Here Be Treasures

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

What is a browser?

Thursday, June 18th, 2009 | sociology | No Comments

Okay, you might have to refine your answer to make it succinct, or technically correct, but if you’re reading this, you probably are very aware what a browser is. Google asked Ji Lee to poll Times Square passers-by the question, “What is a browser”. Watching this responses in this video made me feel that I am on the cutting edge of technology, just cos I know what a browser is…

Arguing on the internet is like…

Thursday, June 18th, 2009 | psychology | No Comments

Watching this video about people protesting David Letterman’s inappropriate joke about Sarah Palin’s daughter reminded me that the people who are most compelled to comment on blogs and argue moot points on YouTube are usually the ones that are extremists in real life.

Loud Dog Barks

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 | animals | No Comments

Am I out of touch with reality or is this article crazy?

A group of dogs in north London have set a new world record for the loudest collective bark.

BBC reports on the loudest collective bark world record attempt.

The Eco Cost of Spam

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 | economics | No Comments

The Economist reports on the costs of sending emails, and the huge environmental impact of the never-ending waves of spam that we must deal with.

Magic Pendants and Politicians

Thursday, June 11th, 2009 | politics | No Comments

Elections, elections, elections. There’s always an election going on somewhere.
With the media hype and political spin put on politicians, we’re encouraged to see them as saviors and trustees of our heritage. There’s a such a gravitas surrounding presidents and prime ministers that it’s important to remember that they’re still just humans, and subject to a lot of the same foibles as we are. But where do we draw the line? This old article by the BBC’s Nick Assinder exposes some disquieting beliefs and habits of former politicians and their spouses.

The Father of the Cell Phone

Thursday, June 11th, 2009 | technology | No Comments

The Economist has an biography on the man who is responsible for that most ubiquitous of communications devices, the mobile/cell phone. Did you know that the first cell call was made in 1973?

Obsessive Collecting

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009 | yikes | No Comments

Gus and Pam collect memoribilia. Gus collects Star Wars. Pam collects Lilo and Stitch.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Bad Science

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009 | science | No Comments

Although science is at the heart of our western lifestyle, a lot of people are still very very fuzzy on the scientific method, and how to verify scientific claims for themselves. While evolution is hotly contested by people who also happen to believe a big old invisible man is pulling the strings that make the universe work, there is also a lot of day to day gruff that gets passed off with comments such as ’scientifically proven…’. Dr Ben Goldacre has set himself up as the Omnibudsman of Bad Science and on his website he takes pseudo-scientists to task for their pseudo-advice.