Emergent Chaos » Amusements

Have You Seen The Little Piggies?

adam — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:04:15 +0000

Apparently, the project manager who found a vendor for the Vermont State Police car decals failed to consider a few things. Such as the risk that prisoners might want to have a little fun at the expense of the police.

You can see the fun if you study the image carefully here, or in a larger version at MSN Photoblog.

Google Droids, Happy Friday

arthur — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:37:19 +0000

Found on that other bastion of privacy .

More on the weather

adam — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:33:28 +0000

(Available here.)

The Irony Overfloweth

adam — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:55:29 +0000

@RobArnold tweeted: “Someone thinks targeted Facebook ads are an effective way to ask for Firefox features. Any other Mozillians see this?”

The irony of using a targeted ad, on Facebook, to ask for more privacy protection…

Cello Wars

adam — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 19:08:08 +0000

For your holiday amusement:

Thanks, Jeff!

Gävle Goat Gambit Goes Astray

adam — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 18:19:05 +0000

It’s a bit of a Christmas tradition here at Emergent Chaos to keep you informed about the Gävle Goat. Ok, technically, our traditions seem hit and miss, but whaddaya want from a site with Chaos in the name? You want precision, read a project management blog. Project management blogs probably set calendar reminders to kick off a plan with defined stakeholders, success metrics and milestones to ensure high quality blog posts. Us, we sometimes randomly remember.

But, but! This year, we actually have a plan with 8×10 color gannt charts with circles and arrows explaining how to set up a market to predict when the goat would burn.

We even have prizes.

Unfortunately, chaos (and flames) emerged, and the goat was burned before we set up the market.

You can read the full story of “Sweden’s Christmas goat succumbs to flames.”

Tap Tap Snarky

adam — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 18:09:49 +0000

From the app store:

I hope this doesn’t cause Apple to ban snarky update messages.

The Flying Spaghetti Monster

adam — Sat, 21 May 2011 16:50:45 +0000

In honor of rapture day, the Flying Spaghetti Monster has chosen to manifest his tentacly goodness in Stanley Park in Vancouver:

Star Wars, by George Lucas & Jean Paul Sarte

adam — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 14:55:18 +0000

Here’s your Friday dose of Star Wars. Leave the volume on, even if you don’t speak French. That way your over-achieving cube neighbors will be distracted, too.

What’s the PIN, Kenneth?

adam — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 16:04:45 +0000

There’s a story in the New York Times, “To Get In, Push Buttons, or Maybe Swipe a Magnet” which makes interesting allusions to the meaning of fair trade in locks, implied warranties and the need for empiricism in security:

In court filings, Kaba argued that it had “never advertised or warranted in any way that any of its access control products are impenetrable.” Locksmiths learn techniques to defeat all kinds of locks, and “thieves and others who want to defeat locks can obtain the same tools and learn the same techniques locksmiths use,” the filings said. “Indeed, any thief — even the most clumsy — can use a sledgehammer, a pry bar or bolt cutter to bypass essentially any lock.”

In a statement, Mr. Miller added that the company had “never received any confirmed report of a break-in” because of a magnetic bypass, and that it heard about the potential for magnetic mischief only in August 2010. Kaba is preparing a free kit to modify the locks and make them magnet-proof, he said.

All of which is really an excuse to share with you this picture. I have no idea if it’s a Kaba lock or not, and I’m reasonably confident that the sign is not Kaba’s fault.