The Filter^

Cartoon of the day

Via Andrew Sullivan.

Cartoon of the fortnight

Via SMBC, via Tyler Cowen.

MTV Cribs

Back when I was a grad student I wanted to film an "MTV Cribs" mockup of my apartment. I wrote out some of the script, imaginning how hilarious it would be to talk about the "rims" of my 5 speed bicycle, show my collection of Mises books, and open my fridge to reveal a cache of Nat Ice.

Well, I never got round to it. But Bob Frank did:

 

Cartoon of the day

From here.

Ferrets key to bridging the digital divide between cities and rural areas - Telegraph

Specially trained ferrets are being used to deliver broadband to rural areas following groundbreaking techniques used by an Internet provider

via www.telegraph.co.uk

File this under "check the date".

Best Named Shop Awards, 2010

Winner:

• Tanarife (Sunbeds, Liverpool)

Honourable mention

• Foamula 1 (Car wash, Liverpool)
• Fry Days (Chippy, Watford)
• Injeaneus (Clothes, Radlett)

Doing your bit for climate change

One of the funniest exchanges about climate change I've seen - Have I Got News For You last night (8min 16sec - 11min), where James May and Reginald D Hunter ripped into Ian Hislop. I just loved the attitude towards scientific experimentation: cynical at how experiments are conducted, but generally respectful of the scientific process

I need to get my own data... my research is inconclusive

One of the funniest emails I've ever received...

November 16th 2006

Dear Grad students,

Several weeks ago, a grad student borrowed a hammer to use in a demonstration to their class.  Please return it to the Economics Department in Enterprise 354.

Washington Post's Annual Neologism Contest

I've finally found a stable URL (as opposed to email) link for the following:

The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly contest,in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.

1. Coffee (n.) the person upon whom one coughs.
2. Flabbergasted (adj.) appalled over how much weight you have gained.
3. Abdicate (v.) to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
4. Esplanade (v.) to attempt an explanation while drunk.
5. Willy-nilly (adj.) impotent.
6. Negligent (adj.) describes a condition in which you absent-mindedly answer the door in your nightgown.
7. Lymph (v.) to walk with a lisp.
8. Gargoyle (n.) olive-flavored mouthwash.
9. Flatulence (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
10. Balderdash (n.) a rapidly receding hairline.
11. Testicle (n.) a humorous question on an exam.
12. Rectitude (n.) the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
13. Pokemon (n) a Rastafarian proctologist.
14. Oyster (n.) a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.
15. Frisbeetarianism (n.) (back by popular demand): The belief that, when you die, your Soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
16. Circumvent (n.) an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

I AM SHOUTING!!!

I recently taught a course that covered communication skills and email style, reminding me of the following (via Peter Klein):

Years ago, I was participating in an email discussion with Heckman, who made all of his contributions to the conversation IN ALL CAPS.

As I recall, I privately emailed him to suggest — diplomatically, I hoped — that if he didn’t find the shift key convenient, he could just eschew upper case altogether and type using only lower case, like e.e. cummings. You see, I explained, using all caps gives other readers the impression that you are shouting.

“I AM SHOUTING!” he emailed back.