Category: Linkin’ Log

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Linkin' Log Technology

Harvard’s Faculty is Unaware of How Email Works, Apparently.

The New York Times reports that Harvard faculty is shocked that Harvard would search through their email to determine the source of a leak regarding a cheating scandal to the news media.

“I think what the administration did was creepy,” said Mary C. Waters, a sociology professor, adding that “this action violates the trust I once had that Harvard would never do such a thing.”

Why would anyone think that an organization would “never do such a thing”? I mean, yes, it’s creepy and it sucks, but that’s part of what it means to be employed in the 21st century: when you accept the use of their email systems, you are also signing away your privacy when it comes to what comes in to and out of that email address. Anyone who thinks something different is either naive or willfully ignorant of how email works.

In other news, I’m sure the Harvard folks can head over to MIT to learn how to send emails anonymously from a temporary Gmail account.

Categories
Linkin' Log Society

Happy National Grammar Day

A Plea for Sanity this National (US) Grammar Day

Remember, this National Grammar Day, that there are people all around you with varying degrees of knowledge of and appreciation for the intricacies of English. Instead of calling people out on March 4th for all the usages they get wrong, how about pointing out all the thing things that people–against all odds–get right? Can you correctly pronounce “rough,” “though,” “through,” and “thought”? Congratulations, you have just navigated the Great Vowel Shift. If I ask you to come up with synonyms of “ask” and you respond with “question” and “inquire,” congratulations: you have seamlessly navigated your way through 500 years of English history. Do you end sentences in prepositions? That is awesome, because that is a linguistic and historical tie back to Old English, the dyslexic-looking Germanic language that started this whole shebang almost 1500 years ago.

There is so much to celebrate about our language. English may be a shifty whore, but she’s our shifty whore. Please, this National Grammar Day, don’t turn her into a bully, too.

Amen.

via The Loop

Categories
Entertainment Linkin' Log

Wired on Why the Battle of Hoth was a Major Blunder by Darth Vader

Awesome.

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Entertainment Linkin' Log

Star Wars: Machete Order

For when you want the prequels to not make you want to beat George Lucas half to death with a Gungan.

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Entertainment Linkin' Log

Neil’s Puppet Dreams

Neil Patrick Harris, puppets, song and dance numbers… What else would I possibly want in an internet video, really?

And if you have the hankerin’ for more NPH and puppets, you can watch all of the Neil’s Puppet Dreams videos from the Nerdist YouTube Channel here.

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Linkin' Log

Average Student Scholarship Contest

CollegeHumor.com presents the Average Student Scholarship Contest:

Why is it that there are tons of scholarships for academically excellent students, tons of scholarships for academically challenged students and not a damn thing for the majority of the students in the middle? We don’t know, either. That’s why CollegeHumor is going to give 2 lucky average students $5,000 just for being themselves. That’s right, enter below and if you’re judged to be normal enough, you could WIN $5,000 TO APPLY TOWARD YOUR TUITION. Did you sign up for 3 clubs but never attend meetings? Is your GPA a 2.1? Would some of your professors have a hard time remembering if you were in their class? If so, enter now! We hope you’re not exceptional.

Perhaps this will help my mediocre brethren succeed where I once failed.

Categories
Linkin' Log Politics

Boehner’s Boner

Paul Krugman thinks that having the Treasury issue a $1 trillion platinum coin to get around the debt ceiling that Congress is apparently threatening to use to get the President to pass something or other.

I don’t know, I’m woefully under-informed on the issue… I’m really linking to this because my Mom sent me this article in an email saying that the coin should have House Speaker John Boehner’s face on the coin, since his party is the one causing the issue, and that made me think that a great name for the coin would be the “Boehner’s Boner Memorial Coin”, because that would be comedy gold.

The Joker's Boner
No, I’m not a 14-year-old boy. Why do you ask?
Categories
Linkin' Log

Right To Live Life In Complete, Stunned Horror

The Onion: ‘Right To Live Life In Complete, Stunned Horror’ Added To Constitution

And here I was thinking that right was added years ago.

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Linkin' Log

The Hater’s Guide To The Williams-Sonoma Catalog

The Hater’s Guide To The Williams-Sonoma Catalog

Item #02-496059 Bourbon Cranberry Relish

Williams-Sonoma says: “Sauteed cranberries, bourbon, shallots and herb with a hint of orange. 16oz.”

Price: $40

Notes from Drew: That’s 40 bucks for a bowl of cranberry sauce that everyone will pass up because we all prefer the shit that costs two bucks and comes plopping out of the can in the shape of the can. The second ingredient is LEAD. For 40 bucks, you should get the bourbon on its own.

via @aduronia

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Linkin' Log

How Hurricane Sandy Ravaged My Town

Peter Hoare on the Superstorm’s effects on his town.

As myself and a small group of friends sat in my buddy Adam’s apartment, enjoying the loosest possible definition of the words “mandatory” and “evacuation,” things got serious — fast. The rain and winds picked up. As we had a view of the water — yes, I’m dumb enough to stay in an evacuation zone while enjoying a lovely beachfront view — we witnessed waves that looked like they were ripped out of a scene in The Perfect Storm. As lights began to flicker and streets began to flood, we quickly decided to retreat back to our own apartments.

I suppose, for transparency’s sake, that I should mention that Pete is my cousin, so (a) I am biased in linking this and (b) clearly allowed to agree on his description of himself as a “big, bearded dickhead” for staying behind.