Buried any pets lately? Well, why not join the ranks of grieving ex-animal owners, and post a tribute to your squished dog or cat, at The Online Pet Cemetery. Staying with creatures that have too much energy and brains that don’t quite grasp things like they should, how about an interesting online article dealing with teenagers. Yes, they ARE different – their brains and habits do seem to be different from children, and from adults. Go get some useful info via the ever amazing PBS and their site Teenage Brains. Here’s a heads up for anyone looking to invest in a technology that’ll eliminate most of the choke points on the Internet. It uses Ultra Wide Band (UWB) as a method of bypassing telephone systems for that last leap from lovely high-speed bandwidth to users homes. It’s scaring the hell out of various companies, who can sense their coming demise. Read about it at Cringely, Plan Announcement and Plan.
Something to spark wild debate in geography class. You always thought you knew where you were in the world. Well, if you were raised on the Mercator maps, which were mainly designed to help sailors sail in a straight line (and which, bizarrely, put Europe and Germany at the centre) then you have some surprises coming. For a ‘real’ look at your world – using the actual area sizes of the countries and continents – something that Mercator maps don’t do at all, start your journey at The Peters Map then try Peters Vs Mercator and read the reasoning behind the maps you always thought showed the world as it was, at Colonialism Through Maps. Erik Von Daniken brought to the mainstream the premise that sometime in the past there existed a fairly advanced civilisation on earth that was wiped out. Unfortunately he added aliens to the mix. Either way, picture a theme park. Not just any Mickey Mouse park – but one dedicated to the ‘mysteries of the Earth’ – yup, you got it. Von Daniken is involved in the already-in-construction first Mystery Theme Park!
The US Department of Justice court action against Microsoft invited comments from the public on the case. Read some of the interesting things people had to say (and which Microsoft had to grin and bear) Public Comments on Microsoft.
Art makes great wallpaper. Go take a look at the strange, lurid and bizarre reality of Hironymous Bosch.
Seeing as the American Film Institute made great PR out of their 100 Top Films of the Twentieth Century, some folks decided an alternative list was in order. Go browse through the films most likely to be seen on local television, at 100 Worst Films of the Twentieth Century.
Einstein was wrong! Er – maybe. Supposedly nothing travels faster than the speed of light, yet researchers have done an experiment sending electromagnetic pulses at THREE times the speed of light. Probably fearing death threats from physicists worldwide, they hasten to add that this broke no laws of physics as we know it. Only attempt the PDF file link, if you can cope with fairly advanced science and mathematics. PhysicsWeb PDF.
There’s a country you may not have visited, that has over a million citizens. Its called Norrath, and it has its own currency – worth about the same as the Yen. Around 60 000 people visit it every hour, worldwide. The zinger is, the country only exists online – it’s the huge virtual playground of Everquest. For a look at this world, as well as an interesting analysis of its economic structure, go to Castronova, Slashdot.
Hack the planet stuff. If you’re curious to see what countries seem to be spawning the most hackers who are intent on repeatedly attacking large corporations, for some eye-opening data, take a look through Corporate Hack Attack Trends
Until the next time, if geography teachers and teenagers 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.