Odds and Ends, Wed 20 Dec 2006

   1. Recently "My Favourite Album" aired on ABC TV:
     < http://abc.net.au/myfavouritealbum/ >
   I own seven of the top ten, including the #1.  Personally I don't like
   it that much, but there are a couple of ok songs on it.

   In past years they've aired "My Favourite Film":
     < http://www.abc.net.au/myfavouritefilm/ >
   and "My Favourite Book":
     < http://www.abc.net.au/myfavouritebook/ >

   2. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
   a. "Microsoft Rips Off Apple's Workgroup Manager Icon"
     < http://daringfireball.net/2006/12/microsoft_workgroup_manager_icon >
   b. "Google Blatantly Copies Yahoo!?"
     < http://jeremy.zawodny.com/blog/archives/008122.html >

   To spare their blushes the copycats quickly changed their sites, but
   the posts preserve the moment.

   3. Great gift for the office ...
   USB Missile Launcher - Computer-Controlled Desktop Rocket Launcher
     < http://www.kleargear.com/5004.html>
   "The USB Missile Launcher (aka USB Rocket Launcher, USB Air Dart, or
   USB Powered Air Darts) is the state-of-the-art deterrent against those
   bored and aggravating individuals that loiter around your desk when
   there's nothing better for them to do"
   "To defend your desktop from those pesky impostors, all you need to do
   is install the software provided and plug in the Missile Launcher to
   the USB port on your notebook or desktop computer"

   4. "Behind the Scenes at the Microsoft Zune Design Laboratory"
     < http://doodleplex.com/glassmaze/?p=447 >
   Warning: contains slightly colourful (brown) language.
   What a lot of people don't want for Christmas.

   5. "Santas face job risks being cheery: survey"
     < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200612/s1804117.htm >
   "Santas get sneezed upon up to 10 times a day, fend off children pulling
   their beards and mop up after children who frequently wet their laps,
   the survey of hundreds of men who work as seasonal Santa Claus
   characters says"

   I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
   B!?

iWoz + Lost in a Good Book

   A couple more books that I've just finished reading ...

   1. "iWoz" by Steve Wozniak and Gina Smith
     < http://www.amazon.com/iWoz/dp/0393061434/ >

   This is an autobiography by Steve Wozniak, nicknamed "Woz".  For those
   who don't know, he is one of the Two Steves that founded Apple Computer
   (the other being Steve Jobs, who returned to Apple in 1997 and has been
   CEO ever since).

   For someone who has been into computers for over 20 years, and an Apple
   fan, I found it a very interesting read.  Wozniak has a relaxed, almost
   conversational style (probably aided by the co-author).  Even engineers,
   like, say "like" a lot :)

   It's a very candid book, with the author's primary motivation being to
   set the record straight regarding his life, in particular his time at
   Apple.  While it's clear that he is normally very shy and gentle by
   nature, he developed incredible self-belief and confidence from his
   engineering work.  There's a lot of detail for geeks, but it's not over-
   done.  You can skim over it, but make sure you don't miss all the
   practical jokes he's pulled.  He started early and some of the pranks
   are highly elaborate.

   He doesn't just tell you what happened, but he also offers some of his
   personal philosophy.  For example, he tells us that "the secret to life
   ... is to find a way to be happy and satisfied with your life and also
   to make other people happy and satisfied with their lives" (Chapter 5).
   The book concludes with some "Rules to Live By".  But the style is not
   preachy, rather he just tries to give an honest and truthful account of
   his life, and how he tries to live it.


   2. "Lost in a Good Book" by Jasper Fforde
     < http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Good-Book/dp/0142004030/ >

   This is the second book in the "Thursday Next" Series, and the sequel
   to "The Eyre Affair".  It continues the style established in the first
   book.

   In the process of rescuing Jane Eyre our Heroine, Thursday Next,
   has unfortunately made a lot of enemies.  In this book, they each try
   to exact revenge in their own separate way.  For example, Goliath
   Corporation has conspired with a corrupt ChronoGuard agent to go back
   into time to "eradicate" Thursday's husband, and is blackmailing her
   in return for Goliath's Jack Schitt (no kidding).  In addition to
   trying to get her husband back, Thursday becomes apprenticed to Miss
   Havisham from "Great Expectations", who teaches her a new way to
   transport herself through literature.  And somehow she manages to find
   time to help save the world from being turned into pink slime.

   Another enjoyable read, just as imaginative as the first book in the
   series.  Perhaps a touch of the novelty has worn off for me, so I
   didn't think it was quite as good as "The Eyre Affair".  Amazon readers
   have given it an average rating of 4.5 (out of 5), while the first book
   in the series has an average of 4.  Personally I'd swap the ratings,
   but they're both very good books.

Apple iPhone, Fact or Phantasy?

   Few would argue that Apple's iPod has been a very successful product
   since its launch in October 2001.  By September 2006 over 67 million
   iPods have been sold.  Apple reportedly has 70% of the overall digital
   media player market, and the iPod has been dubbed the "Walkman of the
   21st Century".

   With the annual MacWorld Expo scheduled to start on January 9 2007, many
   industry pundits are speculating what will be the Next Big Thing from
   Apple.  The current favourite is an Apple-made mobile phone, dubbed the
   iPhone.  Apple has never officially declared its intention to enter the
   mobile phone market.  Unlike some of its rivals, Apple very rarely pre-
   announces upcoming products.  Instead Apple prefers to maintain a cult
   of secrecy, making surprise announcements of new products just prior to
   their release.  This approach seems to have helped fuel a whole host of
   rumour web sites and blogs, devoted to speculating on Apple's future
   products.

   Here's a selection of the more interesting iPhone-related sites:

   * MYiPhone, the unofficial iPhone weblog
     < http://www.myiphone.com/ >

   * Everything iPhone
     < http://www.everythingiphone.com/ >
     Includes a gallery of Photoshopped iPhones:
     < http://www.everythingiphone.com/iphone-photo-gallery/ >

   * iPhoneFreak
     < http://www.iphonefreak.com/ >

   * iPhone concept blog
     < http://appleiphone.blogspot.com/ >

   Wild speculation from self-declared rumour sites is understandable.
   Even if the iPhone never sees the light of day, such sites at least
   provide some entertainment value.  But when "analysts" and news sites
   join in the frenzy, you have to question their credibility.

   Some sites have been tracking the iPhone phenomenon with a rather
   sceptical eye.  Tao of Mac has a list of articles dating back to 2002:
     < http://the.taoofmac.com/space/iPhone >

   The site's author outlines his thoughts on why it is unlikely that Apple
   would release a mobile phone any time soon.  I tend to agree.  However
   stranger things have happened.  I'm sure there have been several
   internal projects within Apple that could be similar to the mythical
   iPhone.  A large proportion of prototypes in Apple's labs never make it
   to production.  Here are a couple of links with photos of such
   prototypes:

   * The Apple Museum: Protoypes
     < http://www.theapplemuseum.com/index.php?id=45 >

   * Apple Prototypes: 5 Products We Never Saw
     < http://www.applegazette.com/mac/httpwwwapplegazettecomwp-
         adminpostphpactioneditpost272/ >
   Note that #2 is "Apple Videophone PDA".

   More Photoshopped Apple prototypes are collected at:
     < http://www.theapplecollection.com/design/macproto/ >

   Interestingly, just prior to the announcement of the iPod, many rumour
   sites were convinced that Apple would be releasing a PDA (Personal
   Digital Assistant).  One site even gave it a name, iWalk.  So when
   Apple announced the iPod at a special media event, many news sites and
   analysts, were underwhelmed, e.g. "No iWalk, just an iPod":
     < http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2001oct/mac20011023008486.htm >
   Some of the comments are quite amusing in retrospect.

   So, what new products will Apple release in 2007?  The iPhone?  An iPDA?
   An iTablet (a tablet PC)?  One product that Apple has pre-announced for
   2007 has the internal code name "iTV", which is a set-top box:
     < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITV_(Apple) >

UPDATE:
* An iPhone is launched on December 18, not by Apple but by Linksys:
   Surprise iPhone launch

* Timeline of Apple "iPhone" Rumors (1999-Present)

Two Novels and a Film

   Since the last B-List post I finished reading two more books and watched
   a classic film at the cinema.  I've spent very little time in front of
   computers ;)

   Note: Some of links may contain spoilers.  But if you have neither the
   time nor the opportunity to read the books or see the film, then by all
   means check out the links.

   Novel #1: "The Eyre Affair" by Jasper Fforde
     < http://www.amazon.com/Eyre-Affair-Jasper-Fforde/dp/0142001805/ >
   Jane Eyre, the main protagonist from the novel of the same name, is
   kidnapped.  How is this possible?  In a parallel world a resourceful
   inventor has devised a Prose Portal which allows people to literally
   step into the pages of any piece of literature.  The Prose Portal falls
   into the hands of Acheron Hades, a really Bad Guy, and he gets the idea
   of kidnapping characters from books in return for ransom.

   I found it a thoroughly entertaining read, filled with imaginative and
   amusing characters and situations.  There are more novels in the series,
   and I look forward to reading them soon.

   For more about the plot, read the Amazon page, or the following
   Wikipedia entry:
     < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eyre_Affair >

   If, like me, you're not familiar with "Jane Eyre", this entry has
   some helpful background on that novel:
     < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Eyre >


   Novel #2: "Chart Throb" by Ben Elton
     < http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chart-Throb-Ben-Elton/dp/059305749X/ >
   This is a satire of the Pop Idol/X-Factor phenomenon, wherein the Prince
   of Wales, yes Charles Philip Arthur George Windsor himself, becomes the
   most unlikely "pop idol" ever.  I'm not giving the ending away, since
   this challenge is set for the producer of the show very early in the
   book, and the plot reveals how this is achieved.  In the process, the
   shonky and contrived world of reality "talent" shows is exposed.

   I wish I could say I enjoyed the book.  Sure, it had its moments, and
   there is an interesting twist at the end.  If you're familiar with Ben
   Elton's other work you know what you're in for. But I found almost all
   the characters very cliched, and the story rather predictable and
   repetitive.  I didn't find any of the characters particularly endearing.
   Perhaps that's what the author intended?  I might have enjoyed it more
   if it was edited down from 400+ pages to around 200 pages, and some of
   the plot improved.

   Looks like some reviewers didn't think much of the novel either:
     < http://books.guardian.co.uk/digestedread/story/0,,1958726,00.html >


   Finally, the Film: "L'avventura" ("The Adventure")
     < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27Avventura >
   This is a 1960 Italian film written and directed by Michelangelo
   Antonioni.  It won the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival
   when it was released.  It was shown last Saturday as part of the
   2006 Italian Film Festival in Adelaide.

   It doesn't really matter if you know the plot before seeing it, since,
   unlike most Hollywood movies, there is much more to the film than
   the plot.  A very unforgettable film that will reveal more of itself
   with each viewing.  I can't wait for the DVD :)

   According to Roger Ebert,
     < http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19970119/
         REVIEWS08/401010338/1023 >
   "His characters were parasites whose money allowed them to clear away
   the distractions of work, responsibility, goals and purposes, and
   exposed the utter emptiness within. It is possible to be rich and
   happy, of course, but for that you need a mind, and interests. It is
   impossible to be happy simply because one is ceaselessly entertained.
   L'Avventura becomes a place in our imagination--a melancholy moral
   desert."

   Interestingly, this analysis is consistent with the theme in the
   Affluenza book I read.  Perhaps Antonioni was ahead of his time?
   Or maybe people never learn from the missteps of others?

   The film is also an interesting companion piece to Federico Fellini's
   "La Dolce Vita", released in the same year (1960):
     < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Dolce_Vita >

The Paradox of Choice

   A while ago I read "The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less", by Barry
   Schwartz:
     < http://www.amazon.com/Paradox-Choice-More-Less-P-S/dp/0060005696/ >

   The basic theme is: while some choice is good, having to choose from a
   large number of things is not only complex, but it can actually make us
   unhappier.

   The book argues the case using psychological and economic reasoning.
   The last chapter lists 11 useful steps to deal with the problem of too
   much choice.

   Transcript of an interview with author:
     < http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/economy/july-dec03/paradox_12-26.html >
   Excerpts from the book:
     < http://www.hopkinsandcompany.com/Books/The%20Paradox%20of%20Choice.htm >
     < http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/excerpts/2004-01-16-
         paradox-choice_x.htm >

   The item below was meant to be a brief personal anecdote to support the
   theme of the book, but it grew too big for a normal B-List post.  So I
   put it where I've put a lot of other nonsense I've been writing lately
   in my spare time:
     < http://bruno-rants.blogspot.com/2006/11/too-much-choice-
         considered-harmful.html >

Odds and Ends, Fri 24 Nov 2006

   1. "The Forbes Fictional 15"
     < http://www.forbes.com/2006/11/20/forbes-fictional-richest-
         tech-media_cx_mn_de_06fict15_intro.html >
   "The rich may be different than you and me--but not nearly as different
    as the characters that comprise the Forbes Fictional 15, our annual
    listing of fiction's very wealthiest. This year's selection includes
    a duck, a wizard, a Nigerian prince and even a plumber. Aggregate
    (fictional) net worth? $111 billion."

   2. Buzzword Generator
     < http://www.1728.com/buzzword.htm >

   3. Mission Statement Generator
     < http://www.dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/games/career/bin/ms.cgi >

   4. Performance Review Generator
     < http://www.dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/games/career/html/questions.html >

   5. Pop-up Potpourri: It's Getting a Little NaN Outside
     < http://thedailywtf.com/forums/thread/100851.aspx >

   6. Carry Your iPod in a Book
     < http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/portable-media/carry-your-ipod-
         in-a-book-216224.php >

   7. "That's the Way the Spaghetti Crumbles"
      < http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20051112/bob10.asp >
   "Great scientists sometimes do silly experiments. The renowned physicist
    and Nobel prize winner Richard P. Feynman, for instance, once got it
    into his head to figure out why uncooked spaghetti doesn't snap neatly
    in two when you bend it far enough to break. Pay attention next time,
    and you'll notice that the pasta tends to shatter into three or more
    fragments of unequal lengths."

Unusual Buildings + New 7 Wonders of the World

   Amazing Building blog
     < http://amazing-building.blogspot.com/ >

   More buildings and structures designed by Canadian architect Frank Gehry
   (who designed the "Dancing House"):
     < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Frank_Gehry_buildings >

   Strange and Unusual Buildings (in the US)
     < http://www.ohiobarns.com/othersites/buildings/buildings.html >

   New 7 Wonders of the World
     < http://www.new7wonders.com/index.php >
   A campaign to select a new list of Seven Wonders, voted by earthlings.
   There are 21 finalists, and the site is accepting votes until 07/07/07
   (get it?).

Our Multicultural Prime Minister

   The Annual APEC summit ended in Hanoi yesterday.  As is customary, the
   leaders of the APEC countries posed for their "class photo" wearing
   traditional costumes from the host nation.  Here's a photo of the class
   of 2006:
     < http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/11/19/1163871272274.html >

   It's good to see the "Man of Steel" embracing Asian cultures.  He always
   manages to look a picture of sartorial elegance.  The link below is a
   gallery of past APEC photos featuring Australia's representative:
     < http://www.news.com.au/gallery/0,,5007840-5001021-1,00.html >

   Complete APEC class photos are available from the official APEC web site:
     < http://www.apec.org/content/apec/leaders__declaration.html >
   Just click on the "Economy Representatives" link for the relevant year.

   Next year the APEC summit will be held in Australia.  I wonder what the
   "traditional" costume will be?  Singlet, stubbies and thongs maybe?

   You may be surprised to know that the PM has a blog.  Here's his post about
   the APEC summit in 2004:
     < http://johnhoward.blogspot.com/2004_11_28_johnhoward_archive.html >

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid

   I've recently finished reading the latest book from Bill Bryson:
   "The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid"
     < http://www.amazon.com/Life-Times-Thunderbolt-Kid-Memoir/
         dp/076791936X/ >

   It's mostly a memoir of his pre-adult life, laced with Bryson's typical
   humour and casual social commentary.  If you've read any of his travel
   books, you should enjoy this book.  Of course it's easy to label it as
   pure nostalgia for a bygone era, but I think the book transcends such
   oversimplification.

   I've had to return it to the library, so I won't give you any quotes.
   Instead I'll out some of the general things that struck me ...

   1. Living as a child in the 50s and early 60s (in America) doesn't
   sound too different to my own childhood in the 70s and 80s (in
   Australia).  Neighbourhoods were friendly.  Children could spend
   endless summer days playing safely with their friends in the streets
   and any other open spaces.  I don't see that these days.

   2. Despite, or perhaps because of the Cold War, ordinary people seemed
   nicer to each other.  Things were simpler and people were less obsessed
   with material things.  Perhaps I'm being nostalgic myself?  Maybe I'm
   over-romanticising a time when I was too young to notice what was
   really going on?

   3. Mass-merchandising and marketing glitz has come at the cost of
   "the corner store" and other specialty stores run by people who really
   cared about their customers. "Local legends" like cinemas have been
   replaced by multinational chains and franchises.

   4. America really was an extremely racist place prior to the civil rights
   movement.  While the situation has improved since then, some Americans
   are more equal than others.  To some extent this applies to Australia
   too.

20/20 Vision

   20/20 vision means perfect vision, right?  Wrong!  The term actually
   signifies "normal" human vision.

   Meaning of 20/20 Vision
      < http://www.visionww.org/article-what-is-20-20-vision.htm >
   "20/20 vision is a term used to express normal visual acuity (the
    clarity or sharpness of vision) measured at a distance of 20 feet.
    If you have 20/20 vision, you can see clearly at 20 feet what should
    normally be seen at that distance. If you have 20/100 vision, it
    means that you must be as close as 20 feet to see what a person with
    normal vision can see at 100 feet."

   Wikipedia article on "Visual acuity"
      < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_acuity >
   "It is possible to have vision superior to 20/20: the maximum acuity
    of the human eye without visual aids (such as binoculars) is generally
    thought to be around 20/10 (6/3). Recent developments in optometry
    have resulted in corrective lenses conferring upon the wearer a vision
    of up to 20/10. Some birds, such as hawks, are believed to have an
    acuity of around 20/2, which is much better than human eyesight."

   A Snellen Chart is often used in doctors' surgeries to determine
   visual acuity.  If you're at work and want to make a dork of
   yourself, use the following chart to estimate your visual acuity:
      < http://www.mdsupport.org/snellen.html >
   Read the instructions to work out how far to stand from your monitor,
   and remember to test one eye at a time.

   (It turns out that my right eye is better than my left eye.)

Pop-Up Potpourri Collection

   Pop-up Potpourri is an ongoing collection of humorous, nonsensical or
   just plain bizarre error messages and alert boxes from computer
   applications and web pages.

   1a. A Pop-Up Potpourri
      < http://thedailywtf.com/forums/33195/ShowPost.aspx >

   1b. A Pop-Up Potpourii Redux
      < http://thedailywtf.com/forums/37010/ShowPost.aspx >

   2. Mess O' Messages
      < http://thedailywtf.com/forums/42777/ShowPost.aspx >

   3. Arcade Edition
      < http://thedailywtf.com/forums/46902/ShowPost.aspx >

   4. Episode IV
      < http://thedailywtf.com/forums/51170/ShowPost.aspx >

   5. ?????(p???? Edition
      < http://thedailywtf.com/forums/52996/ShowPost.aspx >

   6. Sixth Time is the Charm
      < http://thedailywtf.com/forums/55885/ShowPost.aspx >

   7. Se7en Deadly Messages
      < http://thedailywtf.com/forums/59031/ShowPost.aspx >

   8. Octopurri
      < http://thedailywtf.com/forums/63686/ShowPost.aspx >

   9. Tax Time Edition
      < http://thedailywtf.com/forums/67541/ShowPost.aspx >

   10. Mayday Edition
      < http://thedailywtf.com/forums/thread/72607.aspx >

   11. June Bugs
      < http://thedailywtf.com/forums/thread/75718.aspx >

   12. Julialicious
      < http://thedailywtf.com/forums/thread/80731.aspx >

   13. Announced By God
      < http://thedailywtf.com/forums/thread/85750.aspx >

   14. Givin' It 120%
      < http://thedailywtf.com/forums/thread/88145.aspx >

   15. Perpetually in Beta
      < http://thedailywtf.com/forums/thread/90530.aspx >

   16. You Can Quote Me On That
      < http://thedailywtf.com/forums/thread/97325.aspx >

Do you have Affluenza?

   I've just finished reading an interesting book: "Affluenza: When Too Much
   is Never Enough" by a couple of Australians, Clive Hamilton and Richard
   Denniss:
     < http://www.amazon.com/Affluenza-When-Much-Never-Enough/dp/1741146712/ >

   Warning: If you like spending money, you may find the concepts in this
   book offensive :)

   Affluenza can be defined as:
   1. The bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from
      efforts to keep up with the Joneses.
   2. An epidemic of stress, overwork, waste and indebtedness caused by
      dogged pursuit of the American Dream.
   3. An unsustainable addiction to economic growth. (PBS)
     < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affluenza >

   A brief summary of the Australian book, from Wikipedia:
     < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affluenza#Affluenza_in_Australia >
   Hamilton and Denniss's book poses the question: "if the economy has been
   doing so well, why are we not becoming happier?" (pvii). The authors note
   that Australia's GDP doubled between 1980 and 2005 (p3), but that "it is
   now well established that once income levels reach a particular threshold
   further increases do not increase national happiness" (p63).
   Their conclusion is as follows: "Since the early 1990s, Australia has
   been infected by affluenza, a growing and unhealthy preoccupation with
   money and material things. This illness is constantly reinforcing itself
   at both the individual and the social levels, constraining us to derive
   our identities and sense of place in the world through our consumption
   activity." (p178) They argue that affluenza causes over-consumption,
   "luxury fever", consumer debt, overwork, waste, and harm to the
   environment. These pressures lead to "psychological disorders, alienation
   and distress" (p179), causing people to "self-medicate with mood-altering
   drugs and excessive alcohol consumption" (p180).

   The book includes an amusing quote:
   "In rich countries today, consumption consists of people spending money
    they don't have to buy goods they don't need to impress people they don't
    like." (anonymous)
   I guess you could add they work long hours for this privilege.

   I must admit the book made a lot of sense.  Does that make me a communist?
   Or maybe I'm un-Australian.  Feel free to dob me in to John Howard or Peter
   Costello :)

Top 10 Strangest Clocks + Babel fish-like device

   1. Top 10 Strangest Clocks
      < http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/top-10-strangest-clocks >
   Daylight Savings starts in Adelaide on October 29 (this Sunday)


   2. "It's the next best thing to a Babel fish"
      < http://www.newscientisttech.com/article.ns?id=mg19225755.800 >
   "Imagine mouthing a phrase in English, only for the words to come out in
    Spanish. That is the promise of a device that will make anyone appear
    bilingual, by translating unvoiced words into synthetic speech in another
    language"
   "The device uses electrodes attached to the face and neck to detect and
    interpret the unique patterns of electrical signals sent to facial muscles
    and the tongue as the person mouths words"

   In case you weren't aware, the concept of the Babel fish originated from
   "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy":
      < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babel_fish >
   Which in turn inspired the web translation service of the same name:
      < http://babelfish.altavista.com/ >

World Origami Day

   Today is the first of two "World Origami Days"
      < http://www.worldorigamiday.org/ >
   The site includes some simple designs that you can download:
      < http://www.worldorigamiday.org/diagrams.html >

   Joseph Wu Origami
      < http://www.origami.as/home.html >
   Features some interesting and colourful designs in the Gallery section:
      < http://www.origami.as/gallery.php >

   Finally, here's "the most comprehensive list of origami models available
   anywhere":
      < http://www.origamidatabase.com/ >

Periodic Table Displays

   Today's post is brought to you by the letter "U" and the number "92".

   The "Most Beautiful Periodic Table Displays in the World"
      < http://www.element-collection.com/html/installations.html >
   A company offers custom-built installations featuring the chemical elements.
   These installations include real-world applications of each element, and
   are interactive - they have a built-in an iMac that provides text, photo
   and video information.

   The web site has a photo of the installation at a US university.  Click on
   an element to get more info about it's display.  For example, Uranium,
   which has been in the news lately:
      < http://www.theodoregray.com/PeriodicTableDisplay/Elements/092/ >

   Also available in a more convenient coffee table version:
      < http://www.element-collection.com/html/coffee_table.html >
   or as a poster for your wall:
      < http://theodoregray.com/PeriodicTable/Posters/index.html >

   A more traditional looking periodic table, with links to detailed info:
      < http://www.dayah.com/periodic/ >

World Cup and Chinese Astrology

   Not long after the recent Football World Cup I noticed an interesting
   coincidence regarding the relationship between winners of the tournament
   and Chinese astrology.  As you may be aware, Chinese astrology is based
   on a 12-year cycle - each year in the cycle has an animal sign.

   What I noticed was that this year is the Year of the Dog, and Italy won
   the World Cup.  Twelve years ago was also the Year of the Dog, and I
   remembered (painfully) that Brazil defeated Italy that year.  24 years
   ago, another Year of the Dog, Italy won the World Cup.  I was noticing
   a pattern.  To illustrate, I constructed a table of past winners (and
   runners-up) with the relevant Chinese sign (see below).

   The observations:
   * Italy and Brazil are the ONLY winners in the Year of the Dog (3 each)
   * Italy has made the final in two other Years of the Dog, but lost both
     to Brazil
   * Germany is the only multiple winner in the Year of the Horse (2)
   * Germany and Argentina are the only teams to make the final more than
     once in the Year of the Horse (4 times and 3 times respectively)
   * Six different teams have won (once only) in the Year of the Tiger
   * Brazil has won every final it has reached, EXCEPT for two of its
     three finals in the Year of the Tiger

   So if history is any guide ...
   2010 (Tiger)  Could be a chance for a first-time winner
   2014 (Horse)  Germany or Argentina should make the final
   2018 (Dog)    Brazil, Italy or both should make the final




World Cup Finalists and Chinese Signs
Year
Winner
Runner Up
Chinese Sign
1930
Uruguay
Argentina
Horse
1934
Italy
Czechoslovakia
Dog
1938
Italy
Hungary
Tiger
1950
Uruguay
Brazil
Tiger
1954
Germany
Hungary
Horse
1958
Brazil
Sweden
Dog
1962
Brazil
Czechoslovakia
Tiger
1966
England
Germany
Horse
1970
Brazil
Italy
Dog
1974
Germany
Netherlands
Tiger
1978
Argentina
Netherlands
Horse
1982
Italy
Germany
Dog
1986
Argentina
Germany
Tiger
1990
Germany
Argentina
Horse
1994
Brazil
Italy
Dog
1998
France
Brazil
Tiger
2002
Brazil
Germany
Horse
2006
Italy
France
Dog



WINNERS
 
Brazil
Italy
Germany
Uruguay
Argentina
England
France
TOTAL
Horse
1
0
2
1
1
1
0
6
Dog
3
3
0
0
0
0
0
6
Tiger
1
1
1
1
1
0
1
6
TOTAL
5
4
3
2
2
1
1
18


   [I did this analysis on July 12/13, but only now got round to writing it up]

[Info] How a B-List Post is Created

This is a brief overview of the process of how a typical B-List post is created. Hopefully it gives you an idea of why I got a bit tired of doing them, and why I've decided to change my approach to posting to this blog :)

Step 1: Collecting Links
When I browse the web, I often come across stuff that other people might like. For example, an amusing news story, a cool new web site, or just something silly. So I started keeping a catalogue of such links in a text file. This file got quite large, so I used an application on my Mac (MacJournal) to help manage them all.

Step 2: Categorising Links
The links are basically just three lines: a headline, the url (or web address) and a short summary. The links are grouped with related links into categories (e.g. "Strange Laws", "The Things People Say"). And related categories are kept together in a MacJournal page (e.g. "Amazing human feats", "Law and Order"). Once a week I would take the links collected in the "to be sorted" list and put them into appropriate categories.

Step 3: Posting an Item
When I've collected a reasonable number of links in a category, that category becomes a candidate for a B-List post. The theme is often obvious, but sometimes I come up with a catchy title (e.g. "The Things People Say"). In an ideal world this would simply be a matter of cutting and pasting the links into an email and send it off. I've even set up some Perl scripts to automate the formatting the links. But as you're probably aware, the web is not static: pages expire, sites are reorganised, and some sites disappear completely. So I need to manually check each link in a post before sending it. If a links has expired, I'll try using Google to find a similar page, or at least see if someone else has archived it on their site. This takes time.

Unfortunately, each step in the process outlined above has broken down. My browsing habits have changed. I'm reading more technical stuff, so I have less time to find generally-amusing links. When I do find such links, categorising them among the 400-odd categories (containing a total of over 5000 links) takes too much time. Finally, I found that the themes were becoming repetitive. I guess this is understandable: I've been sending B-List emails for about 6 years, with over 800 posts. In April 2003 I started the B-List blog, b-list.blogspot.com, and there have been 380 posts since.

In the long break since my post in May, I've been thinking what to do about the B-List. I could use a database to help with the collection and categorising of links, but the issue of repetitiveness and change of reading habits would still be there. I actually miss posting - I needed a new approach. So I've decided that, at least for a while, the B-List will morph into something of an observational thing. What has caught my interest lately? Have I noticed something interesting or unusual?

I'll still post items about sites of interest. For example, on Friday I sent the now annual post about the Ig Nobel awards. But I doubt that I'll return to theme-based collections of links.

In conclusion, I hope you enjoy the "new" B-List.

2006 Ig Nobel Prize Winners

      < http://www.improbable.com/ig/ig-pastwinners.html#ig2006 >

   "The Ig Nobel Prizes honor achievements that first make people laugh,
    and then make them think. The prizes are intended to celebrate the
    unusual, honor the imaginative -- and spur people's interest in
    science, medicine, and technology."

   A selection of this year's winners:
     + PEACE
   Howard Stapleton of Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, for inventing an electro-
   mechanical teenager repellant -- a device that makes annoying noise
   designed to be audible to teenagers but not to adults; and for later
   using that same technology to make telephone ringtones that are audible
   to teenagers but not to their teachers.
     + ACOUSTICS
   D. Lynn Halpern, Randolph Blake and James Hillenbrand for conducting
   experiments to learn why people dislike the sound of fingernails
   scraping on a blackboard.
     + MATHEMATICS
   Nic Svenson and Piers Barnes of CSIRO, for calculating the number of
   photographs you must take to (almost) ensure that nobody in a group
   photo will have their eyes closed.
     + LITERATURE
   Daniel Oppenheimer for his report "Consequences of Erudite Vernacular
   Utilized Irrespective of Necessity: Problems with Using Long Words
   Needlessly."
     + ORNITHOLOGY
   Ivan R. Schwab and the late Philip R.A. May, for exploring and
   explaining why woodpeckers don't get headaches.

Matchstick Models and Cardstacking

   Over the weekend I watched (again) a great French comedy "The Dinner Game"
   ("Le Dîner de Cons").  This post is inspired by one of the characters in
   the film, who builds models of famous landmarks, e.g. the Eiffel Tower,
   using matchsticks.  To find out more about the film, and to read some
   reviews, check out the Amazon page:
      < http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0783239955 >

   1. Matchstick Marvels: Museum
      < http://www.matchstickmarvels.com/matchstickmain.html >
   "Iowa artist Patrick Acton turns ordinary wooden matchsticks into incredible
    works of art.  The Matchstick Marvels display is wood art at its best,
    showing creativity and detail work unmatched by other skilled woodworkers.
    Millions of matchsticks have been painstakingly glued together to represent
    models of planes, trains, ships, or anything else that strikes his
    imagination."
   Exhibits:
      < http://www.matchstickmarvels.com/models.html >

   2. Bryan Berg Guinness World Record Cardstacker
      < http://www.cardstacker.com/index2.html >
   "Bryan Berg, the acknowledged inventor of cardstacking on the grand scale"
   The Cardstacker Gallery:
      < http://www.cardstacker.com/gallery.html >
      < http://www.cardstacker.com/gallery2.html >

Workplace Reform

   1. "Sleeping could be the best idea you ever had"
      < http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1297824,00.html >
   "For idlers, it may be the revelation they have been praying for: researchers
    called yesterday for beds to be installed in workplaces after a survey
    revealed that almost all of us come upon our best ideas when we are about to
    nod off"

   2. "Even low-level office noise can increase health risks and lower task
       motivation for workers, Cornell researchers find"
      < http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Jan01/noisy.offices.ssl.html >
   "Low-level noise in open-style offices seems to result in higher levels of
    stress and lower task motivation, according to a new study by a Cornell
    University environmental psychologist"

   3. "Cluttered desks make workers ill"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3571735.stm >
   "Researchers at NEC-Mitsubishi say the nation's office workers are being
    hit by 'Irritable Desk Syndrome'. They say long working hours, cluttered
    desks and poor posture are making many people ill"

   4. "Study links warm offices to fewer typing errors and higher productivity"
      < http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Oct04/temp.productivity.ssl.html >
   "Chilly workers not only make more errors but cooler temperatures could
    increase a worker's hourly labor cost by 10 percent, estimates Alan Hedge,
    professor of design and environmental analysis and director of Cornell's
    Human Factors and Ergonomics Laboratory"

   5. "Work illness hits half UK staff"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4221923.stm >
   "More than half of people believe they suffer ill health due to work, a
    study has found"

   6. "Workers want bosses to 'get lost'"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4166062.stm >
   "Most workers reckon that their bosses are excessively bureaucratic,
    apportion blame wrongly and are inconsistent in decision making, a report
    has found... 'Management has to help employees perform, which in many
    cases means getting out of the way'"

The Things People Say

   1. "The sleeping giant goes on the offensive: Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft
       is ready to take the offensive."
      < http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/04/03/
          8373041/index.htm >
   "My children--in many dimensions they're as poorly behaved as many other
    children, but at least on this dimension I've got my kids brainwashed:
    You don't use Google, and you don't use an iPod."

   2. "President Bush's remarks on Economic Competitiveness"
      < http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/18/
          AR2006041801057.html >
   "The iPod, interestingly enough, was built on years of government-funded
    research in microdrive storage and electrochemistry and signal compression"

   3. "Bush brings campaign across the Potomac"
      < http://www.wtopnews.com/?sid=243903&nid=25 >
   "Bush added that 'the really rich people figure out how to dodge taxes
    anyway'"

   4. "Rumsfeld prose makes sweet music"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200403/s1070092.htm >
   "Last year, newspaper columnist Hart Seely recorded Mr Rumsfeld's exchanges
    with reporters in Pieces of Intelligence: The Existential Poetry of Donald
    Rumsfeld.  One of those pieces, The Unknown, is Mr Rumsfeld's oft-repeated
    musing on the vagaries of intelligence, 'as we know, there are known knowns;
    there are things we know we know; we also know, there are known unknowns...'"
   Related:
    * "Pieces of Intelligence: The Existential Poetry of Donald Rumsfeld"
      < http://www.monkeyrivertown.com/brains.php?ART=438 >
    * The Donald Rumsfeld Library of Quotations
      < http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/news/bh/rumsfeld.shtml >

   5. "Jennifer Lopez wants to be American president"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200505/s1359116.htm >
   "After conquering Hollywood and the pop charts, superstar Jennifer Lopez says
    she is ready to wrestle George W Bush out of the White House"

   6. "Celine calls her Vegas audiences sleepy drunks"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1328796.html >
   "Celine Dion has admitted that audiences at her Las Vegas show are often
    tired, drunk, sick and in some cases asleep"

   7. "Charlize wants to marry Ozzy"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1130981.html >
   "Charlize Theron says she would love to marry Ozzy Osbourne"

   8. "'I haven't read a book in my life', says Posh"
      < http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/08/14/1123957937512.html >
   "Former Spice Girl singer Victoria Beckham, the wife of England soccer
    captain David, has confessed she has never read a book"

   9. "Vanstone denies mocking aviation security measures"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2005/s1513051.htm >
   "she allegedly complained about having to use plastic knives on planes, and
    used a bizarre example involving gouging someone's eye out with a pencil"

Interesting Research + A Stress Release Idea

   It's been so long I've almost forgotten how to write one of these things :)

   1. "'Sleeping on it' best for complex decisions"
      < http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8732 >
   "Complex decisions are best left to your unconscious mind to work out,
    according to a new study, and over-thinking a problem could lead to
    expensive mistakes. ... Thinking hard about a complex decision that
    rests on multiple factors appears to bamboozle the conscious mind so
    that people only consider a subset of information, which they weight
    inappropriately, resulting in an unsatisfactory choice. In contrast,
    the unconscious mind appears able to ponder over all the information
    and produce a decision that most people remain satisfied with"

   2. "Woman with perfect memory baffles scientists"
      < http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=1738881&page=1 >
   "Give her any date, she said, and she could recall the day of the week,
    usually what the weather was like on that day, personal details of her
    life at that time, and major news events that occurred on that date"

   3. "Cubicles: The great mistake"
      < http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/09/magazines/fortune/
          cubicle_howiwork_fortune/index.htm >
   "Even the designer of the cubicle thinks they were maybe a bad idea, as
    millions of 'Dilberts' would agree"

   4. "Bacteria use slime jets to get around"
      < http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8933 >
   "The propulsion system used by slime-squirting bacteria could teach
    rocket scientists and nano-engineers some new tricks"

   5. "No place like home: Ant navigation skills used in robot navigation"
      < http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-04/sfeb-npl033106.php >
   "Ants that return from foraging journeys can use landmarks to find their
    way home, but in addition they have an internal backup system that allows
    them to create straight shortcuts back to the nest even when the outbound
    part of the forage run was very winding"

   6. "Your taste in music is shaped by the crowd"
      < http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8702 >
   "People like a song more when they think other people like it too, a new
    study suggests. But the interactions between individual and group opinions
    are so complex that it is impossible to predict whether a good song will
    be a hit or a flop, according to researchers who asked people to rate the
    quality of music by unknown bands"

   7. "Anger boiling? Smash plates at Philippine eatery"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200603/s1604172.htm >
   "At the Isdaan restaurant in Gerona, about three hours north of Manila in
    the Philippines, Vescara and other patrons work out their stress for about
    40 cents Australian a go, by hurling plates at the 'wall of fury'
    emblazoned with words such as ex-wife, boss and lover"

   I hope you all have a happy and safe break over Easter.

Random Links for Jan 31, 2006

   The Great Banana Revolution
      < http://www.slate.com/id/2067407/ >
   Should you peel bananas from the bottom up?


   Toogle
      < http://c6.org/toogle/ >
   Takes the first match for a phrase in Google Images, and creates a text
   version of that image.
   Examples:
      < http://c6.org/toogle/index.php?phrase=ipod >
      < http://c6.org/toogle/index.php?phrase=u2 >
      < http://c6.org/toogle/index.php?phrase=ferrari >
      < http://c6.org/toogle/index.php?phrase=george+w+bush >
      < http://c6.org/toogle/index.php?phrase=toogle >


   NASA's Water Balloon Experiments
      < http://exploration.grc.nasa.gov/balloon/blob.htm >


   Which sports car are you?
      < http://www.tomorrowland.us/sportscar/ >
   Apparently I'm a Porsche 911: "You have a classic style, but you're up-to-
   date with the latest technology. You're ambitious, competitive, and you
   love to win. Performance, precision, and prestige - you're one of the
   elite, and you know it."


   The A to Z of Programmer Predilictions
      < http://www.hacknot.info/hacknot/action/showEntry?eid=81 >
   This last one is about computer programmers, but there may be similar
   personality types in other occupations.

Uncyclopedia

      < http://uncyclopedia.org/ >
   "Welcome to Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia that anyone can edit"

   You may know about Wikipedia, "the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit".
   Uncyclopedia is its evil, sarcastic and sometimes very funny twin.
      < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncyclopedia >

   Be warned: some articles on Uncyclopedia can get a bit rude and/or crude.

   A selection of articles:
      < http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Worst_100_Movies_of_All_Time >
      < http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Worst_100_Nonexistent_Words_of_All_Time >
      < http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Ipod >
      < http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Programmer >
      < http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Accountants >
      < http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Evil >
      < http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Freemasons >
      < http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Quaid_Disaster_Theorem >
      < http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Infinite_Paradox_Theory >
      < http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/United_States_Of_America >
      < http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Simpsons >
      < http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Morse_code >

   I like one of the jokes on the Microsoft page:
     "The day Microsoft makes something that doesn't suck is the day they make a
      vacuum cleaner."
   An oldie but a goodie.

   If you're game, jump to a random page:
      < http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Special:Randompage >

   Then if you want facts more closely resembling reality, visit Wikipedia:
      < http://en.wikipedia.org/ >

Interesting Research, Best and Worst Gadgets

   1. "Surprises make soccer the best sport"
      < http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8531 >
   "Baseball has home runs, American football has touchdowns and basketball has
    slam dunks. But when it comes to which is the most exciting sport to follow,
    soccer takes the gold medal"

   2. "Do you get less wet if you run in the rain?"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4562132.stm >
   "The power of mathematics has finally given us the reassurance that, when we
    run for that bus shelter, store canopy or random shop (and start pretending
    to browse), we are getting it exactly right!"
   [But it depends on the circumstances.  There are conflicting views out there.
    The Mythbusters have tackled the question, and I've got my own thoughts.
    I might write a B-List Extra post on this all-important question]

   3. "Scientists explain the 'Cheerio Effect'"
      < http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9425907 >
   "You may or may not have pondered why your breakfast cereal tends to clump
    together or cling to the sides of a bowl of milk. Now there is an easy
    explanation"

   4. "Secret of Mona Lisa's smile revealed"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200512/s1531291.htm >
   "It is official: Mona Lisa was 83 per cent happy, 9 per cent disgusted,
    6 per cent fearful and 2 per cent angry"

   5. "Beauty enough to help win an election"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200510/s1492551.htm >
   "Beauty may only be skin deep but it is apparently enough to carry an
    election, a new study says"

   6. "Red is the colour if winning is your game"
      < http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18625005.300 >
   "Evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar from the University of Liverpool
    speculates that primate eyes may be particularly sensitive to red. 'The
    significance is then a matter of context,' he says. Red fruit is good;
    red competitors are bad"

   7. "NewScientist.com's top 10 news stories of 2005"
      < http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8499 >

   8. "Best (and Worst) Gadgets of 2005"
      < http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,69912-0.html?tw=rss.index >

   9. "The 50 Greatest Gadgets of the Past 50 Years"
      < http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,123950,pg,7,00.asp >

Random Links for Jan 8, 2006

   1. Despair, Inc: Demotivators Calendars
      < http://www.despair.com/ >
   Three 2006 calendars:
      < http://www.despair.com/2006collection.html >
   The Wishes Calendar, Business As Usual 2006 Calendar, 2006 Best of Demotivators
   Example (from The Wishes):
     "Compromise: Let's agree to respect each other's views, no matter how wrong
      yours may be"


   2. Billboard - "Time-lapse Phonography"
      < http://lukedubois.com/billboard >
   Someone has taken the "spectral average" of each of 857 songs that have
   topped the Billboard chart since 1958.  Then he merged these together to
   create a single chronological sequence of sound.  He's dubbed the technique
   "time-lapse phonography".


   3. The Forbes Fictional 15
      < http://www.forbes.com/home/lists/2005/11/29/forbes-fictional-rich
          _cx_mn_de_05fict15land.html >
   "To qualify for the Fictional 15, we insisted that members be both fictional
    (in the sense that we excluded mythological and folkloric figures) and
    characters (meaning they are part of a narrative story or series of stories).
    Great wealth was required to be one of the primary attributes of the
    characters on this list--in other words, we looked for characters that were
    known, within their universes, for being rich."


   4. Lost Civil Liberties Mug
      < http://www.philosophersguild.com/index.lasso?page_mode=Product_Detail
          &item=0236 >
   "Pour in a hot beverage and watch your civil liberties disappear! Mug features
    the complete text of the Bill of Rights, but pour in a hot beverage and see
    what remains thanks to the Patriot Act!"


   5. Y Can't Park
      < http://flickr.com/photos/ycantpark/ >
   Flickr photo album of examples of bad parking.