SlashDot, the circle was closed: Wikipedia states a false fact, a reputable media outlet copies the false fact, and this outlet is then used as the source to prove the false fact to Wikipedia. And thus it would be easy to slip into the mis-information age aka ipso facto not exacto.

R&D suffers

Microsoft was recently awarded its 10,000th patent so you think people would be happy to be invest in a company that places such a high premium on innovation. Not so much. SlashDot reports that Microsoft shareholders are cross that the company is spending billions of dollars annually on "pointless" R&D - when Apple is making the same revenue gains with one-tenth the spend on research. Not sure how the news that the entire Flight Simulator development team at Microsoft being let go will be received by them. Meanwhile, over at Sega, the development budget has been slashed by 20% and other cost-cutting measures are being put in place.
Of course, you have to wonder if all R&D and innovation is worthwhile. Designer Steve Lee has come up with what he calls the "most pretentious keyboard in existence ... but it's damn nice looking" ie he's taken to a new Apple keyboard with a can of paint so he has a completely white keyboard with some character but no characters. Probably works best if you're a touch typist (as he is).

Multiskilling

Browsing the job ads this morning I came across this one "Driver MR/Chicken Catcher". The successful applicant will be an "experienced chicken catcher with MR licence required to drive crew truck and catch chickens at farms, 5 nights per week". What exactly does a chicken catcher do? According to an article in Brisbane's The Courier Mail last year, chicken catchers catch barn chickens which are then sent to the abattoir. It is a disappearing art and good chicken catchers are apparently hard to find; so much so that mechanical chicken catchers have been developed - first the chicken vacuum which was discontinued after protests from animal rights groups, and now another, which sweeps the chickens onto a metal ramp and whisks them along a conveyor belt to cages. Chicken catching happens at night and a good chicken catcher can apparently make up to $80,000 a year. Who knew?

Time's up for Palm OS

Word on the Engadget site is that Palm has decided to concentrate on webOS and Windows Mobile rather than furthering the Palm Operating System (OS). It's a shame because this was the OS that converted me to PDAs and hand-held computing. For once, here was a system where you could have your information saved automatically when you switched between applications; here was a system where you could write on screen and have your handwriting (as long as it conformed to Palm's Graffiti system) converted to text. It will be missed.

iPod for books

Amazon has announced the new version of its electronic book reader aka Kindle 2. In reporting its release, BBC Online said “The increased storage capacity brings Kindle closer to the idea of being an iPod for books.” Of course, you could just invest in an iPod for books – aka the iPod Touch, although the iPhone has the same capability. Sure, the screen’s a little smaller than the Kindle’s, but it’s got loads more memory, comes in colour, and lets you run other applications on it as well. Also, chances are you can wander into most stores and pick one up today rather than having to wait (and some suggest, wait and wait) for Kindle delivery. One drawback though: you won’t get access to the Kindle-exclusive Stephen King-offering which reportedly features a … Kindle. And did I mention the Kindle 2 (2GB) costs US$359; the iPod Touch (16GB) US$299 or (32GB) US$399. (I've quoted US dollar prices since I'm not sure when the Kindle 2 will be available outside the US.)
And to be fair, I'd better mention something else: the Kindle 2 has introduced text to speech - so you'd also get a kind of talking book too - although it wouldn't be anything like a human voice reading to you. The US Writers/Authors Guild is upset about this, claiming that owning a Kindle doesn't give you the right to read a book out loud - that's an audio right (which probably costs extra!).

Concerns both grave and acute

In a moment of frivolity, I was transcribing a passage from the book "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" to send a pal from BookClub and realized that I had no idea where to find accents on the computer keyboard to put the accent on some French. I checked the MS Word help function, the on-screen keyboard, the internet etc etc without luck (ALT+something or other didn't work) until finally I realised that all I needed to do was copy one from somewhere else on the web and paste it in. Voilà: é

Self-help

Stephanie Meyer (not that one ie the Twilight Series) has taken self-help to a new level by delivering her own baby in the car on the way to hospital. Formerly an emergency doctor with The Gold Coast Hospital, the now GP Meyer had expected a longer labour - based on a 23-hour labour with her first child, Caleb. Not so ... on the 5-minute drive to the hospital, she had her husband pull over to the side of the road so she could deliver the as-yet-unnamed baby boy. Once delivered, her husband helped by loosening the umbilical cord from around the child's neck and they continued to hospital - before returning home 3 hours later.

Poor timing

The Snake cartoon in today's The Daily Telegraph has two panels. The first shows two crocodiles, mostly submerged in water: Croc #1: "Have you ever been married", Croc #2: "Nar, but I like kids!". In the second panel Croc #2 continues: "But I don't think I could eat a whole one". The timing is unfortunate as only last week in northern Queensland, a 5-year-old boy disappeared from a river bank, presumed taken by a crocodile as his 7-year-old brother watched on. A report I read yesterday suggested the crocodile had originally lunged toward the older brother, but the younger one had jumped in front of his sibling, trying to distract the crocodile. Other reports suggest the 5-year-old followed his dog into the river and was taken then. The search for the boy continues.

Birthday greetings

Today marks the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin, "evolution by natural selection" theoriser, as published in 1859 in On The Origin of Species. But what gave him the idea? In a new book, Darwin's Sacred Cause, co-authors Adrian Desmond and James Moore argue that Charles Darwin was motivated by a loathing of slavery, and the desire to see its abolition , perhaps fueled by the cruelties he witnessed on his travels. A BBC article on the book can be found here and it also includes a link to an interview with the authors.

I am extremely ... surprised

Gizmodo today carried an article about Google search capabilities. If you go in Google in Firefox and type "I am extremely ........." with ......... being the condition you want to search - Google will return the numbers. So, I went in to have a look - not believing that there could be 4,750,000 pages with "extremely depressed". Nope .... by the time I got there it was 4,480,000. Tired had dropped from 12,300,000 to 8,530,000; and there were 14,000,000 results for happy - which I'm still pondering since they were running at 769,000 with the Gizmodo results. Hmmmm. Between the searches, extremely terrified of Chinese people had dropped from 303,000 to 85,600. Why is it so?

Not 1984

Lynne Brindley, CEO of the British Library, is concerned that our memories are being erased - website by website. As an example, when President-Elect Barack Obama took office, all references to former President Bush were erased from the White House website. Another? Many websites for the 2000 Sydney Olympics disappeared as soon as the Games were over.
SlashDot reports Ms Brindley sees the British Library's role, and that of other similar institutions, as being responsible for preserving "history" including websites - the same way hard-copy print works are preserved. So, the British Library plans to create a comprehensive archive of material from the 8M .uk domain websites, as well as collecting and archiving material relating to the London 2012 Olympics.

Time please

It's not often I read a review of time management books that's entertainng, funny and informative - but Chris Hardwick has managed to combine all three in his recent Wired offering "Diary of a Self-Help Dropout: Flirting With the 4-Hour Workweek". In it he reviews books by three time management gurus by trying their systems out. Excellent work and well worth a read.

Star talk

Tired of using your unexciting headset for internet calls? This may only appeal to Trekkies but a new Skype/VOIP phone has hit the market. It looks like one of the original StarTrek communicators - and if you can't remember what they look like (and you call yourself a Trekkie?) you'll be able to check it out when StarTrek the Original series is launched on Blu-Ray on April 30. If you can't wait that long, follow the link to the Engadget story which has a pic.
The good news is that the USB-powered "phone" comes complete with Velcro backing so, when you're not using it, you can position it in a prominent place for passers-by to see and admire.
And on the subject of StarTrek, it seems that Gene Roddenberry and his recently-deceased wife Majel Barrett (a crew member of the original Enterprise; the voice of the Enterprise in later incarnations; and Counseller Troi's mother in StarTrek: The Next Generation; and cast in other Roddenberry works eg Earth: The Final Conflict) will soon be blasting off into orbit - hopefully never to return. Their ashes will be sent far enough into space so they will not fall back to earth, the way Gene's did the last time he = and I think Scotty as well - was sent off.

Hearts and Harlequins

As a special Valentine's Day offering, Fictionwise - the eBook company where I obtain digital content - is offering, among other things, 15 free Harlequin titles.  Normally I would jump at the chance of free books but I'm just not sure I can reconcile myself to what I regard as such blatantly romantic content.  Will there be a storyline besides person meets person? Or am I confusing this with Mills & Boon (do they still exist - and are they still colour-coded based on degree of steaminess?).  Will I permit myself to be swayed by their blurb?  Would you?  From Regencies to vampires, from sexy suspense to heartwarming reads, Harlequin has a romance for every mood and every heart!

Still it does represent an opportunity for people who want to give eReading a go the opportunity to try other content than the free eBooks Fictionwise usually has on site.  

This being said, I am enjoying the girl meets vampire tale I recently downloaded ie Twilight by Stephanie Meyer.

Cube solver

A couple of weeks ago there was news of a man who had finally solved Rubik's Cube - 27 or so years after he started working on it. That's a long time to persist with something and he was probably very pleased to finally cross this off his "to do" list. Hopefully he also made time to concentrate on "life" as well during that time - because much can happen in over a quarter of a century. For anyone taking up the task today and not opposed to seeking a hint or two along the way, a program for helping solve the puzzle of this colourful cube is available for purchase for use with your iPhone or iPod Touch from Apple's iTunes Application Store.

Troubled times

Things must be bad on the economic front - word is that Google has reported its first-ever drop in quarterly profit. But the other word is that they are faring much better than expected in the "economic storm". (Source: Topix Computers)