Monday, June 27, 2005

Computer Rage

Demonstrations of how to safely express computer rage. I love it!!Computer Rage

Researchers: Metcalfe's Law overshoots the mark | CNET News.com

Which laws work and which don't. Researchers: Metcalfe's Law overshoots the mark | CNET News.com

Excite News: New Jack the Ripper theories put sleuths in a spin

I don't know why I've always been fascinated by the Jack the Ripper saga, but this is really interesting. I wonder if there's anything to the sailor story? Or, if J the R could be either a sailor or a surgeon, why not both? Didn't ships at the time have ship doctors? That could conveniently tie together these two theories. And I would imagine that the comings and goings of a ship's doctor would be better documented than a simple deck hand, as society has alwys been more interested in teh well-to-d0 and professional than the poor working class. Excite News

Rock the Vote

BBC Radio In Our Time A BBC Radio Show's opportunity to vote for the greatest philosopher of all time. I'm still looking for the Hamburglar. His "Robble Robble" has influenced generations of those who came after him. I, in fact, count that as a significatn influence on my life.That's why I'm always stealing Kim's french fries.

Sith Happens

When I walked into my office today, I saw the message "Sith Happens :-)" written neatly on my whiteboard. That's one of the reasons that I like to keep a whiteboard: it not only allows me to tell others where I am (when you're a department of one with a busy schedule and no secretary, that's invaluable), and it also provides some interesting reflections from the students.

Now, my formative years were in the 1980's. (I know, that explains a lot!) Back then, the expression was "Shit happens." I can go along with that. Shit happens, and if it doesn't, then there's a problem. We need to expect a certain amount of shit each day: it keeps us on our toes and keeps us regular, and thus helps our overall disposition, in the long run. Too much shit, of course, is not good, just like too much chocolate is not good. (I've never seen too much chocolate, though.)

< channel Yoda > But "Sith Happens," now, these are words for our day. Sith does not need to happen. Sith happens only from greed, impatience, and a lust for power, at some level. And Sith we need to fight against. We see Sith everywhere, especially in the current policies. And this Sith does not need to be, unlike Shit. THere is no acceptable amount of Sith. We must use our force to fight it.

< /channel Yoda >