Apathy Sketchpad

I’ve just installed the magic new Google Talk badge, on the right-hand sidebar. This allows you, the humble reader, to talk live with me at any time that I happen to be sat near my PC with Google Talk turned on, which is some evenings and weekend daytimes. Please don’t assume that when it says “Available” I am, and please don’t be offended if I don’t answer. I’m probably just doing something else and have left the computer turned on, where it will be failing to find signs of extraterrestrial life almost as completely as people running SETI@home. Or I hate you.

Since this update was not very funny, here is a nicely ironic quote from an article I read the other day:

Remember that although English is NOT your NATIVE Language, your writings should conform to the conventions of standard written English (sentence form, grammar, spelling, etc.). Your ideas will have little impact, no matter how well the research, if they are not communicated well. Remember always that scientific terminology very often has precise meaning. Be certain you choose your words correctly and wisely.

Quite. Lastly, an observation.

Every so often Adobe Acrobat Reader updates itself, and every time it makes a little shortcut on the desktop. I have to delete it. Usually it makes a couple more around the place, too. What are they for? Who clicks them? When has anyone, ever, run Acrobat Reader from a shortcut? You double click files, that’s how you get it. You browse to PDFs online and it appears in Firefox. You don’t run it, then click File, Open. It just doesn’t happen. Does it?

Do they just want a tiny, free advert on your screen? Well, they can’t have one.