- Why not four weeks of working per year?
No, I didn’t want to come back. I was meant to be drifting through the back streets of Istanbul, clad in a white linen suit, flitting from one café to the next, sipping tea on a Bosphorus steamer, wooing an olive-skinned beauty at the bar of the Hotel Bebek. It’s in my DNA. Sticking me on the office hamster wheel is a little like hitching Seabiscuit to a field plow.
I’m definitely that sort of person as well. The trick is finding a job that lets you live like that, and you’ll never have to deal with the coming-back-to-work blues. I’m working on just that, so it’s definitely possible. You just have to have the determination to make it happen.
- Return of Devil’s Bible to Prague draws crowds
According to myth, a Benedictine monk promised to write the book overnight to atone for his sins. When he realized the task was impossible, he asked the devil for help. The page with the illustration of the devil the one visitors see. The manuscript was likely written by one monk from the Benedictine monastery in Podlazice located some 100 kilometers (65 miles) east of Prague sometime at the beginning of the 13th century, said Zdenek Uhlir, a specialist on medieval manuscripts at the National Library.
- Thieves steal new Coppola script
Thieves in Argentina have stolen a computer from US film director Francis Ford Coppola, which contained the script for his new production.
That’s really sad, and I hope the movie can still be made if they don’t make a recovery. But what does this teach us, kids? Always back up!
- Ridley Scott has finally created the Blade Runner he always imagined
But the director didn’t stop there. As the millennium turned, he continued polishing: erasing stray f/x wires, trimming shots originally extended to accommodate the voice-over, even rebuilding a scene in which the stunt double was obvious. Now he’s ready to release Blade Runner: The Final Cut, which will hit theaters in Los Angeles and New York in October, with a DVD to follow in December.
It’s a pretty interesting interview. Ridley may have lost touch lately in regards to his attitudes towards the film industry, but there’s no denying that he’s a damned good filmmaker, and there is still a lot to be learned from him.
- When the ideal body requires amputation
“Most people want to change something about themselves, and the image I have of myself has always been one without legs,” Susan Smith wrote earlier this year in the Guardian (link unavailable). Smith (a pseudonym) relates her lifelong struggle as one of the untold number of those with Body Identity Integrity Disorder (BIID). Classified as a psychological condition, those who suffer from BIID long to amputate healthy appendages in the pursuit of an ideal body image.
- Boy survives two-hour flight to Moscow hanging onto plane wing
Doctors said it was nothing short of a miracle that Andrei survived the flight, with temperatures hitting minus 50 degrees Celsius (-58 Fahrenheit), the radio station said. The Boeing-737 has a cruising speed of 900 kmh (560 mph).
- Cave entrances found on Mars
The find has led some to wonder if these or other caves on the planet may provide shelter to life or former life on the Red Planet. “Somewhere on Mars, caves might provide a protected niche for past or current life, or shelter for humans in the future,” said Tim Titus of the U.S. Geological Survey in Flagstaff. These caves, however, likely never hosted life due to the extreme altitude of their location.
I fully expect that Mars has a fair number of caves, but it’s nice to actually have evidence coming in to support that.
- 101 reasons freelancers do it better
A happy worker is a productive worker, and it’s hard to find a happier lot than freelancers. Whether they’re entrepreneurs, Web workers or something in between, freelancers enjoy a better lifestyle than their cube-dwelling brethren.
(Hat tip: Markku Seguerra)
- The road to clarity
What started as a project to organize information for tourist routes in Oregon would soon turn into an all-consuming quest, and one that marked the first time in the nation’s history that anyone attempted to apply systematically the principles of graphic design to the American highway.
A rather fascinating article about redesigning the typeface for the U.S. highway system. I’m very much glad that the principles of design are more actively being applied to our everyday lives, and the demonstrable improvements from such are quite apparent in this article.
- Major biological discovery inside the Chernobyl reactor
Imagine, there’s fallout from a nuclear accident and what do the guys in suits do? They show up, spray mushroom spores over everything, and a few weeks later the mushrooms are harvested and disposed of while the contaminated area is now radiation free.
This is utterly amazing! Thanks to Kristin for the link!
- Meteorite crashes down in Peru, makes people ill
Hundreds of people in Peru have needed treatment after an object from space - said to be a meteorite - plummeted to Earth in a remote area, officials say.
Arrrr! Nay aliens be gettin’ me booty, unless they’s be cute enough. To Peru!
- Let’s just agree to disagree
Let me explain how I decide my course of action when I hear those familiar words. If there is a genuine stalemate, that is, if there are key issues to the discussion that simply cannot be resolved through objective, rational means, if our views clearly cannot be reconciled through progressive, evidence based discussion, then I have absolutely no problem agreeing to disagree. I may even suggest it myself.
I do encounter this conundrum sometimes in my life. The only time when I generally don’t actually press the point further — actually agreeing to disagree — is when the debate in queston is with a friend. Whether it’s arguing with someone about your views of cosmology or whether or not standards-based web sites are better than table-based sites, winning an argument is generally not worth sacrificing a friendship.
- The eight secrets that make Apple #1
Basically, you can divide consumer electronics companies into two groups: Apple, and everyone else. Apple really is that different. Its influence on global design is many orders of magnitude higher than its nearest competitors. It engenders customer loyalty significantly greater than that earned by any other company in the consumer electronics space. The Apple brand and awareness of its products in the general culture far exceed what you might expect, given the company’s actual sales.
- Trent Reznor says “steal my music”
A few months ago, Trent Reznor (frontman of the band Nine Inch Nails), was in Australia doing an interview when he commented on the outrageous prices of CDs there. Apparently now his label, Universal Media Group is angry at him for having said that. During a concert last night, he told fans, ‘…Has anyone seen the price come down? Okay, well, you know what that means — STEAL IT. Steal away. Steal and steal and steal some more and give it to all your friends and keep on stealin’. Because one way or another these mother****ers will get it through their head that they’re ripping people off and that’s not right.’
Very refreshing to hear. Thanks Trent!
- The Paleolithic diet
There are races of people who are all slim, who are stronger and faster than us. They all have straight teeth and perfect eyesight. Arthritis, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke, depression, schizophrenia and cancer are absolute rarities for them. These people are the last 84 tribes of hunter-gatherers in the world. They share a secret that is over 2 million years old. Their secret is their diet- a diet that has changed little from that of the first humans 2 million years ago, and their predecessors up to 7 million years ago. Theirs is the diet that man evolved on, the diet that is coded for in our genes. It has some major differences to the diet of “civilization”. You are in for a few big surprises.
- Fair use worth more than copyright to economy
“The Computer and Communications Industry Association — a trade group representing Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo, among others — has issued a report (PDF) that finds fair use exceptions add more than $4.5 trillion in revenue to the U.S. economy and add more value to the U.S. economy than copyright industries contribute. “Recent studies indicate that the value added to the U.S. economy by copyright industries amounts to $1.3 trillion.”, said CCIA President and CEO Ed Black. The value added to the U.S. economy by the fair use amounts to $2.2 trillion.”
- “Lifesaver Bottle” filters viruses out of water
British inventor Michael Pritchard has developed a small self-contained filter system that instantly cleans water, removing all particles larger than 15nm. He said that he was inspired after seeing the effects of Hurricane Katrina and the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004; people had to wait for many days to get fresh water and many died from drinking contaminated water. The filter is so effective that it can purify dirty river water and even fecal matter. His bottle will shortly be available for sale from Lifesaver Systems at an expected cost of £190 (approx. $385).
- Lessons on the surge from economics 101
Economics professors have a standard game they use to demonstrate how apparently rational decisions can create a disastrous result. They call it a “dollar auction.” The rules are simple. The professor offers a dollar for sale to the highest bidder, with only one wrinkle: the second-highest bidder has to pay up on their losing bid as well. Several students almost always get sucked in. The first bids a penny, looking to make 99 cents. The second bids 2 cents, the third 3 cents, and so on, each feeling they have a chance at something good on the cheap. The early stages are fun, and the bidders wonder what possessed the professor to be willing to lose some money.
- Scientists have found a way to trigger an out-of-body experience in volunteers
The implications for teleoperation are pretty impressive. Let’s just hope it doesn’t turn out like The Matrix!
- Exporting the iPhone
Dave Shea on using the iPhone in Canada:
It’s been over two months in the coming, but as of tonight I now have an iPhone that works on Rogers Wireless, my local carrier. And theoretically when I travel, I’m also able to buy a prepaid SIM card and swap it out to cut down on roaming rates.
I’m starting to debate, now, whether or not to keep my iPhone when I move up to Vancouver this February. I’m still leaning towards selling it, though.
- What is a “Real Job,” exactly?
I keep hearing people use the phrase “Real Job.”
I’m only doing this temporarily until I can find a real job. — My parents are adamant about my need to get a real job. — Why don’t you get a real job?
The phrase seems silly to me. Isn’t a job just a job? What makes one job more real than another? And what is a “Real Job,” exactly?
Anxious to understand, I started asking people who used the term what they meant by it. Unsurprisingly, to different people it meant different things.
I’ve been working a “real job” for 7 years now. I’m sick of it. I want to work doing something fulfilling and creative. Is that so much to ask? Well, it turns out it is. But only insofar as you can’t ask for it; you have to go out there and take it. Nobody’s going to just give you what you want.
- Not thanking Jesus is apparently offensive, now
In her speech, Griffin said that “a lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus.”
She went on to hold up her Emmy, make an off-color remark about Christ and proclaim, “This award is my god now!”
The comedian’s remarks were condemned Monday by Catholic League President Bill Donohue, who called them a “vulgar, in-your-face brand of hate speech.”
According to the TV academy and E!, when the four hour-plus ceremony is edited into a two-hour program, Griffin’s remarks will be shown in “an abbreviated version” in which some language may be bleeped.
How? How is that hate speech? Why is it that people who don’t believe in God have to suffer every time some celebrity thanks the Lord, but when someone credits their own hard work and leaves Jesus out of the equation, it’s automatically seen as vulgar hate speech?
I’ve been unable to find a transcript of her complete speech, however. I would like very much to know what her “off-colour remark about Christ” was and whether or not it was really that bad.
Update: Here’s the missing part of her speech —
“A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this. He had nothing to do with this,” Griffin said. “Suck it, Jesus. This award is my God now.”
- New skin patches deliver drugs painlessly
Like the “slap-patches” in Shadowrun. The future sure is sweet.
- How intelligence works
The new theory might eventually lead to treatments for low IQ, the researchers say, or to ways of boosting the IQ of people with normal intelligence.
On one hand, one might fear a Star Trek-eqsue Eugenics War. On the other hand, it could help avoid a future Idiocracy. Decisions, decisions…
- A children’s treasury of terrible 9/11 art
On this solemn day a half-dozen years ago, nearly 3,000 people were horribly killed so that Rudy Giuliani could earn a hundred million dollars and run for president of 9/11 and the most corrupt administration in American History could wage endless war around the world that has killed some 700,000 people while finally making energy and defense stocks the solid dividend payers favored by long-term investors. Also, “September the Eleventh” has inspired the most insipid, maudlin kitsch in the history of an already very kitschy nation, along with some truly stomach-turning old-fashioned American Huckersterism.
- Worm spreads through Skype
The worm, which different vendors identify as Ramex, Skipi or Pykspa, uses Skype’s chat function to send users a short message that contains a link to a jpg file, according to a warning from the Internet Storm Center.
Mac OS X unaffected.
- Amplified photon thruster to shorten Mars trip to a week
“This is the tip of the iceberg,” Bae said in a statement from the institute. “PLT has immense potential for the aerospace industry. For example, PLT-powered spacecraft could transit the 100 million km to Mars in less than a week.”
Now this gets me excited. Mars in a week? Sign me up!
- TypePad for MobileSafari
With screenshots!
- Fix the Leopard folders
Brandon Walkin takes a critical look at the new folder icons in Leopard. I, for one, am happy that he included David Lanham’s Agua icons, which I use on my own machine. Really, Apple should just buy David’s icons to put into the Mac OS; they’re absolutely wonderful.
- Making war on light pollution
In Galileo’s time, nighttime skies all over the world would have merited the darkest Bortle ranking, Class 1. Today, the sky above New York City is Class 9, at the other extreme of the scale, and American suburban skies are typically Class 5, 6, or 7. The very darkest places in the continental United States today are almost never darker than Class 2, and are increasingly threatened. For someone standing on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon on a moonless night, the brightest feature of the sky is not the Milky Way but the glow of Las Vegas, a hundred and seventy-five miles away. To see skies truly comparable to those which Galileo knew, you would have to travel to such places as the Australian outback and the mountains of Peru. And civilization’s assault on the stars has consequences far beyond its impact on astronomers. Excessive, poorly designed outdoor lighting wastes electricity, imperils human health and safety, disturbs natural habitats, and, increasingly, deprives many of us of a direct relationship with the nighttime sky, which throughout human history has been a powerful source of reflection, inspiration, discovery, and plain old jaw-dropping wonder.
- Belgium accuses Scientology of being a criminal organization; Christianity and Islam decide to lawyer up
A Belgian prosecutor on Tuesday recommended that the U.S.-based Church of Scientology stand trial for fraud and extortion, following a 10-year investigation that concluded the group should be labeled a criminal organization.
It’s about damned time that somebody did something about them! They’re frauds and everybody knows it.
- Our oceans are turning into plastic… are we?
Oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer, Ph.D., an expert on marine debris, agrees. “If you could fast-forward 10,000 years and do an archaeological dig…you’d find a little line of plastic,” he told The Seattle Times last April. “What happened to those people? Well, they ate their own plastic and disrupted their genetic structure and weren’t able to reproduce. They didn’t last very long because they killed themselves.”
- Spike Lee, Babelgum launch online film festival
The winners, who will get $20,000 US, will be announced in April.
The festival will have six categories: short films under 20 minutes, documentary, animation, advertising, social and environmental films, and best emerging talent.
Applications are limited to films that have already been screened at other festivals from January 2007 through February 2008. The films can be no longer than 45 minutes.
I’ll be submitting something there next year, if I have anything to say about it.