Paternoster lift!
Just recently the University of Sheffield refurbished their paternoster lift. Now you’re probably thinking WHAT IS A PATERNOSTER LIFT? THERE ARE ACTUALLY DIFFERENT TYPES OF LIFTS? Well yea of course. So I walked happily into the Arts Tower at the Uni for a lecture and there I saw one of the coolest things ever. A paternoster lift.
Simply put its a lift that never stops! It’s like a conveyor belt, a vertical conveyor which carries people. Yea it’s dangerous, but its fun! It’s really slow though. Like really slow.
So I got my man Bruno to make a video of it. The Arts Tower, the Paternoster Lift and the view from the highest building in Sheffield (the arts tower).
Subscribe to his channel on Youtube and FOLLOW HIM on twitter.
So I was browsing the internet today and came across something really interesting. And I guess funny?
Anyway, you know you always get those people using proverbs to make a point just to make you feel stupid or whatever at times. Well I came across a list of ‘contrary proverbs’. Read on.
And here it goes:
All good things come to those who wait.
but
Time and tide wait for no man.
The pen is mightier than the sword.
but
Actions speak louder than words.
Great minds think alike.
but
Fools seldom differ.
The best things in life are free.
but
There’s no such thing as a free lunch.
Slow and steady wins the race.
but
Time waits for no man.
Look before you leap.
but
Strike while the iron is hot.
Do it well, or not at all.
but
Half a loaf is better than none.
Birds of a feather flock together.
but
Opposites attract.
Don’t cross your bridges before you come to them.
but
Forewarned is forearmed.
Doubt is the beginning of wisdom.
but
Faith will move mountains.
Great starts make great finishes.
but
It ain’t over ’till it’s over.
Practice makes perfect.
but
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
Silence is golden.
but
The squeaky wheel gets the grease.
You’re never too old to learn.
but
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
but
One man’s meat is another man’s poison.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
but
Out of sight, out of mind.
Too many cooks spoil the broth.
but
Many hands make light work.
Hold fast to the words of your ancestors.
but
Wise men make proverbs and fools repeat them.
Yea I guess these contradictions don’t make life any easier. In fact this just goes to tell how stupid people are these days. Not stupid because they use these proverbs, but stupid because they fall for these. These proverbs aren’t wrong. They just apply to different situations. But these days, you string together a nice sentence using big words, and half the world’s already thinking that you’re wise and smart. Even better, put together a string of words commonly used together, i.e. proverbs; and your brain is telling you that you have just been hit with profound knowledge!
Think a little. About everything. Then think some more and conclude for yourself.
Have you ever seen or come across any of Google’s so called ‘easter eggs’ or some may call it hoaxes. Well recently something similar has been floating around Facebook.
So one of your friends posts something like:
1. Copy this line @+[245771012146935:0]
2. Paste it as a comment below
3. Delete the “+” sign
4. Hit Enter and watch the magic..
And just like magic, it changes to ‘I’m an idiot xD’. No you did not type that yourself. Facebook changed it for you; to tell you what you are. =)
Well its simple. In reality it links to a page on Facebook called ‘I’m and idiot xD’. Pretty clever right? The more interesting thing is, that it doesn’t just link to that particular page. As some of you might notice that the string xyz in @[xyz:0] links to the page reference on Facebook. This is not just limited to Facebook pages but also works with groups/profiles (use the profile ID number not the name) and just about anything.
To try it out simple type @[put_your_ref_number_here:0] then hit Enter and boom it changes to a link to your specified group, page, profile, etc.
Now you could use this as a marketing thing to get people to your page. Combine it with a QR code or something similar, but I guess people would be reluctant to post a string from a QR code straight on to their Facebook status’ or any posts. The idea would be to have a QR which when scanned opens up the Facebook app on your phone and confirms if you’d like to post it as your status or if you’d like to visit the page. The possibilities are endless. A small string like that will work easier and better, as it will generate simpler QR codes, and because QR codes can still be scanned even with a 30% error in the QR graphic; a smaller string largely increases the chances of the QR being read quickly and easily. So something similar to the QR option of being able to send a text message, or opening your browser to take you to a specific URL, etc. can be implemented to do something similar. Of course you’d ask if URLs can already be implemented directly as QRs, why would you want a stupid string? Well for simplicity, and a reduction in error (I just told you QRs have an error tolerance of around 30%).
Interesting stuff, but useful?
First of the BlackBerry apps released as compensation was DriveSafe.ly, which is normally $19.99USD.
Simply put, it reads your messages out for you. Anybody seen Echelon conspiracy? Didn’t you always want an app that will read your text messages out to you into your minuscule bluetooth earphone? Well this is exactly what this app does, you might have to source your own headset (it works without a headset too).
Just not worth it, not even for free. It reads all your messages as they come, and lets you reply by voice. No use to me as firstly I don’t drive, and secondly I really don’t want to be replying to all my messages in public. Who wants to reply to their messages out loud? And having to repeat it a few times while the app decides to put wrong words in? Yea not any of us.
Also its not really good with ‘text speech’. So if your texts, or messages look anything like this:
“Yea if u gt a txt dats typd lyk dis, den it wnt reli read it proprlii init”
it won’t be able to read them. You’ll just hear some gibberish.
Some positives? It supports a lot of different languages. Its powered by iSpeech.org, so somewhat reliable while converting text to speech.
And lastly, I prefer typing my own messages. Everybody has their own style of typing and stuff, and it would just be wrong to have a ‘bot’ type my text for me! It’s just wrong?
So my final verdict, unless you find it hard to read texts or find it hard to work your phone in general, then yea sure go for it. In fact definitely go for it, seeing as its free – compliments of BlackBerry. But if you prefer to type your texts and work your own phone with your own hands, and make sure only what you typed gets sent as messages and that your emails and messages are not read out loud, especially not in front of other people, then this app is just a waste of memory on your phone.
Haven’t posted in a while, and clearly this post is long overdue now.
While most of us know about the loss of Steve Jobs, many are unaware of another legend, lost during the same week. Dennis Ritchie.
two legends lost within a week
We all know of Steve Jobs as the CEO of Apple: the guy who created your Mac; the guy who put that iPhone in your hand, etc; some might even know him as the ex-owner of Pixar, the company which made the Toy Story series, Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc., Cars, The Incredibles, etc. Pixar was sold to Disney for $7.4 billion (in a stock transaction, making Jobs the largest single share-holder of Disney).
What many of you wouldn’t know is that Ritchie was one of the creator’s of the UNIX operating system. UNIX is one of the most powerful Operating Systems out there. It’s nothing like your usual Windows or your Mac OS. The OS is not GUI (Graphic User Interface) based. You dont have a start button, or your usual dock at the bottom of the screen, where you launch your apps, etc. Its not what you’d use to write your usual email to your boss, instead, its probably powering what you’d use to send that email to your boss. It is, in simple terms, what drives some of the most powerful computers.
Apart from UNIX, Ritchie was the creator of one of the most famous programming languages, C. Languages such as Java and C++ are build upon C. Some may call Ritchie as the creator of modern computation. In 1983, along with Ken Thompson, Ritchie reveived teh Turing award of the Association of Computing Machinery, which basically is the ‘Noberl Prize’ of computing; in 1998 awarded teh National Medal of Science; and in 1999 Ritchie was awarded the US National Medal of Technology.
While Jobs is remembered for those beautiful handsets and the sleek screens in front of you; Ritchie’s work is the driving force behind that all and a lot more.
RIP.Legends.
