OK, first the good bit: Right now, today, I can order a programmable T-shirt. (Link from Fred). Sure, it’s only one-colour, and simple stuff right now, but the step from “no programmable clothes” to “simple programmable clothes” is a lot bigger than the step from “simple programmable clothes” to “tricked out programmable clothes”. I can’t stop thinking about this. I… Read more →
Category: Science and Technology
Canada is measurably different from the U.S.
I know where you think this is going, after reading that headline, and it’s not what you think. See, Canada is depressed. And our stuff weighs less. OK, enough with the cuteness: Canada is depressed because during the last ice age a sheet of ice called Laurentide, more than 3km thick, pressed down on the earth’s crust here, and apparently… Read more →
It has kind of wedge shapes inside.
Do you know what this is the symbol for? Of course you do. It’s the symbol for radiation. Everyone in the West knows what that is, as part of the same popular culture osmosis (and occasionally target childhood education) that tells us that the skull and crossbones means poison, and the skeletal hand means acid, etc. Hell, there’s a Negativland… Read more →
Universal Health Care: Take That Harpocrats!
Well, that graph by itself should go a long way towards answering the “received wisdom” from Canada’s right wing that “health care is broken”. And, it should also go a long way in helping the US left in justifying universal health care. The graph comes from a fairly detailed article on the results of a study into our more than… Read more →
Still making sense…
I for one would pay tall dollars to watch a Rollins/Hannity debate. Read more →
A couple of quick links.
Still drowning in work, but here’s a few divertimenti for you: Seeing one artist’s rendition of the Simpson’s cast in a more realistic, and heavily manga-influenced, style didn’t do much for me. I mean, I dig Marge’s hair, and the twins look great, but it’s not like the image is a revelation or anything. On the other hand, the same… Read more →
The Drake Equation
No, it’s a real thing. No, it’s not “half your age plus seven”. In the course of some research today I ran into this, and thought I’d report on my findings here, since it will amuse some people, and interest some others. The Drake Equation looks like this: N = R*fpneflfifcL I’ll get into what each term means in a… Read more →
This is my good friend
That’s a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug believed to work through inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX), thus inhibiting prostaglandin synthesis. There are at least 2 variations of cyclooxygenase (COX-1 and COX-2), and this inhibits both COX-1 and COX-2. It appears that its analgesic, antipyretic, and anti-inflammatory activity are achieved principally through COX-2 inhibition; whereas COX-1 inhibition is responsible for its unwanted effects on… Read more →
We Live In Science Fiction.
From time to time I am forced to stop and pause to reflect for a moment on the nature of the crazy technological changes that have happened in my lifetime. Sometimes it’s realizing how cool it is that I can carry a phone around with me in my pocket, and that phone lets me get in touch with people all… Read more →
Educate Yourself On Darwin
Here’s another way to educate yourself that I ran into online today. The Guardian ran a piece on the opening of an online archive of the complete works of Charles Darwin. Here’s a quote: The collection brings Darwin’s breathtaking range of writing together for the first time, with 50,000 pages of searchable text, and tens of thousands of images, many… Read more →
Educate yourself.
You know, if you manage to avoid spam, porn, and piracy, there are lots of ways to communicate with intelligent people and educate yourself on the internet. The classic example, of course, would be academics. Improving communication amongst academics was one of the first purposes of the internet. Ironically most of the journals are locked up behind a copyright wall–journal… Read more →
Elegant Anti-DRM Statement
For my money that’s the best of the winners of the FreeCulture.org contest to produce anti-DRM video. So elegant. Read more →
Some really deep geekery
So, I finally got fed up today and took the plunge. I warn you that the elaboration on that statement is going to get pretty nerdy. My primary router is a Linksys WRT54G. It’s on the old side–it’s the V1.1 hardware. Over the years I’ve made some changes to get it the way I want it: I’ve replaced the default… Read more →
I know a dude who’s 6′ 7″
I am either 6′ 2″ tall, or 6′ 3″ tall, depending on who you ask–it’s hard for me to say conclusively since I can’t actually measure myself, and reports differ. Trish is 5′ 10″. All indications are that Sarah will grow up to be at least a six footer. So, what I read in Slate today pleased me. Here’s a… Read more →
SF Authors (and editors) saying more smart things…
We’ll grab a couple of them today: Will Shetterly talking about Mormon underwear: Here’s one way to tell a faith from a racket: If it makes you think you’re better than everyone else, it’s a racket, not a faith. I kind of love that. It’s the answer to all the “One True Religion” and “Chose People of X” things that… Read more →
