Randomland - The Forum

From time to time, I come up with a stupid idea of stuff to write on Randomland. I have text documents full of abhorrent little quips or stupid thoughts that spring through my head.

Well, it's your turn! Make a suggestion; this will be the official place to put it into the infinitude of persistent database storage. I'll sift through my ideas and put the less-than-embarrassing ones up soon.

First suggestion:

The Aging of the Internet:
The Decline of Relevant Information
or
Breakdown on the Information Superhighway

There is an unfathomable amount of information floating on the interwebs these days. Often, a Google search will pull up data which is so out-of-date that it becomes irrelevant. This is especially true when searching for software/hardware issues.

Perhaps more notably, when looking up things such as music artists on the ubiquitous Wikipedia, you will see references to "May 26th" or "Spring of this year." This is poor authorship. The text is noted dated and can be several years old. Come on guys!

So: Make a case about how the internet is aging somewhat poorly.

Regurgitative Journalism

Forget Investigative Journalism! Regurgitative Jounalism is now in full swing -- and the internet is ally numero uno! You like an article you see on a "news" site? Well, link it up on your blog, smather it with your personal commentary and you're good to go!

But, lest we think that this trend in laziness is confined to the personal "blah-go-sphere," list a few "professional" examples (Register, etc) which do this all of the time.

Satire: Are We Litigating Out Self-Defense?

List some recent examples of how good Samaritans and people defending themselves are getting sued, rather than commended.

GoogleMock

What if Google was as condescending as your friends? I mean, how many things do you intentionally ask your favorite search engine rather than a human being?

For example:
"lolcatz history"
"second mortgage definition"
"I hate Perl Jam"

You know, the kind of things which are likely to get a potentially embarrassing response, if you ask your friend.

I think you will get better/funnier answers from google sometimes. Like your "I hate Perl Jam"... I tried that one....:

          Q.  Does everybody really hate Pearl Jam?



           A. Best Answer - Chosen by Asker
                       Because pearl jam died after ten was released.

Mostly it was "Whats perl jam?" Is that really why yahoo answers was created?

But really? Whats so wrong with Perl Jam?

Quote from: Nick on Apr 22, 2009, 07:15 PM
But really? Whats so wrong with Perl Jam?

Well, once upon an internets, I quipped that "Eddie Vedder's voice is like bathing in gravel." While that doesn't really make any sense, it seemed fitting to a situation which was highly uncomfortable.

After being subjected to it after an extended length of time, however, I can tolerate it. Or I just tune it out. Or I make imitative an crow-cawing in Vedder's trademark sirenesque wailure.

(Extra points if you can translate all of those words I made up into any sort of logical formation in your head)

I can see that. Some singers are a bit of an acquired  taste, I never seemed to have too much a problem... other then some of his songs just aren't that good.

Anyway....  back on topic.  Other then the "It will burn" periodical we should do reviews of rest stops. Not really a new Idea.. I thought it would be a good idea for a coffee table book awhile back... but still. Quality of facilities, looks of the grounds, historic significances, how the view is ... and anything else that needs said.  Or something

anyway



SPOOON!

Dirt to Work Ratio Calculator
(quiz maybe?)

Nice

Not a topic, but bring back the old polls. Those were "good"

Poli-Ticks:

Link to this slanted article about (http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/04/how_to_produce_high_approval_r.html) on poll-slanting.

Say, "well kinda" and link to the poll results (http://www.ap-gfkpoll.com/pdf/AP-GfK_Poll_Topline_April_2009.pdf). In fact, if their sampling was anywhere near correct, it shows that more people are turning away from the tired parties. See pages 21-22

Independent Party gained a few (23 up to 26), but the "I don't know what party to identify with" number shot from 12 up to 18. I see this as the more important trend -- less people are identifying themselves with the major political parties.

Pacific Power and their marketing awesomeness.

Did you know that I can "Go Paperless" for FREE?! No way! I can let them:

• not print a bill
• not pay for postage
• avoid paying people to physically handle my payment

Cool! All for FREE??
Also, I can feel cheery-good about myself because (direct from an email):

• save 6.6 pounds of paper.
• avoid 63 gallons of wastewater from being released into the environment.
• save 4.5 gallons of gasoline used to mail bills, statements and payments.
• avoid 171 pounds of greenhouse emissions, the equivalent of not driving 169 miles.

It seems like I've had similar offers not to get paper bills from companies in the past. Except, they offered some sort of incentive, like "$1 off your bill, per month." I'm doing them a favor by streamlining their process. But Pacific Power spins it in a way that makes me think they're doing me a favor for offering. Maybe, I should even feel guilty if I do not take them up on this offer.

Mention other notables, such I can pay them only a few more dollars per month, and they'll tell me I'm using "renewable energy." Once again, I can feel good about myself and my contribution to this earth which man is single-handedly destroying. Besides, I bet the truth is something closer to, "We'll use your money to buy power from people with windmills."

In sort, Pacific Power offers many services which sound like they should be paying YOU for. Instead, you can get them at little to no charge!

Randomland's Official Camping Guide
What You Need and Why You'll Need It

Create a camping guide including:

• Camping list
• Vehicles which feel at home in the woods
• Camping locations
• How to get your vehicle unstuck
• Hiking/geocaching ideas (such as finding a random hill and plant a Sasquatch)

Reviews of camping equipment would be cool too. Though there are other places for that information having another won't hurt.

I see you made it back alive. Congrats!

I agree that a review style thing could be helpful. Of course, since no one seems to be giving us free stuff, we should perhaps dumb it down to "this is what we use and this is how well it works."

Here's another stupid idea I wrote down a while ago:

Make an uncouth argument about the heterogeneous population and
destroying diversity.

Use some nonsense argument with "rap-core" as a prime example of how
mixing previously good things can become an utter failure.

:) Brilliant!

Create a Google map (or something) that displays population density. Map density to how effective one spray of a skunk is.

ie: Stayton --> 1 spray affects 300 people per square mile
(note: Wikipedia says (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stayton,_Oregon) population density is 2,525.3/sq mi)

(http://randomland.net/sites/all/modules/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=41&g2_serialNumber=2&g2_GALLERYSID=f23999b5f9811f2d59a2d99aa7dad9ca) (http://randomland.net/index.php/v/pages/freedom+paper.jpg.html?q=gallery)

In this world, overrun by automatic paper towel dispensers, there are a few fervent individuals who still have the gall to fight for freedom.

Be vigilant! Take back your freedoms!

(http://randomland.net/sites/all/modules/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=45&g2_serialNumber=2&g2_GALLERYSID=f23999b5f9811f2d59a2d99aa7dad9ca) (http://randomland.net/index.php/v/pages/arbocide.jpg.html?q=gallery)

Arbocide! What happened to all of this poor, defenseless shrubbery?!
Make some sort of illogical correlation between the pruning of one's yard and the imminent destruction of the world's entire ecosystem.

We've all seen this sign before:
Sidewalk Closed
Use Other Side

This is a logical fallacy!
Note: for major construction or any other time when said sign is applying to a large section of ground, please disregard the following conclusions as the 'given' portion of the equation is invalid.

Given:

• 10ft of sidewalk has been removed and gated off or is otherwise untraversable.

Facts:

• Road is approximately 25ft across (or more)
• The average human body is less than 24" wide at the shoulders
• The average human walking speed is 2.7mph
• There exist J-Walking laws.
• There exists no laws against walking in the gutter of the street (that I am aware of)

My recommendation

• Walk those 10ft in the gutter of the road when there is no traffic.

By my calculations, it will take about 6.818 seconds. Walking across the street, down, and then crossing back would take about 40.909 seconds. And, of course, getting hit by cars really hurts! So come on, how could one conclude that crossing the street is not more dangerous??

:)

What is up with rap artists constantly using their band name in their songs??

Courtney ponders terrestrial luminescence:
Why do I prefer a brighter ground and a darker sky? Let's explore some common, naturally occuring phenomena.  
  - overcast skies -- excellent
  - lake mirroring the sky -- excellent
  - lucious green forest -- awesome
  - snow-covered fields -- nearly perfect
  - solar exclipse -- awesome!!
Now compare with:
  - sunny day -- boring
Let's just call it "perferrential terrestrial luminescence"

Explain the sad truth that making something yourself isn't always the most....economical route.

Example:
Qwirkle...$25?! I could make that for HALF the price...[trot, trot, trot] Ok
  - 1 piece of 1"x4"x8' pine lumber
       $8
  - 1 bucket of black paint
       $10
  - 1 set of model paint (small bottles)
       $6
  - 1 sheet of thin balsa wood for reusable stensils
       $5
  - table saw
       $275
  - chop saw
       $175
  - sand paper (multiple grades)
       $5
....ok, maybe that wasn't cheaper! Drat!

When your preterit rendering engine fails:

"Man, I just teared a hole in my jeans!"
"Uh, you mean tore."
"Oh yeah..."

Fun things to do:
Feed a hamster food until they can't fit any more in their cheeks (~1 week's worth of food). While it may be a little mean, it's really funny seeing the creature double in size before your eyes!

Quote from: zourtney on Aug 12, 2009, 02:33 PM
Explain the sad truth that making something yourself isn't always the most....economical route.

Example:
Qwirkle...$25?! I could make that for HALF the price...[trot, trot, trot] Ok
  - 1 piece of 1"x4"x8' pine lumber
       $8
  - 1 bucket of black paint
       $10
  - 1 set of model paint (small bottles)
       $6
  - 1 sheet of thin balsa wood for reusable stensils
       $5
  - table saw
       $275
  - chop saw
       $175
  - sand paper (multiple grades)
       $5
....ok, maybe that wasn't cheaper! Drat!

There is a point that it no longer becomes about saving money but instead about regaining the lost art of self sufficiency. We make so very little of the things we use today, its only natural that we feel the need to try doing it ones self every now and then.

So true (about wanting to make stuff as a testament to your ability to be self-sufficient)

Dissimilar things which get mixed up in my head

• Publisher and Illustrator (the computer applications)

Those fun times when a keyboard key (like shift or control) gets stuck down and nothing behaves as you're expecting.

How you can never rack a pool triangle with perfectly alternating solids/stripes.

       x
     o  x
   x  8  o
 o  x  o  x
x  o  x  o  o

grr!! Triangles!!
Why does this bother me?

My grandma had one of those not that long ago. Easy for me to diagnose but had her convinced it was possessed.

One of us needs to get better at Flash animations or drawing...for the funnies

:) yup. I should play around with that on the next occasion I find myself with a bit of down time. 

Yeah, sometimes I get things in my head which lend themselves to Flash animation or comic strips (but they probably aren't funny to anyone else!).

More annoying ideas: write about how my phone turned into a megabrick and wouldn't even display anything on the screen (the internet seems void of such tales).

Have you ever tried to literally "hit the ground running?" It's an interesting sensation.

Since when does being "a mom" lend any credibility to a person over someone who is not one? Take advertisements like "New cold remedy, discovered by a mom" or perhaps "discovered by a teacher who was tired of being sick" does being a mom offer better qualifications then perhaps, say a medical degree?

Fun things to do:

Turn your back to traffic at a stop sign in the suburbs. As the vehicle starts to move, guess the number of cylinders the engine has based on engineand exhaust tone. Sneak a peak as they drive away to confirm or discredit your guess.

BMWs will make that difficult. They have a nice subdued tone that still hints at power. And that reminds me. My car is broked :(

Very true, on both fronts. If you want me to stand around and be useless while you dremel dangerously close to your gas tank, I'm THERE! I'll even take pictures. Maybe even help! (I usually end up about half as useful as I'd like to be)

Sounds good. When are you free? Brad was talking about a Monday thing as you both have it off.

And on a side note: Richard got an elk. There will be sausage this winter!

Nice. Tasty!

Another idea: how to install a Linux server running in VirtualBox. The tricky part is setting up port-forwarding, so give details on that.

When do we make the switch from saying the year as "two thousand [and] X" to "twenty X". I mean, all of those sci-fi stories talk about "twenty-twenty-five" or whatever. How disappointing would it be if that year rolled around and we're still saying "two thousand twenty-five??"

I was thinking the same thing the other day. I have heard media people say it both ways. And they are probably going to be the trend setters on that. I propose that we do our best to usher in the new decade with an attempt to make twenty ten the accepted moniker for describing the year.

That's what I was thinking, though I am oddly torn. People don't get the option but once every hundred years (2xxx), or perhaps only once every millenum (xxxx). As such, who am I to stick with the old, techically incorrect "twenty xxx" notation? I could gleefully welcome continuing use of the the "two thousand xxx" notation. After all, people in 100 years won't have such a nice, round number on their hands!

But its easier to say "The year is twenty one thirty eight" then "The year is two thousand one hundred and thirty eight."

Assuredly so.

Could you hear yourself saying "twenty-ten" or "two-thousand-ten".

I think it's gonna be around the year 2020 before we switch over to "twenty-x".

I smell a New Year's resolution....

What does a New Year's Resolution smell like?

Randomland product reviews.

Two things to easily start it off.

• Ebay waterfroof mini oil-ligher
• Harbor Freight magnesium fire-starter

Future things could be cameras, tents, bike-racks and anything else we want the world to know is cool, or not so cool.

Go for it! Where should we put such reviews? I occasionally think of reviewing music or trails or enchiladas or whatnot. I had an original point, but I lost it.

We can make a dedicated reviews section. Or post them under the section that they most relate to and just tag them as a review. I am never sure of whats best.

Hmmmm. Make a Motors Review term? Or create a new vocab with just review in it to deign an article a review? Then it can be motors and review. This will lump all reviews together as well as making them related to a category.

Its been done but the world can use more. Especially if its satirical and mocks you as you fail :)

Yeah, I'm not very original. But if it's on Randomland, it's going to be satirical and demeaning, of course.

Suggestion:
"The Camera The Woods Ate"

Quote from: Nick on Oct 20, 2009, 11:43 PM
Just a note....

We are #1 some place. And that place is the google search results for "Harbor Freight Magnesium Fire" AND "Harbor Freight Magnesium Fire starter." Not that anyone should care to any great deal. I just thought it nice to show up in a search not involving the phrase "randomland."

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=Rw&q=Harbor+Freight+Magnesium+Fire+starter+Review&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

Awesome! I split this into a new topic (http://randomland.net/sites/all/modules/smfforum/index.php/topic,66.0.html), because we could have lots of discussion about how to optimize Randomland for search results. For example, search for randomland (even "randomland.net" on bing, and you get NOTHING, "lolz").

That's sad. Bad bing, bad!

We need to get the AOL CD art back up here. That is perhaps the very first thing we ever put on Randomland. And it is missing.  :(

Its around here someplace. I still had that helmet until recently. It was getting cracked and falling apart a little, but it was still kinda cool (in a massively dorky way) :)

The page was almost entirely pictures. And I can still provide many, many pictures of the incident(s). I'll try to remember to throw them up on the new gallery when I get home. (Unless the CCK image thing is killing your computer, then I won't)

Plah, just here for a reminder to myself:

http://forums.adobe.com/thread/510905?tstart=0
It's actually stopImmediatePropagation()

http://livedocs.adobe.com/flex/3/html/help.html?content=layouts_12.html

Explain later. We need more Flex examples on our webbernets.
protected function clicked(event:MouseEvent):void
{
if ( _paletteWindow == null )
{
_window = MyDialogWindow(PopUpManager.createPopUp(DisplayObject(_efApp),MyDialogWindow));
_window.addEventListener( CloseEvent.CLOSE, onClose, false, 0, true );
PopUpManager.centerPopUp( _window );
}
}

protected function onClose( event:CloseEvent ):void
{
trace( "you closed me!" );
PopUpManager.removePopUp( _window);
_window = null;
}

/* in the window MyDialogWindow source */
public function close( ):void
{
// dispatch close event. Will get routed through onCloseClicked()
dispatchEvent( new CloseEvent(CloseEvent.CLOSE) );
}

protected function onCloseClicked( event:CloseEvent ):void
{
// close normally
}

Idea: "Thank Goodness for Brows!"

Include stories of Cody of rockslides. Include stories of dogs and angle grinders  :)

Someone other than myself needs to make some Randomland content. I quickly tire of seeing my own words up on the main site.

Please?

We should make a page detailing the pain that plants feel when they are cut and eaten. (As a parody of the over reactive and rather unnatural  vegans. I.e. : http://vegancampus.com/2009/04/08/why-it-steams-me-when-people-eat-crabs-shrimp-and-lobsters/ )

We need to bust out some new content. Randomland is stagnating again. There are lots of things we could work on visually, as well.

Sad but true. Things just seem tp come in spurts. Followed by a bit of a lull.

We need to do things that inspire us to create content!

I'm probably going to build my workbench this weekend. I'll take some pictures of the process and maybe at some point get around to posting them to randomland.

Cool. Whats it going to look like?

It's going to be a 6'x2'x3' bench with a shelf at about 6" off the ground. The top will be 3/4" plywood. Everything else will be made with 2"x4"s.

I think I'll make a Randomland page for my ugly safe project, when I finish. I bet it's not so spraypaint stinky by now!

The PowerHandle needs Randomlanded. Also, we should post templates for those cool Randomland stickers Nick gave me (maybe with a slight revision, like words).