Thinking about lots of things: language (reading Eco’s Search for the Perfect Language), privatization of state functions (cops and soldiers), laser (make Dr. Evil air quotes while reading, please) weapons, and the approach of spring. I’m also getting ready to do some vivarium work – rearrangement, new lights, etc. – thus, not a lot of blogging energy. Until I have something worth saying, another bookshelf shot:
Two new (to me) words that I like quite a bit:
The fictional material handwavium (similar to unobtainium) is sometimes referred to in situations where the solution requires access to a substance that is probably possible to create, but only by means which would require a great deal of research, development, time, effort, and/or money, none of which the speaker intends to explain at the moment. *
…it’s a synthetic combination of the words beauty and usage, and describes the beauty that comes with using something.
How, you may ask, is beausage any different than patina? Well, it’s certainly related, but different. Patina is really more about surface level changes happening at a chemical level: oxidation, chemical stripping, and so on. Beausage describes changes that happen in 3D where atoms get torn and stripped away, as occurs with scratches, tears, chips, and wear marks. *
For another nice example of beausage, see here.
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I’ve been using netvibes for a few weeks now and wanted to take a moment to recommend it. My netvibes page/portal/site is now indispensable – I can keep an eye on my favorite blogs, my Gmail account, Flikrstreams, etc. Clicking on the image above will take you to a Flikr page where I’ve marked the screen capture up a bit. Another great web app I fell over recently was Pandora (I know, I know, I live in a cave) – you give it an artist or song name and it starts streaming music similar to your seed selection. A great way to expand your horizons – in a rational world, the music industry would be showering the Pandora folks with cash. I’ll leave you with a Youtube clip I first saw about 3 weeks ago – it’s getting huge linkage, but one more won’t hurt. Web 2.0 … The Machine is Us/ing Us:
