I believe I would happily wear any of the Teach The Controversy shirts at WearScience, but for obvious reasons, I would especially like this one: Read more →
Year: 2010
A flurry of quick things
Am I the only one uncomfortable with “too difficult to prosecute but too dangerous to release” apparently being a legit category? Doesn’t that pretty much read as “we can’t prove you did shit, but we’re going to keep you in jail anyway”? I officially call bullshit on that. Of course it should come as no surprise given that the current… Read more →
Aside
So, did you read about Hugo Chavez accusing the US of causing the Haiti earthquakes with HAARP weaponry? I saw some discussion of that story, and thought it was a sign that Chavez had gone off the reservation… but it appears that it’s that the story is the result of some shoddy journalism and the Internet echo-amplification, not anything factual. Now the paranoid part of my brain is wondering if someone could cook up something like this on purpose specifically to reduce Chavez’s international credibility.
Aside
If you are at all interested in how the business of publishing may change in response to some current disruptive technology shifts–and particularly if you’re interested in looking at the question from an author’s point of view–you should really pop over to Charlie Stross’ blog and read his post there outlining some thoughts on the question and asking for reader comments. This is one of those cases where the “don’t read the comments” rule does not apply: there are a couple of hundred comments there now with a pretty high signal-to-noise ratio, and lots of interesting (and some very scary) ideas are being kicked around.
Rambling about passwords
What you’re looking at there is a list of the 32 most common passwords from among the set of more than 32 million users of RockYou. The top item, ‘123456’ was used by more than 300,000 users. We don’t normally get to look at actual user data in sets this large, but one benefit of the recent privacy breach at… Read more →
Aside
Looking at politics here, and in our neighbour to the south, I am starting to think that there’s maybe something to the depressive realism proposition. I am too rage-fatigued to post about today’s particular stories, but as usual Ferocious J has it covered, saying what I would probably say if I had the energy left to rant.
More on Youtube, Russell, whackjobs
Following up on that earlier Russell finding on Youtube, I see that there’s a veritable treasure trove of Russell stuff on there. For instance, I quite like the little TVO presentation on the Three Passions Of Bertrand Russell, or getting to listen to Russell debate the existence of God with a Jesuit philosophy scholarI actually went on to read the… Read more →
Her Eyes Alone Are A 500 Page Novel
“The real voyage of discovery consists of not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” If I am recalling correctly, that’s a Proust line. I’ve always liked that formulation–it ties into both what I think one of the main points of travel isto help you see home properly, and into that Zen-ish notion of trying to always come… Read more →
Russell Video Clip
Look what I found while trolling YouTube–an ancient CBC clip where Russell is being interviewed on the question of faith in a god. (I wonder if I have the only 5-year old in town who can identify Bertrand Russell when she sees him in a YouTube clip.) Read more →
Mayhap El Knaverino
Ummm… [He stains the rug] THE KNAVE Sir, prithee nay! BLANCHE Now thou seest what happens, Lebowski, when the agreements of honourable business stand compromised. If thou wouldst treat money as water, flowing as the gentle rain from heaven, why, then thou knowest water begets water; it will be a watery grave your rug, drowned in the weeping brook. Pray… Read more →
Aside
OK, the latest round of crazy TSA rules had solidified my resolve to not fly into America again (at least not until there are substantial changes in the way border and airport security are run)–not that this is a big deal, since my basic hatred of airports has had me driving to Boston and such locales rather than flying for well over a decade now. But now I have to see my own country make even more STUPID security theatre rules than the Americans? Argh. No books or magazines on the plane? Seriously? The directive is specific to “US-bound” planes, and as I said, I wasn’t planning to get on any of those, but still this kind of stupidity actually makes my cranium ache.
Aside
Over the last decade I’ve become increasingly cynical about, and frankly afraid of Americans. Not all of them–I know they’re not all the same, and there are lots of them I love–but Americans in the aggregate. I had some hope that things were changing there last year, but when I read statistics like 58% of US voters favour the use of torture in gathering information–specifically in a case where there is no ticking bomb–I am more scared than ever. Factor in that the rate is even higher for younger people and I’m left wondering if there will be anyone left who understands that this isn’t how things should be. Those numbers about how many people think the US legal system is too worried about individual rights make me despair for humanity, and for the American voting public’s ability to read.
Aside
When Trish suggested the name Sarah for our kid, I was happy to go along. I had four reasons, two public ones and two ulterior ones. The public ones were liking the name and being amused at the notion of using a biblical name, especially one with the meaning “princess”. One ulterior motive was all about Thin Lizzy. One was about gypsies and Kali. Maybe some July I should take Sarah to Sainte Anne de Beaupre for the Romani gathering…
You can learn something new every day
I followed a stay Twitter link today that lead to this short discussion of how to deal with someone acting racist: I found that interesting enough that I spent some time looking at other vlogs from the same dude, which lead me to this one, East Coast Cats and Christopher Street Boys, which I particularly liked: I’m pretty New York… Read more →
Aside
I’ve had “ride the Orient Express, all the way, in style” on my bucket list since I was about 14. Apparently I will not get to cross it off. Trish and I looked at doing it the time we ended up rambling around Hungary, but ultimately deferred it. Now the chance has passed. (There is a once-a-year tourist version, but the idea of ponying up $20K US for 5 days seems a bit daunting to me–especially since I want the authentic scruffy and romantic experience, not the conspicuous consumption version.)
