Random

When an event as senselessly painful as the Aurora shootings occurs, it's inevitable that Twitter -- where feelings are expressed instantly and often without thought -- will reveal humanity's inner self.

So as the sheer horror of the murders was exposed through witness accounts, the tweets flowed in reaction.

Pride of place, surely, went to the Celeb Boutique fashion store. It was so excited that the hashtag #aurora was trending that it couldn't contain its feelings.

"#Aurora is trending, clearly about our Kim K inspired dress ;)" said the tweet, with a link to the Kim … Read more

Sadness and hope often hold hands, but the latter can never decide whether she can make the former happy.

This story is either sad or strangely hopeful. Either way, it's also missing a couple of facts.

For this is the story of David Johnson, who believes that Jay-Z reads his emails.

In a moving telling to BuzzFeed, Johnson says he has sent at least 262 e-mails to Jay-Z and that he believes Jay-Z is reading them.

At least, he thinks he's sending them to Jay-Z.

Johnson, who once campaigned mightily to get a chance in the NBA -- … Read more

Many who dream of adorning their faces with technology were stunned to hear that Google-type glasses might not be welcome at McDonald's.

Steve Mann, a professor at the University of Toronto, claimed that he had worn his Digital Eye Glass while ordering himself a Ranch Wrap in Paris.

He insisted that the employees did not take kindly to them. He claimed that they had tried to take them off him.

Now McDonald's has declared: "Non."

The company issued a statement, which reads in part: "Several staff members involved have been interviewed individually, and all independently … Read more

There is nothing like a mother's love. Or, perhaps, her shame.

Who knows what allegedly moved Catherine Venusto, who stands accused of illegally accessing the Northwestern Lehigh School District's computers and altering history. Her children's history.

Or, at least, their chemistry and math.

The allegation is that she used knowledge gained as a former employee of the school district to poke her way into the computer system, using the superintendent's password and that of 9 other employees.

The Morning Call declares that she allegedly altered her daughter's failing grade to a medical exception.

However, another … Read more

When it comes to humor, you can't always have it your own way.

Well, you can, as long as you don't post it online.

My evidence for this thesis comes from a Burger King employee who thought it would be amusing to stand in two large plastic tubs of lettuce and have a photo taken.

Was he or she wearing shoes? But of course. Was this funny? But of course the lettuce-stomper must have thought it was. That is, until Anonymous members of 4Chan thought it would be just -- and, perhaps, funny too -- to find this … Read more

He's back.

Indeed, it may well be that he never left. It may simply be that he's been traveling around, arresting the unsuspecting with his challenges, and then making them marvel at his skills.

Yes, Ben Rudolph, the man who can prove that your iPhone 3GS is so very out of date, has returned with more evidence of Windows Phone's ability to positively barbecue all opposition.

You might not yet be aware of Ben. You may, indeed, have been smoking a little too much yourself lately. Ben is the face and satisfied smile of "Smoked By Windows Phone,&… Read more

Sometimes, privacy is utterly necessary. It's even a good thing.

This is something even Google is recognizing. Today, for example, it launches a fine new feature to help you feel more comfortable posting videos to YouTube.

For the company is now offering the ability to blur faces on YouTube videos with just one click.

Launching the service in an official -- and very clear -- blog post, YouTube policy associate, Amanda Conway explains that the site has become a significant source for news. Blurring, she says, is useful (though it didn't seem to be for the longest time … Read more

Human judgment hasn't done much for human development over the last, say, 50 years.

This has allowed machines to take over and begin to dictate.

You'd think that there might be limits. You'd think that politicians were selfless.

The latest machine creation which tries to squeeze the human mind and reduce it to a grape pip is Artificial Intelligence software that picks the perfect fantasy football team.

This is the brainbaby of three academics from the University of Southampton in England.

Lecturer in Computer Science Sarvapali Ramchurn, student Tim Matthews, and visiting researcher and George Chalkiadakis have … Read more

I know those Google glasses make everyone but Sergey Brin look quite odd.

But could they look so odd as to cause someone to rip them off your head?

This question is reverberating around the minds of furious futurists after Steve Mann, a professor at the University of Toronto, was allegedly assaulted in a Paris McDonald's -- by people who allegedly work for McDonald's.

I know that working at McDonald's is extremely stressful. However, Mann's tale, which he committed to his blog, tells of a situation that has caused some indigestion.

Mann says he was wearing … Read more