tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37192052011-12-18T09:52:58.553-06:00CollaboratoryDiscussions initiated by a collection of folks only loosely related.Sean Meadenoreply@blogger.comBlogger4361100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-4249990485963769142008-03-31T18:01:00.001-05:002008-03-31T18:01:35.235-05:00wow123jhnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-4631879053915398652008-03-31T17:59:00.001-05:002008-03-31T18:01:58.272-05:00testing 123123jhnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-70917171432421391662008-03-31T17:49:00.001-05:002008-03-31T18:02:03.772-05:00hello everyonestill alivejhnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1103314007846077032004-12-17T14:03:00.000-06:002008-03-31T18:01:32.362-05:00Table for FourAn Evening with Jabba the Hut! (also here)Jasonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1102474151458696482004-12-07T20:38:00.000-06:002004-12-07T20:50:51.936-06:00The World's Best Composition I Student
I always enjoy Malcolm Gladwell's pieces, and his output is amazing. One article after another on all kinds of stuff: SUV safety, ketchup, intellectual property . . . he's all over the map. Now I see he's got an essay subtitled "Mammography, air power, and the limits of looking." It was pretty good.
Still, I can't shake the impression that I'm reading the Jasonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1102473488685871472004-12-07T20:34:00.000-06:002004-12-07T20:51:23.023-06:00YIPES.
via kottke Demented Donald Duck ride.
The caption is perfect.
Jasonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1096899534132993842004-11-05T09:18:00.000-06:002004-11-05T07:39:52.763-06:00Outstripping the masterI tend to read more Ask MetaFilter than the venerable MotherShip (mixing metaphors, now). It's nice to have questions instead of rhetoric. The signal to noise ratio seems a lot higher.Sean Meadenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1099659946901341852004-11-05T07:05:00.000-06:002004-11-05T07:42:21.770-06:00oopsOops. Accidentally posted here instead of 'interact'. But, just in case you're feed reader got you all excited, I'll give you another one I found in the drafts.Sean Meadenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1099098122440320112004-10-29T19:55:00.000-05:002004-11-04T22:03:46.500-06:00
Has Bin Laden just handed the election to Bush?
Terror fears usually favour the incumbant and in such a closely contested race that could be just enough to get him over the line. Of course this Return of the Phantom should also remind people about what a bad job the President has actually done in fighting Al Qaeda.
Bush famously said that he "doesn't do nuance". How about the American jhnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1098326012081662122004-10-20T21:32:00.000-05:002004-10-20T21:33:32.080-05:00Militants ‘Google’ reporter, then release himjhnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1097539628434534202004-10-11T19:01:00.000-05:002004-10-11T19:07:08.436-05:00Not my promised flying car but nevertheless a certifiable piece from my Jetsons future.
Consequently, I have an irrational desire to own one of these.
jhnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1096866999088621952004-10-04T01:15:00.000-05:002004-10-04T00:16:39.086-05:00StupifiedThere was an entire Jeopardy! category devoted to blogs? Did any of you all catch this? Is it real? Wow. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376470164385624506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1096265626039531292004-09-27T01:08:00.000-05:002004-09-27T01:16:19.290-05:00Running the gauntletProtesting and civil disobedience in an age of terror alerts and mobile communications.jhnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1096203129723477222004-09-26T07:49:00.000-05:002004-09-26T07:52:09.723-05:00Pardon my anger........but crap like this really makes me angry.
I am a "liberal", and I personally own not one but two Bibles (different translations).
And you know, I haven't exactly seen a whole lot of book-burnings hosted by liberals or liberal-minded organizations. I'm just sayin'.
Ugh.
Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1095620617877973052004-09-19T14:01:00.000-05:002004-09-19T14:03:37.876-05:00What a workplace!Like a car pileup on I-190 in downtown Buffalo, I couldn't look away as a bunch of MeFites pile onto this job ad, which makes this particular place of business sound about as cheery as a graveyard. Not sure what point I'd make, but it's weird to read.
Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1095564934596415432004-09-18T22:30:00.000-05:002004-09-18T22:35:34.596-05:00He's a freak.Is anyone following the adventures of Ken Jennings, the freakish freak who's been ruling the roost on Jeopardy! for months now? Alex Trebek pointed out the other night that because Ken is still playing, he's not eligible for this year's Tournament of Champions, and will wait until next year. But if Ken wins every day until two days before the 2005 Tournament of Champions, he'll be eligible for Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1095398422773389382004-09-17T01:10:00.000-05:002004-09-17T00:20:22.773-05:00Bait and SwitchSharon repudiates America's "road map" while copping flack from his own party about the Gaza withdrawal. The whole thing is an exercise in bait and switch, the purpose of which is to consolidate control over the occupied West bank and to accelerate ethnic cleansing there.
jhnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1095372823147069662004-09-16T17:09:00.000-05:002004-09-16T19:21:33.326-05:00Zero-Gravity Flights made Public
At $3,000 it's still a pricey ticket, albeit a bit cheaper than the privatized Space Flights, but if I had the spare cash, I'd happily go on an FAA-Approved Commercial Zero Gravity Flight.A specially modified Boeing 727-200 aircraft, called G-Force One, will be used during a nationwide tour Sept. 14-24.
"We kick off a two-week tour with Zero-G flights in New Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376470164385624506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1095199042563554522004-09-14T16:53:00.000-05:002004-09-14T16:57:22.563-05:00Here's something that I'm trying to wrap my mind around:
What, exactly, is a terrorist?
It seems like a no-brainer type question, but I keep seeing the insurgents we can't seem to stop fighting in Iraq referred to in the news as "terrorists". Are they terrorists, though? Is guerilla-type action a form of terrorism, then? Certainly, using car-bombs against civilian targets is terrorism, but is Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1095188627186178602004-09-14T13:49:00.000-05:002004-09-14T14:03:47.186-05:00G-what?
This blogger, cited on boingboing, says, "These days, GMail invitations are ubiquitous, and people like me are starting to get annoyed with people offering to give away invites." Really? I must travel in a different circle. I have yet to meet anyone in person who has even heard of gmail. I have five invitations, I think, and I can't get rid of them because everybody's totally satisfied Jasonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1095027984122989602004-09-12T17:22:00.000-05:002004-09-12T17:26:24.123-05:00OK, folks, time for a Dichotomous Poll! Is this whole business about whether the newly-released "Bush National Guard" memos are real, with the whole bit about whether the typewriters in 1971 could do superscripts and nonproportional fonts and cut-and-paste and do PowerPoint and all that stuff (a) a crucial piece of the puzzle about whether George W. Bush can be trusted with the National Security Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1094867932596424222004-09-10T20:58:00.000-05:002004-09-10T20:58:52.596-05:00OK, NFL fans: any football predictions or thoughts on the upcoming season? My personal feeling, icky though it may be, is that the Super Bowl is the Stupid Patriots' to lose.
Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1094867855706235432004-09-10T20:56:00.000-05:002004-09-10T20:57:35.706-05:00I want to go to a movie at the theater described here.
(via Tenser, said the Tensor)
Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1094829450206610322004-09-10T10:05:00.000-05:002004-09-10T10:17:30.206-05:00One summer Saturday, I'm going to make a smoker out of a garbage can. I'll make it in the morning, throw the meat on it after lunch, and have a great dinner. Maybe I'll even get around to it this fall, when college football is in season.
Jasonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1094592939826791702004-09-07T16:31:00.000-05:002004-09-08T13:26:36.393-05:00Driving back from Tulsa to Dallas yesterday evening, I heard a report on NPR's the World about the massive project in China attempting to divert water from the South of the country up to the North and Beijing. The total budget for the project reaches upwards of $14 Billion and will consist of:three south-to-north canals, each running about 1,300 kilometres across the eastern, middle and western Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376470164385624506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1094577241103520822004-09-07T13:11:00.000-05:002004-09-07T12:29:50.456-05:00Dogs in Cars is too fun not to steal. (via Metafilter,xp at fw.)Jasonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1094573506919556892004-09-07T10:09:00.000-05:002004-09-07T11:18:27.183-05:00fabprefab:
There is growing interest in the use of shipping containers as the basis for habitable structures. These "icons of globalization" are relatively inexpensive, structurally sound and in abundant supply. Although, in raw form, containers are dark windowless boxes (which might place them at odds with some of the tenets of modernist design...) they can be highly customizable modular Jasonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1094399961953911142004-09-05T10:54:00.000-05:002004-09-05T10:59:21.953-05:00You know how at state fairs (and the larger county fairs) they'll have a pavilion or two where you can watch live versions of infomercials, wherein salespeople pitch things like therapeutic massage chairs and space-age cookware? Here's a nifty profile of one member of this special breed of traveling salespeople.
I find sales to be one of the most mystifying of vocations. I spent a year and half Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1094327250151280692004-09-04T14:27:00.000-05:002004-09-04T14:47:30.153-05:00Wow, we're posting here again. Hmmmmm....
Well, I might as well bring up a little dust-up in Blogistan regarding the Russian school massacre and the terrorist problem the Russians have in Chechnya. Yesterday, Matthew Yglesias posted as follows:
Worse, even, than the reality of the crime is the knowledge that things will get worse. The situation, clearly, can only be resolved by Russian Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1094246566084840352004-09-03T16:17:00.000-05:002004-09-03T16:22:46.083-05:00American males in their thirties really need to check out the ESPN2 Sport's Guy's column about why 1984 was the best year ever. I have to tell you, I'm convinced.
Free Samples
37. "Hello" (Lionel Ritchie) -- This was the one where Lionel falls for the blind girl who made the bust that looked nothing like him. Remember that one? She told him, "This is what I see when I see you," then she showed Jasonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1094227893412630532004-09-03T10:53:00.000-05:002004-09-03T11:14:47.283-05:00Kick-ass machine #2
Kottke links this beast. That looks like it might be about as big as a land-based moving thing can get. I've been in awe of these things since junior high, when I saw a picture of a man standing next to the cutterhead, looking really tiny.
Read the first two comments--funniest question and answer I've read in quite awhile.
These are impressive, too. They don't crawl, they Jasonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1094155329457772962004-09-02T15:00:00.000-05:002004-09-02T15:02:09.456-05:00Swiped from a comment in a Metafilter thread about the new (totally underwhelming) iMac:
A Computer for the Borg
Jasonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1094145990183066762004-09-02T12:17:00.000-05:002004-09-02T12:26:30.183-05:00Following along with Jason's theme, I'll post this article about the current state of poverty in the US from the Economist. Some excerpts:Whatever crude logic it possessed at the time, the Orshansky poverty line is by now quite arbitrary. Its originator calculated the cost of meeting a family’s nutritional needs and then multiplied this figure by three, because families in that era spent about aScotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376470164385624506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1094135606134857542004-09-02T08:57:00.000-05:002004-09-02T09:33:26.136-05:00The Blue Mountain Project
Last weekend, I met Denise Cagley-Jefferson, president of The Blue Mountain Project, a charity organization in Jamaica. Here's their mission statement:
The Blue Mountain Project is dedicated to educating and empowering indigenous populations of developing countries to mobilize for sustainable economic development, specific to their needs.That last phrase is a Jasonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1094096835166788092004-09-01T22:16:00.000-05:002004-09-01T22:47:15.166-05:00From a Slate piece titled "The Most Revolting Politician in America":
Santorum returns to the word "love" repeatedly in his five-minute address. Rather than speak of a culture war, he pleads that "too many of our children are surrounded by an impoverished culture, causing an emptiness not only of the stomach, but of the heart."I'm not really sure what Santorum's getting at here, but his words Jasonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1094061535593287182004-09-01T12:57:00.000-05:002004-09-01T12:58:55.593-05:00Make with the chit-chat, eh?
So here's an open thread. What'cha been reading? Listening to? Any good movies? Random thoughts? Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376470164385624506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1093844686708454652004-08-30T00:37:00.000-05:002004-08-30T00:44:46.706-05:00Devoter
Devoter is a new political community weblog set up by a MeFier as an alternative to the ceaseless politic posts on the old blue. You can read more about it in this MetaTalk thread. I'm just kind of posting this as an FYI just in case anyone around here is interested. You can still get an uber-l33t two-digit user number, and this also means (hopefully) that MeFi will kind of go back toScotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376470164385624506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1093558950846188762004-08-26T17:20:00.000-05:002004-08-26T17:22:30.846-05:00We all saw it on kottke, but here it is anyways:
The Top 10 SciFi films of all time.
Any thoughts?
Jasonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1093545378970833282004-08-26T13:32:00.000-05:002004-08-26T13:36:18.970-05:00Hey Look! A Post!
Hey, how ya doin'?
So there's this SelectSmart guide to ethical philosophy, and I'd be interested to see how you all score and your thoughts, you know, assuming you see this and take it and whatnot. Here are my results:
1. Aquinas (100%)
2. St. Augustine (86%)
3. Spinoza (80%)
4. Ockham (64%)
5. Aristotle (62%)
6. Stoics (53%)
7. Jean-Paul Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376470164385624506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1087341124404599802004-06-15T18:03:00.000-05:002004-06-15T18:12:04.403-05:00Test, One Two...
Nothing too deep, but I saw something that reminded me of Collaboratory, though it was before my time here*. Even taking the "easy" route they had troubles with their encounter with Dostoevsky.
*Come to think of it, most everything was before my time here. Not that I've helped in that regard.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18196460495095605958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1084243062525548312004-05-10T21:35:00.000-05:002004-05-10T21:41:18.043-05:00Ugly Zoo
ugly, ugly, ugly zoo...jhnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1084154678651085032004-05-09T21:03:00.000-05:002004-05-09T21:04:38.653-05:00Andrew Carlssin luvs Lynndie England.jhnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1083741409618506012004-05-05T02:16:00.000-05:002004-05-05T02:28:32.840-05:00To quote a certain fellow " hello . . . lo . . . lo . . . lo . . . "
Oh well... I'm going to blog here regardless of all that mutinous chatter going on in the comments section (actually its not quite enough to call it chatter exactly).
So one question I have for you. What is so darned good about the Caps Lock key that merits giving it a button larger than than the tab key on most keyboards? jhnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1083542991133426502004-05-02T19:09:00.000-05:002004-05-02T19:21:09.310-05:00Somehow I managed to blow away Chris' post (don't ask me how I did it, I have no idea), so anyway I'm reposting it from a copy I found in Google's cache. Apologies, Chris. Christopher Alvarado writes: In a Washington Post Writers Group op-ed, Neal Peirce explores the topic of regionalism by reporting on the trend towards City-County jhnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1083542560849284192004-05-02T19:02:00.000-05:002004-05-02T21:52:12.060-05:00 Cruel & Unusual "That really, really is the worst atrocity. It affects the honour and pride of Muslim people. It is better to kill them than sexually abuse them." --- Abdel-Bari Atwan, editor of Al Quds Al Arabi I really wonder whether, with the emergence of these photos, the game isn't over for the Americans in Iraq. Is it realistic, after the bloody siege of Fallujah and the Shiite uprising jhnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1082513834874617602004-04-20T21:17:00.000-05:002004-04-20T21:21:18.606-05:00Doing the rounds at the moment http://karmann.goonsquad.net/img/boudreauxs.jpg Or is it a hoax? No... but these are. http://www.imagedump.com/pics/59682.jpg http://home.comcast.net/~shrapnill/BoudreauxBetter.jpg http://www.sgtstryker.com/pictures/gluesniff.php http://www.sgtstryker.com/pictures/clay.php http://www.glennbeck.com/picoftheday/04-15-04-pod-3.jpg http://jhnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1080084653934161652004-03-23T17:30:00.000-06:002004-03-23T17:34:15.590-06:00Morning Edition without Bob Edwards?!
This is....well, it sucks, really -- especially with Edwards saying that it was a case of "management wanting to move in a new direction", which is basically management-speak for, "Hey, here's something we haven't done before, let's do it!"
Ugh.
Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1079821661195013002004-03-20T16:27:00.000-06:002004-03-20T16:30:59.000-06:00I always get mad when I hear people cite some scientific study somewhere that has received a chunk of government funding, and then follow it up with something like "Who on Earth needs to know that?!" The reason I get mad is that you never know what bit of scientific knowledge from one field is going to prove useful in another, such as this: findings from astronomy and particle physics could help Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1079603978081390452004-03-18T03:59:00.000-06:002004-03-18T04:02:52.013-06:00Interesting survey of Iraqi attitudes one year on about the occupation and the future. PDF, really worth a read.jhnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1079376533238417392004-03-15T12:48:00.000-06:002004-03-15T12:53:31.403-06:00Janet Dilbeck clearly remembers the moment the music started. Two years ago she was lying in bed on the California ranch where she and her husband were caretakers. A mild earthquake woke her up. To Californians, a mild earthquake is about as unusual as a hailstorm, so Dilbeck tried to go back to sleep once it ended. But just then she heard a melody playing on an organ, "very loud, but not jhnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1079371374023481332004-03-15T11:22:00.000-06:002004-03-15T11:26:04.903-06:00The new Iraqi constitution is an exquisitely crafted piece of work and a total balls up.jhnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1078636935015077232004-03-06T23:22:00.000-06:002004-03-06T23:25:14.700-06:00Two tidbits for those that love the funny pages:
Martijn Reemst has now added a search function to his comprehensive Calvin and Hobbes directory, allowing the visitor to recall the best of Spaceman Spiff.
Worth100.com has entered round 5 of the Far Side Photoshop Contest, where participants flex their image manipulation muscles remaking classic Larson creations as real-life, full color, Christophernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1078343229791924462004-03-03T13:47:00.000-06:002004-03-03T13:50:04.606-06:00I'm not at all sure that if I didn't see my daughter from ten days after her birth until six years later, I would recognize her.
But this mother did, and she was calm enough to create a ruse by which she could obtain hair-samples from the child for DNA testing purposes, thus exposing a pretty brazen kidnapping/faked death. Wow.
Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1078005418044387352004-02-28T15:56:00.000-06:002004-02-28T15:59:47.576-06:00Yet another author whose works I keep meaning to read has died: historian Daniel Boorstin.
Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1077458819125604622004-02-22T08:06:00.000-06:002004-02-22T08:09:40.983-06:00Did Dean give the Dems back their party?
Whether or not you supported him, I'd be interested to hear what you have to say.
I'm inclined to think he was helpful in that regard.Sean Meadenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1076709479794141142004-02-13T15:57:00.000-06:002004-02-13T16:00:29.436-06:00What is a thesaurus for?
In a review of A History of Roget's Thesaurus, John Whale (nice name) says, "The safest storehouse for writers to fetch words from is their own head." He does concede that
Of course a thesaurus can help a failing memory recall an elusive word, even though reliance on a thesaurus could end in making more and more words elusive. It can help non-native users of a language Jasonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1076709235654125052004-02-13T15:53:00.000-06:002004-02-13T16:05:59.483-06:00The library? How quaint.
A report on the Effect of the Web on Undergraduate Citation Behavior, with information on the Composition of Citations, Distribution of Citations by URL Type, and the Persistency of Cited URLs aged 6 months.
From the article:
---Why are bibliographies getting bigger? Access to information is not a limiting factor to student research—time is. Students, many of whom are Jasonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1075963369142963952004-02-05T00:42:00.000-06:002004-02-05T00:45:07.513-06:00“These children don’t need a cup, they need a cow.”
That's the Heifer International answer to malnourished children. Their approach is attractive in many ways.Jasonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1075931043685721562004-02-04T15:44:00.000-06:002004-02-04T15:51:23.686-06:00I thought Comic Sans was the Ace of Spades in that deck . . .
In a sign that no matter is too small to affect international diplomacy, the US State Department has issued an edict banning its longtime standard typeface from all official correspondence and replacing it with a "more modern" font.
Strange . . . I hope I've fallen for some kind of hoax. (via gladkin.com)Jasonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1075755889217853602004-02-02T15:04:00.000-06:002004-02-02T15:07:04.966-06:00Jon Cusack is cool.
(No, not that Jon Cusack -- this is some other Jon Cusack. But this is still hilarious.)
Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1075433692303564002004-01-29T21:34:00.000-06:002004-01-30T07:12:25.170-06:00jhnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1075307752320710092004-01-28T10:35:00.000-06:002004-01-28T10:38:00.780-06:00Kevin Drum on the economy:
The sign of of a healthy economy is not so much that living standards are high for the middle class, but that they are getting higher — that people believe their children will be better off than they are. But as income inequality increases and income mobility decreases that's increasingly not the case, and the question at hand is whether we ever plan on doing anything Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1075307351885864332004-01-28T10:29:00.000-06:002004-01-28T10:31:20.436-06:00I've mentioned before that I like WIRED because it's really optimistic, a lot of the time, and sometimes I just plain need a good, stiff shot of such optimism. But their unbridled "happy view", in which just about anything that happens in the tech industry is A-OK, sometimes gets cloying -- such as their current issue, which seems to argue in this article that outsourcing is just ducky. A Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1075247518176497932004-01-27T16:57:00.000-06:002004-01-29T10:11:08.623-06:00Anyone else enjoy brain teasers and IQ-type tests? Here are a few from the International High IQ Society. I've taken several of these types of tests online, but never an "actual" IQ test administered and scored by a human. Have any of you been given an IQ test? If so, how do your scores compare with any you have taken online?
BTW, I was a member of International High IQ Society when it was Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18196460495095605958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1074905087582366032004-01-23T18:44:00.000-06:002004-01-24T13:38:44.653-06:00I know that my sense of humor tends toward the demented, but this picture really made me laugh. (But then, I just can't get enough of this whole Howard Dean thing.)
(Link edited)
Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1074897078477029642004-01-23T16:31:00.000-06:002004-01-23T16:33:20.716-06:00OK, who's planning to see this?
I want to, although I'll probably wait for the DVD.
Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1074875545749238452004-01-23T10:32:00.000-06:002004-01-23T10:34:27.763-06:00Reactions to the Moon-Mars thing, nicely collected in one place.
(via Paul Riddell, my source for pithy science commentary)
Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1074868079667410302004-01-23T08:27:00.000-06:002004-01-23T08:30:01.496-06:00Rolling Stone has a story about Justin Frankel, the inventor of Winamp and Gnutella (via kottke). I didn't know he wrote both of those. My thoughts:
- this guy's value on 'what he wants to do' is too high.
- AOL does stink.
- like Jaq has said, you can't be naive enough to think that, by empowering people you're not gouging the recording industry. Surely most of Gnutella's traffic is illeagal.
-Sean Meadenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1074865080572812412004-01-23T07:38:00.000-06:002004-01-23T07:55:25.496-06:00We now have an RSS feed for Collaboratory. Blogger added the feature this morning. I'm hoping it'll start showing up on BlogRolling as recently updated, but it has other advantages as well, like RSS readers. Any of y'all use those?Sean Meadenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1074742624350845622004-01-21T21:37:00.000-06:002004-01-21T21:39:04.280-06:00Did we get our first comment spam?Sean Meadenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1074715356530590912004-01-21T14:02:00.000-06:002004-01-21T14:05:35.890-06:00 Futility has nagged at Caroline for a long time. Four years ago, at the dawn of the new millennium, she sat at her kitchen table in Claremont, N.H., and added up her life. It was the height of the economic boom. The nation wallowed in luxury, burst with microchips, consumed with abandon, swaggered globally. Everything grew larger: homes, vehicles, stock portfolios, life expectancy. Never before Christophernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1074636884196825472004-01-20T16:14:00.000-06:002004-01-20T16:16:41.826-06:00"You want to convince me of something, give me numbers." - young Jed Bartlet in the episode "Two Cathedrals" from The West Wing.
Filched from MeFi, here are some numbers on the Bush Administration.
Keep up the good work Start up the good work anytime now, Mr. President.
Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1074622211554025392004-01-20T12:10:00.000-06:002004-01-20T12:12:10.950-06:00Collaboratory demographic survey time:
How many of you have taken the Best Places quiz before? I took it several years ago, but then again this morning.
What do you all consider the most important aspects of places to live, according to the categories they use? If you got to pick exactly where you lived, where would it be?Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376470164385624506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1074377689330968322004-01-17T16:14:00.000-06:002004-01-17T16:17:23.373-06:00WE'RE GOING BACK TO THE MOON!!!!
(butwe'regonnacanceleverythingnotrelatedtothemoonormarsincludingkeepingHubbleworkinguntilareplacementisready! Shhhhhhdon'ttellanyonehaveaniceday)
Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1074377443266322072004-01-17T16:10:00.000-06:002004-01-17T16:12:37.856-06:00Via Bookslut:
1. Someone named Caitlin Flanagan somewhat-favorably reviews Dr. Laura's new book.
2. Someone named Maud Newton isn't impressed.
3. I'm not sure why I'm posting this, but it struck me as interesting. I find Dr. Laura to be one of the most nauseating people in American life, and pretty much purely on that basis I tend to desperately want to ignore everything she does, which is Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1074260628574200762004-01-16T07:43:00.000-06:002004-01-16T08:38:21.233-06:00Darn, I'm so easily amused. At the moment I'm collecting interjections which do a fairly bad job of masking swear words or mild blasphemy.
I'm looking for ones that are fairly well known although I know that many of these are actually obsolete and tend to only be used in ironic contexts. They also tend to be identified specifically as American, British or Australian words. Here's my current jhnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1074201094779846182004-01-15T15:11:00.000-06:002004-01-15T15:13:26.686-06:00When we think of Internet geeks, we often think of people like the Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons, right? Big fat shut-ins who are social misfits?
Well, according to a new study, that's not accurate. Among other things, your typical Net geek has an active social life and shuns television.
Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1074184364929050692004-01-15T10:32:00.000-06:002004-01-15T10:36:33.390-06:00Keeping with the air-related theme as of late:
It begins with an idea. The idea becomes a sketch. Which becomes a blueprint. Which becomes a wind tunnel model. Which becomes a prototype...
...and sometimes it just stops with the sketch.
Concept Aircraft of the past.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376470164385624506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1074129012499273732004-01-14T19:10:00.000-06:002004-01-14T19:12:03.326-06:00A day on Earth is roughly 24 hours. A day on Mars is roughly 24 hours, 40 minutes. The difference doesn't sound like much, but it adds up and it's screwing up the sleep patterns of the scientists in charge of the Spirit Rover.
The sacrifices for science, eh?
(Free LA Times registration required)
Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1073955510171655472004-01-12T18:58:00.000-06:002004-01-12T19:00:49.093-06:00If this article is to be believed, the RIAA has come up with some new strategies to deal with "pirates" whom they think may not have as much knowledge of US legal procedures as others. Hmmmmm.
(Talk about losing in the court of public opinion, eh? I wonder sometimes if the RIAA sits around saying, "Hey, this ought to make people hate us even more!")
(via Lynn Sislo)
Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1073955089626741082004-01-12T18:51:00.000-06:002004-01-12T18:53:18.030-06:00I got 10/10 on this space quiz. I'm something of a space buff, but this one's still pretty easy, I thought.
Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1073954897076956692004-01-12T18:48:00.000-06:002004-01-12T18:50:04.903-06:00At the end of this blog post, I found the following generalization of what differentiates liberals from conservatives:
Conservatives measure how far they are from the bottom and are mostly satisfied. Liberals measure how far we are from the top and think we need to work harder.
Anyone agree? Disagree?
Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1073782105405814322004-01-10T18:48:00.000-06:002004-01-10T18:50:10.450-06:00Here's an interesting thought experiment/parlor game question, via Terry Teachout: You have a lot of money -- a seven-figure amount -- that you're can donate to one arts institution in the United States. Who gets your money? Just one. (And no "Arts Councils" who will spread the money around to a bunch of artists!)
I'd give it to the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, myself.
Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1073669030544471452004-01-09T11:23:00.000-06:002004-01-09T11:25:34.186-06:00So what do you do when a President you really don't like proposes something you really want? Like Bush's impending space policy announcement?
I'm a bit surprised by this, because Bush has never struck me as the kind of President who's remotely interested in science or much else in that realm. It's an election year, and obviously they kept this in a drawer just in case the Spirit Rover mission Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1073668741908542362004-01-09T11:19:00.000-06:002004-01-09T11:20:45.623-06:00Yet another variant of the "Geek Quiz", this one focusing on "nerdiness". I got fifty percent, which I gather is a decent score. This one's actually kind of fun, because the questions don't identify the subject matter -- you're just supposed to know.
Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1073658916333585482004-01-09T08:35:00.000-06:002004-01-09T08:37:35.106-06:00Weren't we going to read a book together?Jasonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1073583495386029712004-01-08T11:38:00.000-06:002004-01-08T11:39:57.496-06:00La Befana, the Christmas witch. This is a really fine piece of writing, and a lovely fable.
Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1073583109420435542004-01-08T11:31:00.000-06:002004-01-08T11:33:31.623-06:00This is in breathtakingly poor taste, but that's probably to be expected, given the source. I'm an animal lover, but I think PETA is just plain nuts. Anyone else?
(Although I must confess that given my particularly dark sense of humor, I found the picture of the psychotic knife-wielding June Cleaver-esque mommy rather amusing.)
Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1073582937456984182004-01-08T11:28:00.000-06:002004-01-08T11:30:39.686-06:00Of all the crap I ever had to endure in grade school, I am firmly convinced that the diagramming of sentences was the most spectacularly useless. But it evidently occurred to someone that, since the Preamble to the United States Constitution is a single sentence, well by golly, it should be diagrammed!
Oy.
(via TNH's Particles)
So, did anyone else despise diagramming sentences the way I did?
Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1073577739358428532004-01-07T10:02:00.000-06:002004-01-08T10:04:20.920-06:00OK, that last post obviously didn't take. Let's try another Wired article (though I'm dubious about y'all's love for Wired):
Memo
To: The next head of the Motion Picture Association of America (to be opened upon arrival)
Subject: How Hollywood can avoid the fate of the music industry
Do you dream of movies on demand over broadband?
Sean Meadenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1073486985317553392004-01-06T08:49:00.000-06:002004-01-07T08:51:36.780-06:00From the latest issue of Wired (this was a good one): 101 ways to save the Internet.
Do you agree that the Internet is in danger? What are your favorite suggestions for saving it? Discuss.Sean Meadenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1073337030114037982004-01-05T15:10:00.000-06:002004-01-05T15:12:08.873-06:00 FBI Issues Alert Against Almanac Carriers
I thought that this was a joke when I saw it in my in box. I guess not. Libraryunnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1073310481152039832004-01-05T07:48:00.000-06:002004-01-05T07:49:39.140-06:00Hey amigos, it's been a long time, but I finally returned to blogging, maybe for good this time.
Since I know how much folks like the maps, I thought I would share this:
With the 2004 Presidential Election fast approaching, we might ~look forward~ to the onslaught of maps that paint the U.S. red and blue, illustrating which states lend their political support to Bush, and which states will backChristophernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1072198541432752352003-12-23T10:55:00.000-06:002003-12-23T10:57:02.153-06:00I'll probably have more to say about this on my own blog, but I thought I'd send up a trial balloon here. In the course of the Lord of the Rings films over the last two years, I've seen the sentiment often expressed that the movies aren't merely excellent tellings of Tolkien's story, but superior tellings of Tolkien's story. For example, here's a representative quote from John Scalzi:
The filmedKelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1071747984497784622003-12-18T05:46:00.000-06:002003-12-18T05:47:38.700-06:00"Why I Hate The Lord of the Rings", by some hack Hollywood writer. How much of a hack is he? He uses two different spellings of "Isildur" within three sentences of each other, and neither is correct. And more hackery on display, too!
And to think, this guy got paid for this piece.
Kelly Sedingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1071507769145084162003-12-15T11:02:00.000-06:002003-12-15T11:05:06.340-06:00Yeah, I'm pretty geeked for Wednesday
Some links in the meantime: What not to do during Return of the King, A Peter Jackson version of the Hobbit?, and Fellowship of the Nitpickers. Anyone else already got their tickets? I got mine this morning for an 8:30 showing Wednesday night at a Digital theater.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376470164385624506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1071169452593729702003-12-11T13:04:00.000-06:002003-12-11T13:05:18.356-06:00I won't pretend to understand everything about it, but frozen light seems awfully cool to me.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376470164385624506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1071153621880203572003-12-11T08:40:00.000-06:002003-12-11T08:41:26.903-06:00As Good as Weblogging Gets
Everyone needs to go over to Byzantium's Shores to check out Jaquandor's excellent series of posts on Berlioz, which begins here.Jasonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1070746066780299032003-12-06T15:27:00.000-06:002003-12-06T15:28:45.763-06:00I've been enjoying quite a bit of historical fiction lately. I just read 'Gates of Fire' by Stephen Pressfield about the stand of 300 Spartans against thousands of Persians at Thermopylae. It was excellent. One of my favorites is 'Shogun'. I recently read 'Horatio Hornblower' and enjoyed them.
Do you read historical fiction? What are your favorites?Sean Meadenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719205.post-1070470015063013562003-12-03T10:46:00.000-06:002003-12-03T10:47:51.280-06:00The FDNY's "Dirty Little Secret": At least a dozen of New York's Bravest - some of them assigned to look after Sept. 11 widows - have left their wives for the spouses of their comrades killed in the terror attacks, sources told The Post.
"It's disgusting, heartbreaking what they've done," said Mary Koenig, whose husband, Gerry Koenig of Staten Island's Rescue 5 squad, ditched her and their twoScotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376470164385624506noreply@blogger.com