Dave in Maxim!
There's a really great article about Ridiculent's own Dave Koelle, in Maxim magazine. Check it out!
"High Quality Daily Amusement"
Thursday, July 31, 2003
Resign Online
An excerpt from a great find on InternalMemos.com, coming from Allstate Insurance...
Wow, nothing like a comforting human touch to help smooth out the challenges of a difficult career decision... I hope some day they can expand this technology to their customers...
To initiate your resignation,
- Access My Personal Choice/My Personal File on the Allstate intranet
- Select My Resignation From Allstate
- Complete the form by indicating the termination date
- Complete a brief electronic exit survey (responses are confidential and access is restricted to Human Resource employees)
- Submit the termination request
An automatic e-mail will be forwarded to the appropriate managers in your area and to local human resources once you submit your termination request. Critical information regarding continuation of benefits, final pay and other details will be sent to you by e-mail.
Wow, nothing like a comforting human touch to help smooth out the challenges of a difficult career decision... I hope some day they can expand this technology to their customers...
If you've died,
- Complete the form by indicating the termination date
- Complete a brief electronic exit survey
- Submit the termination request
Wednesday, July 30, 2003
When a Simple UI Backfires
I saw this amusing tidbit on News.com.com... If you visit Google, you will notice a copyright notice at the bottom of the page. Upon reflection, one might consider this odd, since there's really no significant content on the page worth copyrighting. In fact, Google's own laywers say there's no need for it. So, why is it there?
In the early days of usability testing for Google, test subjects would load the site, and stare blankly at the screen for one or two minutes before doing anything. Baffled by this behavior, the usability folks asked what the heck was going on. The test subjects responded: "I'm waiting for the page to finish loading". Copyright notices having become the de facto end-of-page markers on web sites, Google slapped one on there, and the rest is history.
Interestingly, even though I designed this the Ridiculent layout, I sometimes have the same reaction on this very site, since there's no footer of any sort at the end of the weblog content. Perhaps a minor layout tweak is in order...
In the early days of usability testing for Google, test subjects would load the site, and stare blankly at the screen for one or two minutes before doing anything. Baffled by this behavior, the usability folks asked what the heck was going on. The test subjects responded: "I'm waiting for the page to finish loading". Copyright notices having become the de facto end-of-page markers on web sites, Google slapped one on there, and the rest is history.
Interestingly, even though I designed this the Ridiculent layout, I sometimes have the same reaction on this very site, since there's no footer of any sort at the end of the weblog content. Perhaps a minor layout tweak is in order...
Tuesday, July 29, 2003
Welcome to the movies
I just want to state, for the record, that I don't want to hear any griping about how the movies Tomb Raider 2 or Gigli will fall below expectations.
Tomb Raider might have been somewhat successful, but does anyone really think that a sequel would fly? And Gigli... I pay attention to popular events, and I have absolutely zero idea what this movie is about (although I gather it's not pronounced 'gig-lee'). There's a poster in the T stations that says simply, "Gigli", and has a picture of Ben and J-Lo. A tagline might have helped.
I could do some research and find out what the movie is about, but I shouldn't have to.
On a positive note, I'm looking forward to how Pirates of the Caribbean exceeded everyone's expectations - maybe it will be the surprise run-away hit of the summer.
Hey cool - you can listen to Ebert and Roeper's reviews!
Tomb Raider might have been somewhat successful, but does anyone really think that a sequel would fly? And Gigli... I pay attention to popular events, and I have absolutely zero idea what this movie is about (although I gather it's not pronounced 'gig-lee'). There's a poster in the T stations that says simply, "Gigli", and has a picture of Ben and J-Lo. A tagline might have helped.
I could do some research and find out what the movie is about, but I shouldn't have to.
On a positive note, I'm looking forward to how Pirates of the Caribbean exceeded everyone's expectations - maybe it will be the surprise run-away hit of the summer.
Hey cool - you can listen to Ebert and Roeper's reviews!
NOW what is that wacky U.S. military up to?
I'm having a hard time deciphering exactly what is going on here, but let's start with the first paragraph of this article:
The U.S. military plans a worldwide on-line futures market to help it predict events in the Middle East. Traders could bet on the likelihood of events ranging from the overthrow of a government to the collapse of an economy or the assassination of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Is THIS where the military intends to get its "intelligence"? From pure speculation? Yeah, uneducated speculation worked out really well for predicting the future of the American economy way back, oh, about 5 years ago.
Is this some kind of joke? Even if you play along, how sick is this? "Thousands killed in Israel by Anthrax? Woohoo! My bioterrorism stock went up 30%!" Will people actually somehow make money from this?
I tried carefully reading the article to figure out if perhaps there was some sort of arcane scientific genius behind this, which the average person could not fully appreciate — but no. This is just nuts. The only "genius" I can see behind this plan would be the ease with which the government could hunt down and interrorgate registered users who make suspicious large cash bets on, say, assassinations. The question then would be, would people just take advantage of insider information to make a profit on this "market", or would they actually instigate events specifically because of it?
Geez. Maybe this whole thing was proposed just to make TIA look less bananas.
The U.S. military plans a worldwide on-line futures market to help it predict events in the Middle East. Traders could bet on the likelihood of events ranging from the overthrow of a government to the collapse of an economy or the assassination of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Is THIS where the military intends to get its "intelligence"? From pure speculation? Yeah, uneducated speculation worked out really well for predicting the future of the American economy way back, oh, about 5 years ago.
Is this some kind of joke? Even if you play along, how sick is this? "Thousands killed in Israel by Anthrax? Woohoo! My bioterrorism stock went up 30%!" Will people actually somehow make money from this?
I tried carefully reading the article to figure out if perhaps there was some sort of arcane scientific genius behind this, which the average person could not fully appreciate — but no. This is just nuts. The only "genius" I can see behind this plan would be the ease with which the government could hunt down and interrorgate registered users who make suspicious large cash bets on, say, assassinations. The question then would be, would people just take advantage of insider information to make a profit on this "market", or would they actually instigate events specifically because of it?
Geez. Maybe this whole thing was proposed just to make TIA look less bananas.
Monday, July 28, 2003
Eat tacos, get gas!
For those who've missed the promotion, Taco Bell is running an "Instant Win" game, where you can win free gasoline. Yes, Taco Bell is giving away free gas. Having stopped by there this weekend for a burrito, I can attest that, while the game piece on my large soft drink cup said "Sorry, you are not a winner," I did, in fact, receive plenty of free gas. A logo on the cup read "Taco Bell: Official home of summer gas!" Now, that's truth in advertising for you.
Friday, July 25, 2003
So much for the element of surprise...
That Boston Mob that Jeff and I had been invited to has been revealed in this Boston Globe article. Doesn't that kind of wipe out the element of surprise?
Thursday, July 24, 2003
The possibilities are endless!
Ahhh Lego... is there anything you can't model? From comics to biblical passages, to instruments of death, to cityscapes and skyscapers, to even taller skyscrapers, and finally to some pretty darn serious inventions.
Wednesday, July 23, 2003
Intelligent crows...
We humans always seem to underestimate the abilities of our animal brethren. We think that cats don't have emotions, dogs can't reason. Of course, anyone who has actually had a pet knows better.
I doubt many of you have had a pet crow. Surprise - the crow seems more intelligent than originally thought. This crow makes a tool to help it get food. I actually found the video a little spooky - how did the crow know that the metal was bendable? I doubt it's a hoax - it's in Science magazine.
I doubt many of you have had a pet crow. Surprise - the crow seems more intelligent than originally thought. This crow makes a tool to help it get food. I actually found the video a little spooky - how did the crow know that the metal was bendable? I doubt it's a hoax - it's in Science magazine.
Monday, July 21, 2003
Rambunctious, even rude flavor gives way to melodic overtones of rose and lily
You can visit Jamie's blog to read some real descriptions of wine tastes ("It has amazingly savoury, cheesy flavours, with high acidity backing up the raspberry fruit. As it is evolving these cheesy, green olive flavours are in the ascendant, making it quite a challenging wine"), or you can check out the Silly Tasting Note Generator to create some random ones ("Rich and thick but broad-shouldered Pinot Gris. Forcefully bites you with remnants of clay, fleshy citron and lingering blueberry, with a modicum of fig newton.").
It's sometimes hard to tell the difference.
It's sometimes hard to tell the difference.
Friday, July 18, 2003
Robotic ants in your Khaki pants?
Dockers' new brand of pants, called Go Khakis, inspired an enterprising Popular Science writer to question Dockers customer service, wondering if "nanotechnology" meant that little robots were running around in the pants, guarding against stains.
A little background at Nanotechnology Now would have revealed that nanotechnology is not restricted to ultra-small robots; the phrase is also used to encompass nanocomposites, nanocrystals, nanoparticles, and much more.
My question would be to the customer service department of Nanotechnology, Inc. "How is nanotechnology any different from basic chemical materials?" Could Teflon, for example, be considered a nanotechnolgy? How about that fancy H2O stuff?
A little background at Nanotechnology Now would have revealed that nanotechnology is not restricted to ultra-small robots; the phrase is also used to encompass nanocomposites, nanocrystals, nanoparticles, and much more.
My question would be to the customer service department of Nanotechnology, Inc. "How is nanotechnology any different from basic chemical materials?" Could Teflon, for example, be considered a nanotechnolgy? How about that fancy H2O stuff?
Thursday, July 17, 2003
Wanna join the mob?
Jeff and I just received an email invitation to join the Boston City Mob. Mobs are a new phenomenon of The Connected Age, specifically the Blogging Age (so much more inferior to the great ages, like the Iron Age). Leveraging the Internet, a huge swarm of people descend on some unfortunate location for a brief period of time, overwhelming the resources at that location, just because they can. They disperse as suddenly as they appear.
Presumably, whoever sent us the invitation must have gotten our email addresses from links on Ridiculent. Are now we part of the digiterati?
If you're interested in joining the mob in Boston, sign up here. Here are some pictures of mobs in Manhattan and San Francisco.
Presumably, whoever sent us the invitation must have gotten our email addresses from links on Ridiculent. Are now we part of the digiterati?
If you're interested in joining the mob in Boston, sign up here. Here are some pictures of mobs in Manhattan and San Francisco.
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
The 2003 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest Results are In!
Detective Inspector Mike Norman slipped six fingers into his overcoat pocket, five of them clad in a latex glove and attached to his palm, while the sixth was wrapped in a plastic evidence bag and apparently belonged to the kidnapped pianist Ricardo Moore, or, as it now seemed likely, the kidnapped ex-pianist Ricardo Moore.
The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest is a challenge to come up with the worst possible sentence with which to open a novel. Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton was a minor Victorian novelist responsible for the opening line: "It was a dark and stormy night..." (in addition to his more respected, yet no less cliché, "the pen is mightier than the sword")
Anyway, the entries are hilarious... Check them out.
The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest is a challenge to come up with the worst possible sentence with which to open a novel. Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton was a minor Victorian novelist responsible for the opening line: "It was a dark and stormy night..." (in addition to his more respected, yet no less cliché, "the pen is mightier than the sword")
Anyway, the entries are hilarious... Check them out.
The Matrix Vibe
The Matrix Vibe is a USB-powered... um... Well, let's just say it gives new meaning to the phrase "Plug & Play".
Tuesday, July 15, 2003
Drive-by Scootings on the Rise
Gangsters in Chicago are using electric scooters to get around. Let's pray they don't start using Segways. I guess this story isn't really funny or anything... I just couldn't resist the headline.
Monday, July 14, 2003
Top photos yield interesting news
From the "oh no, not another bit of rehashed nostalgia" department here at Ridiculent, you'll be pleased to know that Garbage Pail Kids are poised for a comeback this August.
If you're somewhere on the New England coast, be on the lookout for rubber duckies.
This is wrong on so many levels... what was the cockroach doing there in the first place?
Quick, we need some random factual caption to go with this cool picture!
If you're somewhere on the New England coast, be on the lookout for rubber duckies.
This is wrong on so many levels... what was the cockroach doing there in the first place?
Quick, we need some random factual caption to go with this cool picture!
Real Life
Ready for a real gaming challenge? Check out this review of Real Life, "the most accessible and most widely accepted massively multiplayer online role-playing game to date".
Friday, July 11, 2003
Another poorly chosen domain name
Let's see... well, we have a fantastic product (a vacuum attachment to suck the fur off of your dog). We loaded our website up with plenty of obnoxious animated GIFs. We have text that both scrolls (in a different direction for each line!) AND blinks! Now, all we need is a good domain name... Hm... I know!
WWW.DOGSUCKER.CO.UK!
WWW.DOGSUCKER.CO.UK!
Big Kahuna Burger
This IS a Tasty Burger! I guess that's just one of those URL's that you have to grab if it's not currently owned... even if you're not going to do anything interesting with it. Or maybe this, in itself, is interesting. This IS [also] a Tasty Burger! Need to brush-up on the reference?
Those crazy political blogs...
You have no doubt heard by now that potential Democratic candidate Howard Dean has a blog, Dean for America. But did you know that George W. Bush and Dick Cheney also have blogs?
George and Dick also have their 2004 campaign page up and running.
George and Dick also have their 2004 campaign page up and running.
My encounter with the virtual world
I was accepted as a beta-test user on There, a virtual world in which you play and talk with other people.
I spent about an hour online, including at least one 20-minute chunk of time just walking aimlessly, bored. The graphics were very nice, but I couldn't look up or down to get a full view of what was in front of me - or even to see if there was someone higher up on the mountain.
Maybe I entered during a slow period; there wasn't much going on. Various people doing that small-talk chatting that is so common in chat rooms, and it felt uncomfortable to go up to a group who were already in conversation - although eavesdropping is easy. 04real took me on a ride in his sand buggy, which looked cool, but as I typed "wahoo!" and "awesome!" from my keyboard, I didn't feel any adrenaline coursing through my veins.
The avatars themselves are fun to watch in communication - they smile when appropriate, shake their heads "yes" and "no". It's hard to stop two men from looking dreamy-eyed towards each other. You also have a set of emotions, and apparently you can add more - one guy with lipstick kisses all over his chest tried selling me emotes, including one that would have allowed me to toss out a chicken. I politely declined.
As an approved beta-tester, I can apparently invite new people to join somewhat instantly. If you're interested, let me know - dkoelle at rcn dot com.
I spent about an hour online, including at least one 20-minute chunk of time just walking aimlessly, bored. The graphics were very nice, but I couldn't look up or down to get a full view of what was in front of me - or even to see if there was someone higher up on the mountain.
Maybe I entered during a slow period; there wasn't much going on. Various people doing that small-talk chatting that is so common in chat rooms, and it felt uncomfortable to go up to a group who were already in conversation - although eavesdropping is easy. 04real took me on a ride in his sand buggy, which looked cool, but as I typed "wahoo!" and "awesome!" from my keyboard, I didn't feel any adrenaline coursing through my veins.
The avatars themselves are fun to watch in communication - they smile when appropriate, shake their heads "yes" and "no". It's hard to stop two men from looking dreamy-eyed towards each other. You also have a set of emotions, and apparently you can add more - one guy with lipstick kisses all over his chest tried selling me emotes, including one that would have allowed me to toss out a chicken. I politely declined.
As an approved beta-tester, I can apparently invite new people to join somewhat instantly. If you're interested, let me know - dkoelle at rcn dot com.
Thursday, July 10, 2003
Spatula City! (dot com)
This showed up in my Amazon.com "Gold Box" today...Anyone want a $57.00 spatula?
Perhaps the military might be interested? I didn't buy it, even at $45.60 with my magical discount...
Wednesday, July 09, 2003
You are under arrest...
Imagine this:
"The defendant is charged with violating United States Code, Title 18, Section 711a."
Good thing artists from the Illegal Art Gallery stayed away from that protected image!
And you better not pretend you belong to a 4-H club if you really didn't.
"The defendant is charged with violating United States Code, Title 18, Section 711a."
Good thing artists from the Illegal Art Gallery stayed away from that protected image!
And you better not pretend you belong to a 4-H club if you really didn't.
Tuesday, July 08, 2003
Monday, July 07, 2003
Administrative Technical Note
The ridiculous (ent?) delays and failures of the comment system will soon be dealt with... Clearly they don't behave well as a remotely hosted service... Thusly, that whole technique will be entirely scrapped and they will be integrated into the code in a more standard fashion...
As you may or may not know, the comment code (SliceComments) was designed by Webslice Labs, for which Ridiculent is a sort of testing ground. Seeing as the remotely hosted comment system seems to have proven unfeasible, a change of strategy for Webslice Labs is in order... "SliceComments" will still be made available for others at some point, but only as downloadable code for use with ColdFusion.
As you may or may not know, the comment code (SliceComments) was designed by Webslice Labs, for which Ridiculent is a sort of testing ground. Seeing as the remotely hosted comment system seems to have proven unfeasible, a change of strategy for Webslice Labs is in order... "SliceComments" will still be made available for others at some point, but only as downloadable code for use with ColdFusion.
Sewing Mario Bros.?
In the market for a new sewing machine?
Check out the Singer IZEK...
- Extensive stitch functions... check.
- Multiple buttonhole styles... check.
- Game Boy... check.
Wait a minute!
Check out the Singer IZEK...
- Extensive stitch functions... check.
- Multiple buttonhole styles... check.
- Game Boy... check.
Wait a minute!
Thursday, July 03, 2003
Unsolicited Plug
If this site were really, really amusing, it would be a lot like Cockeyed.com. Check it out. Or, if you're too lazy to peruse the whole thing, at least check out "How Much Is Inside? - rampant silliness disguised as science (or vice versa). Oh, and don't miss "Bad things that can happen to you". This Rob guy is REALLY funny, and smart, and does real cool stuff...
I think this picture from a "How Much is Inside?" experiment is now my favorite picture on the Internet:
I think this picture from a "How Much is Inside?" experiment is now my favorite picture on the Internet:
Here's something fun to try
Go to Google, type "weapons of mass destruction" in the Search field, and press the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button.
Talk about the right place at the right time!
I just stopped by the comic book store down the street (I can't find any more official link than this one) to pick up some new Transformers comics. After reading them, I started thinking about that movie that might be happening... and wondering if there would be a video game tie-in. So I googled for "transformer video game", and what should I see but this page.
Now look at the date on the page.
Thursday, July 3.
Boom. If I had searched for this yesterday, it wouldn't have existed. Coincidence? Or some "thing" going on in the Ether of Consciousness? (isn't it great when you can make up words, and then actually find them online?)
Now look at the date on the page.
Thursday, July 3.
Boom. If I had searched for this yesterday, it wouldn't have existed. Coincidence? Or some "thing" going on in the Ether of Consciousness? (isn't it great when you can make up words, and then actually find them online?)
Random Music Comment
Am I the only one who finds it rather funny that one of the endless stream of sound-alike whiny "corporate-core" rock bands actually calls themselves "Default"?
And just to point out how accurate the name may actually be, here are some excerpts from the All Music Guide review of their first album, The Fallout:
"...they simply have little to offer in the way of originality"
"The Fallout provides a non-threatening option for those who seek the stylistic affectations of grunge rock, but wish to avoid all of the substance or excitement of its first generation."
And just to point out how accurate the name may actually be, here are some excerpts from the All Music Guide review of their first album, The Fallout:
"...they simply have little to offer in the way of originality"
"The Fallout provides a non-threatening option for those who seek the stylistic affectations of grunge rock, but wish to avoid all of the substance or excitement of its first generation."
It's spoofalicious!
Remember that amazing Honda ad, "Cog" (reported in my blog-turned-Ideas-site)? Well, the guys at The 118118 Experience have done a pretty funny spoof of the ad. You have to nav your way around the site to find it (Deep linking is good linking, boys), but it's entertaining.
(Can you believe that searching for spoofalicious actually returns results on Google?)
(Can you believe that searching for spoofalicious actually returns results on Google?)
Tuesday, July 01, 2003
Text Based Pong
Keep hearing all your friends rave about that crazy new Pong "video-game", but all that fast-paced video action too intense for you? Try Text Based Pong on for size.
After that, you may want to try text-only "Where's Waldo".
After that, you may want to try text-only "Where's Waldo".
