Random

It's like the first flower of spring. The first beer of the ball game. The first hair that grows beneath your shirt.

Yes, a man has already pitched a tent outside an Apple store in Dallas in the hope of being the first to get his tired, moist hands on the new iPhone 4, which launches June 24.

The Dallas Morning News appears to have been the first to espy the intrepid Justin Waggoner, who hitched his wagon to the sidewalk last Wednesday.

Is he a serial queuer? But of course. He told the Morning News he's camped … Read more

Sometimes the word "why?" is just an exclamation. We don't really expect an answer. We just wish something hadn't happened. Yet, perhaps you might be able to answer the "why" part of this question: Why has a laser manufacturer produced a Star Wars-ish laser that it proudly describes as being "the most dangerous ever created"?

I am indebted to Canada's National Post, which came across a product that really makes one wonder. It is called the Spyder III Pro Arctic.

Its manufacturer, Wicked Lasers of Shanghai, is rather excited about its potential.

May I quote its Web site? "Don't let the Arctic name fool you, this laser possesses the most burning capabilities of any portable laser in existence. That's why it's also the most dangerous laser ever created."

Personally, I didn't let the name fool me. You see, just below this claim to success, Wicked Lasers offers a very bright yellow warning: "Extremely dangerous is an understatement to 1W of laser power. At close range, this Class 4 beam will cause immediate and irreversible retinal damage."

Oh, and "it will blind permanently and instantly and set fire quickly to skin and other body parts."… Read more

What is the end of the world?

For some, it would be dedicating your life to appear on a TV game show. For others, it would be creating a machine that can prove itself better than anyone who dedicates their life to appear on a TV game show.

For myself, it seems clear that IBM has created something that will be the apogee of appointment television by honing a supercomputer to compete with the finest mailmen, insurance brokers, and nurses to prove that it can, well, find the question in the answer.

Yes, IBM's Watson is, according to The New York Times, … Read more

We all have some kind of relationship with our bodies.

Sometimes, let's admit, it can be abusive. We put cupcakes, cocaine, cognac, cauliflower, and cigarette smoke in there (well, not always all at once), and we somehow expect our bodies to love it.

One man, though, has perhaps stood above all others when it comes to testing the body's limits. That is Ozzy Osbourne, former lead singer of Black Sabbath, husband of Sharon, and one-time spokesman for World of Warcraft.

Osbourne has, at least in the past, thought nothing of a live bat as hors d'oeuvre, a … Read more

Many around the world were deeply moved by Saturday's World Cup encounter between England and the United States. While many Americans feared their team might be outclassed, perhaps they weren't fully aware that the England team flatters to deceive more often than a telemarketer.

The game, which finished 1-1, was highlighted by one of the most glorious English goalkeeping errors (enacted by the latest English net custodian, Robert Green), in a veritable pantheon of glorious English goalkeeping errors.

Should you have missed the game, or merely found the experience unbearable, some very enterprising Legoists would like you to enjoy a more, well, playful version.

I thank the Guardian for bringing us all closer to these highlights (there were really only a couple), performed by little Fussball men in Lego World.

The movement of England captain Steven Gerrard is beautifully realized. The joy of his teammates is captured in a manner entirely appropriate to stiff upper lips.

And when America's Clint Dempsey wanders forward and shoots with all the strength of ginger ale and Green allows the ball to bounce off his hands and into the goal, it is an exhibition of vast poignancy. … Read more

Whatever happened, no one may ever truly understand.

The facts, as reported by the Daily Mail, suggest that two students from Scotland checked into a hotel around 80 miles from Edinburgh University, where they were both studying.

When staff were concerned that Robert Miller, 20, and James Robertson, 19, were still in their room after check-out time, they reportedly opened their door and discovered them both dead.

Police reportedly examined a laptop in the students' room and, after police said they were not treating the deaths as suspicious, there are reportedly fears in the students' home communities that the dead … Read more

So much money has already been wagered on the World Cup finals, which started Friday in South Africa.

So few of these bettors, however, will have turned to the Institution of Engineering and Technology's magazine before risking their savings, their house, or the money they were keeping back to pay the divorce lawyer.

The magazine, you see, has helpfully published an analysis of the World Cup, written by a man for whom numbers say so much. You might experience conflict with your potato chips when I tell you that the University of Salford has an Economics of Gambling degree … Read more

There were some techies Monday who believed they experienced a sighting of God somewhere in San Francisco.

Those people might care to hark at deeply relevant news. God will be defeated by science. No, not by faltering Wi-Fi systems at a conference. And, no, these are not my words. This is the considered opinion of someone sometimes referred to as the cleverest man in the world, Stephen Hawking.

In an interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer, due to air Monday evening, Hawking expounded upon the largest questions, those that transcend iPhones and androids: Can science and God live happily ever … Read more

I know that the occasional developer wanders to these pages in order to discover important things, such as whether they should friend Mark Zuckerberg.

Because I feel a great responsibility toward our developing future, I have dedicated some considerable time to understanding developers better.

Here's what I have learned. Developers really, really do not like going to the dentist. They also really, really don't like the thought of having a fender-bender on their way home from work.

However, in their heart of hearts, should you be able to find such a place, they also have some severe problems … Read more