Slashdot Mirror


The Binary Code In Canada's Gov-Gen Coat of Arms

Lev13than writes "Dr. David Johnston, formerly the president of the University of Waterloo, was installed as Canada's new Governor-General on Friday. As de facto head of state and the Queen's representative in Canada he is required to design a personal coat of arms. One modern detail has attracted particular attention - a 33-digit palindromic binary stream at the base. Efforts to decode the meaning of the number using ASCII, Morse, grouping by 3/11 and other theories has so far come up empty (right now it's a toss up between random, the phone number 683-077-0643 and Morse code for 'send help - trapped in a coat of arms factory.') Is 110010111001001010100100111010011 the combination to his luggage, or just a random stream of digits?"

486 comments

  1. EH by JustOK · · Score: 4, Funny

    all it says is EH

    --
    rewriting history since 2109
    1. Re:EH by WrongSizeGlass · · Score: 4, Funny

      Has anyone considered that the guy is Canadian and maybe, just maybe, inserted an extra '0' in there while sounding it out?

    2. Re:EH by DFurno2003 · · Score: 4, Funny

      It says "Don't forget to drink your ovaltine, eh"

    3. Re:EH by Berserker · · Score: 2, Informative

      It's just a reflection of the first 16 digits around the 17th

    4. Re:EH by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 3, Funny

      They spelled me wrong. I'll have to get in contact with them and figure out who transcribed 0100010001010011 wrong.

    5. Re:EH by snowraver1 · · Score: 1

      Good Catch.

      --
      Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. This comment may not be copied in any way including, but not limited to caching.
    6. Re:EH by joeyblades · · Score: 1

      Hence the word "palindromic" surreptitiously placed in the OP... :-)

    7. Re:EH by JustOK · · Score: 1

      "Always Fresh"

      --
      rewriting history since 2109
    8. Re:EH by Bigjeff5 · · Score: 1

      Not really, since it's mentioned in the summary.

      --
      Security is mostly a superstition... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. - Helen Keller
    9. Re:EH by donscarletti · · Score: 1

      I used to bag out Tim Horten's as well, then I went there and had a meal with coffee and desert for $5 and it wasn't half bad either. I spent two weeks in Canada and must have put on like 3kg between the Tim Horten's donuts, Alberta AAA steaks every day and the side order of poutine, that country is insane.

      --
      When Argumentum ad Hominem falls short, try Argumentum ad Matrem
    10. Re:EH by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's really funny.

    11. Re:EH by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You mean an A

    12. Re:EH by Sovetskysoyuz · · Score: 1

      That's what you get for mixing the least healthy parts of Ontario, Alberta, and Quebec cuisine at the same time.

    13. Re:EH by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It actually may say E'. If you take the first 16 digits and convert from binary to text, you get &#203 and &#8217 [semicolons taken out]
      If you count the middle digit of 1 as a spacer, you can simply mirror the next 16 digits as an inward facing E'.
      It may actually be a goatse reference as well, as the E's could represent hands with the commas representing a prestretched sphincter.

    14. Re:EH by jackbird · · Score: 1

      Nah, that's more a problem with hexadecimal.

  2. 0010110100100 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Let me be the first to say: 0010101101000100.

    1. Re:0010110100100 by Z00L00K · · Score: 1

      I'll go for 10010 (as some of the readers here may recognize is a song by Adolphson & Falk)

      --
      If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
    2. Re:0010110100100 by oh2 · · Score: 1

      Yup, I know that one alright :) "Blinkar Blå" is even better though.

      --

      Now the world has gone to bed, Darkness won't engulf my head, I can see by infra-red, How I hate the night.

  3. Yeah... by Trracer · · Score: 1

    "trapped in a coat of arms factory" is probably aboot right.

    --
    English is not my first language, so cut me some slack -: Om du kan lasa det har sa kan du Svenska :-
    1. Re:Yeah... by Z00L00K · · Score: 1

      And you have booted yourself out to the left! :)

      --
      If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
  4. I still can't believe by Dr.+Hellno · · Score: 4, Insightful

    that we let Governor General William Shatner slip through our fingers

    1. Re:I still can't believe by Z00L00K · · Score: 1

      We are caught in a time warp! - Warp 9 mr Sulu!

      --
      If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
    2. Re:I still can't believe by j00r0m4nc3r · · Score: 2, Funny

      I think he's gunning for Admiral

    3. Re:I still can't believe by rickhend · · Score: 2, Interesting

      That we still have a Governor General at all, and that we pledge allegiance to a foreign head of state.

      --
      Rick Hendershot http://www.rickhendershot.com
    4. Re:I still can't believe by The+Yuckinator · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I'm sure that you're kidding, but you do know that Shatner didn't ever have a snowball's chance of even getting on the short list, let alone a serious consideration for the job, right?

      Nerd Cred + International Respectability as a sovereign nation don't necessarily go hand in hand.

    5. Re:I still can't believe by John+Hasler · · Score: 1

      > ...we pledge allegiance to a foreign head of state.

      She's your Queen. She just happens to also be queen of a number of other nations.

      --
      Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
    6. Re:I still can't believe by alexo · · Score: 2, Informative

      that we pledge allegiance to a foreign head of state.

      We don't.
      It's just that our head of state also happens to be the head of several other states and prefers (or is it obligated?) to spend most of her time in one of them.

    7. Re:I still can't believe by Yvan256 · · Score: 1

      I still can't believe is not butter.

    8. Re:I still can't believe by MightyMartian · · Score: 1

      Too true. Much better to be a two-bit CBC journalist like the last two...

      I have my doubts Shatner would have accepted it. He's been on a roll since the Denny Crane character was invented, and spending four years in Rideau Hall greeting ambassadors and nodding at legislation in need of Assent probably wouldn't help that along. He's an old man now whose career has somehow survived James T. Kirk (look at the wasteland the careers of his fellow cast members have been).

      But who knows, maybe Captain of the USS Canada mighta been cool.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    9. Re:I still can't believe by Punto · · Score: 1

      International Respectability as a sovereign nation

      isn't the guy's job to represent the queen of england in canada? what's sovereign about that?

      --

      --
      Stay tuned for some shock and awe coming right up after this messages!

    10. Re:I still can't believe by Moridin42 · · Score: 2, Informative

      No.. the guy's job is to represent the Queen of Canada.

      There are just 15 other nations of which she is also Queen. Each of which nations has control over its territory without interference from the others, despite sharing a monarch. Thats whats sovereign about it.

      --
      I don't expect morality, equality, consistency, or justice from the law. I expect only legality.
    11. Re:I still can't believe by Gilmoure · · Score: 1

      So the Queen's actually like an empress?

      Cool!

      --
      I drank what? -- Socrates
    12. Re:I still can't believe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nerd Cred + International Respectability as a sovereign nation don't necessarily go hand in hand.

      You mean outside of the USA, of course.

    13. Re:I still can't believe by agbinfo · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Did you forget that Michaelle Jean was the previous governor general? I don't think that the bar is that high.

    14. Re:I still can't believe by Guspaz · · Score: 1

      She's the Queen of Canada, not the Queen of England in Canada.

      She is independently the Queen of the individual nations; the Queen of England and the Queen of Canada are two different people who happen to inhabit the same body.

    15. Re:I still can't believe by artson · · Score: 2, Informative

      "But who knows, maybe Captain of the USS Canada mighta been cool.

      HMCS Canada maybe.

      --
      In times of trouble, the smell of frying onions usually gives confidence and comfort.
    16. Re:I still can't believe by DinDaddy · · Score: 1

      So she knows Janice Lester?

    17. Re:I still can't believe by Gilmoure · · Score: 2, Insightful

      That's a lot of thrones to sit on and scepters to hold. Wish I knew how to sculpt. Would do a statue of the Queen, with lots of arms like a Hindu god, each holding a scepter or globe of a country she reigns over.

      --
      I drank what? -- Socrates
    18. Re:I still can't believe by SEE · · Score: 2, Informative

      In twelve countries, sure, the title is "Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of [Specific Place] and of Her other Realms and Territories . . ."

      In the UK, she's the slightly different "Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and of Her other Realms and Territories, Queen . . ."

      However, in Canada her title is "Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, Canada and Her other Realms and Territories Queen . . ."

      So, even Canadian law gives her billing as Queen of the UK first, with higher priority than her role as Queen of Canada. (Grenada does the same, but it puts the "Queen" between God and Of.)

    19. Re:I still can't believe by dadragon · · Score: 1

      I hate to be pedantic, but there hasn't been a "Queen of England" in over 300 years. She is Queen of The United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc.

      I think I'm going to have to start calling her Queen of Scots, just to see peoples' reactions :)

      --
      God save our Queen, and Heaven bless The Maple Leaf Forever!
    20. Re:I still can't believe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But the Queen isn't Canadian, so from a Canadian POV she is foreign, so they have a foreign head of state.

    21. Re:I still can't believe by alexo · · Score: 1

      But the Queen isn't Canadian

      Of course she is.

    22. Re:I still can't believe by jbr439 · · Score: 1

      I don't believe the Queen is a Canadian citizen. If so, by definition that makes her a foreign head of state, no?

  5. Random? by Sockatume · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I think it's safe to assume that it's an aesthetically pleasing bit of random binary to symbolically carry the message that he's in with technology, in much the same way one might tattoo some bitching runes onto one's arm to convey how one is incredibly down with the druids.

    --
    No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
    1. Re:Random? by Grant_Watson · · Score: 4, Informative

      The blazon (the heraldic technical description) of the arms is what officially defines them, and it doesn't include the particular sequence of digits; it just says "in base a bar wavy Sable inscribed with zeros and ones Or."

      So even if it means something, that particular sequence is just the artist's interpretation; somebody else who redrew the arms would be entitled to change it. Most likely, it's just what the artist liked visually.

    2. Re:Random? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That link goes to goatse. DO NOT CLICK!

    3. Re:Random? by wireloose · · Score: 3, Informative

      Especially believable since it's a mirror image. The center is a 1, and each digit away is mirrored on the opposite side. Perhaps it's easier to see if you add some white space:

      1100 101 110 010 010 1 010 010 011 101 0011

    4. Re:Random? by symbolset · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I put the answer already in the first sumbission. I don't know why the second sumbmission was picked.

      It's a black and white binary image, three rasters of 11 pixels. Combined it makes a scrollwork that can tile horizontally. It's ornamental. It's an italic mirrored N and a /.

      --
      Help stamp out iliturcy.
    5. Re:Random? by Xest · · Score: 1

      I hope that's not intended to humour the druids, they're a bonafide religion now don't you know:

      http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11457795

      Making fun of them could now officially be classed as hate speech!

      Equal rights for bearded stone henge botherers!

    6. Re:Random? by TheCycoONE · · Score: 4, Funny

      So you analyzed the code, now you may look up "palindrome"

    7. Re:Random? by gambit3 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Because this is Slashdot. Your mistake is assuming that GOOD submissions get posted.

    8. Re:Random? by EdgeCreeper · · Score: 1

      Yes I may.

    9. Re:Random? by delinear · · Score: 4, Funny

      Maybe I'm just cynical, but I assumed all links here since about 2001 went to goatse. On a side note, it's also why I never RTFA...

    10. Re:Random? by Lev13than · · Score: 1

      Yeah - that was my bad. Every time I clicked submit it kicked back with "save failed", but it turns out that more than one went through. Did flag the newer ones as dupes.

      That aside, your solution is the most interesting one I've seen to date.

      --
      When you have nothing left to burn you must set yourself on fire
    11. Re:Random? by mallydobb · · Score: 1

      i agree, it seems that if you look at the beginning and end of the string the numbers are mirrored. could be something fun, could be something meaningful, or could just be that way 'cos he likes it that way.

      --
      --- b2b.mallaidh.org | www.mallaidh.org | www.kidsalive.org/article/kahlil-pfaff/
    12. Re:Random? by The+Ribena+Kid · · Score: 1

      Actually, I read it as an italicised '101' made from the 0's

    13. Re:Random? by interval1066 · · Score: 1

      "I think it's safe to assume that it's an aesthetically pleasing bit of random binary to symbolically carry the message that he's in with technology..."

      Then why make it palindromic?

      --
      Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
    14. Re:Random? by pavon · · Score: 1

      That is an interesting idea, but it's worth pointing out that any 33bit palindrome will have that property due to symmetry. So, it's still entirely possible that an artist just picked any random binary string that was the length of the scroll, and was mirrored to look good. Here are some random examples:

            1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0
            0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
            0 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1

      and another :
            1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
            0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
            0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1

      a third:
            0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0
            0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0
            0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0

      a fourth:
            0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 1
            1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
            1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0

      more text to avoid lameness filter:
            0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
            0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
            1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0

      Produced with the octave(matlab) one-liner:
      s = (rand (17,1) > 0.5)'; reshape ([s s(end-1:-1:1)], 3, 11)

    15. Re:Random? by Defenestrar · · Score: 1

      So the whole wicker basket thing is back in style as religious expression?

      That is of course why the Romans took offense to the religion and subsequently wiped it out. Something about not liking the way the Gaul's religious self expression involved unwilling Roman participants.

    16. Re:Random? by elrous0 · · Score: 1

      I hear Mike Tyson is totally down with the Maori, and thinks they're from Australia or something.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    17. Re:Random? by canajin56 · · Score: 1

      Or, it's italic "AV" tiled, or it's italic "SOS" tiled. Or, it's "staircase circle staircase" tiled ;)

      --
      ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI
    18. Re:Random? by symbolset · · Score: 1

      If you want more meaning than this I think you're going to have to go to the next level and ask "Why a wavy line encoded in binary?". To me it could mean navy signal corps, signals intelligence, or some sort of research doing digital analysis of analog trends. What's the guy's background? This is heraldry, so it's supposed to be significant to him or his family history.

      --
      Help stamp out iliturcy.
    19. Re:Random? by Dishevel · · Score: 1

      What idiot modded this Informative?

      --
      Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?
    20. Re:Random? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, it's vertically symmetric. It probably just looked better that way. It's also a palindrome if you think about it that way.

    21. Re:Random? by Bigjeff5 · · Score: 1

      Which is probably why they are saying it means nothing, for the blazon simply says "zeros and ones", allowing any configuration of zeros and ones to be the correct depiction of the coat of arms.

      --
      Security is mostly a superstition... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. - Helen Keller
    22. Re:Random? by Bigjeff5 · · Score: 1

      Someone who doesn't know what a palindrome is?

      --
      Security is mostly a superstition... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. - Helen Keller
    23. Re:Random? by Pedant · · Score: 1

      I have a better guess... The slash is actually a key to indicate that the image is sheared. If you unshear it, you get the letter S: his wife's initial.

    24. Re:Random? by mraiser · · Score: 1

      If you replace the ones with a dot using a monospace font it looks kind of like a double helix..

      ..00.0...00
      .00.0.0.00.
      00...0.00..

    25. Re:Random? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You insensitive clod.... don't you recognize suMBission when you see it?

      see: jici

      http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=sumbission

    26. Re:Random? by symbolset · · Score: 1

      Actually, it's a binary image of a wavy line, 11 pixels wide and three high... And yet you're right - I've seen the same tattoo on many people as a circle around the arm, wrist or ankle.

      But random? No, it's not random.

      --
      Help stamp out iliturcy.
    27. Re:Random? by Xest · · Score: 1

      That would get my vote, providing we can start with the pope.

    28. Re:Random? by halber_mensch · · Score: 1

      Maybe instead it's 11 3 bit rasters with 0,0 at the bottom left corner:

      _ Z Z
      _ Z _
      Z Z Z
      Z _ _
      _ Z _
      _ _ Z
      Z Z Z
      _ Z _
      Z Z _

      sort of looks like a dollar to me. meh.

      --
      perl -e "eval pack(q{H*},join q{},qw{70 72696e74207061636b28717b482a7d2c717b343 637323635363534323533343430617d293b})"
  6. Can't we just ask? by kikito · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I mean, the guy that designed this is still alive, isn't he?

    1. Re:Can't we just ask? by mayberry42 · · Score: 5, Funny

      yeah, but where's the fun in that? :)

    2. Re:Can't we just ask? by MichaelSmith · · Score: 4, Insightful

      That would spoil the fun.

    3. Re:Can't we just ask? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      He already told us the answer:

      The wavy band inscribed with zeros and ones represents a flow of information, digital communication and modern media.

    4. Re:Can't we just ask? by srussia · · Score: 1

      He already told us the answer:

      The wavy band inscribed with zeros and ones represents a flow of information, digital communication and modern media.

      ...signifying nothing.

      --
      Set your phasers on "funky"!
    5. Re:Can't we just ask? by MickyTheIdiot · · Score: 1

      That's must be French for "it just looks cool, dude."

    6. Re:Can't we just ask? by The_mad_linguist · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yes, but it's traditional to offer him a barometer.

    7. Re:Can't we just ask? by SpaghettiPattern · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I mean, the guy that designed this is still alive, isn't he?

      What? And spoil an available conspiracy theory? You must be new here!?

      (Drum roll, awaiting "New Here's" joke.)

      --

      I hadn't the slightest objection to his spending his time planning massacres for the bourgeoisie... (P.G. Wodehouse)
    8. Re:Can't we just ask? by geminidomino · · Score: 3, Funny

      ...signifying nothing.

      A coat-of-arms inscribed by an idiot?

    9. Re:Can't we just ask? by silanea · · Score: 3, Informative

      [...] zeros and ones represents a flow of information, digital communication and modern media [...] ...signifying nothing.

      Hey, it's Fox News!

      --
      Rudolf Hess edited Mein Kampf. He was the very first grammar nazi.
    10. Re:Can't we just ask? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He already told us the answer:

      The wavy band inscribed with zeros and ones represents a flow of information, digital communication and modern media. ...signifying nothing.

      Wow, then it's accurate.

    11. Re:Can't we just ask? by scourfish · · Score: 2, Funny

      Not for long. The shadow government/freemasons must silence him before he reveals the hidden message. Check out www.911vaccinemoonlandingtruth.org for more info. Fight the power.

    12. Re:Can't we just ask? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      New Here's perl scraper has just sent an email and it will appear on his phone momentarily.

    13. Re:Can't we just ask? by omnichad · · Score: 1

      Well done. I was actually quite surprised to find out that this particular domain permutation wasn't already registered. Maybe I should buy it.

    14. Re:Can't we just ask? by atrocious+cowpat · · Score: 2, Funny

      ...signifying nothing.

      A coat-of-arms inscribed by an idiot?

      And a /. discussion full of sound and fury.

      --
      sig? Oh, that sig...
    15. Re:Can't we just ask? by agbinfo · · Score: 1

      When did Fox start using 1's ?

    16. Re:Can't we just ask? by creat3d · · Score: 1

      Since when do government officials tell us all there is to know?

      --
      Grammar nazis are to this community what excrements are to gold.
    17. Re:Can't we just ask? by creat3d · · Score: 1

      You forgot to mention tin-foil hats... because anything remotely related to people in power conspiring together MUST be ridiculous!

      --
      Grammar nazis are to this community what excrements are to gold.
  7. Has anybody asked him? by Stween · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The story doesn't make it clear.

  8. Seeing patterns in the random by cjfs · · Score: 3, Informative

    "Hey we need something to make the coat of arms look more modern" "How about that code in the matrix?" "Just put a bunch of 1s and 0s along the bottom"

    And then an intern typed enough 1s and 0s to fill up the available space, trying to make it look random.

    1. Re:Seeing patterns in the random by maxwell+demon · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The probability to get a palindrome this way is rather low (1/65536 for a string of 33 binary digits, to be exact).

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
    2. Re:Seeing patterns in the random by Vectormatic · · Score: 1

      And then an intern typed enough 1s and 0s to fill up the available space, trying to make it look random.

      Sucky intern if you ask me, if i got that job i most definitely WOULD encode some secret message.

      Hell, i tipped a college roommate on how to leave his last name in a city planning design, how awesome is it to, in thirty/foutry years time point that one out to the grand-kids!

      --
      People, what a bunch of bastards
    3. Re:Seeing patterns in the random by perlchild · · Score: 1

      If a random string of bits spells out "trapped in a coat of arms factory" you got a really tasty stream of random bits.

    4. Re:Seeing patterns in the random by IICV · · Score: 4, Funny

      Then an intern mashed out half of it. Geez, do I have to do all the work around here?

    5. Re:Seeing patterns in the random by e70838 · · Score: 1

      The probability to encounter something unprobable is not very low because so many unprobable things may happen.

    6. Re:Seeing patterns in the random by A+nonymous+Coward · · Score: 1

      I hope not, if that's the best you can do. There's *33* digits to cut in half.

      Well, maybe it's floating point.

    7. Re:Seeing patterns in the random by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Until recently David Johnston was the president of the University of Waterloo, the Canadian "MIT" if you will, and host to one of the best CompSci programs in the country. So, the presence of the binary reflects that portion of his life. If there's additional meaning, so be it ... but it's not there just to "look more modern".

    8. Re:Seeing patterns in the random by Yvan256 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yes you do.

      Here, type my reply for me on the lines below:
                  ________________________________________________________________
              ________________________________________________________________
          ________________________________________________________________
        ________________________________________________________________

    9. Re:Seeing patterns in the random by DerekLyons · · Score: 1

      So? That means it's improbable, not impossible.

    10. Re:Seeing patterns in the random by Bigjeff5 · · Score: 1

      The matrix was written in Japanese, the only ones or zeros in that movie were phone numbers.

      --
      Security is mostly a superstition... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. - Helen Keller
    11. Re:Seeing patterns in the random by maxwell+demon · · Score: 1

      So? That means it's improbable, not impossible.

      Then I claim that you didn't post that, but your cat went over your keyboard, and by coincidence typed that specific sequence of letters. It's only improbable, not impossible. Also note that you denying it will not proof anything.

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
    12. Re:Seeing patterns in the random by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      most likely the intern would cut and paste after typing the random sequence to make it larger. The likely hood of a palindrome increases exponentially this way. (especially if you cut off the ends to make it look balanced afterwards.)

    13. Re:Seeing patterns in the random by maxwell+demon · · Score: 1

      I don't know an implementation of cut&paste which reverses either on cut or on paste. Without that, the probability of a palindrome decreases.

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
  9. Palindrome by dissy · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The first thing I notice is the binary string is a palindrome, the same forwards or backwards.

    Being 33 digits, that is just strange. Dropping the first 1 to make 32 would be more fitting, but the first digit is still a 1, so unless he is into ANSI art, I doubt this is ascii encoding.

    Just the fact it is the same both ways leads me to think an artist designed it, a lot more so than it converts to anything meaningful.

    Which is a shame really, but not unexpected.

    1. Re:Palindrome by dissy · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      And after reading the article, it seems they noticed the same thing!

      Wonder why that option was left out of the summary, as it seems the most likely. Silly editors

    2. Re:Palindrome by binkzz · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The first thing I notice is the binary string is a palindrome, the same forwards or backwards.

      From the summary:

      "One modern detail has attracted particular attention: a 33-digit palindromic binary stream at the base."

      --
      'For we walk by faith, not by sight.' II Corinthians 5:7
    3. Re:Palindrome by dissy · · Score: 0, Redundant

      Wow it must be late. My eyes totally skipped that word.
      Well don't I feel silly.

      Even more reason to believe it is totally artistic and not a meaningful translation of anything though, as coat of arms and crests tend to do that sort of thing over the entire imagery, typically only exception for items added in later, which doesn't seem to be the case here.

      Still, it's amusing to think how many people will spend their Monday trying to decode this heh

    4. Re:palindrome by martas · · Score: 1

      makes a sad statement about preferring form over function

      i think you've got that backwards - the function here is to be aesthetically pleasing. putting any special meaning in it would just be for the sake of, well, fun.

    5. Re:Palindrome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      And after reading the article, it seems they noticed the same thing!

      Wonder why that option was left out of the summary, as it seems the most likely. Silly editors

      You mean the link you clicked on to read the article that has the text "33-digit palindromic binary stream"? That link?

    6. Re:Palindrome by srussia · · Score: 4, Funny

      The first thing I notice is the binary string is a palindrome, the same forwards or backwards.

      This is to prevent Soviet Russia jokes from working in Soviet Canada.

      --
      Set your phasers on "funky"!
    7. Re:Palindrome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      The first thing I notice is the binary string is a palindrome, the same forwards or backwards.

      This is to prevent Soviet Russia jokes from working in Soviet Canada.

      He's the Governor General. It reads: "In Soviet Canada, the taxes pay YOU"

    8. Re:Palindrome by binkzz · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Even more reason to believe it is totally artistic and not a meaningful translation of anything though, as coat of arms and crests tend to do that sort of thing over the entire imagery, typically only exception for items added in later, which doesn't seem to be the case here.

      Still, it's amusing to think how many people will spend their Monday trying to decode this heh

      Yea, and while I agree with you that it's most likely a random number, I can't help but keep wondering. That it's a prime number doesn't help much either.

      If you were the designer, what would you encode? It's hardly big enough to fit a four letter word in. I think I would probably go with the boring ol' date of birth.

      --
      'For we walk by faith, not by sight.' II Corinthians 5:7
    9. Re:Palindrome by DrSkwid · · Score: 3, Informative

      Not all binary codes are powers of two.

      For instance using 5311 instead of 8421

      5311
      0000 0
      0001 1
      0011 2
      0100 3
      0101 4
      1000 5
      1001 6
      1011 7
      1100 8
      1101 9
      1111 10

      There are also grey codes from the days of rotaty dialling

      --
      There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
    10. Re:Palindrome by ThePromenader · · Score: 1

      The binary is certainly just visual - it's the same both ways (a 16-digit sequence mirrored away (or towards) the '1' in the middle), and a 33-digit binary sequence doesn't mean anything at all, and neither does the 16 digit sequence... the best I could find was, leading towards the centre (with or) without the trailing '1': " Ë’ ". So it's just 'style', eh.

      How tragically, almost-imaginatively, Canadian - and I'm speaking as a Canadian. And a Canadian graphic artist to boot!

      --

      No, no sig. Really.

      ThePromenader
    11. Re:Palindrome by maxwell+demon · · Score: 1

      Another thing I noticee: If you omit the middle bit, you get the same number of 0s and 1s. With the middle bit (which is 1, BTW) you of course can't get that, but it's as close to being balanced as possible.

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
    12. Re:Palindrome by WrongSizeGlass · · Score: 1

      Being 33 digits, that is just strange. Dropping the first 1 to make 32 would be more fitting, but the first digit is still a 1, so unless he is into ANSI art, I doubt this is ascii encoding.

      He could be using one of those new fangled 33-bit processors from a startup company. You know, "Now with more digit power than your 32-bit processors ever dreamed of! Never lose the leading digit to that pesky sign bit again!"

    13. Re:Palindrome by ThePromenader · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Wait a sec - if the artist had used '01100101 01101000' (reading away from a middle '0', ), the binary would have translated into 'eh'. Now ~that~ would mean something Canadian!

      --

      No, no sig. Really.

      ThePromenader
    14. Re:Palindrome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, the real reason is so that we are having this sort of inane conversation rather than pointing, laughing, and saying "look at the unicorns!"

    15. Re:Palindrome by Legion303 · · Score: 4, Funny

      "The first thing I notice is the binary string is a palindrome"

      I noticed that too, from reading the summary.

    16. Re:Palindrome by Lumpy · · Score: 1

      Only if you did not encode it.

      01=A
      10=B
      11=C .....

      That kind of encoding delivers 16 characters in that space.. add some encryption and most armchairs will declare it has nothing in there.

      Honestly, if I had only 33 bits to encode something I'd use a compact encoding to fit the most meaning in it. It seems not many cytologists, even hobbyists have taken a crack at it.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    17. Re:Palindrome by maxwell+demon · · Score: 1

      Next thing I've found:
      The first 16 bits form a valid 2-byte UTF8 encoding.
      The corresponding character is:
      U+02D2 MODIFIER LETTER CENTRED RIGHT HALF RING

      Now it's clear why he added the mirror image: He needed to add the left half ring to get a complete ring!
      One ring to rule them all and in the darkness bind them, right? :-)

      OK, so we now only have to find out what the 1 in the middle means ;-)

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
    18. Re:Palindrome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's a parity bit. Specifically an odd parity bit.

    19. Re:Palindrome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Could be a parity bit.

    20. Re:Palindrome by John+Hasler · · Score: 1

      Honestly, if I had only 33 bits to encode something I'd use a compact encoding to fit the most meaning in it.

      Which would consist of writing "This number stands for the entire Library of Congress" on the corner of your blotter.

      --
      Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
    21. Re:Palindrome by John+Hasler · · Score: 1

      > I noticed that too, from reading the summary.

      Yes, but it's a Slashdot summary so there is no reason to believe it is true without verifying it.

      --
      Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
    22. Re:Palindrome by anyGould · · Score: 1

      Just the fact it is the same both ways leads me to think an artist designed it, a lot more so than it converts to anything meaningful.

      Which is a shame really, but not unexpected.

      Especially when you consider that anything short enough to fit in 33 bits is short enough to be reinterpreted into something embarrassing.

      Besides, he's the new GG - he doesn't really have a need to hide secret messages; he can call press conferences whenever he wants!

    23. Re:Palindrome by randizzle3000 · · Score: 1

      One ring to rule them all ...

      Ok, so we now only have to find out what the 1 in the middle means

      But you answered it! It's how many rings!

    24. Re:Palindrome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I see you know nothing about cryptology.

      Lumpy is right, and many many crypto systems use custom encoding like he mentioned.

    25. Re:Palindrome by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      Just the fact it is the same both ways leads me to think an artist designed it, a lot more so than it converts to anything meaningful.

      49 20 77 61 53 20 61 6E 20 61 72 74 20 6D 61 6A 6F 72 20 79 6F 75 20 69 6E 73 65 69 6E 73 74 69 76 63 20 63 6C 6F 64 21

    26. Re:Palindrome by RealGrouchy · · Score: 1

      This is to prevent Soviet Russia jokes from working in Soviet Canada.

      Considering how many people here on /. are on their heads about this, it's obvious that in Soviet Canada, the palindrome flips YOU.

      - RG>

      --
      Hey pal, this isn't a pleasantforest, so don't waste my time with pleasantries!
    27. Re:Palindrome by ElderKorean · · Score: 1

      The first thing I notice is the binary string is a palindrome, the same forwards or backwards...

      Not trolling, but does it have to be binary?

      I see that the string only contains 0 and 1's - this itself does not imply that it is binary.

      It could be base 3 and just contain no 2's.

    28. Re:Palindrome by Legion303 · · Score: 1

      +5, Insightful.

      "Slow Down Cowboy!
      Slashdot requires you to wait longer between hitting 'reply' and submitting a comment."

      Sorry, Slashcode, I type much faster than 15 characters in 20 seconds, so here's a bunch of meaningless shit to take up more screen space until the time limit is used up. Doot doot de doo.

    29. Re:Palindrome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Still, it's amusing to think how many people will spend their Monday trying to decode this heh

      That reminds me, there's an xkcd for that.

  10. Possibly you're right by twisteddk · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    The downside is that what's gibberish to you and me, may be legible to someone else, and what's worse is it may convey a terrible message.

    While I've only HEARD of people who's had "chop suey £3.99" tatooed in chinesse, I've actually seen phtotos of a guy who thought he had some bitching Viking runes tatooed, and they were horribly mispelled (I will not divulge the nature of the error, but suffice to say, he's not likely to hook up with any women who can read any scandinavian language)

    So I only hope it's not random, but rather something we have not decifered yet.

    --
    --- To err is human... Am I more human than most ?
    1. Re:Possibly you're right by erroneus · · Score: 1

      Reminds me of this guy at the airport one day -- three Japanese characters on his neck. They were in katakana. They meant nothing. Nothing at all! And they were on his neck! What a place to put a mistake of a tattoo?!

    2. Re:Possibly you're right by cp.tar · · Score: 2, Funny

      Nothing at all? In katakana?
      Maybe it was his name.

      --
      Ignore this signature. By order.
    3. Re:Possibly you're right by oji-sama · · Score: 1

      I can sort of appreciate writing your name in Katakana if you know what's wrong with it ^.^

      --
      It is what it is.
    4. Re:Possibly you're right by Circlotron · · Score: 1

      Back in 1984 I worked with this Asian girl that one day came to work wearing a jumper/pullover/sweater with the words "COLLECTION VEHOOME" emblazoned on it. So dumb it was that I still haven't forgotten after all this time.

    5. Re:Possibly you're right by vslashg · · Score: 5, Funny

      I've actually seen phtotos of a guy who thought he had some bitching Viking runes tatooed, and they were horribly mispelled (I will not divulge the nature of the error...

      That's okay, the mere fact that you have an interesting anecdote adds volumes to this conversation. No need to share it, that would just be overkill.

    6. Re:Possibly you're right by Nefarious+Wheel · · Score: 4, Funny

      I shop often in an Asian part of town. Bought my daughter a lovely pink kitten-infested shoulder bag with "Sing Sing Death House" neatly embroidered on it. With little fluffy sheep dancing about.

      --
      Do not mock my vision of impractical footwear
    7. Re:Possibly you're right by rjstanford · · Score: 5, Funny

      Then you get the generation gap. I remember walking through Dresden a few years ago when I saw a young girl (14 or so) wearing a cute shirt, also with a rabbit on it, with "Squirmy Fuck Bunny" in poofy letters. I'm pretty sure that she knew what it meant but that her older, conservative looking mom had no idea.

      --
      You're special forces then? That's great! I just love your olympics!
    8. Re:Possibly you're right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      I'm pretty sure that she knew what it meant

      I don't even even want to know how you arrived at that conclusion.

    9. Re:Possibly you're right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      but that her older, conservative looking mom had no idea.

      Wow, her mom was older than her? You have a point there, that's really being conservative and traditional.

    10. Re:Possibly you're right by grub · · Score: 1


      They have the Bodies show in my city right now.
      We want to go to see the folks who made our iPad.

      --
      Trolling is a art,
    11. Re:Possibly you're right by masmullin · · Score: 1

      Traitor! We are at war with Eastasia! We've always been at war with Eastasia!

    12. Re:Possibly you're right by dgatwood · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Yeah. In this day and age, what with time travel and all, heck, she might even be her own mother, and that might be her grandmother.

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

    13. Re:Possibly you're right by cp.tar · · Score: 1

      I can sort of appreciate writing your name in Katakana if you know what's wrong with it ^.^

      Well, I’ve never studied Japanese, but from what little I know, katakana is used, among other things, for foreign words. Then again, I seem to recall it used to be a women’s script... if that is so, and knowing that it is not uncommon for the Japanese to address openly gay men as -chan, that would have to be the most subtle declaration of homosexuality I’ve heard of.

      Am I close?

      --
      Ignore this signature. By order.
    14. Re:Possibly you're right by mattack2 · · Score: 1

      While I've only HEARD of people who's had "chop suey £3.99" tatooed in chinesse

      (tatooed? Chinesse?)

      Haven't you heard about the "Chi-tonw" mini-fad? http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=3024314

    15. Re:Possibly you're right by Guspaz · · Score: 1

      You're right that it's commonly used to write foreign words phonetically (or as close as they can get), but you're wrong about the rest of it.

    16. Re:Possibly you're right by Guspaz · · Score: 3, Funny

      We have always been allied with Eurasia.

    17. Re:Possibly you're right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Where can I get this sing sing death house bag.
      This is the ultimate hipster accessory, I am sure of it.

    18. Re:Possibly you're right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I will not divulge the nature of the error, but suffice to say, he's not likely to hook up with any women who can read any scandinavian language

      What a terrible fate: never to hook up with any of the countless women who can read scandinavian languages written in an arcane alphabet that was obsolete centuries ago. He's really restricted his available range of the bell curve there.

    19. Re:Possibly you're right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't even even want to know how you arrived at that conclusion.

      Oh look, another idiot who thinks that 14 year olds don't know what "fuck" means (for real).

      Hell, the average age it which people have sex in Germany is 16 years. Since it's average, there are quite a few who go for it earlier - meaning that there's a good chance that a 14 year old is not even a virgin.

    20. Re:Possibly you're right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      hanzismatter.com

    21. Re:Possibly you're right by sjames · · Score: 1

      If she's goth, that might be an excellent present!

    22. Re:Possibly you're right by angus77 · · Score: 1

      I think he's referring to "erroneous" being rendered in katakana. "Ero" is short for "erotic" in Japanese, and generally means "perverted".

    23. Re:Possibly you're right by cp.tar · · Score: 1

      I think he's referring to "erroneous" being rendered in katakana. "Ero" is short for "erotic" in Japanese, and generally means "perverted".

      Well, in that case I was tolerably close. :D

      --
      Ignore this signature. By order.
    24. Re:Possibly you're right by evel+aka+matt · · Score: 1

      ZING

  11. palindrome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    It's symmetrical, so probably just random code for aesthetics.

    Although I hope I'm wrong -- it'd be cool if it contains meaning as well. And just running random number for the effect of code is a disheartening waste of opportunity, and makes a sad statement about preferring form over function.

  12. 110010111001001010100100111010011? by Pharmboy · · Score: 2, Funny

    I think that translates into: CNUS, Canada's Not the United States.

    --
    Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
    1. Re:110010111001001010100100111010011? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      And here I thought it stood for "Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen"

    2. Re:110010111001001010100100111010011? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think that translates into: CNUS, Canada's Not the United States.

      True nerd would have used: CNUS = CNUS's Not the United States.

  13. The numbers are wrong by WarJolt · · Score: 1

    It equals to 0x1972549D3. The article is wrong.

    1. Re:The numbers are wrong by MichaelSmith · · Score: 1

      0x1954729D3

      Hmmm. Doesn't work as Baudot.

    2. Re:The numbers are wrong by DrSkwid · · Score: 2, Informative

      You and the article are assuming powers of two, that is not the only binary encoding.

      this is one other example, from Bell Labs - the inventors of the modern world.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_code

      --
      There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
    3. Re:The numbers are wrong by zippthorne · · Score: 1

      It's a palindrome, so it's a fair bet that if there is any meaning, it's in the first 16 digits.

      --
      Can you be Even More Awesome?!
    4. Re:The numbers are wrong by Lumpy · · Score: 1

      You assume a lot.

      I have seen guys screw with simple encoding or encryption to create an effect like that before to throw people off.

      If you take a message cut it in half, encode the first half with the last half and the last half with the first half you create something that looks wierd to most people and causes them to think it's garbage...

      It's not for sending secret info, its more for making a puzzle for someone to discover..

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    5. Re:The numbers are wrong by mr_mischief · · Score: 1

      It could just as easily be the last, with the first 16 being the mirrored portion.

    6. Re:The numbers are wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you sure? Because I thought, it being Canada and all, that it was 0xDEADBEEF, eh?

  14. Not necessarily binary by AliasMarlowe · · Score: 5, Funny

    110010111001001010100100111010011 is 33 successive digits of pi (in decimal/binary/ternary/etc.). Cunningly, he did not choose the first 33 digits, of course.

    --
    Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
    1. Re:Not necessarily binary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Neither the 33 last. I can tell because I just checked it.

      Posted as AC for obvious reasons.

    2. Re:Not necessarily binary by philgp · · Score: 3, Funny

      It's the part just after the encoded 2D bitmap of a circle.

    3. Re:Not necessarily binary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Sorry, you're all missing the obvious: It's not binary. Just because there are no digits other than 0 and 1 doesn't mean it's base 2.

    4. Re:Not necessarily binary by jimwelch · · Score: 2, Funny

      How much the stock market lost, worldwide in the last 2 years?

      --
      Never trust a man wearing a coat and tie!
    5. Re:Not necessarily binary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is that actual pi or christian fundmentalist pi?

    6. Re:Not necessarily binary by maxwell+demon · · Score: 1

      Whoever moderated the parent offtopic obviously didn't know Pi.

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
    7. Re:Not necessarily binary by turing_m · · Score: 2, Funny

      Is that actual pi or christian fundmentalist pi?

      More likely, it's just pi in the sky.

      --
      If I have seen further it is by stealing the Intellectual Property of giants.
    8. Re:Not necessarily binary by IBitOBear · · Score: 3, Funny

      I've been using the last four digits of PI as my pin for years, now I'm gonna have to change it.

      --
      Innocent people shouldn't be forced to pay for inferior software development.
      --"Code Complete" Microsoft Press
    9. Re:Not necessarily binary by badran · · Score: 1

      or is it pie?

    10. Re:Not necessarily binary by alex4u2nv · · Score: 1

      It's also the code to crack the Canadian blue-ray encryption.

      (now it gets censored!)

    11. Re:Not necessarily binary by statusbar · · Score: 4, Funny

      No! Please don't change PI. If you do I will have to redraw all these circles I have and also recalibrate my compass!

      --jeffk++

      --
      ipv6 is my vpn
    12. Re:Not necessarily binary by JWW · · Score: 1

      obligatory ..... wooooooosh to you sir.

    13. Re:Not necessarily binary by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      Before reading any comments, my first thought was that this was his way to make sure he would never forget his PIN number...

    14. Re:Not necessarily binary by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      Let them eat cake!

    15. Re:Not necessarily binary by beav007 · · Score: 1

      Amazing as it seems, FORTRAN was created to handle changing the value of Pi.

    16. Re:Not necessarily binary by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure whether to mod you "Insightful", "Funny", "Clueless" or some mix of the lot with a garnish of Troll.

      Ah, the litmus test - where was Fortran designed, and what did they want to change the value of pi() to?

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    17. Re:Not necessarily binary by beav007 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The primary purpose of the DATA statement is to give names to constants; instead of referring to pi as 3.141592653589793 at every appearance, the variable PI can be given that value with a DATA statement and used instead of the longer form of the constant. This also simplifies modifying the program, should the value of pi change.

      * Early FORTRAN manual for Xerox Computers

    18. Re:Not necessarily binary by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      This also simplifies modifying the program, should the value of pi change.

      * Early FORTRAN manual for Xerox Computers

      [SHAKES HEAD]
      That has the sound of someone who has copied and pasted from a similar part of the language manual - describing a general purpose arithmetic variable, perhaps - then edited to describe pi. Or someone was being funny on a Friday afternoon. Or someone had just spent a heavy evening with a text book on General Relativity and non-Euclidian geometry, and wasn't willing to bet that space would always remain the shape it was when pi() was last calculated.

      Now, wouldn't it be interesting if you were to correctly calculate, for example, the 2^100'th digit of one morning, and repeat the calculation in the evening and find that it had changed ... and that it continued to change as time went on. Would that detect the changing geometry of space-time?

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    19. Re:Not necessarily binary by JWSmythe · · Score: 1

          I think you're probably misunderstanding what they were saying.

          The value 3.14 != 3.14159265 != 3.1415926535897932384626433832795, but they all equal pi. :)

          If you're trying to compare calculations with someone else, it's helpful that your constants are ... well ... constant. Pesky little things like that can sometimes have serious consequences/A.. (what? I thought you were measuring force in newtons!) I know it's a different reason, it's just showing what a bit of variation can do.

      --
      Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
  15. Prime by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The number is a prime. No idea if that's a coincidence or if it is significant in any way. Approximately 1 in 20 numbers are prime in the vicinity of that number, which is the 316336192-th prime.

  16. Tough one by nfk · · Score: 5, Funny

    If he were from New Zealand I would say it's a binary solo, but being from Canada I'm not sure.

  17. This is a "try" of random by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This looks exactly like somebody trying to make a random binary number. But failing...
    In real random binary numbers there are far longer lines of 1 or 0.
    This is a well known misjudgement.

    Fashion it is!

    1. Re:This is a "try" of random by uglyduckling · · Score: 1

      Rubbish. Any given binary number is as likely as any other binary number of the same bit length. Finding strings of 1s and 0s of a particular length isn't a test of randomness. 0101010101010 and 111111111111 are just as likely to have been generated randomly.

    2. Re:This is a "try" of random by maxwell+demon · · Score: 1

      Yes, but if you look at the longest number of same bits in the number, the probabilities are not equal.
      For example, the probability that the longest sequence of equal digits has the length 1 is 1/2^32, and the probability that the longest sequence of equal digits has the length 33 is 1/2^33. The probability of the longest sequence being 2 bits is already substantially higher. I don't know where the peak is.

      Basically if you test randomness, you ask the question: What is the probability that this was generated by a random process, as opposed to a non-random process. Now, strictly speaking, you'd have to have a model of the non-random process to answer that, but the point is that the probability is clearly not the same for each sequence, despite the fact that for the random process each number is equally likely. That's because for the non-random process the probabilities are not equally likely, and those probabilities enter into the answer to the above question through Bayes' rule.

      Now we don't have a model of how humans produce "fake random" numbers (well, actually some psychologists might even have one), however we are not calculating exact probabilities anyway. However we do know that humans have a tendency to choose the value which has been chosen less often before, and from that alone we can infer that shorter runs increase the likelyhood of "human-random" numbers, and therefore decrease the likelyhood of real random numbers.

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
    3. Re:This is a "try" of random by JesseMcDonald · · Score: 1

      For example, the probability that the longest sequence of equal digits has the length 1 is 1/2^32, and the probability that the longest sequence of equal digits has the length 33 is 1/2^33.

      I think the latter should also be 1/2^32. In both cases there are two possibilities out of 2^33, the former being "010101...0" and "101010...1" and the latter being "000000...0" and "111111...1".

      --
      "The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else." - Bastiat
    4. Re:This is a "try" of random by maxwell+demon · · Score: 1

      You're right, of course. Indeed, all probabilities will be multiples of 1/2^32, because for each bit pattern, the bit-reversed pattern will have the same maximal length.

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
  18. The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    This number is a prime: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palindromic_prime in base 2.
    In decimal it is: 6830770643

    1. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by MichaelSmith · · Score: 2, Insightful

      This number is a prime: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palindromic_prime in base 2.
      In decimal it is: 6830770643

      1.1 times the number of people alive today

    2. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by sco08y · · Score: 4, Funny

      In base 2, every number is prime.

      They fixed that in base 2.0.1.

    3. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by chichilalescu · · Score: 1

      yes, I keep telling people 11 is not a prime, but they won't listen.

      --
      new sig
    4. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by SplatMan_DK · · Score: 1

      ba-da-boom!

      Good one :-D

      --
      My security clearance is so high I have to kill myself if I remember I have it...
    5. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by bcmm · · Score: 1

      Mystery solved, I guess. Also, that is very cool.

      --
      # cat /dev/mem | strings | grep -i llama
      Damn, my RAM is full of llamas.
    6. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In base 10, 11 is a prime number.
      In binary, 3 is also a prime number.
      Hexadecimal it's 17, which is a prime number.

      In octal, it's 19, which is not prime.
      Aha!

    7. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by horza · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Well found. The page also explains for dissy above why it has 33 digits:

      "Except for 11, all palindromic primes have an odd number of digits, because the divisibility test for 11 tells us that every palindromic number with an even number of digits is a multiple of 11."

      Phillip.

    8. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by tzot · · Score: 1

      What is 19 base 8?
      No, 11 base 5 is not prime, and that suffices.

      --
      I speak England very best
    9. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by PseudonymousBraveguy · · Score: 2, Informative

      Please hand in your math license. The encoding has nothing to do with the property whether a number is prime or not. 4 base 10 is as prime as 100 base 2 (i.e. not at all)

    10. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by unixan · · Score: 1

      I keep telling people 11 is not a prime, but they won't listen.

      Even if you mean in base 2, we aren't going to listen to you either.

      --
      This signature intentionally left unblank.
    11. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by chichilalescu · · Score: 1

      my mistake. i thought there weren't any liberal arts majors on slashdot.

      --
      new sig
    12. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In base 2, every number is prime.

      Then I guess that 121 is prime in base 10, huh?

    13. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      What!? Your example is flawed: you didn't divide by binary number. You have to convert both the divisor and the divided to binary!

      1) A prime is a number that is only divisible (integer division) by one and the number itself. By definition zero is not a prime. (see any math textbook).

      2) A binary number consists of ones and/or zero's.

      3) If, without loss of generality, we get rid of leading zeroes, every binary number contains at least one one.

      4) Every number (prime or not) is divisible by itself.

      So, from 3 follows that any binary number is divisible by one, and from 4 follows that it is divisible by itself. Both are necessary for being prime.
      From 2 follows that there are no other divisors than one and zero, so the above holds. Dividing by one is trivial, and division by zero is absurd.

      So, every binary number is prime. QED.

    14. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by Keick · · Score: 1

      I also noted that the number is a palindrome, reads the same forwards and backwords. Pretty cool eh!

      But most likely just a pattern of nothingness.

    15. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So you went ahead and used Wolfram Alpha, but it didn't occur to you to:
      http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=is+110010111001001010100100111010011+base+2+prime

    16. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it is doubly palindromic as its length, 33, in binary is also a palindrome 100001

    17. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is where the bodies are burried:
      Who wants to take the trip? Geraldo this could be bigger than Al Capone's vault!
      http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=68.307+70.643&sll=32.776566,-79.930922&sspn=0.7355,1.319733&ie=UTF8&z=13

    18. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by maxwell+demon · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Well, 33 itself is also a binary-palindromic number (although not prime): 100001
      And of course, 33 is a palindrome in base 10, too.

      Moreover note that the sum of the binary digits (which equals the number of ones) is 17, which is also prime, and in binary is written 10001, so this is again a binary-palindromic prime, and the binary digit-sum here is 2, which again is a prime (although not binary-palindromic).

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
    19. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by Mini-Geek · · Score: 1

      It's very possible that this is just a coincidence and that this has nothing to do with the meaning of the bits. Sure, it seems like there's no way it could be by accident that a number around 6.8 billion is prime, but there is:
      The chances of a random number x being prime are about ln x. ln 6830770643 ~= 22.6, but it's possible that the first number had to be 1, which would mean (since it's palindromic) the last number has to be 1 (making the number odd), excluding 2 as a possible factor. This puts the chance at more like 11.3. It's quite possible that we're reading too much into this. This might've just been randomly picked by an artist, (and then made symmetrical by making it a palindrome) instead of designed by a geek (and intentionally including a hidden meaning or just making it a prime or something).
      In searching for additional evidence that primes were an intentionally selected theme, I looked at:
      11001011100100101
      10100100111010011
      0100100111010011
      1100101110010010
      (each half of the palindrome, with and without the 1 in the center)
      One of these is prime: 0100100111010011_2=18899_10, 18899 is prime. I'm not sure what it means, but I doubt those substrings were chosen for their primality.

      --
      do {print "Mini-Geek Rules!\n";}
      until ($TheEndOfTheWorld);
    20. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Gawd, I hope you are neither a math nor comp. sci. major. You're logic is that of a McDonald's worker.

    21. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by Chibouki · · Score: 1

      6 830 770 639...6 830 770 640...6 830 770 641...6 830 770 642...6 830 770 643 !
      This number is close from the world population on the planet right now.
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population

    22. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by FrootLoops · · Score: 2, Interesting

      A quick Python script shows there are 81 primes (including this one) in the 2001 numbers a distance at most 1000 from the above. So, for this large a number, a random guess would give *around* a 4% chance of getting a prime. Adding in the constraint that the number's a palindrome (which makes the picture look nice) may or may not make it more rare. I just tried randomly generating 10,000 33-digit binary palindromes which resulted in 418 of them being prime, giving the same *around* 4% chance of getting a prime palindrome of this length randomly.

      So, given the available space and the artistic desire to choose a binary palindrome, they only had a 4% chance of getting a prime--a coincidence? Probably :(.

    23. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by dolmen.fr · · Score: 1

      Bad assumptions.

      Being prime has nothing to do with base. Base are just used for representation of numbers for writing. The number itself is divisible or not divisible by another number whatever the base in which they are written on your screen.

      If you disagree, I expect that you may accept that "4 is a prime number when it is written on a computer screen because the computer screen has an odd number of faces, while 4 is not a prime number when it is written on a sheet of paper because the paper has two faces and 2 is even".

    24. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hi, please talk to Bob. He has some much needed advice for you.

    25. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But is it belong to us also?

    26. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by Antisyzygy · · Score: 1

      What a crazy world it would be if we could just switch the number base and make prime numbers no longer prime. Methinks modern encryption methods would no longer work.

      --
      That brings me to an interesting point, / . is just "the ramblings of socially-inept, technology-literate news-mongers".
    27. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Whether it's prime or not doesn't depend on the base it's represented in. you can divide 110 by 11 to get 10 just as you can 6 by 3 to get 2. (All the manual methods for long division and such work the same too!)

    28. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It sure is Prime, just ask Wolfram alpha.

    29. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nice, so whoever chose the digits was cool/smart enough to go with something significant.

    30. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by OneAhead · · Score: 1

      It is also a prime in base 3 (ie. if you interpret it as a base 3 number that just happens to not contain any 2s)
      In decimal that would be 2497252857355093

    31. Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. by frozentier · · Score: 1

      Call it and see who answers.

  19. This sounds like a job for... by bhunachchicken · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... Robert Langdon!!! I'm sure that buried somewhere in that seemingly random sequence of 1s and 0s is a code that will shake the very foundations of the human race and expose a truth that has long been hidden!

    I can already hear Dan Brown feverishly scratching away at his notepad, as he begins researching and stringing together a load geographically accurate, but ultimately randomly contrived pile of nonsense for his next magnum opus, "The Canada Complex"

    1. Re:This sounds like a job for... by SpaghettiPattern · · Score: 1

      ... Robert Langdon!!! I'm sure that buried somewhere in that seemingly random sequence of 1s and 0s is a code that will shake the very foundations of the human race and expose a truth that has long been hidden!

      Just to be precise, representations of 42 are:

      • Decimal integer to bits: 101010. This is only a very small part of the sequence.
      • ASCII string to bits: [0]0110100[0]0110010. This never occurs in the sequence.

      Ergo, the sequence cannot hold the answer to everything. Ever. Really.

      --

      I hadn't the slightest objection to his spending his time planning massacres for the bourgeoisie... (P.G. Wodehouse)
    2. Re:This sounds like a job for... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      42!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      (Can't believe no one posted 42 yet)

    3. Re:This sounds like a job for... by Chowderbags · · Score: 1

      Finally we'll know why Canadians are so polite! It's totally because of a deep dark secret, isn't it? Canada was rude to someone once and felt really bad so they never did it again?

  20. Parent is Goatse! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Parent is Goatse

    1. Re:Parent is Goatse! by maxwell+demon · · Score: 1

      Parent is Goatse

      You mean, ArsenneLupin is the goatse guy? :-)

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
  21. Contemplare meliora by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Better think"? :P

  22. Indexes into the text string above by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Cool of him to do this, I think.

    If I was going to do something like this, I would not pick an arbitrary standard, which is all ASCI really is, but something that is more fundamental.

    Maybe the binary is indexes into the string above it, "Contemplare meliora" ?
    I could not quickly find a good word that way, so I leave it as an exercise for the reader...

  23. 43-Man Squamish? by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 1

    Has anybody checked if this means anything in Swxwú7mesh (Squamish)? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%E1%B8%B5wx%CC%B1w%C3%BA7mesh

    Now if it had been 43 bits, instead of 33, that would have been a total giveaway that it is a reference to 43-Man Squamish: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/43-Man_Squamish

    --
    Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
    1. Re:43-Man Squamish? by MichaelSmith · · Score: 1

      I was thinking in terms of streams where a frame is extended by setting one bit. Handy if space is limited.

  24. DRM by orange47 · · Score: 3, Funny

    its the master key for the upcoming DRM, already broken ..

  25. base64? by hitmark · · Score: 2, Funny

    The base64 result, y5Kk6QE=, reminds me of something a url shortener would spit out. But i am unsure which it would be.

    --
    comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
    1. Re:base64? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      You are saying "This random number looks like other random numbers I have seen". I don't think you have thought this through.

    2. Re:base64? by bcmm · · Score: 1

      I have no idea which base64 scheme the article is using, but it doesn't even give the right number of digits. In RFC 2045 (MIME), it's GXJUnT.

      Now, I'm sure this is just a coincidence, but: http://tinyurl.com/GXJUnT...

      --
      # cat /dev/mem | strings | grep -i llama
      Damn, my RAM is full of llamas.
    3. Re:base64? by Stackster · · Score: 1

      How about http://tinyurl.com/y5Kk6QE then?

      (no, I didn't set up that link, but _someone_ did)

      --

      There are 010 kinds of people. Those who understand octal, those who don't, and 06 other kinds of morons.
    4. Re:base64? by maxwell+demon · · Score: 1

      I only get a "video not available" error. So what does it show?

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
    5. Re:base64? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://tinyurl.com/y5Kk6QE

      Thanks, Governor General of Canada.

    6. Re:base64? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      bitl.ly/y5Kk6QE

      Interesting...

    7. Re:base64? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's just a RickRoll.

  26. Re:The numbers are wrong (wild guess) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The part after 19725 is the repeating palindrome part. Maybe "May 1972" was an important month for Mr. Johnston? I could _imagine_ that it's printed as a palindrome to have the correct sequence even when displayed mirrored? (Like NATO aircrafts also have OTAN printed on them.)
    As said, just wild guessing here. It reminds me of the fact, that you'll find sense in any number if you just search long enough :)

  27. It means absolutely nothing by denelson83 · · Score: 1

    It's just meant to look good. And besides, since the blazon just says "ones and zeroes", you can feel free to put any binary number in that space.

  28. It's a sync sequence. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's a symmetrical binary sequence. These are used to sync communication signals because of their auto-correlation properties. It's doubtful there is any meaningful content to this binary, as being symmetrical is too much of a coincidence.

    1. Re:It's a sync sequence. by coolsnowmen · · Score: 1

      i'm with you. The first thing I noticed was they symmetry, which doesn't occur naturally in any coding schemes.

  29. Quiet Eh? by arcite · · Score: 1
    These are the launch codes for our nuclear arsenal eh,

    We Canucks are just too polite to keep them secret. I'm sorry.

  30. Simple by antifoidulus · · Score: 2, Funny

    It's meaning is "I bet I can get a bunch of geeks to waste a lot of time trying to decipher this meaningless message!"

  31. To quote Kryten by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Clearly it's android for "if you don't GOSUB a subroutine you'll never get a program loop".

  32. Ask an authority by PatPending · · Score: 1

    While everyone else is searching the Internet, I simply asked an expert on The Great White North--

    Mr. McKenzie, what does this mean?

    Ahhh! Take off, you hoser!

    --
    What one fool can do, another can. (Ancient Simian Proverb)
  33. 3 bytes including ECC by Nedmud · · Score: 1

    ISTR (from an abortive combinatorics course) that there's a commonly used encoding that provides 3 bits of ECC for each 8-bit byte. Could this string be 3 simple bytes with ECC?

    1. Re:3 bytes including ECC by Vectormatic · · Score: 1

      well, why dont you take the first 8 bits and calculate the ECC for it?

      (i was thinking perhaps 4 bytes + 1 parity bit, but the palindromic nature makes it seem a bit far fetched)

      --
      People, what a bunch of bastards
  34. Re:The numbers are wrong (wild guess) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    That OTAN is NATO backwards is incidental, mirroring is not the reason for it. The reason is that France succeeded in demanding French as an official Nato language. OTAN = Organisation du Traité de l'Atlantique Nord.

    There is no use for mirrored writing on airplanes, they fly too fast for your cars rear-view mirror, and planes that do have rear view mirror wouldn't wait 'till the bogey is a couple of yards behind them to find out who he is.

  35. World Population by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It is pretty close to the estimated world population. Pop the number into a 64 bit binary calculator, convert to dec, violla! 6,830,770,643.

    1. Re:World Population by Muros · · Score: 1

      Damn you beat me to it.

  36. Re:The numbers are wrong (wild guess) by Gobelet · · Score: 5, Informative

    NATO aircrafts have OTAN printed on it because the two official languages used in NATO are English and French. OTAN means Organisation du Traité de l'Atlantique Nord.

  37. Can get even worse by Moraelin · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It can get even worse. At least "chop suey $3.99" is clear where is came from.

    Funnier stories are those like the guy who got "pig meat" in chinese letters because it was copied off a can of that. But I'd imagine that the latter realization comes after seeing that this guy has "pig meat" written on him. Yeah.

    Then there was the guy who thought he got a tattoo saying "wise dog that guards the pack", but it actually meant "dog's ass".

    In the same vein of "you're not going to get hooked up with any woman that can read that", one guy got a tattoo which he thought was totally bad ass, until a Japanese girl told him it means "abusive husband". Well, I guess at least it works as a warning.

    Conversely one woman got the longer version of that, and it translated to "my abusive husband beats me." It's one of the things that aren't even funny but make one wonder if she got ripped off or it's a cry for help.

    Though to be entirely fair, apparently cool kids in Beijing tattoo themselves with nonsensical combinations of English letters too, like "TWARP", "GWIPO", "FRUNK" and get told by unscrupulous tattoo parlor artists that they mean stuff like "old soul with young spirit" in English. (Actual example. If you were wondering what FRUNK means in English, now you know;)) Also apparently both CRYMPH and DLECH mean "beautiful flower dancing in the wind" in American according to one tattoo parlour in Beijing. In case you were wondering ;)

    Luckily individual letters are not whole words in the Latin alphabet, so most are just nonsense. But you just have to wonder if there's some brave soul somewhere in China wearing a tattoo that says "I suck cock" and thinks it means "loyalty, courage, honour" ;)

    That said, since runes were an alphabetic system, I would assume most of those are equally nonsense combinations. I wouldn't wonder if some guys out there were running around with tattoos that just say "FUTHARK" because someone just copied the first characters of the runic alphabet.

    --
    A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
    1. Re:Can get even worse by Sockatume · · Score: 4, Insightful

      CRYMPH is Welsh, surely?

      --
      No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
    2. Re:Can get even worse by Moraelin · · Score: 5, Funny

      CRYMPH is Welsh, surely?

      It has a vowel too many to be Welsh ;)

      --
      A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
    3. Re:Can get even worse by Mantrid · · Score: 4, Funny

      I got this tattoo on my forehead that says "poor impulse control"

    4. Re:Can get even worse by Phydaux · · Score: 5, Informative

      http://hanzismatter.blogspot.com/
      A blog that collects and translates (if possible) the tattoos of mostly Chinese/Japanese/Gibberish characters on people who aren't sure what they really mean.

      Some of them aren't that bad, but others make you want to cringe.

    5. Re:Can get even worse by L4t3r4lu5 · · Score: 4, Funny

      I work with a young lady who has a tattoo which is supposed to mean "One who enjoys herself" in Japanese.

      I discovered, much to my amusement, that the word for "enjoys" can also mean "pleases".

      --
      Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
    6. Re:Can get even worse by qengho · · Score: 4, Funny

      On some old sitcom, a customer is displaying his Chinese-character tattoo to the Chinese proprietor:

      Customer (proudly): It means "fiery strength!"
      Proprietor (horrified): No! It means of two men who love each other, you are the one who plays the woman!

    7. Re:Can get even worse by Moraelin · · Score: 1

      Ouch. Reading through that is pretty much an education. Wish I could mod you up but I already posted in this thread. (Obviously.)

      --
      A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
    8. Re:Can get even worse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      That's a verb. It's what you do when you fill up your Cadilliac.

    9. Re:Can get even worse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "English letters" - as devised by the English, and used only in the English languages.

    10. Re:Can get even worse by operagost · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yeah, but it's a Y. Wyelsh pyeople llyove thyeyr Ys.

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    11. Re:Can get even worse by formfeed · · Score: 1

      that just say "FUTHARK"

      Where did you get my password??

    12. Re:Can get even worse by Starayo · · Score: 1

      Ahahah, that's fantastic.

      My mum's actually got a Japanese character tattooed on her shoulder - but she's a PhD specialising in post-WWII Japan and can actually read a bit of Japanese.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    13. Re:Can get even worse by John+Hasler · · Score: 1

      Yes, but they only have two of them.

      --
      Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
    14. Re:Can get even worse by kryliss · · Score: 1

      Isn't Futhark the brother of Trogdor?

      --
      --- If the bible proves the existence of God, then Superman comics prove the existence of Superman.
    15. Re:Can get even worse by gorzek · · Score: 1

      This is my favorite story about smartass tattoo artists: http://soufoaklin.blogspot.com/2002/09/disgruntled-asian-tattoo-artist-inks.html

      Highlights:

      Guy wanted Chinese characters for "strength" and "honor." Got "small penis" instead.
      Girl wanted "beautiful goddess" around her belly button, got "Insert General Tso's Chicken Here" instead. (She was mostly upset on account of being a vegetarian.)

      Seriously, people: if you aren't certain what the foreign characters actually mean, you probably shouldn't be getting it as a tattoo. Find someone who is fluent and whom you can trust to give you the real deal, don't go to a random tattoo artist who might be a sadistic asshole.

    16. Re:Can get even worse by Antisyzygy · · Score: 4, Informative

      Norse runes had meanings on their own, typically used in divination. I.e. you have a bag of runes and toss them on the table. Each one has an associated meaning like, property, heritage, success in war, protection, ect. The way they landed (rightside up, upside down, face up, face down) determined what they meant.

      --
      That brings me to an interesting point, / . is just "the ramblings of socially-inept, technology-literate news-mongers".
    17. Re:Can get even worse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I got this tattoo on my forehead that says "poor impulse control"

      Yay! Snow Crash reference!

    18. Re:Can get even worse by Antisyzygy · · Score: 4, Funny

      The 'pleases" part probably has some underlining context to it such as "selfishly pleases" or "amusingly pleases" which would not be translated with the same underlying sexual interpretation. I remember in Japanese class one time I thought I said "I like to eat sushi because it is healthy", but I used the word "Genki" which actually translated what I said into something like "I enjoy eating sushi that is energetic and alive". My japanese teacher laughed at me and pretended to be a maki roll bouncing around the room.

      --
      That brings me to an interesting point, / . is just "the ramblings of socially-inept, technology-literate news-mongers".
    19. Re:Can get even worse by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      Every tattoo everywhere says that, no matter what it says or where it's inked.

      Nothin' to show but this brand new tattoo
      It's a real beauty
      A Mexican cutie
      How it got here I haven't a clue.
      -- Jimmy Buffet

    20. Re:Can get even worse by Dishevel · · Score: 1

      He did not actually get it. He just copied your password which to him looked like ******* and pasted it. We all see ******* but you see FUTHARK.

      --
      Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?
    21. Re:Can get even worse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not enough N's or W's, either.

    22. Re:Can get even worse by Moraelin · · Score: 1

      Oh, most definitely so, but we're talking about stuff someone could actually read, in which case it would be really an alphabet. Though I guess someone COULD theoretically tattoo a divination sequence of runes. But good luck finding anyone who can read that.

      Plus, that would open a whole new set of problems. I mean look at all the people with Chinese symbols that don't mean they think they are or are mirrored or even rotated in weird ways, because the artist didn't know any better. Now think an ancient divination sequence that the tattoo parlour guy really doesn't know anything about. You could end up carrying a fortune foretelling of cowardice and horribly bad luck and not know it.

      --
      A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
    23. Re:Can get even worse by douglips · · Score: 2, Informative
    24. Re:Can get even worse by Moraelin · · Score: 2, Funny

      Though, come to think of it, it would be funny if someone did get a runic inscription that was readable as some crap omen.

      I mean, I can see it. "Mr Svensson, if I read your tattoo right, feh is the rune for wealth or cattle, but its being inverted would indicate or foretell a loss of such. To make it worse, the rest of it puts it in the context of a disastrous overseas travel. So... can you explain why should we hire you to program our traveling agency's booking and financial software?" ;)

      --
      A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
    25. Re:Can get even worse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      It was even funner than that. He thought that the tattoo meant "Fiery Strength". The young Chinese food delivery guy told him it meant "Little bitch". He got mad and called in Chinese food from another restaurant to get another delivery guy, and thus another opinion. This order was deliever by an older Chinese guy. He told him waht the young guy said, and asked him if it was correct. The older Chinese guy assures him, oh no, it doesn't say Little Bitch. The tat owner becomse visibly relieved to hear that. Then the old guy tells him it means, of two men who love each other you are the ope that plays the woman. Several scenes over he ig etting it tattoed over to say Spicy Kung Pao Chicken, since it's the only Chinese ideograph he is sure of the meaning of.

    26. Re:Can get even worse by monktus · · Score: 1

      I once knew a Welsh girl who's name had more syllables than vowels.

      --
      Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It's what separates us from the animals... except the weasel."
    27. Re:Can get even worse by ukemike · · Score: 1

      That's better than "I am a sadistic pig and a rapist."

      Since I don't think this meme is in the geek canon yet... read or watch "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."

      --
      -- QED
    28. Re:Can get even worse by yyxx · · Score: 1

      Funnier stories are those like the guy who got "pig meat" in chinese letters because it was copied off a can of that.

      Good tattoos are ambiguous. He can tell someone "I just liked the look, guess it's kind of a bummer", or he can tell someone "It says 'pig meat' because I like to eat, party, and f*ck, wanna come along?"

      But you just have to wonder if there's some brave soul somewhere in China wearing a tattoo that says "I suck cock" and thinks it means "loyalty, courage, honour" ;)

      I have seen Asian girls wear literally that T-shirt, and they did not look like they meant it.

    29. Re:Can get even worse by alop · · Score: 1

      Is that a nuke in your sidecar, or are you just happy to see me?

      --
      --alop
    30. Re:Can get even worse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      At least it doesn't keep away the hot skateboard couriers.

    31. Re:Can get even worse by 2obvious4u · · Score: 1

      That blog is awesome. Although he doesn't every mention why all those characters would be mirrored. Tattoo artists sketch the proof on paper and then press it onto the skin leaving the mirror of whatever they are about to ink. Apparently most tattoo artists aren't smart enough to realize that they would need to do this technique twice in order to keep the characters from being mirrored on the canvas(skin).

    32. Re:Can get even worse by Improv · · Score: 1

      All's Welsh that ends Welsh!

      --
      For every problem, there is at least one solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.
    33. Re:Can get even worse by M.+Baranczak · · Score: 1

      http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7702913.stm

      When officials asked for the Welsh translation of a road sign, they thought the reply was what they needed.

      Unfortunately, the e-mail response to Swansea council said in Welsh: "I am not in the office at the moment. Send any work to be translated".

      So that was what went up under the English version which barred lorries from a road near a supermarket.

    34. Re:Can get even worse by jack2000 · · Score: 1

      Maybe she's really into hedonism.
      Not that there is anything wrong with that.

    35. Re:Can get even worse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry, but any modern "this rune means that"-system is sheer guesswork by later people who wanted their inventions to have a nice sheen of ancient mystery.

    36. Re:Can get even worse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thank you, snow crash.

    37. Re:Can get even worse by nanospook · · Score: 1

      Skull gun baby!!! HUT HUT!

      --
      Have you fscked your local propeller head today?
    38. Re:Can get even worse by quickOnTheUptake · · Score: 1

      let me try: l0ve4eva
      Do you see *'s?

      --
      Mod points: Guaranteed to remove your sense of humor.
      Side effects may include gullibility and temporary retardation
    39. Re:Can get even worse by Dishevel · · Score: 1

      I see 8 *'s. What dose that password go to? :)

      --
      Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?
    40. Re:Can get even worse by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      Do you get around on the water on a kayak and travel with a nuclear weapon?

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
  38. Patents! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the canadian patent database has revealed all!

    Patent 68307: FERTILIZER DISTRIBUTOR
    Patent 70643: APPARATUS FOR DUPLICATING PHONOGRAPH RECORDS

    so what it's trying to get across is that you are to give people shit and make copies of music. i'm pretty sure they stole this number from the RIAA.

  39. Symmetric number? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It looks like the numbers are symmetric. Except for the 0101 in the middle.

  40. it says "OMG! Canada haz teh internetz" by v3ctor · · Score: 3, Funny

    it says "OMG! Canada haz teh internetz"

    1. Re:it says "OMG! Canada haz teh internetz" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and teh poniez - two of them, with hairy dongs.

  41. Anonymous Coward by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You have to read it properly: 1100 1011 1001 0010 1 0100 1001 1101 0011

    So,
    1100 ---> 0011
    1011 ---> 1101
    1001 ---> 1001
    0010 ---> 0100 ...And 1 (the function probably)
    Quite redundant message, so it looks like some artist signiture ;)

  42. The Body Electric by DarthBender · · Score: 1

    Obviously he is a Rush fan and this is an ode to 'The Body Electric'

    1001001 SOS
    1001001 in distress
    100100oooooh

    1. Re:The Body Electric by SonnyDog09 · · Score: 1

      That's good. However, I saw it as "a stream of naught and crosses in your R-A-M." :-)

      --
      Your "fair share" is NOT in my wallet.
  43. 4 8 15 16 23 42 by Fractal+Dice · · Score: 1

    110010111001001010100100111010011 may or may not mean anything now, but hopefully by the time he leaves office we'll have wormed cryptic references to them into every nook and cranny of the country :)

    1. Re:4 8 15 16 23 42 by Reibisch · · Score: 1

      6/49 Lottery numbers!

  44. Heraldry fan here by Daimanta · · Score: 1

    Because the binary code is palindromic I think it is a symbol more than a message. In heraldry, symmetry can be an style in your weapon and looking at the weapon itself, it is vertically symmetric. Including a message in binary code in your motto could be an idea but since the weapon already has a motto (namely "Comtemplare Meloria") it can be seen as sort of an achievement and could indicate knowlegde(or degrees) in the area of computer science.

    I am not fully sure what to think about this weapon since it is certainly a non-standard one but my best guess is that people are looking for to much into the binary code as a message.

    --
    Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power lost.
    1. Re:Heraldry fan here by symbolset · · Score: 1

      It's not a message. It's an image 11 pixels wide by three high. It tiles horizontally, giving a wavy line.

      I tried to post it as ascii art, but couldn't get it past the lameness filter.

      --
      Help stamp out iliturcy.
    2. Re:Heraldry fan here by dolmen.fr · · Score: 1

      In ASCII art, (1='Z', 0='_'):

      ZZ__Z_ZZZ__
      Z__Z_Z_Z__Z
      __ZZZ_Z__ZZ

      (Note: this is the best I could do; bypassing crazy Slashdot filters is hard)

  45. Orphan Annie by xclr8r · · Score: 1

    says: Be Sure to Drink your rich chocolaty oval-tine.

    --
    Beware of those who profit off the docile and persecute the unbelievers.
  46. It is definitely his phone number by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It is made up of 11 base-3 numbers, which convert to 62711244723. Which in turn is a base-8 number which converts to 6830770643. The telephone number mentioned in the article.

  47. Re:The numbers are wrong (wild guess) by ThePromenader · · Score: 5, Funny

    Canadian planes should have 'NATOTAN' written on them to please the speakers of both languages ('NATO' 'stylishly' mirrored around the 'O'). Of course, for the Japanese, that acronym would read 'achieving a darker skin tone by slathering yourself in fermented beans'.

    --

    No, no sig. Really.

    ThePromenader
  48. Obvious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's quite obvious to me.

    He stole the time code from Bender before harvesting him for his precious dolemite.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EXpYhJk7BI

  49. It's The Answer by sco08y · · Score: 1

    If the number is converted to base 47, the sum of the digits, mod 47, is 42.

    Coincidence? I think not.

  50. Is it a date? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Original - 110010111001001010100100111010011

    Break apart - 1100101110010010 1 0100100111010011

    1100101110010010 1=Parity
    0100100111010011 (xor)

    1100101111010011 = 52179

    21st May 1979

    1. Re:Is it a date? by mr_mischief · · Score: 1

      That's the day before a House of Commons election.

    2. Re:Is it a date? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You say xor, but you anded them:

      1100101110010010 1=Parity
      0100100111010011 (xor)

      1100101111010011 = 52179

      1100101110010010 xor
      0100100111010011 equals
      1000001001000001

      1000001001000001 = 33345

      March 33, 1945

  51. How about the eighth Mersenne prime? by wannabegeek2 · · Score: 1, Informative

    A simple binary to hex conversion yields 2147483647

    From Wikipedia...

    The number 2,147,483,647 is the eighth Mersenne prime, equal to 2^31 1. It is one of only four known double Mersenne primes.

    The primality of this number was proved by Leonhard Euler, who reported the proof in a letter to Daniel Bernoulli written in 1772. Euler used trial division, improving on Cataldi's method, so that at most 372 divisions were needed. The number 2,147,483,647 may have remained the largest known prime until 1867...

    --
    Never ascribe to malice or conspiracy that which can be adequately explained by ignorance or stupidity.
    1. Re:How about the eighth Mersenne prime? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      "Informative 3" at the time of this wriring.

      You're trying to rate Slashdot mods, right?

      In that case, I should say "Informative 3" is quite a bad score considering you gave an obvious hint of how bad that contribution was (a simple binary to hex conversion indeed) including a link to a Wikipedia article that clearly explains why, exactly, the listed number naturally isn't the advertised prime number (2^31 - 1 consists of exactly 31 1-digits - not 33, and no 0-digits).

    2. Re:How about the eighth Mersenne prime? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe it's a stretch, but Canadian Confederation happened in 1867

    3. Re:How about the eighth Mersenne prime? by retroStick · · Score: 1

      As well as being the largest value storable in a signed 32-bit integer, aka MAX_INT / INT_MAX.

    4. Re:How about the eighth Mersenne prime? by conteXXt · · Score: 1

      and... 1867 means something in Canada.

      --
      The truth about Led Zep should never be told on /. (Karma suicide ensues)
    5. Re:How about the eighth Mersenne prime? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      1867 was the year Canada was founded.

    6. Re:How about the eighth Mersenne prime? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Confederation was in 1867

    7. Re:How about the eighth Mersenne prime? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, that is the most interesting comment I've seen so far, 1867 is the year of Canadian Confederation.

      Fluke?

    8. Re:How about the eighth Mersenne prime? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      33 digits,

      Canada under British control 1764–1867 Wikipedia is awesome

      just Canadian mason BS for when Canada got its independence =)

    9. Re:How about the eighth Mersenne prime? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      sum of the digits 2147483647 is 46. The 46th day of the year is Feb 15.
      On Feb 15, 1965 – A new red-and-white maple leaf design is adopted as the flag of Canada, replacing the old Canadian Red Ensign banner.

      Or it is an obvious tribute to Michelle Obama as the 46th first lady.

    10. Re:How about the eighth Mersenne prime? by tokul · · Score: 2, Informative

      A simple binary to hex conversion yields 2147483647

      get better calculator. Yours has unsigned 32bit integer limit and confuses decimals with hexadecimals.

    11. Re:How about the eighth Mersenne prime? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, it's not 2^31 -1 in binary. 2^31 -1 in binary would be 31 1s.

    12. Re:How about the eighth Mersenne prime? by tokul · · Score: 2, Informative

      unsigned 32bit integer limit

      Correction. "signed 32bit integer limit"

    13. Re:How about the eighth Mersenne prime? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Troll or simple mistake?
      in hex the number is: 1972549D3; in decimal it's: 6830770643

    14. Re:How about the eighth Mersenne prime? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Show me where is states in the C standard that INT_MAX is 2147483647.

    15. Re:How about the eighth Mersenne prime? by FrootLoops · · Score: 3, Informative

      What? The number is...

      110010111001001010100100111010011 (binary)
      1972549D3 (hex)
      6830770643 (decimal)

      ...which has little to do with Mersenne primes. I'd be happy if it were such a prime, but it's not.

    16. Re:How about the eighth Mersenne prime? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "A simple binary to hex conversion yields 2147483647"
      ???
      Just a FYI - my calculator says 1972549D3, but perhaps I'm not 'simple' enough.

  52. Say it with me everyone, NERD! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nerd nerd nerd nerd nerd nerd!

  53. Obligatory Futurama Reference by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm sure its the secret code for time travel. And its easier to have it on his coat of arms than tattooed on his rear.

  54. Re:The numbers are wrong (wild guess) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    NATO aircrafts have OTAN printed on it because the two official languages used in NATO are English and French. OTAN means Organisation du Traité de l'Atlantique Nord.

    OTAN reads NATO in the rear view mirror of the other planes!

  55. obvious by Jeek+Elemental · · Score: 1

    never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down

  56. Not a phone number by ArundelCastle · · Score: 3, Informative

    Whole summary is pretty corny... Bunching 10 random numbers into 3-3-4 doesn't make it a phone number.
    First, 683 is the country code for Niue, and apparently they are small enough to use only 4-digits for their subscribers. So 10 digits is too much. (Nothing is apparent for (68) 3077-0643 either.)
    Second, no telephone system that I am aware of supports 0 as the first number of a central office prefix, only as a subscriber number.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Numbering_Plan#Current_system

  57. A true Son of the North speaks by hyades1 · · Score: 1

    As a native-born Canadian who is the product of an English father and American mother (both of whom chose to become Canadian citizens), I can tell you with no doubt whatsoever what the stream of binary actually means. It is a brilliant synopsis of a far more extensive and far more profound multi-cultural national ethos that explains what it is to be truly Canadian. Perhaps most important, it embodies a deeply Canadian reality: across much of the country, for a significant part of the year, the roads are chancy due to weather...and stores that sell beer are never where you want them. So here's the translation:

    "If you're going to drop in unannounced, you'd better have a two-four of beer under your arm, buddy."

    --
    I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
  58. More importantly... by flyingfsck · · Score: 1

    Canada finally has a Gov Gen that is not just a pretty face. The previous Liberal government really went out of their way to destroy the value of the post.

    --
    Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
    1. Re:More importantly... by jjohnson · · Score: 1

      All the GGs are just pretty faces. The post has been ceremonial basically since the British North America Act of 1867 and then the Statute of Westminster in 1931, and certainly since Trudeau patriated the constitution in 1982. Since the BNA, it's the prime minister who runs the country.

      Michelle Jean having the opportunity to screw Harper was about Harper gaming the system, not any sort of normal authority the GG carries and exercises.

      --
      Anyone who loves or hates any language, platform, or manufacturer, doesn't know what they're talking about.
  59. Public pgp key? by bemenaker · · Score: 1

    It's the binary of his pgp key. :)

  60. Canada would yet be free by itsybitsy · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Canada won't have the possibility of being a democracy till the Queen is excised from all Canadian institutions. It's no longer acceptable to have political structures dominated by fantasies of Monarchy from God, conquest or tyranny.

    How the monarchy came to be.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAaWvVFERVA

    1. Re:Canada would yet be free by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

      It's no longer acceptable to have political structures dominated by fantasies of Monarchy from God, conquest or tyranny.

      One of us is missing a few years in the remembering department. I distinctly recall George W. Bush being president.

      Was that just a very, very bad dream?

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    2. Re:Canada would yet be free by gslj · · Score: 1

      Canada won't have the possibility of being a democracy till the Queen is excised from all Canadian institutions. It's no longer acceptable to have political structures dominated by fantasies of Monarchy from God, conquest or tyranny.

      How the monarchy came to be.
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAaWvVFERVA

      We've had representative government from the start. We got responsible government through negotiation. We achieved independence and ended slavery without a war for either. We just happen to split the function of "head of state" away from the function of "head of the executive branch," which allows us to think as witheringly as we please about the latter without having to show him any respect in his role as the former. The United States never figured out the advantages of that.

      In short, we've got democracy. (Look up what happened to the Conservative Party after Brian Mulroney if you don't believe me). Take your cultural chauvinism home.

      -Gareth

    3. Re:Canada would yet be free by Antisyzygy · · Score: 1

      It sounds to me like you suffer from a degree of political chauvinism, though I can't tell if its also cultural chauvinism.

      --
      That brings me to an interesting point, / . is just "the ramblings of socially-inept, technology-literate news-mongers".
    4. Re:Canada would yet be free by gslj · · Score: 1

      It sounds to me like you suffer from a degree of political chauvinism, though I can't tell if its also cultural chauvinism.

      You're right. I jumped on his comment with both boots on. Comments about Canada being less than a nation or less than a democracy because of our form of government do bother me, but I shouldn't have been so touchy here.

      -Gareth

  61. 33rd degree? by creat3d · · Score: 1

    33 digits? Did someone say Freemason?

    --
    Grammar nazis are to this community what excrements are to gold.
    1. Re:33rd degree? by dolmen.fr · · Score: 1

      Here is at least a really interesting track...

  62. Rush Link by bcoff12 · · Score: 1

    The sequence 1001001 from Rush's "The Body Electric" appears twice. Obviously a plea to Neil Peart for assistance.

    1. Re:Rush Link by canajin56 · · Score: 1

      If you plot it as an 11x3 bit pattern, it looks like "SOS" so I agree, please for assistance.

      --
      ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI
  63. Old Fashioned by MacGyver2210 · · Score: 1

    If I had to design a coat of arms in this day and age, it would totally be all modern and matrix-style.

    --
    If the only way you can accept an assertion is by faith, then you are conceding that it can't be taken on its own merits
  64. not rs232 by Uzik2 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    RS232 sent 11 bits for every byte, It could be an RS232 string of three digits but I don't think so. It's garbage in ASCII.

    --
    -- Programming with boost is like building a house with lego. It's a cool but I wouldn't want to live in it
    1. Re:not rs232 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      how about in EBCDIC?

    2. Re:not rs232 by JesseMcDonald · · Score: 1

      Actually, the number of bits sent in RS-232 depends on the number of data bits, the number of stop bits and whether parity is enabled. The most common format, 8N1, sends one start bit + eight data bits + one stop bit + no parity = 11 bits per byte, but other arrangements are possible.

      --
      "The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else." - Bastiat
    3. Re:not rs232 by Uzik2 · · Score: 1

      Thanks :) Given that it was 33 bits I assumed it might be the 8 bit version.

      --
      -- Programming with boost is like building a house with lego. It's a cool but I wouldn't want to live in it
    4. Re:not rs232 by JesseMcDonald · · Score: 1

      Before someone else points this out: no, that doesn't add up. :) 8N1 should be ten bits, not 11. To get 11 bits you would have to add parity or an extra stop bit, neither of which are common options.

      --
      "The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else." - Bastiat
  65. It's a palindrome sequence by Anti+Cheat · · Score: 1

    I would call it just a simple palindrome, because it is the same sequence of 1 and 0's when read backwards or forwards with a 1 as the central digit. Perhaps that is all this is representing balance on both sides of centre. That certainly would be very representative of Canada and how it views its social conscience and historically how it represents on the world stage. Canada certainly is seen as peace keepers maintaining a balance between antagonists for the last 50 years, but also just as historically willing to step up to the plate of world conflict just as certainly.

    Either that, or it's just balanced front to back because it looks nice and symmetrical on a badge. :)

  66. ok?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I dont understand one thing of this...

    rekrytering
    internatmarknadsföring

  67. A simple binary to hex conversion ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    A simple binary to hexadecimal conversion yields: 1572549D3

  68. Parent is goatse! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The base64 result, y5Kk6QE=, reminds me of something a url shortener would spit out.

    Indeed, you are right. http://goo.gl/y5Kk6QE does indeed exist and go to you know where... Don't click! And mod parent as Troll. It's getting somewhat old now, you know!

  69. Interesting bug in goo.gl by Mathinker · · Score: 1

    I wonder when goo.gl will stop letting people make recursive shortenings of goo.gl (and other shortening service) URLs. It takes delving two levels to figure out where that link goes (hint: add an extra /info level in the URL path before the random string --- which works for bit.ly also, last time I checked).

  70. Re:The numbers are wrong (wild guess) by maxwell+demon · · Score: 1

    No, NATO reads OTA[mirrored letter N] in the rear mirror of the other planes. (I'd have used И but Slashdot eats that.)

    --
    The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
  71. Re:The numbers are wrong (wild guess) by Gumbercules!! · · Score: 1

    Oh man I wish I had mod points... That was pure gold.

  72. That coat of arms is one big joke by ugen · · Score: 1

    Aside from unicorns(!!) which already should say something about the author's intent, did anyone notice two human feet under the main shield? Based on positioning of those feet, the person behind the shield could only be standing with his/her posterior towards the viewer, bent over with knees squeezed together, perhaps holding tightly not to pee (or ready for something else?)

    I think compared to that a random stream of bits is not quite as unusual.

  73. crytpanalyis? by Evil.Bonsai · · Score: 1

    Well, just been studying some basic cryptanalysis. Using basic technique, I notced 33 digits, so I wrote out eleven three-part digits: 110 010 111 001 001 010 100 100 111 010 011 then, using columnar transposition, get 3 eleven digit binary numbers: 10100011100 11100100111 00111000101 Got nothing after that. Time for bed.

    1. Re:crytpanalyis? by Evil.Bonsai · · Score: 1

      also see that my last 10100011100 11100100111 00111000101 is also a palindrome...meh.

    2. Re:crytpanalyis? by dolmen.fr · · Score: 1

      Now look at those three lines as a bitmap picture.
      Do you see the pattern?

  74. Masonic/Numerology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm surprised nobody has noticed that 33 is a masonic number. Tex Marrs will have this figured out in no time.

    1. Re:Masonic/Numerology by creat3d · · Score: 1

      Look a few comments above yours... Of course, to most people this is crazy talk... we do live in a world of coincidences rather than conspiracies, after all! ;)

      --
      Grammar nazis are to this community what excrements are to gold.
  75. Hex color by wunderdog · · Score: 1

    If you convert the whole thing to hex, you get 0xCB92A4. This as an RGB color is strikingly close to the color of the critters on the coat of arms. The designer probably did it so they wouldn't forget that particular color.

  76. Not Ones and Zeros! by Greyfox · · Score: 1

    They're obviously Ls and Os! He's having a laugh at everyone trying to figure out what the binary code means! Lol!

    --

    I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

  77. No shit Sherlock by GameboyRMH · · Score: 2, Informative

    This happens every time a new URL shortening service launches without a preview feature, and n00bs fall for it.

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  78. 33 = 3*11, 11*3 by crunchyeyeball · · Score: 1

    33 has only 2 factors: 3 & 11. We can therefore plot the bits as a 2d image in only one of 2 possible ways:

    11 rows of 3:
    ---
    110
    010
    111
    001
    001
    010
    100
    100
    111
    010
    011
    ---
    or 3 rows of 11:
    ---
    11001011100
    10010101001
    00111010011
    ---
    This last image looks like the letters AV (easier to view if plotted in a grid), or then again it may just be a pretty pattern. Not enough data to be sure. My next thought was that maybe it evolves into something if plotted in Conway's Game of Life, but it doesn't seem to do much.

    1. Re:33 = 3*11, 11*3 by clone53421 · · Score: 1

      You forgot its other 2 factors:1 & 33. You can plot the bits as a 2d image in one other, final, pattern: 1 row of 33.

      If you’re interpreting it as a repeating tile pattern you might as well be complete, and the 1x tile is a non-trivial solution since you can align it in 33 different ways relative to its neighbouring tiles. And it does make some interesting patterns, but I still doubt that it’s meant to be interpreted that way...

      --
      Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
    2. Re:33 = 3*11, 11*3 by crunchyeyeball · · Score: 1

      You are, of course, correct. I meant to say that 33 has only two prime factors. This was meant to be in reference to Carl Sagan's Arecibo Message*, which used a similar encoding scheme, but with 1679 bits forming a 2d image if plotted as rows & columns based on its prime factors (23*73).

      * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arecibo_message

    3. Re:33 = 3*11, 11*3 by clone53421 · · Score: 1

      This was meant to be in reference to Carl Sagan's Arecibo Message*, which used a similar encoding scheme, but with 1679 bits forming a 2d image if plotted as rows & columns based on its prime factors (23*73)

      Ah, I didn’t catch that – I thought you were just referring to the same thing that this guy was. (What with the pretty pattern and all. Did you check the gif sequences I posted?)

      --
      Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
  79. Boring --- let's get to the good part by Mathinker · · Score: 1

    Who cares what it means, what I want to know is, does he claim to have a copyright on it which will last until his greatgrandchildren die? Is he in the pockets of corporate IP interests?

    Hmm, maybe he's on the "other side" and that is the secret key to the next great DRM scheme, still in secret alpha testing?

    :-)

    1. Re:Boring --- let's get to the good part by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe it's how many years he thinks copyright should persist?

  80. Decoded! by Ragnarok89 · · Score: 1

    It says:

          All your base are belong to us

  81. Re:The numbers are wrong (wild guess) by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

    Yeah, like an ambulance, so you know to pull over :P

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  82. Re:The numbers are wrong (wild guess) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Or it could be simpler than that.
    Have you considered what it looks like in a mirror?

          OTAN | NATO

    Just a thought, I could be wrong.

  83. Herald the herald by kevinodotnet · · Score: 1

    Actually I know the herald that designed that portion of the Coat of Arms. I asked her right away & the verdict is: no hidden meaning. Come on life, this is my one chance for a +5 Informative rating on slashdot...

  84. genuine ascii art coat of arms by circletimessquare · · Score: 1

    would have been cooler

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  85. It's a Canadian coat of arms so... by HRH+King+Lerxst · · Score: 1

    ...they were trying for the lyrics to "The Body Electric," by Rush, but failed miserably...

    1001001 In distress...

    --
    No one got beat up more often than the mimes of the old west!
  86. Bender's Big Score by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Looks like the Time Code to me.

  87. This may surprise you by kahri · · Score: 1

    Not sure if anyone is aware of the University of Waterloo's reputation, but I will briefly fill you in.

    It is most likely one of the best schools on the continent--certainly in Canada--for computer science, engineering, and mathematics. It may not quite match up to MIT and Stanford, but it is a very good school. If you haven't heard of it, it's probably because it's not much older than 50 years and doesn't output a lot of research. (That or... you know, it's in Canada, eh. The hat may not be particularly noteworthy.) Don't think that the binary on the coat of arms is a mistake or an attempt to get with the times. It was definitely intentional, and is probably some cute inside joke. Though I couldn't offer you much insight towards its meaning :P

    1. Re:This may surprise you by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The best analysis that I've seen suggests it's a maple leaf:

      http://www.jonathanplourde.ca/ggcodesolution.html

      The fact that the number is also a prime _and_ a palindrome make it very cool. (Incidentally, having had Dr. Johnston as a prof, I would say that this is not at all beyond his capability in riddle-making; he is very, very clever.)

  88. And the winning number is.... by marqs · · Score: 1

    110010111001001010100100111010012

    What if it is decimal?
    110 nonillion, 10 octillion, 11 septillion, 1 sextillion, 1 quantrillion, 10 quadrillion, 100 trillion, 100 billion, 11 million, 10 thousand and 11

  89. Head of state? by glwtta · · Score: 1

    I'm not up on my Canadian politics, but I would've thought the PM is the "de facto" head of state? While technically, the Queen is the actual head of state.

    I would've thought the governor general position is purely ceremonial, hence the heavy emphasis on pointless bullshit like coats of arms.

    --
    sic transit gloria mundi
    1. Re:Head of state? by icegreentea · · Score: 1

      PM is defacto head of state. Queen is actual head of state, but since our Queen prefers to live in her palaces in one of the other countries she lords over, we get her governor-general to sign everything for her.

      GG and Queen is largely ceremonial, though they actually do have some actual power. Recently, our PM asked the GG to prorogue (end) parliament early. It would have been within her (our previous GG was female) to say no (and a lot of wished she did). Turns out Harper had a devious plan of bugging the Queen to overrule her GG if she actually did say no. That would have been something remarkable to see. Probably the most the Queen has used her power in any official capacity in a long time.

      And we don't need a monarch to come up with "pointless bullshit". Your army actually spends money making sure their unit crests are heraldry correct according to rules made up by bunch of old Europeans back before guns ever did anything useful. Think about that.

    2. Re:Head of state? by Edgewood · · Score: 1

      Yah, I think they meant to say that he is the "de jure" head of state--by law, not the "de facto" head of state--by fact.

    3. Re:Head of state? by angus77 · · Score: 1

      No, the Prime Minister is the Head of Government, the Queen is the Head of State, and the Governor General is the Queen's representative in Canada (since she doesn't live here).

  90. He's number one by Quila · · Score: 1

    It's a palindrome. Fold it in half, hinging on the middle number, XORing every number that ends up on top of another, and you're left with 1.

  91. there is a pattern by juanhf · · Score: 1

    The pattern repeats itself in reverse after the 17th digit:

    1100 1011 1001 0010 1 0100 1001 1101 0011

    1. Re:there is a pattern by juanhf · · Score: 1

      In revese
      0100 = 4 = D (fourth letter in alphabet)
      1001 = 9 = J

      His first and last initial, but don't see what the M C are for...
      1101 = 13 = M
      0011 = 3 = C

    2. Re:there is a pattern by Antisyzygy · · Score: 1

      .... hence its a palindrome.

      --
      That brings me to an interesting point, / . is just "the ramblings of socially-inept, technology-literate news-mongers".
  92. Holy grail by formfeed · · Score: 1

    It's coordinates to the place where the treasure of the Templars (and the Holy Grail) is hidden. But in order to read it, you need a Canadian quarter and a North-pointing moose.

    1. Re:Holy grail by Dan+Dankleton · · Score: 1

      No, he said "mouse"!

  93. "y" isn't always voweluoular, ya'know... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    d:

  94. Re:The numbers are wrong (wild guess) by Monsieur_F · · Score: 1

    Your mirror does not work correctly. Patch it.

    --
    McCartney fans pay bus tickets. [...] Lennon fans too, with discretion.
  95. Mirrored binary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Has anyone noticed that if you move from the outsides towards the center the two sides mirror each other? That's all I felt like seeing. I have more important things to do today.

  96. Symmetry by superdana · · Score: 1

    I wouldn't read too much into the number being a palindrome. The entire coat of arms is symmetrical; why would the digits be any different?

    1. Re:Symmetry by maxwell+demon · · Score: 1

      The text on it is very clearly asymmetric.

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
  97. Palindrome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's a binary palindrome.

    I suspect that there is some meaning to the "up/down" oscillation. But, other than that, no meaning...

  98. Eh? wannabegeek2 has a ways to go by A+nonymous+Coward · · Score: 1

    33 bits = 8 hex digits + 1 bit.

  99. I think it means.... by ALeader71 · · Score: 1

    I think it's a code for another code that could translate as: Pass the Moose Milk I'll be at Tim Hortons, and no place else! Don't interrupt me while hockey is on.

    --
    Only the dead have seen the end of War. - Plato
  100. Samenumber1rebmunemaS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    From what I see, the first 16 digits are the same as the last 16 digits in reverse seperated by a 1 in the middle.

  101. isn't it obvious? by jd2112 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Drink more ovaltine, eh.

    --
    Any insufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.
  102. Phone # in octal? by woboyle · · Score: 1

    Broken down into octal values you get 6-271-124-4723 - a phone number perhaps? :-)

    --
    Sometimes, real fast is almost as good as real-time.
    1. Re:Phone # in octal? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I was just looking at it in octal myself.
      62 is the country code for Indonesia, and 71 is a valid area code there (for Palembang), not sure about 124-4723 part though. Anyone up for calling another country?

  103. I figured it out! by Fynnsky · · Score: 0

    You have to read it BACKWARDS!

  104. Taking the first bit as error correction (even parity), and filtering as extended ASCII (using whichever I found first on google) I get

    0x97 26 49 D3
    or
    ù&I

    and then one of those funky old ascii lineart codes; in particular, the bottom left corner with a double line at the top and a single line to the right, which I'm not sure how to write here, or if it's even possible.

    U&I (two lines becoming one)...

    You and I become one?

    If it is that, though, it sounds like it's written by a kid who's just picking crap out of an ascii table without actually caring, in much the same way as the people down the page are talking about bad translations of chinese, japanese, and english tattoos.

    Taking the last bit as error correction, by the way, gives a load of nonsense--two lines horizontally, AE, upside-down-questionmark, uppercase theta

  105. Call the RIAA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    it's part of the binary stream from Britney Spears - Toxic

    Sue the bastard for copyright infringement NOW

  106. You fucking morons. by http · · Score: 0

    It is
    192.168.1.1
    You can ALL turn in your geek cards. You see a 32 bit number and don't think IP address?

    --
    If opportunity came disguised as temptation, one knock would be enough.
    3^2 * 67^1 * 977^1
    1. Re:You fucking morons. by maxwell+demon · · Score: 1

      It is
      192.168.1.1
      You can ALL turn in your geek cards. You see a 32 bit number and don't think IP address?

      Sorry, but I see a 33 bit number. And I don't see anywhere a string of 7 consecutive 0s, as the binary representation of 192.168.1.1 has even twice.

      Yes, someone should hand in his geek card. Guess who. :-)

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
  107. Funny numbers... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's curious that there only 1's and zero's, what do you think that means?

    1. Re:Funny numbers... by maxwell+demon · · Score: 1

      It's curious that there only 1's and zero's, what do you think that means?

      Whoever wrote it can't count to 2. :-)

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
  108. It isn't palindromic by intent. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's bilaterally symmetric with a central fold point. A right/left mirror image.

    The guy who designed it knew just enough about binary to know it's used in 'computer stuff', and that it's represented by 0 and 1. Beyond that, he just wanted it to be symmetric to the overall design, because, well, that's just how some people design that kind of thing.

    Look at the rest of his Coat of Arms design - it's all reflected left/right.

    There's no message. No meaning at all.

    1. Re:It isn't palindromic by intent. by interval1066 · · Score: 1

      Sounds like a lost opportunity for extreme cleverness to me.

      --
      Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
  109. It is an image in a table based compression scheme by bwalzer · · Score: 1

    I've decoded it. Yeah, it's porn...

  110. Can even get better (way OT) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In a reverse of this, many years ago I worked as a newly minted RN on an orthopedic ward on evening shift. Patients for minor elective surgery would be admitted on Sunday afternoons so lab work could be done and everything would be ready for the bone surgeons on Monday morning. So we often had a lot of healthy young football players, wrestlers, etc, needing cartilage repairs, etc, hanging around Sunday evenings. The early evening would be a bit rushed with last minute pre-op orders coming in, and lab results coming back, but the rest of the shift was often quiet.

    One Sunday the day shift reported that they had admitted this one guy for some kind of minor fix and everything was normal, except the LPN doing the admission noted he had a tattoo on his penis (we documented all tats and other visible anomalies whether they might have anything to do with the surgery or not). Tats on junk were not common, but not really rare either, but this one got our attention because she said it said "Tiny", and she couldn't understand that. Neither could we, and as the evening progressed it became a kind of running joke among the staff.

    One of the younger aides asked to be assigned to do this guy's surgical prep-- for a knee or elbow surgery, something like that-- saying she wanted to find out what the story was about the tattoo. The team leader allowed this so long as the girl would report her findings to all of us.

    After a rather longer time than it usually takes to do a prep, this girl came back to the break room, her clothing a little mussed and a dreamy look upon her face. She said: "That tattoo doesn't say 'Tiny'. It says 'Ticonderoga New York'.

    1. Re:Can even get better (way OT) by clone53421 · · Score: 1

      She said: "That tattoo doesn't say 'Tiny'. It says 'Ticonderoga New York'.

      Oh, I get it... they abbreviated it because it didn’t fit. (Ti NY)

      --
      Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
  111. Add a dollar sign! by omnichad · · Score: 1

    They're making fun of the US National Debt?

  112. De juris, not de facto by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He's the head of state de juris - in law, not de facto. The de facto head of state is the prime minister... unfortunately.

    1. Re:De juris, not de facto by dadragon · · Score: 1

      Um, what?

      The de jure head of state is the Queen of Canada. The de facto head of state is the Governor General. The head of government is the prime minister.

      --
      God save our Queen, and Heaven bless The Maple Leaf Forever!
  113. How about doing the math? by OldTOP · · Score: 1

    Should be modded down, or FruitLoops should be modded up. As he says:
    1972549D3 (hex)
    6830770643 (decimal)
    Since each Mersenne primes is (by definition) one less than a power of two, it should be immediately obvious that in binary, it will be a string of ones, with no zeros.

    --
    The universe was intelligently designed. Unfortunately God was in a hurry so he coded it in Java.
  114. Additional time wastings by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So, I decided to split the string in groups of 3 bits and padding every group with a 0, then reversing the order of the bits and came up with the following representation in decimal:
    196 226 36 136 228 6
    196.226.36.0 is owned by AfriNIC (http://www.afrinic.net/)
    136.228.6.0 belongs to GS Computer Services Inc. and is administered by ARIN.

    No connection between the two, as far as I could tell. Hex, 64 and text conversions turned up random garbage.

    This is what happens when an IT student has the afternoon free but is away from his gaming rig.

    1. Re:Additional time wastings by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Also, decoding the original string FROM base 64 TO decimal (using http://home2.paulschou.net/tools/xlate/) returns 3 IP ranges from Columbus, Ohio, one from Taipei, Taiwan and one from Beijing, China.
      Still no reason to believe anything was intentional.

  115. Re:The numbers are wrong (wild guess) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Canadian planes should have 'NATOTAN' written on them . . . .

    No, that would be NATOTAN-Eh

  116. What links Shatner and Johnston? by mano.m · · Score: 1

    GG Johnston was also the 14th Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill University, which William Shatner attended. The students got together and named University Centre (the student union's building) 'Shatner', although the administration refuses to acknowledge the name.

    --
    Karma fed to this user will be promptly burnt. Be warned; be wary.
  117. wrap at 11 char, 1 as white, 0 as black by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I tried to post an ascii version of the string wrapped at 11 characters with 1 as white space and 0 as black, but I'm block by "Please use fewer 'junk' characters".
    I think it looks like a nice italic N

  118. Re:The numbers are wrong (wild guess) by H0p313ss · · Score: 1

    Canadian planes should have 'NATOTAN' written on them . . . .

    No, that would be NATOTAN-Eh

    Sadly, as a Canadian computer geek, my natotan-fu is weak eh?

    --
    XML is a known as a key material required to create SMD: Software of Mass Destruction
  119. Re:The numbers are wrong (wild guess) by zalas · · Score: 1

    That would be "natto tan". Nato-tan would obviously be a cute little anime girl mascot for NATO.

  120. Simple.. by hydrofix · · Score: 1

    the first part of the palindrome is

    1100 => C
    1011 => B
    1001 => 9
    0010 => 2

    In 1992 Johnston, according to Wikipedia, received the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal and a honorary doctorate at the Université de Montréal. So the binary simply stands for the hex equivalent of Canada's Best, -92, spelled in binary both ways and with a 1 in middle, symbolizing "numero uno", the quality of being TEH BESTEST.

  121. Metric Conversion by jaaaaayyyyy · · Score: 1

    I think we need to do the bob and doug mckenzie metric conversion on the number before it will make any sense. Double it and add 30.

  122. Morse by MaerD · · Score: 1

    It's morse! It says "Tintmee", there you go, it's just instructions for the artist to shade (tint) that area!

    --
    I put on my robe and wizard hat..
  123. palindrome by ionymous · · Score: 1

    It's a palindrome only because the two sides of the shield are mirror images. He was just consistent with that.
    The binary value isn't exactly random, but it's meaningless. It was chosen for aesthetic reasons... about the same number of zeroes and ones, grouped in a way so no grouping on zeros or ones is too long. Basically so that it doesn't look strange and looks like a "random" binary number.

    Now stop dwelling on this.

    0101 0111 0101 0100 0100 0110 0010 0001 0010 0000 0101 0011 0111 0100 0110 1111 0111 0000 0010 0000 0110 0100 0111 0111 0110 0101 0110 1100 0110 1100 0110 1001 0110 1110 0110 0111 0010 0000 0110 1111 0110 1110 0010 0000 0111 0100 0110 1000 0110 1001 0111 0011 0010 0001 0010 0000 0011 1010 0111 0000

  124. Its a Prime! by rweaving · · Score: 1

    6830770643 is a prime number.

  125. Maybe... by bagsta · · Score: 1

    ... this number represents the coordinates of a lost treasure... :P

    --
    Until the skies turn blue...
    Until the air of freedom strikes us...
  126. Re:The numbers are wrong (wild guess) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No, it would have to be spelled NATTOTAN. NATO != NATTO

  127. World population? by bhingque · · Score: 1

    When was the crest designed? 6,830,770,643 was (briefly) the world population, a few months ago.

  128. cracked by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    stone cutterz pwnz, biatches

  129. It's the launch code ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's the launch code !

  130. not random by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    looking at the first 17 digits I see they flip 6 times and stay the same 10 times. That's not what you'd expect for a random generated numer.

    1=1!0=0!1!0!1=1=1!0=0!1!0=0!1!0!1

  131. explanation of the runes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But, it should be easier to find out what the runes mean since they are only 16 or 24 compared to thousands of chinese and japanese characters.

    I can understand both the old and new furthark pretty much as well as latin letters (it's an interest of mine obviously) and there is a difference between using the runes for writing a message and using them for purposes of magic and symbolism. These days usually the new furthark is used for writing and the old is used for it's symbolism. So, you can have 3 runes from the old furthark and they mean nothing as a word, but have meaning because the individual runes symbolises things. Bjarka for example symbolises fertility and growth. Dagaz symbolises dramatic (traumatic) changes. Tyr symbolises harmonic changes. Etc...

    1. Re:explanation of the runes by Moraelin · · Score: 1

      And then there are those of us who've played Ultima games, and probably outnumber the druids. Took me a while to find out that for example F is Feh and not Flam :p

      So your runic tattoo of, say, Bjarka Tyr will be read by about a million Ultima players not as "growth through harmonious changes", but as "Bet Tym" or the combination of "small" and "time" and wonder what spell is that. Slow time, maybe? I mean "An Tym" was stopping the time, Bet Tym sounds like it should work too in some game or another :P

      --
      A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
  132. is it a futurama reference? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I remember an episode where bender was watching a robot comedian making jokes in binary...
    dont remember which episode it was...

  133. I can't believe no one has suggested... by sootman · · Score: 1

    ... the evil bit! Now, let me just check the RFC to see if that goes at the beginning or the end, then I can start decoding.

    --
    Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
  134. palindrome by ldcroberts · · Score: 1

    probably all it is

  135. De Facto head of state? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As de facto head of state and the Queen's representative in Canada

    OMG, when did Canada become an absolute monarchy again?!?!? I'm glad I got out when I did.

    (I think you mean de jure, not de facto.

  136. A Thought by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Converting that binary number to decimal gives you 13341348. A quick Google search yields several results about one Joan Plantagenet, also known as Joan of England, third child of King Edward III, because the first four digits of that number are the year she was born and the last four are the year she died of Bubonic Plague.

    Coincidence? Probably, but I like fueling conspiracy theories. And if it isn't, I fail to see the significance anyway.

  137. Re:The numbers are wrong (wild guess) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I, for one, welcome our new darkened skin tone while slathered with fermented beans palindromic overlords.

    AC

  138. You could have at least linked to the source by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://usedwigs.com/tattoos/

  139. bmp of the shield background by WarlockSquire · · Score: 1

    if you translate it into a b/w image 11x3 pixels, then repeat, offset by a few rows each repetition, you get essentially the background of the shield:

    http://i51.tinypic.com/30msd3s.jpg

  140. Re:The numbers are wrong (wild guess) by Stihdjia · · Score: 1

    How about ATNO? Sorta like how UTC stands neither for Coordinated Universal Time, nor Temps Universel Coordonné.

    --
    I see the fnords!
  141. His salary by Mishotaki · · Score: 1

    Off course, we all know that it's the salary that he's gonna get over the time as a governor general... we all know that the only only thing canadians are good for is screwing their government...

    1. Re:His salary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In Soviet America, government screws you!

  142. World population by sik0fewl · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It's awfully close to the estimated world population.

    In decimal, the number is 6,830,770,643. According to Wikipedia, the United States Census Bureau estimates the world population to be 6,872,800,000.

    --
    I remember when legal used to mean lawful, now it means some kind of loophole. - Leo Kessler
  143. Here's a possible solution: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Here's an interesting solution...

    http://www.jonathanplourde.ca/ggcodesolution.html

    1. Re:Here's a possible solution: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Screw my idea. I think this one's right.

  144. Deeply offended by Capt.DrumkenBum · · Score: 1

    After decoding your binary posts I am DEEPLY offended!
    I won't decode then for young eyes. But you are a nasty person! That second one is truly vile!

    --
    If I were God, wouldn't I protect my churches from acts of me?
  145. QE I of Canada, no? by zooblethorpe · · Score: 1

    I thought (perhaps erroneously?) that the number after a monarch's name was the number of monarchs of that name that have ruled a particular country. Wouldn't that make Elizabeth QE II of the UK, but QE I of Canada?

    From Wikipedia:

    After the Canadian colonies of France were, via war and treaties, ceded to the British Crown, and the population was greatly expanded by those loyal to George III fleeing north from persecution during and following the American Revolution, British North America was in 1867 confederated by Queen Victoria to form Canada as a kingdom in its own right. By the end of the First World War, the increased fortitude of Canadian nationalism inspired the country's leaders to push for greater independence from the King in his British Council, resulting in the creation of the uniquely Canadian monarchy through the Statute of Westminster, which was granted Royal Assent in 1931.

    By way of example, Louis VIII of France was also known, albeit more obscurely, as Louis I of England, which he actually did rule for around one year, May 1216 to August 1217. This was in between the unpopular John of England and the more familiar Henry III. Terry Jones (yes, that Terry Jones) makes a fun and well-annotated argument for recognizing King Louis the First in his book, Medieval Lives. More also over at Wikipedia.

    Cheers,

    --
    "What in the name of Fats Waller is that?"
    "A four-foot prune."
  146. Boring by tru3ntropy · · Score: 1

    I dont see what all the fuss is about people have been putting ROT26 and above on coats of arms for years.

    --
    In Google we trust.
  147. Possible meaning by studog-slashdot · · Score: 1

    Students graduating from the University of Waterloo's Math Faculty are invited to make one or more graduating pledges to support U(W). One of those pledges is the Dean's Prime Number Club, which confers upon you your very own Prime Number.

    As others have noted, the binary sequence is a palindrome prime number in base 2. David Johnston is U(W)'s out-going President. It's likely that the Math Dean's Office has awarded him his very own Prime Number as an honorific (or for completing the pledge!) and he has chosen to incorporate it into his personal Coat of Arms.

    I am unable to find the Prime Number registry online or in fact any mention of it at all, U(W) web pages about pledges aside. Digging out my old papers I see that the letter awarding one's Prime Number merely says "Here it is in the box at the bottom. Congratulations!" Perhaps the Dean's Office will confirm tomorrow.

    ...Stu, hopefully not the only member of the Dean's Prime Number Club reading Slashdot...

  148. An admittedly unlikely derivation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Binary. So 2. Take 2, and square it: 4. The 4th prime is 7. Take 2 to the 7th power: 128. The 128th prime is 719. Multiply 719 by the two exponents used previously, 2 and 7: 2*7*719 = 10066. 110010111001001010100100111010011 is the 10066th palindromic prime. Eh??

  149. Re:The numbers are wrong (wild guess) by ThePromenader · · Score: 1

    ATNO time?

    --

    No, no sig. Really.

    ThePromenader
  150. Re:The numbers are wrong (wild guess) by vegiVamp · · Score: 1

    As an addition to the other people who already pointed out the existence of not-america, wouldn't you think that if they did so in the interest of mirror reading, that they would have, you know, MIRRORED the N ?

    --
    What a depressingly stupid machine.
  151. Re:The numbers are wrong (wild guess) by vegiVamp · · Score: 1

    If they did that, the French would start whining because they're always put second.

    --
    What a depressingly stupid machine.
  152. It's a Bitmask by flnca · · Score: 1

    If you look at it as three lines of 11 bits each, placed below each other, you get 3 groups of 4-3-4 blocks that are bit masks for a slash, a circle, and another slash:
    1100 101 1100
    1001 010 1001
    0011 101 0011

  153. Calling Jenny by Geotopia · · Score: 1

    I tried it out and got a very cranky middle age woman who's first question was an abrupt "where did you get this number!?" She calmed down and explained how long it took her to get her number changed from 867-5309. She's saddened that she would have to go get a new number now. I told her to stop writing it on bathroom walls and she hung up on me. Was I being insensitive?

  154. One Possibility.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Here’s one possibility. There are 33 numbers but really there are 16 numbers starting on the left followed by a 1 in the middle and starting from the right edge the same 16 numbers are repeated in reverse order.

    If you assume the left and right sides are simply a mirror image of each other then we have only 16 numbers + the 1 in the middle that can be used by either side.

    Now, if we use only the 16 and the middle number we have:

    11001011100100101

    which translates into the number: 203 1461 which is a phone number in downtown toronto (toronto being the home of the GG.) The number specifically is for a person living at 77 Harbour square, a location that is immediately next to the Queens Quay and looks across the water directly at Queen’s Quay Terminal. That location is also right next to the Westen Harbour Castle.

    Pretty coincidental for a man who is supposed to be representing the Queen in Canada don’t you think?

    One also has to wonder why that particular person’s phone number (as opposed to anyone else in that building) might have been chosen. Is there a direct connection between S. Ross (the person’s name) and the new GG?