Sunday, August 19, 2007

Odds and Ends, Sun 19 August 2007

1. "The world's strangest laws"
  <http://www.news.com.au/sundaytelegraph/story/0,,22261278-5012895,00.html>
  <http://www.bspcn.com/2007/08/18/the-worlds-strangest-laws/>
Examples:
* In England, it is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing
  the British monarch upside down.
* In France, it is forbidden to call a pig Napoleon.
* In Eureka, Nevada, USA, it is still illegal for men with moustaches to
  kiss women.

2. "When insults had class - Sticking in the daggers"
  <http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2006/class-insults-p1.php>
Examples:
* "He is a self-made man and worships his creator." -- John Bright
* "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."
   -- Oscar Wilde
* "A modest little person, with much to be modest about."
   -- Winston Churchill

3. "Venice charges rude tourists extra"
  <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/09/wvenice109.xml>
"A 'significant proportion' of the city's bars and restaurants are now
 operating two or even three price lists: one for tourists, another for
 locals, and a third for 'sympathetic' tourists who make more effort
 than the usual grunted demands."

4. "Super name for NZ baby"
  <http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/08/1999997.htm>
"A New Zealand couple is looking to call their newborn son Superman -
 but only because their chosen name of 4Real has been rejected by the
 government registry."

5. "Giant Lego man washed up on Dutch beach"
  <http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/08/1999202.htm>
"A giant, smiling Lego man has been fished out of the sea in the Dutch
 resort of Zandvoort."

6. "Ten Reasons To Throw Away Your Cellphone"
  <http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/07/ten-reasons-to-.html>

7. "When You Absolutely, Positively Should NOT Use Email: A Civilized List"
  <http://changethis.com/36.03.Civilized>
"For those of us email addicts who can’t quit cold turkey but are
 increasing stressed by the size of our inbox each morning, Shipley
 and Schwalbe offer advice for managing our input and output in this
 engaging manifesto."