Twitters: Poetry or Drivel? Part II

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Nick Carr’s interesting take on Twitters: does their brevity make them meaningful or just another channel of crap? Three quick points: + Twitters, like blogs, run the gamut from poetry to drivel + One person’s drivel is another person’s poetry: It usually depends on whether you know them or not + This has more to … Read more

The Source of the Malware Scourge

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Despite appearances, the U.S. is still the most popular place for the bad guys to place their malware code. StopBadware.org has listed those Internet Service Providers that wittingly or unwittingly host “badware” — an umbrella term for any kind of software that insidiously installs itself on your computer. What’s interesting is that while there is … Read more

Queuing: Cultural or Economic?

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Fascinating discussion on Freakonomics blog about lining up and how it varies from culture to culture. I must confess, after 20 years in Asia I’m still British and somewhat obsessed by queuing, and get very upset when it’s not followed. One commenter explains it thus: clipped from www.freakonomics.com There is a simple explanation for this. … Read more

First Impressions, Last Impressions

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What’s the first and last thing you’re likely to experience in a country you visit? And what kind of lasting impression is that going to leave? Cigarette-burn marked toilet paper dispenser (empty) at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta Airport, April 28 2007 Toilet paper dispenser at Singapore’s Changi Airport, April 28 2007 Investment in tourist attractions, advertising campaigns … Read more