2005 24

Are the free Mac Minis for real? Hardy tries to get one – and succeeds. But… is it worth it? Pretty good economic analysis.

Most blogged books of 2005.

Da Vinci Code trailers. Comments Sai 15 Dec 2005 9:56 pm: Anand, tell us a bit about Infosys consulting. They seem to be on a big expansion drive. Hows it out there? S Anand 16 Dec 2005 7:32 am: I can mail you, Sai. What’s your e-mail ID? S Anand 16 Dec 2005 9:39 am: BTW, the del.icio.us tag on “The Da Vinci Code” is an anagram: c i con thee david. Sai 16 Dec 2005 7:42 pm: Anand it is [email protected] Sai 16 Dec 2005 7:46 pm: Thanks!

Top lists for 2005 – books, movies, etc.

Will Google Calendar go live today?

How to survive worst case scenarios, like a riot, plane crash or car without brakes. Also includes an alien abduction scenario. Comments Rajiv 5 Dec 2005 7:50 pm: Are you still at BCG? S Anand 5 Dec 2005 9:08 pm: Infosys Consulting right now.

Coloured soap bubbles.

Interesting experiment to test the impact of changing the rate for Google Adwords. Two identical sites have Adwords account. One has an established account paying $0.10 per word. Another is a new account, and begins by paying $1.00, then lowers it to $0.40. The former got 15,000 click-throughs regularly. The latter started just above 15,000 and fell to 1,200 after the rate drop. Does the Adwords algorithm favours rate increases disproportionately (and hence is evil?) Or is the fact that the former site an established one create the difference?

Framing - using words to build a frame of mind. A Senator goes on a Fox News show in which a conservative argues with a liberal. The conservative host says: “Some say that more tax relief creates more jobs. You have voted against increased tax relief. Why?” The Senator is caught. Any attempt to answer the question as asked simply reinforces both the Tax Relief frame and the “Tax Relief Creates Jobs” frame. The question builds in a conservative worldview and false “facts”. Even to deny that “tax relief” creates jobs accepts the Tax Relief frame and reinforces the “Tax Relief Creates Jobs” frame. ...

I cross the prime meridien almost every day. I live 0 degrees 5 minutes east of the prime meridien. I travel to Liverpool Street usually, which is 0 degrees 5 minutes west of the prime meridien. The station closest to the meridien, on my route, is Stratford, which stretches from 7 seconds to 17 seconds west of the meridien. Of course, crossing the prime meridien has no time-zone related significance like the international date line. But it does mean that I travel to the western hemisphere and back every day. ...

The public transport reacted beautifully to the damage. I had to take Bus 259 from Finsbury Park to Tottenham Police Station. As I waited at the bus stop, I saw a 259 double decker pull in. Followed by another. And another. And another. Four double-decker buses following one after the other – and they ended up getting filled. Almost felt like a train, except without rails and a floor above. ...

Taking pictures at low shutter speeds without a tripod. Comments Anonymous Hero 5 Jul 2005 9:56 am: About why Google History is important: I had searched for something from home laptop and I was at office and needed the same info. Went into Google history and found the same thing… So the search history and the links I clicked on were available from any computer attached to the Net. Found it pretty useful… Ram 5 Jul 2005 4:51 pm: Pls update the placement section with new useful links… S Anand 5 Jul 2005 6:36 pm: Ah… that’s a good use. I was also wondering if we could do some profiling of the kinds of sites we visit – perhaps by checking what their tags are on technorati or del.icio.us sathish 22 Jul 2005 11:14 am: probably based on our search history, there could some recommendations to given

It’s interesting how Steven Spielberg created his sound effects in movies. For example, in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indy’s whip is the treated sound of a jet taking off; the punches in fist fights are the result of bashing leather jackets with baseball bats; and the rolling boulder rumble is a Honda station wagon coasting down a gravel road mixed with a rocket blast-off. … or in E.T. The Extra Terrestrial ...

Time: early in the morning, waiting for office to open. Location: public phone booth. Situation: calling a mobile number in London. Insert coin 20p goes in. Press button to push coin in. Credit: 20p 10p goes in. Press button again. Credit 30p Call mobile number... 07xxxxxxx "Hi Malu, this is Shobana." Credit remaining: 20p "We..." Credit remaining: 19p "...just..." Credit remaining: 18p "...got..." Credit remaining: 17p "...here..." Credit remaining: 16p "...last..." Credit remaining: 15p "...night..." Credit remaining: 14p "...and..." Credit remaining: 13p "...are..." Credit remaining: 12p "...staying..." Credit remaining: 11p "...at..." Credit remaining: 10p "...a..." Credit remaining: 9p "...hotel." Credit remaining: 8p "OK..." Credit remaining: 7p "...I..." Credit remaining: 6p "...will..." Credit remaining: 5p "...call..." Credit remaining: 4p "...you..." Credit remaining: 3p "...back..." Credit remaining: 2p "...later..." Credit remaining: 1p "...bye." Credit remaining: 0p

Chemosphere is the world’s most modern residence. Incidentally, Charlie’s Angels 2 was filmed here. via MeFi Leonard Malin was a young aerospace engineer in late-1950s L.A. whose father-in-law had just given him a plot north of Mulholland Drive, near Laurel Canyon. The only catch: at roughly 45 degrees, the slope was all but unbuildable. Lautner sketched a bold vertical line, a cross, and a curve above it. “Draw it up,” he told his assistant. Now publisher Benedikt Taschen owns Chemosphere. ...

How to get that perfect shave. Keep your face wet with hot water, use a brush, and a double-edged razor. Comments Jetru 7 Apr 2005 9:18 am: errr.cool!

Droogle. Drink recipes. Comments Jetru 24 Mar 2005 5:04 pm: Doesnt look like the XML feed is working… Deshi 24 Mar 2005 6:17 pm: This is one lousy blog! Genmys 25 Mar 2005 1:49 am: Lassi features as South Indian drink. Obscure results for Butter Milk ritzkini 25 Mar 2005 8:13 am: Bandwidth Limit Exceeded.The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to the site owner reaching his/her bandwidth limit. Please try again later.Apache/1.3.33 Server at www.droogle.ca Port 80(25/03/2005-at 1:45 PM IST) Shamit 26 Mar 2005 4:41 am: It is getting a bit cluttered … S Anand 28 Mar 2005 3:20 am: Yes, it is, rather. Will see what I can do about that. S Anand 30 Mar 2005 7:23 am: Fixed the XML feed.

MoSoSos: Mobile Social Software services. I checked in to dodgeball, she said, and “I got an alert that ‘so-and-so has a crush on you, and he is at X bar, go and say hi.’” she said. So McGunigle went to the bar, and by coincidence, it was the same guy she’d just seen on the subway. Like her, he’d been too shy to make an approach, but not to send a text message. ...

Fisheye photo of a stadium. Comments Aditya Chaturvedi 7 Mar 2005 7:28 pm: Really Nice Pictures Nik 20 Mar 2005 12:22 am: Reminds me of a Calvin

We are the final frontier. The Guardian asks leading scientists what they think will be the next revolution in science. (It’s almost a trend, spawning books like The Next Fifty Years.) First came the Copernican revolution in the 16th century. The Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus argued that the Earth was not at the centre of the solar system. Charles Darwin got personal more than 300 years later by implying that humans weren’t special either. With the publication of On the Origin of Species, Darwin promoted his theory of evolution via natural selection. Nearly a century later, two Cambridge-based scientists, James Watson and Francis Crick, unravelled the structure of DNA. So what’s next? What will be the fourth revolution? ...

The Woodward and Bernstein papers. Woodward and Berstein of the Washington Post wrote a series of stories leading to the resignation of Richard Nixon. Their novel All The President’s Men has a gripping account of their adventure. Now, their original papers are available at the University of Texas.

Haptic technology lets you “touch and feel data”. Surgical-simulation devices are currently the bread and butter of many haptics companies. Recently, haptics have also been finding their way into consumer products. Many video-game controllers, such as force-feedback steering wheels and joysticks, already contain simple haptic devices to enable virtual rally drivers and pilots to feel the bumps of artificial roads or the rumble of machine guns. Mobile phones are next. Just as existing phones can be programmed to play different ring tones depending on the caller, VibeTone allows for different vibrations. Without reaching into your pocket, you will be able to tell whether it is your boss, spouse, or babysitter who is calling. ...

Naive in Thailand. The misadventures of an unprepared 43-year-old Brit who drops everything to try and help with tsunami rebuilding. Pet peeve? “The only real irritation has been the American Christian volunteers.”

The Skycar. It’s a flying car. Priced at close to $1 million, but probably better than using a helicopter.