Blue Sky On Mars

Since I started using the convenient L10 Hit Counter in June, I’ve been able to very easily see what people are reading here whenever I want. Mysteriously, the #3 URL here, just behind the BSOM front page, since mid-June is my posting about the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Apparently, the Pastafarians are a larger more dedicated lot than I originally expected. The original FSM site has grown quite a bit. 10 million hits (now up to 750k per day), and startling bits of work like Touched By His Noodly Appendage.

Bobby Henderson has finally provided reasons to convert to Flying Spaghetti Monsterism:

• Flimsy moral standards.
• Every friday is a relgious holiday. If your work/school objects to that, demand your religious beliefs are respected and threaten to call the ACLU.
• Our heaven is WAY better. We’ve got a Stripper Factory AND a Beer Volcano.

The big news comes from Boing Boing (from whence all big news comes): there’s $750,000 up for grabs for anyone that can prove that Jesus is not the son of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Just as the original FSM open letter was a parody of the insanity of suppressing evolution science, this purse is a parody of an offer for $250,000 for proof that evolution occurs (with a big * that broadens the notion of evolution to include the proverbial kitchen sink).

Ahhh… the Net has been touched by his noodly appendage indeed.
Boing Boing: Boing Boing’s $250,000 Intelligent Design challenge (UPDATED: $750K)

Funny

I’ve been running the Google ads for three weeks now. Each week, my revenue from the ads has doubled over the previous week.

Given that, in just a few weeks, my Google ad revenue will be larger than Google’s current revenue. Early next year, I’ll be able to buy the whole U.S. Ahh, the joys of exponents.

Last week, 50% of my traffic came from one article that got some wide circulation in the Python community. I think that has something to do with last week’s doubling, and I have a feeling this week will be a bit smaller.

Funny

Amazingly enough, at this moment in time, Google has declared that I am the King of Self-Proclamation. I even beat out Michael Jackson, who was apparently previously declared the King of Self-Proclamation (oddly, by someone other than himself).

Funny

I must remind you that the Flying Spaghetti Monster is just a theory, not a fact. As with any theory, it is good to consider other points of view.

Funny, Politics

I love the net. Someone who goes by the name “The Ferrett” talks about The Weirdest Book I Ever Got. The book in question is a comic book by Jim Pinkoski called “A Creationist’s View of DINOSAURS and the Theory Of Evolution”. Take a look at The Ferrett’s scans from it!

Apparently, the dinosaurs were destroyed by the Great Flood after they tried to attack Noah’s Ark. You learn something new every day. (You really have to appreciate Jim Pinkoski’s enthusiasm!)

Funny

I don’t remember what brand of deodorant it was for, but man this is a great commercial.

Funny

As seen on /. and Boing Boing, SCIgen - An Automatic CS Paper Generator managed to get a paper accepted as “non-reviewed” at a conference. The paper is really entertaining.

Along these same lines, to accomplish this mission, we
concentrate our efforts on showing that the famous ubiquitous
algorithm for the exploration of robots by Sato et al. runs in
Ω((n + logn)) time [22]. In the end, we conclude.

That last line has gotta be the best line EVAR in a paper.

Funny

April Fools on the web is always a great deal of fun. This year, there were some good ones. My favorites (ranked in order):

1. Boring Boring parody of Boing Boing
2. Google Gulp brain enhancer
3. My previously mentioned Scientific American editors note in which SciAm gives up.
4. 43 Folders’ April Power Hacks from Merlin Mann
5. April Fools EFFector, the EFF gives their take on the state of the world via a nice bit of satire.
6. ScreenCleanerPro as reviewed on MacWorld
7. Stricter Whitespace Enforcement in Python 2.5

Funny

Exploting silly laws across our fair country, two UK students are going to break as many dumb laws as they can. Neat idea. Might make for an interesting conversation with the immigration officials when they’re arriving in the states, though.

Funny

A second thing I was looking for was the collection of ambiguous references you can give for someone you used to work with. Not only did I find that, but here’s a whole Collection of Ambiguous or Inconsistent/Incomplete Statements. The stuff on that page varies in quality, but there’s funny stuff to be found all over the page.

Lexicon of Inconspicuously Ambiguous Recommendations
(Ways to handle those tricky situations! )

You’re called upon for an opinion of a friend who is extremely lazy. You don’t want to lie — but you also don’t want to risk losing even a lazy friend.

Try this line: “In my opinion,” you say as sincerely as you can manage, “you will be very fortunate to get this person to work for you.”

This gem of double meaning is the creation of Robert Thornton, a professor of economics at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA.

Thornton was frustrated about an occupational hazard for teachers, having to write letters of recommendation for people with dubious qualifications, so he put together an arsenal of statements that can be read two ways.

He calls his collection the Lexicon of Inconspicuously Ambiguous Recommendations. Or LIAR, for short.

LIAR may be used to offer a negative opinion of the personal qualities, work habits or motivation of the candidate while allowing the candidate to believe that it is high praise, Thornton explained last week.

Some examples from LIAR

To describe a person who is totally inept: I most enthusiastically recommend this candidate with no qualifications whatsoever.

To describe an ex-employee who had problems getting along with fellow workers: I am pleased to say that this candidate is a former colleague of mine.

To describe a candidate who is so unproductive that the job would be better left unfilled: I can assure you that no person would be better for the job.

To describe a job applicant who is not worth further consideration: I would urge you to waste no time in making this candidate an offer of employment.

To describe a person with lackluster credentials: All in all, I cannot say enough good things about this candidate or recommend him too highly.

Thornton pointed out that LIAR is not only useful in preserving friendships, but it also can help avoid serious legal trouble in a time when laws have eroded the confidentiality of letters of recommendation.

In most states, he noted, job applicants have the right to read the letters of recommendations and can even file suit against the writer if the contents are negative.

When the writer uses LIAR, however, whether perceived correctly or not by the candidate, the phrases are virtually litigation-proof, Thornton said.

Funny