No user-serviceable parts inside.
Name: The Rt Hon KJP
resistance is useless
today
July 2007
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visited *loading* times
[hamster-powered night light]
for when the lights go off unexpectedly. they do, you know.
http://www.otherpower.com/hamster.html
or you could try one of the lamps at
[ the world as a Venn diagram]
[think about it ... no, don't bother, most people don't]
Snap judgements rule our lives.
"Most of what we do every minute of every day is unconscious, " says University of Wisconsin neuroscientist Paul Whelan. "Life would be chaos if everything were on the forefront of our consciousness."
[brain differences between men, women, and in particular the patterns in gay men and gay women]
Gay men employ the same strategies for navigating as women - using landmarks to find their way around - a new study suggests.
But they also use the strategies typically used by straight men, such as using compass directions and distances. In contrast, gay women read maps just like straight women, reveals the study of 80 heterosexual and homosexual men and women.
This has some potential for identifying just what cognitive functions of straight men and women are hardwired and what are acquired behaviours. The situation is perhaps complicated by the cultural commonailty that surrounds some gay men (for example, the tendency to shriek is possibly learned, as is the affectation in langauge used by a subgroup of gay males). But regardless, it may help us understand the workings of the brain and thus how learning might be improved in individuals.
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7069
[Beautiful Ex Libris bookplates]
A wonderful art form . http://www5e.biglobe.ne.jp/~exlibris/index.html
[voodoo kitchen knives]
just wonderful.
[God's Yellow Pages]
http://web2.airmail.net/dpelc/yellow/
[assortment of things about Mr Simon...as we slip slide away]
Paul Simon site including bootlegs from many countries, including some with Bob Dylan. And a quiz: who wrote this lyric, Paul Simon or Marilyn Manson? . All about The Capeman. And the official Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel sites. And the Covers Project shows who covers these songs
{actress knows some Maths]
Actres Danica McKellar ("The West Wing" etc) went to Uni and did a Maths degree (clearly the "Maths is hard " dumb Barbie message didn't affect every young woman:Or perhaps some realised that "hard" is not something to be scared of).
Now she runs a maths help service for kids, and promotes Maths as cool. If only this was more common.
http://www.danicamckellar.com/mathematics.html
[eggcorns.. strange mis-interpreted language elements]
Popular phrases that are mutations of real ones.
Kath and Kim, i emphasise with you....but antidotal evidence suggests this misuse of words needs to be nipped in the butt (he says with a rye smile, outside his locust of control). Well that's putting it in lame man's terms ;-)
[The Shiftkey FAQ]
- Version 0.001(from http://www.petting-zoo.net/~deadbeef/archive/1092.html) by Alan Meiss, ameiss@indiana.edu
Unleash the Power of Shift!
Q. My shift keys have little arrows on them. Does that mean the *real* shift keys are located above them, and these keys are just little signs
to point them out?
A. Nope, they're the Real McCoy. The little arrows mean "up", as in "look up at the screen". Your keyboard is telling you to learn to
touch type and quit staring at your fingers.
Q. What happens if I press both shift keys?
A. Even bigger letters may show up on your screen. You should not usehis feature, however, because these letters are also brighter, and may
cause Screen Burn-In, which would be particularly embarrassing if you were typing something naughty at the time. You might consider obtaining the author's Shift Key Burn-In Protector program for only $139.95. Or you might not, it's your computer, but don't say I didn't warn you.
q. my religion prohibits the use of shift keys. how can i type capital letters and punctuation
A. Discuss alternatives to the shift key with your spiritual advisor. Perhaps your deity would not be angered by repeated use of the Caps Lock
key, or maybe you can retain a consultant to depress the shift for you. You might also consider replacing punctuation marks that require the
use of shift keys with lower case expressions; replace ? with "huh" and ! with "zowie".
Q> I PRESSED SHIFT AND IT"S STUCK DOWN NOW>
A. Do small children with a fondness for peanut butter use your keyboard frequently? If so, you may want to clean it off for more reliable
operation. First, disconnect your keyboard by gripping each of its ends firmly and pulling as hard as you can. Next, immerse the keyboard in
warm water and scrub thoroughly with your favorite lemon-scented detergent and lots of steel wool. Finally, you need to dry the keyboard. Either dry it to touch with a handheld blowdryer, or place it it the dryer for not less than 60 minutes. Be sure to clean the lint screen when you
are finished.
Q. Why are there are no "shift" keys on my keyboard, but there are two keys labelled "hif"?
A. Again, you may want to consider cleaning your keyboard, and washing your hands more frequently for that matter.
Q. Are there shift keys on my Macintosh?
A. Yes, although instead of the notation "shift", the key may be labelled with an excited Mac face, something like :O . Press this key to use
shift, and be thankful you're using a friendly Mac instead of a mean old PC with all them confusin' words 'n stuff on it.
Q. I'm sick of pushing the shift key every single time I want big letters. Is there any other way to do this?
A. This is the Modern Age of Convenience, and you may be able to activate the shift key merely with the power of your voice! Check to see whether your computer is equippped with speech-recognition equipment by saying the word "shift" very clearly and slowly into its speaker. Then watch the keyboard closely to see if the Shift key moves down. Note that you may have to repeat this action several times to "train" the computer to recognize your voice before the feature works reliably.
Q. There are two shift keys, which should I use?
A. Avoid unnecessary wear on either shift key by alternating between the two. Keep track of your usage of each key so that you press them in
equal amounts. Your keyboard may be equipped with a small notepad; you should use this to make little tally marks in two columns for each time you shift. Remember, it's better to go to a little trouble than wind up with a broken shift key.
Q. Why are the shift keys bigger than the other keys?
A. They aren't. This is simply an optical illusion. Just as the moon appears much larger when it is close to the horizon, your shift keys
look larger because of their proximity to other keys. To verify this, go out in a large field at night with your keyboard, place it in an
upright position, and view it from a distance of 200 yards. Sure enough, the keys all look the same size!
Q. If I press the shift key at the wrong time, or too many times, will my computer explode?
A. No. Well, generally no. Not unless you are using a NEC laptop. Or vt100 terminal emulation. But even then, hardly ever. Really, don't
worry about it. Forget I mentioned it. Just type softly. Move along, next question.
Q. No matter what I do, the shift key just doesn't seem to work. What's wrong?
A. Have you ever considered that the problem may not be your keyboard, the problem may be YOU? Perhaps God Himself has suspended the operation of these keys to send you a Message that you have strayed from the path of righteousness. Use this as an opportunity to reflect on your life. Before rushing blindly ahead with a lot of shifting, consult the spiritual advisor of your choice for help in dealing with any unresolved issues in your relationship with the Almighty.
[future of handwriting... is the writing on the wall?]
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/2102725p-8482451c.html
Many teachers say cursive, not to mention polished handwriting altogether, is poised for extinction. They blame keyboards and a fading emphasis on penmanship for its doom.
"I finally decided that no matter how red in the face I got, it wasn't getting any better," said David Bruton, a veteran teacher at Chapel Hill High School. "So I might as well not have a stroke."
...
"Most acknowledge that as keyboards and other devices proliferate, handwriting will become an increasingly less crucial way to communicate. No matter how the future unfolds, language arts teachers such as Lynn Mattox, who teaches sixth grade at Raleigh's Leesville Road Middle School, think there's one form of writing that is always preferred: "I do like it to be legible.""
[48 laws of power]
some/all of these are tongue-in-cheek and most are almost of Dilbert standard, but sadly they are accurate. Example:
Play to People’s Fantasies
The truth is often avoided because it is ugly and unpleasant. Never appeal to truth and reality unless you are prepared for the anger that comes for disenchantment. Life is so harsh and distressing that people who can manufacture romance or conjure up fantasy are like oases in the desert: Everyone flocks to them. There is great power in tapping into the fantasies of the masses.
I am sure we can all think of examples of this.
[your mission, should you choose to accept it...]
Sick of laughing at your organisation's mission statement?
Well...make your own personal mission statement.
Set goals. Get a vision. Write it down. Receive junk mail from the owners. Then your world will be complete.
http://www.franklincovey.com/missionbuilder/
[...and was Jerusalem builded here...]
OK we all know the Jewish nation had a tough time finding a homeland last century. But how many people know that South West Tasmania was one of the possible locations investigated to resettle the survivors of the Holocaust?
"It is at Port Davey that I hope the Jewish settlement will start, not far from where I sever all earthly connections with it… to die in the service of so noble a cause is to me a great satisfaction and if, as I hope, the settlement brings happiness to many refugees and in so doing serves the state of Tasmania, I die happy..
Hilary L. Rubenstein 'Critchley Parker (1911-42): Australian Martyr for Jewish Refugees' Journal of the Australian Jewish Historical Society, 11, pp. 56-860, p. 66
Yes, Critchley Parker set out on a mission to investigate the area around Port Davey for a new Jewish nation
If the lovely young woman who told me about this many years ago was correct, Parker died after eating the last of his supplies (Aspirin) somewhere in the Tasmanian SouthWest near Port Davey.
http://www.kitezh.com/texts/parker.htm
This will make a good book.
[company of talent]
Sadly in the current era, fame seems to relate more to football-playing ability or media promotion than to inherent talent or capacity to achieve for others. In the days when the world was wide (thanks, Henry Lawson), talented people had less chance to meet due to cost and complications of travel.
Yet wonderful meetings happened. Henry Ford and Thomas Edison met and talked often. And what about two of the greatest minds of the last century: Albert Einstein and Kurt Godel? What did those two talk about? And what a conversation to hear...
http://www.newyorker.com/critics/atlarge/?050228crat_atlarge
And meetings of different sorts of great minds..if you could invite say 12 people from any time in history to a dinner party.. who would they be? and what would they talk about? and who would you like to listen in with you on the conversation?
[ Timelapse photography, plants, kids, and dancing]
Dancing with plants (needs Quicktime)
An exhibit in Indiana where "time-lapse movies of plants and green-screen video technology to allow visitors to "get" into the screen with the plants and try to mimic their movements. This exhibit is a fun way for visitors to observe that plants are dynamic living things. "
With interesting results.
More plant timelapse photography
[the wonders of science and music]
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1285527.html
There are so many jokes abou the tunes that could be used that I wont even start...
{make your own world]
"ENG Constructor is a program to build a virtual city. All elements are alike the real stencils. When you finish projecting the city, you can`t save it. You can use "print screen" key and paste "ctrl+v" in graphic program ( paint, photoshop ... ). Then send the city picture to m-city@wp.pl. Your work will be placed in constructor gallery."
http://www.m-city.org/m-city/konstruktor/konstruktor_galeria.html
[how the word "hello" came into being]
Has it ever occurred to you that "hello" was invented as a word to use when answering the phone?
I wonder what other words were driven by technology. Perhaps "login"? And "input"?
http://www2.cs.uh.edu/~klong/papers/hello.txt
