YUM! YUM! Feedback鈥檚 stomach is aflutter at the thought of the latest
innovation from the American fast-food industry. A company called BreakAway
Foods of Columbus, Ohio, has developed a way to freeze and package macaroni
cheese so it鈥檚 ready to eat after a minute in the microwave. Better still, you
can eat it like an ice lolly.
The 鈥淚ncrEdibles鈥� are packed into a cardboard cylinder and frozen, so they鈥檙e
ready to pop into the microwave whenever the urge strikes. Insert a stick into
the heated package, and you can push it up to eat as you wander about鈥攜ou
don鈥檛 even need to put it on a plate. If macaroni cheese isn鈥檛 your thing, the
company also has three varieties of scrambled eggs.
Oddly, our American colleagues tell us they have yet to spot any IncrEdibles
on sale, although the company website says they were introduced in selected
areas in November 1999 after consumer testing predicted that Americans of all
ages would 鈥渓ove鈥� them.
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THERE IS a startling observation in the section on testicular pain in the
advice website www.webmd.lycos.com. It says: 鈥淣ote: There may be other causes of
testicle pain. This list is not all inclusive, and the causes are not presented
in order of likelihood. The causes of this symptom can include unlikely diseases
and medications. Furthermore, the causes may vary based on age and gender of the
affected person. . .鈥�
DOES YOUR computer password reveal your innermost secrets? It seems that many
people regard choosing their password as a kind of personality test, and give
everything about themselves away in the words they use when they log on.
A poll of 1200 people by the Internet domain name registry CentralNic
suggests there are four distinct categories of passwords. Most users (47 per
cent) fall into the 鈥淔amily鈥� group, choosing their own name or nickname, or the
names of their partners, children or pets. According to psychologist Helen
Petrie, who was asked to comment on the findings, these are people who have
strong family ties. They choose passwords which symbolise people or events that
have emotional value to them.
The 鈥淔an鈥� type (32 per cent) choose the names of sports stars, cartoon
characters, pop stars or film stars. Most popular passwords include variations
of Homer Simpson, Darth Vader, Madonna and Keanu Reeves. Fans make a 鈥渓ifestyle
choice鈥� when they decide on a password, Petrie says. They choose famous people
who will be readily identifiable to their peers.
The 鈥淔antasist鈥� category (11 per cent) are 鈥渟elf-obsessed people鈥� who pick
words like Sexy, Stud and Goddess. Fantasists, Petrie comments, are the kind of
people who always manage to get the subject round to sex. 鈥淭raditionally these
have tended to be male, but these results would suggest that quite a few in this
category are female.鈥�
The smallest group鈥攖he 鈥淐ryptics鈥�, with just 9 per cent of the
total鈥攁re the most security-conscious. They select passwords that mix
lower and upper-case letters, numbers and punctuation to create intricate,
cryptic passwords. 鈥淭he Cryptics are most likely to be what we what would regard
as 鈥榞eeks鈥�,鈥� says Petrie. 鈥淭hese people opt for 鈥榗linical鈥� non-guessable
passwords. They are the least interesting but the safest.鈥�
Petrie concludes: 鈥淭he computer password has become a kind of 21st Century
Rorschach inkblot test.鈥� And Stephen Dyer of CentralNic adds: 鈥淢any people tend
to subconsciously believe that their password has to sum up the very essence of
their being in one word.鈥�
So if your computer password is something like 鈥渟mellysocks鈥�, start
worrying.
AS FEEDBACK was browsing on the Net the other day among a listing of magazine
and newspaper titles, one leapt out: The Dismal Scientist. What could
it feature? Stories about dead dogfish and leaking tanks of formaldehyde, told
by those who are forced to labour in dull laboratories for life? Papers about
the ageing process, entropy and the inevitability of decay?
No. A glance at www.dismal.com showed that the magazine is about
economics鈥斺�漷he dismal science鈥�, as Thomas Carlyle called it. A sample
paper from the current issue is David Ingram on 鈥淭he Merits of Vulture
Capitalism鈥�. Enjoy.
THERE鈥橲 NO such thing as privacy with the BT R70 answerphone in reader
Anthony McCulloch鈥檚 office. When a call comes in, the phone鈥檚 recorded voice
states that no one is available to take it and invites the caller to leave a
message. This and the message left by the caller can be heard by anyone in the
office. At the end of the message, after the caller has hung up, there鈥檚 a
continuous tone indicating the dialogue has finished.
Then comes the creepy bit. 鈥淭hank you for calling,鈥� intones the still-audible
recorded voice.
Who is it talking to?
THE WRAPPING on the lemon cake sold in the cafe opposite New Scientist鈥檚
office states: 鈥淐ontains no animal fats鈥搊nly natural ingredients鈥�
IF YOU want an online quote for car insurance from Norwich Union, you have to
fill in the form on its website. At one point this offers you the following
options in regard to your marital status: 鈥淢arried with children/Married no
肠丑颈濒诲谤别苍/惭补谤谤颈别诲.鈥�
A tricky one to answer.
In similar vein, Feedback鈥檚 local post office has three post boxes outside
it. These are labelled: 鈥淔irst class/Second class/London.鈥�
So if you want to post a first class letter to a London address. . . ?
FINALLY, The Sydney Morning Herald printed the following correction last
month: 鈥淚n the Herald鈥檚 Marketing pages on Thursday, a story about Mr Don
Chipp鈥檚 election campaign for the Melbourne City Council named his running
partner as Ms Leaky Warbling. Mr Chipp鈥檚 running partner is Melbourne
businesswoman Ms Rilka Warbanoff. The mistake was caused by a spell-checker
error.鈥� You won鈥檛 find that kind of mistake here in Ardour Street.
