Category Archives: meaningless

Eh? What’s that, Sonny?

Posted on May 31, 2012 | Leave a comment

I’m no longer hosting AgainButSlower.com, but if anyone is looking for it, it can be found here:

Command-line debunker

Posted on October 27, 2010 | 1 comment

My superstitious Facebook friends are posting this message:

October has 5 Fridays 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays. This happens once every 823 years. This is money bags. So copy this to your Status and money will arrive within four days. Based on Chinese FengShui. The one who does not copy….will be without money I cannot let that person be me …. Copy within eleven mins.

Sure enough, it is false. I wanted to try to prove it myself. So I came up with this Unix one-liner:
for x in {1950..2050}; do for y in {1..12}; do echo `cal $y $x | grep -v [a-z]|grep [0-9] | cut -c1-2,15-20 | tr " " "n"|grep [0-9]|wc -l`: $x $y | grep ^15; done; done;
Result: Between 1950 and 2050, there are 101 months that contain 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays, and 5 Sundays. Can I still have money bags?

BTW here is the full list of months:

   December 1950              May 1953              January 1954
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
    October 1954             July 1955               March 1957
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
    August 1958               May 1959              January 1960
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
     July 1960             December 1961             March 1963
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
      May 1964              January 1965            October 1965
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
     July 1966             December 1967             March 1968
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
    August 1969               May 1970              January 1971
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
    October 1971           December 1972             March 1974
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
    August 1975             October 1976             July 1977
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
   December 1978            August 1980               May 1981
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
    January 1982            October 1982             July 1983
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
     March 1985             August 1986               May 1987
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
    January 1988             July 1988             December 1989
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
     March 1991               May 1992              January 1993
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
    October 1993             July 1994             December 1995
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
     March 1996             August 1997               May 1998
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
    January 1999            October 1999           December 2000
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
     March 2002             August 2003             October 2004
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
     July 2005             December 2006            August 2008
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
      May 2009              January 2010            October 2010
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
     July 2011               March 2013             August 2014
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
      May 2015              January 2016             July 2016
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
   December 2017             March 2019               May 2020
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
    January 2021            October 2021             July 2022
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
   December 2023             March 2024             August 2025
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
      May 2026              January 2027            October 2027
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
   December 2028             March 2030             August 2031
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
    October 2032             July 2033             December 2034
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
    August 2036               May 2037              January 2038
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
    October 2038             July 2039               March 2041
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
    August 2042               May 2043              January 2044
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
     July 2044             December 2045             March 2047
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
      May 2048              January 2049            October 2049
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa    Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2                    1  2                    1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9     3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31                      31                      31
     July 2050
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2
 3  4  5  6  7  8  9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31

1 Comment

Posted in computing, meaningless, toys

CNN’s triumphant return to accurate journalism

Posted on November 25, 2009 | 1 comment

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…ok, ok, fine — I admit it. I changed it; I couldn’t help it. Sorry. 🙂

1 Comment

Posted in funny, meaningless, news, pain

OMG SOCIALISM!

Posted on September 30, 2009 | 6 comments

“This morning I was awoken by my alarm clock powered by electricity generated by the public power monopoly regulated by the US department of energy. I then took a shower in the clean water provided by the municipal water utility. After that, I turned on the TV to one of the FCC regulated channels to see what the national weather service of the national oceanographic and atmospheric administration determined the weather was going to be like using satellites designed, built, and launched by the national aeronautics and space administration. I watched this while eating my breakfast of US department of agriculture inspected food and taking the drugs which have been determined as safe by the food and drug administration.

At the appropriate time as regulated by the US congress and kept accurate by the national institute of standards and technology and the US naval observatory, I get into my national highway traffic safety administration approved automobile and set out to work on the roads build by the local, state, and federal departments of transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level determined by the environmental protection agency, using legal tender issued by the federal reserve bank. On the way out the door I deposit any mail I have to be sent out via the US postal service and drop the kids off at the public school.

After spending another day not being maimed or killed at work thanks to the workplace regulations imposed by the department of labor and the occupational safety and health administration, enjoying another two meals which again do not kill me because of the USDA, I drive my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to ny house which has not burned down in my absence because of the state and local building codes and fire marshal’s inspection, and which has not been plundered of all its valuables thanks to the local police department.

I then log on to the internet which was developed by the defense advanced research projects administration and post on freerepublic.com and fox news forums about how SOCIALISM in medicine is BAD because the government can’t do anything right.”

6 Comments

Posted in funny, meaningless, politics

Corn muffin coefficient

Posted on May 17, 2009 | 1 comment

From a recent Quotation of the Day Mailing List email comes this gem from a collection of letters written in response to the US Department of Agriculture‘s redesign of the Food Pyramid:

“The cleansing properties of urine are not even addressed in the food pyramid. This must be corrected. We cannot allow small minds and prejudice to bury this useful health information from our brothers and sisters in light.

…

“Write back IMMEDIATELY and tell me where to report with my diagrams. I am including corn muffins prominently in my calculations. That alone should tell you that I know what I am doing!”

– Mark Martin, Foodician, from his submission to the U.S. Department of Agriculture on the redesign of the “food pyramid”.

Here’s a snapshot of the original letter from the collection of letters the USDA received:

I think it’s an artist’s prank. He claims he received a response from the USDA but it was just a generic form letter. Nevertheless, the prominence of corn muffins in his calculations is hard to ignore.

1 Comment

Posted in art, bizarre, food, funny, meaningless, scams

Dress for the Aporkcalypse

Posted on May 3, 2009 | 15 comments

I was hypnotized by the recent rebranding of “swine flu” as “hamthrax”, which unfortunately compelled to me design a t-shirt for sale on CafePress:

How long until the band‘s lawyers come after me?

Until then, buy a shirt!. Or a hat. 🙂

15 Comments

Posted in animals, bizarre, crackbaby, meaningless

WTFractal?!?

Posted on April 29, 2009 | 7 comments

XSLT is a language for transforming XML. I came to hate XSLT long ago, at the tail end of a fading honeymoon period in which I dwelt in the empty promises of XML.

Somebody came up with a way to plot the Mandelbrot Set using only an XML file combined with a particularly evil XSLT file. This is a disturbing, evil way to go about drawing fractals. Please don’t do this.

It really works. Click here to try it. Your browser will thank you for the pointless exercise.

(previously, and previously)

7 Comments

Posted in art, bizarre, computing, meaningless, pain, queasy, tech, toys

Swappify

Posted on April 3, 2009 | 4 comments

TGAW’s series of posts of “Season Compares” inspired me to code up another creation, the Swapper, to add to my ever-expanding collection of web toys of questionable value.

Example swappification. Click to open if it isn’t animating for you.

Its purpose is to let you specify two images. The Swapper will load your two images and display the first one for you. When you move your mouse cursor over the first image, the second image will appear. When you move your mouse cursor away from the second image, the first image will appear. This gives you a way to quickly flip between two images to compare them. Give it a try! There are some sample images there to get you started.

4 Comments

Posted in meaningless, projects, tech, toys

links for 2009-03-06: Pile o’ toys

Posted on March 6, 2009 | Leave a comment

	This impressive augmented reality demo from GE inserts computer-generated 3D objects into live video. First, watch the short video. Then, try it yourself.
	Israeli musician “Kutiman” took a big pile of seemingly random YouTube video clips and used them as instruments in his own musical compositions. I could not stop listening to these. My favorites are tracks 2 and 3. His site is overloaded at the time of this post; for now you can see samples here, here, and here.
	Can you be an awesome DJ using nothing but a web browser and your computer’s keyboard? Yes you can.
	A curious programmer, inspired by Roger Asling’s evolution of the Mona Lisa, asks if the technique could be a good way to compress images. Also take a look at the nice online version of the image evolver he wrote, in which you can set your own target image.
	Hilarious Livejournal diary done in the style of Rorschach from the Watchmen comic book series.
	The Crisis of Credit, Visualized – An extremely well-produced video describing the credit crisis in simple terms.
	instantwatcher.com – “Netflix for impatient people”. A remix of the Netflix site that is “about a quadrillion times easier to browse than Netflix’s own site”.
	$timator: How much is your web site worth?
	Cursebird. A real time feed of people swearing on Twitter. THANK YOU, INTERNET!
	Leapfish. An interesting new meta-search engine with a clean interface. “It’s OK, you’re not cheating on Google.”
	Twittersheep. “Enter your twitter username to see a tag cloud from the ‘bios’ of your twitter flock.”
	PWN! YouTube. This is a great idea. You just type “pwn” in front of “youtube” in the URL, and voila; instant links for downloading and saving the videos.