Homo Sum:
humani nil a me alienum puto

So, during a particularly boring meeting today, I ran the numbers on the recent smuggling effort.
I ordered 32 items from Amazon.com and had them shipped to a friend in Boston. Of those, one item is one that for some reason isn’t available from Amazon.ca (and indeed, can’t be ordered from Amazon.com to a Canadian address!), [...]

…the computer industry is a scam.
Now, normally when I say this, I mean something about the broad “knowledge industry”, and how commercial software developers are amongst the most highly-paid people who only theoretically1 contribute to society.
However, it is also true on a much more retail level:

…and I would say NOT practically(back)

OK, maybe also for George.
I have a Pavlovian reaction to this music, in almost every variation. My wife has an equally strong, but entirely opposite, reaction.

In certain applied sciences, and engineering disciplines, it’s a kind of basic truth that the money and push for research comes from military applications. Indeed, in many areas you can look at what the military is developing now and with a little creative foresight you can have a sense of what street level technology will [...]

Today’s word-of-the-day comes to us from author Matt Ruff, in a story about his grandfather’s missionary work.
Urwahnfried is a word composed of old German word roots, and means in modern English, “Fulfillment.” Or, more explicitly: “The Place where my Fight for the Highest and Broadest Ideals of Life Came to an End in the Peace [...]

Some times the Internet is like an unending river of chaos that just keeps washing all kinds of wild flotsam up on your shores.
How is it possible that in the space of 20 minutes I get pointed to all three of these things?

Full Revelations of a Professional Rat-Catcher After 25 Years’ Experience - A book [...]

So, I am finally home from the interminable Boston séjour.
I had a minute or so of relief at being home, after a nice drive, when I realized that my taxes are due by the end of April. I.e. Monday. Damn it.
I guess I know what I’ll be doing tomorrow night.

I am watching Jon Stewart on the new Bill Moyers show right now.
I have never been more impressed with Jon. And that’s saying something.
If you missed this, you should be able to watch it from the show’s web site some time soon.
UPDATE: Damn, the second half of the show is talking to Josh Marshall. Yes, [...]

Democrat says expect online gambling bill Thursday
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (news, bio, voting record) on Wednesday said he will introduce a bill this week to lift a ban on online gambling.
“Why anyone thinks it is any of my business why some adult wants to gamble is absolutely beyond me,” Frank told a [...]

Here’s the thing: precision of language allows for both more elegant and more useful communication. I love that English has this dizzying variety of words, many of which are similar in meaning, but with a difference of connotation that allows us to increase our precision.
However, I am also a pedant, so the flip side of [...]

Here’s a quotation from a new story published on March 31st in the Globe & Mail:
Mr. Trottier, 24, and his colleague were hanging posters Tuesday night announcing a lecture by Victor Stenger, author of God: The Failed Hypothesis, when they were approached by two men. The men asked for a copy of the poster, mumbled [...]

You can now listen to the recent Oxford/Cambridge-style formal debate on the proposition “We’d be better off without religion”, thanks to the Time Online. (Note that this is explicitly not the same proposition as “God doesn’t exist”, etc.)
The debate was organized by Intelligence Squared, and had the following participants:
Pro:

Professor Richard Dawkins
Professor A.C. Grayling
Christopher Hitchens

Con:

Rabbi Julia [...]

For the record, I’d like to see the rest of the world on the same scale.

This obviously comes from Scientific American, but I got it from the always interesting Strange Maps.
It kind of saddens me to see that “marred by creationist jargon” tag on Massachusetts though. I do kind of think of Boston and environs [...]

Speaking of those people that cocky atheists particularly love to make fun of, you should take a moment to read this blog post outlining the shock of someone who has lived in the middle east, upon moving to middle america.
So when I came to the US I was shocked, absolutely stunned at just how absolutely [...]

You know, you can’t make up stuff like this:
The owner of a photo store, who says her business partner is Jesus, began Holy Week by putting signs outside her store urging passing motorists to show their support for the Christian holiday. “Easter: Beep for Christ,” the signs said.
Phil Young, owner of a neighboring tattoo store, [...]