scott arbeitman, friend of a squid

Food resupply effort foiled; McGill University occupation enters Day 3

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:27:09 +1100

Food resupply effort foiled; McGill University occupation enters Day 3:

McGill students, occupying the sixth floor of a building, try to lower a bucket, have it filled with food and then raise it.

But a subsequent tweet noted: “When the bucket was about 2/3 of the way down, a security guard reached out of a window to CUT OUR ROPE.”

So funny.

Do Nice Guys Finish Last? | Wired Science | Wired.com

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 19:35:22 +1100

Do Nice Guys Finish Last? | Wired Science | Wired.com:

Spoiler alert: it seems so.

Retinol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 23:27:38 +1100

Retinol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

If eaten in one meal, 30 to 90 grams of polar bear liver is enough to kill a human being, or to make even sled dogs very ill.

Good to know.

Insight: Lessons for U.S. from Canada's basket case moment | Reuters

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:30:59 +1100

Insight: Lessons for U.S. from Canada's basket case moment | Reuters:

“There would have been a day when we would have been the Greece of today,” recalled then-prime minister Jean Chretien, a Liberal who ended up chopping cherished social programs in one of the most dramatic fiscal turnarounds ever.

“I knew we were in a bind and we had to do something,” Chretien, 77, told Reuters in a rare interview.

I’ll never forget Chretien and his awesome accent from my days in Canada.

Is Coldfusion next?

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:19:56 +1100

With Adobe axing Mobile Flash, one wonders what will happen to other Adobe products. People have been predicting the end of Coldfusion for years. A new version is due soon. But I’m betting against ColdFusion as a going concern for Adobe.

By the way, I’m not a Coldfusion hater by any means. I used to develop with Coldfusion religiously and miss a lot of what it offered. My headspace is much more Rails+Javascript these days (see, for example dkmvs (aka dick moves), but I’ll always have a soft spot for ColdFusion and its lovely tags and components.

Peter's of Kensington | Breville - 800 Series Professional Toaster 4 Slice

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 21:59:15 +1100

Peter's of Kensington | Breville - 800 Series Professional Toaster 4 Slice:

The copy on this web page (for a toaster) is simultaneously terrible and hilarious. For example:

It features an intelligent motor that automatically lowers your raw toast (also known as bread) into the slots and then raises it again when it’s done.

"The architects wanted the windows to open. Jobs said no. He “had never liked the idea of people..."

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 20:58:48 +1100

“The architects wanted the windows to open. Jobs said no. He “had never liked the idea of people being able to open things. ‘That would just allow people to screw things up.’ ””

- Steve Jobs’s Real Genius : The New Yorker

Sounds like a dick.

shotsnanigans ... share your shots

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 18:42:11 +1100

shotsnanigans ... share your shots:

Inspired by me! See also this dkmvs (aka dick moves) post.

FYI: “Fennel is a root vegetable grown in the...

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 18:11:56 +1100

FYI: “Fennel is a root vegetable grown in the ground.”

Small Demons — Welcome to the Storyverse

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 17:12:07 +1100

Small Demons — Welcome to the Storyverse:

Awesome extension of the ebook. Reminds me of another project, for images. A cool, Melbourne startup as well.

Sandwich Video

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 17:08:13 +1100

Sandwich Video:

Cool product videos, in case you need inspiration.

Aussie tech gold rush: 'nothing off limits'

Sat, 05 Nov 2011 15:52:47 +1100

Aussie tech gold rush: 'nothing off limits'

Heilvetica – Poster | Hipster Hitler

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 13:22:17 +1100

Heilvetica – Poster | Hipster Hitler:

In the cafe yesterday, there were two tables in front of me. In the table immediately in front of me: two German tourists making travel plans on their computer and checking Facebook. On the table in front of them, a girl’s Mac desktop with this image: http://hipsterhitler.com/heilvetica-poster/.

Jews in IT

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 11:39:02 +1100

After a trip to Israel, where everyone and his falafel has a startup company, I became interested in the impact Jews are making in IT. Despite the success of Israel startups, it is still the American Jew who has most impacted the field. Here’s a list of important American Jews who are making a huge difference in the IT sector:

Larry Page, CEO of Google (mother’s side)
Sergey Brin, Co-founder of Google
Michael Dell, CEO and founder of Dell
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and founder of Facebook
Andy Rubin, founder of Android Inc, now VP Android division at Google
Max Levchin, co-founder of Paypal
Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft (mother’s side)
Larry Ellison, CEO and co-founder of Oracle

Surely there are more–way more–but many are surprised and still hold the stereotype of Jews being successful as doctors, lawyers, the movie industry, etc. Not the case anymore.

If know any other good examples, leave them in the comments.

Microsoft unveils new anti-Android stratagem - Computerworld Blogs

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 22:14:08 +1100

Microsoft unveils new anti-Android stratagem - Computerworld Blogs:

Estimates vary, but it’s said that Microsoft stands to make almost half a billion dollars next year from Android licensing fees. It now seems certain that this IP licensing strategy is already making more money from Android than Microsoft itself is making from its own Windows Phone 7 platform

If that’s true, my money would be against Windows Phone 7. When Microsoft has a cash cow, they’re not known to innovate.

How 18th-Century Copiale Cipher Was Cracked - NYTimes.com

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 20:55:08 +1100

How 18th-Century Copiale Cipher Was Cracked - NYTimes.com:

In an oft-cited letter in 1947 to the mathematician Norbert Weiner, he wrote: “One naturally wonders if the problem of translation could conceivably be treated as a problem in cryptography. When I look at an article in Russian, I say: ‘This is really written in English, but it has been coded in some strange symbols. I will now proceed to decode.’ ”

Outside the box thinking. Like it.

‘I’m Coming to Paros’

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 21:07:14 +1100

‘I’m Coming to Paros’

Why some languages sound so fast

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 21:02:50 +1100

Why some languages sound so fast

Jimmy Carter: 'We never dropped a bomb. We never fired a bullet. We never went to war' | World news | The Observer

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 22:41:30 +1100

Jimmy Carter: 'We never dropped a bomb. We never fired a bullet. We never went to war' | World news | The Observer:

(via Instapaper)

Malcolm Gladwell on Bruce Ratner and the Barclays Center - Grantland

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 09:24:35 +1000

Malcolm Gladwell on Bruce Ratner and the Barclays Center - Grantland:

(via Instapaper)