Book thirty-six of 2018: Flash Gordon: The Witch Queen of Mongo, by Alex Raymond and Carson Bingham. ⭐️⭐️
“Yakko’s World” — the Animaniacs song with all the countries of the world — just got a brand new verse with all the countries added since the song was written!
Book thirty-five of 3018: Flash Gordon: The Time Trap of Ming XIII, by Alex Raymond and Con Steffanson. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Siri shortcut for “xyzzy”
Old-school geeks will (well, maybe) be amused by this: a very simple, very stupid, tiny iOS 12 Siri shortcut. Tap it in Shortcuts and Siri will reply with, “Nothing happens.” Or if you set it up to respond to your voice, you can say “XYZZY” and she’ll say, “Shortcuts says: ‘Nothing happens.’ Done!”…which is less than ideal, but seems to be how it works. The joke is still there, at least.
(If you don’t get the joke, this might help.)
Linkdump for September 23rd through October 1st
Sometime between September 23rd and October 1st, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!
- Well, this is a good way to keep me from visiting New Zealand:: "New Zealand's Customs and Excise Act 2018 went into effect today. That means travelers who refuse to give their phone or laptop password to customs officials will be fined NZ$5000. In addition, their devices will be confiscated and forensically searched." Not that I had plans to visit New Zealand, but this sure puts a damper on any interest.
- The Eternal Life of the Instant Noodle: “Last year, across the globe, more than 100 billion servings of instant noodles were eaten. That’s more than 13 servings for every person on the planet.”
- Science Says Toxic Masculinity — More Than Alcohol — Leads To Sexual Assault: "Every drink is downed amid cultural expectations and societally mediated attitudes about women and power. Those things — and how young men absorb them — have a stronger causal influence than the alcohol alone. When a man feels entitled to assault someone, he may get drunk before he does it, but the decision to act was ultimately his alone."
- iOS 12 Siri shortcut for traffic stops: Pauses music, dims the screen, turns on Do Not Disturb, and activates video recording on the front-facing camera. When done, sends the video to a trusted contact or uploads the file to Dropbox. Clever.
- Everything You Know About Obesity Is Wrong: “For decades, the medical community has ignored mountains of evidence to wage a cruel and futile war on fat people, poisoning public perception and ruining millions of lives. It’s time for a new paradigm.”
Hey, young people — don’t vote.
Austistic boy hates being in photos, mom lets him wear T-Rex suit for family pics. This is adorable!
Report: Disney re-animating parts of Wreck-It-Ralph sequel after Princess and the Frog criticism. I’m impressed that Disney is doing this. Good for them for listening and actually taking action.
Linkdump for September 3rd through September 23rd
Sometime between September 3rd and September 23rd, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!
- The truth about false rape accusations: “Critics argue that reports of rape should be treated with more caution, since men’s lives are so often ruined by women’s malicious lies. But…every part of this narrative is wrong. What’s more, it’s wrong in ways that help real rapists escape justice, while perversely making it more likely that we will miss the signs of false reports.”
- Does the OK Sign Actually Signify “White Power,” or What?: "The answer is neither simple nor straightforward, which is why it’s such an effective trolling tactic."
- “Oh my god. If i see one more of these ‘India legalizing gay sex = India decolonizing’ posts in my dash I will murder someone.”: Interesting look at homosexuality and gender nonconformance in India in the light of the recent ruling decriminalizing homosexuality and some unfortunate and ill-informed reactions from Western liberals.
- Forget the new iPhones, Apple’s best product is now privacy: “I now believe the best product Apple offers is intangible, yet far more valuable than a flagship smartphone. The best product Apple has–and the single biggest reason that consumers should choose an Apple device over competing devices–is privacy.”
- The Matrix as a Transgender Coming Out Story: This theory/reading/interpretation is apparently a few years old, but it’s the first time I’ve come across it. Fascinating, and worth thinking about.
Pros and cons of working from home in one sentence: When you’re sick, it doesn’t necessarily mean you fall behind on work. Yay?
The biggest change is that while I usually work from home, today I’m working from my bed. With more naps. And an even more lax dress code than usual.