December 2010
66 posts
“Houston, we’ve had a problem. We’ve had a MAIN B BUS UNDERVOLT.”
– Apollo 13 transcript starting at 02 07 55 19 on Spacelog
Spacelog is really cool. Original transcripts from long long ago put up in a very.. accessible format.
“Any regular semi-technical user of your site should be able to navigate 90% of...”
– URL Design — Warpspire
“So if you want democracy, you need to be prepared to sabotage it and yet defend...”
– Taken out of context from Findings: Democracy and Information
“A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.”
– Italian proverb
1 tag
Life is kinda different after two/three weeks in NS.
Somehow my thinking and memory-forming abilities has been dampened, whether voluntarily or due to the environment, so much that playing bridge properly takes effort and I can barely remember what happened the previous day – and sometimes even what happened in the morning.
Perhaps it’s better when there are many things that should not...
“We don’t question the power of the OS, but the fit, finish, and ease of use...”
– Engadget’s Nexus S Review
“Still”?
Many Android customers recognize the lack of polish, usability, or elegance in certain features or certain aspects of the platform. The assumption, either implied or stated, is often that these issues will all get better Any Day Now, and we’re just waiting for...
Mirrorshards: Astronomical:
“We’ve got to get out of here,” Risa said suddenly.
“Why?” Vinnie pouted. “We just got here.”
“Flip a coin.”
“…okay. Call it.”
“Edge,” said Risa.
“Holy crap! How did-“
“Here, pick a card.” Even before Vinnie had looked, Risa said,...
It doesn’t feel like Christmas, but maybe that’s because my emotional bits have been shut down since two weeks ago.
the second star: after →
thesecondstar:
now, i don’t know what to do, i’ve been planning and waiting for the trip the whole time. it’s shadow made me forget that there was a time called _after_. now that i am in _after_, i’m lost.
Someone gave me some pretty good advice last weekend. Those who still have months to go before enlisting should sit down and think, plan, record down what you intend (or hope) to do after...
1 tag
Santa Mail
SingPost says, Children should address their Santa letters to:
Santa Claus’ Main Post Office
FI-96930 NAPAPIIRI
Finland
Writing faked reflections is extremely dangerous to yourself, just more subtly so than the hazards of writing true reflections and having them read. It may be inconsequential, but it’s a very slippery slope. (Not that I endorse being truthful in assessed or reviewed ‘reflections’ in all cases.)
At one level, you can’t avoid thinking about what you’re writing down....
“In 2001, the Italian “International Campaign to Ban Winmine” voiced...”
– Minesweeper (computer game) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
One Foot Tsunami: Giant Pandas Are Poorly Designed →
marco:
Paul Kafasis teaches us why giant pandas “are simply not good at making more pandas.”
I argued that pandas suck at life three years ago, and it’s good to get more support for the cause.
4 tags
Singapore-Malaysia water agreements →
The NLB Singapore Infopedia has a pretty good summary of the various agreements and their provisions. What I haven’t been able to find online (admittedly haven’t spent much time on this after exams) is how much water is actually being drawn from the Tebrau-Scudai and Johore Rivers, and how much the capital, operational and maintenance costs are for both sources.
Interestingly,...
A Building That Will Earn $1 Billion a Year, Built in Just Five:
The architect’s design, which included a vast waterfront promenade, set the hotel towers back from the bay, which opened up spectacular views of the city. He also proposed a massive, hydraulically adjustable public piazza, which turned out to be an engineering nightmare. Adelson was ready to throw in the towel on it and...
Post #2010
Yes, really. But only because I missed #2000.
Personal Distractions
iPhones and iPod touches ultimately are personal distraction devices, just that they don’t (always) require earphones, which used to be the very visible, explainable, understandable barrier between the user and the world. He can’t hear me. But now, a small lighted box into another world is enough to captivate the user, and people who didn’t grow up used to seeing that (like me,...
