The $3.1 billion merger between Google (“the Internet’s largest search profiling company”) and DoubleClick (“the Internet’s largest targeted advertising company”) will go ahead “without conditions”. The US Federal Trade Commission says the merger is “unlikely to lessen competition”. Not quite the creation of the Googlezon as predicted in the short film Epic 2014, but there’s still time… Hat tip to EPIC Alert (no relation) via Roger Clarke.
It’s worth eating at Kelly’s on King now
Yesterday’s experimental lunch at Kelly’s on King, the Irish theme pub at 285 King Street, Newtown, was a success.
Previously, Kelly’s got their food from Cafe C next door. Recent renovations added their own kitchen, so I figured it was worth a try.
“I’d better start thinking like a backpacker then,” snarked the Snarky Platypus. And yes, like most pretend-Irish pubs, late at night Kelly’s is full of loud, drunken arseholes. Avoid. But during the day it’s quiet, perfect for a cleansing ale and watching the world. A newspaper and conversation pub, if you like.
We had a perfectly adequate chicken penne (pictured) and a “Portuguese” chicken with rocket, sun-dried tomatoes and a few well-made potato wedges — the latter a not-too-fattening serving size. Great presentation.
The wine list is minimal — only four whites, for example. An Irish pub is about beer and whiskey. However with two decent sauvignon blancs that’s acceptable.
The Platypus and I have added Kelly’s on King to our regular rotation.
Don’t poke me, take up drugs instead
Spotted on Facebook: “Eric TF Bat reckons all these people with their biting and requests and poking have too much time on their hands and should take up drugs or something.” Agreed.
Electronica Challenge
Hey here’s a challenge! Macquarie Dictionary reckons the word “electronica” is from 2007. I reckon it’s older. So we have to find 3 independent usages in mainstream media.
Here’s what they say:
electronica noun the broad array of music created electronically.
If we want to improve the reference, we have to prove it. Send info!
Word of the Year 2007: voting open
The truly god-like people at Macquarie Dictionary have opened voting for the Word of the Year 2007 (“the most valuable contribution to the English language”) in various categories. Voting closes at midnight on 31 January.
In the “online” category you can choose from:
cyber cheating noun 1. plagiarism of material sourced on the internet. 2. engagement in an online romance, the conduct of which constitutes unfaithfulness to one’s spouse or lover. flog noun a blog which is contrived for marketing purposes. [f(ake) + (b)log] griefing noun the sabotage of online computer games, virtual sites, etc., by players intent on causing havoc rather than abiding by the rules of the game. –griefer, noun microblog noun 1. an internet posting which is extremely short, designed to give a brief but immediate text update. –verb (i) (microblogged, microblogging) 2. to issue such an internet posting. –microblogging, noun –microblogger, noun web 2.0 noun a perceived altered state of the world wide web, equivalent to a second generation of a software product, which features social networks, creative commons, wikis and other such sites that encourage user input and information sharing.
My immediate reaction is that some of the terms are perhaps older than 2007. However Macquarie Dictionary is a mainstream dictionary of Australian English.
- Mainstream means that the words have to be used in mainstream publications and broadcasts such as daily newspapers and TV news bulletins without further explanation. Three independent usages are needed before a word will be listed.
- Australian English means those citations have to be in Australian media (obviously).
So my innate geekery means I’m probably ahead of the pace when it comes to adopting new words.
In any event, I’ll go through their lists and post more considered thoughts before I cast my votes. I’m happy to take side-wagers on the eventual winners.
Top story on Internet filtering
Crikey has made my piece about Internet filtering one of their “top stories” for today — and it’s free to read even for non-subscribers.