SPIEGEL Surfs the Web How Stupid Can You Get?
Did you know that working in an office where telephones are constantly ringing makes you even stupider than smoking a joint? Don't worry, a lot of business executives don't know that either. In fact, some executives, apparently, aren't even aware that advertising with Nazis isn't a good idea. Business 2.0, has assembled a list of the 101 dumbest moments in business for 2005. Take a look. It'll make you feel like a genious.
Connecting the al-Qaida Dots
Ever since the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001 made al-Qaida a household name, a growing number of people have become interested in the workings of the nebulous Islamic terror group surrounding Osama bin Laden. Sure, you might know he was connected to former Taliban leader Mullah Omar. But if you want to find out everyone else bin Laden has met, been linked to, or associated with, then you might need some help.
That's where the Web site TrackingTheThreat.com can come in handy. They have a nifty browser-based network diagramming feature that visually illustrates all the connections between persons, places and events related to al-Qaida. Just select an entity from the drop-down menu and you're off. There's even a geospacial view that lets you sift through data overlaid on maps. Of course, any tool, regardless of how of flashy, is only as good as the data it's based on. Since TrackingTheThreat.com relies on open-source information, you'll have to make your own decision about its ultimate reliability.
Make Your Own Church Sign
The church sign is as normal a feature of the American landscape as the hamburger stand or the two-lane highway. Drive through any town, especially in the Bible Belt in the American South, and you're bound to see a sign announcing the topic for Sunday's sermon, bingo on Saturday night, or something unexpected ( "FREE COFFEE, EVERLASTING LIFE" ). Now a Texas Web developer has designed a Church Sign Generator to give up a composite digital photo of a typical electric sign with your very own custom message. Create the photos for free, download them, send them to your friends, post them on your site; or -- for a price -- turn them into a fridge magnet!
The developer, Ryland Sanders, had his own collection of real-life church-sign photos, and came up with the idea of writing a script to overlay custom digital messages. His code is free for the taking, but, he says, "this is not a script for beginners." Beginners should stick to making their own church signs, instead of whole new message generators.
