jonni.be

Photo

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 11:25:17 +0100

Jonni’s 90’s Discomix. 26 relentless minutes of 90’s dance...

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 14:38:00 +0000

Jonni’s 90’s Discomix. 26 relentless minutes of 90’s dance classics in the mix! Right-click here to download.

Stephen Fry speaking from the heart about life (32 minutes).

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 20:23:39 +0100

Stephen Fry speaking from the heart about life (32 minutes).

The Wikipedia Game

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 11:19:10 +0100

The Wikipedia Game

Happy the man, and happy he alone,he who can call today his own: he who, secure within, can...

Tue, 18 May 2010 22:53:27 +0100

Happy the man,
and happy he alone,
he who can call
today his own:

he who, secure within, can say,
Tomorrow
do thy worst,
for I have lived today.

Horace

Andy McKee playing a harp guitar.

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 09:57:53 +0000

Andy McKee playing a harp guitar.

"If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail."

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:19:08 +0000

“If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.”

- Abraham Maslow

Photo

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 16:03:00 +0000

"The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist."

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 05:33:00 +0100

““The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.””

- Charles Baudelaire

MiniDisc Jam. Half tape, half CD, but in the end no match for...

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 05:40:00 +0100

MiniDisc Jam. Half tape, half CD, but in the end no match for mp3.

"The uncreative mind can spot wrong answers, but it takes a very creative mind to spot wrong..."

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 01:24:00 +0100

“The uncreative mind can spot wrong answers, but it takes a very creative mind to spot wrong questions.”

- Antony Jay

Photo

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 02:56:00 +0100

The book that no-one can explain

Tue, 26 May 2009 00:01:00 +0100

The Voynich Manuscript is a mysterious illustrated book written in a language and script that remain unknown, despite intense study.

Named after the antique book-dealer who acquired it in 1912, it is thought to have been written in either the 15th or 16th century.

The script uses 20-30 distinct letters, which were written with a smooth, flowing ductus, by someone familiar with the script. The book also features illustrations of plants, bodies, and star patterns.

Theories about the books language abound, but non are proven:

It’s simply a cipher for an existing European language.
It’s an exotic natural language, written in an invented script.
It’s glossolalia: meaningless, stream-of-consciousness writing.
It’s a constructed language not based on an existing one.
It’s meaning is hidden by stenography: most of it is nonsense.
It’s a hoax; a meaningless string of arbitrary symbols.

I’m delighted that such a cultural mystery remains unsolved in modern times. It leads me to imagine what other curious languages, books and stories may have been lost to the sands of time.

Have a look for yourself on Flickr, or learn more on Wikipedia.

Photo

Sat, 16 May 2009 21:45:00 +0100

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

Sun, 10 May 2009 03:33:00 +0100

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

- Aristotle

Switching to drive on the other side of the road

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 03:02:00 +0100

In the early hours of 3rd September 1967, the country of Sweden switched from driving on the left-hand side of the road, to the right.

12 years earlier, 83% of the population had voted against the switch in a referendum. The government thought better of popular opinion.

During the build up, every road junction had new sets of traffic signals put up and white lines painted, covered with black plastic and tape.

A media campaign was launched, involving branded milk cartons, ladies underwear, and even a contest to find the best song about the change. The winning entry was a song called Håll dig till höger, Svensson (‘Keep to the right, Svensson’) by the Telstars.

On the day, all traffic was instructed to stand still at 04:50, carefully move to the other side of the road, and then carry on at 05:00.

And they’ve been driving their sturdy Volvos on the right ever since.

Photo

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:30:00 +0000

2 decision theoretic paradoxes

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 03:43:00 +0000

Abilene paradox: If people base their decision-making on what they think other people want to do, the result can be that everyone ends up doing something nobody really wants to do.
Rahel's paradox: Any model of reality might be missing a crucial ingredient, apart from the perfect model. But a model with nothing missing is useless, because it's already given by reality.

"If you want to build a ship, don’t herd people together to collect wood and don’t assign..."

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 23:14:00 +0000

“If you want to build a ship, don’t herd people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”

- AdSE

No coats today.

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 03:18:00 +0000

Buds bulge on chestnut trees, and on the doorstep of a big old house a young man stands and plays his flute.

I watch the silver notes fly up and circle in the blue sky above the traffic, travelling where they will.

And suddenly this paving-stone midway between my front door and the bus stop is a starting point.

From here I can go anywhere I choose.

Wendy Cope