29.5.08
"It got me out of the trailer park"
Watching this gives me a window into how others perceive my interest in my hockey pool. Or comic books. Or role-playing comic books ala Champions (and I'm very,very, very tempted to try 'City of Heroes'), or Star Trek, or ancient Greek sophistry, or, uh well, you get my drift.
Well I'm looking through that window....it ain't pretty.
26.5.08
Clever Apes Use Tool To See Other Tool Land On Distant World
This is the Phoenix lander, parachute deployed, descending to the surface of Mars. The photo was taken by the Mars Reconaissance Orbiter one of several Orbiters around Mars involved in relaying information from the Red Planet back to our little blue dot.
Seriously, is this not cool?
14.5.08
Quote of the Day
"The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this."
- From a recently auctioned collection of letters by Albert Einstein
- From a recently auctioned collection of letters by Albert Einstein
11.5.08
6.5.08
Intel Dump
Given my new schedule as stay at home Dad blogging has been light of late. My apologies, but hopefully the following link-fest/commentary will make up for it!
Now, I'm not a big fan of the Templeton Institute, but they are running a very interesting debate question for scientists; 'Does science make belief in God obsolete?'
Speaking of science, turns out that invisibility might not be the science-fiction story we once thought. Nor for that matter, will mind-reading helmets be fiction for much longer.
Ever since the Drake equation made it clear that the extremely large number of stars in the universe makes the probability of intelligent life elsewhere very high, people have been wondering 'where are the aliens'. Nick Bostrom is one of those who hopes we don't find any.
I keep getting into arguments with believers who insist that Hitler was an atheist and that therefore atheism (or evolution - it depends on who I am arguing with) is responsible for the Holocaust, the invasion of Poland, etc. To them, I offer this picture.
What makes up the perfect pop-song is a question that has long perplexed the song smiths looking to cash in. One suggestion is that the song should be exactly 2 minutes and 42 seconds long. No more, no less. Being an empiricist, I checked my music library and found four songs that fit the bill; Jazz Butcher's 'Swell', theThe's 'Solitude', Hole's 'Celebrity Skin', and Soft Cell's 'Tainted Love'. I'll let you draw your own conclusions from that list but it does seem plausible the author may be on to something.
Some of you may know that I wept blood recently when the Steve Nash lead (and Shaq befouled) Phoenix Suns were eliminated by the hated San Antonio Spurs (as one friend put it to me 'F*ck Texas', but I digress). It's clear to anyone who is watching that with the multi-tool egomaniac Shawn Marion gone, coach Mike D'Antoni looking for a new team and Nash starting to break down from the high-temp he plays at, that the Suns are now in steep decline. Bill Simmons details how the most exciting team in basketball - maybe ever, flourished and then flew apart in just over 4 years time.
Behold, the future of furniture;
Having seen the future, let's revisit the past - here is a working version of Babbage's proposed steam powered computer.
Andrew Coyne (one of the three Andrews; see left) has a great article on how Harper's Tories have a hole where their soul used to be. It seems to be happening in slow motion, but ever so gradually Harper is becoming the very monster he swore to destroy.
Following in the footsteps of giants like Paris Hilton and Gene Simmons, we have the Jimi Hendrix sex-tape.
Reason magazine provides us with a handy guide to how the different US Presidential candidates would approach Supreme Court nominations. Reason is a libertarian mag, so the analysis is heavily skewed in that direction rather than a false left-right divide.
Being a stay-at-home-Dad the following items were of interest to me; inappropriate baby products! (courtesy of 'The Poop')
Below is the 'Baby hanger' - so you can go to the bathroom in peace. Sort of.
My favourite economics post of the last while is this awesomely titled 'It's Spring - Politicians are Stupid.'
Ever wondered who would play Sidney Crosby in the movie about his life? Wonder no more. There is something weirdly compelling about these pictures of actors and hockey players, but I can't put my finger on what it is.
This is very close to a short story of mine that friends liked; Where have all the Smith's gone?
Apparently one of the unintended consequences of global warming will be an increase in the burning of witches.
I remember how excited I was waiting for the sequel to 'Masters of Orion 2: Battle at Antares' (which aside from Sid Meirs' Civilization 3 is the single biggest time-waster I've ever had in my life - God Bless you Sid Meirs), and how disappointed I was when it sucked galactic donkey butt. So what has gone on to replace it as the space themed, turn based, interstellar development and conquest minded game? Where you not only manage each colony, a tech tree, a host of potentially hostile races, and vast be-weaponed fleets of plasma hurling death but also lets you custom each and every shape for your 'Star Fleet Battles' style of 2D combat? The answer is nothing.
My copy is now well over 15 years old, and I'm looking at installing a fan created patch version 1.4, and maybe even taking a look at the on-line play available.
Here's a great essay befitting the Kryptonian's 70th birthday; 'Why Superman will always suck'.
Uh oh. Turns out taking vitamins can shorten your life-span.
What the world has been waiting for; naked chicks on post-it notes. I should have gone to art school.
Nerve magazine rates the all-time top 50 Comedy Sketches.
Proof that people will argue anything;
Q: Unicron vs Galactus, who would win?
A: Galactus.
Why? Two words. Jack Kirby and the Silver F*cking Surfer. . So make it four words.
Every once in a while we get treated to the two Hitchens brothers (Peter and Chris) tearing each other a new one.
Here's more evidence that coffee is good for you.
Here's what happens when Iron Man and Batman discuss how the summer will go;
Now, I'm not a big fan of the Templeton Institute, but they are running a very interesting debate question for scientists; 'Does science make belief in God obsolete?'
Speaking of science, turns out that invisibility might not be the science-fiction story we once thought. Nor for that matter, will mind-reading helmets be fiction for much longer.
Ever since the Drake equation made it clear that the extremely large number of stars in the universe makes the probability of intelligent life elsewhere very high, people have been wondering 'where are the aliens'. Nick Bostrom is one of those who hopes we don't find any.
I keep getting into arguments with believers who insist that Hitler was an atheist and that therefore atheism (or evolution - it depends on who I am arguing with) is responsible for the Holocaust, the invasion of Poland, etc. To them, I offer this picture.
What makes up the perfect pop-song is a question that has long perplexed the song smiths looking to cash in. One suggestion is that the song should be exactly 2 minutes and 42 seconds long. No more, no less. Being an empiricist, I checked my music library and found four songs that fit the bill; Jazz Butcher's 'Swell', theThe's 'Solitude', Hole's 'Celebrity Skin', and Soft Cell's 'Tainted Love'. I'll let you draw your own conclusions from that list but it does seem plausible the author may be on to something.
Some of you may know that I wept blood recently when the Steve Nash lead (and Shaq befouled) Phoenix Suns were eliminated by the hated San Antonio Spurs (as one friend put it to me 'F*ck Texas', but I digress). It's clear to anyone who is watching that with the multi-tool egomaniac Shawn Marion gone, coach Mike D'Antoni looking for a new team and Nash starting to break down from the high-temp he plays at, that the Suns are now in steep decline. Bill Simmons details how the most exciting team in basketball - maybe ever, flourished and then flew apart in just over 4 years time.
Behold, the future of furniture;
Having seen the future, let's revisit the past - here is a working version of Babbage's proposed steam powered computer.
Andrew Coyne (one of the three Andrews; see left) has a great article on how Harper's Tories have a hole where their soul used to be. It seems to be happening in slow motion, but ever so gradually Harper is becoming the very monster he swore to destroy.
Following in the footsteps of giants like Paris Hilton and Gene Simmons, we have the Jimi Hendrix sex-tape.
Reason magazine provides us with a handy guide to how the different US Presidential candidates would approach Supreme Court nominations. Reason is a libertarian mag, so the analysis is heavily skewed in that direction rather than a false left-right divide.
Being a stay-at-home-Dad the following items were of interest to me; inappropriate baby products! (courtesy of 'The Poop')
Below is the 'Baby hanger' - so you can go to the bathroom in peace. Sort of.
My favourite economics post of the last while is this awesomely titled 'It's Spring - Politicians are Stupid.'
Ever wondered who would play Sidney Crosby in the movie about his life? Wonder no more. There is something weirdly compelling about these pictures of actors and hockey players, but I can't put my finger on what it is.
This is very close to a short story of mine that friends liked; Where have all the Smith's gone?
Apparently one of the unintended consequences of global warming will be an increase in the burning of witches.
I remember how excited I was waiting for the sequel to 'Masters of Orion 2: Battle at Antares' (which aside from Sid Meirs' Civilization 3 is the single biggest time-waster I've ever had in my life - God Bless you Sid Meirs), and how disappointed I was when it sucked galactic donkey butt. So what has gone on to replace it as the space themed, turn based, interstellar development and conquest minded game? Where you not only manage each colony, a tech tree, a host of potentially hostile races, and vast be-weaponed fleets of plasma hurling death but also lets you custom each and every shape for your 'Star Fleet Battles' style of 2D combat? The answer is nothing.
My copy is now well over 15 years old, and I'm looking at installing a fan created patch version 1.4, and maybe even taking a look at the on-line play available.
Here's a great essay befitting the Kryptonian's 70th birthday; 'Why Superman will always suck'.
Uh oh. Turns out taking vitamins can shorten your life-span.
What the world has been waiting for; naked chicks on post-it notes. I should have gone to art school.
Nerve magazine rates the all-time top 50 Comedy Sketches.
Proof that people will argue anything;
Q: Unicron vs Galactus, who would win?
A: Galactus.
Why? Two words. Jack Kirby and the Silver F*cking Surfer. . So make it four words.
Every once in a while we get treated to the two Hitchens brothers (Peter and Chris) tearing each other a new one.
Here's more evidence that coffee is good for you.
Here's what happens when Iron Man and Batman discuss how the summer will go;
14.4.08
11.3.08
Bush's Exit Strategy: Iran?
CNN is reporting the resignation of the head of U.S. Central Command (overseeing American forces in the Middle-East).
To put this resignation into context, as if losing the head of U.S. Central Command wasn't enough to get you thinking this may be significant, you will probably want to look at the Esquire article that predicted this very outcome and makes some dire predictions for what his resignation may lead to.
Esquire "The Man Between War and Peace".
To put this resignation into context, as if losing the head of U.S. Central Command wasn't enough to get you thinking this may be significant, you will probably want to look at the Esquire article that predicted this very outcome and makes some dire predictions for what his resignation may lead to.
Esquire "The Man Between War and Peace".
4.3.08
29.2.08
28.2.08
24.2.08
Quote of the Day
"How did they come this close to losing this? They had all the money, all the contacts, all the machine levers, the entire establishment, the biggest Democratic name in decades, and they've been forced into a humiliating death-match by a first-term black liberal with a funny name.
It seems obvious to me that the Clintons blew this because they never for a second imagined they could. So they never planned to fight it. Once put in a fair contest, they turned out to be terrible campaigners, terrible politicians, bad managers, useless executives, wooden public speakers."
- Andrew Sullivan
It seems obvious to me that the Clintons blew this because they never for a second imagined they could. So they never planned to fight it. Once put in a fair contest, they turned out to be terrible campaigners, terrible politicians, bad managers, useless executives, wooden public speakers."
- Andrew Sullivan
16.2.08
Intel Dump
Lots and lots of strange and curious new stuff;
- Check out the Obama Curve as of today (click on it to enlarge). Gotcha.
- Two great flavours that go great together; The Matrix and Carl Sagan;
- The best blog on space exploration 'Centauri Dreams' has an interesting article assessing the potential risks asssociated with SETI.
"The IAA SETI Permanent Study Group continues to work on it ('it' being the San Marino scale of threat assessment - ch), hoping to measure “…the potential exposure of employing electromagnetic communications technology to announce Earth’s presence to our cosmic companions, or replying to a successful SETI detection.”
- 'Macaciavellianism' - It seems that some of our monkey relatives thrive on being bastards;
"Described by Dario Maestripieri as being the sort of thing we think of when someone says "monkey", the macaque manages to flourish just about anywhere it finds itself, or wherever we put it. And it primarily does so by being nasty. "A rhesus macaque," writes Maestripieri, "can wake up one morning, feel a little drowsy, and find himself in danger of being killed by his best friends."
- Speaking of behaving like bastards, consider professor of philosophy Colin McGinn. He recently came to some extra attention for his excessively nasty review of Ted Honderich's book 'On Consciousness';
"This book runs the full gamut from mediocre to the ludicrous to the merely bad. It is painful to read, poorly thought out, and uninformed. It is also radically inconsistent."
What makes the review even juicier is that there are several back and forth responses between the two feuding philosophers, and because the disagreements between the two are very personal and may go back to a social occasion where one philosopher referred to the other philosopher's girlfriend as being 'plain'. Academia never seemed so pure a profession.
- At first blush I liked Ron Paul among the Republican field of presidential candidates, but the pretty glow wears off quickly. His brand of libertarianism is less a philo-political blue-print and more a catch-all excuse for collecting every black-helicopter chasing Dixiecrat with a grievance and gathering them together under a 'leave me alone to be a loony' banner. But its not just his worshipers that are over the edge, Paul's positions on the gold standard, The UN, race relations, and the constitution, are little short of
The deal breaker for me cames when he failed the basic reasoning test of endorsing evolution.
- Here's Michael Pollan author of 'The Omnivore's Dillemna' on how the plant world views humanity.
- What advancements did Intelligent Design theory make in 2007? 'None'.
- More proof that desire is the ultimate democracy; Deaf Porn.
- Spiderman rants on the the decline of America under George W Bush. No word on whether the webbed wall-crawler would vote for Obama.
- Check out the strange and disturbing art of Julie Morstad. Don't argue, just do it. Art is like broccoli, even if you don't like it its still good for you.
- Jeet Heer from 'Sans Everything' has this awesome take-down of the National Review's checkered history for opposing terrorism.
- Speaking of NRO, Jonah Goldberg, that writer of decidedly limited talent who achieved most of his fame through a toxic brew of nepotism and contrarian douche-baggery, is calmly eviscerated in this post .
- Looks like the evidence is now fairly clear that the Old World gave the New horses, colonialism, and gunpowder, while the Old World managed to give back to the New World a plague of Syphilis.
"They said a genetic analysis of the syphilis family tree reveals that its closest relative was a South American cousin that causes yaws, an infection caused by a sub-species of the same bacteria.
- Medicins sans Frontiere lists the top 10 under-reported humanitarian crisis of 2007
On the list;
- The rise of drug resistant Tuberculosis
- Restricted humanitarian aid in Myanmar
- The health care crisis in Zimbabwe
- The targeting of civilians in Sri Lanka's civil conflict
Not very cheerful reading.
- . Well, I've done McGinn vs Honderich, how about something a little more evenly matched like, Gould vs Dennett perhaps? (IMO Dennett wins)
- WNBA Live 2008
- Once upon a time, I took part in a pair of moderately successful campus election campaigns. Here are some things I wish I had known then; 'How to rig an election'.
I believe this line about says it all;
"You don’t win any prizes for running a moral campaign. Success in politics is all or nothing: a candidate wins or loses, period, and either ends up with power (and the extreme likelihood of retaining power) or no power whatsoever. So the “right” thing is simply defined as the “winning” thing."
Machiavelli (not to mention the Macaques' mentioned above in #2) would be proud.
- So long as I am covering 'How To...' subjects, here's one on How To Get Laid In NYC (or any city). Sadly, I lacked this information at the time it would have done me the most good.
- Harper's gov't officially recognized the reality that the US is a nation that tortures people.
Wait! Not so fast!
Here is Jeet Heer on how on Harper's swift reversal is indicative of what our 'special relationship' with the US entails.
- Disturbing and plush stuffed toy monsters.
- Three of the coolest words you'll ever hear used together, 'Origami Space Plane'.
"Japanese researchers and origami fans are getting together to develop an specially-folded paper airplane they want to launch from the International Space station, so that it will survive re-entry, and land back on Earth again."
So. Awesome.
- From 'Strange Maps' comes this determined effort by the Dutch to moisturize Mars.
- Will the new season of Battlestar Galactica be heading back to Caprica?
- A compilation of the top 50 Atheist slogans and bumper stickers
A sample of ten;
10. I Forget - Which Day Did God Make All The Fossils?
9. The Spanish Inquisition: The Original Faith-based Initiative
8. "When Lip Service to Some Mysterious Deity Permits Bestiality on Wednesday and Absolution on Sundays, Cash Me Out". - Frank Sinatra
7. God Doesn't Kill People. People Who Believe in God Kill People
6. "Worship Me or I Will Torture You Forever. Have a Nice Day." - God.
5. There's A REASON Why Atheists Don't Fly Planes Into Buildings
4. God Doesn't Exist. So, I Guess That Means No One Loves You
3. "Intelligent Design" Helping Stupid People Feel Smart Since 1987
2. If God Wanted People to Believe in Him, Then Why Did He Invent Logic?
1. Jesus is Coming? Don't Swallow That.
Anyone wishing to gift me with one of these on a T-shirt goes directly to heaven.
- The 'New Atheism' isn't really new.
- The best blog post title I've encountered in many months; 'Ursula Le Guin and a giant squid battle for the future of Gay Utopia'. Pure genius.
- My new favourite science fiction blog 'i-09' has a terrific article on the rise and fall of cyber-punk (and rise again) in publishing and movies.
- More proof we already live in the future - monkeys can now mind-control robots
- Tired of science fiction movies and novels that all seem strangely the same? Blame the Joseph Campbell Checklist. In that same vein (and also from the excellent i09 blog) comes this; 8 reasons why 'The Hero's Journey' Sucks.
- The future of convenience; The Marijuana ATM.
- From the NY Times; 'Waving Goodbye to Hegemony'
- Finally, a theoretical break through we have all been waiting for; ' the Mormon Bigfoot Genesis Theory'.
- Check out the Obama Curve as of today (click on it to enlarge). Gotcha.
- Two great flavours that go great together; The Matrix and Carl Sagan;
- The best blog on space exploration 'Centauri Dreams' has an interesting article assessing the potential risks asssociated with SETI.
"The IAA SETI Permanent Study Group continues to work on it ('it' being the San Marino scale of threat assessment - ch), hoping to measure “…the potential exposure of employing electromagnetic communications technology to announce Earth’s presence to our cosmic companions, or replying to a successful SETI detection.”
- 'Macaciavellianism' - It seems that some of our monkey relatives thrive on being bastards;
"Described by Dario Maestripieri as being the sort of thing we think of when someone says "monkey", the macaque manages to flourish just about anywhere it finds itself, or wherever we put it. And it primarily does so by being nasty. "A rhesus macaque," writes Maestripieri, "can wake up one morning, feel a little drowsy, and find himself in danger of being killed by his best friends."
- Speaking of behaving like bastards, consider professor of philosophy Colin McGinn. He recently came to some extra attention for his excessively nasty review of Ted Honderich's book 'On Consciousness';
"This book runs the full gamut from mediocre to the ludicrous to the merely bad. It is painful to read, poorly thought out, and uninformed. It is also radically inconsistent."
What makes the review even juicier is that there are several back and forth responses between the two feuding philosophers, and because the disagreements between the two are very personal and may go back to a social occasion where one philosopher referred to the other philosopher's girlfriend as being 'plain'. Academia never seemed so pure a profession.
- At first blush I liked Ron Paul among the Republican field of presidential candidates, but the pretty glow wears off quickly. His brand of libertarianism is less a philo-political blue-print and more a catch-all excuse for collecting every black-helicopter chasing Dixiecrat with a grievance and gathering them together under a 'leave me alone to be a loony' banner. But its not just his worshipers that are over the edge, Paul's positions on the gold standard, The UN, race relations, and the constitution, are little short of
The deal breaker for me cames when he failed the basic reasoning test of endorsing evolution.
- Here's Michael Pollan author of 'The Omnivore's Dillemna' on how the plant world views humanity.
- What advancements did Intelligent Design theory make in 2007? 'None'.
- More proof that desire is the ultimate democracy; Deaf Porn.
- Spiderman rants on the the decline of America under George W Bush. No word on whether the webbed wall-crawler would vote for Obama.
- Check out the strange and disturbing art of Julie Morstad. Don't argue, just do it. Art is like broccoli, even if you don't like it its still good for you.
- Jeet Heer from 'Sans Everything' has this awesome take-down of the National Review's checkered history for opposing terrorism.
- Speaking of NRO, Jonah Goldberg, that writer of decidedly limited talent who achieved most of his fame through a toxic brew of nepotism and contrarian douche-baggery, is calmly eviscerated in this post .
- Looks like the evidence is now fairly clear that the Old World gave the New horses, colonialism, and gunpowder, while the Old World managed to give back to the New World a plague of Syphilis.
"They said a genetic analysis of the syphilis family tree reveals that its closest relative was a South American cousin that causes yaws, an infection caused by a sub-species of the same bacteria.
"Some people think it is a really ancient disease that our earliest human ancestors would have had. Other people think it came from the New World," said Kristin Harper, an evolutionary biologist at Emory University in Atlanta.
"What we found is that syphilis or a progenitor came from the New World to the Old World and this happened pretty recently in human history," said Ms. Harper, whose study appears in journal Public Library of Science Neglected Tropical Diseases.
She said the study lends credence to the “Columbian theory,” which links the first recorded European syphilis epidemic in 1495 to the return of Columbus and his crew."
- Medicins sans Frontiere lists the top 10 under-reported humanitarian crisis of 2007
On the list;
- The rise of drug resistant Tuberculosis
- Restricted humanitarian aid in Myanmar
- The health care crisis in Zimbabwe
- The targeting of civilians in Sri Lanka's civil conflict
Not very cheerful reading.
- . Well, I've done McGinn vs Honderich, how about something a little more evenly matched like, Gould vs Dennett perhaps? (IMO Dennett wins)
- WNBA Live 2008
- Once upon a time, I took part in a pair of moderately successful campus election campaigns. Here are some things I wish I had known then; 'How to rig an election'.
I believe this line about says it all;
"You don’t win any prizes for running a moral campaign. Success in politics is all or nothing: a candidate wins or loses, period, and either ends up with power (and the extreme likelihood of retaining power) or no power whatsoever. So the “right” thing is simply defined as the “winning” thing."
Machiavelli (not to mention the Macaques' mentioned above in #2) would be proud.
- So long as I am covering 'How To...' subjects, here's one on How To Get Laid In NYC (or any city). Sadly, I lacked this information at the time it would have done me the most good.
- Harper's gov't officially recognized the reality that the US is a nation that tortures people.
Wait! Not so fast!
Here is Jeet Heer on how on Harper's swift reversal is indicative of what our 'special relationship' with the US entails.
- Disturbing and plush stuffed toy monsters.
- Three of the coolest words you'll ever hear used together, 'Origami Space Plane'.
"Japanese researchers and origami fans are getting together to develop an specially-folded paper airplane they want to launch from the International Space station, so that it will survive re-entry, and land back on Earth again."
So. Awesome.
- From 'Strange Maps' comes this determined effort by the Dutch to moisturize Mars.
- Will the new season of Battlestar Galactica be heading back to Caprica?
- A compilation of the top 50 Atheist slogans and bumper stickers
A sample of ten;
10. I Forget - Which Day Did God Make All The Fossils?
9. The Spanish Inquisition: The Original Faith-based Initiative
8. "When Lip Service to Some Mysterious Deity Permits Bestiality on Wednesday and Absolution on Sundays, Cash Me Out". - Frank Sinatra
7. God Doesn't Kill People. People Who Believe in God Kill People
6. "Worship Me or I Will Torture You Forever. Have a Nice Day." - God.
5. There's A REASON Why Atheists Don't Fly Planes Into Buildings
4. God Doesn't Exist. So, I Guess That Means No One Loves You
3. "Intelligent Design" Helping Stupid People Feel Smart Since 1987
2. If God Wanted People to Believe in Him, Then Why Did He Invent Logic?
1. Jesus is Coming? Don't Swallow That.
Anyone wishing to gift me with one of these on a T-shirt goes directly to heaven.
- The 'New Atheism' isn't really new.
- The best blog post title I've encountered in many months; 'Ursula Le Guin and a giant squid battle for the future of Gay Utopia'. Pure genius.
- My new favourite science fiction blog 'i-09' has a terrific article on the rise and fall of cyber-punk (and rise again) in publishing and movies.
- More proof we already live in the future - monkeys can now mind-control robots
- Tired of science fiction movies and novels that all seem strangely the same? Blame the Joseph Campbell Checklist. In that same vein (and also from the excellent i09 blog) comes this; 8 reasons why 'The Hero's Journey' Sucks.
- The future of convenience; The Marijuana ATM.
- From the NY Times; 'Waving Goodbye to Hegemony'
- Finally, a theoretical break through we have all been waiting for; ' the Mormon Bigfoot Genesis Theory'.
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