CERN, where the web was born (), was unfortunately a little lax in acquiring the domain names one would expect it to have, such as cern.org, cern.int, and so on. It so happens that cern.org was registered to a company in Texas. The following conversation took place when Robert Cailliau of CERN phoned Texas Traders to see if they would sell the name.
鈥淭exas Traders, good morning!鈥�
鈥淕ood morning, I鈥檓 calling from CERN in Switzerland, and I have a question about your website.鈥�
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鈥淪ure, let鈥檚 see how I can help you.鈥�
鈥淲ell, when I go to cern.org, I end up on your site, but your business is not cern.org.鈥�
鈥淣o, that鈥檚 right.鈥�
鈥淪o why is this?鈥�
鈥淲ell, I don鈥檛 know about Switzerland, but in the States these names are for sale, so we bought a whole bunch of them some time ago.鈥�
鈥淚 see. Is it possible to get that name?鈥�
鈥淵es, we鈥檒l sell it to you.鈥�
鈥淎h. How much?鈥�
鈥淛ust a second鈥emme see鈥K: for $500 it鈥檚 yours!鈥�
鈥淒o you have a discount for educational institutions?鈥�
鈥淣o, $500 is the lowest I can go.鈥�
鈥淥K. You realise that the business you鈥檙e doing is actually largely due to us inventing the web?鈥�
鈥淏ut we have been in this business for over three years now!鈥�
鈥淩ight, and we invented it in 1990.鈥�
鈥淩eally?鈥 think there is some problem with our connection. I鈥檒l get back to you. Can I have your contact details?鈥�
Cailliau gave his details and waited a couple of days. Texas Traders, of course, had thought that he was joking. But when they found out he wasn鈥檛, they called back and all ended well. CERN now owns cern.org.
EVER wonder what military press officers are thinking? Feedback recently came across a paper from a meeting last year posted on the website for the Directed Energy Professional Society. In it, a US military press officer suggests how to deal with press enquiries about 鈥渄irected energy鈥� laser and microwave weapons. He reassures his readers that science fiction books and movies have prepared the general public for laser weapons. And then he adds a line that Feedback has heard before only too often: 鈥淒on鈥檛 worry! We know what we are doing.鈥�
OVER the years readers have told us some nice stories about the mistakes made by Microsoft Word鈥檚 spellchecker. Now it seems even Microsoft鈥檚 own people have given up and turned it off.
A recent press release proudly announces 鈥渞esults of independent research鈥� which show Microsoft 鈥渃ontinuing to take charge of the business intelligence industry鈥� and being the leader in 鈥渙nline analytical processing鈥�.
What a pity the very first line of the emailed release gives the company鈥檚 name as 鈥淢icorsft鈥�.
READER Jim McGregor tell us of a curious entry a friend came across in the Library of Congress Cataloging Service Bulletin, number 97. Under the title 鈥淪ubject headings of current interest鈥� he found: 鈥淏uttocks exercises (May Subd Geog).鈥�
鈥淢ay Subd Geog鈥� means 鈥渕ay subdivide geographically鈥�. If any readers can offer an explanation of how this particular subject can be geographically subdivided, we would be interested to hear it.
HOW technophiles would miss the Innovations catalogue should anything untoward happen to it.
Where else, several readers have asked us, would you find 鈥渢he Ultimate Sailing Watch鈥�, boasting not only a wristwatch but also three sailing timers, a barometer, a thermometer and an alarm clock, all designed for the yachtsman. It even has an altimeter 鈥� presumably for noting how high the waves are as your ship bobs up and down.
MEANWHILE, Innovations also provides us with this week鈥檚 prize bit of pseudoscience nonsense. It is an ad for the CatanDog aluminium dog tag: 鈥淚f parasitic pests make your pet鈥檚 life a misery this innovative 鈥榗ontrol tag鈥� may be the chemical-free solution you鈥檝e been waiting for.
Designed to be worn on the collar, the aluminium tag is charged with escalating waves that create a protective field around the animal, helping to drive away fleas and ticks, and stop new ones hosting on it.鈥�
Escalating waves? What are they when they鈥檙e at home?
FINALLY, Bill Richmond was impressed by the can of Newport extra-purified butane lighter gas he bought. The maker, Keen of Newbury in Berkshire, states that it 鈥渇ills every refillable butane lighter in the world鈥�. Richmond observes that the problems of energy supply are clearly not as severe as suggested by many.
On 20 June the BBC website bore the headline 鈥淐all to ban rogue meat in chicken鈥�. Feedback heartily endorses this call. The application of free market principles to the criminal justice system has, it seems, gone a step too far.