A pair of spam subjects that recently came across the spam traps:
Looking to become a published author?
Give her climax after climax
Hmm, that sounds like writing advice when you take them together.
Category: Life
Roomba Path, TV Campaign Advice, and…NINE
- Long-Exposure Shot of a Roomba’s Path Shows Beautifully Organized Chaos (src: SignalTheorist)
- Things to consider when running a “save our show” campaign & what NOT to do. (via @johannadc and @mikesterling)
- Whenever I get order #9 or take-a-number, I imagine the disembodied voice saying “Number 9…Number 9” from the Beatles’ song Revolution 9
Zap, Tom said shockingly
Weird: Apparently Tasers were named for a Tom Swift invention, as in “Thomas A. Swift’s electric rifle.”
Satellite Market, Fast Food Options, Ada and More
- Last night I learned that the Satellite Market near Disneyland is still there, but the Sputnik-style sign has been replaced. Old & new photos.
- Side salad vs. fries study: Adding a healthier option caused people to choose the unhealthy option more often. It’s made me a lot more aware of what I order for lunch.
- Spam apparently advertising speed bumps: “Women won’t hide their excitement when they see your bulge in the street”
- Funny webcomic: Ada Lovelace: The Origin! (via @johannadc)
Self-DMCA, Antivax Anger, Specter Switch
- Warner Music issued a DMCA takedown notice to an official Warner Music video channel. I think I need some popcorn.
- From @david_colquhoun via @BadAstronomer:
Guardian science editor’s daughter gets measles. He’s angry with the anti-vaccination brigade.
- I nearly mistyped “foreign” as “foregin.” It sounds like an appetizer you should eat before drinking gin.
- Senator Arlen Specter’s party switch is largely symbolic. He didn’t toe the Republican party line, so why expect he’ll toe Democratic line?
Google Goats
It’s official: Google mows goats – er, mows with goats. Google’s Mountain View headquarters has fields that need to be kept clear of fire hazards. This year instead of mowing them, they took a low-carbon approach: they hired a herd of goats to eat the grass for a week. “It costs us about the same as mowing, and goats are a lot cuter to watch than lawn mowers.”
Naming the Flu
Swine flu doesn’t seem to cover it. First of all it’s not a swine flu anymore. Secondly, what do we call influenza that still only infects pigs…or the next flu virus that jumps from pigs to humans? Edit: And then you have morons who think you can get the flu from eating pork.
Mexican Flu, naming it after its country of origin like the Spanish Flu or Hong Kong Flu kind of makes sense, but in today’s politically-charged climate, it ends up sounding less like an identifier and more like blame. Edit: Plus we’ve already got jerkwads scapegoating anyone who might be Mexican. (Comment threads on news sites are depressing.)
The CDC and WHO seem to be going with H1N1, but that doesn’t work either, because people get it confused with the H1N1 human flu virus that’s one of the regular seasonal flu strains.
Yeah, on one hand, what’s in a name? A flu, by any other name, would still get you sick. But there’s something to be said for precision in terminology.
Update: For a less serious take on the subject, check out posts with the #namethatflu tag on Twitter.