"Skill without imagination is craftsmanship and gives us many useful objects such as wickerwork picnic baskets. Imagination without skill gives us modern art." - Tom Stoppard

***

Possibly dodgy item:

"Item Name: Height Growing Machine
Product Description: A portable and easy-to-use machine that helps to increase a person's height. This machine comes with a height-increase lotion which is to be applied at the side and back of the knees and ankles before the machine treatment.
Condition: Good
Venue: National University of Singapore
Price: $ 200"

???

I've sent a note to ask what exactly this is.

***

My analysis of someone's philosophy: "Liberalism is bad. Christianity is good. Singapore is fine."

A competing analysis: "It's more subtle than that actually. It's "This is what I learnt in Cambridge: The Enlightenment was bad. Augustine convincingly developed a Christian political ethic which had authoritarian implications. Therefore: Singapore is fine. Christian fundamentalism is respectable." Except of course the "therefore" doesn't really follow. But yeah I get your point."

***

Me: "Cannot extract the embedded font 'BKDHJHdlsdsaldkjdsakdsak'. Some characters may not display or print correctly"

Someone: aiyah, at least it isn't your lecture notes.
my notes full of circles. cannot find MathWBsomething

Me: complain lor

Someone: don't want. rare to get a singaporean lecturer

Me: should make them take QET (oral) [Ed: QET stands for the 'Qualifying English Test', administered for NUS students with low GP grades]

Someone: what's wrong with their english

Me: the worst is yet to be
I'll get back to you after ***

Someone: do you get ***?
wow. i heard ***'s the worst lecturer in NUS.

That's a comforting thought.


Someone else: Hist is my major now
I think I may have caught influence from you and started feeling studying lit was a pile of BS...

Glad to have saved a life!

***

Microsoft Messenger for Mac 5.0 seems to have many features that aren't it the Windows version. Probably this is since they don't have a good way to push it out to everyone, they actually have to code useful features (like multiple account support and support for other IM protocols) inside to lure users into downloading it. Possibly Mac users are also less obsessed with mindless frills like emoticons, annoying as hell nudges, winks, and flash smileys.

Someone sent me a link to this Japanese-language slot machine variant. I have no idea what the criteria for getting coins is, how to win the game (hell, if it's possible to win in the first place) and what all the items you can buy in the shop do. Assistance is appreciated.

***

loupgarou sends out a request: "so does anyone know how to connect a powerbook g4 to a 802.11b or 802.11g wireless router?"

Anyone with insights on this arcane task should post them in the comments box or mail them to me with the feedback form if the former is down due to server maintenance.