by Collin Van Uden on June 25th, 2010
Perhaps one of the greatest lessons we can teach our children is that we have not yet learned our own.
Posted via email from thInkbits
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by Collin Van Uden on June 21st, 2010
It is both irritating and amusing that it took a Crop Circle to give me this good a representation of Pi.

Source:http://www.astroengine.com/?p=291
Now, Remember the SYMBOL for Pi?
Imagine for a moment, that the symbol is a representation of form (Or Space)
Space, as we know, does not proceed in in a straight line does it? But the way we view our numbers does.
Now, Take Pi – from any point of origin, and reproduce the above in BOTH directions. Repeat for each ‘new’ branch of the spiral.
Get back to me with what you get.
Posted via web from thInkbits
It is both irritating and amusing that it took a Crop Circle to give me this good a representation of Pi. Source:http://www.astroengine.com/?p=291 Now, Remember the SYMBOL for Pi? Imagine for a moment, that the symbol is a representation of form (Or Space) Space, as we know, does not …
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by Collin Van Uden on June 13th, 2010
This post was actually a response to a discussion raised on the IF Project Facebook page. The IF Project is an endeavour by journalist Jane Lee to, in a 100 day timeframe, “launch a new magazine to shed light on the SOCIAL, ENVIRONMENTAL and HUMANITARIAN challenges of the world.”
I suggest you check out and contribute to the discussion itself, and you can keep track of the progress of Jane’s idea via http://ifprojectblog.com/
Bullying, or any form or violent or otherwise destructive aggression toward peers for that matter, is (and rightly so) considered unacceptable behaviour.
Yet I can’t think of a constructive approach to bullying prevention that takes into account what we know about communication and emotion. We know the links between (infrequency of) speech and aggression exist. This makes sense, given that speech itself can be considered an ‘aggressive’ act. (Perhaps we evolved the ability to communicate through language simply so we didn’t eat each other) Yet we have our kids in classes, told to ‘be quiet’ while they learn, in a one-to-many environment that cannot possibly accommodate the stimulus needs of your average child, let alone 30 of them. I read once upon a time a study of a group of people watching a play – over time, their heart rates synchronised. How likely is it that a young learner, who’s developing brain is desperate for stimulus, would tune in to and become affected by the ‘vibe’ of each of the other 29 (also bored, frustrated and under-stimulated) students around them?
Ask any substitute teacher – I’m sure they can give you a very good account of exactly what happens when you introduce new stimulus into such a tense environment.
It’s great that bullying is being addressed in general, and there are some great tools out there for post-event reporting. (See http://bullyproof.frontlinesms.com/ for example) Tools like frontline, if widely adopted, could be of great advantage, in particular in cases of Emotional bullying as Geoff has mentioned above.
But aren’t we treating the symptom, rather than the cause? We hear more and more about ‘kids these days’ – but isn’t that repeating the woeful cries of the ‘Adult’ Generations of the 60′s? The 40′s? Ancient Greece? Hell, the very first creation myth known to humankind (Enuma Elish – 7 Babylonian clay tablets, copies of which have been dated at 16th or 14th centure BCE, and is comparable to the creation myth in the Hebrew and Christian Genesis ) contains the idea – Apsu (the ‘Granddaddy’ God) wants to kill all his children because they’re too rambunctious.
Kids are energetic. Loud. Irrepressibly active, physically and mentally. In many ways, inevitable, in accordance with the laws of physics. And yet we insist they sit still and quiet for the better part of five days out of every week (under threat of punishment of even MORE stillness & quietness by ‘Detention’), and expect them not to exhibit behavior we KNOW occurs under such conditions.
There are opinions, studies and research that tell us that kids can’t empathize anymore because of facebook, they are too distracted and have shorter attention spans (if, in fact such a thing exists) or they’re otherwise becoming more and more ‘socially inconvenient’. Where are the studies then, that examine how kids behave in a different learning environment? With available stimulus appropriate to their age and interests?
I’m no expert, but I’d wager that such studies would offer more valuable, new and productive results than any of the same recycled gripes from the older, ‘wiser’ generations for literally the entirety of recorded human history.
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by Collin Van Uden on June 12th, 2010
How do you describe ‘red’ to someone who’s never seen it?
I can’t imagine you could, like Japanese natives not being able to pronounce the sound of ‘R’, or the girl imprisoned for the formative years of her childhood unable to comprehend a distance further than that defined by her gaol (there’s pygmies somewhere that have the same short sightedness because they never leave their dense jungle environment) the actual neural connections required for the ‘common’ perception don’t exist. So what are the options?
Form the connections: Get some Whirlpool regulars, a handful of XDA Developers and a neurobiologist or two in a bar together, and see how long it takes them to convert a bake a Speedtouch modem into some kind of neural pulse diverter that can bridge the gap and serve as a connection (I’m calling copyright on IP if that’s actually do-able by the way) and huzzah! Red is a go.
Empathize: Get inside their head, figure out how they perceive what we perceive as red, and describe it within their frame of reference.
Acceptance: Get over it, and avoid graphical descriptions of horror flicks and Ronald McDonald’s polyester hair.
Of course, these presume the poor redless soul wants to see, understand or remain ignorant of red, and the experience of the world it affords. Autumn leaves, Sunrise and Sunset, blood, and the magic of ‘red-eye’ while flipping through family photos would all lack something without the red we ‘normal’ people hold so dear.
It is of course possible (and I’m sure some would even argue likely) that the redless might wish to stay that way. And surely any society that considered itself to be civilised, rational, fair and an advocate of free will would have to concede that our redless compatriots are within their rights to make that choice, right?
Now, replace ” Red ” with ” a morally and socially acceptable attitude and behavioural response to naked children or images thereof ”
“Tag” @catherinedeveny, you’re it.
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by Collin Van Uden on May 23rd, 2010
Cool, I got the current round of Facebook spam on my wall. It’s cool, because now I get to show you folk the one simple thing you can do that will protect you from phishing attacks more than any anti-virus software you’ll ever get.
It uses legacy technology known as ‘eyeballs’ and really isn’t that complicated.
But first – the current scam. Most facebook users are aware by now of the details. Basically, an infected users account will post something like this to your wall.
With the following msg :
(Your name), this is hilarious! lol :P :P :P
But we all know about that now so we won’t click on the bikini clad bum, will we?
(Personally, I wouldn’t click on anything with that many :P’s – even if they are a real friend, they probably shouldn’t be.)
But what about the next time? How do you best guard your PC, your facebook account and all the other juicy bits dirty, rotten, evil & nasty malware is designed to capture?
The answer is simple. Pay Attention!
No, seriously – check out the pic below. Notice the URL (site name) at the bottom left? You’ll see that in every (non-mobile) browser for every link you ever hover over. If you check this before clicking a link and notice something that’s ‘not quite right’ – you’re already as step ahead.

The second thing to pay attention to, (when it comes to facebook and some other social networking sites in any case) is this (just underneath the bum)

So, clearly not from Youtube. If you hover over the Avi Video link, you’ll see the following:
http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=123901010971252
You can click this safely – it’s just an application (Name: Avi Video, ID: 123901010971252) Where, you’ll also find this:

That’s not to say, 100% that the app is ‘responsible’ for creating the malware. Just that it’s being used to distribute it.
So - all the information you need to know something is crap, evil and spammy is there. You just need to know where to look, and what for. Now you do – and I expect no more spam from you on my wall.
If it’s too late and you’ve already picked up the malware, check out facebook’s official steps to recover your account.
If you see something you’re not sure of - let me know.
You can safely copy any link address by right-clicking on the link and selecting ‘copy link address‘ (Google Chrome) ‘copy link location‘ (Firefox) or ‘copy shortcut‘ (Internet Explorer)
Throw the link, and the address of the site you got it from on a contact form along with your email address and I’ll suss it out for you.
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by Collin Van Uden on May 23rd, 2010
I had to push a photo taken on my HTC Desire to my Laptop today, and got a little stuck. After connecting, it wasn’t immediately apparent which folder contained the photos.
A quick Google search sorted it out (not to mention the Pacman awesomosity) but I think this is something HTC could have done a whole lot better.
And clearly, I’m not alone – although Mark Pesce‘s beef takes a broader view here.
Here be instructions, and screenshots (via DDMS, for those who’d like to do the same)
Connect the Desire via USB to your computer and when prompted, select ‘Disk Drive’ as the connection method and hit Done.
If you don’t get the prompt requesting your preferred selection method, you can pull down the notification bar from the top of the screen and tap the current USB Connection type (shown as ‘Charge only’ below) listed to change it.
Once you’re set up, jump in to the new Removable Disk drive via Windows Explorer and jump in to the DCIM folder to get your pics.
If you happen to get the auto-play options dialogue (Windows Vista shown below) you want to select the ‘Open folder to view files with Windows Explorer’ option. Well, unless you don’t. (See below)
For the nerdy types – yes, I tried picking up images with Nokia LifeBlog, and yes it worked. On all 887 images, thumbnails, app caches and crash dump logs. (I’m sure there’s more, but don’t have time to check) Not sure if this is a *sigh* moment, or an interesting way of keeping track of EVERYTHING. Will let you know. One day. Probably.
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by Collin Van Uden on May 22nd, 2010
There are certain things that evoke my distant memories of childhood glee. Pocket knives, the smell of burning ant carapace underneath one’s magnifying glass and throwing rocks at stuff come to mind. Oh, and Pacman.
Which happens to be celebrating it’s 30th anniversary today. And Google has gone and created a Doodle to celebrate, as they often do. BUT YOU CAN PLAY THIS ONE. TWO PLAYER. (Hit ‘Insert Coin’ after the game has started and Mrs. Pacman joins the Ghost eating fun)

So go now, be free and play. But be warned – apparently there are 255 levels. And the Kill Screen on the 256th. Oh, and Mrs. Pacman sound much more annoying than her husband.
That is all – be awesome to eachother.
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by Collin Van Uden on May 14th, 2010
With all credit to Microsofts FUSE Labs who spawned the docs.com idea – an initiative to create and host Microsoft Office 2010 documents on the web, and harness the collaborative potential of intergrating the worlds leading (if recently in more than a bit of strife on privacy concerns) social networking site, facebook – but you guys suck.
One of the primary features of this service is the ability to post to your wall, a pretty basic function of any service offering a ‘seamless’ experience with facebook.
I get that the thing is in beta, really I do. But surely, wall posts must be the second thing you nail in testing (behind pillaging connected accounts for every scrap of unprotected information, naturally)
It’s a great idea – as differently as some may view facebook and Microsoft these days, docs.com gives consumer grade users of the web, familiar and comfortable using the services of the two companies a chance to experience one of the web’s most valuable applications – real time collaboration. We might see a rise in church pamphlets or crap demotivator posters, but that’s a small price to pay for digital enlightenment of the wider population.
That said, docs.com – you failed a simple test (x3, in fact) and failed. And now I can’t see my profile on my Desire.
*Authors note:
The author, of a geekish nature himself, understands there are a number of reasons the posts didn’t work. Furthermore, he understands that as the user, it’s probably his own damn fault. But seriously guys, you screwed with the Desire – and that’s just not cool.
** Additional Authors note:
No, I have not taken the time to notify the developers of the problem, useful, insightful and enlightening as my feedback may be. I don’t have time to make my own site not suck right now – let alone help people who are smarter than me with theirs.
Edit: If you have a mobile device, this site should now suck considerably less, with the help of wptouch
***
Additional additional Authors note:
I’ll be adding nifty links and stuff to this post at a later date (context junkie that I am), feel free to pop back in at a later date and check them out. I had a whole plan set out to make this a proper review, but decided to blindly bang it out to scratch a writing itch spawned elsewhere on the web (Hello Renai & Clytie!)
Oh, and I’m roadtesting the WordPress app for Android. It’s awesome.
Edit: Awesome, except for the HTTP 500 error I got after submitting the post. Which published anyway…
Night all
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by Collin Van Uden on May 9th, 2010
Nothing special here, just a quick little .vbs script that makes it easy for your users to hook up to a shared printer using Windows.
To create a .vbs script, you simply need a text editor (such as notepad or the much cooler notepad++ and when you save the file, replace the (usually default) .txt file extension with .vbs
On Error resume next
Dim objNet, strPrinter
Set objNet = CreateObject("WScript.Network")
strPrinter = InputBox("Please enter the name of the Printer you'd like to add", "Add Printer", "eg. printer name")
objNet.AddWindowsPrinterConnection "\\server\" & strPrinter
If err.number = 0 Then
Wscript.Echo strPrinter & " added!"
Else
Wscript.Echo "Oh oh - there seems to be a problem! Error Code : " & err.number & " Error Description: " & err.description
End If
Breaking it down:
On Error resume next: This tells the program if there’s an error, ignore it and move on. The potential for error is covered a little later in the script, so it won’t break the universe. Promise.
Dim objNet, strPrinter: This declares the variables. Code Nazis and Ninjas will rail me for not explicitly declaring them, but it’s a simple script that I needed to put out quickly, so ner.
Set objNet = CreateObject ("WScript.Network") : Does pretty much what it sounds like it does, creates an object (Wscript.Network) using the variable objNet. This allows us to access the Network and use the AddWindowsPrinterConnection that follows shortly
strPrinter = InputBox (etc etc..) – rather than pin the script down to connecting to a single printer, this gives users the option to setup any printer on your predefined server (which you’d add in place of server). The printer name added by the user is captured as the variable ‘strPrinter’. Of course, you could give them to option to add the server also, but if you don’t really need to, why add the potential for error?
objNet.AddWindowsPrinterConnection "\\server\" & strPrinter: Again, it’s pretty self explanatory. If you can’t figure it out and need to, let me know and I’ll explain it to you in detail.
If err.number = 0 Then
Wscript.Echo strPrinter & " added!" : This part of the script essentially means – If there’s no problems, throw out a popup (that’s the Wscript.Echo bit) that tells the user the printer has been added.
Else
Wscript.Echo "Oh oh - there seems to be a problem! Error Code : " & err.number & " Error Description: " & err.description
End If: This is our error handling section. The ‘Else’ is in regard to the previous ‘If’ statement. So, IF err.number = 0 (there is no error) everything is cool. Otherwise (‘Else’) throw the out the Error number and description, so that the user can;
a) based on the error start again so that it works (in the case of incorrect Printer name or similar user error)
b) find someone who knows what it means to fix it.
A simple script, for a simple task, but a hell of a time saver if (you or your) your users have trouble with navigating the Windows GUI to connect a printer.
Want to learn more? Check out these links on a couple of the scripting basics used above:
vbscript input box function: http://www.w3schools.com/vbscript/func_inputbox.asp
vbscript IF statement: http://www.tizag.com/vbscriptTutorial/vbscriptif.php
wscript.echo: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee156599.aspx
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by Collin Van Uden on April 23rd, 2010
I logged in to Facebook this evening and was presented with yet another box describing changes that have been made, so I thought I’d check it out.
Basically what they’ve done is gone and taken all the stuff we used to type in to our Profiles, found what they think is an appropriate facebook page to link to, and on your profile, clicking on this interest will take viewers to that page. If there isn’t an existing page to accommodate for your interest, facebook have taken it upon themselves to create one. Read on to check out some of the quirks of the ‘new’ profile.
Read on for details, screenshots and a brief attack on Tolkien…
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by Collin Van Uden on April 20th, 2010
In an article published by the Australian yesterday, in which the Australian Federation against Copyright Theft (AFACT) claimed that ISPs are refusing to negotiate on Copyright (self) regulation, a claim that ISP iiNet – whom AFACT unsuccessfully sued earlier this year – strongly deny in their responding statement, in which the ISP points out;
“The internet industry and copyright holders had been in detailed discussions for a number of years, before AFACT and its Executive Director, Ms Pecotic, called off negotiations in August 2007 to commence their unsuccessful legal proceedings against iiNet in the Federal Court.”
Naturally, the ‘Gamers, Porn and BitTorrent Society’ .. sorry, the Pirate Party Australia – had their own view on the AFACTs cry for a 3 strike disconnection system similar to those recently introduced in such countries as Britain, France, South Korea, Taiwan and New Zealand;
“Pirate Party Australia completely rejects the implementation of any system that disconnects account holders from the Internet, increasingly the most important platform for communication and political discourse today, upon allegation of infringement, without full judicial oversight and due process. Mechanisms like this will see entire households disconnected, upon an allegation from an industry association.”
It sounds very official, but really, who’s going to take them seriously? They also had some advise for AFACT and the good people of Australia on exactly how the Internet should be thought of:
“The provision of an Internet service should be considered akin to the postal service, in that packets of data are sent and received, and this communication should be considered private—no person or organisation should be opening and reading the content of these packets.”
First and foremost, I want to point out the ridiculous nature of that particular argument. If you are going to equate the provisioning of internet connectivity to the postal service, you land it (more) squarely in the lap of the Dept of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, and expose ISPs to further regulation by the same.
I’ve previously stated my view on making ISPs ‘defacto cops’ of the Internet (to use a PP-coined phrase), and in the main, that opinion stands. ISPs provide a very specific core service. That service is to provide us, the consumer of that service, the means for us to connect to the internet.
To me, the concept of the provider of that service being held accountable for my use of it is nothing short of insane.
It’s like asking the blokey fellows contracted to conduct roadworks (ISP) who make the roads I drive my car (computer) on should pay my speeding fines ( the $4000 worth of stolen music on my computer) out of some sort of crazed notion of perceived obligation.
(Authors Note: $4k of stolen music exists as hypothetical example only. I’m pretty confident I’m the only IT guy in history who’s never burned a music CD)
The law has been tried and tested and in this case, common sense would seem to have prevailed. To quote Cowdroy, the Judge whom presided over the hotly debated and soon to go to appeal AFACT vs iiNet case:
“..mere provision of access to the internet is not the ‘means’ of infringement.” (Summary, Sect. 12)
Sorry AFACT, but no. I know the law, and if I break it, I know that there is a risk that I will be punished for doing so. There’s no need to take that out on my internet connection, is there?
Disclosure: The author is an employee of Telstra, a Telco and ISP in Australia. Posts on this blog and commentary elsewhere on the interwebs is my own opinion, and not that of my employer.
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by Collin Van Uden on April 13th, 2010
| How do I get Twitter/Foursquare/Gowalla feeds onto a Google Map? |
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| Can I get Windows folder/file changes converted to RSS? |
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| How can I update Twitter & Yammer via Msoft Office Communicator? |
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by Collin Van Uden on April 5th, 2010
I found something really cool today. When that happens, I like you share it with you people, because as you all should know, I’m a caring, sharing kinda guy.
As some of you may also know, I don’t take myself, or this site too seriously (yet) So when it comes to the nitty gritty fine print type stuff, I can get a little .. well, slack. (See the Disclaimer for an example.)
So when I came across a Privacy Statement Generator from the OECD (Organization for Economic and Co-Operative Development), my personal failings in that particular area became redundant. Which is nearly as cool as finding $50 in your pocket you didn’t know was there.
So, check it out, complete the questionnaire, and get your gluteus maximus covered somewhat more comprehensively than you may have been previously, with the added pleasure of happily remaining seated on it.
OECD Privacy Statement Generator

All up, the process is pretty simple, although I’d suggest you brush up on your local privacy laws and regulations before you tackle the generators questionnaire – it’ll prevent a bit of head scratching and ensure the most accurate possible return document.
It may make your life a little easier, but unfortunately it won’t fix your personal failings. After completing, I may have a semi-valid privacy policy, but I still do not take myself or this site all that seriously.
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by Collin Van Uden on April 1st, 2010
Pope Benedict has made two announcements today that potentially hold earth shattering consequences for the future of the Catholic Church, and indeed the Papacy itself.
“We feel it’s time to update the image of the Church,” said the Pontiff in an official statement, “and feel that now is indeed the time to do so.”
His Holiness went on to describe plans for this revolutionary vision;
“The first thing we’re doing is renaming the Bible. It’s a big move, but we think it’s for the best.”
Once the uproar at this lead in had subsided, and Richard Dawkins recovered from his mild stroke, Benedictus XVI continued;
“After much discussion amongst myself and our new PR representatives, we have decided on ‘The Anthology’. Not only does it more accurately describe the content of the Good Book, but it worked for the Beatles, and they were after all bigger than.. well, you know who.”
“Before we take questions, I’d like to make my second announcement, which I’m rather excited about, actually.” continued the pointy hatted one.
“With the astounding success of my first album released by Geffen Records, I’ve decided to release a second – this time in partnership with madeyalook Records, and to coincide with the drastic changes in our marketing of the Bible – forgive me, ‘The Anthology’ – It’ll be a rap album.”
“Furthermore, the album will be released under my own new name. I have decided that the title: ‘His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman province, Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City, Servant of the Servants of God’ is just too much of a mouthful – particularly with a German accent.
“So, as of today, I shall be known simply as ‘P-Biddy’”
 The Pizzle fo Shizzle
The announcement came to an abrupt and unfortunate close, due to some strange, albeit interesting weather phenomena – dark thunder clouds rolled in faster than meteorologists thought possible, toads started falling out of them, and everybody’s complimentary gatorade turned into blood.
Fortunately, Prometheus Ink was able to speak with His Holiness – sorry – ‘P-Biddy’, after the event, and can confirm a few details:
The Album will be titled: ‘Words of God from the mouth of B-Dawg’.
The Pontiff explained this was the first consideration for his name change, but he wasn’t quite sure if the emphasis should be on the ‘d’ or the ‘w’ in ‘dawg’, so instead he opted to set it in stone as Album name (and Title track, or so the rumour mill has churned)
It was co-produced, written and will be promoted by legend – Rick Astley, and being pressed by 732 enslaved victims of possession.
We even manage to get hold of some lyrics (though the Pope remained extremely secretive about the tune)
I’m da P to da O to da P to da E
Representin’ my homie – know Him?
G.O.D
He’s da Lord, He’s da bomb
He’s a real rad dude
Gave his son to everyone
JC the zombie Jew
We think the kids will love it.
In other news today, April 1, 2010:
Google Leave Australia over ‘evil’ filter | ZDnet Australia
Google introduces ‘OCCA’ product for Australia| Google Australia Blog
Telstra announces new Bigpond Chief | Delimiter
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by Collin Van Uden on March 26th, 2010
It’s awesome. Seriously, the coolest thing I have ever designed (except the doomsday device, but that’s a secret)
Check it out, buy it – share the link around or criticize the bejesus out of it if you must. But you gotta admit – it’s pretty damn awesome.

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by Collin Van Uden on March 23rd, 2010

The New York Museum of Modern Art (Dept of Architecture and Design) has announced it’s acquisition of the @ symbol, stating on their blog that
‘physical possession of an object as a requirement for an acquisition is no longer necessary’
and that curators have been set free
‘..to tag the world and acknowledge things that “cannot be had”’
Although here are several theories as to the origin of the humble @, some going as far back as the sixth or seventh century it was American programmer Ray Tomlinson that used the symbol (which had appeared on the American Underwood Typewriter as the “commercial ‘a’” in 1885) to seperate user from server when he sent the first email between users on different hosts connected to ARPANET, the predecessor of today’s Internet.
Obviously, the ‘@’ symbol is not ‘owned’ as such, so MoMA’s aquisition of it is free. Come to think of it, I might aquire it myself. Nah, scrap that, ‘&’ is so much cooler.
So is ‘@’ Art?
On their blog post, MoMA state that the ‘@’ symbol is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art because
Tomlinson performed a powerful act of design that not only forever changed the @ sign’s significance and function, but which also has become an important part of our identity in relationship and communication with others. His (unintended) role as a designer must be acknowledged and celebrated…
So I’m just going to say “Sure!” and walk away from the crazy art people. What do you think? Art, or f@rce?
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by Collin Van Uden on March 19th, 2010
by Collin Van Uden on March 19th, 2010
You may have seen it. The stunning, (slightly creepy) culinary mad science that is the Steve Jobs Cheese Head. I get the feeling that The Cooks Den site probably got a spike in page visits today, Jobs bless ‘em.
Essentially, they’ve provided us with what some Apple fans have no doubt already got set up on a special altar somewhere in their ‘secret’ places – a well crafted effigy of his noggin. And it’s MADE OF CHEESE.
Now, I don’t dislike Steve Jobs, and I am a HUGE fan of cheese, as a rule. But really, this screams ‘MOCK ME’ to me. I don’t often stand on the shoulders of giants. But in this case, I think a good coat-tail riding is in order, at the very least.
Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to tickle my funny bits (get your mind outta the gutter) with the best artwork, caption or hashtag for the seriously strange Steve Jobs head o’ cheese. By best, I mean that which I (by virtue of my unqualified opinion) deem to be the ultimate SteveJobsCheeseHeadism, (or #SJCH for short)
I’ll put entries up on my brand spankin’ new Redbubble Site, and throw up an album on our Facebook Page. Now, there’s two versions of the head,
 Not Melty
 Melty
(Pics reproduced with permission from www.thecooksden.com)
So you can choose both your target and your method of cheese loving joculation:
Tweet your caption or hashtag entry
Post your entry on the PrometheusInk Facebook Page
Comment on the Buzz
Submit the form:
And remember: Qui non ridere possuit, In ano pillum intromit
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Me vs Atheism
Before I jump into this, a few quick points, and a disclaimer or two.
(Edit) 0: The title of this post is (deliberately, I’ll admit) misleading. I do not, by any stretch of the imagination ‘oppose’ atheism – but rather the attitude that (in my experience) is held by many who claim that (or any other) view, which I see as disruptive to inclusive, unbiased and reasonable debate.
1: My original point (which got a little lost in the ruckus this post is actually about) was very simple. Following an interesting episode of the SBS program Insight addressing religious education – scrap that – theological indoctrination in the public school system, and a number of trialled, suggested and in one case rejected alternatives, I concluded the following.
If we are going to include Religious Education in the public school system, for God’s sake (pun fully intended – and it is a pun, just so you’re clear on that) can we actually educate our kids about, you know – religion? Not the Christian or Catholic or Hindu or Islamic faith, but RELIGION. After all -
Yeah, quoted myself. So ner.
2: If I’m wrong here, let me know. Not in the “No, you infidel – God is real!” or “There is no god you ignorant twit” sense, but if I am at all mistaken in my observations – I’m more than happy to stand corrected.
3: This is one of those really fun topics that you either don’t give a crap about (in which case I suggest you leave now – this get’s a little long and ranty) or if you do, you feel quite strongly about (usually in one particular direction). I encourage and welcome comments – you may have noticed there aren’t many on the site, so it’d be a novelty, if nothing else – but typically these kinds of discussions degenerate into a perfect example of one of the bigger issues I see with this kind of thing (there’s a post in that I’m sure) and I’d much prefer a reasoned debate than an outright flame war. (Most of the time)
Bottom line though, is that (frustrating as it may sometimes be) ignorance can stand corrected – intolerance, more rarely so. Needless to say, intolerance trumps ignorance on Collin’s ‘wanker-meter’, so if you really feel the need to be an arse – do it elswhere.
Cool, now I’ve quoted myself and referred to myself in the third person. How conceited is that!
4: I’m not an expert on anything that I’ll (eventually, I swear) be looking at in this post. My opinions on these topics are essentially just that – opinion, based on casual observation for the most part, and backed by a preoccupation with finding out the ‘why’ of things.
5: Despite the apparent assumptions of some commentors on the ramblings that kicked this off, I’m not a ‘believer’ when it comes to the ‘One God’.. thing. If you were reading around April Fools day it should be pretty clear I’m an equal opportunity fun pokerer. But then, I’m not a believer in the ‘No god’ thing either.
What? Huh? What on earth can this mean?!
It’s pretty simple. Three words, in fact. If you think you can manage, you can say them with me. Ready?
I don’t know.
And I’m OK with that. Because when it comes to contending views on the ‘truthiness’ of a given thing, to ’round out’ to the most likely, or most evidenced version is essentially a cop out. A by product of our biological compulsion to rationalize perhaps. Or maybe just a big flip of the bird to the party unable to prove their claim. (Either way, ‘liklihoodiness’ sounds nowhere near as good as ‘truthiness’)
And while most of the ‘scientifically minded’ folk are happy with the way the ‘burden of proof‘ works, I am not – it’s never really made sense to me. Lack of proof of the existence of a thing (in this case, a deity) does not, in any way, validate the counter-argument attesting to that thing’s non-existence. Something either exists, or it does not. It is either true, or it is not. The burden of proof shouldn’t fall on either party – determining the actual truth should be the goal of both. And if that truth cannot be determined, the only remaining option to to admit ignorance.
In the simplest possible way I can think to put it:
x = their view
y = your view
n = the ‘truth’ of the matter
n will never be either x or y – it will always be n.
x or y might accurately describe n, however if x or y cannot be infallibly found to do so there is no basis on which to claim that either x or y has anything to do with n at all. For all you know, a better description would be q. Or 784. Or Batman.
After you die-hard philosophers out there get over your apoplexy, I’ll ask you to consider this:
Should the answer to any question posed regarding the nature of a thing be biased toward the conventionalism, and the likeliness of one presented answer according to common opinion and the ideology of the time?
Once you’ve answered that (I’m sure it won’t take long) perhaps reflect on what Socrates might have thought.
I can’t tell you if god exists, but I can tell you something of what I do believe – that throughout our history, human beings seem compelled to envision an entity or power greater than themselves to whom (when anthropomorphized) they will submit their will, and while our nature leans toward an abuse of the power such compelling beliefs hold over our fellow mortals, these same beliefs have spawned such institutionalised concepts as law, morality, consequence and in a (granted, very) broad sense, are in fact a form of scientific endeavour.
While such beliefs may be inconsequential in the view of some, I myself cannot dismiss them as easily, given the impact they’ve had (and still have) on our culture, and by virtue of my own (irritating, I’m sure) tendency to leave every matter ‘open to discussion’ unless completely, unequivocally resolved.
OK, enough of the preamble. On with the show.
Continue reading Me vs Atheism