Eurovisiopsephology + World Telephone Cultures

   A couple of culture-related items that have been candidates for blog
   posts, but didn't seem to fit anywhere.  So I've lumped them together
   as part of a mid-year clearance...


   1. "The science of Eurovision - a song for eurovisiopsephology"
     <http://network.nature.com/people/scottkeir/blog/2008/05/26/the-
        science-of-eurovision-a-song-for-eurovisiopsephology>

   Refers to the following paper:
   "Comparison of Eurovision Song Contest Simulation with Actual Results
   Reveals Shifting Patterns of Collusive Voting Alliances."
     <http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/9/2/1.html>

   "The voting patterns in the Eurovision Song Contest have attracted
    attention from various researchers, spawning a small cross-disciplinary
    field of what might be called 'eurovisiopsephology' incorporating
    insights from politics, sociology and computer science... In
    particular, the period since the mid-90s has seen the emergence of
    large geographical voting blocs from previously small voting
    partnerships, which initially appeared in the early 90s."


   2. "World Telephone Cultures"
     <http://www.netjeff.com/humor/item.cgi?file=HelloOnTelephoneWorldwide>

   Looks at the differing approaches to phone call procedure and etiquette
   from around the world.

Wolfram|Alpha

     <http://www.wolframalpha.com/>

   This new "answer engine" has been available for just over a month.  If
   you haven't heard of it, here's a brief overview.

   Wolfram|Alpha's long-term goal is "to make all systematic knowledge
   immediately computable and accessible to everyone. We aim to collect
   and curate all objective data; implement every known model, method,
   and algorithm; and make it possible to compute whatever can be computed
   about anything."

   The site has more info, including videos and examples:
   * Examples by Topic
     <http://www.wolframalpha.com/examples/>
   * Visual Gallery of Examples
     <http://www.wolframalpha.com/gallery.html>

   It's not just for serious questions, though:
   * Top 10 Wolfram Alpha Easter Eggs
     <http://mashable.com/2009/05/17/wolfram-easter-eggs/>
   * 10 Even Better Wolfram Alpha Easter Eggs
     <http://mashable.com/2009/05/17/better-wolfram-easter-eggs/>
   For example, Wolfram|Alpha answers its own age when asked:
     <http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=How+old+are+you%3F>

Odds and Ends, Sun 14 June 2009

   1. geoGreeting
     <http://www.geogreeting.com/main.html>
   This site uses satellite imagery to generate custom messages.  Here's
   an example of a personalised greeting:
     <http://www.geogreeting.com/view.html?yrovvyUpBywUlBExyUkxnBsqroDDyU975>

   2. DespairWear
     <http://www.despair.com/deviall1.html>
   From the people behind the Demotivator posters, a range of humorous and
   highly relevant t-shirts.  For example, the eerily accurate "Social
   Media Venn Diagram":
     <http://www.despair.com/somevedi.html>

   3. "Mark Twain Motivational Posters"
     <http://www.sloshspot.com/blog/05-08-2009/Mark-Twain-Motivational-
        Posters-155>

   4. "50 Classic Album Covers Made Awkward by Technology"
     <http://i.gizmodo.com/5284795/50-classic-album-covers-made-awkward-
        by-technology>
   A Photoshop contest updating some classic (clbuttic?) album covers.

   5. "Roomba, Economics and Long-Exposure Photography"
     <http://signaltheorist.com/?p=91>
   Someone "... set up a photo camera ... turned out all the lights and
   took a long-exposure shot ... The result is a picture that shows the
   path of the roomba through its cleaning cycle"

   6. "Apple stuns WWDC crowd with pulsating App Store hyperwall"
     <http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/06/09/apple_stuns_wwdc_crowd_
        with_pulsating_app_store_hyperwall.html>
   "In a rare treat for developers at this year's WWDC, Apple is showcasing
    20,000 of the most popular iPhone apps on a massive hyperwall built out
    of Cinema Displays -- one that pulses in sync with each and every App
    Store download."

   7. "10 Beautiful and Creative World Records"
     <http://www.dirjournal.com/internet-journal/10-beautiful-and-creative-
        world-records/>