Goodness. I often compare Melbourne’s public transport system to that of other cities. I’ve seen Taipei’s Mass Rapid Transport, the London Tube and Paris’s brilliant Metro system. “Come on, Melbourne,” I’d complain. “Lift your game! We need some real leadership on public transport here.”
This is a first, though: a resident of another city wants to follow Melbourne’s lead! Ian from Toronto writes about ‘How the TTC could learn some lessons from Down Under‘.
Go, the trams!
Speaking of angsting about inconsequential choices, I booked my flight through the Emirates website. This is what I was confronted with:
This is why I’m no good at shopping. I walk into a store and am overwhelmed by choice. Inevitably, I walk out with nothing. And that’s what happened this time. I chose ‘No preference’.
Related internet madness: Airline Meals.net — thanks to Vera for this one.
Long time readers of this blog are going to start thinking that all I do is surf strange and macarbre Wikipedia articles. But I can’t resist posting this one: List of films by gory death scene.
Haha… # 20 Death from slicing by a sharp object where it takes some time for victim to fall apart.
Am I so terrible for laughing?
All right. The last word in weird: Wikipedia’s own list of unusual articles.
I used to wear my pedometer all the time. A New Scientist article yesterday describes how ants use pedometers to find home. The scientists took some ants and shortened their legs, and took other ants and put them 1 mm ‘stilts’. Then they sat back and watched the ants get lost.
It sounds like something a cruel but clever kid might do over the holidays. I admit, I laughed when I read it.
My salary review is coming up and I’ve just completed a postgraduate law workshop in negotiation. Guess what that means?
Nah, it’s hopeless. Dilbert’s Salary Law tells me so. Here, I’ll reproduce it for you.
Engineers and scientists will never make as much money as business executives.
Now we have mathmatical proof that explains why this is true:Postulate 1: Knowledge is Power.
Postulate 2: Time is Money.As every engineer knows,
Work ————– = Power Time Since Knowledge = Power, and Time = Money, we have: Work ————– = Knowledge Money Solving for Money we get: Work ————– = Money Knowledge Thus, as Knowledge approaches zero, Money approaches infinity regardless of the Work done.
Conclusion: The less you Know, the More you Make.
Damn. I’d better start saving now.
I’ve poked fun at corporate-speak before. I saw Wank Word Bingo in the office. It’s funny and clever. I reckon it would keep me awake in meetings.
The scary thing is that if you’re submerged in the corporate culture and everyone else is using wank words and you don’t know any better, you too will think that this is the way to speak if you want to be taken seriously. Lucky for me, I spoke a couple of times in the Plain English Speaking Award. That taught me a bit.
Tip of the week: Don’t use ‘utilise’ when ‘use’ will do.
Having just been travelling, I appreciate the usefulness of Australia’s National Public Map, which was featured on Wikipedia‘s English home page today.
You can even “Register for My Toilet Map to save your trips, favourite destinations and public toilets.”
I’m sure I’d enjoy this more if I was geekier. I do appreciate the aesthetic and the wit, though.
(Perhaps it’s nothing to do with geekiness. Perhaps I’d appreciate it more the day Windows crashes and wipes out my digital life.)
Edited Sunday 19 March 14:12: Now that I’ve read it properly, I change my mind. It’s hysterical even for non-geeks.
All those people who collect Metcard tickets — HA! You’ve been outdone! You’ve wasted your time.
Referenced from Winza.
On Bad Habit Brota‘s blog, I found a link to the strangest website I’ve ever seen. For less than $25 a month, you could have an Imaginary Girlfriend! From the website:
What is an Imaginary Girlfriend?
An Imaginary Girlfriend is exactly that. This is a service provided by a real life girl where she will pretend to be your long distance girlfriend by sending you personalized love letters, emails, pictures, leave phone messages (if you want), and provide other girlfriend-like services.
I like writing in my blog. Perhaps I can get money for writing on the internet…
GIRLFRIENDS WANTED!
5PM Interactive and ImaginaryGirlfriends.com are seeking creative, fun-loving women to join us! If you’re over 18, love to write and welcome the opportunity to earn extra cash, consider joining our site as an Imaginary Girlfriend.
Well, with Damo away, I do have a bit more time on my hands…
The romantic relationship is not real,of course, but can appear very authentic. Anyone who has difficulty distinguishing reality from fantasy should NOT use this service.
Oh. I guess that rules me out, then.