Sunday, November 15, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
10 Geeky Laws...
10 Geeky Laws That Should Exist, But Don’t
- By Matt Blum
- November 10, 2009 |
- 8:00 am |
- Categories: Everything Else
10 geeky laws (axioms) that should exist, but don’t … at least, they didn’t until now:
xkcd © Randall Munroe
1. Munroe’s Law: A person in a geeky argument who can quote xkcd to support his position automatically wins the argument. This law supersedes Godwin, so that even if the quote is about Hitler, the quoter still wins.
2. Lucas’s Law: There is no movie so beloved that a “special edition,” prequel or sequel cannot trample and forever stain its memory.
3. Tolkien and Rowling’s Law: No reasonably faithful movie adaptation of a book will ever be quite as good as the book it adapts. Thus great movie adaptations can only be made out of truly amazing books.
4. Somers and McCarthy’s Law: There is no dangerous unscientific theory so preposterous that no celebrity will espouse and advocate it.
5. Jobs’s Law: No matter how well last year’s cool tech gadget still works, it will seem utterly inadequate the moment the new version comes out.
6. Savage and Hyneman’s Law: Blowing stuff up is fun. Blowing stuff up in the name of science is AWESOME.
7. Starbucks’ and Peet’s Law: C8H10N4O2, better known as caffeine, is the most wonderful chemical compound known to humankind. If the field of chemistry had never identified or produced a single other useful compound, caffeine alone would be justification enough for its existence.
8. Wilbur’s Law: Bacon makes everything better.
9. Comic Book Guy’s Law: There is no detail of a movie too brief or inconsequential to become the subject of an hours-long diatribe.
10. The Unified Geek Theory: At present, the President of the United States, the wealthiest person in the United States, and the most trusted newscaster in the United States are all geeks. At the same time, movies based on comic book characters are routinely taking in hundreds of millions of dollars. The only reasonable conclusion is: We’ve won!
RNC insurance plan covers abortion for their employees - Feministing - Sent using Google Toolbar
RNC insurance plan covers abortion for their employees - Feministing
RNC insurance plan covers abortion for their employees
For those of you who haven't already heard, let me repeat that: the Republican National Committee (RNC) has a health insurance plan for their employees that covers abortion. Now, this shouldn't even be surprising, despite my out-loud laugh half in amazement, half fury when I found out arriving home last night. Because as Amie and Cecile Richards say - of course their plan covers abortion! It's a standard health benefit plan any employer would want to offer their employees, yes?
But as Politico points out, for a committee whose platform that says abortion is "a fundamental assault on innocent human life," and its members just voted for the Stupak-Pitts Amendment attacking the very existence of abortion coverage in health insurance plans (along with enough anti-choice and cowardly Dems) in the recently House passed health care bill, this is pretty incredible to hear.
“The supreme accomplishment ...
“The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play.” - Arnold Toynbee
Friday, November 13, 2009
World's Cheapest Laptop
posted by David Adams on Fri 13th Nov 2009 18:16 UTC
Techvideoblog has a video review of the Menq Easypc E760, an $80 ARM-based laptop that runs Android. From the looks of it, I don't think this is a very good gadget, because it's slow (less powerful than an iPhone 3GS, but of course also a lot cheaper), but I agree with the Techvideo guy: the Easypc is important because it's the vanguard of a likely wave of cheap, ARM-based devices that will very soon have the necessary power for a pleasant and productive web browsing experience. Once that happens, a sizable portion of the current laptop and netbook userbase will move downmarket, and some of the constituents that the OLPC program was trying to serve (young students and the lower economic stratum) will have a network communication device available to them that's more accessible.
Political Compass - Take the test
The Political Compass
Economic Left/Right: -6.00
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.03
Take your own PoliticalCompass testThursday, November 12, 2009
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Friday, November 06, 2009
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Applause for the SmartHand
American Friends of Tel Aviv University: Applause for the SmartHand
Applause for the SmartHand
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
TAU's man/machine interface is essential link in groundbreaking prosthetic hand
 |
In one sense, our hands define our humanity. Our opposable thumbs and our hands' unique structure allow us to write, paint, and play the piano. Those who lose their hands as a result of accident, conflict or disease often feel they've lost more than mere utility.
A new invention from Tel Aviv University researchers may change that. Prof. Yosi Shacham-Diamand of TAU's Department of Engineering, working with a team of European Union scientists, has successfully wired a state-of-the-art artificial hand to existing nerve endings in the stump of a severed arm. The device, called "SmartHand," resembles — in function, sensitivity and appearance — a real hand.
"The Red Wheel Barrow"
So much
depends
upon
a red
barrow
glazed withrain
water
beside
the white
chickens. -- William Carlos Williams, "The Red Wheel Barrow"
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
If you aren't hungry enough to eat...
402. If you aren't hungry enough to eat an apple, you aren't hungry.
P.S. Go buy Walker Lamond's book
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
We do live in interesting times ... be careful what you wish for.
The Monday Fix: Palin joins conservatives opposing Republican candidate
from Wash Post Politics by Chris Cillizza
Sarah Palin's decision late last week to endorse the Conservative Party candidate over the Republican nominee in a special U.S. House election in Upstate New York is the latest example that the former Alaska governor's allegiance is to her conservative principles rather than the party's edicts.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
In pictures: The noughties - a decade of lost species
In pictures: The noughties - a decade of lost species | Environment | guardian.co.uk
The noughties: a decade of lost species (10 pictures)
How to Save the World - Dave Pollard
Dave Pollard:: How to Save the World
(Click on picture and "View Image" or follow the link to the article.)
| Long-Term Intention | Long-Term Practices | Short-Term Intentions (Exercises & Projects) | Hrs/day now | Hrs/day intended |
| Reconnecting with All Life on Earth, Instincts & Emotions | Appreciation (1) Presence/Paying Attention (2) Heart-Opening/Letting Go (3) | 10am to 1pm: personal/group - Forest/ocean walks - Presencing exercises - Gratitude exercises - 'Breathing through' meditation | 0 | 3.0 |
| Increasing Capacity & Competency (Personal and Collective) | Understanding How the World Works (4) Capacity-Building (6) | 2pm-6pm: learning/exploring: - presentation/conversation skills - demonstration skills - creative writing exercises - SSUQIOC exercises - balance and empathy practices | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Dismantling Civilization | Activism (7) | 2pm-6pm: - Open Space: Stopping the Tar Sands - Open Space: Ending Factory Farms | 0 | 1.5 |
| Creating Models of a Better Way to Live and Make a Living | Model-Building (8)
| 2pm-6pm: - novel: The Only Life We Know - film: Earth 2200: A Travelogue - workbook: Finding Your Sweet Spot - unschooling: personal practice guide | 0.5 | 1.5 |
| Joy, Understanding | Self-Knowing (5) Being Myself (9) | 8pm-12pm: - reflection/questioning exercises - blogging - play: drawing, photography, with animals (original play) | 3.5 | 4.0 |
| (activities not directly related to any of my intentions -- my Y-stuff) | other hours: - self-care (sleep, exercise etc.) - networking; serendipitous reading - self-management (gardening etc.) | 19.0 | 13.0 |
Nobody Knows Anything - Did the Zen Master teach...
Cacō Ergo Sum
Cacō Ergo Sum
Like other unfortunate side effects of modern philosophy, voiding one's bowels helps ground the sufferer by causing all senses to work in harmony and gives tangible proof of one's existence.
Existential Angst - Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia
Friday, October 23, 2009
What? No rights in prison?!?
A foreigner’s life in a Beijing jail
Posted on 2009/10/23, 16:42, by Jeremy Goldkorn, under Crime.
A foreign man who spent the last seven months in jail sent Danwei this description of his daily life at the Beijing No. 1 Detention Center after his release last week.
If I were a Chinese person and not a foreigner, a crime like mine would have been dealt with on the “city district” level, as opposed to the “municipal” level which is much tougher.
The other people incarcerated at Beijing No. 1 Detention Center were all facing life sentences or death sentences, at least as a possibility, so it’s not a place where detainees are given a lot of slack. It’s the site of Beijing’s newly constructed hi‐tech lethal injection chamber.
It was boring as anything, and the rules were strict.
Danwei II » Blog Archive » A foreigner’s life in a Beijing jail
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
News Analysis - Painful Mideast Truth - Force Trumps Diplomacy - NYTimes.com
News Analysis - Painful Mideast Truth - Force Trumps Diplomacy - NYTimes.com
Painful Mideast Truth: Force Trumps Diplomacy
Oded Balilty/Associated Press
Palestinians on the way from Bethlehem, in the West Bank, to attend prayers at Al Aksa Mosque in Jerusalem crossing an Israeli checkpoint.
JERUSALEM — As the Obama administration tries to broker a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there is a dark truth lurking: force has produced clearer results in this dispute than talk.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
I took pictures...
There are people who find it odd to eat four or five Chinese meals
in a row; in China, I often remind them, there are a billion or so
people who find nothing odd about it.
-- Calvin Trillin
in a row; in China, I often remind them, there are a billion or so
people who find nothing odd about it.
-- Calvin Trillin
When I traveled to China I took along photographs of my children. The pictures showed my children eating with chopsticks. I mistakenly thought the Chinese people would be impressed that my children knew how to eat with chopsticks. Silly me! Every Chinese child knows how to eat with chopsticks. Sheeeesh!
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
STUPID PEOPLE
I post this as a reminder to myself and anyone who sees it that there are VERY STUPID PEOPLE in the world and we must be ever vigilant. Please remember that venomous snakes will also bite the hand that feeds them.
Lakeville Country Club owner Gary Mosca looks down at a message carved into the 18th green, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009, in Lakeville, Mass. The Secret Service and local police are investigating after a swastika was found carved into the Massachusetts golf course green next to President Barack Obama's name.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Bagheera kiplingi
I just love its name ... Bagheera kiplingi. I am sure that Rudyard would be pleased as well.
Vegetarian Spider (via ScienceDaily)
There are approximately 40,000 species of spiders in the world, all of which have been thought to be strict predators that feed on insects or other animals. Now, scientists have found that a small Central American jumping spider has a uniquely different diet: the species Bagheera kiplingi feeds predominantly on plant food…..
Monday, October 12, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Homegrown American Marijuana Threatens Mexican Cartels
Homegrown American Marijuana Threatens Mexican Cartels
cbsnews.com — Stiff competition from thousands of mom-and-pop marijuana farmers in the United States threatens the bottom line for powerful Mexican drug organizations in a way that decades of arrests and seizures have not, according to law enforcement officials and pot growers in the United States and Mexico.
Friday, October 09, 2009
Barack Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize
The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia
Barack Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize
By WALTER GIBBS and ALAN COWELL 15 minutes ago
In a stunning surprise, the Nobel Committee honored President Obama “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples” less than a year after his election.
Nobel Committee Release
Doug Mills/The New York Times
President Obama meeting with President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia in New York in September.
Barack Obama: Interactive TimelineThursday, October 08, 2009
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Sunday, October 04, 2009
A very notable quote *Smirk*
So I say outpedant the pedants, and allow yourself to gluttonously revel in the linguistic improprieties of yore as you familiarize yourself with the nearly unique enormity of the gloriously mistaken heritage that our literature is comprised of. For those of you keeping score at home, that last sentence contained a verbal noun, a split infinitive, an improper -ize, an inflectional comparative, a blatantly misleading word choice, at least one example of catachresis, an unnecessarily passive construction — and it ended with a preposition. All of which I’m willing to bet appear in Shakespeare.
—
Ammon Shea
[On Language - Defending Against Language Pedants - NYTimes.com]
Thanks for the fun: ambivalence - So I say outpedant the pedants, and allow yourself...
I wanted change...
...but I am not so naive as to believe in campaign promises. Barack Obama is a professional politician. The fact that politicians cannot and will not keep campaign promises does not surprise me. The fact that our government is not run by just one person does not surprise me.
Conversely I am surprised when other vocal proponents and detractors would lay the entire responsibility of their unfulfilled expectations squarely on the shoulders of one man.I voted for Barack Obama. I wanted to see change.I wanted to see an intelligent, articulate person occupy the office of President of the United States of America. I wanted a person who would be presidential. I wanted a person that I could be proud of. I even considered the fact that Barack Obama is a person of color to be an added bonus. I have not been disappointed.The room is completely empty.
The room is completely empty. No furniture, no carpet or rug. No pictures, no fixtures, no curtains at the window. Only a diminutive man sitting, his walking staff at his side, framed by beams of sunlight.
"Master?" I asked quietly. "Do not call me that. I am not a Master""How then should I address you?""I am" he said never opening his eyes.I sat opposite him in the space at what I felt was a respectful distance. I sat quietly. I tried to find myself, center myself. In a single fluid motion the man rose. With measured pace he approached and placed his walking staff behind me. I flinched."Sit up. With your back straight."I stretched until I could feel his staff between my shoulder blades and at the back of my head. "Better. Now tell me why you have come."I sat motionless. I let my mind race desperately through all of my pre-arranged scenarios. I searched all of my pre-recorded explanations, all of my practicedrationalizations. Each returned an empty hollow resonance. I flushed with a sense of embarrassment."I... I do not know."When I let my head nod forward slightly he allowed the staff to swing in pendulum fashion and tap me gently. "Sit up. Be here."I was here. All of me was right here. From the dull ache of my legs unaccustomed to sitting on a hard floor to my searching everything within my sight for some sign of this man's purpose. The barren room gave up nothing. The sunshine and blue sky beyond offered nothing as well. Suddenly I could hear my own breathing. Then the internal conversation started. Was I breathing correctly? Should it be a 4 count inhale and a 6 count exhale? Were there errands I had to run after this? The grocery list is in my pocket. His walking staff swung again and tapped me gently."Come back tomorrow when you have less time and more to do."Returning to his original place in the room the small man sank into the same seated position. He set his walking staff at this side. He closed his eyes.
Friday, October 02, 2009
Futuristic cars, never to be driven...
This reminds me of the automobile makers that show the futuristic cars ... that never get made or driven.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Too slow and too fast?
Congress needs more time to consider health care reform for 300 million people but we should act as soon as possible to put 30-40 thousand more young women and men in harms way in Afghanistan??
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Twitter naked! Tweets at 11:00
Serious Conversations? Not on Twitter
Steven Hodson acknowledges 'the emperor is naked' ... Tweets at 11:00
...I began feeling frustrated because of the limitations Twitter has. It wasn’t just the 140 character limits but also the irritation of trying to keep track of Ed’s replies / counterpoints as they mixed in with all the other noise.Saying very eloquently what I have felt from the very beginning... too little content, too much noise.
. . .
That is the thing about Twitter though – it might be great for short micro-burst announcements or off the cuff exchange of comments but when it comes to maintaining a serious conversation it sucks.
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