R Allan Baruz: Didja know?

Thu, 17 Jul 2003 02:54:42 GMT

As promised, close-up video (no sound) of the Philips Poker Chip Twirl, here, as practiced by Gus Hansen on WPT. 908 k.

The Dark Side to the Internet

Tue, 15 Jul 2003 02:01:24 GMT

My Usenet server only holds posts for a week, so I almost missed this in the latest digest. (I believe it was Ron who introduced me to these? or Dave? or Ron?)

Date: Mon, 07 Jul 03 12:34:37 -0500
From: Internet Oracle 
Subject: Internet Oracularity #1326-01

Selected-By: "Alyce Wilson" 

The Internet Oracle has pondered your question deeply.
Your question was:

> Oracle most wise,
>
> Is it true people use the Internet for other things besides porn?

And in response, thus spake the Oracle:

} Absolutely! You can also spread viruses with the internet. Steal books,
} music and videos. And lets not forget the endless supply of "free"
} games out there waiting to be downloaded.
}
} There is a dark side to the internet. Some people put _information_
} on their web sites. No nude chicks or pirated music. Actual useful
} information about cars, the weather, what's on TV tonight, etc.
} I can't tell you how much those freaks creep me out. Stay away from
} them or next thing you know you might find yourself doing unspeakable
} things like studying and research. Imagine what you mom will think when
} she finds out you know WAY too much about 18th century Romanian art.
}
} You owe the Oracle some links to sites about naval warfare in the
} late 1500's. Not for me mind you, its... uh... for a friend.

------------------------------

Newsgroups: rec.humor.oracle
Subject: Internet Oracularities Digest #1326
Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2003 18:03:59 +0000 (UTC)
Message-ID: 
Reply-To: oracle-vote@cs.indiana.edu
NNTP-Posting-Host: moose.cs.indiana.edu
NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2003 18:03:59 +0000 (UTC)
Originator: daemon@cs.indiana.edu ()

Speaking of which:

Poker Chip Sleights

Thu, 03 Jul 2003 03:32:53 GMT

Current obsession. When I was younger and wanted to be a magician, I learned several card tricks and sleights, most of them forgotten, but some of the same principles apply, and there’s some muscle memory even now. Poker Chip Shuffle: I’ve got the four by four chip shuffle down to about a thirty percent failure rate. Start with two by two and work your way up. Wrist positioning is important when learning; keep it high. It is much easier to do on a table with some give to it, like felt, or something with a nap, like a towel. Using different chip colors or denominations for each side will allow you to gauge your progress. The Philips Chip Twirl by way of WPT Fan Site. I have Gus Hansen doing this, or a version of this on video that I’ll try to post as soon as I Cleaner it up. [Update:Done. 908 k.

Thu, 12 Jun 2003 00:04:08 GMT

“Deliberate.” That’s an interesting word. One might think it had something to do with freedom—de-liberate. But no. It has to do with scales, and weighing the options. To librate is to hover or vibrate, as scales do: He librated, as if upon a precipice, then surged forward.

Mon, 21 Apr 2003 02:37:40 GMT

Finally, Neil Gaiman has permalinks, and just in time for this, too:

There's a marvellous photo and explanation here of the phenomenon of Solar Tadpoles, which is something I'd sort of missed until now. Scientists, we are told, now believe the tadpoles are superheated magnetic voids in the plasma. I, on the other hand, believe that they are the infallible early warning system of an upcoming plague of Solar Frogs. This is why scientists are scientists, and why my daughters look suspiciously at me whenever I try to explain the universe to them.

Tue, 25 Mar 2003 03:46:45 GMT

According to A.N Wilson, Hugo Dyson used to sit in the corner during Tolkien's readings saying 'Oh fuck, not another elf.'

[by Andrew Rilstone. You may remember Rilstone from editing Interactive Fantasy, which published the Greg Costikyan essay, “I Have No Words & I Must Design,” if you happened to read one of the two or three issues that came out; I have the second, which contains the aforementioned essay. What is a game, anyway? This has been famously hard to define, resisting the Aristotelian genus-species approach, at least according to Ludwig Wittgenstein. Greg has a go at it, though, and produces an interesting definition, one which he chisels out in order to help in the task of analysis of games, the point of which is to create better ones. One would like to create an etymology of Ludwig/Ludovico that has to do with games, say, ludo-vico, game-winner or something silly like that. Alas, it is not to be. I think it emerges from Chlodwig or Hlodwig, and thus is cognate with Clovis the first among the Franks that invaded Gallia, and related through it to Louis. But Chlodwig means famous/loud/glorious warrior or something of the sort, which is an altogether different game.]

Thu, 13 Mar 2003 03:26:14 GMT

Starlit rhymes with scarlet. It does. I would write a poem to show you, but that would be unnecessarily cruel. Here it goes:

Scarlet sunset gives way to starlit night.

It’s an internal rhyme. Get over it.

Sat, 22 Feb 2003 17:08:07 GMT

Why does WOGL keep playing the theme song of Soul Train when WCBS does not? The original song was titled “TSOP,” “The Sound of Philadelphia.” A-ha.

Speaking of duct tape...

Sat, 15 Feb 2003 19:22:27 GMT

While Mike goes on with his conspiracy theory of duct tape, I thought I would share something rom the Philly Ink, seeing as I get a complimentary copy each day, or ought to. This is paraphrased from Tanya Barrientos, “A sticky question: What acts like a duck but still holds heating ducts?” pA8, Philadelphia Inquirer, 14 February 2003. Originally created by Johnson and Johnson’s Permacel Division, the waterproof easy-to-tear tape, unlike 3M’s masking tape, was perfect for waterproofing ammo cases and was colored combat green. Ever-adapting soldiers called it duck tape because water rolled off it and used it for fixing mechanical stuff, waterproofing assorted boots and boxes, and strapping cigs to arms. In the fifties postwar housing boom, it

became used for heating ducts
became silver
got called duct tape

. In the seventies, it landed on hardware store shelves; it has been a home-repair staple ever since. In the noughties, it is sucked off the shelves by terrorist scares. Henkel Consumer Adhesives makes Duck brand tape, others make their own brands of duct tape. Various communities call it

200mph tape (pit crews)
rock-and-roll tape (roadies)
hiker’s helper
canoeists’ companion
gaff tape (Britishers, and, I suppose, gaffers. coloured black.)

Mon, 30 Dec 2002 04:08:27 GMT

“My middle name is making me kill...”

Mon, 07 Oct 2002 19:03:21 GMT

Welcome to the family, Quaoar!

Fri, 20 Sep 2002 19:40:31 GMT

I don’t know if this works, but Brenner’s rule of translating German: “To guess the English word for an unknown German word, replace German T with D; Z or SS with T; D with TH; EI with O or I; AU with EE or EA; CH with CK or CH; B with F or V; PF with P; and SCH as the first letters of a word with S. The German word PFLANZ becomes plant; ZWEI becomes two.” —Norman Brenner, Fleetwood, New York.

Mon, 20 May 2002 17:16:48 GMT

Did you know... ...that agents of the FBI do not have badge numbers? So if you keep asking them for badge numbers, they will say, we don’t have badges, sir. And if you shout for their badges, they will shout back, we don’t have badges, sir! I thought that was an interesting tidbit to keep in mind.