Obscure Box
“I search, therefore I am” says Google
When 17 Century philosopher Rene Descartes penned a letter to a mate back in 1641 it’s safe to say he’d never heard of Google, let along the internet. The letter to Marin Mersenne later found itself as part of a collection of documents at the Institut de France (Institute of France). From here it was [...]
Typical of the monarchy
So the British Monarchy is on Twitter. The Queen has apparently been a big fan of the World Wide Web for many years so I suppose it’s no surprise that Her Majesty would also want the Monarchy to keep up with modern trends and enter the online social network marketplace. When I last looked an [...]
The Gates’ Breath meets the Hourglass Syndrome
It was back in August 2008 when I first mentioned my frustration at what I called the Gates’ Breath, in Just wait a Gates’ breath. Now the brainy people at chip manufacturer Intel have revealed figures on a similar condition that’s called Hourglass Syndrome. The Reuters story Stressed by slow computers? You are not alone [...]
The secret 20th Century invasion of the Vikings
British author Cressida Cowell may know a thing or two about dragons but her knowledge of Vikings might need a little updating. Her series of children’s books are the basis for the new 3D animated blockbuster How to Train Your Dragon. It’s a fascinating movie that’s entertaining for all ages and I confess I shed [...]
Brave headline on the cup punt
It’s a brave sub that opts for a headline with so much potential for mispronunciation. So it was that the ABC posted a story it headlined “Cup punt not child’s play” on Melbourne Cup day (Tuesday November 3, 2009). I’m sure the linguists have a name for it; that move from the first word to [...]