September 1, 2008
Links 33
1. Surf like a Bushman - I just noticed this great article in my bookmarks list (which is finally shrinking to a more manageable size after 33 entries). I thought I would never find it again, so I'm pleased to be able to share it. Foraging theory is a useful, powerful way to investigate and explain animal behavior -- and (though some might disagree) a wide variety of human behaviors as well. Most humans now live in environments remarkably different from the one(s) in which we evolved, but it is reasonable to assume our brains still use the machinery and 'rules' shaped throughout our evolutionary history. Many of us now spend time browsing through text and images on the web rather than browsing through the woods looking for a particular plant or food source, but might modern humans 'forage' on the web in the same way we would forage for food as hunters & gatherers? From the article:
Imagine you're a financial analyst looking for data about an investment company. You've found a useful site on the Web, but it's starting to feel a bit stale. You'd like to move on, but you know that a search will take time and there's no guarantee that other sites will be any more useful. When should you abandon the dwindling supply? This, Pirolli and Card argue, is analogous to the problem faced by hunter-gatherers. And it can be solved in the same way.
The article (originally published in New Scientist) is a great read. This sort of research could have a significant impact on how we design information retrieval systems, although the authors note there are some limitations:
The analogy between food and information looks like being a big help to Web designers. But at some point, Pirolli says, it's likely to break down. For one thing, there's the question of evaluating costs and benefits. Biologists and anthropologists can always draw up an energy balance sheet for a foraging behaviour in joules. The value of information isn't so easy to measure.
2. How It All Ends - You've probably seen this guy before. If not, take some time to watch this video. It's slightly obnoxious (more so than his previous videos), but his arguments regarding global warming are very well-reasoned. If you really get into it, you can visit an enormous list of related videos in the 'More Info' box of the YouTube page.
3. Aboriginal archive offers new DRM - Short but intriguing article from the BBC (via John Hawks). It's difficult to overstate the importance of preserving the history and culture of indigenous groups, especially given that they are increasingly being subsumed by cultures around them and disappearing. Providing access to the information can be complicated by cultural rules, a lack of computer skills, and the like. For example, the archivist in the article encountered the following issue when displaying a slideshow of preserved photographs:
After loading them onto her laptop, she took them back to Tennant Creek and set up a slideshow - where she noticed that people turned away when certain images came up on screen.
For example, men cannot view women's rituals, and people from one community cannot view material from another without first seeking permission. Meanwhile images of the deceased cannot be viewed by their families.
These are issues we might not immediately think about. (I wonder how well some of our 'social software' might translate to other cultures.) The solution to this particular problem was to design a system that restricted access by requiring individuals to input name, age, sex, and standing within their community -- what the article describes as "a new take on DRM." Interesting stuff.
4. Did You Know - a video on globalization and the information age. Interesting, but long... and I'm not sure I trust their numbers. It would probably be better as a web page with proper citations.
5. Google to Host Terabytes of Open-Source Science Data
6. MIT Entrance Exam, 1869-70 - from the MIT Archives & Special Collections. Take the exam and see how well you do. You can also try your hand at the 1876 exam.
01 Sep 13:40 | Link | Category: Human/Primate Evolution & Behavior, Libraries & Digital Information, Link Dump '08, Science, Technology & Computing
Links 32
1. 35 Greatest Works of Reverse Graffiti
2. Remember 'go outside and play?' - As children, my siblings and I spent countless hours playing outside, unsupervised. In retrospect, there were many times when we could have been injured or gotten into some other serious trouble. Had my rather nervous mother really known what we were sometimes up to, she would never have let us go outside again. But luckily she did let us go out, and I can say those hours were perhaps the happiest in my life. From the editorial:
Reader, if you're much over 30, you probably remember what it used to be like for the typical American kid. Remember how there used to be this thing called "going out to play"?
For younger readers, I'll explain this archaic concept. It worked like this: The child or children in the house -- as long as they were over age 4 or so -- went to the door, opened it, and ... went outside. They braved the neighborhood pedophile just waiting to pounce, the rusty nails just waiting to be stepped on, the trees just waiting to be fallen out of, and they "played."
"Play," incidentally, is a mysterious activity children engage in when not compelled to spend every hour under adult supervision, taking soccer or piano lessons or practicing vocabulary words with computerized flashcards.
An article from the Daily Mail explores the trend over four generations and maps the decrease in roaming area. Having said all of this, I'm completely sure I would not let my own children wander very far unsupervised! I wouldn't even give them the same freedom I enjoyed as a child. So, have the risks really changed, or have our perceptions simply changed? Is it a little of both? This issue fascinates me.
3. The Critics Need a Reboot. The Internet Hasn't Led Us Into a New Dark Age - One perspective among many, but worth sharing (mainly because you don't encounter it very often).
4. Some E-Cards - 'For when you care enough to hit send':
5. On the Limits of Memory - another strange and lovely photo gallery from the wonderful Square America. Take some time to browse through the whole site. There are lots of gems, many quite hidden. (Definitely check out Square America and In The Booth.)
01 Sep 10:22 | Link | Category: Art & Entertainment, Link Dump '08, Photography
August 31, 2008
Links 31 - Gonna Be a LOOONG Two Months
1. For anyone who missed the speech in its entirety, here's Barack Obama at the 2008 DNC:
(Someone call Neil Young and let him know we've found the leader he's been looking for. It even turned out to a "black man after all".)
2. Most of the traits I once appreciated in John McCain have disappeared during this election. Read (or better, listen to) a recent interview. I wonder if it occurred on the Straight Talk Express. Heh. I know candidates often feel they must practically sell their souls to win a presidential election, but come on... (And, yes, I've previously noted some of Obama's recent shifts, so please relax your e-mail trigger-finger.)
3. On to Sen. McCain's VP choice. Wow. I know VPs are often chosen to help win an election without any regard to what might happen after winning the election, but this was an incredibly transparent and downright poor choice. My first thoughts echoed this Salon article: McCain's Palin pick is the epitome of tokenism. Or this quote from the less sanctimonious McCain's Baked Alaska: "This year, Hillary Clinton took things to a whole new level. She didn’t run for president as a symbol but as the best-prepared candidate in the Democratic pack. Whether you liked her or not, she convinced the nation that a women could be qualified to both run the country and be commander in chief. That was an enormous breakthrough, and Palin’s nomination feels, in comparison, like a step back." So if the McCain campaign calculated that they simply needed someone who was Sen. Clinton's 'gynecological twin,' as Samantha Bee hilariously put it, why not Condoleezza Rice or Kay Bailey Hutchison or Carly Fiorina or Elizabeth Dole or Olympia Snowe? Over at electoral-vote.com, The Veep: A Short Play in One Act sums up how the process might've led to Palin. Funny. And Sad. Anyway. For a slew of other links, see Ghost In The Machine.
4. There are so many things I'd like to discuss with regard to Palin, but I should use my limited time to explore other topics. So let's just take one of my pet issues, creationism in public schools. Over at Thoughts from Kansas, Josh looks at the candidates' views. Palin, like Bush and McCain and plenty of reasonable but woefully scientifically-illiterate people, spouts "teach both" nonsense. Ugh. (Let's just teach our children a variety of creation myths and label everything 'science', then.) Obama tends to discuss the issue in a very thoughtful, diplomatic way, with wise conclusions like "I think it's a mistake to try to cloud the teaching of science with theories that frankly don't hold up to scientific inquiry." Joe Biden comes through with the more acerbic remark (one that will certainly cost votes but tickles me nontheless): "This is reversible, man. This is reversible. We don't have to go down this road. I refuse to believe the majority of people believe this malarkey!"
Malarkey, indeed, Joe. But I'm afraid the majority of people do believe it. Not only are Americans scientifically illiterate, but they are historically and politically illiterate (and, increasingly, 'just plain' illiterate). Most do not research issues or examine candidates' records and statements through non-partisan resources (such as FactCheck.org or OnTheIssues.org). I constantly receive anti-Obama e-mails from conservative family & friends that are downright false. And not just the wacky "He's a muslim terrorist" ones. The other day I got one full of tax numbers that looked reasonable enough at first glance but were completely false. If the last two elections (particularly 2004) are any indication, there's no reason to believe the majority of Americans voters won't be easily influenced by propaganda, vote from the gut, and fall for gimmicks like the Palin choice. If they do, they deserve what they get. Too bad the rest of us will be stuck with it, too.
5. Finally (to lighten the mood a bit), here's something to spice up next week's GOP convention: McCain Bingo. I wish it had more "My Friends" spaces but I suppose that would make it too easy. Also, if you think the "Get Out of Gaffe Free" card is unfair, consider the McCain campaign's response to the criticism over McCain's inability to specify how many houses he owned: "'This is a guy who lived in one house for five and a half years -- in prison,' referring to the prisoner of war camp that McCain was in during the Vietnam War." Oh, OK.
31 Aug 12:54 | Link | Category: Link Dump '08, Politics, Science
August 28, 2008
Links 30
1. Jamie Livingston's Polaroid a Day - Jamie Livingston took a polaroid nearly every day for eighteen years. It's not so much that he took a photo every day -- many people these days take multiple photos each day -- but that he took a good photo almost every day. Or maybe it's just that there's something about a polaroid. I don't know. Anyway, take a look at this mental_floss article. The Wikipedia entry provides links to more information, too.
2. Lawrence Lessig on McCain on Technology - I'm a big fan of Larry Lessig. Check out his critique of John McCain's technology policy. (These issues are a big deal, folks.)
3. I drove past a number of wind farms, in a number of states, on my trip from Utah to Texas. The enormous alien-looking machines spinning slowly in the air can be a strange sight. It struck me that even a clean, renewable energy source like wind power has tradeoffs. Don't get me wrong; it beats a coal or nuclear power plant. However, I can understand why some people might take issue with living next to them. It's worse if you're a bird or bat. For example, wind turbines make bat lungs explode. Ech.
4. Fleshmap: Musical Genres - I've seen lots of links to this lately, but I'll share it because a few of you probably missed it. It's a chart of how often a part of the body is sung about, sorted by musical genre (from a sample of 1000 songs). It's interesting how hip hop stands out from the rest. Oh, there are actual photos of body parts, so it's NSFW. If you go to the main site there are a couple of other odd little 'studies'.
5. Radiohead's 'House of Cards' video - 'House of Cards' might be my favorite cut from In Rainbows. The video is worth mention, too. (If you have a fast connection, it's worth downloading the high res version from Radiohead's site.) Instead of using lights and cameras, they used "just data" (from Geometric Informatics for the closeups and Velodyne LIDAR for the landscapes). The effect is pretty cool. Plus, you can get the data from Google Code to do with as you please. The site also has a making-of video, viewer, and more.
28 Aug 19:10 | Link | Category: Art & Entertainment, Link Dump '08, Music, Photography, Politics, Technology & Computing, Video
August 26, 2008
Links 29
1. Walk Score - "Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc." - This is a clever tool that calculates how walkable your neighborhood is and displays results using a Google Maps mashup. I'm pleased to say my new neighborhood gets a "very walkable" score of 89 / 100. (Of course, that was one of my primary reasons for choosing this spot.) The site does a good job of showing what businesses, parks, and other facilities are within walking distance (for my neighborhood, at least... I'm not sure what their data source is, so your mileage may vary). Two limitations are the wide definition of what constitutes, say, a grocery store or restaurant, and the limited list of eight items per category.
2. Where the Hell is Matt? - This video has been floating around for months, but apparently I've never linked it to it. Hmm. This link is for any of you who somehow missed it. (There's a larger Vimeo vid at APotD.) The guy's site is here.
3. An anthropological introduction to YouTube - I'm fascinated by the intersection of technology and culture (beyond just the hype of the 'social web'), so I thought this video was worth sharing. It's a lecture by Michael Wesch, "a cultural anthropologist exploring the impact of new media on human interaction (and the impact of human interaction on new media)." He's currently working on an ethnography of YouTube.
4. Brain Scanners Can See Your Decisions Before You Make Them - If you take some time to study research on human behavior, you will find ample evidence supporting the interesting and unsettling fact that your 'conscious brain' doesn't always make decisions for you. (Libet's experiments are probably a good start.) Instead, you unconsciously make a decision and act, after which you consciously feel like you're making a decision and usually come up with some rationale for the decision you made (post hoc). It's strange, but there are all sorts of weird and fascinating experiments that demonstrate the phenomenon. (They tend to involve simple, quick sorts of decisions, so for now let's avoid deep, thorny philosophical discussions about whether or not free will is an illusion. Still, it should give you pause to realize you're not as 'in control' as you believe.)
5. Presidential Election Already Decided ... In Voters' Minds - Continuing in the same thread, an article in the current issue of Science (you'll need a subscription to read past the abstract) demonstrates how people often have their mind made up at an unconscious level based on mental associations, even when they consciously believe themselves to be undecided. The Wired article explores what this could mean for, say, politics. Creating negative associations in the unconscious minds of voters would, sadly, seem to be the best (or at least easiest) strategy for winning elections. And... when we think we're basing our votes on rational, informed judgement, are we really just going with our gut and coming up with post hoc justifications for supporting one candidate or another? (Our 'gut' having been influenced by negative association, dominance displays, assessment of sexual attractiveness, etc.) As depressing as that thought is, it would explain much about politics. (Once again, the great Stephen T. Colbert was on to something with his notion of truthiness that comes "from the gut".)
26 Aug 17:56 | Link | Category: Human/Primate Evolution & Behavior, Libraries & Digital Information, Link Dump '08, Politics, Science
August 25, 2008
Links 28
Let's continue...
1. More than 100,000 gorillas found in Congo - "An estimated 125,000 Western lowland gorillas are living in a swamp in equatorial Africa, researchers reported Tuesday, double the number of the endangered primates thought to survive worldwide."
Finally some good news in terms of primate conservation. The situation is still grim for other gorilla species (and many other primate species in general), but it was such a breath of fresh air to hear something like this.
2. The History of Xenu, As Explained By L. Ron Hubbard In 8 Minutes - Oooookkkaaayyy......
3. Bush or Batman? - "Bush or Batman is the hottest new game in town. You have to guess whether the quote you are about to hear was said by George W. Bush or Batman as played by Adam West. Sounds easy enough, doesn't it?" I love it:
4. It's Lovely! I'll Take It! - A collection of poorly chosen photos from real estate listings
5. 10 Unexpected Costs of Owning Things
25 Aug 20:48 | Link | Category: Link Dump '08
July 17, 2008
Links 27
27 entries and I still have well over 200 bookmarks. I may need to reassess this whole idea soon, but for now let's keep plugging:
1. Man Fakes Heart Attack in Court - this is truly awesome. While defending himself in court, a man fakes a heart attack. No one believes him, but nevertheless he remains completely dedicated to the performance.
2. "I'm not here to make friends." - a reality TV video montage
3. I should like Michelle Obama, but I don't - "I can’t! Because, every time I try, I’m snake-charmed back by the pearlised nail varnish and Mars Attacks! hair of the one, the only, the ultimate power cheerleader: Cindy McCain."
4. Zoomii - The "Real" Online Bookstore - clever idea, implemented pretty well. It's still not quite the same as browsing a physical bookstore, but it's a pretty good virtual representation of a Borders or Barnes & Noble -- and much more convenient.
5. Why brainy animals need more REM sleep after all (maybe)
17 Jul 21:07 | Link | Category: Link Dump '08
July 6, 2008
Links 26
1. A Vast Left-Handed Conspiracy - Weird.
When Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain take the stage for the presidential debates, attentive viewers may notice both candidates scribbling notes with their left hands. Political junkies will remember that such a curiosity has occurred before: In 1992, all three contenders -- George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Ross Perot -- were southpaws.
In the race for the White House, lefties seem to have the upper hand. No matter who wins in November, six of the 12 chief executives since the end of World War II will have been left-handed: Harry Truman, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, the elder Bush, Clinton and either Obama or McCain. That's a disproportionate number, considering that only one in 10 people in the general population is left-handed.
2. Hipster rebel punk outsiders -- 99 cents a dozen - the article's title was intriguing (I know I've grown tired of 'hipster rebel punk outsiders' and other sorts of pretentious twits), but sadly the article doesn't live up to the title. It still seemed worth linking to, though.
3. The Pernicious Price of Petroleum - "While we think of car crashes as causing fatalities, the production and transportation of fuel also significantly undermines public health."
4. Get Your Daily Plague Forecast - an article about HealthMap
5. Inside China's Vast Factories: Endless Assembly Lines and Giant Cafeterias - a collection of some of Edward Burtynsky's photos from China.
Extra - A link I overlooked when I was ranting about the cost of war last month: Cost of Iraq to overtake Korea and Vietnam wars (and an older piece about the Iraq War costs exceeding Vietnam's). Note the dates on the article(s).
06 Jul 23:42 | Link | Category: Link Dump '08
July 5, 2008
Links 25
1. The Christian paradox: How a faithful nation gets Jesus wrong - The link to this excellent Harper's article has been in my bookmarks list for ages. I was saving it for a moment when I could find some time to thoughtfully write about it. I clearly haven't found that time, so I'll just throw the link at you. It's lengthy (but half as lengthy as it appears because it's accidentally printed twice), but do take some time and read all of it. I would paste some excerpts but I don't think it would do the article justice. I suppose I could summarize by saying that much of it explores tendencies "toward an apocalyptic End Times faith" and "a comfort-the-comfortable, personal-empowerment faith" that "veil the actual, and remarkable ... plainspoken message of the Gospels" found in the Sermon on the Mount.
2. The way teenagers view scientists - It's sad, but not surprising that 70% of 11-15 year olds in the UK do not picture scientists as "normal young and attractive men and women." The results of the survey aren't entirely disappointing because kids do see science as exciting and important. They just "don't see themselves doing it." (They wouldn't want to have to wear lab coats and big glasses, after all.)
3. Extroverted Like Me: How a month and a half on Paxil taught me to love being shy - a writer with so-called 'social anxiety disorder' details a 52-day stint on Paxil. Very interesting reading.
4. One woman, two souls? - If a human zygote / embryo gets a soul right off the bat (as many argue), what about chimeras, who result from the merging of two zygotes? It's an extremely rare occurrence, but still a good question: would they have two souls?
5. Magical Thinking: Why Do People Cling to Odd Rituals? - Interesting psychology article from the New York Times. I think there are probably some strong evolutionary reasons for why we 'cling to odd rituals' and concern ourselves so heavily with good luck charms, signs and superstitions. I'm sure evolutionary psychologists (if they don't mind me calling them that) have come up with many intriguing explanations. Unfortunately, as with many ev. psych. hypotheses, testing could prove rather tricky.
05 Jul 23:20 | Link | Category: Link Dump '08
July 3, 2008
Links 24
1. 65 things that look like Pac-Man
2. One Post Wonder - A blogspot blog that explores one-post blogspot blogs. Those seem to be the majority on blogspot, so they'll have material for years. It's not actually very interesting, but I like the concept.
3. Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous Presidency - a mildly funny clip from The Onion
4. Could you pass the latest citizenship test? - 100%, baby.
5. Believe Me, It's Torture - Although I've previously mentioned waterboarding here (and even shown videos) I guess I might as well bring it up again. Setup:
Late last year, the writer, polemicist and fierce proponent of the US-led invasion of Iraq Christopher Hitchens attempted, in a piece for the online magazine Slate, to draw a distinction between what he called techniques of "extreme interrogation" and "outright torture".
From this, his foes inferred that since it was Hitchens' belief that America did not stoop to the latter, the practice of waterboarding - known to be perpetrated by US forces against certain "high-value clients" in Iraq and elsewhere - must fall under the former heading.
Enraged by what they saw as an exercise in elegant but offensive sophistry, some of the writer's critics suggested that Hitchens give waterboarding a whirl, just to see what it was like. ...
And amazingly, he has done just that.
The title of his article sums up his conclusion nicely, but you should read it because it's interesting and thoughtful. A video clip can be found here. Hitchens doesn't last nearly as long as the guy in the other clip.
03 Jul 23:12 | Link | Category: Link Dump '08
June 28, 2008
Links 23
1. IMDb Resume for Troy McClure (see also) - "Hi, I'm Troy McClure. You may remember me from such self-help tapes as 'Smoke yourself thin' and 'Get some confidence, Stupid!'"
2. Top 10 new species ("coolest, weirdest and deadlest") - check out Desmoxytes purpurosea:
3. Epic Bill Gates e-mail rant - This one's been all over the web during the last few days, but if you somehow missed it, it's pretty interesting to know Bill Gates is all too familiar with the user experience woes constantly afflicting computer users. I always assumed he was somehow ignorant of the problem or isolated from it in some way because Microsoft is one of the worst offenders. User experience seems to have been a relatively low priority for them from day one.
4. Baby bounces gleefully to mom's banjo playing - ah, to be a baby again (or to be someone who can play the banjo!):
5. Land of the Lost intro. - Do any of you remember this strange, horribly cheesy show? I was reading an entry at Dooce.com and memories of it came flooding back. I fondly recall watching this dreck on Saturday mornings and, with the perception and imagination of a four year-old, absolutely loving it. (Here's a better-quality copy.)
28 Jun 23:46 | Link | Category: Link Dump '08
June 11, 2008
Links 22
1. My Favorite Liar - A story about a professor who used a brilliant teaching technique, telling students he would insert one lie into every lecture and challenging them to catch his daily lie.
2. For graphic designers, but of interest to all: Typefaces no one gets fired for using (and the ones you should get fired for using).
3. I've probably mentioned this before, but one line of thought about ADHD is that it has some genetic basis and that it was adaptive in certain environments. Plenty of interesting writing if you do a quick search. Anyway, this item caught my eye today: Did hyperactivity evolve as a survival aid for nomads?
4. Is Google Making Us Stupid? - A very thoughtful article (with a headline that doesn't reflect the thoughtfulness)
5. Purves Lab / See For Yourself - A number of interesting optical illusions
11 Jun 0:09 | Link | Category: Link Dump '08
June 10, 2008
Links 21
1. Earth and Moon as seen from Mars - like the Apollo 8 Earthrise photo, Apollo 17 full-earth shot, Pale Blue Dot photo, and Earth from Saturn photo, this is a deeply moving photo that reminds us of our spectacular, tiny, solitary, beautiful, fragile home.
2. i am neurotic. - People send in their secret neuroses to this site where they are published. Funny, sad, frightening, weird. Via Cynical-C, where it was described as "like Post Secret but with neuroses." I probably have a few I could send in.
3. Rachmaninoff had big hands - Long long ago, I could play this song (Prelude in C-sharp minor). I never managed to completely perfect it. Also, I always had to leave out a few notes here and there. Maybe these piano sticks would have been a better solution:
4. Rose-Tinted Vision - I've noticed since childhood that if I open only one eye at a time, colors have a slightly different tint. I only notice it when the light is right (and never with both eyes open). Other people act like I'm very strange when I mention this, so I was quite relieved to find that there are folks out there who experience the exact same phenomenon. Exactly why it occurs is up for debate, but there are plenty of ideas in the entry's comments section.
5. It's Not You, It's Your Books - exploring how literary taste does (or does not) affect romantic relationships.
10 Jun 0:16 | Link | Category: Link Dump '08
June 8, 2008
Links 20
1. Google News In A Better Future World - Some great headlines. I'd quote a few of the best, but there are so many... Take some time to check out all the little details
2. Looking Back - an interesting Flash applet showing how different groups voted in the Clinton vs. Obama race. Oversimplified and probably misleading in some cases, but fun to look at nontheless.
3. Photographs of uncontacted Amazon population (see also) - I have lots to say about this, and unfortunately no time. Upon my first viewing of the photographs, however, I felt an almost overwhelming sense of sadness. Would love to write more... perhaps another day.
4. Another thing I've wanted to write a long piece about are these TV shows in which, every week, some intrepid adventurer shows us what it's like to live with a different 'tribal' group. Here's a short blog entry about it from New Scientist: Going Tribal: Cheap entertainment or awareness raiser? Again, hopefully I can revisit the topic someday.
5. Sorry I haven't posted in awhile - a collection of excuses given by various bloggers for lack of posts.
08 Jun 23:21 | Link | Category: Link Dump '08
June 2, 2008
Links 19 (The Cost of War)
I'm starting to go crazy (and the shit hasn't even hit the fan yet -- that'll probably happen later this week). I won't be doing any online whining or venting here like I used to do, but posts may continue to be sporadic. (I have thought about starting an anonymous blogspot or livejournal blog as an outlet, though. If I do, I'll post notice here and I'll give the address to a select few of you.)
Anyway, let's soldier on with the link dump... Today's topic is the Cost of War. Specifically, the cost of U.S. misadventures in Iraq. "Cost" here is in the economic sense -- this is, needless to say, a fairly narrow view of the costs of war, but it has the virtue of being easy to quantify ...relatively easy, at least. There are plenty of estimates, but the general consensus is something like, um, a lot.
1. Last year, when the Bush Administration was requesting more funding for the war, the total official cost - just up to that point - came to $611.5 billion. This led many people to ask What can $611 billion buy? The answers were sobering.
2. Later, the Joint Economic Committee concluded that the Iraq war would cost $1.3 trillion - that's $1,300,000,000,000 - by 2009, and the combined cost of Iraq & Afghanistan could reach $3.5 trillion by 2017. They factored in the cost of borrowing money to pay for the war, lost productivity, higher oil prices, cost of healthcare for veterans, etc. At that price, the cost to a family of four would be more than $20,000 between 2002 and 2008.
3. But the cost is actually higher than that, pointed out economics professor Tyler Cowen in the Washington Post. One needs to factor in opportunity cost (more about opportunity cost). His article points out wasted opportunities, hidden costs, and the 'fruitless investment' Iraq has been. (Not to mention the human cost, which is of course incalculable.)
4. Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz arrived at a conservative figure of $3 trillion to the U.S. and another $3 trillion to the rest of the world. Can you even imagine what else we could have done with that money? Some could have been applied to actually protecting the U.S., and the rest could have been spent on energy independence, environmental and social issues, etc. The list is huge. Even those who argue that manned space exploration is a boondoggle would probably agree it would've been a better use of the money - and for that much money, we could have embarked not just on an exploration program of Mars, but we could've practically colonized the place.
5. So. An enormous economic cost for a war that, according to the National Intelligence Estimate, has fueled the terror threat.
None of this is terribly new or surprising, though. In many ways, the current terror threat stems directly from the Cold War, another simply incredible waste of resources. I recall a speech delivered by Carl Sagan twenty years ago for the rededication of the Gettysburg memorial. (A copy can be found on the History Channel site or in the book Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History; a copy updated by co-author Ann Druyan is in Sagan's posthumous publication Billions & Billions.)
In the speech, Sagan pointed out the $10 trillion spent by the U.S. waging the Cold War, more than a third of which was spent during the Reagan years. (And it never really stopped... Druyan notes in the update in "Billions & Billions" that the Clinton defense budget in post-Cold War 1995 was $30 billion higher than Nixon's defense budget in the height of the Cold War.) Sagan wondered what else we could have done with, say, half of that $10 trillion:
What else could the United States have done with that money (not all of it, because prudent defense is, of course, necessary — but, say, half of it)? For a little over $5 trillion, skillfully applied, we could have made major progress toward eliminating hunger, homelessness, infectious disease, illiteracy, ignorance, poverty, and safeguarding the environment—not just in the United States but worldwide. We could have helped make the planet agriculturally self-sufficient and removed many of the causes of violence and war. And this could have been done with enormous benefit to the American economy. We could have made deep inroads into the national debt. For less than a percent of that money, we could have mustered a long-term international program of manned exploration to Mars. Prodigies of human inventiveness in art, architecture, medicine, and science could be supported for decades with a tiny fraction of that money. The technological and entrepreneurial opportunities would have been prodigious.
02 Jun 8:01 | Link | Category: Current Events, Link Dump '08, Politics, Site/Life News
May 31, 2008
Links 18
There was a long list of links for today, but then I realized I promised some 'frivolous' links last time. I guess the heavy stuff will have to wait until later...
1. Judging by my server logs (specifically, the number of hits this entry still receives, especially Google Images hits for the second image), Googlers have a voracious appetite for photos of celebrities without makeup. I'm happy to oblige. Here's a large collection of makeup-less celebrities. Some of them still manage to look good, but plenty of them do not.
2. The 21 Best Mugshots Ever
3. Obama Practices Looking-Off-Into-Future Pose - from The Onion
4. Redacted CIA document about torture almost entirely blacked out - surprisingly, not from The Onion
5. A Tiny Fruit That Tricks the Tongue - interesting article from the NYT about a "miracle fruit that makes everything sweet"
31 May 22:57 | Link | Category: Link Dump '08
May 26, 2008
Links 17
Today, the common thread seems to be "things that demonstrate how we're doomed". Next time, I promise to bring you something more uplifting (or at least something frivolous).
1. 16% of U.S. science teachers are creationists - Aaaghh. It's lower than the proportion the general population who identify as creationists, but still... Anyway. As John Hawks says, it's actually more distressing to see how little time is spent teaching evolution. Quoting:
We're entering an age in which health decisions will be made based on genetic information -- when everyone may know their own gene sequences if they want to. New diseases are emerging, new crops are being developed, and new organisms are being transplanted from one continent to another. Decisions about the economic development of entire regions -- perhaps entire nations -- are now subject to the evaluation of biodiversity, including threatened and endangered species.
The people making these decisions ten to twenty years from now will have an average of 13.7 hours of education on evolution.
2. And to depress you further on the topic, here's an editorial on the topic from my local paper: Darwinism isn't provable. I'm hoping it was written by a 15-year-old (whose biology teachers are creationists) because it sounds like an argument I would've used at that age. The most depressing thing about this item? Many of the 153 comments.
3. Moving on... West Virginians interviewed about Barack Obama:
The Daily Show played a similar clip that is also depressing, but at least has a touch of humor to it (the Jack Daniels, "West Virginia state motto: No Interviews Please", etc.)
4. Financial gap widens for college kids - "Parents who send their children to four-year colleges have long been above average when it comes to income. But today's freshmen are financially better off than ever before, and the gap is widening, a report on 40-year trends in higher education shows." - Just another indication of the growing gap between rich & poor. And of course it's not the price tag alone that keeps people from college. The lower your income, the more likely you are to encounter all sorts of situations that make college an unreasonable choice.
5. I had another upsetting link, but instead, let's finish up with something incredibly stupid but funny. Even though I've never watched any of the CSI shows (aside from a glimpse here and there), endless Caruso one-liners still made me laugh:
(Jim Carrey's impression is good, too.)
That's all for now, kids. It might be a little while until the next post.
26 May 20:53 | Link | Category: Link Dump '08
May 19, 2008
Links 16
1. The Whole Five Feet: A Year With The Harvard Classics
2. Flush with Profits from the Iraq War, Military Contractors See a World of Business Opportunities
3. Drug firms 'inventing diseases'
4. Cost of stabilising global warming 'negligible'
5. Another (final) Derren Brown link: Tricks of the Mind: book explains magic, hypnosis, and the rationale for rationalism
19 May 20:59 | Link | Category: Link Dump '08
May 18, 2008
Links 15
Things are getting weirder. Updates may be even more sporadic. But for now, let's continue emptying my bookmarks folder. (I'm down to 300.)
1. ROCK BAND - A multi-instrumentalist tries his hand at the Rock Band video game:
2. Things Younger Than John McCain - a blog. (As for the ageism argument... obviously there are pros and cons... I just thought it was a funny idea. Their response is here.)
3. Of course you've already seen the old Bill O'Reilly clip (from his days on Inside Edition) by now. But just in case you've been living under a rock, I'll share it again because while it's not surprising (if you've ever watched his Fox show), it is quite entertaining for some odd reason. It's NSFW.
Since Stephen Colbert basically channels O'Reilly and his ilk, his take simply classic. Also kinda funny is Bill O'Reilly's Producer (Unseen Footage) from Barely Political (also NSFW).
4. Top 20 Taboo Topics for Presidential Candidates
5. Recently, I posted a video clip of Derren Brown debunking psychic readings. Here's a clip (via Cynical-C) of him showing how to take someone's wallet by asking (through a hypnotic handshake):
18 May 21:05 | Link | Category: Link Dump '08
May 15, 2008
Links 14 (Primates)
Sorry for the silence. It's been a strange week. I've also been busy with work-related web stuff which means I wanted to get away from the computer, not spend more time in front of it. This may continue for a while.
Anyway, let's get back to emptying my overflowing bookmarks list. Today I have a bunch of primate links. I had lots more but I narrowed them down to ten, which are hopefully the most interesting or attention-grabbing. I also tried to choose links that weren't too lengthy or scholarly (read: journal articles that would bore most readers of this blog), so most of the links are to articles from New Scientist. New Scientist often veers into oversimplification and tabloid science (see 'A Plea to Save New Scientist'), but longtime readers know I routinely link to their articles because they're usually good for casual readers but always cite primary sources if something piques your interest. Without further ado:
1. Girrrrl power - "Females were persistently attacked by adult males, during this time. But, between October and December 2003, he noticed the females were starting to organise themselves into retaliation coalitions." - This is quite an interesting observation because it's not what one would expect based on conventional wisdom about chimpanzees. Bonobo females band together to combat male aggression, but as far as I know, this is the first observation of the behavior among chimpanzees, at least in East Africa. It has long been hypothesized that ecology is largely responsible for this interspecific difference. (Briefly, different food sources allow for different foraging patterns, which keep females from being alone and allow for more female bonding, etc.) But perhaps ecological and demographic conditions affect intraspecific and even intercommunity differences. I would love to see more research done on this. (And every other aspect of ape behavior, before they're gone in the wild. Our closest relatives can tell us much about human behavior, past and present.)
If you have access to the International Journal of Primatology you can read the journal article. Also look at this research brief.
2. New monkey species is already endangered (see also).
It's a new species of uakari. (The most well-known, or at least the most visually striking, uakari is the bald-headed uakari.)
3. 'Altruistic' chimps act for the benefit of others - The journal article is available from PLoS. The evolutionary origins of so-called "altruistic" behaviors are fascinating (and contentious). Studying the behavior of living species isn't the only way of approaching the question, but it is a very useful one. Chimpanzee behavior is of interest for human altruism simply because we are so closely related.
Primate characteristics satisfy many prerequisites for reciprocal altruism (long lifespans, large brains, long-term social relationships, etc.). Still, it may be that reciprocity explains only a small slice (if any) of altruistic behavior, even among big-brained apes. I would highlight de Waal's quote in the article:
"Animals don't know much about genetic kinship or future return favours," de Waal says, arguing that altruism could still be a self-serving trait, helping to win the "altruist" a good reputation and higher status.
4. Bonobos join forces to outdo chimps
5. Killings of mountain gorillas in Congo prompt U.N. probe - I may have mentioned this story last year, but I don't think I linked to these disturbing, heartbreaking photos.
Such a shame... this species, like so many primate species, is doomed to imminent extinction.
6. Chimps keep busy to control their urges - "In the experiment, the primates distracted themselves by playing with toys in order to avoid giving in to the temptation of eating instantly available candy so they could obtain even more treats at a later time."
7. Menopause sets humans apart from chimps - and, really, from all our ape cousins. It's an obvious, glaring difference that begs for explanation. There are several hypotheses and much intriguing research. One hypothesis for the adaptiveness of human menopuase is briefly discussed in one of article's links: Caring grandmas explain evolutionary role of menopause.
8. 5-year-old chimp beats college kids in computer game - "Japanese researchers pitted young chimps against human adults in two tests of short-term memory, and overall, the chimps won."
Even with six months of training, the college students couldn't catch up to the chimps. Tetsuro Matsuzawa's explanation? "He thinks two factors gave his chimps the edge. For one thing, he believes human ancestors gave up much of this skill over evolutionary time to make room in the brain for gaining language abilities." Maybe.
9. So college students are worse than chimps at short-term memory games. What about arithmetic? Turns out they're at about the same level as macaques: Monkeys perform arithmetic as well as college students.
10. New World monkeys are also clever. Here's an article about an interesting study on capuchin monkeys: Monkeys learn to do arithmetic for peanuts
I tried to hold the list to ten, but I just noticed this link in my bookmarks list and I have to share:
11. Did we learn to walk in the trees? (and more comment from the author's blog)
Conventional wisdom holds that apes developed bipedal locomotion after (or, more accurately, as) they descended from the trees. (Why and exactly how remain hotly debated.) A year or two ago, I started to very seriously consider a different possibility - that the bipedal locomotion of hominids actually started in the trees. Although heretical, the idea is attractive for a variety of reasons. (I don't have time to expound, but suffice it to say I think it matches some evidence in ways other hypotheses do not). Perhaps the knuckle-walking of gorillas and chimpanzees is derived and bipedal locomotion is ancestral (not, as traditionally thought, the other way 'round). You will need a subscription to read the full article from the first link, but I have a copy of the entire article. E-mail me if you're interested. I can also point you to some more reading on the topic.
15 May 22:02 | Link | Category: Human/Primate Evolution & Behavior, Link Dump '08, Science
May 7, 2008
Links 13
(If you're wondering what all these 'Link' entries are for, read the original post.)
1. The 50 Greatest Commercial Parodies of All Time - Lots of funny videos. There are a few glaring omissions (like Bill Murray's commercial for Swill Mineral Water), probably because they couldn't find any copies online, but there are plenty of classics. My favorites are probably Compulsion by Calvin Kleen (you might not be ancient enough to remember the original ads from the '80s), John Belushi's Little Chocolate Donuts, and the deadpan delivery of Sam Waterston in a parody of Life Insurance commercials that target the elderly:
2. ART GONE POSTAL - The Envelope Collective - I could browse this for hours.
3. Passive Aggressive Notes - a blog that keeps track of "painfully polite and hilariously hostile writings from shared spaces the world over". Submitted notes are not always passive-aggressive, but they're usually pretty funny:
4. Derren Brown (more), debunking psychic readings:
5. James (the Amazing) Randi, doing the same thing years ago.
07 May 21:44 | Link | Category: Link Dump '08
May 6, 2008
Links 12
1. The very first iPhone - The page doesn't really show the 'origin of the iPhone' as it claims, but there are some interesting retro Apple prototypes from the '80s, like this:
2. Columnar Basalts - An entry from Centripetal Notion with some great photos. Links to articles explaining what columnar basalt is appear below the photos. Check out the Wikipedia's links to notable columnar basalts for more cool photos.
3. David Byrne's Survival Strategies for Emerging Artists — and Megastars from WIRED -- David Byrne is one of my favorite musicians, artists, and all-around smart people. It's a thoughtful article. Don't miss the cover of The Fiery Furnaces' 'Ex-Guru' on the first page (with extra verses added by Byrne), as well as the other audio conversations on subsequent pages - especially the one with Brian Eno. (Rumor has it that they're collaborating on something new, for the first time since the magnificent My Life in the Bush of Ghosts from the early '80s.)
From the same issue of Wired, you might also be interested in David Byrne and Thom Yorke discussing the Real Value of Music. (The lighting and other effects they often use for the photos in Wired tends to lead to slightly creepy images, but that has to be the creepiest ever. They managed to make both of them like bad wax figurines.) If you have time, listen to the audio (which is interesting despite the awkward moments). Finally, you should bookmark David Byrne's online journal, which is always full of thought-provoking posts.
4. Self-centered cultures narrow your viewpoint
When it comes to putting yourself in the shoes of others, cultures that emphasise interdependence over individualism may have the upper hand.
In a new psychological experiment, Chinese students outperformed their US counterparts when ask to infer another person's perspective. The researchers say the findings help explain how misunderstandings can occur in cross-cultural communication.
5. "Race Types" from a 1906 Geography Book - A collection of what essentially amount to racist caricatures. Notice how the Anglo-Saxon man is at the top. As you move down the page you encounter progressively 'lesser' races until it reaches Africans at the bottom. It's also an interesting look at the way arbitrary definitions of races change over time. (Splitting Spaniards and Scottish Highlanders into different races? Really?)
I think this shows that, as far as we have to go, we've made some progress over the last century. While we still pay undue attention to classifying distinct racial groups (a very unwise way to view human diversity), at least we place all races at the same level.
06 May 21:03 | Link | Category: Link Dump '08
May 5, 2008
Links 11
1. In Praise of Melancholy - by Eric G. Wilson. It's a thoughtful essay about how "American culture's overemphasis on happiness misses an essential part of a full life".
2. Obesity in the U.S. - animation - a simple Flash animation from CNN showing the increasing numbers of obese individuals over the last twenty years or so. It'll play too fast, but once it's done you can click through and look at the maps more carefully. (What's with Colorado?)
3. New survey lists hundreds of potential carcinogens - "The most comprehensive survey to date of environmental chemicals linked to breast cancer lists 216 compounds - many of which are commonly encountered in most women's lives." Lovely.
4. Desiree Palmen Photography - some interesting images like this:
5. The Orcale of Bacon - Enter a celebrity, and the Oracle (using IMDb) will tell you by how many degrees he/she is separated from Kevin Bacon. Use Star Links to connect any two actors. The advanced search gives you even more options.
05 May 21:58 | Link | Category: Link Dump '08
May 4, 2008
Links 10
(If you're wondering what all these 'Link' entries are for, read the original post. I'm down to 325 bookmarks, so let's keep going...)
1. Life in an earthship - a short article about homes that "are specifically designed to be comfortable in any climate even as they're entirely off the grid and made using a healthy supply of natural and recycled materials." And a related CNET blog entry.
2. 27 aquatic lifeforms you never caught while fishing - from the Bounty Fishing Blog. The list includes creatures like the axolotl:
The Wikipedia entry on axolotls has more info., too. This reminds me... there was a great song by Hum (an old favorite of mine) called Afternoon With The Axolotls. You can listen to it at YouTube (although at poor quality) because someone made their own video for it. You'll also find links to a bunch of (somtimes odd) videos that let you hear other songs in their entirety. (If you want to download the song, try Amazon - but, oh, get the whole 'Downward Is Heavenward' album, and add You'd Prefer An Astronaut while you're at it.)
3. How NOT To Use Powerpoint - Over the years, I've seen an uncountable number of computerized slide presentations. Some were good. Many were bad. In this clip, Don McMillan runs through some of the common mistakes people make:
4. Proposal to Implant Tracking Chips in Immigrants - this bookmark is really old, but still worth linking to. Also check out another old link, AlterNet's Top 10 Signs of the Impending U.S. Police State.
5. Video of assembly of Trabants - via this post at BoingBoing. The Trabant, if you're somehow unfamiliar with it, was an automobile built in East Germany for many many years. You can read all about it - from Duroplast to the fact that it was often years between order and delivery - at the extensive Wikipedia article. And now, you can watch part of the high-tech assembly process:
04 May 22:19 | Link | Category: Link Dump '08
May 2, 2008
Links 9
1. CEOs say how you treat a waiter can predict a lot about character - duh.
2. G. I. Jones -- S.E. Nigerian Art and Culture - some interesting old photos from the 1930s:
3. SinkPositive - A faucet & sink that mount atop the toilet. Wash your hands with clean water right before it turns into toilet water. (The water drains into the toilet bowl, not the tank.) Clever and simple.
4. The Cube, starring Richard Schaal -- a teleplay from 1969, produced and directed by Jim Henson. Still makes for pretty interesting viewing. Supposedly based on (or at least "strikingly similar" to) a short story by Thomas M. Disch. If you ever saw the 1997 movie Cube, a great low-budget sci-fi/horror flick, you might also find it interesting.
5. Talking to ourselves by Susan Jacoby. I've often wondered about the way that, despite technology (or perhaps because of it), many people seem to be growing increasingly close-minded, surrounding themselves only with people and ideas with which they already agree. I come from a family tradition of people who enjoy arguing, but I must admit that even I have succumbed to this behavior to some degree. In a commentary for L.A. Times, Susan Jacoby explores the phenomenon:
Whether watching television news, consulting political blogs or (more rarely) reading books, Americans today have become a people in search of validation for opinions that they already hold. This absence of curiosity about other points of view is the essence of anti-intellectualism and represents a major departure from the nation's best cultural traditions.
I'm not sure she's really nailed the issue... I can't help thinking she's missing something, or that the phenomenon is more complicated than she makes it out to be. Still, her argument is worth pondering.
I enjoyed the response on one of the LA Times blogs:
That's total rubbish! Couldn't disagree more. She probably lives in her car. So we stopped reading that stupid article. Came back home here where we agree with virtually everything we write.
02 May 23:42 | Link | Category: Link Dump '08
May 1, 2008
Links 8 (Vonnegut)
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., one of my favorite writers and a fine human being, died last year. I had lots of related bookmarks saved up (I guess in the expectation of weaving them into some sort of tribute). Here are a few of them...
1. 15 Things Kurt Vonnegut Said Better Than Anyone Else Ever Has Or Will. Things like these:
"I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, 'If this isn't nice, I don't know what is.'"
"She was a fool, and so am I, and so is anyone who thinks he sees what God is doing."
"Since Alice had never received any religious instruction, and since she had led a blameless life, she never thought of her awful luck as being anything but accidents in a very busy place. Good for her."
2. The Art of Fiction No. 64 - a great interview from 1977.
3. Harrison Bergeron - a short story. I have no idea why the link was in my bookmarks list.
4. NOW - A Tribute To Kurt Vonnegut - one of his last public interviews, from the PBS program. To see all 20+ minutes of the interview (which you really should because the last half is better than the first), you'll need to go to the PBS page, but you can see part of it on YouTube:
5. Original Kilgore Trout Stories - someone went through Vonnegut's books, located all the excerpts from Kilgore Trout stories, and put them online. Wonderful.
6. Dear Mr. Vonnegut, - Vonnegut wrote lots of articles recently that can be found online. I had bookmarks to quite a few of them, but I most enjoyed his short answers to e-mails (sent in response to his interview Kurt Vonnegut vs. the !&#*!@) in Dear Mr. Vonnegut. There's also a part two and a part three.
7. For a few more links, check out one of my old Vonnegut posts.
01 May 22:44 | Link | Category: Art & Entertainment, Link Dump '08
April 30, 2008
Links 7
1. Faces in Places - this blog collects photos of objects that look like faces:
(The human brain's obsession with faces is fascinating... I wish I had time to write more about it, especially the evolution of the so-called "face recognition module" - check out the info. & links at Wikipedia's face perception, prosopagnosia, and pareidolia entries. And for fun, a couple of images to mess with your module.)
2. MacBook Pro Unboxing Video - I like to think of myself as platform agnostic. I grew up using MS-DOS & Windows (among other things), immersed myself in *NIX during my brief stint as a CS major, and bought my first Mac way back in '99 when a 400 MHz G4 running OS 8.6 was the shit. These days I actively use both Windows and Mac OS, but I will admit that for most of my computing needs, I find Mac OS X offers the best overall experience. I usually think Mac cultists are funny and harmless (and the phenomenon is genuinely interesting in many ways), but sometimes they really scare me. Things like this video make me wary to admit that I use a Mac. (What's with the weird unboxing thing anyway?) At the very least, play the video until around 0:27 (although it continues for several minutes). The kid seems to be having multiple orgasms as he fondles and caresses a computer. ("Cleanup on aisle four!") And from what I can gather, it's not a spoof or a hoax. Yes, humans are very strange creatures:
3. Glassbooth - Quiz to help you choose a 2008 presidential candidate. I should've posted this a long time ago, because it's not very useful now that we're down to three candidates (or I think six, technically). Of the online candidate chooser sites I looked at this election cycle, Glassbooth had one of the more clever interfaces. There was another cool one, but I can't find the link at the moment. Maybe it'll show up in another one of these posts.
4. Vast ancient settlement found at Angkor Wat - old news, but if you missed it, it's still very interesting. I mentioned Jared Diamond the other day. The reseachers' conclusion probably made him happy:
In fact, says Damian Evans of the University of Sydney, "there is just no obvious boundary" for the settlement. The population of the area was probably around half a million, he adds, though earlier estimates of a million inhabitants - suggested in the 1970s - could still be correct.
Such extensive settlement may help explain why Angkor, which thrived between the 9th and 16th centuries, had been overwhelmed by vegetation by the time European explorers first encountered the site in the 1860s.
The main theory for Angkor’s abandonment is that the creation of an extensive water management system caused environmental damage that ultimately led to the failure of the system, leading to food shortages. That scenario now seems even more likely.
5. 26 tempting but inappropriate funeral songs - The title is self-explanatory. The list is pretty funny, and I can think of a few more. I found this via J-Walk, whose favorite was Peggy Lee's "Is That All There Is?" I happen to think it's the perfect song for a funeral.
30 Apr 20:38 | Link | Category: Link Dump '08
April 29, 2008
Links 6
1. Down for everyone or just me? - handy resource for determining whether or not a web site is completely down.
2. Vibram Five Fingers - strange and very intriguing 'shoes' that I would love to try out:
3. Twitter Away Your Life With Social Networking - I've joined one or two social networking sites in the past, but never really used them. Maybe I should actually give it a serious try someday... or maybe it's just not my thing (even though it makes me feel really old to say that). Maybe when I move and all my real-life friends are 1100 miles away. Until then it seems like another hassle of modern life (and now I feel even older). Anyway. The article I'm linking to is Lore Sjöberg's recent take on Twitter. I liked the opening paragraph:
The internet is to human interaction as Pringles are to potatoes. Companionship and closeness are processed into an unrecognizable slurry, then reconstituted as an unnatural recreation of their original incarnation. We start as social creatures, isolate ourselves into small rooms writhing with power strips, then make friends with similarly sequestered people, trying to re-create the very communities we're avoiding.
4. Maps of War - "Visual History of War, Religion, and Government" -- home of simple (but interesting) 90-second animated maps like Imperial History of the Middle East and History of Religion.
5. Neon Bible and Black Mirror - interactive music videos from Arcade Fire. (See, I really have been collecting bookmarks and stashing them away for at least a year.) Both are cool, but Black Mirror is definitely the better of the two.
29 Apr 0:05 | Link | Category: Link Dump '08
April 28, 2008
Links 5
(If you're wondering what all these 'Link' entries are for, check last week's original post.)
The bookmarks list is already down to 369, so I'm making good progress. Here are five more random links:
1. Ordinary Stars - Celebrities photoshopped to look like ordinary folks. My favorite is Pamela Anderson as a 4th grade teacher:
2. Calculate your health risks - From one of the New Scientist blogs: "We've rounded up a list of online health quizzes that measure everything from hearing loss to matters of the heart. Were Proust or Howard Hughes alive today, they would likely invest in a high-speed internet connection."
3. Southern Ocean already losing ability to absorb CO2
4. Human Ancestors Hall Tree - there are countless variations of this tree (about as many variations as there are paleoanthropologists) and they're constantly changing. Reconstructing phylogenetic relationships from a handful of fossils and indirect evidence is tricky business. I just like this one because you can click on different lineages and species and easily get a quick description and a link to some of the significant specimens. They even have a few QTVRs - a very poor substitute for actually holding casts in your hands, but better than most online images. The site is handy, though sadly incomplete.
5. Don't Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford - a semi-recent SNL skit that's actually pretty funny. Chris Parnell tries to sell Steve Martin and Amy Poehler his amazing debt and money-management book. The video quality isn't great, but it's the only copy I could find.
28 Apr 0:06 | Link | Category: Link Dump '08
April 24, 2008
Links 4
1. Awful words named for real people
2. "As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron." - H.L. Mencken.
He'd be derided as an elitist these days, but if you haven't already seen George W. Bush's "awesome" reaction to a recent speech by Pope Benedict XVI, watch it and try to tell me Mencken's prediction never came true. (On the topic of elitism, watch the last bit of this clip in which Jon Stewart explains that he wants a president who is 'embarrassingly superior' to him.)
3. Night Photography of the Abandoned West
4. Let's Paint, Exercise, & Blend Drinks! - an episode from Let's Paint TV:
5. Jerry Falwell -- Say Hello to Ronald Reagan! by Ann Coulter. I think I once vowed not to give any more attention to Coulter because she's a troll who shouldn't make nearly as much money as she does, but I've finally gotten to the point where I find her quite amusing and there were just such wonderful lines in this piece, like "Let me be the first to say: I ALWAYS agreed with the Rev. Falwell" and "If you still think it isn't Christ whom liberals hate, remember: They hate Falwell even more than they hate me."
(See also: Falwell's Stupidest Quotes)
24 Apr 21:36 | Link | Category: Link Dump '08
April 23, 2008
Links 3 (Biofuels)
1. How the rich starved the world - an article about grain shortages and the role of biofuels.
2. (Some) biofuels aren't very environmentally friendly, either. From last year: Corn biofuel 'dangerously oversold' as green energy. A couple of excerpts:
The report concludes that the rapidly growing and heavily subsidised corn ethanol industry in the US will cause significant environmental damage without significantly reducing the country's dependence on fossil fuels.
Even if all corn grown in the US was used for fuel, it would only offset 15% of the country's gasoline use, according to the study. The same reduction could be achieved by a 3.5-mile-per-gallon increase in fuel efficiency standards for all cars and light trucks, according to federal figures cited in the report.
3. Forget biofuels - burn oil and plant forests instead. Planting forests doesn't necessarily compensate for burning oil, and not all biofuels are bad, but this link does a nice job of briefly explaining why biofuels can be bad for the environment. An excerpt:
Burning oil and planting forests to compensate is more environmentally friendly than burning biofuel. So say scientists who have calculated the difference in net emissions between using land to produce biofuel and the alternative: fuelling cars with gasoline and replanting forests on the land instead.
They recommend governments steer away from biofuel and focus on reforestation and maximising the efficiency of fossil fuels instead.
The reason is that producing biofuel is not a "green process". It requires tractors and fertilisers and land, all of which means burning fossil fuels to make "green" fuel. In the case of bioethanol produced from corn - an alternative to oil - "it's essentially a zero-sums game," says Ghislaine Kieffer.
What is more, environmentalists have expressed concerns that the growing political backing that biofuel is enjoying will mean forests will be chopped down to make room for biofuel crops such as maize and sugarcane. "When you do this, you immediately release between 100 and 200 tonnes of carbon [per hectare]," says Renton Righelato of the World Land Trust, UK, a conservation agency that seeks to preserve rainforests.
23 Apr 21:11 | Link | Category: Current Events, Link Dump '08, Science
April 22, 2008
Links 2
1. Hillary Sexism Watch - keeping track of misogynistic attacks on Sen. Clinton. (That post only links to sixty-two posts. They're actually up to at least 76.) It's clear that there are still plenty of misogynists in the media (but I think we already knew that). So maybe some of Hillary's complaints about being treated unfairly by the media are justified. But I'm not sure Obama has been coddled like she and others have suggested. (The last couple of weeks prove my point.) If anyone is being coddled, it's Sen. McCain. See the next two links...
2. Where is McCain's Flag Pin? This link demonstrates that McCain has not been wearing a flag pin for some time, which clearly means he's not a patriot. (Remember, flag pins speak louder than actions.)
3. Question For The Class - If the media are so starstruck by Obama, why are they so preoccupied with finding and amplifying any potential misstep or shady connection, however tenuous? Sir Charles of Cogitamus asks:
Do you think if Barack Obama had left his seriously ill wife after having had multiple affairs, had been a member of the "Keating Five," had had a relationship with a much younger lobbyist that his staff felt the need to try and block, had intervened on behalf of the client of said young lobbyist with a federal agency, had denounced then embraced Jerry Falwell, had denounced then embraced the Bush tax cuts, had confused Shiite with Sunni, had confused Al Qaeda in Iraq with the Mahdi Army, had actively sought the endorsement and appeared on stage with a man who denounced the Catholic Church as a whore, and stated that he knew next to nothing about economics -- do you think it's possible that Obama would have been treated differently by the media than John McCain has been? Possible?
4. Youngme / Nowme - People submit recreations of photographic scenes from their youth.
5. US Navy calls MySpace kids an "Alien Life Force" - Funny and stupid (but I'll admit to sometimes agreeing with the sentiment)
22 Apr 19:10 | Link | Category: Link Dump '08
April 21, 2008
Links 1
1. The Last Americans - Environmental Collapse and the End of Civilization -- an old Harper's article by Jared Diamond. One of his books, Collapse, explores the various reasons for societal collapse. This essay focuses on environmental degradation as a contributing factor in societal collapse, a key theme (indeed, the key theme) of that book. As usual, it's a very nice piece of writing. (And as usual, Diamond makes some simplifications and bold leaps. Still, it's worth a careful read.)
2. Video: 85 years of life in 40 seconds. Weird, cool, depressing. Supposedly from a Norweigan TV commercial. (Make sure to mute your speakers before the video plays. Someone overdubbed vomit-inducing music.)
3. Tree Goats (and more):
Amazingly enough, it's not a Photoshop trick.
4. Warming climate creates mountains of mushrooms
5. Sputtr - Multi-Search Engine. Handy.
21 Apr 23:55 | Link | Category: Link Dump '08