Odds and Ends, Sun 27 September 2009

   1. "Learn Something Every Day"
     <http://www.learnsomethingeveryday.co.uk/>

   2. "Artist paints landscapes from Google Street View"
     <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/picture-galleries/6162704/
        Artist-paints-landscapes-from-Google-Street-View.html>
   "Bill Guffey, an artist who cannot afford to travel, uses Google Street
    View to visit locations around the world and capture them in paint."

   3. "New online Monopoly game is streets ahead"
     <http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2009/sep/07/1>
   "Monopoly City Streets, a link up between game owners Hasbro and Google
    Maps, launches on Wednesday for a four-month period. It enables one, in
    theory, to buy any street in the world."

   4. "Question Suggestions"
     <http://questionsuggestions.com/>
   "small voyages into the collective psyche of humans who ask google
    questions"

   5. "Waiting for the Weekend"
     <http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/91aug/rybczynski-p1.htm>
   "A whole two days off from work, in which we can do what we please, has
    only recently become a near-universal right. What we choose to do looks
    increasingly like work, and idleness has acquired a bad name. Herein, a
    history of leisure"

   6. "The mysterious equilibrium of zombies"
     <http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/09/06/
        the_mysterious_equilibrium_of_zombies/?page=full>
   "... and other things mathematicians see at the movies"

   7. "Book of Space"
     <http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/book-of-space.html>
   "You pick up a book, and you open the covers... and a series of rooms
    begins to pass by, like the frames of a film or sequences in a flip-
    book, and it's all due to laser-cut gaps and remainders."

   8. "What's wrong with this picture?"
     <http://www.scripting.com/stories/2009/09/16/whatsWrongWithThisPicture.html>

From The Curiosity Show to Mythbusters

   My interest in science and technology can probably be traced back to a
   little Adelaide TV program called "The Curiosity Show":
     <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Curiosity_Show>

   I always looked forward to coming home from school to watch the latest
   episode.  Thanks to YouTube, clips from the show can be viewed online.
   For example, here's a piece about how films and movies work:
     <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL0et1YZNMM>

   Around the same time, the ABC had a science show hosted by an American
   scientist, Julius Sumner Miller:
     <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Sumner_Miller>

   His stock phrase before explaining the science underlying an experiment
   was "Why is it so?", which is how the show got its name.  Episodes are
   available officially on the ABC site:
     <http://www.abc.net.au/science/features/whyisitso/>
   Of course, there are lots of other clips featuring JSM online via YouTube.

   Later, my curiosity for how stuff works was met by a couple of English
   presenters in a series called "The Secret Life of Machines".  The
   videos for all episodes are available at:
     <http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/SLOM/index.html>

   In the modern era, Mythbusters maintains the tradition of using
   experiments to explain science, albeit in a more entertainment-oriented
   way:
     <http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/mythbusters.html>

Infographics Overload

   1. "50 great examples of infographics"
     <http://blogof.francescomugnai.com/2009/04/50-great-examples-of-infographics/>
   e.g. "Coffee Drinks Illustrated"
     <http://www.lokeshdhakar.com/2007/08/20/an-illustrated-coffee-guide/>

   2. "How The Average U.S. Consumer Spends Their Paycheck"
     <http://www.visualeconomics.com/how-the-average-us-consumer-spends-their-
        paycheck/>

   3. "How Different Groups Spend Their Day"
     <http://www.nytimes.com//interactive/2009/07/31/business/20080801-metrics-
        graphic.html?hp>

   4. "Maps of the Seven Deadly Sins"
     <http://flowingdata.com/2009/05/12/maps-of-the-seven-deadly-sins/>

   5. "Windows 7 Upgrades Chart Makes Brain Hurt; We Offer the Mac Equivalent"
     <http://www.cultofmac.com/windows-7-upgrades-chart-makes-brain-hurt-
        we-offer-the-mac-equivalent/14186>

   6. "Random Charts & Flowcharts to Make You Smile"
     <http://www.bspcn.com/2009/07/25/random-charts-flowcharts-to-make-you-smile/>

   7. "Tech Support Cheat Sheet"
     <http://xkcd.com/627/>

From Tapping to Typing to Texting

   A current TV advertisement for a bank aims to emphasise how, in its more
   than 100 year history, it has remained in business and kept up with the
   changes in communications technologies.  A quote from the ad is: "from
   tapping to typing to texting".

   That got me thinking.  While it's true that mobile phone text messaging
   is much more accessible and convenient than the old telegraph, an
   interesting aspect of this "progress" is the actual process of writing
   the message.  Just how far have we come in making it easy to generate
   the content of a message?  Here's what I mean...

   Tapping (Morse Code, over telegraph wires):
     .... . .-.. .-.. ---

   Typing:
     HELLO

   Texting (multi-tap on a numeric keypad):
     44 33 555 555 666

   Of course, T9/predictive text is usually quicker than multi-tap, but,
   unless you're using a phone with a full QWERTY keyboard, texting is
   still arguably a step backwards in terms of message entry.

Google's Legacy + Retro Social Media

   1. Is Google making us smarter or dumber?
   Two articles with opposing viewpoints:
   * "Is Google Making Us Stupid?"
     <http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google>
   * "How Google Is Making Us Smarter"
     <http://discovermagazine.com/2009/feb/15-how-google-is-making-us-smarter>

   2. "Social Media in the 1990s"
     <http://copybrighter.com/blog/social-media-in-the-1990s>
   Compares modern social media with their precursors from a different era.

   Mentioned in a comment as an omission, bulletin board systems:
     <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulletin_board_system>
   "A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software
    that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal
    program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading
    and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and
    exchanging messages with other users, either through electronic mail or
    in public message boards... Early BBSes were often a local phenomenon,
    as one had to dial into a BBS with a phone line and would have to pay
    additional long distance charges for a BBS out of the local calling
    area."

   I was a member of a few BBSs in the late 1980s and early 1990s.  Around
   the mid-1980s, Telecom Australia (now Telstra) provided a subscription-
   style service for dialup access to an information directory, called
   "Viatel":
     <http://blog.une.edu.au/ome/2009/02/09/telecom-viatel/>

   Here's a scan of an old newspaper advertisement explaining "Australia's
   National Videotex Service":
     <http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QqIQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lZUDAAAAIBAJ&
        pg=5380,7114713&dq=telecom-viatel>

   The French were using something similar even earlier, "Minitel":
     <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minitel>
   "The Minitel is a Videotex online service accessible through the
    telephone lines, and is considered one of the world's most successful
    pre-World Wide Web online services. It was launched in France in 1982...
    Minitel uses dumb terminals consisting of a text based screen, keyboard
    and modem. Simple graphics can be displayed using a set of predefined
    graphical characters."

   These services provided pretty much the same sort of information as
   teletext does, but at no cost, via a television.  Unfortunately, it
   seems Channel 7 will shut down the Austext service on 30 September 2009:
     <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austext>

Odds and Ends, Sun 12 July 2009

   1. "Humans prefer cockiness to expertise"
     <http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227115.500>
   "The research ... shows that we prefer advice from a confident source,
    even to the point that we are willing to forgive a poor track record".

   2. "Why your brain just can't remember that word"
     <http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17263>
   "In tip-of-the-tongue experiences, for instance, words suddenly and
    perplexingly go missing only to reappear seconds or minutes later.
    Another brain quirk — déjà vu — confirms the fallibility of memory.
    Now two new studies have shed light on both phenomena."

   3. "Our complex brains thrive on the edge of chaos"
     <http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20127015.000>
   "Chaotic thinking is rarely a recipe for success, but evidence is
    emerging that operating at the edge of chaos may drive our brain's
    astonishing capabilities."

   4. "MBA: Mostly bloody awful"
     <http://www.abc.net.au/rn/backgroundbriefing/stories/2009/2526727.htm>
   "Something happened to management culture decades ago and now being
    a Master of Business Administration, especially from Harvard, is
    rather on the nose. MBA, it's being said, can also stand for 'Mediocre
    but Arrogant', or 'Management by Accident'."

   5. "What's Better: Stocks, Bonds, or Lobbyists?"
     <http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/whats-better-
        stocks-bonds-or-lobbyists/>
   "Looking for a 22,000 percent return on your investment? Hire a
    lobbyist, send her to Washington on your behalf, and watch the
    money roll in."

   6. "Health insurers want you to keep smoking, Harvard doctors say"
     <http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?
        id=health-insurers-want-you-to-keep-sm-2009-06-03>
   "Health and life insurance companies in the U.S. and abroad have nearly
    $4.5 billion invested in tobacco stocks, according to Harvard doctors.
    'It's the combined taxidermist and veterinarian approach: either way
    you get your dog back'."

   7. "Teens capture images of space with £56 camera and balloon"
     <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/5005022/Teens-
        capture-images-of-space-with-56-camera-and-balloon.html>
   "Proving that you don't need Google's billions or the BBC weather
    centre's resources, the four Spanish students managed to send a camera-
    operated weather balloon into the stratosphere."

   8. "How to Develop Film Using Coffee and Vitamin C! Srsly!"
     <http://photojojo.com/content/tutorials/coffee-caffenol-film-developing/>

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/>

Explaining Some Little Mysteries

   1. "10 Best Head-Scratching Stories, Explained"
     <http://www.wired.com/culture/culturereviews/magazine/17-05/st_best>
   Explanations for some books, movies and other mysteries of popular
   culture -- according to Wired.

   2. "Beethoven's Ninth Symphony of greater importance than technology",
      or, "Why CDs were originally limited to 74 minutes"
     <http://www.marantzphilips.nl/The_cd_laser/>
   "Philips engineers had always based their work on a playing time of an
   hour, a few minutes longer than a double-sided LP...  However, Sony
   vice-president Norio Ohga, who was responsible for the project, did not
   agree. 'Let us take the music as the basis,' ... Ohga had fond memories
   of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. That had to fit on the CD... The longest
   known performance lasted 74 minutes."

   However, Snopes isn't convinced, giving the explanation the status of
   'Undetermined'":
     <http://www.snopes.com/music/media/cdlength.asp>

   3. "Why text messages are limited to 160 characters"
     <http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/05/invented-text-
        messaging.html>
   "Alone in a room in his home in Bonn, Germany, Friedhelm Hillebrand sat
   at his typewriter, tapping out random sentences and questions on a
   sheet of paper.  As he went along, Hillebrand counted the number of
   letters, numbers, punctuation marks and spaces on the page. Each blurb
   ran on for a line or two and nearly always clocked in under 160
   characters."

   4. "Why are [Twitter] tweets limited to 140 characters?"
     <http://twitter.com/madpew/status/1284771151>
   "[D/@ + whitespace +  + whitespace] + 140 = maximum
   length of a SMS"

   5. "Explaining the curse of work"
     <http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126901.300>
   "This is 'Parkinson's law', first published in an article of 1955, which
   states: work expands to fill the time available for its completion."

   6. "Irish police solve Mr Licence mystery"
     <http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/20/2497039.htm>
   "Irish police have solved the mystery of a Polish recidivist who clocked
   up 50 traffic offences on different addresses and who was never caught,
   after one officer noticed his name meant driving license in Polish."