30 September 2012

of mice, and men, and the machine

Surgeons:

"They use a scalpel. Their cuts are precise down to the millimeter. Once in a great while there is a slip of the knife, a catastrophic mistake. In those cases, the surgeon is held accountable and the victim lavishly compensated. Oh, and there's one more thing about surgical procedures: while the person being cut into is occasionally victimized by a mistake, there is never a case where the scalepel is guided to imprecisely that it kills the dozen people standing around the operating table. For that reason, orderlies  and family members don't cower in hospital halls terrified that a surgeon is going to arbitrarily kill them. And if he did, he'd be arrested for murder.


So no, drone strikes aren't like surgery at all."




read more!

26 September 2012

Food & Drink: Pre-Peeled Bananas Incur the Wrath of Humanity

After days of hiking, we finally came to the summit of the mountain. He sat in the full sun, unresponsive to any stimulation. Presently he turned to us, and said, "You may ask but one question".
We asked, "why?"

" 'Gee, I would enjoy this banana so much more if I didn’t have to take off the peel,' said no one ever. "

Read more!

25 September 2012

First grader with severe allergies uses his robot to attend school

Still, through the eyes of Devon's classmates, he's one of them, according to Winchester educators. That was silently proven last spring, when his first-grade class made Devon some "get-well" artwork after a nearly fatal allergic reaction again landed him in Women & Children's ICU.


"They drew a picture of a boy," said Brachmann, explaining the class identified with Devon as a person and not as the VGo machine. 


read more!

23 September 2012

ramble

Cars are the [new] great Gothic cathedrals. Supreme creation[s] of an era; conceived with passion, consumed in image by a population which appropriates them as magic.



read more!

17 September 2012

Schmitt's Conception of the Friend & Enemy

It is the silence that is killing them, eating them alive, and that's what they are waging war against.

SYNESTHESIAC

16 September 2012

To do: the Curious Power of the List

It's really quite odd, isn't it? (It is!)




So soothing, its like
1. mentally cracking my fingers
2. rush of sugar for the head
3. a judge shouting order in a chaotic courtroom
4. bubble-wrap.

OR, ALL IN ONE;
simply divine.


Having nothing to do with the above, yet nonetheless being so cute I want to vomit.


15 September 2012

knowing

My big 'n frizzy pumpkin pie,
you are the apple of my eye.
I'd lie in bed all day with you,
'cept I've way too much to do.


Here's a pic:


Protests Rage Over Film Depicting Muhammad

As is ever the case, the media seems preoccupied with the Who? Where? and What? of the situation. I think for better conflict resolution we need to think Why?


From the protests in Sydney
I linked to the hard atheist forum on r/atheism on purpose: to show the fear elicited from the non-Muslim world. Violence only begets more violence.

Why?

"There is an Arab pain and a volatility in the face of judgment by outsiders that stem from a deep and enduring sense of humiliation. A vast chasm separates the poor standing of Arabs in the world today from their history of greatness. In this context, their injured pride is easy to understand."

read more!

07 September 2012

To All; pay attention to this. it's huge.



Chinese company uses leaked photos to copy, patent iPhone 5 design

What do you think? Should businesses be able to use predatory techniques? Does this hurt or enhance economic growth?




7 hours work for free? 
i doubt it. pay money, for, 
it'll 'look' right too.