How did it take me so long to come across this guy? The only time that I've seen him before (I think) is in the photo book Dreads. But this article is simply brilliant, and I'll be spending many happy hours searching for more stuff by him.
The article to which I refer to above refers to the internet and the hive mind (as witnessed in sites such as wikipedia.) Here is a brief extract:
I've participated in a number of elite, well-paid wikis and Meta-surveys lately and have had a chance to observe the results. I have even been part of a wiki about wikis. What I've seen is a loss of insight and subtlety, a disregard for the nuances of considered opinions, and an increased tendency to enshrine the official or normative beliefs of an organization. Why isn't everyone screaming about the recent epidemic of inappropriate uses of the collective? It seems to me the reason is that bad old ideas look confusingly fresh when they are packaged as technology.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Courteous to a fault
And I mean fault. I refer to the 'oh, please, you go first' attitude that Portland drivers have at stop signs and the like. They even courteously wave you through when they have the right of way.
Hell, it's not even uncommon for them to stop and wave you through when you have a stop sign and they don't. That's not being courteous, that's just silly. As this article points out:
"There are many drivers who think that yielding right of way is always a courtesy, when in actuality it can be frustrating or even dangerous,"
Hell, it's not even uncommon for them to stop and wave you through when you have a stop sign and they don't. That's not being courteous, that's just silly. As this article points out:
"There are many drivers who think that yielding right of way is always a courtesy, when in actuality it can be frustrating or even dangerous,"
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Monday, May 22, 2006
Thursday, May 18, 2006
when I was a young chap, I enjoyed the Gor books
...but I soon got bored with them. Looks like some SM communities are running with the idea though.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
A future without bananas?
This from New Scientist:
Go bananas while you still can. The world's most popular fruit and the fourth most important food crop of any sort is in deep trouble. Its genetic base, the wild bananas and traditional varieties cultivated in India, has collapsed.
Go bananas while you still can. The world's most popular fruit and the fourth most important food crop of any sort is in deep trouble. Its genetic base, the wild bananas and traditional varieties cultivated in India, has collapsed.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
The site Serendipity has a nice description of a visit to the Alakh Nath temple in Bareilly, India, including some wonderful photos of sadhus. (Indian holy men always seem so photogenic.)
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Swamp Gas Revisited
A study by the British Ministry of Defense has found no evidence of UFOs:
"Considerable evidence exists to support the thesis that the events are almost certainly attributable to physical, electrical and magnetic phenomena in the atmosphere, mesosphere and ionosphere."
Oh well.
"Considerable evidence exists to support the thesis that the events are almost certainly attributable to physical, electrical and magnetic phenomena in the atmosphere, mesosphere and ionosphere."
Oh well.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Last Jew in Eritrea
I found this article quite moving.
...in 1998, Cohen's wife and daughters fled to Italy, leaving him behind [in Asmara, Eritrea]. They meet up from time to time in various countries. His four sisters live in Britain, the United States and Israel.
Times are tough and economic stagnation has hammered business, but Cohen plans to stay on in his home town, making a living from his import-export business.
"I was born here," he tells Reuters with another shrug.
...in 1998, Cohen's wife and daughters fled to Italy, leaving him behind [in Asmara, Eritrea]. They meet up from time to time in various countries. His four sisters live in Britain, the United States and Israel.
Times are tough and economic stagnation has hammered business, but Cohen plans to stay on in his home town, making a living from his import-export business.
"I was born here," he tells Reuters with another shrug.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
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First post of my South Africa vacation 2009 travelogue. A summary of the last few days in brief. Sunday 05/31 - We left home remarkably earl... -
The New Statesman brings us a review by Mark Bearn of a recent translation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead. He gives us a rather unflatteri...
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The mountain man and the surgeon - economist.com Relative levels of poverty, using examples from Appalachia and the Congo. The internet is ...