Why Devices Sometimes Feel "Buzzy"

· ·

Oh wow, I've always wondered what that feeling was and here is Professor Hannah Fry explaining it all.

28 May 2026

You can feel it on other people's skin too! 

If they hold a charging phone or tablet while sitting on a bed or somewhere with their feet off the ground (so they aren't themselves grounded) and you keep your feet on the ground and gently stroke their skin with your finger - you will feel them "buzzing" 

(as long as you're both sweaty enough of course...)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular articles

W. C. Fields quotes

Image
The office has all been moved around - new desks (with starter handles to raise and lower them), new high(er) speed network and ... the same old work. At least I have a differing view of the world, my team (well, the team I'm a part of not "my" team) is a lot closer - finally - and it's like an office from the 80's ... or even a classroom. But I still have time to move the crap off the PC : ------ Any man who hates dogs and loves whiskey can't be all bad. Anyone who hates Dogs and Kids Can't be All Bad. Hey! Who took the cork off my lunch??! Who stole the cork from my breakfast? Now don't say you can't swear off drinking, it's easy. I've done it a thousand times. Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people. If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again. Then quit, no use being a damn fool about things. Madam, there's no such thing as a tough child - if you parboil them first for seven hours, they alwa...

Dunning-Kruger Effect Memes And Cartoons

Image
The Dunning-Kruger effect : when people overestimate their skills because they don't know enough to see their own lack of knowledge or ability. I have trawled the Web finding the finest of funnies, by all means share them when you feel the need.

Remember To Bring A Plate

Image
A simple phrase, "remember to bring a plate", used by Kiwi's whenever there is a social gathering of sorts - very popular for Thirsty Thursday drinks :) It means, on the surface, "Bring a plate of food to share" and not bring an empty plate! The underlying meaning is "Bring a plate of something to share, no matter how small or cheap" as it is the bringing of the plate that matters and not really the contents. It's an expression of community, whanau, love, and friendship and not an expectation that you'll spend hours and hours in the kitchen. Although, if that's your thing then absolutely go for it and you will be praised to the heavens. In New Zealand, the "plate" should ideally be something easy to share, like club sandwiches, sausage rolls, or a slice of cake - remember it's the sharing that matters, not the actual food. It's not just a Kiwi thing of course, Aussies have the same and I'm sure many other parts of the ...

30-40,000 Images In A 24 hour Period

Image
Wholly fark a molly, "30-40,000 images in a 24 hour period" is a shit tonne of photos The Guardian receives from it's photo journalists and others around the world. 30-40,000 images in a 24 hour period and during an event like the World Cup this can double. I can't imagine the systems they have to sieve this amount and to choose the ones they want to use, astounding eh. The Guardian’s global head of photography, Fiona Shields , also discusses : How to pursue quality in an age of phone cameras What's your advice for young photographers? Is there still a place for film in covering breaking news? Is it over for black and white photography? Is it possible to convey when a public figure's image has changed? Why always use mugshots for convicted people? Politician snaps: interesting vs unflattering? How do you ensure images are real? How do you use child images responsibly? What are your iconic political photos?

It's All About The Data, 4 Reads Why

Image
I spent a happy few evenings last month going through all my passwords in my password manager and, for any accounts that I never use, I visited the website to delete the account. It turns out there are 4 types out of methods to delete: Big button on the website, push the delete, and it's done Fill in a form, wait for a response Send an email to an 'admin', wait for a response Call a phone number Steps 1 - 3 were fine, and around 90% of my requests were, eventually, actioned. Making me do a phone call is SHITE and I now hate the company. Here's 4 articles all about data, and the last link talks about what really happens when you 'delete' something. The danger when a metric becomes a target by Kat Greenbrook, August 2, 2026 There are many things that organisations care about that are hard to measure directly. Instead, they measure something else that correlates with what they care about. Test scores are measured to represent student learning. Emergency department ...

Open, Sovereign, Built To Last

Image
Who doesn't want their tech platforms to be open, sovereign, and built to last? A question aimed at everyone in AoNZ but especially and directly to the NZ Government / government. It's well known that the NZ government is an almost totally closed ' Microsoft shop ' with Microsoft's wide ranging contracts for all agencies, use of the ( flaky ) Microsoft stack from offshore* AI / SAAS to the desktop operating systems and apps. It's Microsoft all the way down baby. Fantastic if you're Microsoft (based in Washington, United States) or a New Zealand Microsoft employee. Shit if you have any sense of being open, sovereign, built to last, which every Kiwi assumes the government is being. Catalyst , a Wellington (NZ) headquartered tech company and proudly NZ owned has fought the good fight for so long they must be bruised from all their banging of heads against the brickwall.  We're Catalyst, the technology partner backing some of New Zealand's most ...

5 Common Logical Fallacies and How to Spot Them

Image
I want to run through something important but often overlooked in our daily conversations, debates, and even our own thinking: logical fallacies . Understanding logical fallacies is like having a mental toolkit for spotting weak arguments, manipulation, and plain old fuzzy thinking. It's about sharpening your critical thinking skills and navigating the complex landscape of information and persuasion we encounter every day. In this "long read," we're going to break down five common logical fallacies (with another five in a follow-up post ), look at where they came from (or how they were identified), explore their potential downsides, and, most importantly, provide actionable strategies for spotting them and adjusting our own thinking. The Cheat Sheet Alright, here is the [tl;dr] "too long; didn't read and can't wait" version of all ten fallacies at a glance for those of us who need the shorthand to get back to the rugby or the...

Rugby World Cup 2011 Fixture iCal Calendar

Image
2026/7 UPDATE: You'll be looking for this I imagine: Rugby World Cup 2027 Fixture iCal Calendar The calendar has now morphed into the ongoing International Rugby Fixtures iCal Calendar ...

The Difference Between One Million And One Billion

Image
It feels like a billion is just a bit bigger than a million. Obviously it's bigger but it fits on the same scale as a million, surely. It doesn't. A billion is so so so much bigger than a million. I've trawled the internet finding graphics and videos that show the VAST difference between one million and one billion. Oh, and just to finish with a different misconception about space starting with the classic opening line from the great Douglas Adams and The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy : “Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.” < 64: Always get explicit consent 66: Ask that question >

Why I Find These Funny

Image
Anyone that spots a lump of bureaucratic bullshit AND ties that to a common human desire is great in my books :) The second story just tickles my Carry On 'poos and farts are funny' mind - it's not big, it's not clever, but HA HA HA HA. The Bureau of Minor Sufferings (BMS) is a satirical AI-powered certificate generator that creates hyper-formal US government-style complaint documents for everyday petty grievances. Users describe a minor complaint — a stolen lunch, a Netflix betrayal, being left on read — and receive a personalized bureaucratic certificate complete with an official case number, two findings of fact, a severity grade on the Bureau’s DEFCON scale, a forensic emotional-impact calculation, a fabricated legal precedent, and a formal ruling. The service is free to use with no account required. Both findings and the Official Ruling are included free; an optional Official Filing ($4.99, one-time) adds a clean, watermark-free HD download. The Bureau is a parody...