Common Slashdot References

Journal Skater's Journal: Common Slashdot References 4

Journal by Skater on Thursday October 02, 2003 @08:19PM

Some common phrases you'll hear on /. and their sources:

"You insensitive clod": from an episode of the Simpsons, near the end. A pretty funny moment, too.

"I for one welcome our new alien overlords": Another Simpsons reference. Deep Space Homer.

"Cats and dogs living together": Okay, this one isn't that common, but I've heard it occasionally and just found the reference over the weekend. (This might not be the original source, but I think it is the reference.) Ghostbusters, said by Venkman while describing the destruction--and insanity--that will occur if the Ghostbusters aren't allowed to do their thing. (Click on "memorable quotes" to see the context for this one.)

"In Soviet Russia...": From the comedian Yakov Smirnoff, who had a repeating bit using this format. Here's a page talking about some examples: In Soviet Russia.

"All your base...": From a badly translated video game. Official video site. The flash videos are funny and pretty cool.

Feel free to post updates/corrections below!

Update 10/4/03:

"Imagine a Beowolf cluster of those!": Beowulf is a distribution of Linux that allows you to set up a computational cluster of computers. As cool as this sounds (and is), it's probably not worth setting up one in your home, because only certain classes of problems can be worked on a cluster of this type. (You probably can't have, say, Netscape run over the cluster to improve its speed.) Anyway, originally this comment was made seriously when a new, fast piece of hardware was introduced. However, it later became a joke to be used whenever ANY piece of hardware was introduced or resurrected, be it fast or slow. It's also used when the hardware being described in the article is in fact a cluster of some sort, so the joke is talking about a cluster of clustered systems.

"CowboyNeal" option in polls: My crack team of scientists have researched the polls to find the FIRST time CowboyNeal was used, and here it is! That poll was asking about "Favorite Muppet" and was intended to give the reader an "out" if they didn't like any of the Muppets listed. Previous polls picked on Rob Malda and other /. members, /. itself, or had "Huh?" as the "other" option if they had one at all. It soon became a regular option (I assume; I didn't check because the "crack scientist"--me--is tired of looking) and had the effect of splitting /. readers into three camps: those who loved the CowboyNeal option, those who hated the CowboyNeal option, and the rest of us that just don't care.

Natalie Portman's hot grits: A star of the Star Wars (Episode I, II, and III) movies. Geeks near her age lust after her (she's a little young for me, although she is pretty). I'm researching the "hot grits" part now.

GNU/Linux, GNU/RMS, etc: Richard M. Stallman, founder of the GNU Project, wants people to call our favorite operating system GNU/Linux instead of just Linux. His justification for this (and he has a good point) is that Linux is just a kernel and would be useless without the dozens of tools that prop it up to make it a true operating system. Unfortunately, he's known for being extreme, which makes anything he says suspect in many people's minds. Also, many people point out that other software (not GNU) is also integral to Linux: for example, they might say, "X Windows is integral to Linux on most desktop machines, so should we call it 'GNU/X/Linux'?" Some people like to throw the whole "GNU/" thing back at RMS, and so call him "GNU/RMS", probably not with the highest respect in mind. (PLEASE don't start this debate here. I'm just trying to give an unbiased overview of the issue!)

Ellen Feiss: She did one of the Apple "Switch" ads. Here's a link to the page on Apple.com for her. You used to be able to watch the videos there, but I didn't see them now (after only a quick look). She became an internet sensation, unlike most of the rest of the Switch people, because...well, because these things happen and no one can explain them.

Update 10/5/03:

"But, does it run Linux?": I haven't seen this one as much recently, but for a long time, any time some unusual, unique, or very powerful hardware was introduced, someone would ask if it runs Linux. This later turned into a joke. Also, you might see the joke turned around: if a piece of equipment is introduced that is intended to run Linux (for example, the Sharp Zaurus), someone might ask, "But, does it run Windows?"

Update 2/16/04:

It appears the phrase "you insensitive clod" appeared in a Calvin & Hobbes cartoon before the Simpsons used it. See this post for more info and a link to the strip.

--RJ

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