The Linkage for Apr. 23rd

Here’s a quick look at what I was reading online from Apr. 19th to Apr. 23rd:

DPS rolls out more secure, uglier driver’s licenses
In a state with such a unique history and iconic emblems and landmarks, why do our license plates and driver's licenses look like total crap?
Tags: texas government

New Zealand’s islands need names
For 200 years, the English-speaking portion of New Zealand's population has referred to its main two islands simply as North Island and South Island, but apparently they never got around to making it official.
Tags: geography new_zealand

Waco declares holy war on Bill Nye the Science Guy
Philadelphians may boo Santa Claus, but only the people of Waco could boo Bill Nye the Science Guy. It looks like this incident happened in 2006, but it's still both funny and sad.
Tags: science education texas waco stupid religion

No humans allowed on pet-only airline
If you can't stand the thought of Rover getting shoved down in the cargo hold while you're sipping champagne up in first class, now you can pay for him to fly with the first airline reserved solely for animals – Pet Airways. And if this is a viable option for you, then you have way too much money.
Tags: business animals travel florida

Post office takes 47 years to deliver card
In what has to be one of the worst delivery delays ever, the U.S. Postal Service recently delivered a postcard to a man in Ohio – 47 years after it had been originally mailed (and 11 years after the sender had died).

And no, it was not Doc Brown sending a postcard to Marty McFly letting him know what he was alive in well in the year 1962.
Tags: funny usps montana ohio

Yankees displace high school team
In order to make way for the new Yankees Stadium, the city tore down Macombs Dam Park, which contained the home baseball field for a high school in the Bronx. Now they have to travel an hour to play their "home" games on Staten Island.
Tags: baseball yankees stadiums ballparks stupid

China’s Great Wall far longer than thought
Everyone thought the Great Wall was impressive… and that's before they realized they were missing 1500 miles of it.
Tags: china history

Facebook no longer safe for the easily bamboozled
What's shocking here is not the fact that advertisers are trying to dupe people into paying for "services" with recurring monthly fees by making their ads look like components of legitimate Facebook applications, it's that FB has to be aware that it's going on and doesn't seem to care. Now that they've reached the tipping point and are attracting the masses, FB needs to crack down on stuff like this or they're going to lose some of the folks who were hesitant about joining in the first place.

On the other hand, I do enjoy the irony of duping stupid people into signing up for monthly fees under the guise of an IQ test. If you click on crap like that (or buy cell phone ringtones from one of those late night commercials), you get what you deserve.
Tags: facebook net_issues advertising

Readings show Four Corners marker off by 2.5 miles
If you've gone to Four Corners and laid down so you could be in four states at the same time, you've been lied to.
Tags: united_states colorado arizona utah new_mexico

Jeeves is back, baby!
At least for those in the UK. Three years after they decided to jettison one of the most enduring and recognizable brands on the web, the folks at Ask.com have decided to let their venerable butler return to the UK version of the site. We can only hope and pray that he'll be returning stateside soon.
Tags: business net_issues advertising uk

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