June 2010
5 posts
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Ghoti →
kyleslattery:
bestofwikipedia:
Ghoti is a word constructed to illustrate the irregularities of written English. It is pronounced “fish”; the gh is pronounced as in “tough”, o as in “women”, and ti as in “nation”. Often attributed to George Bernard Shaw, the actual origin of the word is unknown.
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“The mind is sharper and keener in seclusion and uninterrupted solitude....”
– Nikola Tesla
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“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap...”
– Steve Jobs
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Don't Eat the Marshmallow! →
Interesting article about self control from The New Yorker:
Once Mischel began analyzing the results, he noticed that low delayers, the children who rang the bell quickly, seemed more likely to have behavioral problems, both in school and at home. They got lower S.A.T. scores. They struggled in stressful situations, often had trouble paying attention, and found it difficult to maintain...
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“War is the health of the state”
– Randolph Bourne
May 2010
12 posts
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“There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at...”
– Henry David Thoreau
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Say what, now? →
Are you a breezy person who goes, “Yaka-wow!”?
Yes. Yes I am. What about you?
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Metabolic supermice →
Professor Hanson noted that the supermice “are metabolically similar to Lance Armstrong biking up the Pyrenees. They utilize mainly fatty acids for energy and produce very little lactic acid. They are not eating or drinking and yet they can run for four or five hours. They are 10 times more active than ordinary mice in their home cage. They also live longer – up to three years of age –...
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WatchSlow Runner - The Stakes Were Raised
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I apologize in advance for posting this
Obama:
It troubles me when I hear people say that all of government is inherently bad, for when our government is spoken of as some menacing, threatening foreign entity, it conveniently ignores the fact in our democracy, government is us.
Rothbard:
With the rise of democracy, the identification of the State with society has been redoubled, until it is common to hear sentiments expressed...
April 2010
5 posts
2 tags
“Why aren’t we ranking higher on Google? Our name starts with A, and this other...”
– (via clientsfromhell)
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Nemoy Sunset Pie →
This is what the internet is all about. Related: Selleck Waterfall Sandwich.
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“Our adversaries consider that an activity which is neither aided by supplies,...”
– Frédéric Bastiat
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Choosing a Major →
PSYCHOLOGY: This involves talking about rats and dreams. Psychologists
are obsessed with rats and dreams. I once spent an entire semester training
a rat to punch little buttons in a certain sequence, then training my roommate
to do the same thing. The rat learned much faster. My roommate is now a
doctor. If you like rats or dreams, and above all if you dream about rats,
you should...
March 2010
1 post
2 tags
The Launch Loop →
The Launch Loop is an earth to high orbit launch system… [it] can launch thousands of tons per day to high orbit, and can be built with existing engineering materials for a few gigadollars (mostly for the electric power plant that drives it).
They had me thinking this was feasible up until I read the word “gigadollars”.
February 2010
3 posts
2 tags
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Bill Watterson looks back with no regrets →
Possibly the first interview of him since 1989.
January 2010
3 posts
2 tags
First Person Tetris →
This makes me dizzy.
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Octopuses Carry Coconuts as Instant Shelters →
I have no idea where they get the coconuts from.
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December 2009
2 posts
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Court: Microsoft violated patent; can't sell Word →
Those who live by the sword litigation will fall by the sword litigation.
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November 2009
2 posts
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The Evolution of Lego Sorting →
15. You begin to develop strong opinions on Plano vs. Stak-On and
Rubbermaid vs. Sterilite.
I’m glad I don’t have this many legos…
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“The best way to destroy the capitalist system is to debauch the currency. By a...”
– John Maynard Keynes
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October 2009
6 posts
2 tags
Canabalt →
This game is refreshingly simple, and dangerously addictive once you play it a few times. I’m a sucker for pixel art, so I really appreciate the graphics.
The real mystery about the game is its subtext. What is the protagonist running from, anyway? How does he manage to run so fast and jump so high? My personal theory is that he stole a pair of performance-enhancing shoes.
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Cheese mites? →
From Wikipedia:
The mites burrow tiny holes in the surface of the cheese and are sometimes intentionally introduced to flavor cheeses like Milbenkäse and aged Mimolette. Cheese that is infested with the mites can have a sweet, minty odor and will appear to be covered in a fine gray dust of the mites, their dander and excrement.
Remind me not to try this kind of cheese. Ever.
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Bizarro Peace Prize Awarded to Obama →
From AntiWar.com:
Let’s say you’re the President of the United States — okay? And you’re on the brink of escalating what promises to be a wider, more intense war than that which George W. Bush launched in Iraq. You’ve already sent in reinforcements, but you’re undecided about just how many more troops you’re going to send to Afghanistan – could be 20,000, could be 40,000, or even 60,000. But,...
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“I love that name, Futon World. It makes me think of a magical place… that...”
– Demetri Martin
September 2009
14 posts
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It's not a tax, it's just the government taking... →
From Reason Magazine:
“I don’t think I’m making it up,” Mr. Stephanopoulos said […] He cited the dictionary’s definition of “tax”—”a charge, usually of money, imposed by authority on persons or property for public purposes.”
Mr. Obama: “George, the fact that you looked up Merriam’s Dictionary, the definition of tax...
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Post-medium publishing →
Publishers of all types, from news to music, are unhappy that consumers won’t pay for content anymore. At least, that’s how they see it.
In fact consumers never really were paying for content, and publishers weren’t really selling it either. If the content was what they were selling, why has the price of books or music or movies always depended mostly on the format? Why...
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Wikipedia Genome Article →
I think it’s pretty crazy that the creature with the most DNA is a single-celled organism. No joke: Amoeba dubia has 670 billion base pairs. For comparison, humans only have about 3.2 billion base pairs.
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“Ekki-ekki-ekki-ekki-ptang.
Zoom-boing. Z’nourrwringmm”
– The knights who until formerly said “Ni”
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Creationists are coming for your children →
Writes Richard Dawkins:
Evolution is an inescapable fact, and we should celebrate its astonishing power, simplicity and beauty. Evolution is within us, around us, between us, and its workings are embedded in the rocks of aeons past.
If I said this sounded like metaphysical or (if you’ll excuse my mentioning the word) “religious” language, would you still be my friend?
...
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