Author Archive
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008
Obesity: science vs common knowledge
While we’re on the subject of obesity and science vs common knowledge, here are a couple of studies that go against the grain. http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=100704F
Comments Off on Obesity: science vs common knowledge - Posted in General by Happy
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008
Scientology is a cult
Scientology is a dangerous cult which aims to maximise power and wealth for itsinner circle, with no concern for who it hurts on the way. Stay well clear —it bites and the bite can be fatal. Now THAT’s what you need to know about Scientology. If you want the dirty details, start here. http://www.xenu.net/
Comments Off on Scientology is a cult - Posted in General,Philosophy by Happy
Thursday, February 21st, 2008
In support of the ABC
In Australia we are truly lucky to have a strong, independent radio and TV service provided by the ABC. There is a very good reason not to watch news or current affairs on commercial TV — it’s heavily filtered. Not censored exactly, but filtered. Chomsky has written at length about this.
Comments Off on In support of the ABC - Posted in Media,Social by Happy
Wednesday, February 20th, 2008
Duty calls
One of the great web comics of all time. http://xkcd.com/386/ But aren’t they all?
1 Comment » - Posted in Fun by Happy
Sunday, February 17th, 2008
Hopefuls sign of moving away from coal
Nice article here about the USA quietly moving away from coal: http://www.celsias.com/2008/02/16/us-moving-toward-ban-on-new-coal-fired-power-plants/
Comments Off on Hopefuls sign of moving away from coal - Posted in Politics by Happy
Sunday, January 27th, 2008
The “Family of Four” puzzle
Alice, Bob, Carol and David are two parents and their son and daughter. The problem is to work out which is which. You are told that: * Bob and Alice are blood relatives. * David is older than Bob. * Carol is younger than David. * Carol is older than Alice. However, two of these […]
Comments Off on The “Family of Four” puzzle - Posted in puzzle by Happy
Thursday, January 24th, 2008
The Bible is not about Christ
Just ran across this amazing cross reference of the James II bible: http://www.chrisharrison.net/projects/bibleviz/index.html The strikingly obvious thing from this visual representation is that the Christian Bible is about Israel, Judah, Jerusalem, David, Egypt and other Jewish and pre-Jewish stuff, and almost anything except Jesus/Christ. Nothing like a picture to put it in context.
Comments Off on The Bible is not about Christ - Posted in Philosophy by Happy
Thursday, January 17th, 2008
We own the world
Noam Chomsky is both a god in the linguistics field and a thought-provoking commentator on American politics. http://chomsky.info/articles/20080101.htm A quick romp through US military history, Vietnam, Cuba, Russia, China, Iran; some speculation on how the US would behave if it were a democracy, a bit of Orwell. Classic Chomsky stuff. But the key observation: we […]
Comments Off on We own the world - Posted in General by Happy
Monday, January 14th, 2008
Geek joke
And that reminds me of the old geek joke… She: So, what do you do? He: I teach Unix. She: Oh. [pauses] She: What do you teach them? Hmmm.
Comments Off on Geek joke - Posted in Fun by Happy
Thursday, January 10th, 2008
Chinglish can be so Crude
Ever wondered why English translations of Chinese signs and notices are so bad? And in particular, why they may contain words that are simply not used in polite circles? Here is an article that explains why, with some detailed analysis and absolutely classic examples. In a word: people relying on bad software. http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/%7Emyl/languagelog/archives/005195.html