July 30, 2004
I’m flying out to Auburn to attend the Mises economics seminar thing, so don’t count on me for “turning japanese” material this week. Also, feel free to leave Erin and Katie a comment too.
- Francis Crick RIP: DNA structure’s discoverer gave shoulders to stand on – “Crick and Watson famously puzzled out in 1953 that molecules of DNA, which stands for deoxyribonucleic acid and which makes up the genetic code of every living thing, string together in the form of a double helix.”
- How my program passed the Turing Test – “So, it’s Tuesday 2nd May 1989, 8.12pm in Ireland. I’ve logged out and gone off with my girlfriend, leaving Eliza (or “MGonz” as I called it) to mind the fort. So some guy on the Net decides to call me up for a chat. Someone from Drake University, Iowa, USA (the node DRAKE on BITNET) where it is early afternoon. He stays talking until 9.39pm Irish time, unaware that no one is at home. You could say therefore that my program passed the “Turing Test” (see What is the Turing Test?).”
- Iraqis pump, flex to honor Schwarzenegger – “It was the governor of California’s 57th birthday, and thousands of miles away in blisteringly hot Baghdad members of the Arnold Classic gym celebrated too, staging what they said was the country’s first postwar bodybuilding competition.”
- What is Lucid Dreaming? – “[L]ucid dreaming is simply dreaming while being aware you are dreaming. You can think of lucid dreaming as being conscious while dreaming. If, by chance, during a dream it suddenly dawns on you that you are dreaming, then you have experienced a lucid dream, regardless of whether you have been able to attain control of your dream.”
- AllofMP3.com – You can get entire albums for $2-3 in a number of different formats (including MP3, WMA, OGG AAC, etc.).
Old man, have I seen you on SuicideGirls.com before?
July 29, 2004
So the results came back, I’m not pregnant. Neither is she. Score one for modern science.
- Oscar-Winning Composer Jerry Goldsmith Dies in L.A. – Goldsmith’s widow, Carol, told Reuters her husband always refused to choose a favorite among his works saying, “My favorite score is the one I haven’t written yet.” Via J.H. Huebert.
- John Carmack: “This sucks.” – “Creative is allowing id to use the patented algorithm for free. Except, of course, for the deal to integrate the EAX technology into the Doom 3 engine. Some analysts are going as far as to openly speculate that this deal amounts to blackmail — with patent in hand, Creative could easily have caused a legal quagmire for id Software. What’s really irritating about this situation is that the issue is not about the patented code itself — Creative’s patent covers a similar technique, and they are using that patent to lay claim to the idea of Carmack’s Reverse.”
- Political Joke of the Day – Peat needs to start titling his entries with witty headlines comprised of ’80s lyrics.
- Hawking changes his mind on black holes – “After almost 30 years of arguing that a black hole swallows up everything that falls into it, astrophysicist Stephen Hawking backpedaled Thursday. In doing so, he lost one of the most famous bets in recent scientific history.”
- Quantum leaps – “But science, ever fluid and open to review, might yet take Hawking into another reversal; some physicists question whether he has really disproved his 1975 argument. So he could be the star of a future conference, coming forward again to tell the world: I was wrong about being wrong.” Note: this is not the same story as above but rather a kick in the pants to Mr. Hawking for acting like only “the great Hawking can prove his own error.” Props to Margaret.
- SKANKS, PARTY GIRLS AND SCANDALOUS WOMEN – “Here we may have the first reference I’ve seen to the diminishing marginal utility of relationships. If you have enough relationships–especially physical encounters–they soon decline in importance?”
July 28, 2004
I went autocrossing this past weekend with some friends from Dallas and took some pictures (it was a TAMSCC event). I’ll try to put them up sometime, in the meantime here are some droppings to keep you busy with:
- How-To Turn your iPod in to a Universal Infrared Remote Control – Phillip Torrone created a step-by-step tutorial on doing just as the title suggests: taking your iPod and cramming the functionality of your TV, DVD Player, Direct TV, Ultimate TV PVR, Media Center PC, Xbox, XM Radio and the kitchen sink into it.
- Council bans goldfish bowls – Council official Giampietro Mosca states resolutely that, “A fish kept in a bowl has a distorted view of reality…and suffers because of this.” [jerk off motion]
- Extreme Engineering: Transatlantic Tunnel – “A magnetically levitated train could theoretically take you from New York to London in 54 minutes. But you’d have to go 5,000 mph through a 3,100-mile-long tunnel that was itself floating in the Atlantic Ocean. How might that work?” MacGyver would simply use a stick of gum and a paperclip to divert the magnetic poles into… Via Mahalanobis.
- Girl goes back to school with Gateway and Dell – The model is quite the two-timer.
- Space Science Pioneer Van Allen Questions Human Spaceflight – Supporters of human spaceflight “defy reality and struggle to recapture the level of public support that was induced temporarily by the Cold War,â€? van Allen charges.
- You rock my small, self-center universe – Will, the Idiot, linked to some shirts that are cool to look at, but not to wear (as BNH would say, “Girls will still sense that shit 20 years later”). Just say no to cock-blockery.
- Which Annoying B-list Celebrity Are You? – They should add the Chuck Norris personality to the list of possibilities. Via please don’t eat me!
Tell me this trailer is not fan-diddly-tastic.
Be sure to check out the instant classic: Batman: Dead End as well (it’s Batman vs Alien vs Predator, same guy plays Batman).
Via DaveDorm.
July 27, 2004
So I found a couple of the links I wanted to impart my knowledge to you with:
- Bitpim – This is basically a free open-source workaround to send and receive data to your cell phone without having to pay your provider any $$$. In the words of Justin Otis, “It’s freaking sweet.”
- Reality TV hits home in Baghdad – A new reality show dubbed “Labor and Materials” partakes in the rebuilding of Baghdad (similar to Extreme Home Makeover which I have to admit is a pretty swankin’ show).
- The Methuselah Foundation – “Promoting Research to Extend the Healthy Human Lifespan.” The foundation put together a cash-prize contest in which whomever is able to keep a Mus musculus (generic lab mouse) alive the longest wins big money (and no wammies). It’s a fairly novel and innovative endeavor at tackling the disease known as “ageing.” [Get it off, it wrinkles!]
- Meteor clue to end of Middle East civilisations – “SCIENTISTS have found the first evidence that a devastating meteor impact in the Middle East might have triggered the mysterious collapse of civilisations more than 4,000 years ago.”
- Marathon Man: Astronomer Sleuths Revise Date of Ancient Run – It’s the BC equivalent to Y2K. Sparta was using a different calendar system than Athens was, therefore a month was lost in the process. As a result, everyone lost their virginity.
- Ancient Olympians: not exactly heroes – “While the Olympics’ 3 000-year history is dotted with the heroic champions like the wrestler Arrhichion who fought to the death, researchers say they also were plagued by cheating, scandal, gambling and outsized egos.” Via Lying Luke.
- Monkey Apes Humans by Walking on Two Legs – “A young monkey at an Israeli zoo has started walking on its hind legs only – aping humans – after a near death experience, the zoo’s veterinarian said Wednesday.” Dude, check out the pic below, kind of freaky deaky like that ET home video scene in Signs.
This is me caring, buggers
After reading their exchange, choose the bigger primadonna dickhead.
I would pay good money to have seen this ringside. Other first-class asshole match-ups:
Coulter vs. Franken
Farah vs. the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
Falwell vs. Omar
Via Drudge.
July 26, 2004
SuicideGirls, I first bumped into this site a month or two ago and didn’t think much of it at the time; just another portal of slutty teenie boppers looking for an outlet to vent their self-loathing ineptitudes.
I’m wrong of course. As of this writing Technorati ranks the journals of Erin and Katie in the top 100 of the blogosphere based upon the number of inbound links to each blog. Dumbfounded, I reread their various disjointed posts consisting of:
i’m super lonely lately tho. my friend trev is gone for eeeever on tour now, i’m really happy for him, he just got signed to a great band, but i will miss out jamba juice and movie nights and long talks. a lot of my friends are gone a lot. it makes me sad. i miss ann, and robin, and amina, and the “chidders”
i miss brandan tons, tho he prolly doesn’t believe me. i miss smelling angl for men all over myself, and feeling sore in weird places. i miss a lot of things. i was looking at calanders, and i’ll se him in 2 weeks, then not again for over a month. we shall see tho.
stupid heart. i let it off it’s leash and it got hit by a car again. cpr! cpr! i think that there still may be hope yet.
And this euphonic gem:
If you can’t tell, I’m feeling pretty blah. Like, physically and mentally well and everything but almost like you would expect to feel on antidepressants. Apathetic. People talk to me but I only half hear them and guess at what I should say in reply. Does anyone else feel like that? If only I could remember something I felt passionately about….
Wow, granted I post a lot of random tangental crap about phallic images, but Prozac tweedledee and tweedledumb take the cake. It’s like a parfait blend of whiny LiveJournal goths and skanky cam whores. Actually, in all honesty I really just wanted an excuse to say cam whores in a post because I wanted to be one when I grew up. I’m jealous.
Give me money and I’ll show some skin.
July 25, 2004
Quandary:
Via Catallarchy.
Note: thanks to a thunderstorm I lost all of the links and useless infonuggets you love me for. Those should be illegal.
July 24, 2004
Caption this photo:
Maybe the organizers think another 1968 will occur.
Via LRC.
CIA Warning: Al Qaeda Forms Olympic Bobsledding Team -
Washington, D.C. — According to a CIA intelligence report, the al Qaeda terrorist organization is busy putting the finishing touches on a new bobsledding team, as a means of infiltrating the Olympic games in Athens this summer. “Our agents uncovered the fact that there is absolutely no bobsledding event at the summer Olympics,” Acting CIA Director John McLaughlin said. “We are proud that with cooperation and coordination of several government agencies, we were able to verify this was the case and confirm they are probably up to no good.”
The reports disclose that al Qaeda is now actively operating a training facility for the new bobsledding team and have even acquired a partially operational bobsled from the French.
I honestly do not think I will be able to sleep tonight. Where is Adam West when you need him?
