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.

Mixed Bag

   Yes, it's been a while since I've done a B-List post.  Lots of reasons, but
   basically I've lacked the time and motivation necessary to collect links
   and organise them into themes.  I hope to resume regular posts next year, but
   in a less structured, more random format.  A bit like this post really...

   Exercise Your Music Muscle
      < http://virgindigital.com/eymm.htm >
   The entry point requires Flash.  Alternatively access the wallpaper directly:
      < http://virgindigital.com/wallpapers/virgindigital1280x960.jpg >
   Spot the 70+ musicians represented in the Photoshop montage.
   Possible solution, courtesy of Flickr:
      < http://www.flickr.com/photos/65741850@N00/66722414/ >

   Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time"
      < http://www.rollingstone.com/500albums >
   Requires Flash (Why? Sigh).  I don't endorse the panel's list, but it's an
   interesting conversation (and argument) starter.
   I've said it before and I'll say it again:  Sgt Peppers is NOT the best
   Beatles album.  It's not even in my top 5 Beatles albums.  Even if it is the
   "most important rock album ever made", that doesn't make it the best.
   Arguably, George W. Bush is the most important current world leader, but
   I doubt anyone with the slightest bit of intelligence would say he is the best.

   Recently ABC TV had a show counting down the top ten films as voted by the
   (Australian) public, "My Favourite Film":
      < http://www.abc.net.au/myfavouritefilm/ >
   The site lists the top 100, top 10 by genre, selected celebrity favourites, etc.
   Last year they did "My Favourite Book":
      < http://www.abc.net.au/myfavouritebook/ >

   Windows Live Local - Microsoft's answer to Google Maps
   * Bird's eye view of Empire State Building
      < http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=40.752717~-73.982017&style=o&lvl=2
          &scene=1654722 >
   * Strawberry Fields, Central Park, NYC
      < http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=40.775341~-73.974936&style=o&lvl=2
          &scene=1644122&sp=aN.40.775352_-73.974938_Strawberry%20Fields_ >

   Google Zeitgeist 2005
      < http://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist2005.html >
   Google's annual snapshot.


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

2005 Ig Nobel Prize Winners

   2005 Ig Nobel Prize Winners
      < http://www.improbable.com/ig/ig-top.html >

   In case you missed it, the 15th annual Ig Nobel Prizes were awarded recently.

   * What are the Ig Nobel Prizes?
      < http://www.improbable.com/ig/what-are.html >
   "Every Ig Nobel Prize winner has done something that first makes people LAUGH,
    then makes them THINK."
   "The Igs are intended to celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginative -- and
    spur people's interest in science, medicine, and technology."

   * This year's winners
      < http://www.improbable.com/ig/ig-pastwinners.html#ig2005 >
   A selection:
     + PHYSICS
   John Mainstone and the late Thomas Parnell of the University of Queensland,
   Australia, for patiently conducting an experiment that began in the year 1927
   -- in which a glob of congealed black tar has been slowly, slowly dripping
   through a funnel, at a rate of approximately one drop every nine years.
     + LITERATURE
   The Internet entrepreneurs of Nigeria, for creating and then using e-mail
   to distribute a bold series of short stories, thus introducing millions of
   readers to a cast of rich characters -- General Sani Abacha, Mrs. Mariam
   Sanni Abacha, Barrister Jon A Mbeki Esq., and others -- each of whom req-
   uires just a small amount of expense money so as to obtain access to the
   great wealth to which they are entitled and which they would like to share
   with the kind person who assists them.
     + ECONOMICS
   Gauri Nanda of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for inventing an
   alarm clock that runs away and hides, repeatedly, thus ensuring that people
   DO get out of bed, and thus theoretically adding many productive hours to
   the workday.
     + CHEMISTRY
   Edward Cussler of the University of Minnesota and Brian Gettelfinger of the
   University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin, for conducting a
   careful experiment to settle the longstanding scientific question: can
   people swim faster in syrup or in water?
     + NUTRITION
   Dr. Yoshiro Nakamats of Tokyo, Japan, for photographing and retrospectively
   analyzing every meal he has consumed during a period of 34 years (and
   counting).

   ----

   Two TV programs with a humorous take on science:
   * MythBusters
      < http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/mythbusters.html >
   * Brainiac
      < http://www.skyone.co.uk/programmes/brainiac/ >

Accountancy News

   I spent last Sunday afternoon preparing my annual tax return.  Doing so
   reminded me why I cut short my accounting career :)  Here are some recent
   news items on the topic of accountants.

   1. "Fly on the wall has firm's e-mail abuzz for four hours"
      < http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=717522005 >
   "In the latest embarrassing e-mail chain to leak out of the corporate world,
    it seems a team of London accountants spent more than four hours debating
    what to do about a fly buzzing around their office... 'It's hard to believe
    such a minor issue has troubled the brains of one of the most successful
    firms in the world'"

   2. "Accountants struggle with creativity: study"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200508/s1447754.htm >
   "Two Hong Kong researchers have concluded that accountants use anything but
    flowery language in their work and have immense difficulty when creativity
    is required"

   3. "Extreme accounting"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1327454.html >
   "Accountants visit challenging locations like mountain tops, seabeds, caves
    and rollercoasters. And, inspired by the extreme ironing craze, they take
    their work with them"

   4. "Blokey jobs encourage baby boys, study says"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200505/s1374229.htm >
   "Couples desperate to produce a son could boost their chances if one or both
    of them switches to a 'masculine' profession such as engineering or account-
    ancy, a report has said"

   5. "Accountants are kings among U.S. 2005 graduates"  [expired link]
      < http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050605/bs_nm/economy_jobs_dc >
   "Hot degrees in 2005 included business administration, management and elect-
    rical or mechanical engineering, according to a survey by the National
    Association of Colleges and Employers. But no degree is more in demand than
    accounting, where the starting salary averages $44,564 [US]"

Electoral Fun and Games

   1. "Wacky occupations listed on electoral roll"
      < http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3426401a4560,00.html >
   "For instance, Blair Christieson is a lion tamer. Cameron Curd is a Jedi
    Master. Mark Bryan lists his occupation as 'parasite'. Nikolasa Biasny-
    Tule is one of two philosophers in Hamilton East"

   2. "Dog enrolled to vote at NZ elections"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200509/s1466940.htm >
   "New Zealand's electoral office has asked police to look into how a South
    Island man enrolled his dog to vote prior to last weekend's general
    election"

   3. "NZ politician keeps election promise, streaks ahead"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200509/s1468158.htm >
   "A New Zealand politician who promised to run naked through the streets
    if he lost an election bet attempted to honour his pledge on Sunday, but
    in the nature of politicians he was not prepared fully to expose himself
    to the naked truth"

   4. "Political dispute ends in muck"
      < http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1125176.ece >
   "A heated disagreement over the prospects of the Center Party at the
    recent national elections literally ended with muckspreading"

   5. "Sri Lankan election chief's heart not in it"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200509/s1467699.htm >
   "Sri Lankan election chief Dayananda Dissanayake will be running November
    presidential elections but will not be voting - he does not trust
    politicians"

   6. "Donkey Wins Colorado Mayoral Election"
      < http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0704/161651.html >
   "No elephants need apply. This unincorporated area on Saturday re-elected
    Paco Bell, a donkey, as its mayor, and that wasn't even close. Two of the
    four candidates didn't show up... Residents like to poke fun at the
    political process, and they do it by electing a donkey as mayor"

   7. "British election a linguist's minefield"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200504/s1355800.htm >
   "After using 'dog whistle' policies and even 'playing dead', the main
    United Kingdom Opposition party is hoping to score a 'back-door victory'"

   8. "An election experience"  [expired link]
      < http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-libaxt0317,0,3976237,
          print.story?coll=ny-linews-headlines >
   "James Neville achieved a rarity in American politics on Tuesday night.
    He ran unopposed for a third term as mayor in a North Hempstead village,
    and lost"

   9. "Lucky dip selects new Sydney deputy mayor"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200509/s1458826.htm >
   "Sydney's deputy lord mayor, John McInerney, has lost office after a council
    vote and a lucky dip draw"