March 27, 2008
Bookshelves
I noticed an item at BoingBoing today about a bathtub with built-in bookshelves. Not the brightest idea, but it reminded me of several other clever bookshelf designs I've seen over the years.
One of my favorites (and I may have linked to it previously) is the equation bookshelf:
Another interesting design is the Quad Bookcase:
I'm also quite fond of these folding bookshelves:
Check out these and more: 30 of the Most Creative Bookshelves Designs. The Boing Boing post I mentioned has links to a bunch of other cool ideas, like the armchair with 5m of built-in shelving and the bench with integrated bookcases.
Finally, here's a set of plain bookshelves that's quite eye-catching:
27 Mar 23:33 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
March 26, 2008
Elephant snapshots
From the Daily Mail:
We revealed the amazing story of how four tiger cubs were captured on special cameras in logs carried by elephants - giving the most intimate insight into their early lives ever recorded.
Now, we show for the first time other creatures of the jungle caught in this extraordinary - and pioneering - way.
Cheeky langur monkeys, a rare sloth bear, spotted deer and a leopard with her cub are just some of the other animals that film-maker John Downer came across in his fascinating experiment.
He fixed webcams to four elephants. One carried a "trunk-cam" - a device resembling a huge log concealing a camera which could be held in its trunk and dangled close to the ground.
Another had a "tusk-cam" hooked over its tusk. The elephants moved so steadily that the images are pin-sharp. Other log-cams were left on the forest floor.
26 Mar 18:12 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits, Photography, Science
March 19, 2008
Life Clock
Here's something creepy and depressing:
The Life Clock, slowed down 61320 times so 84 years are represented by one revolution.
19 Mar 21:27 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
March 13, 2008
Guys and Dolls
Last year, Richard Hawley put out a great, funny video for his song 'Serious' off the Lady's Bridge album. It features a guy who lives with a mannequin that he treats like a girlfriend:
Seemed funny enough when I first saw it. But little did I know, there are people who actually do this. That is, they live with dolls and treat them as companions. (And there was also a comedy/dramedy made last year called Lars and the Real Girl based on the concept, but I live under a rock and hadn't heard about it.)
It's one of those things you expect to read in a sci-fi novel. You know, the aliens decide to put a human in their zoo, but then realize the human needs companionship, so they create the closest facsimile they can. Interesting fictional material, but quite bizarre to see in real life. The following documentary follows several men who own one or more $6500 'real dolls':
From a psychological and anthropological viewpoint it's fascinating. (For example, I suspect there are very few women who would do this sort of thing. It would also be interesting to look at differences between cultures.)
But it's mostly just, well, creepy, isn't it? And how far will it go? A friend pointed me to this page of creepy Japanese robots in an IM. Check out the Simroid (#3). Or to be completely creeped out, check out the details of the last item, the Japenese "Honey doll" sex doll that looks like it's about twelve years old. You'll agree with me: we're doomed. Completely doomed. Someone take me back to the Pleistocene, please.
(I've thought of starting a "We're Doomed" category for posts like this that show technology outpacing the human brain in ways that are frightening. Whaddya think?)
13 Mar 19:08 | Link | Category: Human/Primate Evolution & Behavior, Misc. Tidbits, Music, Technology & Computing, Video
January 26, 2008
Beat A Drum
People from 1 to 100 hit a drum:
It's from 'People In Order', a series of four short films.
26 Jan 23:53 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits, Music, Video
January 2, 2008
The $300 phone I want
Sure, the iPhone is cool and I would love to have one. But guess what you can get for $100 less? A real rotary telephone from the 1940s:
Made in Sweden by the L.M. Ericsson Company, this hefty Bakelite phone was popular in Buenos Aires in the 1940s. Found in Argentina and restored by hand, vintage phone has all-new wiring, a new microphone, a real rotary dial, and an authentic ring. Plugs into a standard jack.
For the longest time, I've wanted a phone with a real rotary dial and a real ringing bell like the ones my family had when I was a small child. This one's even cooler because it's from Buenos Aires in the 1940s, but you can find plenty of cheaper ones, including some 1960s phones for as little as $140 and others for as little as $60. I didn't look very carefully, so I'm sure there are better deals out there, too. (If your lines are tone-only, you can apparently convert your old pulse phones.)
02 Jan 21:35 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits, Technology & Computing
October 11, 2007
British accents by Peter Sellers
This video, shot between takes on Dr. Strangelove, features Peter Sellers running through a variety of British accents (and of course the American Midwestern accent he used for President Muffley) -- all in less than ninety seconds. Pretty cool.
While I'm on the topic of accents, have you ever heard of Foreign Accent Syndrome? Very rarely, after stroke or brain injury, a subject will suddenly speak with a foreign accent. What actually happens is that certain aspects of speech (like pronunciation, pitch, and rhythm) are altered in such a way that it sounds to others as if the subject has an accent. From this article on FAS: "For instance, one of our patients, a native New Yorker, was so often mistaken for being Swedish that her doctor jokingly suggested she call herself 'Olga.'"
Here's a BBC story (and video) about an English woman who had a stroke and now sounds like she's Jamaican or maybe French Canadian.
11 Oct 23:36 | Link | Category: Art & Entertainment, Misc. Tidbits, Science, Video
September 30, 2007
Extreme rich-poor divides
There are some remarkable photos of rich-poor divides at deputy-dog.com. Like this one:
30 Sep 20:16 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits, Photography
July 19, 2006
'Green' burial
I saw this article a while back: 'Green' burial offers a plot with a view. The idea is to be buried in a way that doesn't protect you from the environment.
At Greensprings, where a plot costs $500 plus a $350 fee to dig the grave, bodies cannot be embalmed or otherwise chemically preserved. They must be buried in biodegradable caskets without linings or metal ornamentation.
The cemetery suggests locally harvested woods, wicker or cloth shrouds. Concrete or steel burial vaults are not allowed. Nor are standing monuments, upright tombstones or statues.
Only flat, natural fieldstones are permitted as grave markers (they can be engraved). Shrubs or trees are preferred.
And only one person is allowed in each 15-foot-by-15-foot plot.
"This is more than just dig a hole in the woods and roll them in. We see it as a natural return to the Earth, becoming part of the circle of life," said Mary Woodsen, a lifelong conservationist and the cemetery's president.
Makes perfect sense to me. I figure it's been the fate of most human remains from the 'invention' of burial many thousands of years ago until relatively recently, when people started practicing cremation, embalming, mummification, and the like. I've never wanted to be buried in a traditional cemetery. And I like this idea better than cremation. Plus it's cheaper and more environmentally friendly.
Oh yeah... you can also have yourself freeze-dried and shattered. I mentioned this last year:
Next year, a town in Sweden will start burying their dead using a new environmentally friendly method in which bodies are frozen, dipped in liquid nitrogen, and shattered into a powder. The powder is placed in a small box and buried in a shallow grave where it will disintegrate in 6-12 months.
19 Jul 2:39 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
Giant yellow jacket nests / Giant Asian hornets
If you think you have large yellow jacket nests in your yard, consider what folks in Alabama have been finding:
To the bafflement of insect experts, gigantic yellow jacket nests have started turning up in old barns, unoccupied houses, cars and underground cavities across the southern two-thirds of Alabama.
Specialists say it could be the result of a mild winter and drought conditions, or multiple queens forcing worker yellow jackets to enlarge their quarters so the queens will be in separate areas. But experts haven't determined exactly what's behind the surprisingly large nests.
Just how big are the nests?
At one site in Barbour County, the nest was as large as a Volkswagen Beetle, said Andy McLean, an Orkin pesticide service manager in Dothan who helped remove it from an abandoned barn about a month ago.
Another one "filled the interior of a weathered 1955 Chevrolet parked in a rural Elmore County barn. That nest was about the size of a tire in the rear floor seven weeks ago, but quickly spread to fill the entire vehicle." Here's a photo:
While I'm on the topic of freaky things concerning yellow & black insects, check out this video (12 MB QuickTime) of Asian giant hornets attacking European honeybees. 30 hornets vs. 30,000 honeybees. Guess who wins? Gotta love the dramatic narration & music, too... heh. (Video also available in Windows Media.)
19 Jul 2:06 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits, Science, Video
July 15, 2006
Recover the combination to a Master padlock
If you have an old Master combination padlock and you've lost the combination, don't throw it away. If you have a bit of time, you can fairly easily recover the combination:
I have had to throw out several locks because I have lost the combination. I recently found a lock and I really hate to throw these things out. . . . I have read many places online that this is completely impossible, but it's not. It takes a little math, a lot of brute forcing, and some thinking.
I used his technique on an old lock for which I had lost the combination. Sure enough, I recovered the combination. It only took about twenty minutes.
(via Cynical-C)
15 Jul 0:21 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
July 8, 2006
U.S. Citizenship Quiz
Here's another online quiz (why not...). It's from MSNBC, and I hope all U.S. citizens can pass: Do you have what it takes to become a citizen? The questions are examples of what might be asked by CIS officers. Some are pretty pointless, but oh well. (My mother and grandmother both had to take the test. Both said it was fairly easy, though it didn't hurt to be prepared.)
I'm happy to say I didn't miss any questions. Maybe I can be an American after all, even though I don't have an American flag sticker on my bumper.
08 Jul 23:31 | Link | Category: Interactive, Misc. Tidbits
Bible Quiz
Here's a pretty interesting quiz that's been floating around: What Do You Really Know About The Bible?. I managed 42 / 50 but only because I'm pretty familiar with the strange customs and laws in the Old Testament and the contradictions found in the New Testament. (If you actually have a life and don't want to waste time answering the questions, just submit a blank quiz to see the answers.)
The quiz does a good job of highlighting parts of the Bible that conflict with teachings of modern Judaism and Christianity (even orthodox and fundamentalist sects). It makes the point that taking every word of the Bible literally is a nonsensical idea. And maybe part of the point is that even so-called Biblical literalists don't take the Bible as literally as they profess to.
The quiz is obviously biased and has its own agenda, but I still think it's pretty interesting and makes a good point. A wise person, of course, realizes that it's never a good idea to look at selections of a document out of context or without consideration of the whole. The Bible has a very interesting history and has played a significant role in Western history and people's lives, so it's interesting to try to understand where it came from, how/why it has changed, and how/why it came to be seen as it is today by so many religious people.
Religious texts in general are interesting documents from both a historical and anthropological perspective. I think the key in approaching such a text is to learn and understand its context in culture and history. The Old Testament, for example, is an interesting look back at how the patriarchal Hebrew society, a relatively early civilization, saw itself and the world. It provides a peek into the genesis, transformation, and mindset of an early monotheistic religion & civilization. The New Testament's story is also interesting - particularly how it was first written, then adopted by foreign cultures and modified through the years.
Maybe viewing the Bible simply as a cultural and historical artifact is heretical to those who see it as God's daily guide to personal life and a relatively (or absolutely) inerrant guide from His mouth. Maybe they see that view as the start of the slippery slope so many scholars have taken towards disbelief... I don't know... as I've said countless times, if a divinely inspired / directed religion can't honestly reconcile itself with both history and obvious facts, something must be rotten to begin with.
Anyway. I can't say Biblical history and interpretation have ever been all that interesting to me - the world's just such a big place with so many more fascinating things to study in depth - but if it interests you, there's a huge body of work about it (and that's an understatement). The most recent book I have sitting on my desk is Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why by Bart Ehrman.
08 Jul 17:31 | Link | Category: Human/Primate Evolution & Behavior, Interactive, Misc. Tidbits
July 7, 2006
Amphibious Invasion
The invasion of earwigs has mostly subsided. It has been succeeded by a much cooler - and more biblical - invasion: frogs. I've seen lots of them outside and now they're somehow finding their way in. (I have yet to figure out how.)
This is decidedly more exciting than earwigs, because I've always loved frogs... and amphibians in general. I still have fond memories of discovering tiger salamanders in a window well of the house we lived in when I was about thirteen. (I've already mentioned I'm a 'classist' and I'll readily admit that, in my house, I generally prefer Mammalia - or Amphibia - to Insecta). It's actually pretty fun to find a little frog hopping around your floor. The ones I've found are only 1.5 - 2 centimeters long and look to be a chorus frog (either boreal or western). Amphibian experts, please correct me if I'm wrong.
(Sounds like I need to call in the National Guard to secure the borders of my house against illegal animal immigration, doesn't it? But the frogs are so cute... and they do jobs I don't want to do, like eating bugs...)
Update: Maybe I should let 'em stay inside to keep 'em away from the road.
07 Jul 3:01 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits, Site/Life News
1942 educational comic on how to identify the Japanese
Here's an interesting look back... a 1942 comic included in the military's 'Pocket Guide to China' that instructs servicemen on "How to Spot a Jap."
In it, American (that is, European) guides Ryan and Terry detail the various tricks by which one can distinguish between a Japanese and Chinese man. Apparently, "Japs" are shorter than the "average American" or Chinese, have buck teeth, and walk with a shuffle instead of a stride. Also, a "Jap" sucks in on any "S" sound, cannot pronounce the letter L, and panics when asked to pronounce "Lalapalooza") - not unlike Perry Farrell!
Read the whole insanely racist thing here. Weird wild stuff.
(via J-Walk)
07 Jul 0:47 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
July 3, 2006
Pretty Pills
A friend sent me this awesome picture of a jar of pills she has. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it.
She worked for a pharmacy back when expired prescriptions (of benign meds) were simply thrown in the trash. She liked the way they looked so she kept taking handfuls of them home. She ended up with a truly odd and cool collection of pills. (During the Reagan-era cold war, the jar was labeled: "Take contents of entire bottle in case of nuclear attack.")
Those with OCD can have fun separating and categorizing the various pills:
I wonder why drug companies don't make funky-looking pills anymore. Maybe for child safety because they look like candy? I must admit, that colorful jar looks yummy. It reminds me of the gumdrop jar my grandma had. One would think drug companies would rely more heavily on color & shape in marketing their drugs. I can only think of two examples off the top of my head... the "purple pill" and the little blue one. Both are instantly recognizable... the official site for Nexium is purplepill.com. And people who have never used (and would never use) Viagra know it's blue. (Just ask Rush.)
Oh yeah... whatever happened to Nuprin? ('Little. Yellow. Different.') Can you even buy it anymore? I guess when it stopped being 'different' it didn't really matter that it was little and yellow.
I should probably shut up. But before I do, I'll leave you with an old Bo Diddley tune that I think goes well with the image. It's a pretty stupid - but stupendously catchy - tune based on the age-old "hot nurse in the hospital" fantasy. I seem to remember hearing somewhere that some radio stations in the early '60s refused to play the song because it was too risqué.
"She gave me pills for my toes and they didn't ache. She gave me pills for my love but a little too late. She gave me pills for my heart to put me at ease. The rock 'n' roll nurse shook me dead to my knees. She went to my head, to my head, while I was laying in the hospital bed."
Download (MPEG-4/AAC): Bo Diddley - Pills
03 Jul 1:18 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
April 25, 2006
More on the Pope's shoes
Back in December, I mentioned Pope Benedict XVI's fancy shoes and sunglasses. Now The Wall Stree Journal is running a story about it.
Since his election last year, the pope has been spotted wearing Serengeti-branded sunglasses and brown walking shoes donated by Geox. He owns a specially engraved white Apple iPod, and he recently stirred much publicity with a pair of stylish red loafers that may or may not be from Prada.
The raft of designer labels floating around the new pontiff is one of the odder consequences of last year's long-awaited papal transition. For the marketing world, the change at the helm of the Holy See is presenting an unprecedented opportunity, but also an ethical dilemma over how far to exploit religion for hyping a product.
Benedict XVI's media-savvy predecessor, John Paul II, was one of the world's most photographed public figures, but he also was a conspicuous ascetic. His preferred footwear was a pair of worn brown shoes. Prior to a 1981 assassination attempt, the Polish pontiff cruised around Rome in a 1960s Mercedes he inherited from his predecessor.
Benedict XVI is striking a snazzier profile, presenting international brands with a welcome change of pace. Being associated with the pope is worth at least 100 times more than an A-list celebrity because the pontiff has a more devoted following.
25 Apr 13:54 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
April 9, 2006
Why Do You Do What You Do?
I was in my office late one night not wanting to be bothered. The phone rang, and I wanted to ignore it. But, I felt compelled to answer. Before I could start, a child’s voice blurted, "Why do you do what you do?"
"Write your own answer. Take a picture. Draw something. Upload." "And read what others have written."
Interesting idea. I'd like to see it branch out and get a wider variety of photos/answers.
09 Apr 0:53 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits, Photography
April 8, 2006
Video of giant centipede eating mouse
I generally don't have any problem with insects, spiders, and the like. But one arthropod I've always had a visceral feeling of revulsion towards is the centipede. This video doesn't help. You've probably already seen it since it's been buzzing around the web for a while. But if not... check it out.
08 Apr 19:32 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits, Science, Video
February 2, 2006
More First Lines
A few people have commented on the 100 First Best Lines from Novels link I posted in Quick Links the other day.
Last year (or was it two years ago?), I was on a J.M. Coetzee kick. One of his novels (Elizabeth Costello) centers around a fictional novelist. Its opening line offers this take on opening lines:
There is first of all the problem of the opening, namely, how to get us from where we are, which is, as yet, nowhere, to the far bank.
Below are a few more 'first lines' pages (two in quiz format):
- Novel Quiz: Famous First Lines
- Famous First Lines of Novels and Poems
- First Lines: A Sort of Literacy Test
- First Lines from Famous Books
02 Feb 0:58 | Link | Category: Art & Entertainment, Interactive, Misc. Tidbits
December 20, 2005
National Smiles
A little over a week ago, you might have caught a story in the New York Times about a psychologist who says Americans smile differently than British people do. (According to the article, English smiles "telegraph an acknowledgment of hierarchy rather than just expressing pleasure.")
Well, whatever. I think it's a pretty silly thing to report on. But what is interesting is something pointed out by a reader on BoingBoing, who noted that American and British papers had completely different spins on the story. The NYT (see link above) explains how the 'English smile' is a "suppressed grimace", "sickly" and "deferential." An article reporting on the same thing in the UK's Sunday Times describes the English smile as "more sincere" and "hard-to-fake" than the "far less expressive" American "Botox smile."
Since I'm on the subject, here are three other smile-related links that were cluttering my bookmarks list:
- BBC - Spot The Fake Smile
- Study: Gummy smiles are less attractive
- Does it take fewer muscles to smile than it does to frown?
20 Dec 1:25 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
Automatic Family Fun
From Google Video, a clip entitled Oklahoma Full Auto Shoot. It's... well, I think the video speaks for itself.
20 Dec 1:08 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
December 18, 2005
Insect Pendants
This might prove me to be a bit of a freak, but I think these are really cool: Specimen Pendants. You can choose from a variety of insects and arachnids (as well as a starfish or rat skull) to grace a significant other's neck. (Sadly, I don't have an entomologist girlfriend... in fact, I don't think I know anyone except myself who would really take a liking to these items.)
(via Jaf Project)
18 Dec 23:36 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits, Science
December 17, 2005
The Pope Wears Prada
Apparently it's not just the devil wearing Prada anymore. Now it's Pope Benedict XVI, too. He rides "in the Popemobile with red Prada loafers under his cassock and Gucci shades." He also ditched the papal tailors who have been dressing popes for more than 200 years, favoring "his tailor from his days as cardinal, Alessandro Cattaneo, and the 20-year-old religious-fashion house of Raniero Mancinelli, which has provided the pope with dazzling new vestments (some with shimmering, sequinlike details)." Jesus would be proud.
I found the above photo of the erstwhile Mr. Ratzinger in his fancy shoes from this page. Also, J-Walk posted a link to a store selling similar red Prada shoes. (If I ever get to be the pope, I will insist on red Converse All-Stars like I had when I was six.)
I'm not sure why popes always wear red shoes, though I did find a thread on catholic.com where a few people took a stab at it.
Finally, a related item... someone from Fark saw the headline for this Reuters story - "Pope says materialism pollutes Christmas spirit" - and spruced it up a bit: "Pope denounces materialism from balcony of marble, gold-domed building in midst of jewel-encrusted religious icons while wearing giant gold cross"
17 Dec 23:29 | Link | Category: Humor, Misc. Tidbits
December 1, 2005
The Best Word Book Ever, 1963 vs. 1991
Somebody uploaded scans of the 1963 and 1991 editions of Richard Scarry's 'The Best Word Book Ever' to flickr. It's pretty interesting to see what changes were made.
01 Dec 13:20 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
November 27, 2005
Need a bookshelf?
Below are a few interesting ideas for storing your books.
A coffee table or hanging wire bookshelf (from u:b studio):
Giant lettering with shelves built into the back (from SET):
And if you're poor, like me? Do what I do and use flimsy steel industrial shelving. $15 at your local hardware store:
27 Nov 22:44 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
November 11, 2005
Alive Chimpanzee
Weird and creepy. I don't usually get into holiday gift-giving, but I'd like to give this to someone just to freak them out: Alive Chimpanzee, a life-size animatronic chimpanzee bust. Available from The Sharper Image (famous purveyor of useless gadgets), where you can see a video of the product.
11 Nov 18:16 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
October 3, 2005
Killer dolphins on the loose?
From The Observer, a rather odd Hurricane Katrina-related story/rumor. According to this article, armed dolphins trained by the U.S. military might be loose in the Gulf of Mexico:
Dolphins have been trained in attack-and-kill missions since the Cold War. The US Atlantic bottlenose dolphins have apparently been taught to shoot terrorists attacking military vessels. Their coastal compound was breached during the storm, sweeping them out to sea. But those who have studied the controversial use of dolphins in the US defence programme claim it is vital they are caught quickly.
Experts who have studied the US navy's cetacean training exercises claim the 36 mammals could be carrying 'toxic dart' guns. Divers and surfers risk attack, they claim, from a species considered to be among the planet's smartest. The US navy admits it has been training dolphins for military purposes, but has refused to confirm that any are missing.
Hmmm. (Where's Aquaman when you need him?)
(via John Hawks)
03 Oct 20:20 | Link | Category: Current Events, Misc. Tidbits
Freeze-dry me when I die
Next year, a town in Sweden will start burying their dead using a new environmentally friendly method in which bodies are frozen, dipped in liquid nitrogen, and shattered into a powder. The powder is placed in a small box and buried in a shallow grave where it will disintegrate in 6-12 months. Sounds pretty cool to me. Read more from this Telegraph article.
(via J-Walk)
03 Oct 18:09 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
September 18, 2005
The Ten Stupidest Utopias
Jeremy Adam Smith wrote up an article about what he considers the ten stupidest utopias. (He lists everything from Plato's Republic to the Postwar American Suburb to the Internet.) Interesting reading.
(via Waxy)
18 Sep 19:52 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
September 13, 2005
Kurt Vonnegut
A clip of Kurt Vonnegut's appearance on Bill Maher's show is now available online.
He's also going to be on The Daily Show tonight, so tune in.
Update: The Daily Show appearance was better than the other one. I'll post a link when it shows up online. Also, here's the list of "liberal crap" he didn't have time to read. It includes: "Ye cannot serve God and Mammon. The hell I can't! Look at the Reverend Pat Robertson. And he is as happy as a pig in sh*t."
13 Sep 18:40 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
August 24, 2005
Woolly Rockers
For some reason, I thought these were pretty cool and funny: knitted rock stars. The Morrissey one cracks me up. It's also funny that the different Beatles eras are so recognizable.
24 Aug 18:35 | Link | Category: Art & Entertainment, Misc. Tidbits, Music
August 15, 2005
Cuban Posters
There's some really nice graphic design and artwork to be found in this collection of Cuban posters, mostly among the selections from 1967-1971.
15 Aug 13:20 | Link | Category: Art & Entertainment, Misc. Tidbits
July 13, 2005
Sleep Paralysis
5-7 years ago, I had recurring instances of sleep paralysis. In my case it was hypnopompic paralysis, a very unsettling state in which one feels that he/she has woken up but is completely unable to move. This is often accompanied by a sort of waking dream or hallucination. Sleep paralysis is a common phenomenon experienced by many people. Luckily mine was pretty mild, so my experiences weren't too vivid. But they can be downright terrifying. Check out this article.
Although my episodes were never severe and I never resorted to any supernatural explanation, I was still baffled and scared by what I thought was some sort of disorder in my brain. Luckily, at the time I happened to be reading a book by Carl Sagan when I came to a chapter in which he discussed sleep paralysis (and its relation to the alien abduction / supernatural claims). I immediately knew that's what I was experiencing and was greatly relieved to know it was a normal brain 'malfunction'. (Some years later, I brought the subject up with my brother and found that he had experienced sleep paralysis a few times. Once while he was doing missionary work he had even thought it was some sort of 'evil spirit'.)
I experience sleep paralysis very rarely these days. I think my original bout had something to do with the odd sleep schedules (alternating between a lack of sleep and too much sleep) and perhaps stress I had at the time. (See: possible causes)
In my case, I have found that I'm able to recognize when I'm experiencing paralysis, so I can avoid the panicky feeling by controlling myself, relaxing, giving in to the sensation, and trying to go back to sleep. Then I usually wake up quickly and normally without much agitation.
If you've been lucky enough not to experience sleep paralysis, keep in mind that it's estimated that most people will experience it at least once or twice. So just wait.
Sweet dreams...
13 Jul 23:20 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits, Science
June 29, 2005
Malls of America
This site, full of vintage photos of old shopping malls from the '60s and '70s, is oddly compelling: Malls of America. (It reminds me of that scene from True Stories where David Byrne walks through the NorthPark Mall.)
29 Jun 21:45 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
June 19, 2005
How to Become an Early Riser
Those of you who know me in real life (and many of you who chatted online with me in the old days) are surely aware that I'm a bit of a night owl. When given the choice, I prefer to stay up late and wake up late. I've been this way for about ten years (since my mid-teens). For the last five years, I've been trying on and off to break my night-owl habits and become a consistently early riser. (I simply think it would be better to be an early riser... for the sake of brevity I won't detail all the reasons why.) My attempts to change myself have consistently ended in failure. I can take some solace in the fact that there may be a genetic determination for being a night owl or early bird. But still... I'm not willing to give up that easily. Recently, I noticed a link Jody Cairns posted to Steel White Table about how to sleep less. Basically, the idea is that you wake up at the same time every day. At night, you go to sleep when you feel tired. Well, that's a slight oversimplification. Read Steve Pavlina's original post and the followup he wrote when it became so popular.
I'm going to try this method out for a while. I'll let you all know how well it does or doesn't work.
19 Jun 21:53 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
May 20, 2005
God: Very Very Large
Jamie Zawinski has been thinking about transubstantiation:
I've been thinking about transubstantiation, the belief of many branches of Christianity that when you take communion, the bread and wine transform physically into the flesh and blood of Christ. According to the Catholic Church as late as 1965, this is literally true, not just symbolism: the flesh is present, the bread is gone.
20 May 23:30 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
Bubble House
I think the cavehouse in Spain is still for sale. But if it's already been taken, there's always the Bubble House in France. (More photos here and here.)
20 May 23:11 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
April 8, 2005
Google Maps
If you've been under a rock for a few days, you might have missed all the buzz about the new satellite imagery feature from Google Maps. Check out Google Sightseeing (from Shreddies) for quick aerial visits to places like Rainbow Bridge, Alcatraz, and the Neverland Ranch. Chris of Cynical-C has also put up a list of interesting views from the Golden Gate Bridge and Las Vegas Strip to Burning Man setup.
I have to agree with Mark Morford's assessment that it's creepy, but in a very cool way. I'm actually a little surprised by the buzz, since TerraServer has been around for ages, and their aerial photos are far more detailed than Google's. But apparently Google's imagery is more comprehensive. And the interface and loading speed are both quite impressive.
Incidentally, TerraServer has a collection of famous places, too. Click the "urban areas" tab (when available) for color photos.
Now I'm going to sit back, imagine the CIA spying on me, and muse on that whole WMD thing. I have this vivid memory from school during the 80s of some official-ish person telling my class that, using spy satellites, the military could tell if someone was drinking Coke or Pepsi (ah, for the heydays of the cola wars...) because they could tell what color of aluminum can a person was holding. I've always wondered if that was true...
Oh, here are a few of my creepy TerraServer photos:
- Part of my university's campus
- The neighborhood where I spent the first half of my life (things do look a bit different now)... I'll spare you the long slideshow of other places I've lived.
Weird. Anyway, remember: You are being watched.
08 Apr 14:53 | Link | Category: Cool Links, Libraries & Digital Information, Misc. Tidbits, Technology & Computing, Travel
March 31, 2005
Nuclear near-misses
I was reading an article about Stanislav Petrov, a Russian Army colonel whose split-second decision averted nuclear war in 1983 and started wondering how many other times similar situations have occurred. I found this: 20 Mishaps That Might Have Started Accidental Nuclear War
31 Mar 14:10 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
March 24, 2005
A Coder in Courierland
From kuro5hin:
Even before Office Space, white collar workers peered out the window (if they were so lucky) and imagined a more romantic life doing real work out under the sun.
Well, having no children, no great career ambition and no financial obligations more pressing than a crippling student loan, a year and a half ago, I decided to live this dream.
I became a bicycle messenger and now I'm here to report back.
24 Mar 0:10 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
March 2, 2005
The lioness and the oryx
This has got to be the oddest tale of biological altruism / alloparenting I've ever heard: In 2002, a lioness in Kenya adopted a baby oryx (a type of small antelope) as its own, scaring off its real mother and protecting it from predators. "The lioness would lie down to rest in the afternoon and its unlikely charge would curl up beside her." The oryx was eventually killed by another lion. But the lioness kept trying again and again, ultimately adopting at least five oryx calves.
(via memepool)
02 Mar 15:11 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits, Science
February 16, 2005
Cavehouse, anyone?
I noticed a link to this cool cave house for sale in Spain, and it reminded me how I've always wanted to live in a strange house like that. Most times when I see unusual houses - built into caves & rocks, partially or fully underground, and sometimes just with unique architecture - I'm always the one who most sincerely wants to live in them. There's a house near where I live that is partially underground and seems to consist of two large concrete cylinders (almost like large water tanks or reservoirs). I've wanted to check out the inside of it for years. (However, the fact that it's almost consistently for sale or rent makes me think it must be more fun to look at it than live inside it.)
Anyway. I'm not really sure why I felt the need to share that with all of you.
16 Feb 11:42 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
January 27, 2005
PostSecret
PostSecret is a blog made up of anonymous postcards with secrets on them.
You are invited to anonymously contribute a secret to the PostSecret project. Your secret can be a regret, fear, betrayal, desire, feeling, confession, or childhood humiliation. Reveal anything - as long as it is true and you have never shared it with anyone before.
27 Jan 12:44 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
The Thought Project
Over a period of three months Simon Høgsberg stopped 150 strangers on the streets of Copenhagen and New York City and asked them what they were thinking about the second before he stopped them. He recorded their response and took their picture. 55 of the responses are presented on his website, The Thought Project.
27 Jan 12:36 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
January 24, 2005
Most depressing day of the year?
According to the calculations of a British psychologist, today (January 24) is the most depressing day of the year. So, hmm. Try to cheer up. Tomorrow should be slightly better.
(via Ghost in the Machine)
24 Jan 11:25 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
January 17, 2005
A few quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr.
I thought it might be nice to mark the holiday by sharing just a few of my favorite quotes from Dr. King...
"We must constantly build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear."
"Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective."
"We have ancient habits to deal with, vast structures of power, indescribably complicated problems to solve. But unless we abdicate our humanity altogether and succumb to fear and impotence in the presence of the weapons we have ourselves created, it is as possible and as urgent to put an end to war and violence between nations as it is to put an end to poverty and racial injustice."
17 Jan 11:34 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
January 15, 2005
US military investigated building, among other things, a "gay bomb"
According to a BBC News report, in 1994 the US Air Force "sought Pentagon funding for research into into what it called 'harassing, annoying and 'bad guy'-identifying chemicals'."
Among the ideas were a so-called "love bomb" that envisaged an aphrodisiac chemical provoking widespread homosexual behaviour among enemy troops, causing what the military called a "distasteful but completely non-lethal" blow to morale. Also considered were a "sting me/attack me" chemical weapon to attract swarms of enraged wasps or angry rats towards enemy troops, a substance to make the skin unbearably sensitive to sunlight, a chemical causing "severe and lasting halitosis" so enemy forces would be obvious even when they tried to blend in with civilians, and a "Who? Me?" bomb, which would simulate flatulence in enemy ranks.
It's all pretty funny and off-the-wall, but I guess one does need to give them credit for at least trying to come up with creative non-lethal weapons.
15 Jan 13:08 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
January 10, 2005
This would be a cool house
I'd love to live in this house (although maintenance might be a bit of a chore): 137,000-square-foot building with stunning views of the Catalina and Tortolita mountains through 6,500 windows.
That's right, folks. Biosphere 2 is up for sale.
10 Jan 22:48 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
January 8, 2005
Stop sketching museum art, little girl. It's copyrighted!
This is funny (but depressing, in a way): A second-grader got in trouble with museum security for sketching Matisse and Picasso. "A museum guard told Julia's parents that sketching was prohibited because the great masterpieces are copyright protected, a concept that young Julia did not understand until her mother explained the term."
Of course, the guard was mistaken, and the museum is telling people they're welcome to sketch away. Still, the fact that such a silly incident can even happen is indicative of a certain cultural mentality.
08 Jan 13:12 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
January 5, 2005
100 things we didn't know this time last year
From BBC: 100 things we didn't know this time last year. The list includes:
- The heat generated by a laptop, and the knees-together pose needed to balance it, can damage a man's fertility.
- Brazilians are the nationality most likely to read spam.
- Ronald Reagan started planning his own funeral the year he entered the White House almost quarter of a century ago.
- Bob Dylan originally planned to use his first two given names, Robert Allen, as his stage name, because it sounded like the name of a Scottish king. After he saw some Dylan Thomas poems, he chose Dylan as his new surname instead.
- Saddam Hussein's son Uday kept nine lions as the centrepiece of a bizarre menagerie of exotic animals. In July the lions were moved to Baghdad zoo.
- Britons throw away enough rubbish every hour to fill the Royal Albert Hall.
- Just one in a hundred workers goes to the pub for their lunch, according to a study. The same proportion spend lunch having sex.
- An American girl aged between three and 11 has, on average, 10 Barbie dolls in her toy box.
- Bill Clinton revealed in his autobiography that he didn't learn to ride a bike properly until he was 22.
- More than one billion birds crash into buildings in the US every year. Mirrored office blocks are a particular hazard.
- A cruise ship can put more than 130,000 litres of sewage into the sea each day.
- Lord Baden Powell wanted a section on the dangers of "self abuse" in his Scouting for Boys. His original manuscript read: "A very large number of the lunatics in our asylums have made themselves ill by indulging in this vice although at one time they were sensible cheery boys like you."
- Bill Clinton sent just two e-mails while he was president.
05 Jan 19:31 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
December 24, 2004
The Christmas Truce
I always thought the story of the WWI "Christmas Truce" was an exaggerated legend, but then I noticed this post that linked to a Snopes page that shows it's true.
It's a perfect Christmas story. This page has more details than the Snopes page. Also, The Observer ran a story about the last survivor. All worthwhile reading.
(via Cynical-C)
24 Dec 0:57 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
December 18, 2004
Singing the Virtues of Idleness
Read Mark Slouka's excellent essay from the November issue of Harper's, Quitting The Paint Factory: On the Virtues of Idleness
18 Dec 18:54 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
December 16, 2004
Las Vegas
Xeni (of BoingBoing) has this to say about Las Vegas, in an entry titled The Fertile Valleys:
I'm not sure why it's so compelling right now, but it is. Sometimes, a thing swells to a scale so tasteless, so grotesque, it crosses a magical threshhold and becomes beautiful. Like matter to antimatter. Beauty from antibeauty.
16 Dec 17:13 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits, Travel
December 8, 2004
The Big Leak
Another Big Dig fiasco. Now the tunnel's leaking. The Boston Globe provides this convenient set of frequently asked questions, chief among them "Is the tunnel really safe to drive in?"
08 Dec 23:16 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
November 26, 2004
Cool pictures from St Maarten airport
The runway at St. Maarten's airport is situated right next to a beach. The pictures are amazing. The first time I saw it, I thought it was a Photoshop trick. You can see a few at these sites:
Video footage is available here.
26 Nov 17:02 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
November 25, 2004
Can I Have Your Zip Code?
Have you ever been annoyed by cashiers who ask for your zip code or telephone number? If so, you might enjoy reading Can I Have Your Zip Code over at kuro5hin.org.
25 Nov 21:09 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
November 16, 2004
The lost 'Switch' ads
If you go to the website of Errol Morris, who directed Apple's 'Switch' ads, you can watch a few of the ones that never made it on the air. Among the switchers are a number of celebrities. A few of them are funny ('Parfait' and 'Hot Dogs' by Will Ferrell and 'Mensa' by Wanda Sykes). Others attempt to be funny ('Actor Dog' by Christopher Guest) but don't quite make it. Some are just lame ('Wiring' by Perry Farrell).
But what made me laugh more than anything was seeing Douglas Rushkoff, reporter/host of The Persuaders (see my entry from a few days ago) in 'Forbidden Fruit' shamelessly pitching the Mac (using Biblical allusion, taking a bite out of an Apple... the whole shtick). I knew I was starting to take that guy too seriously.
16 Nov 17:50 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits, Technology & Computing
November 14, 2004
The Persuaders
If any of you were unfortunate enough to miss last week's Frontline episode "The Persuaders", the full show is now available online. So watch it. It's a very interesting look into today's world of advertising and marketing. Here's a short article about it.
(Rushkoff mentions a New Yorker article by Nicholas Lemann about Frank Luntz - it can be read online here: The Word Lab.)
You should also check out a Frontline episode from a few years ago, also hosted by Douglas Rushkoff, called The Merchants of Cool. It can also be viewed online.
14 Nov 21:42 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
November 12, 2004
Sweater Project
Check out The KFS Sweater Project:
My friend Kevin recently cleaned out his wardrobe, which, due to his pack rat nature, was crammed with clothes he hadn't worn in more than a decade. Among the discarded were 25 sweaters that can generously be described as "hideous." Or, as one critic put it, "Bill Cosby would not wear this." Kevin's defense? "I worked at Marshalls in North Olmsted, Ohio, during high school and got a 15 percent discount. It was cold. It was the late '80s." The horror, the horror.
It reminded me of these two bizarre sweaters I inherited from a family friend about five years ago. I can't even describe to you how strange they were... a swirling collection of colors and textures (yes, textures - considering the way they were made, I suspect they were very expensive sweaters). It was like taking a mild pyschedelic trip every time you looked at them. The great tragedy is that about a year ago in one of my attempts at simplifying my life and getting rid of excess junk, I sent them to a local charity. So I don't have them anymore. If I did, I would certainly take a picture for all of you, because I assure you my two sweaters were far worse than anything on that web site. And that's all I have to say about that.
12 Nov 1:30 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
October 15, 2004
Presidential vacation time
My mom noticed this in her local newspaper:
Average vacation days of the past five presidents:
1. George W. Bush - 98 days a year
2. Bill Clinton - 19 days a year
3. Jimmy Carter - 19 days a year
4. Ronald Reagan - 41 days a year
5. George H.W. Bush - 135 days a year
15 Oct 19:25 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
October 12, 2004
Dispatches from a Public Librarian
Hopefully those of you who haven't worked for a public library will find this as humorous and interesting as I did: Dispatches from a Public Librarian.
It includes lists of lost & found items for the day, odd stories about patrons, notes about books, items found in the bookdrop, etc.
(The only gift I ever had the luck to receive in the bookdrop was a meal from McDonald's. The fries had flown everywhere making many of the books greasy and smelly. But apparently this was pretty mild - in years past employees found, among other things, a dead cat and what one of the librarians gingerly referred to as "fecal matter".)
12 Oct 14:32 | Link | Category: Libraries & Digital Information, Misc. Tidbits
October 3, 2004
No more PhotoStamps
Remember PhotoStamps? I mentioned the service back in September, noting how folks at The Smoking Gun were able to get some questionable stamps printed. Well, the USPS has rejected the request for an extension of the program. So if you were hoping to get US stamps with Slobodan Milosevic on them, it looks like you're out of luck...
03 Oct 20:32 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
September 21, 2004
Amazing airplane landing
The other day I had to fly to Phoenix to pick up a car for my dad and drive it back. (The beauty of the situation is that I was just there last month... in fact, I've had the opportunity to "enjoy" the 13 hour drive between here and there three times in the last month. Ay ay ay.)
The weather made the plane ride a bumpy one. Then the Phoenix airport was shut down for a while, so we circled in and out of thunderclouds waiting in turbulence for clearance to land. We finally got clearance, and the landing was... well, a bit sketchy. I've been through much worse, but it was enough that the rest of the passengers gasped and then clapped when they realized everything was fine. I overheard several on their cell phones describing the terror to spouses and family. (I suggest they try flying an overloaded Cessna through thunderstorms over Tanzania with a very inexperienced - and visibly nervous - pilot.)
However, I'm quite sure it was a lot better than this amazing landing.
21 Sep 22:08 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits, Travel, Video
September 14, 2004
The winter is coming
This morning, I had to wear a jacket to avoid being frozen while driving around. I'll take this as the final sign that summer is actually over. Fall is one of my favorite seasons, but summer never lasts long enough. And winter... winter always comes to soon and leaves too late.
Anyway, to commemorate my realization of summer's end, head over to Epitonic and grab a free copy of Elf Power's The Winter Is Coming.
(I would also suggest two old favorites, Beulah's What Will You Do When Your Suntan Fades? (lyrics) and Yo La Tengo's Autumn Sweater, but I can't find them for free.)
14 Sep 18:37 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits, Music
September 7, 2004
Fun with PhotoStamps
You've probably heard about PhotoStamps, a service that lets you use your own images on US postage stamps. I considered trying it until I figured out how much it actually ends up costing. I complain enough about $0.37. But anyway...
Since the stamps are used as legal US postage, images are censored before being accepted. The Smoking Gun decided to see what was and wasn't deemed objectionable. The results? Photos of Lee Harvey Oswald and Ted Kaczynski were naturally rejected, but oddly enough, the Rosenbergs, Linda Tripp, and Slobodan Milosevic (among others) made it through. So now those people appear on US postage. More here.
I might just consider paying way too much for stamps if I can have a little fun with the image on them.
07 Sep 23:50 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
July 11, 2004
Chicken Guy
Apparently, a man in Fiji was locked in a chicken coop for several years of his childhood. Supposedly, he was originally found pecking at his food, crouching down as if roosting, scratching around in the dirt, and communicating by making a rapid clicking noise with his tongue.
If true, it's a strange and horrific story, and yet the whole time I was reading it, I just kept thinking of Mark McKinney's Chicken Lady from Kids In The Hall. Maybe she has a match now.
It got me thinking about Mark's other hilarious characters - Mr. Tyzik the Head Crusher, Mississippi Gary ("Smokin' on a night train, chewin' on a jelly roll..."), Leslie the gay vampire, the other stupid cop, Darill, and on and on. I can name just as many funny characters from the other members of the troupe, too. (Gavin, Cathy & Kathie, and about a million others.)
I have therefore added The Kids in the Hall: Complete Season 1 to my Amazon.com Wishlist. (As subsequent seasons become available, they will also be added.)
Consider purchasing it as a token of your love, a gesture of friendly kindness, or some such thing.
11 Jul 0:26 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
June 28, 2004
Found
FOUND Magazine is dedicated to displaying found items:
we collect FOUND stuff: love letters, birthday cards, kids' homework, to-do lists, ticket stubs, poetry on napkins, telephone bills, doodles- anything that gives a glimpse into someone else's life. anything goes...
(via Cynical-C)
28 Jun 17:12 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
June 23, 2004
Eurobad '74
Check out EUROBAD '74, "an exhibition of Europe's worst interiors of 1974."
(via J-Walk)
23 Jun 0:08 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
June 11, 2004
No more "Very Important Things"
Very sad... one of my favorite daily stops on the web is calling it quits. Goodbye, Very Important Things.
11 Jun 20:15 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
June 7, 2004
Petals Around the Rose
Petals Around the Rose is a nice little brain teaser I found through both The Presurfer and Pale Blue Dot.
Chris Davis writes:
I was introduced to 'Petals Around the Rose' by Dr. Richard Duke at the University of Michigan. Dr. Duke used to begin each of his gaming/simulation courses with this exercise. While some students would solve the problem right away, others would struggle all semester. It had taken Dr. Duke well over a year himself, and he would always explain that the smarter you were, the longer it took to figure it out.
The game is quite simple. Only a basic understanding of math is required and an open and creative mind. The game can be used as an example of how different people look at the world differently, and how these different ways of looking can yield different answers. In 'Petals Around the Rose' there is always one correct answer. The problem is how we define the problem.
It took me a good fifteen or twenty minutes to figure it out. I was actually quite pleased with that, especially when I found out how long it took Bill Gates... but maybe that's just proof of Dr. Duke's "the smarter you are, the longer it takes" idea.
07 Jun 23:43 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
May 20, 2004
Bizarre...
I'm not sure which is worse about The Way of The Master: The Star Wars-like name, the content, the over-use of Flash, or the reappearance of 80's child star Kirk Cameron.
(My particular favorite is the Are You a Good Person? quiz which steps you through the Ten Commandments. Those have everything to do with Moses and little to do with Jesus, but I suspect many of these so-called Christian groups survive/thrive because preaching the beatitudes is surely less 'successful' than telling people they are 'guilty,' will be punished by God, and will automatically go to Hell unless they are saved before death.)
But seriously... Kirk Cameron? WTF?
Oh well. It could be worse.
(via Bifurcated Rivets)
20 May 1:20 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
The Worm Within
I'm not sure why I find it link-able, but... Vincent Eaton's excruciatingly detailed chronicle of his tribulations with a tapeworm is oddly interesting and enjoyable.
20 May 0:49 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
May 12, 2004
10 Reasons Why the Internet Is No Substitute for a Library
When acquaintances find out I work part-time at a library, too many of them ask me if people even use libraries "when they can use the Internet instead."
For those who haven't visited any type of library for a few years, I'd like to report that libraries are far from being dead. From what I've seen, they seem to be thriving.
Forgetting fiction & audiovisual and focusing mainly on non-fiction & reference, here are ten reasons why the Internet is no substitute for a library.
12 May 0:21 | Link | Category: Libraries & Digital Information, Misc. Tidbits, Technology & Computing
May 11, 2004
Frontline online
You can view selected Frontline programs online, in full. (RealPlayer or Windows Media only.) If you need a place to start, I would suggest Merchants of Cool, an episode that freaked me out when I first saw it a few years ago.
11 May 22:32 | Link | Category: Art & Entertainment, Misc. Tidbits
July 28, 2003
America: Loosen Up!
Michael Elliott writes that Europeans Just Want to Have Fun. Long vacations. Lots of dancing. So why can't Americans loosen up?
28 Jul 1:56 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
July 13, 2003
Bunch o' Links, part 6:
Bunch o' Links, part 6:
- At oneword, you're given a word and sixty seconds to write about it.
- Ben Franklin has long been one of my very favorite "founding fathers." Check out TIME's recent special issue.
- Wired's Gregg Easterbrook runs down a list of 10 possible doomsday scenarios. Yep, we're all gonna die! But he argues that proliferating nanobots or instant cosmic doom are far less likely to kill us than our high-calorie, low-exertion lifestyles. True enough.
13 Jul 22:49 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
Bunch o' Links, part 4:
Bunch o' Links, part 4:
- AlterNet presents what they are calling ten appalling lies we were told about Iraq.
- Tony Karon of TIME spells out why he believes Africa has become a Bush priority. I'm not so sure...
- Also from TIME is a photo essay, Death in the Congo.
13 Jul 13:31 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
Bunch o' Links, part 3:
Bunch o' Links, part 3:
- See how well you can remember a random face.
- Then see if you can tell somebody's race by looking at them. It's part of the Race - The Power of an Illusion site.
- Visit Battleground God to see if your religious beliefs are rationally consistent. (The quiz does not judge whether any of your answers are right or wrong, simply if they are consistent.) I'm happy to report that my beliefs are consistent. I didn't even have to "bite a bullet" or take any "direct hits." (There are a few more interesting games on the site, too.)
13 Jul 13:06 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
Bunch o' Links, part 1:
Bunch o' Links, part 1:
- This guy will tell you why he hates your favorite album, band, singer, or song. You may also want to visit Tanya Headon's I hate music blog.
- Check out Barbara Abel's photos of tragic beauties (antique wax figures captured in a dimly lit mannequin warehouse).
- A while back I linked to predictions for life in the year 2000, circa 1900. Here are a few more, this time from 1950.
13 Jul 11:46 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
May 27, 2003
A few tidbits
- 20 Questions :: You'll be amazed by how often the computer guesses correctly
- You in 1905 :: Get a snapshot of your life as it might have been had you been living in Britain 100 years ago.
- Art or Crap :: "Do you know your Dada from your Moma? Try the quiz and see."
- idea a day
- The Goth-O-Matic Poetry Generator
And, in honor of the fact that someone hacked into my eBay account and tried to sell stuff:
- Who Would Buy That? :: Auction oddities from all over the web
- MyCreditCardDetails.co.uk
27 May 23:13 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
May 7, 2003
Good luck
Sometimes it's nice to be reminded of insanely good luck. Consider the dog that lived after being hit by a car, shot and frozen. Or the U.S. park ranger who was hit by lightning seven times (and never killed by it). Or the story that prompted this post, the mouse at my parents' house that avoided two cats and a human, later ate the bait off a traditional-style mouse trap without setting it off, and finally ended up inside a no-kill trap to be set free 48 hours after it all started.
07 May 1:17 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
Bored?
Bored? Check out Presidential Tax Returns. OK, so it's not that interesting, but it is slightly amusing to see:
Occupation: PRESIDENT
Spouse's occupation: FIRST LADY
07 May 0:47 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
April 30, 2003
Chinese government-approved reading list
The Chinese government has prepared a reading list for people staying at home after public entertainment venues were closed to stem the spread of SARS. "We think this is just the time to catch up on reading." Communist Party books, of course, top the list. Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings made the list, too. It makes me wonder what books would be on the lists of other countries.
30 Apr 14:52 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
April 28, 2003
Need a place to crash?
CarLiving.com: The Survival Guide to Living in a Vehicle
28 Apr 1:34 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
April 25, 2003
Thank you, Playstation
James Paul Gee laments that American children "aren't learning how to think anymore - they're learning how to memorize." (I agree, though I suggest the problem is not uniquely American.) "This might be an ideal recipe for future Babbitts of the world, but it won't produce the kind of agile, analytical minds that will lead the high tech global age." Fortunately, he says, we have video games. (Read the article before you laugh.)
25 Apr 20:01 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits, Technology & Computing
April 23, 2003
Banished Words
Take a look at LSSU's 2003 Banished Words list. This year's list includes the confusing black ice ("ice is ice"), the "weasel word" challenges ("no one has problems anymore, they only face 'challenges'"), the redundant undisclosed, secret location ("if it's a secret, it's pretty undisclosed, and if it's undisclosed, it's a secret"), and __ in color ("as opposed to green in size?") which "lends an empty air of precision." One of my favorites is homeland security. "With billions of dollars at stake, perhaps 'national security' is just plain blasé. 'What happened to the Department of Defense?' asks Rick Miller of Champaign, Illinois."
23 Apr 1:27 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
December 16, 2002
A few more links...
A few more links...
The photos Kissinger doesn't want you to see
Bigfoot is dead.
16 Dec 2:05 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
December 2, 2002
Misc. Tidbits
Here are a few web tidbits I dredged up over the weekend...
- Salman Rushdie wrote a very interesting Op-Ed for the Times.
- A new outbreak of poaching is threatening mountain gorillas. It's a no-win scenario, really. It seems to me that the two possible paths are 1) extinction by poaching and habitat loss or 2) protection of habitat by essentially turning the jungles of central Africa into zoo-resorts for clueless Western tourists (like myself, admittedly). Both paths are distasteful, but at least the second doesn't involve a certainty of extinction. (Either way, I wouldn't be surprised to see the extinction of mountain gorillas - and most other great ape species - within my lifetime.) It's a shame that most people don't understand how closely related we are to these species - and how much we can learn about ourselves by studing living specimens.
- Disney claims that The Lion King was an 'original' story, which I always assumed to be true (parallels to Hamlet notwithstanding). But I ran across this site which indicates quite the opposite. It makes perfect sense, because that is the Disney story. Mickey Mouse first starred in "Steamboat Willie," a parody of Buster Keaton's "Steamboat Bill." Most of the famous Disney films are fairy tales, most often taken from the Brothers Grimm. Their latest feature is a rework of Treasure Island. Using such public-domain material is fine. What's outrageous is the fact that Disney and other corporations are using politicians and lawyers to rework copyright law and assure that no one can do to Disney what Disney did to the Brothers Grimm and Robert Louis Stevenson. Lawrence Lessig (who recently argued before the Supreme Court against the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act) discusses the topic often. I agree with his statement that "ours is less and less a free society." Read this transcript from one of his keynotes.
02 Dec 13:35 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits
November 27, 2002
Face transplants
I can't help the King of Pop with his dislike of pop music (the revelation of which makes me wonder if he's slightly less insane than I think - which would still make him almost completely insane), but I did run across something that might help with his face:
New Scientist quotes a leading British plastic surgeon as saying face transplants will be technically possible in six to nine months. A face transplant would involve removing the face, facial muscles and subcutaneous fat from the recipient. The donor face from a recently dead person, complete with lips, chin, ears, nose, eight major blood vessels and even some bone, would then be grafted into place. (No, the recipient would not look like the donor.)
27 Nov 18:49 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits, Science
October 29, 2002
Saddam's inbox hacked
Someone hacked into Saddam's inbox (well, the inbox for the address listed on his homepage). Find out what was in it.
29 Oct 21:24 | Link | Category: Current Events, Misc. Tidbits