Soup is no Joke

A ladle humor

"Garçon, le mouche dans ma soupe!"

"Non, monsieur, la mouche"

"Mon Dieu, you Belgians have wonderful eyesight!"

Soup Jokes


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STIFF

The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

By Mary Roach
ISBN 0-393-05093-9
W.W. Norton 2003

About the Author
Has written for Salon, Discover, New York Times Magazine

Book Description

For two thousand years, cadavers -- some willingly, some unwittingly -- have been involved in science's boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. They've tested France's first guillotines, ridden the NASA Space Shuttle, been crucified in a Parisian laboratory to test the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, and helped solve the mystery of TWA Flight 800. For every new surgical procedure, from heart transplants to gender reassignment surgery, cadavers have been there alongside surgeons, making history in their quiet way.

In this fascinating, ennobling account, Mary Roach visits the good deeds of cadavers over the centuries -- from the anatomy labs and human-sourced pharmacies of medieval and nineteenth-century Europe to a human decay research facility in Tennessee, to a plastic surgery practice lab, to a Scandinavian funeral directors' conference on human composting.

Quote
Besides a study about what happens to our remains, Roach has this comment:

"Anthropologists will tell you that the reason people never dined regularly on other people is economics. While there existed, I am told, cultures in Central America that actually ranched humans -- kept enemy soldiers captive for awhile to fatten them up -- it was not practical to do so, because you had to give up more food to feed them than you'd gain in the end by eating them. Carnivores and omnivores, in other words, make lousy livestock."

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Where in the World is it Not

Trouble map

If it's not happening here, it's coming down over there.

Here's a Google map mashup of the world wide mashups.

Global Incident Map


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Download 2013 Books

On the Internet shelf

• Downloadable book: Getting started with Office 2013
  
  
  
• Downloadable and printable content (available in .doc, .pdf, or .xps file formats) about how to get started with Office 2013.
  
  
• Downloadable book: Planning guide for Office 2013
  
  
  
• Downloadable and printable content (available in .doc, .pdf, or .xps file formats) about how to plan a deployment of Office 2013.
  
  
• Downloadable book: Deployment guide for Office 2013
  
  
  
• Downloadable and printable content (available in .doc, .pdf, or .xps file formats) about how to deploy Office 2013.
  
  
• Downloadable book: Group Policy for Office 2013
  
  
  
• Downloadable and printable content (available in .doc, .pdf, or .xps file formats) about how to deploy and configure an installation of Office 2013.
  
  
• Downloadable book: Operations guide for Office 2013

and more.

Technet.Microsoft.com


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Translate on the Fly

Translate Text

Ahora usted puede exhibir un grado de la sofisticación que excede tu conocimiento


On the Tools menu, click Research.

1. In the Search for list, select Translation.
   
2. To change the languages used for translation, in the Research task pane, under Translation, select the languages you want to translate from and to.

Do one of the following:

• To translate a specific word, press ALT and click a word. The results appear under Translation in the Research task pane.
  
• To translate a short sentence, select the words, and then press ALT and click the selection. The results appear in the Research task pane under Translation.
  
• To translate a whole document, in the Research task pane, under Translation, click Translate whole document A translation of your document appears in your Web browser
  
• To translate a word or phrase, type the word or phrase in the Search for box, and then click Start Searching .

Also see:

• Babel Fish
  
• Google Language Tools
• LangToLang.com
  
• Promt Online Translator
  
• Foreignword.com

Speaking of translating a fly, here's another kind of translation: BzzzPeek A collection of 'onomatopoeia' from around the world using sound recordings from native speakers imitating the sounds of mainly animals and vehicles.


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Color Feels Right

Colors and emotions

When you're mad, do you see teal?

"Color plays a vitally important role in the world in which we live. Color can sway thinking, change actions, and cause reactions. It can irritate or soothe your eyes, raise your blood pressure or suppress your appetite.

When used in the right ways, color can save on energy consumption. When used in the wrong ways, color can contribute to global pollution.

As a powerful form of communication, color is irreplaceable. Red means "stop" and green means "go." Traffic lights send this universal message. Likewise, the colors used for a product, web site, business card, or logo cause powerful reactions.

Explore : The concept of color can be approached from several disciplines: physiology, psychology, philosophy, and art."

ColorMatters.com


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Sunrise, Sunset

Times

Here is a location that will give you times for sun and moon, rise and set,
Civil Twilight, Nautical Twilight. and Astronomical Twilight anywhere in the world.




SunriseSunset.com


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Airplanes

modèles de papie

Model Templates for paper airplanes


Also:

Collection of paper airplanes

Build the best paper airplane in the world

Record winning paper airplanes


More sites

Fiddler's Green paper airplane models, some free some for sale


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Carophile

All things auto

"Jalopnik loves cars.

Secret cars, concept cars, flying cars, vintage cars, tricked-out cars, red cars, black cars, blonde cars
sometimes, cars just because of the curve of a hood."

Jalopnik.com


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Legal Understanding

See what they mean

Through precise definitions, an act can be compared to what's allowed and what is prohibited.

This very process of clarification can make the statutes difficult for the layman to understand.

" Welcome to Nolo's Legal Glossary, your life-raft in the sea of legal jargon. Do you need to know the meaning of sprinkling trust, toxic tort or some equally puzzling legal term? Look it up here. Our glossary contains plain-English definitions for hundreds of legal terms, from the common to the bizarre."

Toxic tort

A personal injury caused by exposure to a toxic substance, such as asbestos or hazardous waste. Victims can sue for medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering.

Willful tort

A harmful act that is committed in an intentional and conscious way. For example, if your neighbor builds an ugly new fence and you intentionally run it down with your truck, that's a willful tort. But accidentally backing into the fence as you pull out of your driveway is not willful, though it's still a tort.

Everybody's Legal Glossary


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Bricks as Pets

Is it right?

Tired of picking up after your pet?

"Red Bricks (Brickus vermillius) are found around the world. Their association with humans is a long one, for bricks have been found in archaeological sites from the very ancient to the modern.

The vast majority of bricks are working bricks, used mainly in construction of human houses and other buildings. A tiny minority of bricks, however, are unfortunately kept for human consumption, a use that is thankfully dwindling under the force of anti-brick-cruelty laws."

Pet Brick FAQ


The site also has more than enough information about rats.
Rat Behavior and Biology


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Grandma Knew Best

Advice from the past

History does repeat itself, so we might learn from advice from the past.

"Take a step back in time as I share words of wisdom from my collection of about 1,000 classic advice books in a quest to solve modern-day dilemmas.

The books span from 1822 to 1978 and cover the age-old topics of dating, love, living together, marriage, health, beauty, puberty, sex, etiquette, housekeeping, home economics, and home repairs. I've spent years scouting out used bookstores and thrift shops to locate these treasures of self help. "

MissAbigail.com


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A Way Cool Paint-Picker

Just slap it on

If you have decided to paint your home, or just this inside of the downstairs coat closet, the Behr paint people have a neat tool.

Color Smart

You still have to slop the paint on yourself, though.

Here are other color generators:

Top 8 Color Tools

EasyRGB matches generated RGB values to paints, inks, etc.


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Internet History

Two tin cans

From Forbes:

The Internet: A Short History of Getting Connected.

When the Defense Department issued a $19,800 contract on December 6, 1967, for the purpose of studying the "design and specification of a computer network," the world didn't take notice. But it should have. For, from that small, four-month study grew the ARPANET. And, from ARPANET emerged the Internet.

Also:
Living Internet

"An elegantly organized tour of the history of the Internet -- both fun and informative -- a rare combination!"
Steve Crocker, invented the Request For Comments.

All About the Internet

Hobbes' Internet Timeline v11.0


A Brief History of the Internet

"When the late Senator Ted Kennedy heard in 1968 that the pioneering Massachusetts company BBN had won the ARPA contract for an "interface message processor (IMP)," he sent a congratulatory telegram to BBN for their ecumenical spirit in winning the "interfaith message processor" contract."

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Be a Local Scoble

Photo Walk

Robert Scoble, tech evangelist, has been touting the fun of Photowalking. Getting together with a group of like-minded people to just walk around and take pictures.

Robert has made a number of videos that you can see on his blog The ScobleShow.

Locally Kevin Freitas, a web developer and community supporter, solicited participation in a Tacoma area walk.

Since digital film is free. After you've got a camera, why not set a walk up in your city?



The results of our stroll can be seen at theses links:

• Tacoma Photo Gang - Shot da Tideflats
  
• Tacoma Photo Gang on Flickr
  
  
• Tacoma Foto Gang Muvee
  
  
• Waterfront shots



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Did You Know

Nerd Conversation Nibblets

Here's a part of the list of knowledge tidbits from Kelly's Bar

Did You Know?

• Barbie's measurements if she were life size: 39-23-33.
  
• The dollar symbol ($) is a U combined with an S (U.S.)
  
• Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.
  
• The Statue of Liberty's tablet is two feet thick.
  
• There are two credit cards for every person in the United States.
  
• Hacky-sack was invented in Turkey.
  
• Cat's urine glows under a blacklight.
  

If you have doubts about these "facts", look at the Snopes Urban Legends Reference Pages


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Color Blind

Be seen by all

Books on web design warn against using the colors red and green.

One out of twenty people have problems with some form of color blindness.

Here is a site that will let you check your web pages. You will be able to see the page as it appears to someone with one of the three main types of color deficit.

Vischeck

Normal



Deuteranope color blindness





Colorblind Web Page Filter


How do things look to Color Blind People


Web Colors


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President's Day or Presidents' Day

Neither

The third Monday in February is officially Washington's birthday, not Presidents' Day according to the federal government.

Individual states may designate the day as anything they want, but the federal holiday is Washington's birthday.

Snopes.com

Interestingly enough, although Georgia celebrates Washington's Birthday, the Governor is accorded the right to designate when state holidays occur. In Georgia, Washington's Birthday is recognized the day after Christmas.

There is an urban legend that when the Uniform Monday Holiday Act was implemented in 1971, President Richard Nixon issued a proclamation calling for a Presidents' Day on the third Monday to honor all U.S. presidents.

Each February both the Law Library at the Library of Congress and the Nixon Library field an upsurge in calls on this question. No evidence of this exists in Nixon's official papers.

Wikipedia


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Non Designers Type Book, The

By Robin Williams

ISBN 0-201-35367-9
Peachpit Press 1998


About the Author
Williams teaches electronic typography and has written some excellent books on digital design.

Anyone who has witnessed the horrific use of type on many personal web sites knows how badly these books are needed. Clear explanations and good illustrations are the hallmarks of both volumes.

Also author of The PC is not a typewriter.

Book Description
Each short chapter explores a different type secret including use of evocative typography, tailoring typeface to project, working with spacing, punctuation marks, special characters, fonts, justification, and much more. It is written in the lively, engaging style that has made Williams one of the most popular computer authors today.

It uses numerous examples to illustrate the subtle details that make the difference between good and sophisticated use of type. The non-platform specific, non-software specific approach to the book makes this a must-have for any designer's bookshelf - from type novices to more experienced graphic designers and typesetters.


Quote

"Most packages also have a discretionary hyphen, affectionately called a "dischy." If you type Ctrl+- (Control Hypen on a PC), the word will hyphenate at that point, that hyphen will disappear when the word moves to another location.

Also (and this is the point), if you type a discretionary hyphen in front of a hyphenated word, it will not hyphenate at all, ever."

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Home School Computers Available

Need PCs?

"Our economy is at a crucial turning point. Jobs in America require technological skills and computer expertise. The CFL program places computers in our classrooms and prepares our children to contribute and compete in the 21st century.

The CFL website connects the registered needs of schools and educational nonprofit organizations with available computer equipment. The program allows federal agencies and private sector entities to transfer unneeded computers and related equipment to schools and educational nonprofit organizations, while giving special consideration to those with the greatest need."

Computers for Learning (CFL) FAQ

"Schools and educational nonprofit organizations can participate in the CFL program.

A school is eligible to participate if it is a public, private, parochial, or home school serving pre-kindergarten through grade 12 students. Day care centers must provide a state approved preschool curriculum in order to participate. "

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