Odds and Ends, Sun 24 June 2007

   1. Lots of Titles
   * "May The Form Be With You"
     <http://worsethanfailure.com/Articles/May-The-Form-Be-With-You.aspx>
   "Not to be outdone by British Airways' variety of 206 different titles,
    the Atlanta Botanical Gardens wanted to make sure they covered everyone
    on their donation form's dropdown box. Who would have thought that Sith
    Lords have a soft spot for botany?"

   * British Airways' variety of 206 different titles
     <http://www.britishairways.com/travel/inet/public/en_gb>
   In the "Register" form on the right, click on the Title pull-down to
   see all the available titles.

   2. "The Baby-Name Business"
     <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118247444843644288.html>
   "Parents are feeling intense pressure to pick names that set their kids
    apart. Some are even hiring consultants. Alexandra Alter on the art of
    'branding' your newborn."

   3. "Lost in translation"
     <http://www.guardian.co.uk/germany/article/0,,1781004,00.html>
   "The Brits often assume that Germans have no sense of humour. In truth,
    writes comedian Stewart Lee, it's a language problem. The peculiarities
    of German sentence construction simply rule out the lazy set-ups that
    British comics rely on ..."

   4. Broken Windows in Public Places
   * Crashing Las Vegas
     <http://worsethanfailure.com/Articles/Crashing-Las-Vegas.aspx>
   * Paint at the movies?!
     <http://melissatogo.blogspot.com/2007/02/multimedia-message.html>
   * ATM Machine and Windows XP
     <http://www.geckoandfly.com/2006/07/08/atm-machine-on-windows-xp/>
   * Sometimes even PSPs get the blues
     <http://www.engadget.com/2005/05/11/sometimes-even-psps-get-the-blues/>
   * Windows Crash
     <http://www.windowscrash.com/modules.php?set_albumName=pictures&
        op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php>
   * Windows Error Pictures
     <http://www.rootsecure.net/?p=windows_error_pics>
   * What is Wrong With These Pictures?
     <http://www.drbrad.org/flight-info.html>

   5. Origin of CTRL-ALT-DEL
     <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPVcvWshuAM>
   Why you do what you do to fix situations like those in item #4.

   If youtube is blocked, try these alternatives:
     <http://blogs.pcworld.com/tipsandtweaks/archives/001080.html>
     <http://www.metacafe.com/watch/29641/the_origins_of_ctrl_alt_del/>
     <http://www.devilducky.com/media/28888/>

   6. The Computer Bed "The Tale"
     <http://www.flyingbeds.com/14.Euro_BunkBed/Euro-ComputerBed.htm>

Queen Loana and the Raw Shark Texts

   Two more books I've read recently, sharing a theme of memory loss.

   Reading these books was actually a bit difficult at times, since they
   made me think about how my mum's memory loss effectively wiped out her
   identity in the months before her death.

   1. "The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana" by Umberto Eco
     <http://www.amazon.com/Mysterious-Flame-Queen-Loana/dp/0151011400>

   This is a story about Yambo, an elderly bookseller lost his memory after
   a stroke.  Strangely, he can't remember anything about his personal
   life, yet he can still remember very clearly things he's read in books and
   heard in popular songs.

   Yambo decides to retrace his life by going back to his old house in the
   country, where he grew up.  With the help of old comics, toys, posters
   and books, Yambo attempts to find out who he is/was.  The novel itself
   is described as an illustrated novel, and indeed it features lots of
   colour pictures from comics, posters and other printed material.  These
   play an integral part in the telling of the story.  Also, they provide
   a pocket pictorial history of Italy, in particular from the 1930s to
   post World War Two.

   An interesting read, especially if you're a fan of early comics like
   Flash Gordon and Mickey Mouse aka Topolino.


   2. "The Raw Shark Texts" by Steven Hall
     <http://www.amazon.com/Raw-Shark-Texts/dp/1841959111>

   Eric Sanderson wakes up realising he doesn't know who he is.  There's a
   note addressed to him from the "First Eric Sanderson", urging him to
   stay calm and contact Dr. Randle immediately.  She will tell him what's
   happened.  Apparently this has been a recurring sequence.  Dr. Randle
   tells him he suffers from a dissociative disorder, where he loses more
   and more of his memory.  The death of his girlfriend while on holiday
   was the trigger.

   At this point you'd think this story is a bit ho-hum, but then things
   start getting really interesting.  He continues to receive letters in
   the mail, apparently from the "First Eric Sanderson".  His former self
   is telling him that his memories have been taken by a Ludovician - a
   "conceptual shark".  This shark has been feeding off his memories for
   a while.  The shark must be destroyed, otherwise Eric will lose his
   identity completely.  So begins his quest to vanquish the Ludovician.

   Along the way he:
   * journeys through Un-Space (e.g. disused attics, derelict factories,
     boarded-up houses, ducting etc)
   * attempts to decode messages from himself
   * meets Scout, who remarkably shares the exact same tattoo on her big
     toe as his deceased girlfriend
   * meets the mysterious Dr. Trey Fidorous, doctor of languages and
     expert in all types of conceptual fish

   Scout has her own quest to defeat Mycroft Ward, who has found a way to
   make himself immortal via cyberspace.

   As if the narrative wasn't fluid enough, there's a 50-odd page flip book
   section describing part of the action as the story reaches its climax.

   The ending is a bit ambiguous, but then in some ways that's to be
   expected.  People have described this book as the Matrix meets Jaws.
   The letters from Eric's former self are reminiscent of Memento.

   However, I should warn you that this book can mess with your head a bit,
   and may not be for the feint-hearted.  You might question what is
   identity, and how do you know for sure that you are sane, or are you
   actually insane but think you're normal?

Pompeii + A Man Without A Country

   A couple of quick book reviews today ...

   1. "Pompeii: A Novel" by Robert Harris
     <http://www.amazon.com/Pompeii-Novel/dp/0812974611>

   This historical novel is set in 79 AD, in the days leading up to and
   immediately following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.  It traces the
   actions of Marcus Attilius Primus, the newly-appointed aquarius (water
   engineer), whose job it is to make sure the Aqua Augusta is properly
   maintained.  This aqueduct supplies fresh water to many cities
   surrounding the Bay of Naples, including the the ill-fated Pompeii,
   Herculaneum, Neapolis and Misenum (an important Roman naval base).

   The new aquarius doesn't have long to settle into his new job, with some
   major problems to deal with straight away.  The water flowing to a fresh-
   water fish farm appears to be contaminated.  Worse still, the water
   supply to some cities is under threat.  Readers have the benefit of
   knowing that Vesuvius is about to blow, but at the time it was not
   generally known that it was a volcano.

   The story involves the mysterious disappearance of the previous aquarius,
   the ambitions of a wealthy developer and former slave, Ampliatus, and a
   love story between the new aquarius and the daughter of Ampliatus.  Pliny
   the Elder, a famous writer and scholar of the time, features as a cool-
   headed observer of what unfolds.

   The book also provides interesting information about volcanoes, with
   specific details of the impending eruption of Vesuvius.  Also, there's
   a lot of interesting background about the ancient Roman water supply.
   Aqueducts were built to very fine tolerances, with a gradient of only
   34cm per km.  They were constructed using cement that set even when
   wet, and many have survived largely intact for over 2000 years.


   2. "A Man Without A Country" by Kurt Vonnegut
     <http://www.amazon.com/Man-Without-Country-Kurt-Vonnegut/dp/081297736X>

   This is a brief collection of memoirs by Kurt Vonnegut, author of several
   novels including one of my favourites, "Slaughterhouse-Five".
     <http://www.amazon.com/Slaughterhouse-Five-Kurt-Vonnegut/dp/0385333846>

   Sadly, Vonnegut passed away earlier this year.

   Topics include humour, writing, humanity, politics and life in general.
   He makes some interesting observations, for example: why don't the so-
   called Christian leaders in the US say much about the Beatitudes?  In
   fact, George W. Bush and Co seem to be stuck in the Old Testament ("an
   eye for an eye"), rather than the New ("blessed are the peacemakers").

Visualisation Sites

   A couple of sites that help you visualise things ...

   1. A Periodic Table of Visualization Methods
     <http://www.visual-literacy.org/periodic_table/periodic_table.html>

   An interesting catalogue of the many ways to represent ideas, concepts,
   data etc.  Based on the Periodic Table of chemical elements.


   2. Worldmapper
     <http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/worldmapper/index.html>
   "The world as you've never seen it before"

   About the maps:
     <http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/worldmapper/about.html#maps>
   "Worldmapper is a collection of world maps, using equal area cartograms
    where territories are re-sized on each map according to a particular
    variable... Every map shows the worldwide distribution of something,
    called a variable. If a particular country is larger on one map than
    another, it follows that it has a higher proportion of the world total
    of the first variable.

   Examples:
   * Wealth 2002
     <http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/worldmapper/display.php?selected=170>
   * Human Poverty
     <http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/worldmapper/display.php?selected=174>
   * Affected by Disasters
     <http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/worldmapper/display.php?selected=245>
   * Nuclear Power
     <http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/worldmapper/display.php?selected=114>
   * Coal Power
     <http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/worldmapper/display.php?selected=113>
   * Military Spending 2002
     <http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/worldmapper/display.php?selected=279>
   * Nuclear Weapons
     <http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/worldmapper/display.php?selected=289>
   * Voter Turnout
     <http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/worldmapper/display.php?selected=360>
   * Tertiary Education
     <http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/worldmapper/display.php?selected=203>
   * Books Borrowed
     <http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/worldmapper/display.php?selected=344>
   * Internet Users 2002
     <http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/worldmapper/display.php?selected=336>