Good ol' NASA

One night last February was unusually bright...apparently. It was because 440 million years ago a star, 20 times the size of our sun, had a preliminary explosion throwing gamma-rays all the way to Earth. This isn't, though, what fascinates me.

The way we know about it is because in November 2004, NASA launched the 'Swift' satellite. It's the ability of Swift to detect such an emission, locate it and spin itself around to focus all three of it's instruments on the star in order to record and relay all the data IN REAL TIME...in less than 20 seconds. That's so cool that we can build things like that! (Swift links: NASA Wikipedia; the original Wired story)

It's official: AOL is bad for you

The non-profit (and well respected and supported) organisation StopBadware.org, has defined the latest version of the AOL browser (v9.0) as badware (also known as malware). Their report here, states that the program preforms in practically the same way as spyware. There's a good summary by iTWire here as well, but the gist of the report:

"AOL Software is bundled with a number of additional applications...During the installation process the user is never clearly notified that AOL will be installing these programs,"

The advisory also describes a pop-up box which appears a day after installation which forces the user to update its software without any option to close the box or decline the update.

In addition to all of the above, the AOL 9.0 software adds icons and its own toolbar to the Internet Explorer toolbar, adds items to the IE favourites menu and adds its own deskbar to the desktop taskbar.

But the best bit is that you can't even uninstall it properly ! The processes keep running even after a restart! How can a company fall into such a trap after Sony fell into this problem earlier this year and got bitch-slapped by governments around the world.

I remember when AOL used to hand out those trial CDs in the Internet's elder years and they were just as sneaky then, but this time, thankfully, the industry's listening.

Pranksters in Hungary

I don't normally approve of silly pranks which have a lasting effect, but I have to congratulate Colbert (second time in two days!), or more specifically, his viewers, on making 'Steven Colbert híd' the top candidate in a competition to name a new bridge across the Danube. He's managed to rouse so much support that they got over 17M votes for the bridge to be named after him (that's 7M more than the population of Hungary). As a result, the Hungarian government has redone the site, but that doesn't seem to have stopped Colbert's fans who have placed (the nicely palindromic) 86068 votes to get 54% of the second phase...that is, despite having Colbert himself 'call off the dogs'. (Note: most of the other candidates are jokes as well - see here)

Just more evidence that Colbert commands more loyalty than anyone else.

Odd definitions

Reading a report on Language Log about baffling official definitions, there was the recent account of the Federal Government's decision to designate crocodiles as fish so as to cover them under existing export laws. On a more interesting note, however, was the attempt, in 1897, by lawmakers in Indiana, USA to define both pi and √2. Not only that, but they defined √2 as (10/7) [1.429] and pi as (16/√3), (2 x √(5/6)), (16 x √2/7) and (16/5). That's [9.24], [3.236], [3.232] & [3.2] respectively. Stupid turn-of-the-century Indianans. See this look at it.

Colbert single-handedly defining English

According to the folks over at Language Monitor, who watch the development (or demise of 'Global English'), rated the 10 most important new words of 2006 led by two from Steven Colbert's regular segment, 'The Word'. Their annual report, here, notes that 'truthiness' ("Truth, unencumbered by facts.") and 'wikiality' ("Reality as determined by majority vote. See Pluto, the former planet.") topped the list, and were followed by 'Katrina', 'Bush's War' and 'Tourette's', which is apparently 'the new OCD'.

"Some of these buzzwords will quickly pass, while others will be embedded in the language for years to come...Though 'truthiness' in some form has existed in the language for centuries, it could not have been revived in more relevant times than the early 21st century; while 'wikiality' can be observed even today, where Pluto has been voted out of the Solar System by a convention of Astronomers,"

So here are links to the Truthiness and Wikiality clips on YouTube. Great work and it's a shame that he has to compete against Jon Stewart for the Emmy's.

George Lucas tries the old Jedi mind trick

I rest assured that I never have to read kottke.org, for if Jason Kottke ever finds anything interesting, Maddy can be relied on to post it and provide thus I am informed.

As such, I'm hereby following on from Maddy's post on Kottke's post regarding his own other post on cool-looking libraries. This page shows a comparison between the library at Trinity College in Dublin and the Jedi library shown in that riciculous piece of cinema, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. They look pretty similar eh? In fact, here they are:

Which is which? I don't know oh my God it's so deceptive - oh wait that's right they probably didn't have steel or glowing blue lights at the beginning of the 1700s. But still, it's easy to see the similarities right?

Apparently not, for George Lucas.

"It is totally untrue that there is any connection between the scene in Attack of the Clones and Trinity College."

Riiight...whatever. Maybe he's just fallen for this whole Jedi-religion thing. [shrug]

(But that's the other thing, why do the Jedi's books, or hard-drives, or whatever fills those shelves, glow at all?)

Aztec Windows

Microsoft has announced that, with Evo Morales' Bolivian government, they've released a version of Windows in Quecha. I don't know how many Bolivian Indians are using Windows, not how many of them are using the latest version for anything that doesn't require a damn good understanding of Spanish, but hey, it's there now.

Meme again

1. Do you do dishes by hand or do you use a dishwasher? By hand, begrudgingly.
2. How many people have your cell phone number? Many, but not too many so that I get calls from numbers my phone doesn't recognise.
3. Do you shower in the morning or at night? Morning - it's the best way to wake up.
4. Do you ever have a song 'stuck' in your head? I had that damn Numa Numa in my head for months.
5. Do you pay your bills when they arrive, or do you wait until closer to the due date to pay them? I wait until my 'secretary' reminds me to pay them...if I'm consistent, then I can blame her for them being late.
6. Are you obsessive about anything in particular? Footsteps and things that should be lined up.
7. What one thing would you say you have a zero tolerance for? Contradictory opinions and oblivious...ness.

How much does it cost to be Batman?

According to Forbes, only about $US 3.5M (plus yearly upkeep costs). Taking into account training, the suit, belt, car, cave, the alter ego and the butler (who apparently costs upwards of $100K) the total comes to just under three-and-a-half with extras for each year of 'cave hire' and 'alter ego' you need (and presumably depending on how economical you are with your batmobile - the 'tumbler' from the movie was 7 miles to the gallon and with custom-made tyres). Together, Forbes costs the alter ego and the car at around $3M alone. So, how economists have fun. (The Forbes slideshow interface is pretty crappy but that's the only way they do these things)

Dark matter and other oddities

Finally, substantial evidence for the existence of dark matter. Watching the aftermath of a collision between two galaxies (from about 100M year ago) , some scientists analysed the distribution of mass after the collision and found that while the gases and other visible matter showed the expected effects of a collision, most of the mass had passed through on it's original course. So cool! ScienceNews article here.For the less nerdy types, there's the story of a Vietnamese thief, Ngo Thanh Tam, who managed to escape from prison in 1986 and has since worked, under a new name, for the Dak Ru police department. He was so good at his job, that he was promoted to police chief in 2003 and was elected to the local People's Council for a five-year tenure in 2004. Nice way to hide out. Reuters

In my first year at college, Heather, a girl from Vermont, kind of mothered my group and tried whenever possible to convince us how cool Vermont was and why we should go there. (She also tried to convice us of several conspiracies). Anywho, point is, small town called Brattleboro has a fair 'live and let live' lifestyle. This seemingly peaceful town has, however, been disturbed by a few teenagers coping with the unusually hot summer by getting their kit off. Even with the new proposed laws, it still reinforces that Vermont should really be part of Canadia. Reuters

Finally, in her regular net-trawling, Maddy came across an interesting link to Hot Library Smut a really cool sampling of photos of cool libraries.

Pam, Gob & Spiders

I was really excited this morning. I was checking Maddy's blog to find a couple of lists of favourite TV characters. I'd never heard of James Gunn, but that he chose Pam Beesly from the American version of the Office, an actress able to convey sexy in a kind of boring way, ever so briefly rocked my world...that was until I realised that the two were married (Dream shattered!)

He was redeemed, however, having "Gob" Bluth on his list, albeit not nearly high enough.

More exciting though, a new species of spiders has been found in Ecuador that cooperates quite uniquely. Colonies of these spiders, thousands strong, trap their prey by swarming it and blinding it with silk, they then will even take turns carrying the prey back to the rest of the colony. Isn't sharing wonderful.

The irony of being fired by Centrelink

From the Australian.

Madonna is trying to save the world!

According to the Australian, Madonna and her husband, Guy Ritchie, know how to get rid of nuclear waste safely and cleanly, and have been going to all ends to convince the various arms of the British Government. Apparently there's some mystical property of water which hasn't been investigated sufficiently, but what makes it golden is that the British scientists haven't been to coy about calling the plan pure crap.

see here.

Spring is here...with a vengeance

The three odd months of Winter in Canberra are finally over! The mornings are warm, the sun's bright and the wind is weakening.

First cool link; The weirdest viable sentence in English appears to be "Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo." see the explanation on this website.

We also have an interesting problem these days generated by the ability to digitally create pornographic images which appear to depict children. Boing Boing's article here, iTWire (it refers to an NYT website though)

For those in an endless pursuit of perfection, the Japanese art of making polished balls of mud, called Dorodango, may be your answer. Check out Bruce Gardner's page here.

Water, water, everywhere. A situation which was not expected until 2025; New Scientist has published an article that a full third of the world is critically short of water.

And, to end on a good note, the past week has seen some amazing segments on the Colbert Report including an interview with Neil Young and trash-talking the new planets with a top astronomer. "Hey Ceres...You're just a fat ass-teroid! You're so ugly, God tried to hide you in an asteroid belt!" (I couldn't find a permalink but here's the catalogue of his clips.)

Memeness

1. Would you shave your head for any amount of money? If yes, how much? Yes, it depends on the time of year.
2. What "whacky" thing might you do for a large sum of money? I'm guessing something illegal might be acceptable.
3. What do you think is a "large sum of money?" At the very least $1000.
4. Do you watch "reality" tv shows? Not of my own free will.
5. If so, which do you watch and in what order do you prefer them? If not, are there any you may consider watching? Australian Idol, Australian Princess and Big Brother.
6. Which reality show have you thought about participating in? Why? Honestly, none. Although there was one putting people in a Chinese Kung-Fu School for about 2 months 24/7...if I was offered a place, I'd take it.
7. Share one thing you would like to do in life but have not yet done..... think about why you haven't done it and share if you wish. Joined the Army. With my recurring injuries the way they are, there's a small chance I'll ever get in...until Brendan Nelson relaxes the restrictions (which is likely these days methinks).

Pirates 2 Reactions

I really wasn't sure how I should have been feeling when I came out of Pirates 2. I remembered loving the first one (I saw it at least three times at the cinema), but this one was wierd. This cartoon that Chris found pretty well represents what appears to have been the consensus.

Hopefully the third will round out the series...but then that's what we were thinking with the new Star Wars.

On a related note, I just found out that Disney has released a bunch of remixes of the [geek]POTC[/geek] theme here. Kinda weird but simultaneously annoying and they get in ya head.

The other meme

1. How many "people" pictures do you have displayed in your house? I know of 10.
2. How many times a month/year do you rearrange your furniture? Haven't as yet in this house.
3. Do you check your email every day? If so, how many times a day? Pretty much...I had withdrawl symptoms when I was on holiday.
4. How often do you generally look at a clock/watch on any given day? Too many...worrying about a concept as abstract as time just proves how self-absorbed we are.
5. How do you handle telemarketer phone calls? I started politely saying no thank you, but over the last year I've become more and more jaded to the point that I now say "No" straight away and if they don't hang up I just keep saying "Tell me more" until I'm bored and I'm sure their average has been pushed up a notch.

Some pictures from the ether

First of all, for all of us who remember those few years when fluro colours were cool here's a record cover to bring back thoughts of those truly odd times.


And here's a cool take on quantum physics...reminds me of college.

My Own Meme

Well, neither Maddy nor Chris have done their memes for the week so I'll have to do my own:

1. What can't you travel without? It used to be a toothbrush, but now it's my down jacket.
2. How many trips has/have it/they taken with you? Just one so far.
3. Where have you taken it/them? New Zealand & Fiji.
4. Where's next? Probably somewhere in the eastern half of the Mediterranean.
5. Why? Libya, Tunisia & Turkey all look fascinating. Turkey seems like the next Greece & Libya and Tunisia look like the ones after that.

Well it seems I'm a bit unimaginative tonight, but at least it makes it short and sweet for the others.

My new hero

Christopher Lee!

He's so awesome! WWII RAF and apparently British Spec Ops (apparently Peter Jackson was trying to tell him how to die when he's stabbed in the back in the final episode of Lord of the Rings, Lee responded that he knows how people react when stabbed)

* Commander of the Order of the British Empire and/or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem
* Officier des arts et lettres
* Has the most screen credits of any actor
* Depending on the source, he speaks French, Italian, Spanish and German and can "get along" in Swedish, Russian and Greek.
* His films have raked in more than any other actor (~US$4.4bn topping Samuel L. Jackson's ~US$3.8bn)
* He knows what music he likes and has become such good friends with his favourite band that they let him perform with them on their albums and at events when he's free

But in the end, he's found what he likes and what he's good at and works hard at it - awesome devotion.

And now to lighten the mood a bit, a nice take on those stick figure flash animations can be found here.

Google and it's Pigeons

I was looking at Google Zeitgeist and noticed an odd but interesting link on the page. It's really quite bizarre and it just goes to show that that "Twenty percent" time doesn't always get used productively.

Apparently it's one of those old April Fools' Day joke from 2002 for which Google is so renowned. Indeed, there's a whole list of them, as well as other pranks, in wikipedia here. My favourite, though, is this year's attempt; Google Romance which gave me the best laugh I'd had in a while.

So, again, another good source of fun...good ol' Google!

Perversion for Profit

I remember watching this in my first year at college and it's still a hilarious, if for nothing more than it's classic 50's deep-voiced announcer and his long pauses to emphasise the evil ramifications of this filth. Apparently it's still being used by the Anti-porn movement.

The film shown here is a film from 1965 detailing the problems with allowing pornography in a 'modern American society'. Especially how continued exposure to such material will, with an absolute certainty lead those readers to commit sssexual crimes. There was also some belief at the time, apparently, that the publishers of pornographic magazines were inherently Communist, and that those exposed to their products would inevitably try to overthrow the good American citizens.

If you've got a spare half hour for a good laugh, it's definitely worth it.

A truly eerie experience

The notion of the end of a series is always sad, but this site, Garfield is Dead, is taking it to that level that's just a bit too far. Apparently in 1989, a week's worth of garfield comics were published showing him all alone in a decrepit shack, starving to death.

I don't mind those episodes of my favourite series when a favourite character dies, when it's done in a humourous way as the Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror episodes often do, or even in movies or comic strips as it's generally done with a sense of honour, or inevitability or similar. These few frames though are just wierd and a bit freaky. I'm glad they weren't the last.

Another meme

1. What are your siblings' middle names? Lorraine
2. Where is your dad right now? I'm betting asleep either in front of the TV or in bed.
3. What was the last thing you said? "Grab a Yogo if you want."
4. What is something you've learned recently? That Alexander Downer is actually as charming as he thinks he is.
5. What colour is your watch? Black
6. What do you think of when you think of Australia? Beautiful eucalypt forests on hillsides, red desert spanning from horizon to horizon and democracy.
7. What are you reading currently? The Prince by Nicoló Machiavelli
8. Who is the last person you liked? Vicki
9. Are you close to your mum?
I like to think so, but the physical distance does get in the way a bit.
10. Where does your best friend work?
A toy and puzzle shop.
11. What is your least attractive feature? My utilitarianism.
12. How old were you when you started wearing a bra? I still haven't (unsurprisingly).
13. What color are your pants? Denim blue.
14. Do you have a roommate? Two.
15. What color is your bedroom flooring? White (as in older, slightly dusty white)
16. Do you have a chair in your room? Not really, I use my couch and I have a swiss ball I intend to use...but it hasn't found its way in there yet.
17. What time of day were you born? Absolutely NFI.
18. Do you know anyone who is engaged? No, several married and a few degrees to engaged couples.
19. What's your favorite number(s)? 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 (all of them really, but some more than others)
20. Do you know anyone named Laurie? No.
21. What color is your mom's hair?
Light and/or dark brown.
22. Do you have a dog? Yes - see last meme.
23. Where did you live in 1987? Same place my parents still are.
24. What happened to you in 1993? I started at Barker and got in trouble on my first day for throwing paper aeroplanes.
25. Does your first memory involve your dad? I can't remember my first memory.
26. Do you remember singing any songs as kids? Just nursery rhymes and good old rock.
27. When was the last time you went swimming? I honestly can't remember, probably last summer.
28. Has your luggage ever gotten lost? Not once - I'm lucky.
29. When was the last time you talked to one of your siblings? Vocally, last month, but on gChat just yesterday.
30. Did you ever go to camp as a kid? Yep, all the time. They were some of the best, and worst, times of my life but definitely great experiences.
31. Do you play an instrument? Piano and side-drum...I really need to practice. (Oh and CDJs if you use the West Australian definition of 'instrument'.)
32. Have you ever thought it would be cool to smash a guitar? I'm going to use Maddy's answer here: "I guess, in a completely abstract kind of way."
33. Do you like fire? Yes.
34. Where is your best friend from? Urana
35. Are you allergic to anything? Maybe cats, or dogs, but inconsistently.
36. When was the last time you cried? Two nights ago, in Wah-Wah.
37. What kind of shampoo do you use? Fructis
38. Have you ever been to a spa? No.
39. Were you popular in high school? Everyone knew me, but...no, not really.
40. Did you take science all six years of high school? Of course, it's the only thinking method worth a dime.
41. Do you like butterflies? Not really, I see them as kind of useless - not even in an abstract, inspiring beauty kind of way.
42. What is the last book you read? Starsip Troopers by Robert Heinlein
43. Do you like Coke or Pepsi more? Vanilla Coke all the way, baby!
44. What is one thing you miss about your past? Having reliable knees and a better muscle-weight ratio.
45. Did you ever see the school nurse? Yes - but I plead the fifth.
46. Have you ever wanted to be a teacher? Every time I see the crap methods of some of those teachers out there.
47. What is one thing you've learned about your life recently? That I really like my drinks.
48. Are you jealous of anyone? Any of those millionaires who doesn't have to work anymore.
49. Is anyone jealous of you? Madeline...apparently
50. When was the last time you were in an elevator? Not sure...does a charlift count? If so, then two days ago. Canberra's pretty flat so there's not much need here.

Well that's it again until next week. Cheerio.

A start to the week

* A great article published here with Wired by Steven Colbert of the Daily Show and Colbert Report on how to be an expert on anything. (Whoa! that's a pretty high density of links.)

* A cool article here on the Israelis living on the Israeli-Lebanese border.

You could see the house owner remonstrating with a Hezbollah terrorist not to fire rockets from beside his house,

Basically Israel, not all Lebanese are terrorists, nor do they all benefit, or even pretend to, from the actions of terrorists.