Wikipedia:
The Tempest Prognosticator, also known as the Leech Barometer, is a 19th century invention by George Merryweather in which leeches are used in a barometer. The twelve leeches are kept in small bottles inside the device; when they become agitated by an approaching storm they attempt to climb out of the bottles and trigger a small hammer which strikes a bell. The likelihood of a storm is indicated by the number of times the bell is struck.
Google Labs has introduced Google Correlate, which lets you explore temporal or geographic correlations between search queries. The temporal correlator lets you draw an arbitrary curve on the timescale, and see what queries match it:
(Click through to see the query)
I do wish it could connect points with a spline, instead of making you draw the whole curve freehand.
Here are some geographic correlations I’ve found:
Scientific American on nocturnal penile tumescence:
It may seem to you that, much like their barnyard animal namesake, men’s reproductive organs the world over participate in a mindless synchrony of stiffened salutes to the rising sun.
Michael Reichmann at Luminous Landscape:
The reason that Sigma priced the SD1 at almost $10,000 is because someone senior in the company responsible for such decisions mistakenly figured that this was a good idea.
Last November, I wrote a post criticizing Foursquare’s SMS (text message) interface. The interface was so badly broken that, more often than not, it was impossible for me to check in to my desired venues.
Last week, I was informed through a comment to that post that a company called DOTGO had implemented a new, improved SMS interface for Foursquare. I’ve tried it out a few times since then, and it’s a big step forward. It attempts to correct at least two of my biggest problems with the old interface:Tomorrow, according to Family Radio’s Harold Camping, is the Rapture, when the righteous shall be taken up to heaven, and the earth will become a depraved orb teeming with rampaging, bloodthirsty secularists.
Vision of the post-apocalyptic terror, by afagen on Flickr
In a world where there are images like yesterday’s astonishing picture of the day, it pains me that this is the most expensive photograph ever sold:
At least it’s orange.
For an expensive way of making photos, see Sigma’s announcement of a $9,700 APS-C DSLR.
It looks like it’s straight out of a Dr. Seuss book… via National Geographic, Camel Thorn Trees, Namibia:
It’s a beautiful illustration of the color temperature difference between open shade and morning sunlight.
Natasha Lennard, writing in Salon about some stupid Bristol Palin controversy:
Such a furor has grown around Bristol Palin's jawline in recent days, the issue even earned itself the standard suffix of scandal: "Chingate."
Urban Dictionary: chingate
The White House has a Flickr photostream for disseminating official photography, including the excellent work of Pete Souza.
I’m confused, however, by the following statement that appears below the photographs:
This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.
The stipulation that I boldfaced appears to be incompatible with the fact that U.S. Government works are generally not protected by copyright. Indeed, the Flickr page indicates that the license is United States Government Work; that official government web page specifically states that “Anyone may, without restriction under U.S. copyright laws… create derivative works”. (The USA.gov page is consistent with the Flickr page in prohibiting the use of works to suggest endorsement.)
The claimed prohibition against manipulation is of immediate relevance, since an Orthodox Jewish newspaper published a version of the Situation Room photo with Hillary Clinton removed.
Today I took and passed the CompTIA Security+ 2008 exam. I don’t see a lot of value in these certifications, but it was a requirement for work, and my employer paid for the exam, so that was all fine.
Anyway, this post is about the security practices of CompTIA, the organization that thinks it’s competent to judge my knowledge of security practices.
Sarah Keefer, in the Penn State Daily Collegian:
Keefer added that even [though] cookies may not seem to fit in with the healthy theme, she can eat more of them guilt-free because they’re smaller.
CIA Director Leon Panetta to Time:
[It] was decided that any effort to work with the Pakistanis could jeopardize the mission. They might alert the targets.
Panetta later remarked, “What? We were all thinking it.”
The future of computing lies not in French Fries, but in Waffle Fries:
Dr. Peter Briss, quoted in the New York Times on new research on low-sodium diets:
“At the moment, this study might need to be taken with a grain of salt.”
Slashfood, on a quantitative definition of “gluten-free”:
Other countries including Canada, Brazil and Australia have defined gluten-free foods as containing no more than 0.0007 of an ounce of gluten for every 2.2 pounds of food.
Also known as “20 mg/kg.” Look, nutrition labels are already chock full of esoteric metric units like milligrams. Do we have to convert everything to “English” units? Are there readers out there who have a firm opinion on the appropriate gluten limit in ounces per 2.2 pounds of food, but who are unable to do the unit conversion themselves?
Or how about a compromise: Just say 0.002%, or 20 ppm.
