A collection of discussions, links, stories, news and whatever else I find interesting in the fields of computing, information, science, privacy, semantics, mathematics and so on...
Evangelical Christians in Brazil have apparently banned the use of USB connections after claiming the technology is the mark of Satan-worshippers (Hat tip: Fernando Frias). Apparently the revelation came after the evangelists noticed that the USB symbol resembles a trident. Presumably they're not great fans of Britain's ballistic missiles either.
The world of invented language is a difficult place to succeed and those who have the patience to create their own tend to have a hard time gathering followers.
Klingon and Elvish are notable exceptions, thanks to the huge fan bases for Star Trek and Lord of The Rings.
Society tends to regard people who learn these languages as über geeky and socially-inept but we often overlook the reasons why they’re so obsessed with the fantasies they love.
Until recently, expanding the speaker numbers was a challenge: conventions were the only place for enthusiasts to gather and sporadic publications the only other method of sharing their passion.
With the internet, mobile app markets and other techie possibilities, these languages now have easily accessible platforms to grow. While such languages thrive, constructed languages, or “conlangs”, that were created in our past generally struggled.
Aerial mission photos for your viewing pleasurePosted in PARIS, 5th November 2010 12:30 GMTWell, beloved readers, it's almost time to put PARIS to bed, but before the cocoa and slippers we'd like to share a few aerial photos from our audacious, and ultimately triumphant, space plane project.
