Friday Four

1. A real scientist would never say this, but it was still cute to hear Pumpkin proclaim, "I am a scientist: I know everything."

2. Good news, and the headline says it all: "Google Will Soon Start Punishing Mobile Sites That Use Annoying App Install Ads." I agree that these are annoying for all the reasons stated in the article, plus the following: It's an example of incredibly short-range thinking. Businesses who do this are getting web referrals, so they work to make the web ... less useful? How many businesses have web sites? How many of those can a web browser access vs. how many apps can someone install on a phone, or even remember are there? Amazingly, even some sites with otherwise excellent mobile versions do this.

3. This post on "A Curious Equality" brings back fond memories of high school geometry and my teacher:

The area of the largest equilateral triangle that fits inside a unit square exactly equals the side of the largest square that fits inside a unit equilateral triangle.

The elegant proof reminds me of a time, on an exam, that I drew a blank on a difficult proof we had gone over in class. I came up with my own original proof, and was pleasantly surprised to receive extra credit. I'm not claiming to have made a similarly elegant proof here. I'm just remembering the fun.

4. First, Detroit, then Disney World. Cyberspace was just a matter of time. Yes, there are "ruins" to be explored in Second Life.

-- CAV