The following are stragglers, the things I didn’t get around to commenting on this week or last. Calling them “leftovers” seems, well, unattractive. So I’ll dub them “bits and pieces…”  It’s all about packaging, right?

Porn - Surprising to many, porn occupies only about one percent of ‘Net sites according to a recently published study based on extensive random sampling. Of course, that’s little consolation to parents - there are an estimated one billion ‘Net sites, so one percent is still ten million. …

Cisco vs. Apple - Apple and Cisco had negotiated for over two years without reaching agreement over the use of the word “iPhone” at the time Apple’s iPhone was introduced, prompting a trademark infringement lawsuit. Well, it looks like the two have reached an accord. Both will continue use of the name with each sticking to their respective current uses - Apple will use it to describe their cell phone devise and Cisco to describe their VOiP device. Seems reasonable. …

Vista - The new Windows OS, hyped for two years, coming for five, isn’t drawing any “you gotta have it reviews.” In fact, two reviewers I read compared it unfavorably to Mac as requiring far too many unnecessary prompts; It needs a big computer; It’s likely to be SLOW on your computer (that ran XP just fine.) Problem: there is no uninstall - You must reformat your hard disk, losing any stored data and apps, to reinstall XP. …

DRM - Steve Jobs’ call to drop DRM (music copy protection) is meeting passionate opposition from those who still hope to make money from new music releases. Don’t expect any breakthrough soon. …

Google - Telecoms are worried. Rumor has it that Google is planning to provide ‘Net phone service. It’s now easy to do well; Vonage is doing it and must be making money to afford all that TV advertising. Google’s clout and funding ability, together with the possibility of a combined phone and ‘Net access service, could cause some real headaches for phone companies. …

And there you have it. Enjoy a wonderful weekend!

It’s Wednesday so this must be hump day. It occurred to me that I have no idea where the term originated, so I set about conducting a little (very little) research. I’m afraid I learned little more than I already knew.

“Hump day” is, of course, a synonym for Wednesday. The idiom is based on the notion that if a worker has made it half-way through the week, struggling uphill from Monday, that the rest of the week is an easier slide toward Friday and the weekend; the end is in sight from the hump, the top of the hill.

Used in the context of climbing a proverbial hill to get through a tough week makes sense. But there’s also the double entendre related to sex. I’m not clear if, in that context, the term applies only to those who limit their sex to Wednesdays…

Anyway,  I’m still no closer to knowing the idiom’s origin. If you know, please share.