Roadkill & Miscellany

KittieDex

2008-02-03T19:53:00.000-08:00

Killer bacteria from outer space

2007-10-01T19:28:00.000-07:00

As if cosmic rays and hard vacuum didn't make space dangerous enough, astronauts might have to contend with an unexpected threat: bacteria. Mice exposed to a strain of Salmonella typhimurium that spent 12 days in orbit on a 2006 shuttle flight were nearly three times as likely to die from the stomach bug than rodents infected with its earthbound ilk, a new study finds. Seems the microbes began to

Water On The Brain: The Man with Only 50% Grey Matter

2007-07-22T01:18:00.001-07:00

An amazing tale of a French civil servant... clipped from www.nature.com The man with a hole in his brain Scans reveal a fluid-filled cavity in the brain of a normal man.A serious case of water on the brain: scans revealed only a narrow rim of brain material.Three years ago, a 44-year-old man was admitted to

Google Desktop Search Error

2007-02-04T22:36:00.000-08:00

If you get the error message "Windows cannot find..." when trying to launch a file retrieved by Google Desktop Search, it has probably been deleted. Google desktop keeps a record of deleted files. You can eliminate this problem by indicating in your preferences that you do not want deleted files to appear in your search results. There is no need to re-index your drive (as I learned today). Duh.

Milton Friedman Choir - The Corporation

2006-10-15T22:28:00.000-07:00

The Milton Friedman Choir singing about Milton Friedman's definition of the Corporation. In his world view, the amoral corporation takes over the running of schools under theadvertising slogan "Choice."

Need Help with Outlook: View Reset Problem

2006-10-11T01:37:00.000-07:00

I've looked everywhere and asked everyone so this is my last chance... that some anonymous surfer will come along with advice or find this in his search for the same thing. Anytime I sort by a field (ie by clicking the relevant column heading) it redefines the view applied to the folder and removes the existing field grouping.Eg: Let's say I created the view "Fave View" which is available for all

Google Music Search

2006-08-17T01:44:00.000-07:00

Artist:Song:

Nine Nations on Soda Pop

2006-08-01T21:35:00.000-07:00

Hot on the web today was a map of the US showing the distribution of generic names for soft drinks.It struck me that there was some rough correlation to the "Nine Nations of North America"Note: Some people split the continent up slightly differently. Large parts of Ecotopia are claimed by the Cascadians and New England appears to be properly named Atlantica.

Furl Spam: Out of Control

2006-06-20T02:27:00.000-07:00

Further to my last post on Furl Spam (Is the Times Spamming Furl?), Furl has totally lost control. 20 of the top 25 sites Furled today are Golf related spam. Has Furl just been completely abandoned to the elements? Furl lost the war to del.icio.us some time ago but still had a good following because of their ability to back-up pages saved. But if it's going to just become a repository for spam,

Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland: MP3

2006-06-07T02:52:00.000-07:00

This is a recording of an amateur choir (Colibri) in Singapore performing JS Bach's Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland. Again, the sound quality is poor but... well whatever. It's worth every penny you pay. Nun-komm.zip (5Mb) This concert was held in early December 2005 at the Kampong Kapor Methodist Church and was sponsored by Artyfakt.

Uns Ist Ein Kind Geboren: MP3

2006-06-07T02:47:00.000-07:00

This is a recording of an amateur choir (Colibri) in Singapore performing JL Bach's Uns Ist Ein Kind Geboren. The sound quality is poor but the price is good: free. Uns-Ist-Ein-Kind-Geboren.mp3 (10.3Mb) This concert was held in early December 2005 at the Kampong Kapor Methodist Church and was sponsored by Artyfakt. I believe this will mark the world premier of this piece being made available

Saint-Saens: Christmas Oratorio MP3

2006-06-07T02:38:00.000-07:00

This is a recording of an amateur choir (Colibri) in Singapore performing Camille Saint-Saens' Christmas Oratorio. The sound quality is poor but the price is good: free. Saint-Saens-Christmas-Oratorio.zip (11.5Mb) This concert was held in early December 2005 at the Kampong Kapor Methodist Church and was sponsored by Artyfakt.

Lab Rat Brain Online

2006-06-04T19:24:00.000-07:00

Online quarrelling is also addictive, in precisely the same way Tetris is addictive. It appeals to the "lab rat" part of your brain; the annoying, irrepressible part that adores repetitive pointlessness and would gleefully make you pop bubblewrap till Doomsday if it ever got its way.Charlie Brooker, The Guardian

Dubya Quote of the Day

2006-06-01T20:31:00.000-07:00

OK this quote is over a year old but I only just saw it and it struck me as ridiculously funny...This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous...Having said that, all options are on the table.President George W. Bush, February 2005Source: Petrodollar Warfare

Fat Bugs

2006-05-31T01:47:00.000-07:00

Scientists have identified a key microbe in our guts that helps us glean more calories from food. The discovery backs the idea that the type of microbes in our gut help to determine how much weight we gain, and that seeding the intestine with particular bugs could help fight obesity. Samuel Buck of Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, and his colleagues focused on one microbe called

Is The Times Spamming Furl?

2006-05-29T20:41:00.000-07:00

The popular social bookmarking systems - Furl, Digg & del.ici.ous amongst others - tend to have a lot of the same "top urls." However Furl is unique in that it is the only one that regularly has listings from Times Select which is the New York Times paid for subscription service.And it's not just the odd Times Select listing now and again. Today, there are 4 Times select listings in the top 25 -

Penis Panic

2006-05-25T23:35:00.000-07:00

Koro is one of a number of names for a hysterical condition known medically as Genital Retraction Syndrome, whose victims become convinced that their genitals are disappearing into their bodies. It can be contagious, sparking off "penis panics", such as the one that overtook Singapore in 1967 in which thousands of men became convinced that their penises were being stolen; it was contained by a

Advice

2006-05-24T23:58:00.000-07:00

Advice is a form of nostalgia.Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.- Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen I'm just saying'...

Church Sign Generator

2006-05-19T00:48:00.000-07:00

Get Your Own Here

Lasse Gjertsen: Creative

2006-05-10T07:38:00.000-07:00

The art of beat box revived.

Voting with Their Feet

2006-05-02T23:57:00.000-07:00

If you're interested in the Singapore Elections, Yawning Bread's photo-essay has captured an interesting aspect apparently lost on local media:PAP's Rally at Hougang (1 May) Worker's Party Rally the night before (April 30)Interesting. No comment... I'm just sayin'.

Odds Are

2006-03-08T00:07:00.000-08:00

Odds of asteroid hitting the earth in 2036 that releases more energy than 100,000 Hiroshimas: 1 in 15,000 Odds of getting killed in a plane crash this year: 1 in 441,000 You have 30 years to mull this over.

Twins

2006-02-28T17:36:00.000-08:00

Two parents of mixed race and the resultant twin girls are... black and white. More

Ashoura: Worse than Thai Pussam?

2006-02-15T00:19:00.000-08:00

I have a collection of photos on my site of the Thai Pussam procession. It's pretty gruesome. But as it turns out, there is one religios practice which, at least visually, seems even more horrific: Ashoura (see also: Ashura). Don't click if you're squeemish. Apparently most participants make a small cut on their head, and then beat the wound with their palm to keep the wound open and bleeding.

Starbucks Economics

2006-01-24T17:52:00.000-08:00

How to get a short in a North American Starbucks:Here's a little secret that Starbucks doesn't want you to know: They will serve you a better, stronger cappuccino if you want one, and they will charge you less for it. Ask for it in any Starbucks and the barista will comply without batting an eye. - Tim Harford, SlateFYI: In Asia it's still available on the menu.