flaring

I guess my tin foil hat is not as good an idea as I...

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 04:45:44 -0400

I guess my tin foil hat is not as good an idea as I thought…

Among a fringe community of paranoids, aluminum helmets serve as the protective measure of choice against invasive radio signals. We investigate the efficacy of three aluminum helmet designs on a sample group of four individuals. Using a $250,000 network analyser, we find that although on average all helmets attenuate invasive radio frequencies in either directions (either emanating from an outside source, or emanating from the cranium of the subject), certain frequencies are in fact greatly amplified. These amplified frequencies coincide with radio bands reserved for government use according to the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). Statistical evidence suggests the use of helmets may in fact enhance the government’s invasive abilities. We speculate that the government may in fact have started the helmet craze for this reason.

(via berkeley.intel-research.net/arahimi/helmet/)

During those years the unsocialized were snarling at Martin for...

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 11:47:56 -0400

During those years the unsocialized were snarling at Martin for being lazy or procrastinating or indolent or whatever, he wrote about as many words for novels as I had. By this superficial but easy-to-quantify metric, on the novel front he was as productive as I was, and most people seem to agree that I’ve been pretty productive these last six years. I just spread my words around five novels while he poured all of his into one.

Sing it, Scalzi.
(via A Small Observation Regarding Words and Releases « Whatever)

"Whitman’s body was taken to the morgue, his skull was put under the bone saw, and the medical..."

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 07:53:57 -0400

“Whitman’s body was taken to the morgue, his skull was put under the bone saw, and the medical examiner lifted the brain from its vault. He discovered that Whitman’s brain harbored a tumor the diameter of a nickel. This tumor, called a glioblastoma, had blossomed from beneath a structure called the thalamus, impinged on the hypothalamus, and compressed a third region called the amygdala. The amygdala is involved in emotional regulation, especially of fear and aggression…. Whitman’s intuition about himself—that something in his brain was changing his behavior—was spot-on.”

- The Brain on Trial - Magazine - The Atlantic

(via Murdoch apologizes - Boing Boing)

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 16:20:30 -0400

(via Murdoch apologizes - Boing Boing)

"I do feel a smidgen sorry for the GOP leadership on this, because they’re trying to be grownups and..."

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 13:37:06 -0400

“I do feel a smidgen sorry for the GOP leadership on this, because they’re trying to be grownups and I suspect they recognize, aside from any political gamesmanship issues, that at after a certain point one does not destroy the nation’s economy simply to make a point, and they have to deal with dogmatic ~~morons~~ ideologues who are either too ignorant or too stupid (or both!) to realize what a very bad thing it is for the United States to default on its debts. Only a smidgen sorry, however, because they actively encouraged the American people to vote in these dogmatic ~~morons~~ ideologues. This is one of those “You made your bed, complete with a dogmatic ~~moron~~ ideologue ready to screw you, now sleep in it” moments. Alas, the rest of us are in the same bed, and we have to watch.”

What a preposterous world we live in, where developments in...

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 18:33:55 -0400

What a preposterous world we live in, where developments in invisibility cloak tech are common enough to elicit yawns. Fine, you unmovable automatons, how about a time cloak?

Cue Dr Who Episode…

(via Scientists Punch a Hole in the Fabric of Time with a “Time Cloak”)

And he did this thing, and to this day I have no idea whether he...

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 05:54:04 -0400

And he did this thing, and to this day I have no idea whether he did it on purpose, whether he’s even aware of it, but he just stared at me, like the whole time, even when other people were speaking, his eyes never left my face and it was like he was studying me, and I just went to pieces.

(via Neville Longbottom, the real hero of the Harry Potter franchise, speaks out)

"Practically any Internet user can be framed for copyright infringement today. By profiling copyright..."

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 06:00:31 -0400

“Practically any Internet user can be framed for copyright infringement today. By profiling copyright enforcement in the popular BitTorrent file sharing system, we were able to generate hundreds of real DMCA takedown notices for computers at the University of Washington that never downloaded nor shared any content whatsoever.”

- Tracking the Trackers

"America?” he says. “I’ll tell you about America.” I must look wary, because..."

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 07:51:16 -0400

““America?” he says. “I’ll tell you about America.” I must look wary, because he quickly explains that, after years of 50-hour workweeks, he’s probably spoken with more of my compatriots than I have. “America is not all honey and roses the way they tell you,” he informs me. “Truth is, 90 percent of the people there, you will find, they’ll do the most stupid things, impulsive things. I know for a fact. At the same time, Americans are bighearted people, and the remaining 10 percent of them are smart. Bloody smart. That’s why they rule the world.””

- My Summer at an Indian Call Center | Mother Jones

Video

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 07:19:23 -0400

(via http://xkcd.com/radiation/)

Sat, 19 Mar 2011 21:41:35 -0400

(via http://xkcd.com/radiation/)

"Bahrain is roughly the same story as Libya—only instead of pro-democracy protesters being murdered..."

Sat, 19 Mar 2011 05:43:07 -0400

“Bahrain is roughly the same story as Libya—only instead of pro-democracy protesters being murdered by a terrorist-sponsoring monster of a dictator who has been on America’s enemies list for ages, the pro-democracy protesters are being murdered by a government that is America’s very own dear ally. And where Qaddafi brought in foreign mercenaries for support, King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa of Bahrain brought in troops from our even more vital ally, Saudi Arabia.”

- Scocca : Would a No-Fly Zone Over America Save the Democracy Movement in Bahrain?

"10 years ago a browser was born. Its name was Internet Explorer 6. Now that we’re in 2011, in an era..."

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 18:25:58 -0500

“10 years ago a browser was born. Its name was Internet Explorer 6. Now that we’re in 2011, in an era of modern web standards, it’s time to say goodbye. This website is dedicated to watching Internet Explorer 6 usage drop to less than 1% worldwide, so more websites can choose to drop support for Internet Explorer 6, saving hours of work for web developers.”

- IE6 Countdown

Doodles and Works: 015

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 08:15:07 -0500

Doodles and Works: 015

Game Of Thrones “Iron Throne” Trailer (HBO) (via...

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 07:55:16 -0500

Game Of Thrones “Iron Throne” Trailer (HBO) (via GameofThrones)

Finally, Cat Bordhi said: I think you might all like to know...

Sat, 26 Feb 2011 10:07:12 -0500

Finally, Cat Bordhi said: I think you might all like to know that while Stephanie and I were sitting in the back of Carson Demers’ wonderful knitting ergonomics class on the final afternoon, she showed me how if you press two fingers into the KushaKusha fabric, it makes a shape just like Barbie doll boobs.

Yarn Harlot: Reaction

It’s the Inequality, Stupid | Mother Jones

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 17:10:09 -0500

It’s the Inequality, Stupid | Mother Jones

"After careful consideration, including a review of my recommendation, the President has concluded..."

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 19:53:29 -0500

“After careful consideration, including a review of my recommendation, the President has concluded that given a number of factors, including a documented history of discrimination, classifications based on sexual orientation should be subject to a more heightened standard of scrutiny. The President has also concluded that Section 3 of DOMA, as applied to legally married same-sex couples, fails to meet that standard and is therefore unconstitutional. Given that conclusion, the President has instructed the Department not to defend the statute in such cases. I fully concur with the President’s determination.”

- Statement of the Attorney General on Litigation Involving the Defense of Marriage Act

"Defund Kentucky. Cut it off the federal dole. Kentucky is a welfare state to begin with. The..."

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 07:56:54 -0500

“Defund Kentucky. Cut it off the federal dole. Kentucky is a welfare state to begin with. The conservative Tax Foundation says the Bluegrass State received $1.51 back from Washington for every dollar it paid in federal taxes in 2005…. We need to listen to the people of Kentucky. They don’t want any more federal spending in their state—and they certainly must be appalled by the notion that they’re a bunch of welfare queens, living off the taxes paid by blue states like California (which only gets 81 cents back on the dollar), Connecticut (69 cents), Illinois (75 cents) and New York (79 cents).”

- Paul Begala: It’s Time to Defund Kentucky

How one man tracked down Anonymous-- and paid a heavy price

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:56:11 -0500

How one man tracked down Anonymous-- and paid a heavy price