Well folks, I’m a bit exhausted due to illness and lack of sleep, so I think I’ll completely phone this one in take a few minutes to explore some of the more unique bits that have been in the news lately as I type this.
Let’s see:
Ben Carson Gets Trapped In Elevator: http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/ben-carson-trapped-elevat… . Some time back, Miami Heat basketball star Alonzo Mourning established a non-profit organization that helped develop a housing complex for low-income families. Sounds like a good and noble venture, eh? Well, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson thought so, which is why he and an entourage decided to take a tour. The tour came to a screeching halt when the fire department had to pry them out of a stuck elevator. Somehow folks, I doubt that the company responsible for building and maintaining that elevator is going to be getting any federal contracts any time soon.
Bank of Canada Banks On Cheat Code For Fun: http://www.pcgamer.com/the-konami-code-is-hidden-inside-the-bank-of-can… . Older video game fans, or more die-hard ones, may be aware of the famous “Konami Code”, a cheat code that video game publisher Konami inserted into a number of their video games during the 1980s and 1990s; the effects of the code were different in each game, but it existed none-the-less. It’s become so legendary that even things which have nothing to do with gaming now involve it… including some websites that have hidden functions which the code enables. This includes the Bank of Canada web page that announces their new $10 note. I won’t spoil the surprise, but the hidden function is something nice, neat, and rather appropriate.
Burger King Serves Up A Flop: http://gizmodo.com/burger-kings-dystopian-new-ad-campaign-is-already-a-… . For many households, gadgets are a way of life. Advertisers the world over have tried to come up with ways to take advantage of this shift to digital, and I really can’t blame them. But the history of advertising is filled with flops & disasters, and one of Burger King’s latest efforts has joined them.
The plan behind this one? The ad – which was meant to run on television - would deliberately trigger the viewer’s Google Home device, causing it to read off the Wikipedia page for the food item. Now, the fact that the ad was meant to take control of a random person’s home electronics is bad enough; morally, it’s no different than “clickjacking” someone’s internet browser so that it forcibly redirects everything to a desired page. But the people who created this instant failure apparently forgot about the fact that Google Home relied on Wikipedia… you know, the encyclopedia that everyone can edit. Well, that’s just what happened. Not long after word of the ad’s existence got out, people began doctoring the page so that the ingredients list included cyanide and other less-than-pleasant goodies. Much like a certain presidential candidate and a certain former “Transformers” star have both found out, you can’t pick a fight with the internet and win.
Teens vs. Pros: http://usatodayhss.com/2017/the-fc-dallas-u-15-academy-team-beat-the-u-… . This one comes from the world of soccer. The US Women’s National Team decided to scrimmage against FC Dallas’ U-15 team… as in, “boys under 15”. The winning score was 5 – 2… FC Dallas. I wonder just who it is who will have the future in professional sports…
So there you have it folks. More news of the weird next time I’m feeling lazy something hits my inbox.
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