beatnic - just wondering

• MPK20: Sun’s Virtual Workplace
  Sun does Second Life enterprise stylee.
  (tags: sun intranet secondlife collaboration 3d enterprise)

• Ferdinand de Saussure - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  In case anyone was wondering…
  (tags: ferdinanddesaussure saussure linguistics signifier signified)

Predictive text for “tow rope” is “toy pope”.

A man walks in to a library and says “Fish and chips please”

The librarian says, “Sorry sir, this is a library”

So the man whispers “Fish and chips please”

BBC correspondent Alan Johnston disappeared on his way home from his Gaza City office on 12 March. He is feared kidnapped in the lawless territory, where he is thought to have been the only international correspondent still working. Intensive efforts have been made to secure his release.

• Technology Review: The Secret of Apple Design
  (tags: toread design apple)

• BBC NEWS | Magazine | Helvetica at 50
  Neville Brody calls Helvetica bland, unadventurous and unambitious.
  (tags: fonts typefaces helvetica design typography)

I’ve just added my name to this petition:

The new highway code requries cyclsits to use cycle facilities ‘wherever possible’. Many facilities are of poor standard, or just plain dangerous. cyclists should not be forced to use such facilities against their better judgment.

In short, cyclists should be allowed to use the road.

Deadline to sign up by: 18 June 2007 – Signatures: 7,083

Add your name to the petition here.

A gem from the East Dulwich Forum…

A friend once met an American called Randy who complained about “you Brits always sniggering at my name”, stifling his own giggles my friend politely reassured him though it had certain connotations in the UK, Randy was a fine name and that not all British people were that juvenile.
The American thanked him but said it happens every time he meets a Brit, they always fall about laughing “all I have to say is “Hi I’m Randy Bender”"

• Epicenter - Wired Blogs
  David Weinberger in conversation with Cory Doctorow.

  “‘plan pilot’ or ‘notbook’ because not a lot of people are going to be finding those.”

  (tags: corydoctorow davidweinberger wired metacrap metadata explicit implicit tagging)

I saw that David Cameron fellow riding his bike to work down Constitution Hill this morning on my cycle commute to White City. He appeared to have a bit of an entourage and wasn’t wearing a cycle helmet. When I mentioned this to a friend at work he suggested he didn’t need a cycle helmet with all that protection around him.

Meanwhile, it’s good to see something being done by the Evening Standard to help London’s cyclists… (of course, this doesn’t have to be limited to London)

Evening Standard’s 12-point charter

1. A real cycle network across London
2. Better cycle lanes with proper segregation
3. Enforcement of special advanced stop lines for cyclists
4. HGVs to be fitted with special cyclist safety mirrors
5. Compulsory cyclist awareness training for all bus drivers and new HGV drivers
6. Make safe the Thames bridges: some of the most dangerous places for cyclists
7. Cycle-friendly streets: fewer one-way systems which funnel cyclists into the middle of traffic
8. More cycle parking across London
9. A police crackdown on bike theft
10. Campaign to urge the selfemployed to claim a 20p a mile cycling allowance against tax
11. Better cycle-bus-rail coordination: adequate parking at all railway stations
12. Cycle training for all schoolchildren and any adult who wants it

• Report a Hazard - FillThatHole.org.uk
  Brilliant website where you can use Google maps to report and pinpoint the exact location of a hole in the road or any other hazard that should be fixed.
  (tags: cycling hazards mashup googlemaps roads safety potholes holes)