May 20, 2002
a quarter of world species face extinction
a quarter of world species face extinction and for some reason the bush administration refuses to fund UN backed family planning programs opinions?
Imagine you are moving between apartments. Check out this Verizon "How do I..." page. Over 40 questions are answered, but the 2nd most obvious question one might have is strangely absent. Then try to order a basic cable service from Time Warner Cable. Do you have other examples of corporate sites that are less than helpful when what you want is less than what they would like to sell - or when you want to cancel?
A sad day for lovers of good writing. In addition to Stephen Jay Gould, historian Walter Lord has died. (NYT, blah blah) Lord's 1955 book A Night to Remember arguably touched off the modern world's fascination with the Titanic, and his 1957 Day of Infamy is an exciting account of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Here's
Here's your opportunity to participate in something gravely important. I'm salivating in anticipation of the DBZ bashing on this thread (sarcasm).
Buy wadded paper
from very famous artist
and then you like it
China to Mine Moon for 'Benefit of Humanity'.
China to Mine Moon for 'Benefit of Humanity'. China says it is planning to establish a base on the Moon to exploit its mineral resources. Beijing has not yet put a human into space, but scientists say they expect to do so within three years and they have outlined an ambitious programme for the future. Chinese space official Ouyang Ziyuan said: "Our long-term goal is to set up a base on the moon and mine its riches for the benefit of humanity."
3 Stench Ridden Days
3 Stench Ridden Days "For almost 3 damned days I couldn't find what was causing this god-awful smell. All of my house mates and I were convinced that there was a rotting mouse either under the floor boards or in the wall. Well I say all my house mates except for James William Ascroft-Leigh, who suggested the smell was coming from my computer. I laughed and called him a fool, claiming that the computer surley wouldn't work with a dead mouse in it..."
"The Texas conveyor belt of death rolls on.
"The Texas conveyor belt of death rolls on. Against international law, three Texas inmates face imminent execution for murders committed when they were children. Since 1998, Texas has killed five child offenders - people who were under 18 at the time of the crimes. If Napoleon Beazley, TJ Jones and Toronto Patterson are put to death on 28 May, 8 August, and 28 August respectively, Texas will have executed as many child offenders in a four-month period as Iran, the next worst perpetrator outside the USA, has carried out in the whole of the past decade."
Ha! Yet another area where them loser Axis of Evil® fellas ain't up to the standards of the good ol' U.$. of A.
Ha! Yet another area where them loser Axis of Evil® fellas ain't up to the standards of the good ol' U.$. of A.
Amateur DVD commentary.
Amateur DVD commentary. The site is a little rough around the edges, but it is a fascinating exercise in voracious fandom nonetheless. Roger Ebert is heralded as giving the idea to the masses [NYT article], but as always, there seems to be prior art. ;)
The famous biologist and anthropologist Stephen Jay Gould died in his home today of cancer at the age of 60.
Stephen Wolfram
Stephen Wolfram has finished his book, "A New Kind of Science," which purpotedly is being espoused as a paradigm shift in many fields. But, I'm starting to see a very reductionistic attitude in many of the main theorists of complextity theory and emergent phenomena. Is the idea that the Universe is in lines of code a phallus-extension/masculine overdriven idea? Isn't math a man made mapping and can the Universe be reduced to an equation by a man? Still this book is going to be groundbreaking. Read the following exceperpt from the wired.com article:
q: "I've got to ask you," I say. "How long do you envision this rule of the universe to be?"
w: "I'm guessing it's really very short."
q: "Like how long?"
w: "I don't know. In Mathematica, for example, perhaps three, four lines of code."
link via protofunk.org, old similar thread
w: "I'm guessing it's really very short."
q: "Like how long?"
w: "I don't know. In Mathematica, for example, perhaps three, four lines of code."
link via protofunk.org, old similar thread
In case you thought you have already heard every crazy idea in the world, an Israeli geneticist has bred a featherless chicken. This changes everything.
The Talk of the Book World Still Can't Sell
The Talk of the Book World Still Can't Sell (NY Times link) About two months ago, a new book about women putting careers before babies, and risking going childless, got a lot of publicity and was expected to be a huge seller. Wrong. Did it scare women? Did it sadden women? Was the coverage unfair (most of it highlighted the 'infertility after late 30's' angle, instead of balancing/choosing between career and family)? Or, did the massive publicity subvert sales by summing up the story and findings?
What does a engaged couple do if they can't decided who their bridesmaids are going to be? Well, one couple decided to ask you for your advice.
Dog Action
It's not often a weblog has you on the edge of your seat
It's not often a weblog has you on the edge of your seat, but Dave Mill's email-posted accounts of his solo attempt to reach the true North Pole are gripping. Stalked by a Polar bear, 6 days to build a runway for his rescue plane before the full moon rips the floes to shreds - this one has it all. I guess he is a live ass.
Would you still donate your loved one’s body if, instead of saving a life, parts were sold for profit, for cosmetic purposes?
Would you still donate your loved one’s body if, instead of saving a life, parts were sold for profit, for cosmetic purposes? A Boston Herald story says the Massachusetts Medical Examiner's Office supplies a company with information about the freshly dead that lets company reps pitch grieving relatives for donations. Because of decomposition, sometimes those calls are the first news the relatives have of the death, the story says. Among other end uses: breast, lip and penis enlargements. Has the halo around organ donation blurred ethical questions around other uses for dead people?
The doctor will not see you now.
The doctor will not see you now. Jane Poulson developed Type I diabetes at 13. Her vision deteriorated drastically while she was in medical school, and despite several rounds of surgery, she lost her sight. She graduated anyway and became Canada's first blind practicing medical doctor. Then things got worse.
Voices, Explosions, Silence: The Middle East Turmoil On (And Off) The Air.
Voices, Explosions, Silence: The Middle East Turmoil On (And Off) The Air. "We apologize for the discontinuation of the transmission of the Voice of Love and Peace. The offices, studios and transmission equipment were destroyed totally by Israeli forces in their last invasion of Ramallah." (from Radio Nederlands, more...)
An astonishingly obvious advance in interface design
An astonishingly obvious advance in interface design Your mobile phone's keyboard has been rendered obsolete by this inspired rethinking of buttons and the spaces between them. The manifacturer's home page is here
Overcome Depression: The New Computer -Cognitive Treatment
Overcome Depression: The New Computer -Cognitive Treatment Overcoming Depression is the world's first self-educative computer program for understanding, dealing with, and preventing depression using a unique dialogue mode that allows you to express yourself freely in your own words and that responds in meaningful every language characteristic of a therapeutic context.
So much for the personal therapeutic process. My question is - can this program prescribe meds??!??
Okay, so there's the Halfbakery for us amateurs with bizarre inventions. But what about the ideas that seemed so good to someone that they actually got patented?
Build
Build your very own 'pinhole spy camera'! This one looks much cooler than the ones we had to build at school. (requires Flash)
What is this?
What is this? Why is Google licensing Dilbert for their banner? Compared to the subtle holiday theme banners they do, this just seems....tone-deaf.
Ever wonder if the airplane food sucks everywhere? Find out at Airplane Meals, or add to this vastly underrepresented body of knowledge by sending him a pic of your next mile-high snack.
secret pictures of 9/11 attacks found on $20 bills.
secret pictures of 9/11 attacks found on $20 bills. Possibly the dumbest conspiracy theory to date. I can't beleive I'm posting this.
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