1.) The weblog comes out of the gift economy, whereas most (not all) of today’s journalism comes out of the market economy. 4.) In the weblog world every reader is actually a writer, and you write not so much for “the reader” but for other writers. So every reader is a writer, yes, but every…
From 1860 to 1940, Earth’s surface warmed about 0.4ºC. Then Earth’s surface cooled about 0.1ºC in the first four decades after 1940 and warmed about 0.3ºC in the next two. For those two most recent decades, temperature measurements of the atmosphere have also been available, and, while these measurements are subject to significant uncertainty, they…
Increased security on airlines has been a significant issue since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. In those attacks, 19 terrorists are believed to have snuck box cutters onto four commerical airplanes. —Feds Searching All Commercial Airplanes (FOX News) I’m telling myself that I’m not blogging this because in a few days my…
What does one do when the book is wrong? Should the book’s authority outweigh the professor’s? In the mind of the student, the book is usually the “law” of the class, in many ways, and the teacher the lawyer. Obviously, I can’t hold the student accountable for missing a question when the book mislead her…
Would today’s tykes tolerate the classic games you grew up with? Kids do say the darndest things… —Kids Play (EGM) The premise: force a bunch of tweens to play the games my generation grew up with. Just how badly do yesterday’s games suck… and how badly to today’s kids suck while playing them? The article is…
In the generic new remake of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” five kids — two girls, three boys — hop into a ’70s-era van and head to Dallas for a Lynyrd Skynyrd show. On the way, they stop to pick up a traumatized stranger, who promptly shoots herself in the head. With time still to make…
To be a Christian doesn’t mean to be cuddly. This is not a cuddly pope, either. What he says and writes — though always elegantly — has been irking millions. He, who was instrumental in toppling socialism, is an inveterate preacher of justice and peace, and a critic of the modern “Me First” variety of…
Is there such a thing as ‘bad genes’? (The fifth of five questions I may be asked tomorrow as part of a panel on DNA and ethics.) If there are bad genes, then there must also be good genes. It is perhaps unfair to bring up Nazi Germany’s aryan supremacy theories every time such a…
Jurassic Park was a cautionary tale about genetic manipulation. Could that actually happen? Why or why not? (The fourth of five questions I may be asked tomorrow as part of a panel on DNA and ethics.) I’ve only seen the first two movies, so I can’t really comment on the technical details as presented in…
Will the human genome diminish humanity by taking the mystery out of life? (The third of five questions I may be asked tomorrow as part of a panel on DNA and ethics.) We’ve had the human genome all along; its been here all along, just like gravity existed before Newton. What’s new is the Human…
What are the potential injustices or misuses of DNA information? (The second of five questions I may be asked tomorrow as part of a panel on DNA and ethics.) According to the Human Genome Project’s website on genetic legislation, no laws have yet been passed regarding the use of genetic information in healthcare, employment, and…
Is our fate in our genes or in our stars? (The first of five questions I may be asked as part of a panel on DNA and ethics.) I’ll take “in our stars” as a metaphor for something like “determined by the cosmos,” rather than a literal reference to astrology. I don’t think the average…
On average, internet users spend three and a half hours a day on the internet compared with 2.8 hours a day watching television. | The research, which is the first to suggest the internet has overtaken the television as the most popular medium among people who have both, will provide further grist to the mill…
I have translated into rough Latin an extensive fragment of a much longer popular song. While providing a literal interlinear translation back into English for the benefit of Latin-less readers, I have, regrettably, made no attempt at rhyme or meter; alert readers will also notice that by avoiding translating the entire song, I have not…
China’s first astronaut, Yang Liwei, 38, was hurled into outer space by Shenzhou-5 spacecraft at 9 a.m. Wednesday from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China’s Gansu Province. —Xinhaunet —Shenzhou-5 launch successful (China View) Similar:Anti-globalism Is Common Factor in Social Media Conspiracy Theories, says UW ProfFascinating academic effort to find a pa…AcademiaHorrifying deepfake tricks employee into…
Now soliciting proposals for projected philosophical anthology on any aspect of The Onion, America’s leading satirical newspaper. Brief, informal proposals are welcome at this stage. Submit to Graham Harman at toolbeing@yahoo.com (deadline for initial proposals is October 31, 2003) —Philosophy and The Onion (APA) ARRGH! I have way too much to do… way, way too much…
Some 1,500 PEZ dispensers, all nestled in creative landscapes, fill the museum. | Disney PEZ sit in a 10-foot-high castle. Halloween-themed PEZ are displayed in a haunted house. And psychedelic PEZ are set beside a real Volkswagen Beetle that appears to be crashing through the wall. —PEZ museum pops up in Pennsylvania (CNN/AP) Similar:Christmas Day Truce…
Just as a shark must swim to breathe, a hard drive must be in motion to receive or return data. This air bearing technology, as it is called (pioneered at IBM in the 1950s), explains why dust and other contaminants must be kept out of the drive casing at all costs. If the heads touch…
I’ll be going to an academic setting in order to become a game programmer. What’s interesting is that just as there are film degrees (one of which I currently own) that combine the fields of literature and art with a variety of other disciplines, including physics among others, there are degrees in game creation. Places…
Missed your daily dose of Panda Cam? Don’t have the time to watch our pandas sleep? Boss expects you to do work? | Well, we have the solution right here. Our newest feature, the Daily Panda, lets you recap the daily escapades of Hua Mei, Bai Yun and Gao Gao thanks to our Panda Cam…