Various amusing or interesting topics, or things that shock and appall me. Kind of a miscellaneous bin.
If you’re a true Internet geek, you probably know about RFC 1149, the “Standard for the Transmission of IP Datagrams on Avian Carriers.” Yes, you read that right — it’s a way to transmit information, via Internet protocols, by homing pigeons. It was released on April first, 1990. Well, after eighteen years, it looks like …
English is a very curious language. When talking about software, for instance, you have first-party programs (programs that are written by the same company that developed the computer or operating system that they’re run on) and third-party programs (programs written by other companies). Where are the second-party programs? For that matter, who would “the second …
This New York Times article suggests that longevity drugs might be not only possible, but developed fairly soon. As I’ve heard that there are already more humans alive right now than have died in all of history combined, that suggests some interesting and disturbing things… I want to live a good long time as much …
Continue reading ‘“New Hints Seen That Red Wine May Slow Aging”’ »
I especially like “the Funhouse Mummy.”
I’ve debated whether this article really warrants a mention on Geek Drivel, but I’ve decided to post it anyway, primarily for the first paragraph: Politicians in Western countries talk a lot about the contribution technology can make to politics, but they’re generally on about quite limited ideas like video debates. In Russia, some activists are …
Continue reading ‘“Unmanned Aerial Manhood outrage at Kasparov rally”’ »
And again, life imitates art — in this case, the horse-racing game in the men’s bathroom in one of the Austin Powers movies, which was controlled by the “flow” of those standing at the urinals below it. Gotta love technology… and admire the business sense of the two guys who created it.
The people at Mozilla have come up with a neat idea for Firefox 3: they’re trying to set a Guinness World Record for the most-downloaded program in a twenty-four hour period, on an as-yet-undecided day next month. To see a breakdown (by country) of how many people have pledged to do, or to pledge to …
Continue reading ‘Firefox’s Download Day 2008: Help Set a Guinness World Record!’ »
Scott Adams writes this with his tongue firmly in his cheek, but you have to stop and wonder… maybe it could actually work.
Extremely snarky, but oh-so-accurate. I couldn’t have picked a better group of software to piss people off with, or described it more eloquently.
(I’ve been too busy over the past couple weeks to keep up with low-priority things, so now that I’ve finished part of a project, I’m playing catch-up.) One of the things that I like about Paul Graham’s essays is that they’re always thought-provoking. This one is no exception, and I recommend that anyone who has …