As we’re in the land of total corruption, rising crime and general incompetence – lets take a look at something truly relevant. A huge dust storm on Mars has caused the temperature of that planet to rise by an amazing 30 degrees Celsius. For images and data, in between the powercuts, go to Mars Dust Storm.
You think your writing is good enough to be bad? There’s a yearly competition for the most awful writing imaginable – basically what’s required is a truly wretched first sentence, which begins with ‘It was a dark and stormy night…’ Go try your luck at The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest.
One of the most hardcore governments around, the Taliban – who are doing for Afghanistan what the Khmer Rouge did for Cambodia – have banned the use of the Internet in that country. Go read the story at Taliban’s Latest.
Curious about the nature of artificial intelligence? For a lecture by a professor at MIT, which roughly covers everything from the history of computers through to the absence as yet of a real ‘thinking’ computer, listen to this MIT Lecture.
Are you trapped in an office all day? Did some of the ideas of Project Mayhem from the movie Fight Club fill you with a certain anarchic glee? On a much smaller scale, why not take a look at some of the fun things you can do in the office to make life more interesting for your co-workers. I’m not responsible for what happens should you try some of the things to be found at Office Pranks…
Semi local-site time. Read the fascinating online article which sprang from a student project entitled Computers and the Apartheid Regime.
Then for an Indian take on the match-fixing revelations, cricket fans should find a wealth of interesting info and transcripts at Match Fixing!.
And for another look at some of the nasty things the previous Regime got up, including the probable downing of Samora Machel’s ‘plane, be ready to do some thoughtful reading at The Truth Commission Files.
It’s always funny hearing the hosts on local talk radio expressing their hopes that no one’s watching their Internet use, because the odds are really good that not only is their employer quietly snooping, but – depending on their fame – they’re providing a lot of entertainment for the geeks at their ISP as well. For a glimpse at the employer side of snooping, browse the rather scholarly report at The WorkPlace Surveillance Project.
If you weren’t lucky enough to be around in the early days of the Internet, when adverts were rare, pages were a uniform gunmetal gray and speeds were great – then take a look at an emulator designed to help you relive those heady days of surfing. Prehistoric Internet!
Something the Tourism Board isn’t concerned with is the growing glare from increasing UV radiation, which ultimately will blind and kill most wildlife, wiping out a whole industry. As part of the proof for this, consider that frogs are light sensitive, part of the food chain, and are disappearing worldwide – take a look at the info at Frogs.
Did you know that cows are kept suffering in a permanent state of pregnancy, in order to supply milk all year round? Try an Alice Cooperized version of the ‘got milk?’ campaign, at Got Alice?.
Then, to start you on the path towards getting rid of a lot of ongoing diseases from asthma to osteoporosis, try the excellent resources at Milk Sucks!: www.milksucks.com, then Not Milk: www.notmilk.com. And for a lot of assorted links and references for anyone who wants to try and disprove the facts about the damage caused by dairy products, try the No Milk Page: www.panix.com/~nomilk
There are a lot of losers around, some so awesome that they’ve become net-celebs in their own right – browse through available losers’ websites (including a whole section of journalist losers!) at Losers!!: www.losers.org
Until the next time, if dairy farmers, cricketers and IBM don’t get me.
Ian Fraser is a playwright, author, comedian, conspiracy nut, old-time radio collector and self-confessed data-junkie. Winner of numerous Vita and Amstel Awards, he’s been an Internet addict and games-fanatic since around 1995, when the Internet began to make much more sense than theatre.