Miscellaneous and Useless Information

• A man in Russia has been building his own subway since 1984. He intends to run cars in it that carry 3-4 people each. http://bit.ly/9gLky7 #
• Just watched District 9 on DVD. Surprisingly positive tone. Highly recommended, if you haven't seen it already. #
• @ayman It's a sign! The prawns have infected us. What did you think? in reply to ayman #
• At Computer History Museum to commemorate Plato, one of the first interactive online systems, created 50 yrs ago. #chm #
• Lots of teens worked on PLATO in its heyday. The system would prevent them from logging on after 10pm. #chm #
• PLATO didn't have a mouse because students (their target audience) often had problems with motor skills. It had a touch screen instead. #chm #
• Ray Ozzie: a reason PLATO isn't better known is that it wasn't well tied into the research community. It was focused on doing not publishing #
• At #asianartmuseum with fellow Googlers for a special exhibit on Shanghai and the qipao #
• @edchi @landay While it's true that qipao are originally Manchu, not Han Chinese, it's like saying hot dogs are German, not American. in reply to edchi #
• Is the Net making us smarter (@cshirky) http://jr.ly/zeex or dumber (Carr)? http://jr.ly/zeey (via @mathewi @smc90 @edchi) #
• @tessalau To clear the autocomplete of a textbox, type letter to show autocomplete, highlight the one to delete, press Shift+Del. in reply to tessalau #

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• SoundHound for iPhone works! Hummed a song for which I didn't know title/artist, and bam: Steppin' Out by Joe Jackson. http://bit.ly/cbXATt #
• More Google distractions: watching the indie band OK Go, who've made a bunch of innovative music videos. Just search for them on YouTube. #
• Don't know how I missed this xkcd comic – Highway Engineer Pranks: http://xkcd.com/253/ #
• @epaulos Einstein probably didn't say that, too bad. http://bit.ly/aY4KTi in reply to epaulos #
• Totally agree. RT @jboutelle: Why don't they sell "normal" laptops anymore? Widescreen sucks for editing documents or code. Grr…. #
• Did Mark Twain/Einstein/Ben Franklin/Lincoln/etc *really* sat that? http://quoteinvestigator.com/ #
• Today's gesture UIs are like command-line interfaces in that you have to memorize them. Here's more: http://ignco.de/290 #
• A 10 min video of Dan Pink on the surprising truth about what motivates us, with wonderful animation. Must see! http://youtu.be/u6XAPnuFjJc #
• Democracies are more prone to violence than dictatorships. Violence drops when the democracy AND the economy matures. http://nyti.ms/abJFE8 #

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• @landay Doing my part: I got a good systems paper and gave it a 5. in reply to landay #
• Some companies ban Pac-Man Google home page because they ban games. Others think they have a virus. Killjoys! http://bit.ly/9kx2p3 #
• Armed with a netbook, med supplies and a bike, InfoLadies give Bangladeshis access to crucial info. The Guardian: http://bit.ly/9OkR1o #
• Went curling with my colleagues at Sharks Ice yesterday. Surprisingly sore today. #
• Classic scene today in Los Altos: a woman smoking in front of the American Cancer Society thrift store. #
• @landay By the time I realized the irony, she was gone. in reply to landay #
• @drjpierce It was a lot of fun! Don't know when I'll go back, but at least I'll be able to understand what I'm watching during the Olympics. in reply to drjpierce #
• @manukumar I'll also +1 Helvetica the film. in reply to manukumar #

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• @manukumar I tend to "firehose"-consume my Twitter stream. in reply to manukumar #
• @ayman What are you using to make the iPad prototype? in reply to ayman #
• Can you imagine living without a legal name for 19 years? This guy did: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/us/10name.html #
• Another productive day at Google: today Dave Barry is visiting. #
• Dave Barry was pretty damn funny. He even got an audience member to help out with a "dramatic" book reading. #
• Metaweb releases Freebase Gridworks, an open-source data cleansing tool – looks impressive: http://code.google.com/p/freebase-gridworks/ #
• I'm seeing Iron Man 2 tomorrow but haven't seen IM1 yet. All copies at the library and Blockbuster are out, and Netflix doesn't stream it. #
• Is it the middle of May already? @drjpierce reminded me that UIST reviews are due this Friday. #
• What English sounds like to people in other countries: http://bit.ly/ceduEC #
• @drjpierce Ah, the fame and glory… in reply to drjpierce #
• @ayman Is that a good thing? I'm guessing it could be better. in reply to ayman #
• @jewelia Congrats on foocamp! When I first read your tweet, I thought you had to be in Sebastopol by 8 AM. That wouldn't have been good… in reply to jewelia #
• @sophia_tseng He's your cousin? I should say hi to him. 🙂 in reply to sophia_tseng #
• @jennism Same in Berkeley. If you don't get a check by a certain date, you can withhold 10% of your deposit from a rent payment instead. in reply to jennism #
• @tessalau I hope you don't zone out *too* much while driving home. in reply to tessalau #
• @landay The keyboard dock looked awkward to me. I think I'd rather use a Bluetooth keyboard instead. in reply to landay #
• At #chm watching Bob Taylor, who funded Engelbart, oversaw ARPAnet, started PARC's comp sci lab, and founded DEC SRC. A giant in tech. #
• "There are four people that claim to be the father of the Internet. What does that say of the morals of the mother?" — Bob Taylor #chm #
• "How many of you have punched holes in cards?" (most of the audience raises hands) "You look a lot smarter than that." — Bob Taylor #chm #
• Dave Barry's visit to Google is now up on YouTube: http://bit.ly/aw2Q8B #
• For 25 years, Fry's had an annual sale: 6-pack of Coke for 99c (or 12 for $1.98). This year, it's finally gone up: a 12-pack costs $2.25. #
• If Fry's had actually kept up with inflation for 25 years, then a 12-pack would cost $3.90 instead of $2.25. #
• @edchi Way to work the keynote circuit! Should be a good conference. in reply to edchi #
• @msbernst That's funny, I think I'm posting on Twitter more and more. Maybe we'll meet in the middle. in reply to msbernst #

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• "San Francisco is the Florida of the tram world; it's where old streetcars go to retire." LA Times on SF's F Line: http://bit.ly/cEkVHj #
• @jewelia Deep Blue beat Kasparov *13* years ago. in reply to jewelia #
• @jeffbigham One of my friends is moving back to ROC. She'll be happy to know about that pho place, if she didn't know about it already. Thx! in reply to jeffbigham #
• "Intel Labs Future Technology Research": Intel is a tech company, labs do research, research is for the future. Why not just "Intel Labs"? #
• @wordium I'm meeting @JCTatWork at Google at 4:15 tomorrow, and then driving to BART. Wanna come along? in reply to wordium #
• @wordium Ok, see you there! in reply to wordium #
• Another take on the United-Continental merger, the merging of their logos: http://bit.ly/ayhajg #
• Just saw Conan AND Andy Richter at Google, from the 3rd row. Amazing! #
• @wordium Conan was hilarious, especially with Andy. He was impressed when he announced his tour with 1 tweet, and it quickly sold out. in reply to wordium #
• More companies are moving out of the suburbs and back into the city. http://hbr.org/2010/05/back-to-the-city/ar/1 #
• @drjpierce Do you get a free O'Reilly book for speaking at Web 2.0 Expo? 🙂 in reply to drjpierce #
• At UI Design @ Berkeley last night, impressed by quality & breadth of projects. @HCIR_GeneG has more: http://palblog.fxpal.com/?p=3578 #
• @drjpierce Wow, you're becoming quite the pundit! in reply to drjpierce #
• Now you can watch Conan at Google too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7TwqpWiY5s #

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• @Manas My 1st Googleversary is just two weeks after yours. in reply to Manas #
• Just received the book No Code Required about end-user programming on the web. +1 to @jwnichls @tessalau @socialCypher and Mira Dontcheva! #
• RT @uwnews: Survey shows that among whites, tea party supporters more willing than others to curtail civil liberties: http://bit.ly/dnYaPs #
• I didn't foresee HP buying Palm, but it makes sense if executed well. In mobile: differentiation, not compatibility, is now a driving force. #
• @rashmi Steve Jobs won't put Fake Steve Jobs out of business. FSJ is still funnier. in reply to rashmi #
• @drjpierce I also think OS X apps tend to be better designed than Windows apps because OS X users have higher expectations. in reply to drjpierce #
• @jeffbigham The study said 1/8 will scale back or eliminate their pay TV, a big difference. I'm curious to see how many follow through. in reply to jeffbigham #
• @jeffbigham I also don't have cable or satellite, and I don't miss it either. But I'm curious to see how many others will take the plunge. in reply to jeffbigham #

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• @jeffbigham I put in blinds and curtains. in reply to jeffbigham #
• At @ComputerHistory Museum with @jewelia learning about hackers, phishers, and carders #chm #
• Before, daily antivirus updates were enough. Now, it needs to be updated continuously + heuristics are used. Otherwise, it's out of date. #
• Malware toolkits used to cost ~$1000. Now they're free, and hackers charge for support. Open source economics comes to hackers. #chm #
• RT @Rafe: if Apple was smart (and had a sense of humor), they'd have Gray Powell introduce the new iPhone at the press event in June. #
• RT @jboutelle: How WebHooks Will Make Us All Programmers http://slidesha.re/dq497e #
• +1 RT @landay: Apple has gone too far: http://dubfuture.blogspot.com/2010/04/apple-is-going-too-far.html #
• I've posted my photos of Atlanta… from *last* year. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlin45d/sets/72157623896612884/ #
• Great job, Ian! RT @ianli: So You Need a Typeface 2.0 – Interactive Type Finder http://ianli.com/synat/ #
• Seeing #tmsp in my Twitter stream. Apparently it's the Technology Mediated Social Participation workshop. http://tmsp.umd.edu/ #
• HCI issues of electronic medical records: http://nyti.ms/ac51jF (via @saradelekta) #
• High schoolers change their names on Facebook to avoid being found by college admissions folks: http://nyti.ms/bJXhOK #
• @california_grl What? When did you go to sleep last night? in reply to california_grl #
• Imagine if the Tea Party was black – Tim Wise http://bit.ly/caOcH4 (thx @davidsinger) #

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• @adamantivm Definitely Python. in reply to adamantivm #
• RT @jwnichls "No Code Required: Giving Users Tools to Transform the Web" now in stock on Amazon. http://amzn.com/012381541X #
• RT @tessalau Posted: What makes a good HCI systems paper? http://bit.ly/aqv7Gf #chi2010 #
• @jwnichls I didn't realize California already has something similar to Georgia's proposed anti-brain-chip bill. in reply to jwnichls #
• Didn't tweet or read tweets at all at #chi2010 Too busy listening. 😛 Although next time, I'll do that at least during bad talks… #
• @jennism Seems bad — how much energy does it take for the dying phone to beep and flash? #
• @edchi Apple forced a Commodore 64 emulator for the iPhone to remove BASIC because it was an interpreter. Ridiculous! in reply to edchi #
• @edchi Somehow, it doesn't surprise me that MaryCz is a great singer… in reply to edchi #
• I've been wrong all this time! RT @grammarnerd Dear CHI friends, It's pronounced "Lick-ert." Not "Like-ert." Love, Moira #chi2010 #r7 #
• @tessalau @jeffbigham I prefer JFK to LGA because of AirTrain. So convenient. in reply to tessalau #
• #chi2011 Presentation times will be cut in half: papers 15 mins, notes 7.5 mins. Each session 10 mins shorter. Each day shorter. #
• Just realized the most recent photos I've posted online were taken during the Bush administration. Time to fix that… #
• @drjpierce Apple's language restrictions may make business sense, but they still bother me. Even Squeak and Commodore 64 BASIC are banned! #

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• Apple forces iPhone OS 4 apps to be written in C, C++, Obj C. This really bothers me. http://bit.ly/cjwkQI #
• Ansca says their Corona SDK, where you write iPhone apps in Lua, is not affected by Apple's new rule. Good to know! http://bit.ly/9smBF0 #

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• I wonder how many people will show up at CHI with an iPad. #
• @wordium Nope, I'll let the early adopters shake out the iPad 1.0 bugs, then I'll consider it. in reply to wordium #
• http://www.google.com has a new name. #
• @landay I wonder if this article is available in Chinese. in reply to landay #
• @landay I'm wondering if the Global Time column on the US not in decline and China needing to step up is available in Chinese. in reply to landay #
• @wordium Not sure I buy that. And, it can't hurt to save some money anyway. in reply to wordium #
• Obama looking at mundane things: http://bit.ly/afp8Xp and awesome things: http://bit.ly/aJiwB7 (be sure to visit the first one first) #
• @jwnichls Maybe the designer had red-green color blindness 😛 in reply to jwnichls #
• Amazing 3D model renderings of San Francisco. These are not photographs! http://radar.oreilly.com/2010/04/check-out-c3-cities-your-eyes.html #
• One side-benefit of the iPad going on sale: the developer and UI docs are now public. http://developer.apple.com/ipad/sdk/ #

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