Month: December 2009
-
How much money does the artist receive from a paypal donation?
How Much of Your Donation Goes to the Artist Donation Amount Paypal (from U.S.A.) Paypal (From Outside U.S.A.) Transaction Fee –> 2.9% + $.30 3.9% + $.30 $1 $.67 $.66 $2 $1.64 $1.62 $3 $2.61 $2.58 $4 $3.58 $3.54 $5 $4.55 $4.50 $10 $9.41 $9.31 $20 $19.12 $18.92 So, if you live in the…
-
Heinous Climate Change Villians
Michael Roddy and Ian Murphy compile a list of the 15 most heinous climate change villians. Despite the fact that the deniers are well-known for their errors and unreliability, they are cited over and over and invited on TV as supposed experts.
-
The Reality of Dick
Phillip K. Dick on how to build a universe that doesn’t fall apart 2 days later. This essay is so profound that I may address it separately later on. A juicy tidbit: It was always my hope, in writing novels and stories which asked the question "What is reality?", to someday get an answer. This…
-
Smarter than you: The Nagle Crackpot Theory
I’ve always found the Dunning-Kruger effect to be an interesting phenomenon (so is the related Downing effect). Gosh, now that I know about these things, that must make me brilliant! See also: the wikipedia article on cranks. If you are still unsure, try the crackpot index . My fave: you receive 20 points for naming…
-
Things I learned in 2009
For someone so intellectual-minded, it is amazing how little I reflect on recent events. (It’s far easier to reflect about philosophy or death or happiness or something like that). One advantage of this blog is that it allows me and others to see how my attitudes and perspectives change over time: you can see the…
-
Google, you are way too fast (or way too nosy!)
In my last post I requested help for how to prepare my apartment for a new dog. Kind of weird, but that’s the sort of thing you find on this blog. Less than 2 minutes later, I decide to google the words “dogproof” and “computer geek” (in the vain hope that another computer geek has…
-
How to Dogproof a Computer Geek’s Apartment? (Please Help!!!)
I am a computer geek who has always wanted a dog but felt that apartment life made it difficult. However, I am finally ready and plan to obtain a dog very soon. But can anyone suggest solutions/mitigation methods for my problem: clutter! First, I am generally a pretty lousy housekeeper. It does not help that…
-
Surgical Strikes are not surgical and are not precise
Matt Duss scolds the New York Times for this bellicose editorial advocating Iranian bombing. He notes this passage: Incentives and sanctions will not work, but air strikes could degrade and deter Iran’s bomb program at relatively little cost or risk, and therefore are worth a try. They should be precision attacks, aimed only at nuclear…
-
Attention Larry King, Attention US publishers!
Glen Greenwald deconstructs a New York Times piece on the wrongful Gitmo imprisonment of a Sudanese journalist. Greenwald writes: By stark contrast, the American public is, as Stelter notes, almost completely ignorant of what our government has done in this regard. And why is that? Because the same media that fixates endlessly on the imprisonment…
-
Geeky Christmas presents for kids?
I’m busy figuring out cool things to get children for Christmas. (Alas, David, I should have written this post two weeks ago!) Feel free to share your own ideas and recommendations. Book of Totally Irresponsible Science: 64 Daring Experiments for Young Scientists : fun book with lots of attitude. Burning ice! How to make…
-
Those 20th century Beethoven-loving barbarians! (Free & Cheap Mp3s of Beethoven Symphonies)
Well, I did it. After checking the library and the free recordings, I decided to plunk $8 and download the Complete Beethoven Symphonies, conducted by Josef Krips with the London Symphony. I am downloading them now from Amazon. I am giving it as a Christmas present for my nephew. My reference for classical music recordings…
-
Where is Glen Beck in space?
John Holbo on whether political conservatives should like the Star Trek franchise. Hilarity ensues. Fave comment: I will admit one illiberal thing about the ST universe that has bugged me: The absence of media. Picard is saving the universe week after week, and no one bothers to do even so much as an interview with…
-
Diplomacy at Copenhagen – behind the scenes
Two amazing accounts about the Copenhagen negotiations. First, an unnamed high level State Department official gives a frank account of the last day. Mark Lynas was present at the final negotiation and reports that China was stonewalling. Update: James Fallows rounds up the reaction to the Mark Lynas article, including this insightful comment from an…
-
Carbon Footprints of Pets
While at the supermarket, I mentioned to a worker at the fish counter that frozen salmon has a lower carbon footprint than fresh salmon (which apparently needs to be flown in cold storage to arrive on time). That seemed odd, because the cost of fresh salmon was actually cheaper than frozen salmon. But the man…
-
Walt Whitman & Levi’s Jeans
Here’s an amazing TV commercial for Levi’s Jeans starring…. Walt Whitman! Yes, that’s his actual voice reading the 1888 poem America in this video poem/commercial. Here’s another video poem for Whitman’s Pioneers from Leaves of Grass..this time read by actor Will Greer. (These pieces are directed by M. Blash of the ad agency Wieden &…
-
A good rough draft
Yesterday I finished a good rough draft of a longish story. What a glorious feeling! I still have a lot of work remaining, but at least after the end of the rough draft, I know what kind of monster I’m dealing with. Before I write something, I know a story’s general direction and choreography, but…