April 2009
18 posts
“When bone needs more energy, it talks with the gut; if the gut is all spent,...”
– Natalie Angier, in “Basics - Bone, a Masterpiece of Elastic Strength” for the NY Times.
If I wasn’t already somewhat familiar with the author, the last sentence would make me wonder whether she was frustratingly bored with her subject or merely warming to it.
“loveandsqualor: My father picks the mouse up and moves it to move the cursor and...”
– From a reddit discussion of older folks (mis-) using computers.
Palindromic’s comment is like magic from humor heaven. The first two sentences are funny, but somehow the last sentence about “my mom” just has me laughing so hard, the tears are rolling down my face. Sigh.
Oh...
“And anyway, the whole breakfast question is a huge straw man periodically pushed...”
– Kottke: In defense of Twitter
I’m ambivalent about twitter (although I was there before @replies! — thanks dandy!), so it’s kind of ironic that I’m posting a link to an article in support of it. But as someone who works in the tech field, Dowd’s column was idiotic....
“You know what? I’m focused on looking forward too. And as I gaze into my...”
– Obsidian Wings: Looking Forward via Sullivan.
This has always been my biggest issue with the extraordinary renditions, the Gitmos and Bagrams, the enemy combatants, the warrantless wiretapping, the telecom immunity provisions, the “enhanced interrogation” borrowed straight from the...
Nelson Laugh →
Let us all be thankful that someone has provided this service to the Internets.
Andrew Sullivan: Thinking. Out. Loud. →
Great profile of a great blogger. Long but worth a read.
RIP Harry Kalas →
Kalas was the voice of NFL Films for 30 years (among many other broadcasting duties in sports). His voice really defined the football video for me and, I’m sure, for many others.
After watching so many videos and game reviews with his voice, just hearing it would fire my imagination and anticipation for excitement. I’m not sure how they’ll find someone to take his place.
“It seems that from the prisoner to the public, death makes us conform…”
– Vaughan Mind Hacks: “The mind of the condemned”.
It makes us conform because it’s the lowest common denominator for human beings. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately.
By this formulation, does non-conformity represent one of the highest expressions of being alive?
Turtles all the way down →
Another example of why I love Wikipedia.
See also:
- God of the gaps
- Hilbert’s paradox of the Grand Hotel
- Münchhausen Trilemma
- Yertle the Turtle
- Kurma
“What was supposed to be a simple chore turned out to be a nerve-racking project....”
– Stephen D. Crocker, “How the Internet Got Its Rules”
I love reading RFCs. They’re part of the spirit that made the Internet great. The April 1st RFCs are classics. They include IP over carrier pigeon, coffee pot control protocol, and the etymology of “foo”.
Wanna Feel Old? →
Ghostbusters came out a quarter of a century ago. How did this happen?!?
“You are eight times more likely to be killed by a police officer than by a...”
– The Eyewash Station: Odds of Dying in a Terrorist Attack
There’s a telling statistic.
