B-List Archive
January 2002
Postings to the B-List.
Subject: B-List: 2001 in Retrospect
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 09:37:15 +1030
1. The Guardian: Weird Science in 2001
< http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4321358,00.html >
Including Robo-roach and the Australian who "discovered" the wheel.
2. Coolest Space Science Images of 2001
< http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/coolest_2001_011221.html >
3. Weird and Wonderful Reign Supreme in Wacky 2001
< http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=humannews&StoryID=484837 >
4. The Most Moronic Stories of 2001
< http://www.morons.org/feature/top10-2001.php >
5. The all-star team of online games
< http://asia.cnn.com/2001/TECH/ptech/12/26/game.all.stars.idg/index.html >
6. Year-End Google Zeitgeist: Search patterns, trends, and surprises
< http://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist.html >
Search engine reveals what was hot and what was not in the year 2001.
7. Google Holiday Logos
< http://www.google.com/holidaylogos.html >
8. Amazon.com's Best of 2001
< http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/753568/ref=gr_p2_/107-1139056-8843729 >
Find out what were the Amazon editors' and customers' picks of 2001.
Subject: B-List: New iMac + Post-Christmas Wrap-up
Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2002 10:53:12 +1030
1. The new iMac
< http://www.apple.com/imac/ >
2. Festivus
< http://www.interlog.com/~porteous/festivus.html >
An alternative year-end celebration, as devised by Frank Costanza on Seinfeld.
3. "Christmas addict to get cold turkey"
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/england/newsid_1731000/1731057.stm >
4. "Burning Yule Log Wins Christmas TV Ratings in NY"
< http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=humannews&StoryID=481872 >
Subject: B-List: Fun in the Snow
Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 09:47:49 +1030
1. High noon: Man accidentally shoots himself in 'showdown' with a snowman
< http://www.dailyindependent.com/010702/news/local/local8.html >
2. Footprints Lead To Alleged Tire Slasher
< http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/1182015/detail.html >
Subject: B-List: OfficeFunnies.com
Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 08:38:00 +1030
OfficeFunnies.com
< http://www.officefunnies.com/ >
A reasonable collection of office humour. The mission statement:
"Spend as much time as possible doing things that are
fun but can still be passed off as work."
* Copier Madness
< http://www.officefunnies.com/copiermadness.html >
Rules, tips, info lists etc. Featuring:
+ How To Have Fun During The Work Day
< http://www.officefunnies.com/funduringday.html >
+ Laws of Computer Programming
< http://www.officefunnies.com/lawsofprogramm.html >
+ A Proposed Phone Menu Tree Transcript
< http://www.officefunnies.com/phonetree.html >
* JokeWare for your PC
< http://www.officefunnies.com/jokeware.html >
Some software you can use to play practical jokes on colleagues.
Also has the requisite "Boss Page", in case the boss is about to
catch you goofing off:
< http://www.officefunnies.com/bosspage.html >
Of course this page is useless if you're self-employed and don't
have multiple personalities.
Subject: B-List: Anger, Boredom and Procrastination
Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 08:53:30 +1030
1. "Anger Keeps Us Together: Study"
< http://abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s456523.htm >
2. "Changing Places Invention to Avoid Dinner Bores"
< http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=sciencenews&StoryID=466944 >
3. Structured Pocrastination
< http://www-csli.stanford.edu/~john/procrastination.html >
An interesting piece about how to procrastinate effectively. You could say
that preparing b-list emails is an example of SP in action.
Other light essays by the same person:
< http://www-csli.stanford.edu/users/john/light.html >
Subject: B-List: How to Avoid Traffic Jams
Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2002 09:20:13 +1030
Two new ways to avoid traffic jams ...
1. The Segway HT (Human Transporter)
Aka 'Ginger' and 'IT'
< http://theITquestion.com/news/segway120301.asp >
< http://www.wired.com/news/gizmos/0,1452,48788,00.html >
2. SoloTrek XFV (Exo-Skeletor Flying Vehicle)
< http://www.solotrek.com/mjet/index1.html >
< http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-8508229.html?tag=mn_hd >
From one of my favourite TV shows at the moment, Robot Wars, some things
you wouldn't want to tackle in traffic:
* Shunt
< http://www.robotwars.co.uk/shunt.htm >
* Dead Metal
< http://www.robotwars.co.uk/deadmetal.htm >
* Matilda
< http://www.robotwars.co.uk/matilda.htm >
* Sergeant Bash
< http://www.robotwars.co.uk/bash.htm >
* Sir Killalot
< http://www.robotwars.co.uk/killalot.htm >
Subject: B-List: Mixed Bag
Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2002 09:23:07 +1030
1. "The Strongest Formula to Win 'The Weakest Link'"
< http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=humannews&StoryID=523769 >
2. "Chess players 'are paranoid thrillseekers'"
< http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/story.jsp?story=115433 >
3. "Supermarket owner puts onus on shoplifters"
< http://abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s462314.htm >
4. "Singapore cafe serves up a dog's dinner"
< http://abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s463142.htm >
5. Lord of the Rings Name Generators
* Hobbit Name Generator
< http://www.barrowdowns.com/HobGen.asp >
Mine is "Haltred Goldworthy from Whitwell", which is ok. But others are
less fortunate (eg "Bell Grubb from Scary").
* Elf Name Generator
< http://www.barrowdowns.com/ElfGen.asp >
* Dwarf Name Generator
< http://www.barrowdowns.com/DwarfGen.asp >
* Orc Name Generator
< http://www.barrowdowns.com/OrcGen.asp >
These can be quite unflattering. Mine is: "Ashzog the Mucous".
6. Bugatti EB 16-4 Veyron
< http://www.vwvortex.com/news/09_01/bugatti/index.shtml >
Not one V8 engine, but two side-by-side = W16! Top speed of 406 km/h
(252 mph). Impressive? Yes. Practical? Probably not.
Subject: B-List: Surname Distribution Maps
Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2002 10:10:42 +1030
U.S. Surname Distribution
< http://www.hamrick.com/names/index.html >
"Enter a surname (last name) into the form below and you'll get
a map of the United States showing the distribution of people
with this surname within the 50 United States."
Alas it only caters for the 50,000 most commonly occurring surnames,
and mine is too uncommon. Fortunately another site can help me out:
GENS - Surname (Cognome) Map
< http://www.gens.labo.net/it/cognomi/genera.html >
It's an Italian site, but you can enter any surname.
Just enter your surname in the box at top left and click on the arrow.
They also provide US distribution maps:
< http://www.gens-us.net/map/genera.html >
I couldn't find any Australian surname distribution maps, yet.
You can try Belgium:
< http://geonome.metaphor.be/ >
This is supposedly a site for the UK:
< http://www.surnamemaps.co.uk/ >
but it seems to be broken.
Subject: B-List: Rodent Extreme Sports + Recent Headlines
Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 09:08:49 +1030
Rodent Extreme Sports
< http://minnow.cc.gatech.edu/squeak/1912 >
1. Bird Dropping Casts Pall Over Tennis Tournament
< http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=humannews&StoryID=541985 >
2. Flushed with Anger -- Sky Toilet Horror
< http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=humannews&StoryID=534177 >
UPDATE: This seems to have been a hoax.
3. Bandit who used van with his name on it is caught
< http://www.post-gazette.com/breaking/20020122robp7.asp >
4. Rider's great comeback: falls off horse, wins race
< http://www.nationalpost.com/home/story.html?f=/stories/20020124/1223816.html >
5. Queenslanders bare all for Australia Day
< http://abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s466462.htm >
6. Brisbane bank robbers dress up
< http://abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s465352.htm >
Subject: B-List: Construction of the Empire State Building
Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2002 08:53:26 +1030
The Construction of the Empire State Building
< http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/art/photo/hinex/empire/empire.html >
Some great photos taken by Lewis Wickes Hine during the construction of the
Empire State Building, in 1930-1931. Not recommended for those with a fear
of heights.
A selection:
* A worker hanging on to two steel beams
< http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/art/photo/hinex/empire/hanging.html >
* A worker at the edge of a platform, looking north
< http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/art/photo/hinex/empire/edge.html >
* Worker signaling below, view looking north east
< http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/art/photo/hinex/empire/construction.html >
* Connecting the beams
< http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/art/photo/hinex/empire/connecting.html >
* Icarus, high up on Empire State
< http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/art/photo/hinex/empire/Icarus.html >
These guys worked a thousand feet in the air without any safety equipment.
Amazing!
I found out about these photos from the excellent TV series, "New York:
A Documentary Film", which was recently re-run. Here's the web site for the
series:
< http://www.pbs.org/wnet/newyork/ >
B!?