On a blog without a name » Humour

Seat 25B

Nicholas — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 10:23:36 +0000

I’m very glad I was not on this flight:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/odd_born_in_the_sky

Having a child born next to you is going to do nothing for jet-lag. It might, however, lead one to reflect on the wonder of life.

Accents

Nicholas — Thu, 22 May 2008 08:22:41 +0000

Just a silly clip – one woman introducing herself in twenty one different accents. As someone who is incapable of mimicking accents, I’m impressed by two things. Firstly, by the fact that she captures the subtleties of several similar accents. Secondly, that she does it all in what appears to be a single take.

Uncertain Addresses

Nicholas — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:51:54 +0000

The domain name system was created by people who were used to a unix command line, and therefore does not allow spaces. While some websites use hyphens in their addresses, most just run the words together. Sometimes with amusing results.

Fox News for Beginners

Nicholas — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:46:41 +0000

The Daily show takes a look at Fox News.

Part two is here.

A Time Machine in NYC

Nicholas — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:21:11 +0000

What is it like to drive a time machine? The NYT knows.

What cat?

Nicholas — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 14:54:26 +0000

My thanks to my friends at my second favourite place in the universe (you know who you all are) for pointing me in the direction of this rather interesting webpage:

Who would have guessed that when you remove Garfield from the Garfield comic strips, the result is an even better comic about schizophrenia, bipolor disorder, and the empty desperation of modern life?

Updated daily, it seems.

Joining the iCult

Nicholas — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 21:29:39 +0000

Thanks to TLA for pointing out to me that the New York Times technology reviewers have an amazing sense of humour:

Stop Press: (Minority of?) Internet Users Stupid

Nicholas — Mon, 14 May 2007 16:27:18 +0000

Perhaps people don’t really read what they see on the screen. Perhaps they are addicted to clicking (“Oooo. Blue and shiny. Must Click!”), but it turns out that you can actually offer to infect people’s computers and they will click on the link.

Speaking of reading text online, the point made by Livelink (TM) is interesting: irregular lines of text are easier to read than blocks of text.

Too much of a good thing

Nicholas — Mon, 07 May 2007 11:06:08 +0000

I was amused by this clip. You can get people to sign anything if you just know how to do it. In this case, a petition to ban that evil compound now found in drinking water near you, dihydrogen monoxide.

The need for a sarcasm tag

Nicholas — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 07:00:33 +0000

“The Internet” went mad yesterday when it thought that Sheryl Crow had suggested a limit on the use of toilet paper. I feel justified in saying “the internet” when even the BBC reports such a silly story.

I never thought that the original blog (or is that “bog”?) post sounded entirely serious. There are several give-aways, including the reported reaction of her younger brother to her scheme. Nevertheless, the “blogsphere” seems to have missed the joke entirely. She has had to point it out herself.

Of course, the same thing occurs all the time in the study of history. Franklin, it is often reported, suggested that the Turkey and not the Eagle should be the symbol of America. Well, so he did – almost – in a letter to a young relative that was intended to be entertaining, educating and witty. Not that you’d guess it from many accounts.

There’s only one solution: manditory “sarcasm” tags, which will cause the content to be hidden from any web browser operated by journalists or in nations known to be lacking a sense of humour.