The Lair

Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup

Best Beer Names Ever → Or maybe just in the US #
more from the anonymous internet hate machine → I just love this. I really really do. #
CSS minifier → been intending a peek at these toys at some point #
whee. The big guns join the OpenID alliance → both provider and consumer service provisioning, please! #
Vertical branding taken to extremes – an encryption tool for err.. the mujahideen → with the marketing reading something like – “use the tool approved by the terrorist overlords to encrypt all your messages!” #
this is relevant to my interests → I swear. 20 odd years of school and I still can’t tie my laces properly. Sometime ago, I just stopped caring. #
Limericks, now in a convenient database form → uses the same software as the famous bash.org, I believe. #
Discover which candidate you would support in the US elections → if you were like … able to vote or even cared to do so. #
A Post-IntelliJ world → Yeah, but you know.. that was version 2.5 or 3.0. Everything after 4.0 has been on a downward spiral #
Victim of His Own Success: The Tragedy of Bobby Fischer → A balanced look at one of the game’s greats #
Raising the Steak → Kobe Beef : the myth and apparent reality #
five new yorkers who face extreme stress → 11th grade student? Oh please. #
prove that you are indeed a leet gamer when playing online → or not. #
everyone say it with me → scam scam scammity scam #
Top 50 British writers since 1945 → I’ve read maybe half of these people. And I already have nitpicks about the list. #
The Smart Set: Scent of a Führer → Yet more proof that vegetarians are the cause of most of the world’s problems. And you know who else was a vegetarian? yes, that’s right. #
everyone needs a bit moar lolcat in their websiet → It’s been done for lots of other pidgin languages, but it’s still funny in lolcat #
Life as a series of receipt stubs → Awesome #
Coffee Drinks Illustrated → Because pretty pictures are better than wondering why your coffee is that muddy colour #
Won’t someone please think of Vietnam? → I laughed when I heard the comparison being made. This article explains why. #
Unintentionally Sexual Comics Covers/Panels → Comics and innuendo. Old skool scans. #
MoanMyIP.com – yes, what it says → NSFW and don’t listen with the speakers turned up. You have been warned #
People aren’t what they seem over IM → News (and several films) at 11 #
A Soviet Poster A Day → Just what it says on the tin. A new Soviet era propaganda poster every day. #
Vanilla (the nifty forum software) embeds sponsored links in the product → inevitable, I suppose. Everyone needs to make some cash for their hard work. This is rather sad though. #
LOL Feeds → make a lolcat for each of the titles on your blog, twitter, jaiku or wherever #
The Chicken Fried Pork Belly Caesar → dammit. feel hungry now. #
Spite is apparently not a chimpanzee emotion → chimps are however, susceptible to vengeful behaviour #
In a blindingly obvious result: Ruby is faster to setup; but not yet as scalable as Java → The same team are expected to proclaim their findings on the colour of the daytime sky shortly #
Making Bacon → is there anything it can’t do? from an anonymous tipster #
Stephen King reviews Harry Potter → Not a huge fan of King’s recent work, but I think this review is awesome on many different levels. #
Eating meat as a dating strategy → why ordering meat can make someone seem down to earth and less finicky. Amen. #
The vast majority of people are unwilling to take another human life → fascinating read about how this reluctance is overcome #
Schneier interviews the chief of the TSA → lots of fascinating insight on airport security in the US #
Ransomizr – a Flickr ransom note generator → Generates old skool ransom notes from random Flick pics. Very cool. #
sickening, isn’t it? → cheese pie that doesn’t taste quite as good the second time. #
Microsoft Project now has an open-source competitor → imaginatively named OpenProj. Supposedly cross-platform. Looks nifty #
walking causes more damage to the environment than driving → so.very.confused now #
All men are liars, apparently → A fascinating read, if for no other reason than that my perspective is so different from his. #
237 reasons to have sex → some people take their research very seriously #
On a Ramen theme → I may have mentioned Ramen before – but this looks tasty. #
inverse relationship between grades and sex drive posited → what if you’re really smart about getting laid? Ah. Paradoxes. #
A-List Bloggers: It’s a fad. Everyone go home now. → Well I’ll be. They’re not tech gods? #
it’s apparently national orgasm week. This week. → One week a year just isn’t that great, is it? #
Scarlett Johansson will play Jenna Jameson → zomg bewbies #
The Kremlin is like something conceived by Mario Puzo → Kasparov on Putin and politics in Russia today #
being aggressive leads to higher pay. Umm. duh. → But then the article had to go and bring gender into it. #
from flirting to fornication → like this is a bad thing… Granuiad writer sounds like nose is distinctly out of joint here. #
childrens books are banned from the NYT bestseller lists → err. right. Not that I use the NYT bestseller list for my reading decisions, but ok. #
eating beef is less green than driving → that’s too bad for the planet then. I’m probably close to being classed as a militant carnivore. #
Collaborative filtering for news sources → this is an idea that sounds like it should work in practice – but one man’s news is another man’s propaganda. I expect it to be gamed viciously if it ever becomes popular. #
a new superhero for this day and age – splogfighter → the database of 13m blogs sounds rather creepy though #
PHP4 will not be supported after this year → end of an era? I just hope everyone upgrades. #
let loose the badgers of war, they said. → may I be only about the millionth person to chant “badger, badger, badger, badger, mushroom, mushroom”. #
joke comprehension may decrease with age → laugh it up, junior. laugh it up. #
smacks ever so slightly of elitism, but there is a lot to agree with in this review → jumped the shark. Over. I still watch the Simpsons though. #
rent a house and get richer → skippy pointed me to this a while ago. It flies in the face of everything I thought made fiscal sense. So. Confused. #
is anything safe to eat anymore? → can’t help but feel slightly aggrieved at this. #
how to retain people → lots of interesting stuff there #
Time notices 37Signals → ultimately not a great deal of new insight, though #
not sure this article is enough to reform GWB in the public eye but … → the human touches were very nicely done. #
blog and social network by proxy → ghostwriter? Who’s that? oh, but this is Facebook. It’s different. #
fried chicken → it’s the spice mix that counts #
why poor countries remain poor → the rest of the site is a bit suspect for my left leaning self, but this article mirrors my observations elsewhere #
map of social networks → yes, another one. #
what families eat, around the world → the pictures are a tad “You Are What You Eat”, but it’s interesting to see the variations #
want to dodge the smoking ban? become an embassy → of an uninhabited island. Yeah. That’ll work. #
Food photography aggregator → Truly one of the most brilliant places I’ve visited recently. Do not go there if hungry. You have been warned. #
customer feedback for a store which deals in sex and bondage toys → I love the velvet handcuffs. Now, about that malfunctioning key? #
“clearly, to save a woman you need a man. It’s a question of muscles” → Italy’s first? all-woman beach opens for business. Italian wumminz also ask for moar eunuchs. These Romans are crazy. #
myspace vs facebook: it’s about class, apparently → correlation is not causation and all that sort of thing #
Vimperator: Firefox with Vi key bindings → make it stop. Dear gawd, make it :wq! #
continuous partial attention → some call this multitasking, but it’s not quite that #
facebook in 40 years → face what? #
don’t say this to us. apparently → worth a snigger. Probably going to get me a “fine. read those silly articles” too. #
an earth without people → been done in a pictorial form before, but this is specifically about Manhattan’s problems #
pay us more for our wine or merlot will flow → cabernet and pinot too #
who participates and what people are doing online → I’ve dissed Forrester Research findings before, but this is useful looking information #
yet more geography factoids from my childhood which are now proven wrong → Amazon pwns Nile. Who’s yer river daddy now, eh? #
annual per capita consumption of alcohol, by country → Luxembourg? 15.5 liters per annum? pfft. amateurs #
a measure of economic time → in keeping with my recent econ topics week #
one of the most startling pro-immigration arguments I’ve seen → and unsurprisingly, anti-protectionist #
e-petitions, e-democracy and other issues → a certain number of signatories to an e-petition automatically triggers a debate in parliament. interesting #
lettuce all pray → premature wilting – hoped for in one context, undesirable outcome in another. #
do people really know the origins of the food they eat? → Soylent green? Yes. It’s people. #
Akamai traffic visualization → this is just … so… awesome. #
how he spent the war → ex-Waffen SS member and his memoirs #
no stealing plz → completely blasphemous. rather funny. #
Today is the 40th anniversary of the 6 day war → possibly one of the most influential conflicts in modern day Mid east geopolitics #
Truemors – the flop → I wuv u, Valleywag. Nothing more to say here, just read that linked article #
Shochu – more popular than sake → as an additional bonus, also easier to mispronounce when shitfaced and slurring words #
wear your gnazi badge with pride, trooper → grammar activists ftw. they be chillin. #
yoghurt is cool again. darn → redmango! pinkberry! froyo! the cute word obsession continues #
seating hierarchy on the London Underground → one of the coolest articles evah. I’m a longtime #6 person myself. #
hare of a dog → also known as a corgi. cooked, served with apples and onions. Mmmmm. #
last guy in the world to see Star Wars → was it worth it? #
can’t take the spam? just retire from email → nancy boys! stay and fight, I say! *snigger* #
want to be at Stanford? → now you can. offer of a place is optional #
staying in an echo chamber for long enough makes an opinion seem authoritative → broadly applicable to all the sides in the local propaganda war #
how to make great burgers → champions league final tonight. nuff said. #
accurate but nonetheless depressing sumup → errm. muslim minority group? who’s that? #
the bayesian advantage of youth → contains a beautiful analogy on the fallacy of outdated expertise #
viagra may help with jetlag → waking up with a stiffy? priceless. #
coming soon to a school near you → chess jocks! adoring teachers everywhere will do their PT for them. yay! #
the end of the petrodollar → with implications for continued use of the USD as the international currency of trade #
the other russia → in democratic russia, anything goes. #
my life for aiur → Blizzard announces Starcraft 2 #
how to survive an internet ass beating → right. sympathy, exit stage left. #
innovate not litigate, says Jon Schwartz → but uh. You’re not Microsoft #
lovely piece on global warming which has implications for many other messages → newsflash: the sky is falling approach only works once. #
population movement patterns in the US of A → and their consequences for politics? very interesting read. #
look. wumminz play chess too! → I never realized. heh. #
how much textual information do we consume daily? → less twitter, more email and more reading online for me. Still not 10 megs a day, though. I think. #
outsource … your local newspaper journalist? → if the news in your area has a depressing generic feel to it, now you know why #
city council staff in Toronto banned from using Facebook → quick. create a group in protest. #
are you a really lazy person? → I’m so there. #
Google polices web → I’ve noticed the “potentially harmful” tag under some pages myself. interesting. #
Mmmmm. horse. → yes. I said horse. Hey, I’d eat it. In a heartbeat. #
dog whistle politics → specific portions of a message that appeal to extremes or segments of a voterbase. never seen that anywhere else. no sir. #
The Streisand effect → AKA the law of unintended consequences #
11 colour myths → black isn’t always death, white is… depends on the culture, innit? #
too hot to trot → get out of my way, I’m in a hurry #
if you find any stuff that glows in the dark → Pakistan may like to have a word. #
why, yes. this curry does taste like shite → and what are those squishy bits? #
the art of being incompetent at an unwanted task → or how to avoid work you don’t want to do #
what would your daemon be? → golden compass movie thingiebob. requires flash. Gah. #
game to help foreign students get over culture shock → drinking, snogging, random acts of gun violence. Right. A game. #
Turkish citizens call for a secular state → separation of religion and state. that’s crazy talk, right there. #
find a unix command and reinvent it for the web → Pipes is more like cat and old school redirects, isn’t it? #
average everything → documentary on Channel 4 tonight #
Visit Gun Town, USA. Firearms mandatory for residents → suck it libs. low low crime rate. #
lolcat language explained → way to overanalyze it, dude #
wow. just wow. misogynistic or merely pragmatic? I can’t tell → even the comment thread following is interesting #
fastfood, advertising versus reality → I’d still eat almost all of the “reality” section. I am a sad junk food guzzling excuse for humanity #
good time atheists → or so the strawman goes #
why Arsenal doesn’t want American “investment” → I lol-ed at the first comment. Still laughing. #
what are the odds? → Virginia Tech student also escaped the Columbine shooting 8 years earlier. #
sex theme park. yes, it’s err.. real → because groping plastic mannequins groped by millions of others before you sounds like exactly the thing you should be doing. yeah. #
the ideal girlfriend → craigslist never ceases to amuse and amaze #
how many styrofoam cups are equivalent to a ceramic or plastic mug? → answer: about a thousand. I still wouldn’t give up my ornate ceramic tankard for stupid styrofoam though. #
just like they do on the discovery channel → bunny suits not provided #
great debut albums and signature tunes → Gah. He mentioned Jeremy. #
having an orgy is safer than driving → unless the orgy is in your car. and you’re the designated driver… or something #
Gaim is now called Pidgin → in the long tradition of Windows Commander -> Total Commander and the like. I like the name Pidgin though #
10 worst rap album covers ever made → ok, so the KKK reference was over the top but the others are … merely bad, not horrific trainwreck material. #
life in rural mongolia – in pictures → nothing too surprising in there, but still interesting #
lighttpd – the basics → lack of decent windows support hinders experimentation in this interesting alternative. for now. #
not about motorcycles, not about blogging → generally applicable, I guess #
another one for the taboo quiz → rapist of a ten year old girl is acquitted on “exceptional grounds”. And that’s just the tame part of the story #
hackergotchi → because the world really needs more pictures like this. #
Serenity is the top Sci-fi movie → online polls, unreliable blah blah blah whatever. Not sure about beating out Star Wars but hey, I’m not arguing #
fascinating piece on Gordon Ramsay → his bark is worse than his bite. most of the time. either that or he’s got an awesome PR firm #
charcoal? why I get that all the time → peanuts that have spent too long in the oven and then become a delicacy. serendipity? why, yes. #
The Fools Gold Loaf sammich → one hollowed out loaf of warm bread, one jar of peanut butter, one jar of jelly (jam?) and one pound of bacon. Sounds yum. #
Italian is now the national language of Italy → Suck it, northern league. #
10 things your boss hates about you → slightly tongue in cheek. I hope. #
what type of nerd are you? → science/math nerd. unsurprisingly. turns out I don’t game enough to be a computer geek, I am off to hand in my geek card now. #
conservative coding → put away the five dollar words when writing an install guide, put away the fancy stuff and write code for us mortals #
more information than you ever needed to know about “purity testing” → no gerbils in the list. for shame. #
a blogger code of conduct? → I gots ya code of conduct right here. Bite me #
first ever human chimera? → even more interesting phenomenon linked in the article – the vanishing twin #
how to beat google → including my personal favourite – small teams get more work done #
pick up your nap sack → and stuff it full of micronaps #
a namechange in the unexpected direction → why is it mandated that the wife adopts the husband’s surname? Why not … the other way around? #
in ur internets wastn ur timez → mad props to Rustifer. This is genius. #
oh that british accent → vocal chords made of tweed. I need to try that #
swimsuits or sweaters? now we know → no. not swimsuits #
Calculate your caffeine intake → Dr Peppers, Coke and other indulgences are now occasional instead of daily. I’ll live #
innovation comes from PhDs, apparently → and that’s why America is apparently doomed. omgz the skies are falling #
how to be a gentleman (apparently) → standing on entrance and exit? really? #
lawyer makes a tit of herself in court → make that both tits #
Hermione Granger gets first stalker → petrificus totalus ftw! #
is that a baseball bat in your pocket or? → men apparently stare at each other’s crotches. intently. I don’t know where to begin commenting on this, honestly. #
teenager tosses a promising career down the tubes to drink, dance and make merry → oh and he’s a 15 year old peruvian chess IM and his girlfriend is 14 years older than he is. Call this the Brazillian gambit #
man who plays devil’s advocate is really an asshole → satire imitates real life #
are big product launches necessary? → *sigh* this validates the sneaky viral marketing tactic. viva la astroturfing now, I suppose #
ISPs sell clickstream data → see anonymous internet surfing. #
surfing anonymously on the internet → reasonably balanced article about various services #
the canon of computer games → played 8 of the 10. have obsessed over 5 in that canon at one point or the other. not bad. #
Netcraft confirms: AMD is dying → I never jumped on the bandwagon myself, but AMD did keep Intel honest. Not anymore, apparently. #
British and Irish share lots of common genetic material → still won’t make it a United Kingdom #
sending out an SOS → messages in bottles are better recycled instead. Let’s all print out grouphug.us messages and use them for … #
and it was how big? → there is a doctor who is an expert on masturbating elephants. who needs a cure for cancer when you can be an expert at jerking off pachyderms? #
I will lead you to a land of milk and honey → but I’m a vegan! and forget about the loaves and fishes. Do you do soya? #
no one saw it coming! it was like a rogue asteroid!! → or not. nappy wearing astronaut turned attempted kidnapper Lisa Nowak fired by NASA. and no, there were no rockets involved. #
the story of mp3 → brandenburg and the fraunhofer institute #
50 most important people on the web → rob malda underrated, drew curtis underrated, blizzard overrated. No bias here, eh? #
the curse of expansion → The best bits of a brand can sometimes be diluted or neutered by the requirement for breakneck expansion and scaling #
59 things that the Freedom of Information Act uncovered → most deal with cop and MP excesses so yawn. A few nuggets in there, though #
manipulating Digg – for cash → you know something is wrong when people start doing this for real money #
very bad parenting, apparently → mother of 8 year old 218 pounder may lose custody of kid. will someone please think of the … #
8 of 10 nations with the fattest inhabitants are in the south pacific → overweight.nu? Yes, we do. #
Creative Commons Licenses v. 3 → still seem more or less the same, but with a few clauses on derivative works #
Yahoo Pipes with Dojo → JSON-P endpoints ftw! #
Yahoo UI hosts their YUI libraries for anyone to use → awesome #
infomaniacs are worse than pot smokers → roll up your email into a spliff and smoke it #
Scientists “a bit weird” and do “boring jobs” → to quote the email I got on the subject, it’s time to unite and fight back or never be invited to your kid’s parties again #
Yorkshire puds are UK’s favourite food → with gravy. and roast beef. *drool* #
tagging – when it works and when it doesn’t → librarything vs amazon – not your run of the mill winner #
first woman to win Turing award → woot for Fran Allen #
interfaces, clicks and latency → some bleedin’ obvious but well written #
should we get together and stone them? → yes, most of these are from Leviticus, which doesn’t count #
life as an intern in the big three search engines → nice article, lots of insight #
Sn…er. Sex on a plane – legal or not? → the more you know #
honey, do I look fat in this dress? → umm. no. Genius move by M&S. Bravo! #
hardline hindus declare war → on valentines day. No, really. #
Pipes now supports JSON objects → *drool* #
some more cool Pipes hacks → the last.fm mashup sounds scarily similar to one of my little projects #
how not to talk to kids → might even work for adults #
Schneier on DRM in Windows → in summary: Vista sucks, do not buy. #
good engineer bad engineer → lazy engineer, paranoid engineer etc #
natural language search → oh my. A quest for an old old holy grail begins anew #
The inner platform effect → too much customization ability and flexibility is bad, mmkay? #
Why women fall for Mr. Average → high powered career men were “too good to be true”. Cynical? Women? Of course not. #
pass the hair of a dog please → 27 million UK workers call in sick due to hangovers. Amateurs. #
music and indie bands → an instant classic #
is grad school a financial mistake? → a bit late to ask that of myself, eh? #
experience does not a better programmer make? → not sure what else will, though #
programmers dont like to code → they like to problem solve. Oh hell yes! #
Peyton and the Colts win the bowl → despite a first minute TD punt return, numerous fumbles and being 8 points behind in the first quarter. Good game #
why women are finding it hard to marry (in the UK) → I didn’t say this. Boris Johnson did. Blame him. #

of Ach and other randomness

February 2nd, 2007

This is related to a question I was asked earlier – am I the sole author of the (snarky and sometimes hilarious) tags on Achcharu? If that’s all you wanted to know, then the answer is no. But since I’m not content with a simple answer, a bit of history is necessary. Actually, no. The history lesson isn’t necessary but I’ve been busy in the real world and a series of digressions will serve as content for today.

When I started on Achcharu, I just needed three things from it. Those goals are essentially unchanged today so it’s worth repeating.

I wanted to have blog entries presented in a manner conducive to quick scanning
I wanted to have some collaborative input on the stories and some commentary.
I wanted meta-aggregation (more on this later)

(but wait! there’s more)

Posted in general | 10 Comments »

The Lair

of Ach and other randomness

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