rationality out of thin air (and elsewhere)
RATIOCINATIONS OUT OF THIN AIR is the title that I wanted for this blog. But it would have been confusing as most people don’t know what “ratiocination” means and few would bother to look it up. So we’re stuck with my name with “dot com” tacked on and this is the introduction to that blog. [Read more] “introduction to neal umphred dot com”
EMAIL CLAIMS I HAVE A TROJAN HORSE VIRUS! I received an email claiming to have breached the security of my computer and recorded me while, ahem, interacting with online porn. The sender attempted to extort money from me: “I see what you’re doing. If you don’t pay, I’ll send this dirt to all your contacts!” [Read more] ““my trojan horse virus recorded your solitary sex””
HOME VIDEOS OF CATS AND DOGS at play, at rest, eating, etc., remain incredibly popular on the internet. Type “cat videos” into Google and you will get about 8,790,000,000 results. Dog videos are even more popular with about 11,040,000,000 results! Cat and dog panel cartoons are not as prominent with about 57,000,000 and 50,000,000 results, respectively. [Read more] “just cat and dog cartoons on facebook”
CARTOONS MAKE THE WORLD GO AROUND. At least, it seems like they make the political world go around and have been doing so forever. The political or editorial cartoon has been a part of Western culture for centuries. Some historians cite Egyptian hieroglyphics as their forerunner, although its practical beginning is a bit more recent. [Read more] “bleeding heart liberal cartoons on facebook”
MORE BOOLSCHIDT “NEW USAGE” in writing! In several articles in what appears to be American English, I found writers had added a tilde (~) before an amount of money. For example, a sentence might read, “The cost of buying original copies of all six psychedelic albums by the Strawberry Watch Pipers in near-mint condition is ~$4,000.” [Read more] “who’s trying to replace a familiar word with a foreign accent mark?”
I AM DISCONTINUING THE SERVICE that sends pop-up messages to readers. Subscribing to these pop-ups—called push notifications—required you to click on the bell (the large image pictured above) in the lower corner of this blog. Due to their negative impact on the speed and efficiency of this blog, these notifications will cease immediately. [Read more] “no more bell, no more pop-up notifications”