Here Be Treasures

What Does Your Health Insurer Want For You?

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009 | shocking | No Comments

How strange would it be to learn that health insurance companies are large stockholders in tobacco companies?

The RFID Chip In Your Passport Is A Security Risk Foisted On You By Your Government

Friday, July 17th, 2009 | technology | No Comments

RFID tags are tiny chips that can be embedded in a range of items and are activated by an electro-magnetic field which prompts the tag to divulge its information. Quite successfully used to manage retailers’ stock levels, the governments of the western world thought it would be a great idea to use these devices in passports.

The Economist features a report by one of its correspondents who has investigated how the claimed benefits of RFID chips in passports stack up against the reality.

Slightly open passports could leave holders vulnerable to physical attack. Each country encrypts data in a characteristic way that terrorists could use to identify the nationality of the person carrying the chipped passport. To demonstrate the point, a firm called Flexilis used a partially opened American e-passport tucked in the pocket of a dummy to trigger an explosion as it passed a dustbin containing a small charge.

These days, it seems that whenever a government decides to implement a large and new technologically based system, they fail miserably. What’s worse is that the shortcomings of RFID tags in passports were publicised years before their incorporation.

C’etait Un Rendez-Vous

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 | video | No Comments

It’s 1976. A madman races through the streets of Paris to a rendez-vous.

This is the best thing I’ve seen all week.

(via kottke)

Michael Jackson Now Appearing Somewhere Near You

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 | shocking | No Comments

Yeah I know, you miss the king of pop, but, like the Christian messiah, he may be manifesting in everyday objects around the world right now! This family have noticed Michael Jackson’s image in a tree stump, and goodness knows when this post-mortem iconography will end, but expect first reports to come from the US, home of the free and the brave and the impressionable. Of course, this could be a spectral ploy by Michael to prevent his family from making even more money from his life.
Nothing is as profitable as death.

Taking Liberties

Saturday, July 4th, 2009 | politics | No Comments

Charles Nevin, writing for more intelligent life takes a long long long look at the surveillance society that the UK has become. I recommend everyone take half-an-hour out of their life and read it.

The Sony Walkman Is 30

Monday, June 29th, 2009 | technology | No Comments

13-year-old Scott Campbell reviews a 30-year-old Sony Walkman. Find out how it compares to the iPod?

Sketch Your Own Criminal

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 | cool tool | No Comments

If you’ve recently been mugged by some hooded youths, now thanks to the power of the FlashFace you can create your own sketch of the thug that offended your dignity. I’ve put together a sketch of the French Philosophy student that stepped on my toes at a party recently.

Are You Talking To The Right Ear?

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 | psychology | No Comments

For years I’ve been a little obsessed with the mono nature of phone calls. Hearing someone talk in just one ear is a completely different experience than talking via speakerphone or through headphones. I’ve always felt that using a single ear means that the information is processed initially by that side, and this means that you’re either talking to someone’s creative or logical side. I guess you could say that the feeling you have that they are only half-listening to you is true.

This BBC report expands on the nature of right ear vs left ear conversations.

Our Modern Culture

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009 | humor | No Comments

The Onion tells it like it is.

That Looks Like…

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009 | humor | No Comments

Totally Looks Like is a lot of fun.

Ever Wanted To Know Someone’s Secret?

Monday, June 22nd, 2009 | curiosities | No Comments

Now you can get to know the most intimate secrets of anonymous people, who post them to Post Secret in order to get a weight off their chest. Some are funny, some are touching.

AWESOME!

Monday, June 22nd, 2009 | humor | No Comments

I love this website. I wish I made it. It always makes me feel good every time I visit it.

1000 Awesome Things.

The Cloud Is Made Of Iron

Saturday, June 20th, 2009 | technology | No Comments

The New York Times runs an article by Tom Vanderbilt, who digs into the not-so-ethereal data centers that power the web. The figures are mind-boggling.

Chrome Experiments

Friday, June 19th, 2009 | web | No Comments

Chrome Experiments is a website where developers push the possibility of what’s possible using javascript. If you have a modern browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari), you should be able to enjoy these experiments.

I really like Google Gravity and Google Sphere, both of which still provide a working search engine. The Social Weather Mapping is also really cool, if you consider that it’s a live map of the weather, constructed from Twitter tweets.

YouTube Growth

Friday, June 19th, 2009 | video | No Comments

Every minute, YouTube receives 20 hours of video*.

Wrap your head around that. And watch that figure go through the roof when everyone gets their iPhone 3G S, with video capture, video editing, and YouTube uploading built-in.

*Source: The New York Times