- I’m not really sure why you’d want bots to pretend to be you on social network sites, and the confused grammar of the fine print doesn’t really make things clearer [via]:
The bot does not born with a fictitious identity, but will be added to the real identity of the user to modify it at his convenience. Thus, this bot can be seen as a virtual prothesis [sic] added to an user’s account. With the aim to help him to forge a digital identity of what he would really like to be and by trying to build a greater social reputation for the user. Moreover, this bot can be perceived as a threat by defrauding even more the reality of who is really who on social networks and by showing the poverty of our social interactions on these so-called social networks.
- The Eternal Shame of Your First Online Handle. I dunno, I’m still using mine on a regular basis. (Though it predates my capping by a couple of years.) [via]
- Guess the film by the final image. I got less than half. Slightly spoilery, for some films more than others. Of course, I can’t tell you which films without ruining the whole thing. [via]
- A wonderfully detailed analysis of set design and spatial awareness in The Shining. He concludes, I think rightly, that a lot (if not all) of these “errors” were intentional, meant to disorient and unnerve viewers who would, maybe only subconsciously, pick up on the impossibility of the architecture. It gets to the heart of something I’ve discussed with enthusiasm before: using lies in fiction to tell the truth, creating a more believable world by adding less real elements. [via]
- And finally, a virtual supermarket in a subway station. [via]
consumerism
Monday various
- Indian entrepreneur turns pachyderm poop into paper. Yeah, I think I’ll probably stick to my Moleskines. [via]
- Gosh, Mark Twain really didn’t like Ambrose Bierce’s Nuggets and Dust Panned Out in California:
…for every laugh that is in his book there are five blushes, ten shudders and a vomit. The laugh is too expensive.
Call me crazy, though, but now I sort of want to read it.
- Why is Warren Beatty so determined to hold on to the rights to Dick Tracy, even if he’s never going to do anything with them?
- Blue eyes are not actually blue? A little weirded out by the idea what I actually have are transparent eyes. [via]
- And finally, Ray Bradbury: prune salesman. No, seriously [via]:
Thursday various
- Is swimming with the dolphins bad for the dolphins? [via]
- “Fish stores are just small, free aquariums.” – Small Victories
- And when are these book vending machines going to make there way to my neck of the woods, too? [via]
- This may very well be the coolest Coke machine I’ve ever seen. That said, it’s unfortunately only available in CA and GA right now. [via]
- And finally, a very cool tour of the International Space Station.