an egg-basket in a centrifuge

A little dash of panic | BBC News Magazine

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:37:19 -0400

A little dash of panic | BBC News Magazine: ‘One toke of a joint would inevitably lead to mainlining heroin in these films, but the plot would be rounded off with a nice, happy, moral ending.’

The giant 6ft cow that is as big as a small elephant | the Daily...

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:33:37 -0400

The giant 6ft cow that is as big as a small elephant | the Daily Mail

Via Neatorama.

Men charged after skull dug up, used as bong | Reuters

Mon, 12 May 2008 09:48:51 -0400

Men charged after skull dug up, used as bong | Reuters:

This story has been around for a bit, and I didn’t think it weird enough to post on its own. Until I realised that a major international news site had used the word “bong” without explaining it.

Follow the link and read for yourself. Reuters — Reuters! — just assume that everyone will know what a bong is.

Sweet Dreams Security ‘Fences with bunny rabbits for...

Mon, 12 May 2008 08:19:17 -0400

Sweet Dreams Security

‘Fences with bunny rabbits for railheads, razor-wire woven with butterflies, padlocks shaped like teddy bears and feline CCTV covers – a few of the products in the Sweet Dreams Security™ range. Matthias Megyeri has carved an exciting new niche market for products that respond to what he sees as an uncomfortable balance between the growing demand for security products and an over-saturation of the kitsch, the ‘cute’, the garden gnomes and the frilly curtains.’

Pictured here, lace curtains in the pattern of barred windows. (Via Schneier on Security.)

Cannibal theory for locust swarms | BBC News

Mon, 12 May 2008 04:47:38 -0400

Cannibal theory for locust swarms | BBC News: ‘They suggest that locusts combine into swarms because they are frightened of being eaten by each other.’

Forget lingerie, ladies, knock them out with a 'hot pink' stun gun | Telegraph

Fri, 09 May 2008 08:39:56 -0400

Forget lingerie, ladies, knock them out with a 'hot pink' stun gun | Telegraph: ‘And as with any good Tupperware-style party, after the talk and the demonstration came the chance to test the wares. The evening ended with the women sizzling away at an aluminium foil target as some of their husbands sat in the garden, smoking cigars in the balmy night air.’

Looking for the Mouse This is the guy that wrote Here Comes...

Fri, 09 May 2008 04:50:00 -0400

Looking for the Mouse

This is the guy that wrote Here Comes Everybody. The talk is over ten minutes, but he nails the thing, and he’s funny.

‘Desperate Housewives essentially functioned as a kind of “cognitive heat sink”, dissipating thinking that might have otherwise built up and caused society to overheat.’

‘Here’s what four-year-olds know: a screen that ships without a mouse ships broken. Media that’s targetted at you but doesn’t include you may not be worth sitting still for.’

(Via Kiyo.)

Sitting straight ‘bad for backs’ | BBC News Nice to...

Thu, 08 May 2008 05:21:05 -0400

Sitting straight ‘bad for backs’ | BBC News

Nice to know I’ve been doing something right all these years.

Meet the Spacecraft That Could Save NASA a Fortune | Wired

Thu, 08 May 2008 04:45:00 -0400

Meet the Spacecraft That Could Save NASA a Fortune | Wired:

‘Reusable spacecraft architecture is a bit of a novelty for NASA, which has traditionally built spacecraft from the ground up for each new mission — at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars. By using a modular platform, NASA will no longer need to to reinvent the wheel again and again […]

The compressed air propulsion system only allows the craft to hover for six or seven seconds, but that is more than enough time for the scientists to work out kinks in the design. When they switch to a conventional engine, most the flight control software will be nearly flawless.’

(Is this strange? Well, maybe it’s strange that they’ve never thought of doing it before…)

Via Brigno

Thu, 08 May 2008 04:43:00 -0400

Via Brigno

Scientists create robot chewing device | The Register

Wed, 07 May 2008 09:46:42 -0400

Scientists create robot chewing device | The Register

The church is ailing - send for Dr Who | Telegraph

Wed, 07 May 2008 07:24:00 -0400

The church is ailing - send for Dr Who | Telegraph:

‘Although an atheist, Russell T Davies, the chief writer of the current series has previously acknowledged the benefits of religion.

“I think religion is a very primal instinct within humans, a very good one, part of our imagination,” he said.

[…]

The Rev Andrew Myers, vicar at St Aidan’s in Leeds, attended the course and said that he would use Doctor Who in future sermons.

“We saw the Doctor persuaded to save a family of Pompeians in one of the most recent episodes, surely a reference to Genesis and Abraham’s bargaining with God over the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah,” he said. ‘

(Via Comment is Free.)

OT: Tumblize | numblr ‘Obviously, these guys are...

Wed, 07 May 2008 06:25:00 -0400

OT: Tumblize | numblr

‘Obviously, these guys are catering to rich, stupid people. Since a) no one except someone really stupid pays $999 for a one-page design, and b) except rich people with more money than sense.’

On the other hand:

‘Oh, and guys, again, it’s a tumblelog, not a Tumblr. The same way my photos on Flickr are just photos, not Flickrs.’

If they wanted us to call them “Tumblelogs” then maybe they should have named the thing “Tumbler”?
Believe it or not, you can take a photo and not post it on Flickr. Likewise, you can have a tumblelog and not use Tumblr. Maybe Flickr users don’t need a seperate word, but I like having one. So:
I’ll call my tmblg whatever I please, thanks.

(Sorry, Richard: slow news day.)

"If you are asking what license this software is released under, you are asking the wrong question."

Tue, 06 May 2008 17:12:00 -0400

“If you are asking what license this software is released under, you are asking the wrong question.”

-
— The entire text of the Mu License, via Anarchaia.

Criminal keeps £4.5m as barristers refuse to take case | Telegraph

Tue, 06 May 2008 15:56:11 -0400

Criminal keeps £4.5m as barristers refuse to take case | Telegraph:

‘A convicted drugs criminal has escaped an order to have up to £4.5 million of his assets confiscated because no legal aid barrister would take on the case.

[…] The offender, who has served a nine-month sentence for two drugs convictions, could not pay for the legal fees himself because his assets had been frozen.’

(Via UK Liberty.)

The day the music died | dive into mark

Tue, 06 May 2008 07:13:10 -0400

The day the music died | dive into mark:

‘So what happens on August 31, 2008? On that day, Microsoft will turn off the servers that they maintain for the sole purpose of validating that the songs that people have already “purchased” through MSN Music are still theirs to play. Those people (hereafter “the victims”) will not notice the change right away. The victims will only notice it when they purchase a new computer, or when they upgrade the operating system on their current computer, or when the hard drive in their computer dies and needs to be rebuilt/reinstalled. […] The Microsoft music player will then conclude, incorrectly but steadfastly, that the music files were downloaded illegally and that the victim is a filthy pirate, and it will refuse to play them. In this case, the left hand knows exactly what the right hand is doing: they’re both giving you the finger.’

(via Daily Meh.)

Air marshals' names tagged on no-fly list | The Washington Times

Fri, 02 May 2008 12:29:00 -0400

Air marshals' names tagged on no-fly list | The Washington Times:

‘The problem with federal air marshals (FAM) names matching those of suspected terrorists on the no-fly list has persisted for years, say air marshals familiar with the situation.’

(Via Schneier on Security.)

material safety sheet (# 1151) - Bunny TBOR

Fri, 02 May 2008 09:16:30 -0400

material safety sheet (# 1151) - Bunny TBOR

Does sex addiction exist? | BBC News Magazine

Fri, 02 May 2008 09:13:00 -0400

Does sex addiction exist? | BBC News Magazine:

‘It’s a very serious addiction, says Paula Hall, who runs a group therapy course for “sex addicts” in Warwickshire, and it’s believed about one in 20 people suffer from it.’

[…]

‘If everything was resting on it, then a sex obsessive would not walk over the abyss but a real addict would, says Mr Hodson. Substance addiction stops the body’s natural production of opiates, thus inducing “cold turkey” which has a physical pain akin to old age.’

Did LSD change Britain? | BBC News Magazine

Thu, 01 May 2008 11:29:04 -0400

Did LSD change Britain? | BBC News Magazine:

‘For Gregory Sams and his brother Craig an LSD trip at Berkeley in California in 1967 provided an epiphanal moment that led them to London to spark a major change in British eating habits.

[…] Craig went on to be head of the Soil Association and to set up the chocolate company Green and Blacks. In 1982, Gregory is credited with inventing the vegeburger.’